Now this is eternal life; that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent – John 17 v 3 (NIV).
To many, He is simply a fictional character in a storybook called the Bible. To others, He is a blue eyed, blonde hair man who lived a long time ago and was known to have performed miracles during his time. Yet to others, He is a name called on instinctively for relief in times of trouble and tribulations. To you I ask, like Christ did to His disciples in Matthew 16 v 15; who do you say He is, who do you know Him to be?
You see, that man called Jesus Christ is not simply just a name or a person we have grown to customarily call on at the end of every prayer or frantically yell out when gripped by fear, but rather, His name is above all other names to which every knee shall bow and every tongue confess (Phil 2 v 9-11). He is “the” Way, “the” Truth and “the” Life in whom access to the Father is available only through Him (John 14 v 6). That man called Jesus Christ is the only mediator who can reconcile us to the one God (1st Timothy 2 v 5). Without Him, we can do absolutely nothing but with Him, we can do all things for He gives us strength (Phil 4 v 13). It is in Him that God chose to dwell in His fullness (Colossian 1 v 19). The name Jesus brings healing, comfort, peace and salvation to all who call upon Him in faith.
To know Jesus Christ as the Son of the one Living God is not through flesh or human understanding but must be revealed to us by our Father in Heaven, through His Spirit (Matthew 16 v 17). To know Christ in this manner, we must have a relationship with Him, studying and growing daily in His Word. We must abide in Him and He in us. When we have Christ in this way, like Paul did on his way to Damascus, we become new creatures; old things pass away and behold all things become new (2nd Corinthians 5 v 17). Like Paul, we now consider everything that was once important worthless when compared to the priceless benefit of knowing Christ, forgetting those things that are behind and pressing forward towards the day when we finally become all that Jesus Christ saved us for and wants us to be.
Dear brothers and sisters, to know that man called Jesus the Christ, we must first believe that He is the Son of God, the resurrection and the life. Then we must confess and repent of our sins, having faith in the saving power of His grace. To know Jesus is to love Him and keep His commandments, and He has promised to send us an advocate, the Holy Spirit, to help us and be with us forever (John 14 v 15-16).
Have you confessed your sins and made a decision to turn your back to the world and follow Jesus? If not, then today is the day to do so, for tomorrow may be too late. I pray the Spirit will convict us all and lead us along the path of righteousness all the days of our lives until the day when our faith becomes sight and we see our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in the fullness of His glory, praising and serving Him for all eternity.
God Bless You,
Pastor Tolu Ojo
