Jesus and Me
Revised 23 October, 2021
Is Jesus my Brother?
There's more to it than that.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39
I grew up with no relationship with Jesus. He was just a figure in the Bible to me and a mysterious and largely irrelevant one at that. After my introduction to the Revival Centres (as we were called then) and my “born again experience”, my relationship with Jesus was … the same.
How can that be? I’m glad you asked.
It stayed the same because in the church I was not taught about Jesus. The information, which Paul says are preeminent or of first importance in his gospel delivery, was not even mentioned to me at any time before my baptism. Perhaps that’s not quite right; As I was baptised, Jesus’ death and resurrection were mentioned. It was a formula I repeated and confirmed that I believed, and I mouthed the words.
However – as so many before me and since – I did not believe the words. How could I? I did not know the truth of them. I hoped they were true, and I trusted what people were telling me was true. However, it was not the truth of the content of my confession that I was believing. What I was trusting and believing was that I had to recite those particular words. The fact is, at the time of my baptism, I hadn’t been taught nor introduced to the basic tenets of the true gospel.
Sure I was told about Acts 2:38 and regaled with other well-worn scriptures that make up the Revival Fellowship’s gospel and baptismal instruction kit. What that meagre instruction didn’t tell me were those things which, according to Paul and Peter, I, along with all Christians, needed to know more than anything else. What I needed to know, and those who by faith will be saved need to know, was the content of a Christ-centred gospel. The gospel presented to me was unlike the gospel that Paul or Peter preached.
Back then, in 1976, at least in my case (and based on my experience, most of my contemporaries as well), the gospel was bypassed, and the good news shared with me was a Holy-Spirit-experience, and that was not the genuine Jesus gospel.
As proclaimed to me, the gospel was, “Get baptised and get filled with the Holy Spirit and speak in tongues”. There were and are, of course, variations on that theme, but in general, that’s our one-line simple gospel for simple folk.
Here’s the rub; it’s not the gospel, not even close.
Based on my 45 years in the fellowship, my consistent experience has been that our gospel proclamation does not contain at its heart the announcement of Jesus Christ crucified and of Him raised for the justification of sinners. We have that information, and we talk about it, but it is not central to our gospel proclamation. What’s paramount for us is an experience, and it is for that reason I doubt that our gospel proclamation would be recognised as such by Paul.
Jesus is King, and He has a kingdom. The kingdom of God is both “now” and “not yet”. The gospel tells the kingdom story, and it is the purpose and calling of the church to make the invisible kingdom visible through the proclamation of the gospel and by our faithfulness in living it out. At the centre of the kingdom is the King and His story. We tend to bypass much of the kingdom story for the sake of experience. If our gospel is different from the one the Bible gives us so plainly, there are consequences for those to whom we speak.
The Apostle Paul, speaking of Abraham’s unwavering faith, said:
No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in Him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. Romans 4:20-25
Believing in God (who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord) and His promises, brings salvation through our faith in Jesus Christ, according to Romans 4:20-25. Other related scriptures include: For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:26) and For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God - Ephesians 2:8). These and so many others demonstrate that salvation-bringing, saving faith is itself delivered to us by the grace of God. Our faith, just like Abraham’s, is reckoned to us as righteousness. But in what do we put our faith? In what do we dare have a firm, unyielding trust?
We in the Revival Fellowship ask converts to put their trust in an experience.
An experience, we tell them, in which God will “prove Himself”. However, what we read in the Bible is that faith in something and someone is required. There is content to the Christian’s faith – something specific that is to be believed and trusted. Paul again:
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 1Corinthians 15:3-8
That summary is a succinctly written account of what we Christians should believe about Jesus. A few such summary passages similarly teach us what to put our faith in – what the bedrock is of our believing, and it is Jesus.
Jesus attested to from heaven, Jesus crucified, Jesus risen, Jesus the judge and, Jesus the one on whom we should believe for forgiveness.
That is how the Apostle Peter lays out the gospel in In Acts 10. Peter’s gospel centred on the person and work of Jesus. Peter’s was not a gospel of experience. Don’t get me wrong, there was an experience, but it wasn’t an experience that Peter preached. Peter did not say, “I’ve had an experience, and you can too.” The words he spoke were good news about Jesus, as mentioned above. The words spoken by Peter were an angel-heralded, God-authorised message “by which you and your entire household will be saved”. The gospel preached by Peter culminated with the declaration of sins forgiven through Jesus’ name based on believing in Him. “To him [Jesus] all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” Peter did not preach “The Spirit” nor an experience. He preached, as did Paul, Christ and Him crucified.
So, after all those words of explanation (sorry), what I’m trying to impress upon you is that before my baptism, I didn’t know Jesus as I should have, and even years after my baptism, I still knew precious little.
The astonishing news about Jesus and His work of salvation and the aspects of Jesus life and death that Paul says is of “first importance” remained a mystery to me for a long time. I could speak in tongues (what I assumed naively to be the “same experience” as the 120 on the day of Pentecost) but, given the Bible tells me that knowledge of Jesus and belief in His death and resurrection are necessary for salvation…where did that leave me?
I could speak in tongues, but I had not “called on Him”. How could I? I had little understanding and no proper introduction or instruction about who He was!
For there is no distinction between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, who richly blesses all who call on him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. [1] How are they to call on one they have not believed in? And how are they to believe in one they have not heard of? And how are they to hear without someone preaching to them? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?...
Consequently faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the preached word of Christ. Romans 10:12-14, 17
We in the Revival Fellowship have tongues as the centrepiece of our version of the Gospel. “I’ve had an experience with God – you can too!” is our catchcry. “God can heal you!” “God can fill you with His Holy Spirit!”. This is our Gospel of experientialism, but it is not “the preached word of Christ”.
Our way, then, was not the Bible’s way, and it left me stranded. As far as I can see, not much has changed.
Knowing Jesus, knowing who He is, knowing what He has done are critical nuggets of information. Back in 2003, as a wake-up call, my Father in heaven providentially arranged a brush with death involving a fast motorcycle and a winding mountain road. After that experience, I started on a journey of discovery. One that has deepened my faith and assured my salvation. I set out to learn all I could about Jesus and to get to know him.
That’s when things started to click, and strangely enough, things also started to unravel. My wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was an aggressive type, and although it seemed initially to respond to treatment (remission), this cancer, in the end, was the cause for a long and blessed downward arc in Susie’s health. Like Job, we learned the lessons our Father had for us and, having drawn as close as we could get to our Father by being driven by our circumstances to trust wholly in Jesus, Susie passed away leaving behind her tired, worn-out body as she went to be with the Lord.
Why would I say “blessed”? How could that be blessed? Because for those who want assurance, there is no more tremendous blessing than knowing Jesus, the Creator and Sustainer of all things. (All things were created by him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.)
Again, the example I’ve given above (one of many) illustrates that it’s the pursuit of Jesus that brings blessing, hope, assurance, peace and finally, transformation and ushering into God’s presence.
The Holy Spirit plays a crucial role in that pursuit, but the Spirit Himself is not the focus. As J.I. Packer comments, the purpose and call of the Holy Spirit are to apply the redemption that Jesus purchased for us, to sanctify us, and in His roles as Comforter, Teacher, Guide, Reminder… He “...functions as a floodlight trained on Christ so that it is Christ, not the Spirit, that we see.”
At this point, I’m going to introduce some verses from Colossians and the gospel written by John. These are some of the best scriptures to describe the exalted and holy place occupied by Jesus Christ. These verses describe His pre-existence, His pre-eminence, His unlimited power and His eternal glory. These verses have become my go-to verses when I think about Jesus and me.
For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
For He [God] delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
And He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the first-born [2] of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
He [Jesus] is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born [2] from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything.
For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fulness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach – if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister. Colossians 1:9-23
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God. The Word was with God in the beginning. All things were created by him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. And the light shines on in the darkness, but the darkness has not mastered it. [3] John 1:1-5.
These verses (which are just crying out for a much longer article to do them justice) paint a picture of Jesus as God (YHWH), the Word (as well…), the Creator, the Sustainer, the one who is preeminent in time and place over all creation. He is my Saviour. He is the one who gave Himself for me. He took my place, and now I am declared righteous based on my faith. When I think on these things, when I meditate on them, I find myself in the same position as Paul – lost for words. Paul breaks out into doxology as he runs out of words in his efforts to describe the gospel in all its glory in Romans 11.
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how unfathomable his ways! Romans 11:33
Perhaps also it is worth noting what John tells us in the opening chapter of Revelation:
… To the one who loves us and has set us free from our sins at the cost of his own blood and has appointed us as a kingdom, as priests serving his God and Father – to him be the glory and the power for ever and ever! Amen. Revelation 1:5-6
My brothers and sisters - Jesus sits at the centre of all things and is over all things.
Is Jesus my brother? Well, I am a child of God (having been “born anew, not from perishable but from imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God”), and God is my Father, so that makes Jesus my brother, right? In a forensic, legal sense – yes, Jesus is my brother.
In a spiritual sense, it is true that God is my Father (…Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. James 1:18) but is He my Father in the same way that He is Jesus Father? No.
Jesus as the Word existed with God from eternity past. He was with God and was God. The Word became flesh and set up His tent with us – He tabernacled with us. God set up in our village and began to show us who He was and how He would deliver us from sin – just as He promised. He also tabernacled with us in a higher way than merely being here. He, the Word, the Lord, God, YHWH… became flesh.
During His incarnation, He tabernacled with us in a way that is at once mysterious and profound. The Word took on flesh, and He died. When we say He “took on flesh”, we are saying He was enfleshed. The scripture describes it like this:
The angel replied, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called the Son of God. Luke 1:35
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law...Galatians 4:4
…who though he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature. He humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross! Philippians 2:6-8
So we are children of God but not in the same way that Jesus is God’s Son. In terms of Jesus’ flesh, His body, His humanity, God was His Father directly through an act of divine procreation (The Holy Spirit will come upon you) whereby, through the agency of the Holy Spirit, God directly fathered Jesus. That’s not the case for us. Not only that, but the scripture also indicates that the Word and the Father existed from eternity (with the Holy Spirit) in a triune relationship of complete unity and love.
That’s not our case - instead, we are creatures created by God (who, incidentally, will bring us finally into His presence as an act of consummate grace and mercy based on what Jesus has wrought on our behalf). That creatureliness is utterly different to the relationship between the Word and the Father. Sure, I’m related to Jesus, and he is my brother, in the same way that an abacus is a brother to the world’s most powerful supercomputer, or a paper plane is a brother to the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.
Having said that…Jesus is not remote from me. It is not the case that He does not understand me or love me. He gave Himself over to the humility and confines of the flesh and then to death – for you and me. He knows us and cares for us in a way and at a level beyond our understanding.
To quote J.I. Packer again:
Adoption is the highest privilege of the gospel. The traitor is forgiven, brought in for supper, and given the family name.
So, yes, in a legal, technical sense, Jesus is my brother (I’ve been born again (from above) by the Spirit and adopted), but His relationship to me is far more than that - He is also and more importantly, as Thomas exclaimed: “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28)
Endnotes
- This is a verse originally written (in Joel 2:32) about Yahweh/Jehovah the Self-Existent or Eternal, the I AM but it is applied to Jesus here. Therefore we can conclude that Jesus = Lord = Yahweh/Jehovah.
- The emphasis is on the priority of Jesus’ rank as being over and above creation. It indicates Jesus' supremacy in rank as well as priority in time.
- Or “comprehended it,” or “overcome it”... “Mastered” is a good word choice as it can mean both.