WHO HE IS – WHO I AM

PASTOR RYAN LADEN – DEVOTIONALS

IF YOU LIKE THIS POST PLEASE FOLLOW US, SHARE WITH OTHERS AND PLEASE LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS AND GIVE US A LIKE.

Translate this site into your preferred language, look for our Google translator in our home page: diningwithjesus.net

Traduce este sitio en tu idioma preferido, busca nuestro traductor de Google en nuestra página de inicio ve a: diningwithjesus.net

In our last devotional message we looked at the way in which Jesus Christ has actually done the work of satisfying the demand for justice that our sin has created. 

Jesus does not merely declare you forgiven, not does the Lord pretend that your sin has not brought death and destruction into your life and into the lives of those over whom you have influence. 

In that devotional we heard the powerful truth of our forgiveness as described in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Truth

For me, this is one of the most important truths contained in all of human knowledge. 

Our Creator has intervened in our desperate and lost condition by becoming one with creation and as such, he demonstrated his great love for us by suffering and dying in our place, taking the penalty that our sin deserved. 

In the passage that follows, this core truth is expanded and explained in a way that we need to preach to ourselves daily. This is who God is and who we are as a result:

15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, 16 for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. 17 He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. 

18 Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything.

19 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20 and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. 

21 This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

(Colossians 1:15-22 NIV11)

Nature of the Christ

Let’s start by looking back over this power packed passage and listing off all of the statements that are made in relation to the nature and purpose of Jesus Christ:

•  Visible image of the Creator
•  Eternally existent
•  Supreme over all creation
•  Agent of creation
•  All things were created by him and for him
•  Christ is the head of the church
•  He is first among all creation
•  He is the originator of eternal life
•  The Christ was and is the fullness of the Godhead
•  He brought peace to our earthly battle
•  His blood, spilled on the cross brings life

More

That is who Jesus Christ really is. The more we get to know him in his true nature and true form the more that we will be willing to submit our lives, our will, our all into and under his authority. 

The more that we understand and embrace the love that is seen so clearly in the willingness of the Christ to stand in our place and bear the weight of our sin, the more that we will respond with love and obedience toward Christ. 

Who Has He Made You Into?

•  You were far from God
•  You were an enemy of the Lord
•  Your evil nature and selfish actions separated you from his holiness

 But now… you have been reconciled:

•  You have been brought near… into the very presence of God
•  You have been made Holy… like Jesus is Holy 
•  You are no longer accused of your crimes… justice has been carried out. 
•  You now stand before the Living God… Holy… blameless… without one single fault. 

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, Wow! Your love for me is amazing. I am in awe when I reflect on who you really are and what you have willingly done for me. I receive this love by faith. I rest in the gift of your grace. I love you and want to obey you more and more. Lead on!

In Christ, 

Ryan Laden

PASTOR RYAN LADEN

Former Senior pastor at Warnbro Community Church

Studies at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at Baylor University

Studied at Texas Tech University

Went to Castle Hills First Baptist

Copyright © 2024 Ryan Laden – All Rights Reserved.