Getting to Know Jesus by Name #38: Image of God

II Corinthians 4: 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Christ is the very Image of God. From Him we get the perfect picture of what God is really like. An image is: "a tangible of visual representation of something; exact likeness; semblance; incarnation."* The "god of this world" does not want people to get a glimpse of what He is like, or else they will be drawn to Him.  He loves to keep people in darkness with him.  Those of us who believe in Christ have "gotten a glimpse" of what God is really like; we have seen the light; we know Who God is and what His plan and purpose is. May God give us more light in Christ, and help us be the light and give enough of a "glimpse" to draw others to Him.  

*(Diann Cotton: 100 Days with Jesus)

Getting to Know Jesus by Name #37: I AM

John 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

The Gospel of John is well-known for its great "I AM" statements, where Jesus uses different pictures to describe His character and His purpose, but none is more powerful than this simple statement here: I AM.  The verb AM means to be, exist; to have existence or being."*  There is no predicate nominative, leaving us to fill in the blank: "I Am before Abraham Existed... I am before anyone existed."  The implication of His statement was that He claimed to be God, and He was and is.  Such blasphemy moved these men to want to kill Him, because He had insulted their "father",  Abraham.  When Jesus claims to be I AM, He is saying He is equal with God, and as such is the source of all life, all being, all reality.  Jesus knew saying this would get such a response, and was ready to slip away, knowing His time had not yet come.  

*(Diann Cotton: 100 Days with Jesus)

Getting to Know Jesus by Name #36: Humble

 Philippians 2:5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

To me, this is one of the most exciting passages in scripture. We find here that Jesus is the definition of Humble.  The term used here has a meaning that is deep and wide: "Not proud or haughty; not arrogant or assertive; ranking low in hierarchy or scale; insignificant, unpretentious; not thinking of yourself  as better than other people."* It is a good thing for us that Christ is so humble.  If not, He never would have come to earth; He never would have given Himself as a sacrifice for us; He never would have given us the time of day.  But because of His humility, He offers us eternity; He gives us real life; He wants to take us back home with Him.  

*(Diann Cotton: 100 Days with Jesus)

Getting to Know Jesus by Name #35: The Hope of Glory

 

Colossians 1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 

Jesus Christ is the Hope of Glory.  Hope is "to expect with confidence, trust; reliance; desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment: foundation or ground of hope, " while Glory is "praise, honor, or distinction extended by common consent; renown: worshipful praise, honor, and thanksgiving: a distinguished quality or asset; great beauty and splendor; magnificence."* Because of Christ and Him alone, we, together, have a confidence that Christ in all of His glory will come back and take us with Him.

(*Diann Cotton: 100 Days with Jesus)

Getting to Know Jesus by Name#34: Holy and Righteous One

 

Acts 3: 13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. 14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead.

We are back here in Acts 3, where God had just used Peter and John to heal the lame man and given them the opportunity to preach to the crowds.  Here the names, and therefore the characteristics of Jesus Christ abound. He is the Holy and Righteous One. To be Holy is to be "Exalted or worthy of complete devotion; as one perfect in goodness and righteousness; divine." and to be Righteous is: "acting in accord with divine or moral law; free from guilt or sin."* Therefore, in context, these two words are perfectly fitting to describe Jesus: He was innocent of the crimes of which He was accused and of any sin at all. He died as a substitute not only for the murderer who was released, but for us all.  If there is anything lacking in the definitions above, it is that Holy implies a total uniqueness that no one else can fill: only He could do this. Only Jesus, as the sinless Son of God, could be the substitute for us.  May we not deny Him as they had. 

*(Diann Cotton: 100 Days with Jesus)

Getting to Know Jesus by Name #33: His Servant

Acts 3:11 While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon's. 12 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? 13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him.

Having been used by God to heal a lame man in the temple, Peter stood up to explain what had happened. He wanted people to realize first and foremost that it was not by His power, but by that of God's Servant. That name: His Servant, the Servant of the Lord, would hit home with these people as the One who came from their line of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but also was the One prophesied by Isaiah - the Messiah.  Peter says point-blank: "Jesus is that Servant."  Diann Cotton, in her book 100 Days with Jesus, points out that a servant is simply "one that serves others; one that is in the service of another." In other words, as His Servant, Jesus was not only God's Servant; He served us as well.  He did what God wanted Him to do, which was to do what we needed done for us. Even now, as Peter points out, Jesus is serving the Father, by doing for us what we need, like healing that man in the temple.  How much does He do for us that we either are ignorant of or refuse to recognize? Thank God for His Servant. 

Getting to Know Jesus by Name #32: Healer

 Matthew 8:14 And when Jesus entered Peter's house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. 15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him. 16 That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.

Because of so many incidents like above, Jesus came to be known as "The Healer."  He healed many of both physical and spiritual ailments - far above any other physicians or religious leaders had or have ever done.  A healer is "one who makes sound or whole; to restore to health; to cause (an undesirable condition) to be overcome."*  As we can see yet in the world today, even with all of our healthcare and civilization, the need is almost endless.  Jesus got up every day knowing they crowds would be pressing Him, waiting and wanting to be healed.  He does still heal today, and will someday do away with everything that needs to be healed. 

*(Diann Cotton: 100 Days with Jesus)