Jesus Is the Revealer of the Invisible God

It was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him.
—Colossians 1:19

Most historians acknowledge that there was a man named Jesus who walked on the earth 2,000 years ago. And even agnostics concede that nobody has influenced the world for good more than Jesus. Hospitals, orphanages, universities, and many scientific advances—all of these things came about through Christians because of their faith in Christ. And yet, as wonderful as those accomplishments were, that’s not what makes Jesus the most holy person who ever lived. This week we will look at Colossians 1 to discover three unique characteristics of Jesus Christ.

Notice what Paul says what makes Jesus truly holy, different, separate. Jesus Christ is the revealer of the invisible God. If you believe there is a God, don’t you want to know who that God is? Don’t you want to know whether that God is loving or hateful? Don’t you want to know whether He is truthful and can be depended on, or whether He is deceptive? If there really is a God, wouldn’t it be good if we knew what He wants from us and what He demands from us? All of those are important questions to answer if there truly is a God.

Jesus came to tell us everything about God we need to know. Jesus is different from all the other religions in the world because in every other religion, there is a difference between the founder of that religion and the message of that religion. For example, Muhammad never claimed to be able to change people’s lives; he pointed people to the Qur’an to change people’s lives. Buddha never said he could save anybody; he pointed people to the Noble Path that would save people. But Jesus was altogether different. Jesus didn’t just point people to the message. He said, “I am the message.” Jesus didn’t say, “I will show you the way.” He said, “I am the way.” He didn’t say, “I will teach the truth to you.” He said, “I am the truth.” He didn’t say, “I am going to open the door to life.” He said, “I am the life.” Jesus is the full representation of God Himself.

Paul says of Christ, “It was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him” (Colossians 1:19). Do you know what is the greatest miracle of all time? It’s not the resurrection. That’s a big one, but it’s not the biggest. The greatest miracle of all time was the incarnation. God poured all of Himself into a tiny embryo implanted in a Jewish teenager’s womb. All of God, all of the fullness of God, dwelled in Christ. The humble circumstances of Christ’s birth have led people to misunderstand it. Many people believe because Jesus was born in a stable, placed in a feeding trough, somehow that means He was a little bit less than God. Not at all. God willingly chose to take human form. Why did He do that? The reason He came in such humble circumstances was to prove He was willing to go to whatever extreme necessary to rescue us from our dilemma of sin and death. Why is Jesus holy, different? Because Jesus is the revealer of the invisible God. Everything you need to know about God, you find in Jesus Christ.

***
Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Have a Happy Holy-Day” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2012.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.