Who God is

108. Who is Jesus Now?

In the Gospels we see who Jesus was when He walked on earth. He showed us the personality of God, His Father. The Apostle Paul had a revelation of what Jesus did for us, even though Paul never met Jesus in the flesh. We see those revelations in Paul’s epistles. The epistles also give us a view of the present day ministry of Christ.

However, Jesus chose to reveal Himself in a very special way to John.

Notice Revelation 1 verse 1. It says, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.” I believe that God gave us this view of Jesus because we cannot see Him as He really is in any other way. Many walked with Him, many saw Him die, some saw Him resurrected, but no one has really seen Him as He is right now. He is a Warrior, a Judge, the Lamb, Almighty God, He is on the Throne, no being can stand up to Him, He is the Victor, a “terrifying sight” to His enemies, and He is active on your behalf. John needed to know all this.

I believe Jesus showed this vision to John to comfort him by bringing him faith and hope, to make sense of his crazy circumstances, to do the same for the churches to which John wrote this letter almost 2,000 years ago and to do the same for you and me in our lives today when we see all the crazy things going on around us. It is a handbook for obtaining victory in our lives.

John’s condition was similar to ours. The world, for John, was going crazy. For some of us, the world is going crazy. Just imagine, John had been living with Jesus for at least 3 years, he saw Him perform mighty miracles, he saw Him crucified, he saw Him resurrected. Certainly, after the resurrection he thought, “Now there was victory.” He saw the Holy Spirit fall on mankind and the start of the Church. He established churches and he saw people getting saved. All of the sudden, all of the original disciples were gone and some were crucified (Peter upside down), some were beheaded, others done away with by other means. He saw the world going into a wild spin.

John himself was almost killed by being boiled in oil, but they could not kill him. Now, at this time, he was taken prisoner and banished forever to the Isle of Patmos (definition = my killing – a rugged and bare island in the Aegean Sea). His daily chore included working a rock quarry and hauling rock up and down hills on his back. He must have thought, “Has the world gone crazy? Did I really know Jesus? Was He really God in the flesh like I wrote about in my Gospel book? Is the Church doomed? Is my life wasted?” Then, all of the sudden, BAM! Something appeared to him that he had never seen before.

“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, ‘I am the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last,’ and, ‘What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.’ Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, ‘Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death’” (Revelation 1:10-18).

Christ Revealed

In Revelation chapter 1 John sees Who Jesus is now! He is different from the last time he saw Him. He is the ascended Christ revealed! He is revealed as the faithful, trustworthy witness, the firstborn of the dead, the Prince of the Kings of the Earth, the soon coming One, and the Alpha and Omega, the first and last, the Almighty Omnipotent One!

He is revealed as the one who is coming to judge His church with fire in His eyes, a golden girdle and feet that shined as burnished brass. This judgment is not to condemn the church, but to protect it from the coming wrath. Holiness is what will protect the church!

In Revelation chapters 2-3 Jesus is speaking to the church, both then and now, as if a general was speaking to his troops getting them ready for battle. Because a major conflict was soon to occur, and the seven churches would be destroyed if not prepared, Jesus addressed each church according to its own shortcoming. He encouraged them to get in right standing with God. Holiness is what will protect the church!

In Revelation 4, Jesus invites John, and you and me, to come up into the heavenlies to see the events from His vantage point. We need to see events in life from God’s perspective. We can get so earthly minded, and our sight can be so horizontal in looking at our circumstances that we miss seeing things from God’s point of view. We are sitting in the heavenlies with Christ; therefore, the Holy Spirit can give us that view. When we see our circumstances from God’s vantage point, they do not seem as bad.

In Revelation 5, God is the one who originates the battles. Satan does not originate battles in our lives. Notice, no one was worthy to unroll the scroll and take off the seals except for Jesus, as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah and, at the same time, the Lamb of God. Jesus is the Lion, or the victor, and the most powerful force. Jesus is the Lamb, the one who takes what we have coming. We could not stand in the difficult circumstances of life except that Jesus, as the Lamb, takes what we have coming!

Jesus is the one who originates battles. We need to keep this in mind when trouble comes. It may be an evil attack, but it is Jesus who has put a hook in the nose of our enemies to come at us so that we may destroy them in His name! Blessed be the Name of the Lord forever!!! Hallelujah!

In Revelation 5-16, there is great war, conflict, judgment and persecution as the scroll is unfurled. Things are going crazy, and events go from bad to worse to almost intolerable. But in this, God is looking for those who will overcome and stand.

Revelation 7:3 shows that those believers who are faithful in this overcoming process are stamped by God for safe keeping. Things are going to get worse!

A parenthetical statement is made in Revelation 11 showing the victory of the Cross and showing that the dominion of the world’s system has been given to the Kingdom of God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Revelation 12:11 shows us that if we stand during this time of great trouble that we will overcome the enemy by the blood of the Lamb and by the Word of God being testified by our mouths, provided that we do not love our own lives more than we love God and His purposes.

Revelation 17 is the revelation of the “world” system and its corruption. It shows the cooperation between the spiritual and the political.

Revelation 18 is another warning to God’s people to come out of the “world” system because it is about to be destroyed and it is unreliable. The destruction of this system is demonstrated.

In Revelation 19 there is victory, and the Lord returns on His white horse to fulfill His promise and to bring His rewards. “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:11-16).

In Revelation 20, Satan is bound; judgment takes place.

Revelation 21 shows the Kingdom of God becoming more real, the New Jerusalem. It shows a deeper intimacy with Jesus as a result of all we have been through.

Revelation 22 shows ministry for those people who have stood and overcome to the end. Here is a picture of the Flowing River, mentioned in Ezekiel 47, with fruit on both sides for the healing of the nations, meaning the gentiles, or the people who do not know God. In my experience, real ministry comes after much tribulation and overcoming. We take dominion over demons through the battles.

Revelation 22 is also a word of encouragement. “I am coming quickly, hang on, and you will be blessed. Hang on, and you will turn all this tribulation and trouble in your life into a blessing.”

This revelation, or glorification, of Jesus Christ most likely is similar to what Jesus spoke to the two on the Road to Emmaus, and later to the 11 disciples, explaining the Scriptures beginning with Moses, the Psalms and the Prophets in Luke 24. Most likely, however, this was a more complete revelation. When we see Jesus glorified in this way, we are candidates for the filling of the Holy Spirit (John 7:39).

I do not pretend to understand all of the Book of Revelation, nor do I claim to do a complete teaching on it here. Neither am I saying that it does not apply to future world prophecy and events. All I am saying is that it is MORE than that. It is an important application for our lives today. We need to know who Jesus is NOW! I also know that on August 26, 1979, while reading the Book of Revelation, Jesus miraculously saved me and filled me with the Holy Spirit. He revealed Himself to me, and I have never been the same!

John then understood. There is more to life than just making it to Heaven and living a good life here. We are called to be in a war, and Jesus is alive and powerful to make sure we get the victory! This is a picture for us to understand when things are not going well. We need to place ourselves somewhere in this process and know that it is God ordained. Then we can stand!

He is the warrior. We have a lot of trials and warfare to go through before we go to Heaven. Jesus is our warrior; He wins our battles. We need to know that He is fighting on our behalf.

He is High Priest, Mediator, Intercessor, Advocate and Surety.

E.W. Kenyon, in Chapter 25 of his book “The Bible in the Light of Our Redemption,” shows us more of the present day ministry of Jesus, in addition to Judge and Warrior.

This quote is copyrighted material used by permission only from Kenyon’s Gospel Publishing Society.

THE PRESENT DAY MINISTRY OF CHRIST

WE HAVE STUDIED in our course the working of God for a period of four thousand years in the preparation for Christ's coming (Galatians 4:4). We have studied the earthly life of our Lord Jesus Christ and His death and Resurrection for us through which He redeemed us from Satan's authority (Hebrews 2:14).

Now we are going to study the present ministry of Christ, what He is doing now for us, and what He has been doing for almost period of two thousand years. This present ministry of Christ has been neglected by most Christians. So many, when they think of His giving His life for us, think only of His death and Resurrection. They do not know that when He sat down on the Father's right hand, that He began to live for us in as much reality as He had died for us. How few Christians have a clear conception of the present ministry of Christ.

There are three views of Jesus' ministry for us: Jesus beyond the cross as the lowly "Man of Sorrows"; Jesus on the cross as the "Son made Sin" (II Corinthians 5:21); Jesus seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high, the "Exalted One, with a name above every other name" (Philippians 2:9-10).

As we study our hymns, we realize how few teachers and songwriters have understood this present ministry of Christ. Many see Jesus just beyond the cross, the lowly Jesus. Another group sees Him only on the cross. A very small number have looked beyond the cross and the tomb to the Christ seated at God’s right hand.

He is no longer the meek and lowly man of Galilee. He is no longer the Son made Sin, forsaken of God. He is the Lord of all who conquered Satan, sin, disease and death.

He is the One who possesses all authority in Heaven and in earth (Matthew 28:18).

We can today act fearlessly upon His Word, because He is the surety of it. He is the surety of this New Covenant.

Hebrews 7:22, "by so much also has Jesus become the surety of a better covenant."

The surety of the covenant is the Word.

Hebrews 8:6, "But now hath he obtained a ministry the more excellent by so much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant which hath been enacted upon better promises." The New Covenant has been enacted, it is based upon the Word, and He is the Surety. This man today at the Father's right hand is the Surety of this Word.

He who possesses all authority in Heaven and earth makes good every word in these promises. Let us now study what He is today to us in this New Covenant.

In the revelation which Paul received, God has drawn aside the veil and given to us the present ministry of Christ. He sat down as our "High Priest," our "Mediator," our "Intercessor," our "Advocate" and our "Surety" of the New Covenant.

Jesus, Our High Priest

We have studied the High Priesthood of the Old Covenant. The High Priest of the Old Covenant was a type of Jesus, the High Priest of the New Covenant.

Once every year the High Priest under the Old Covenant had entered into the tabernacle on earth with the blood of bulls and goats to make a yearly atonement for the sins of Israel. Read Hebrews 9:25; 10:1-4.

The priests stood daily ministering and offering the same sacrifices for the sins of Israel (Hebrews 10:11).

Christ entered into Heaven itself with His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption for us (Hebrews 9:12, 23-27).

When God accepted the blood of Jesus Christ, He signified that the claims of Justice had been met and that man could be legally taken from Satan's authority and restored to fellowship, with Himself.

By the sacrifice of Himself, Christ had put sin away (Hebrews 9:26).

The crime of High Treason of Adam had been met and settled by His one sacrifice for sin (Hebrews 10:12).

By the sacrifice of Himself He had sanctified man (Hebrews 9:10-14).

"To sanctify" means to "set apart," "to separate." He had separated man from Satan's kingdom and family. We had become as separated from Satan's dominion as He was (John 17:14).

When Christ met Mary after His Resurrection (John 20:17), He said to her, "Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended unto the Father." He was then on His way to the Father with His own blood, the token of the penalty He had paid, and He could not be touched by man.

Jesus' ministry as High Priest did not end with His carrying His blood into the Holy Place, but He is still the minister of the Sanctuary (Hebrews 8:2).

The word, "sanctuary," in Hebrews 8:2, in the Greek means "Holy things." He is ministering in the "Holy things." These "Holy Things" are our prayers and worship. We do not know how to worship Him as we ought, but He takes our oftentimes crude petitions and worship and makes them beautiful to the Father. These "Holy things" are our "Spiritual Sacrifices" which He makes acceptable to the Father. Every prayer, every worship is accepted by the Father when it is presented in the name of Jesus.

I Peter 2:5, "Ye also as living stones are built up a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God, through Jesus Christ."

Study the High priestly ministry of Christ as it is given to us in the book of Hebrews. He is a merciful and faithful high priest (Hebrews 2:17-18). He is a High Priest who can be touched with the feelings of our infirmities (Hebrews 4:14-16). He is High Priest forever (Hebrews 6:19).

Jesus, the Mediator

When Christ sat down at the Father's right hand, He had satisfied the claims of Justice and He became the Mediator between God and man.

I Timothy 2:5, "For there is one God, one mediator also between God and man, himself man, Christ Jesus."

Jesus is man's mediator for two reasons. He is man's mediator because of what He is, and He is man's mediator because of what He has done.

First: Jesus is man's mediator by virtue of what He is. He is the union of God and man.

John 1:14. He is the Word "Who was with God and was God ... the Word made flesh" (John 1:1). He is the One who existed on equality with God, made in the likeness of men (Philippians 2:8-9).

He has bridged the gulf between God and man. He is equal with God and He is equal with man. He can represent humanity before God.

This, however, was not a sufficient ground for mediation between God and man. Man was an eternal criminal before God. Man wag alienated from God (Ephesians 2:12) and under the judgment of Satan (John 16:11).

This brings us to our second fact. Jesus is man's mediator because of what He has done.

Colossians 1:22, "Yet now hath He reconciled in the body of His flesh, through death, to present you Holy, and without blemish and unreprovable through Him."

2 Corinthians 5:18, "Who reconciled us unto Himself through Christ." There could have been no mediator between God and man if there had not been first a Reconciliation made between God and man. Man was unrighteous in his condition of spiritual death. While he was in that condition of spiritual death, he could not approach God. Neither could any Mediator have approached God for him.

Christ has reconciled us unto God through His death on the cross, so that He now presents man holy and without blemish before God. Therefore, man has a right to approach God through Christ, his Mediator.

From the fall of man until Jesus sat down at God's right hand, no man had ever approached God except over a bleeding sacrifice, through a Divinely-appointed Priesthood, or by an angelic visitation or dreams.

On the ground of his High Priestly offering of His own blood, He perfected (or Redemption satisfied the claims of justice) and made it possible for God to legally give man Eternal Life, making him righteous, and giving him a standing as a son.

Every unsaved man now has a legal right to approach God.

Jesus, the Intercessor

Jesus, as High Priest, carried His blood into the Holy of Holies, satisfying the claims of Justice that were against natural man. As Mediator, He introduces the unsaved man to God.

John 14:6, Jesus is the way to God, and no one can approach God except through Him. As soon as a man accepts the reconciliation work of Christ, he becomes a child of God. Then Christ begins His intercessory work for him. Jesus is Mediator for the sinner, but He is intercessor for the Christian.

The first question that comes to us is: "Why does the child of God need someone to intercede for him?"

We can find the answer to that in Romans 12:2.

At the New Birth, our spirits receive the life of God. The next need is that our minds be renewed. For the number of years that existed before we were born again, we walked according to Satan (Ephesians 2:1-3). He ruled our minds.

Now that our spirits have received the life of God, our minds must be renewed, so that we will know our privileges and responsibility as children of God. Ephesians 4:22-24 shows us the need of a renewed mind. The New Birth is instantaneous, but the renewing of our minds is a gradual process. Its growth is determined by our study and meditation of the Word.

During this period we need the intercession of Christ. Many times we sin and in our fellowship with the Father, as in our ignorance of His will, we many times say and do things that are not pleasing to Him. Then again, we need His intercession because of demoniac persecution against us.

Matthew 5:10, "Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness' sake." This isn't the persecution of men but the persecution of demons.

Matthew 5:1-12 refers to the persecution we receive from men. Demons persecute us for righteousness' sake. They hate and fear us because God has declared us righteous. Because we have not fully learned of our authority they cause us to tumble many times.

Regardless of this, He is able to save us to the uttermost because He ever lives to pray for us (Hebrews 7:25). No one can lay anything to the charge of God's child. God has declared him righteous. There is no one to condemn him. Jesus is living to make intercession for him (Romans 8:33-34).

Jesus, the Advocate

We came to the Father through Christ, our Mediator. We have felt the sweet influences of His Intercession on our behalf. Now we want to know Him as our Advocate before the Father.

How many Christians today who are living in broken fellowship would be living victorious lives in Christ if they had known or knew that Jesus was their Advocate?

Because of our unrenewed minds and Satanic persecution, we sometimes sin and cause our fellowship to be broken.

Every child of God who breaks fellowship with the Father goes under condemnation. If he had no advocate he would be in a sad position. The Word shows us that if we do sin we have an advocate with the Father.

I John 2:1, "My little children, these things I write unto you that ye may not sin, and if any man sins we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Righteous."

I John 1:3-9 is God's method for maintaining our fellowship with Him. If we sin so that our fellowship is broken, we may renew that fellowship by confessing our sin.

Jesus' ministry as an advocate is a work of Jesus on the part of God. However, He is unable to act as our advocate unless we confess our sins. The moment we confess them, He takes up our case before the Father.

The Word declares that when we confess our sins, He is righteous and faithful to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. God can forgive our sins and be perfectly righteous in doing it, because Christ bore them (Isaiah 53:6).

He is also faithful and ready at the moment we confess to wipe them out as though they had never been.

It is absolutely essential that Christians know Jesus as their advocate. Many who are out of fellowship have confessed their sins many times without receiving a sense of restoration, because they did not know Jesus was their Advocate. They did not take forgiveness when they confessed their sins. They do not act upon the Word which declares that the Father forgives the moment they confess.

No Christian should ever remain in broken fellowship any longer than it takes to ask forgiveness. What the Father forgives He forgets. A child of His should never dishonor Him by ever thinking of his sins again.

Jesus, the Surety

Jesus is our personal surety. This is the most vital of all the ministries of Jesus at the Father's right hand.

Under the law the High Priest was the surety of the Old Covenant. If the High Priest failed, it interrupted the relationship between God and Israel. The blood of the atonement lost its efficacy.

Under the New Covenant, Jesus is the High Priest and the Surety of the New Covenant. Hebrews 7:22, "by so much also hath Jesus become the surety of a better covenant."

Our position before the Father is absolutely secure. We know that throughout our lifetime, we have, at the right hand of God, a Man who is there for us.

He is representing us before the Father. He always has a standing; we have One representing us before the Father.

Our position is secure.

Keep this picture in your mind about who Jesus is now.

Revelation 19:11-16 says, “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”

He is coming again! Besides knowing that Jesus is all these things to us, we need to know that He has given us these ministries to others.

Jesus is our Priest, Mediator, Intercessor, Advocate and Surety. However, He has given us the job of distributing these ministries to people here on earth who are in need. We do not become the intercessor, or advocate, only Jesus is worthy of that, but we distribute those powerful ministries on His behalf, in His name. Adam was supposed to have represented God on this earth, but he failed. Now our job is to represent God on this earth and to represent people on earth to God.