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"Jesus Pantocrator".
Church of Saint John the Baptist.
Douma, Lebanon. XVII century.
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Who is this who says that before
Abraham was born, He was living: "Before Abraham was I am" (John
8:58)?!.
Who is this Who claims that all the
Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah were fulfilled in Him?!.
Who is this of Whom His enemies said,
"No man ever spoke as this man"?
Who is this Who assumes the awful
authority of pronouncing final judgment on men (Matt. 7:21-23)?!.
Who is this who equates His voice
with the voice of God that spoke in the Old Testament: "You have heard
that it was said to the men of old: “You shall not kill”... But I say to you
that everyone who is angry with his brother is liable to judgment" (Matt.
5:21-23)?!.
Who is this who said not "I'll
show you or teach you or lead you to the way, the truth and the life", but
"I am the way, the truth and the life"?!.
Who is this Who said, "I am the
Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end" (Rev. 21:6)?!.
Who is this Who stilled the storm on
the Sea of Galilee, healed the sick and at whose command the dead came back to
life?!.
Who is this whose birth we
acknowledge every time we write the date: 1972 A.D.?!.
Who is this of Whom St. Paul said,
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil.
4:13).?!.
Who is this Who said, "If you
shall ask anything in my name, I will do it" (John 14:14)?!.
Who is this Who said, "Heaven
and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away"?!.
Who is this Who said, "I am the
bread of life... I am the light of the world.... I am the door.... I am the
good shepherd.... I am the resurrection and the life"?!.
Who is this Who said, "Come to
me all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest"?!.
Who is this of Whom St. Paul says,
"All things were created through him and for him" (Col. 1: 16) and
"... in him the whole fullness of the deity dwells bodily" (Col.
2:9)?!.
Who is He?!...
Some say that He is a great moral
teacher, the greatest teacher who ever lived, but not God. But how can He be
merely a teacher and not God when He Himself taught that He is God? Now if you
say that you believe someone is a great teacher, you must accept what he teaches.
Jesus teaches plainly that He is God. You cannot accept Him as a teacher and
not accept what He taught. In other words, the option before us is this: Jesus
is either what He says He is: God, or He is a lunatic. Any man who stands up
and makes the claims Jesus made is either what He says He is or He is insane!!.
Who is this Jesus, then?!. The Fathers of the early Church gave their answer
quite emphatically and unequivocally: VERY GOD OF VERY GOD they said in the
Nicene Creed.
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| The first ecumenical council. |
Whom Do We Meet in Christ?!...
In Christ we meet God. We meet also
our true selves as God wants us to be, the divine pattern for man. "Be ye perfect as I am
perfect," said Jesus.
The most important decision one has
to make in life is the decision for or against Jesus Christ. Say
"Yes" to Jesus as Lord and you gain light, life, forgiveness, joy and
eternity. Say "No" to Him and you throw all these away.
“R. L. Bruckberger”, pictures God the Father
saying of Jesus:
"Since I have told you
everything in My Word, Who is My Son, I have no other words that can at present
say anything or reveal anything to you beyond this. Fix your eyes on Him alone,
for in Him I have told you all, revealed all, and in Him you will find more
even than you desire or ask!!. If you fix your eyes on Him, you will find everything,
for He is my whole word and my reply, He is My whole vision and My whole
revelation.!!.
"From the day when I descended
upon Him with My Spirit on Mt. Tabor saying, “This is my beloved Son: hear Him.”
I have put aside the old forms of teaching and response and I have given all to
him: hear Him, because I have no further faith to reveal... If I spoke, it was
in order to promise the Christ ... in whom all good was to be found.
“John G. Paton”, a missionary to the
New Hebrides, who had to bury his young wife with his own hands after only a
few months in those islands, said, "I should have gone mad and died beside
that lonely grave if it had not been for Christ and the presence He vouchsafed
to me there."
Who is this Jesus?!...
He is indeed "the only begotten
Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages, Light of Light, true God of
true God ... through whom all things were made."
He is the best clue to the nature and
character of God. He is the fulfillment of all the possibilities of our human
nature.
He is the Logos-the Word of
God-communicating the thoughts of God to us.
He is verily the Savior of the world:
through Him we can be delivered from the sickness and brokenness of sin and be
related as we were meant to be to the true center of life: God.
The need of the world is Jesus.
The hunger of the world is for Jesus.
The hope of the world is Jesus.
The healing of the world is in Jesus.
The light of the world is Jesus.
Reference:
Orthodoxy:
A Creed for Today. Anthony Coniaris.(1972)