The New Testament writers strain for words to describe Jesus. He is “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature” (Colossians 1:15), and He Himself said, “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9). To look at Jesus is to see what God is like.
This chapter gathers the testimony of the Father, the prophets, and the apostles concerning His Son. As you read it, let it deepen your confidence that the One who holds the world is the Lord who loves you.
“Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Rom 1:3,4).
God is recreating the whole of humanity in Christ as one new man. Humanity, after the fall, became a hopeless mass of warring factions, divided into numerous fragments. There are divisions of all sorts. Divisions based on gender, race, color, nationality, economic class, education, ability, language, custom, creed, religious denomination, etc. But at humanity’s inception, there was only one image from which God made them. There was one united homogeneous humanity in Adam.
One thing I can tell you for certain, my Dear Sisters and Brothers, is that humanity will be whole again when the original perfect image of God is restored. And “as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Cor 15:22).
The blessed Son of God is the perfect image of the Father. The phrase used in the King James Version is “express image”. This in the original Greek word used means the impressed character, like one from a steel engraving. He’s the perfect imprint, the exact copy through and through, the image of God.
We can say without any fear of contradiction that the Lord Jesus Christ is the revelation of God to us because He is the perfect image of God’s person.
Anyone Who Has Seen Jesus, Has Seen the Father
“He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself: but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me” (Jn. 14:9-11).
He is the visible manifestation of God and the only whole human being. We find in Him, a man who satisfies every attribute which God demands. He is the man that perfectly fits God’s design without any lack or deficiency. No wonder the Lord Jesus could boldly say:
And because He walked the earth as ‘man’ in the original image and likeness of God He could say the following with God confirming His every word:
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live” (Joh 5:25).
“For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man” (Joh 5:26,27).
“For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him” (Joh 5:22,23).
“But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. And he arose, and departed to his house” (Matt 9:6,7).
Jesus is God’s first begotten and bears the perfect resemblance of His Father. To say it more accurately, He was and is the exact image of His Father through and through. He is the only one so far to bear the Father’s image and likeness. The 3rd verse of the 1st Chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews tells us that the Son was the brightness and glory of God, and the express image of His Person.
“On many past occasions and in many different ways, God spoke to our fathers through the prophets. But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe.
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature, upholding all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. So He became as far superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is excellent beyond theirs” (Heb 1:1-4, BSB).
He is the expression of God’s mind to us. If you want to know the mind of God or what He’s saying or doing today, just listen to Jesus. He is the Word of God.
The phrase “the brightness of God’s glory” used to describe Jesus in the King James Version means the outshining or the effulgence of His glory. He is God shining out brilliantly toward us. The Berean Standard Bible renders the phrase as—‘the radiance of God’s glory’. We know little or nothing about God apart from the revelation given us in His Son. He is the out-raying of the Divine that has been manifested to us, and only through Him can we know the Father.
Testimony of God Concerning Jesus
“For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are My Son; today I have become Your Father”? Or again, “I will be His Father, and He will be My Son”? And again, when God brings His firstborn into the world, He says, “Let all God’s angels worship Him.” Now about the angels He says, “He makes His angels winds, His servants flames of fire” (Heb 1:5-7, BSB).
“But about the Son He says, “Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever, and justice is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You above Your companions with the oil of joy” (Heb 1:8,9, BSB).
“It is also of His Son that God says, “In the beginning, O Lord, You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed; but You remain the same, and Your years will never end.” (Heb 1:10-12, BSB).
The Bible opens with the most profound statement ever recorded, “In the beginning – GOD!” The sweet singer of Israel sang of Him saying: “ Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God” (Ps. 90:2). How awesome the thought that there was a “time” when there was absolutely nothing – except God! There was no earth, no moon, no stars and planets, no angels, no devils, no man, nothing but only God by Himself.
Apostle Paul caught a revelation of the awesomeness of the Self-existent One and God inspired him to write:
“Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell” (Col. 1:15-17).
This is the testimony of God the Father concerning Jesus before the foundation of the earth. This is also stated in the Book of Beginnings of the New Testament saying:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing that exists came into being” (Joh 1:1-3).
The Testimony of God Concerning Jesus through the Prophets
We will examine just one prophecy in this section, and of course, this will come from the Book of Isaiah. He prophesied concerning the birth and ministry of the Lord Jesus as if he was there watching with a divine 20:20 vision. Let’s see what God said concerning Jesus through this exceptional prophet.
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this” (Isa 9:6,7, KJV).
The prophecy starts with “Unto us a Child is born.” This talks about Christ’s humanity, born of a woman; the son of Joseph, the son of David, the son of Abraham, the son of Adam (Luke 3:23-38). He is perfectly human.
The prophecy continues: “Unto us a Son is given and his name shall be called… Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father”
Wait just a minute!
Did you hear what that grey-haired prophet just said? Didn’t he just say a human child would be born and his name would be called “Mighty God”? Hey! We can give Him a pass as Mr. Wonderful, but “Mighty God!”
What blasphemy! Was any scribe, Pharisee, or any zealot of the Law listening?
Isaiah had the audacity to utter such words of prophecy that makes a human child equal with God. If the Scribes and Pharisees were present, they were probably preoccupied with the sanctimonious rituals that they missed the most important prophecy of their lifetime.
If they were listening and understood what Isaiah said, they would either have accepted the message with awe and blessed Jehovah God for this wonderful promise, or they would have rejected it and thrown Isaiah out of the synagogue for uttering blasphemy of the rankest order. They would have considered this an outrageous blasphemy and reacted violently in defense of Jehovah.
But the fact is that they read and recited these prophecies day-in, day-out without understanding the mystery of God which they were reciting, for “without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory” (1Ti 3:16).
“Unto us a child is born, His name shall be called, Mighty God”. It does not say ‘mighty man’, but the Mighty God. A little child, who will be called the Mighty God. This is Immanuel, God with us. He is perfectly God, and perfectly human. “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, And they shall call his name Immanuel; which is, being interpreted, God with us” (Matt 1:23).
Who named the Child, the Mighty God? Is it Isaiah?
No, it’s not Isaiah, he was only a mouth-piece for God.
He was a messenger, a prophet who delivered the message given him by God Almighty. Therefore, it’s God who named the Child Jesus, the Mighty God. This is also confirmed in the Epistle to the Hebrews where God the Father called Jesus God. “But of the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever; And the sceptre of uprightness is the sceptre of thy kingdom” (Heb 1:8).
God Almighty appointed the Son, the Lord Jesus, heir of all things. He is the rightful owner of everything in heaven, on earth, and underneath the earth. All that was, all that is, and all that will be, belong to Him and will come to Him.
Jesus is before all things. He is the beginning of all things, everything was created in Him, by Him, and for Him. He is the Alpha and Omega. All things will end up in Him. The predestined end of this world and of all the reaches of space will come under the reign of Jesus Christ. He will rule over all forever and ever.
This is the testimony that God the Father gave concerning the Son, Jesus the Anointed One. He called Him God and set Him on the throne.
This same Jesus is the eternal King of kings and Lord of lords, and the creator of the universe. He created all things, upholds all things, and has purpose for all things. This, my friend, should make you rest at ease that no crazy superpower can blow up this earth of His in a nuclear holocaust. “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein.” He laid the foundations of the earth in the beginning, and even the heavens are the works of His hand. Fear not, therefore, for He holds the whole world in His hands.
Application
- Read Hebrews 1 and Colossians 1 slowly this week, and write down what each says about the Son.
- When you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. Read one Gospel chapter a day and notice how He treats people.
- Worship Him. Thank Him for His power, His love, and His faithfulness, and say it aloud.
- Rest in His rule. When the world seems unstable, remember Isaiah 9:6 and that “the government shall be upon his shoulder.”
Key Takeaway
Jesus is the exact image of the invisible God, the Creator and Lord of all things, and God with us.
Conclusion
The One who made the universe holds it in His hands, and He holds you. Fear not, therefore, but trust Him and worship Him.
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