Last weekÕs news
gave the results from a recent Harris poll that showed ÒJesus Christ is not the
No.1 hero in America; itÕs President Barack Obama.Ó Christ ranked No. 2,
followed by Martin Luther King and Ronald Reagan. Captain Chesley ÒSulleyÓ
Sullenberg came in ninth!
According to the national poll,
which didnÕt provide participants any list of respondents to pick from and was conducted
on 2,634 U.S. adults between Jan. 12-19 just ahead of ObamaÕs inauguration, ÒAmerican
adults (age 18 and over) spontaneously named President Obama as the person they
admire enough to call their hero.
ÒRespondents gave multiple reasons for their choice
of heroes, including: doing whatÕs right regardless of personal consequences
(89%); not giving up until the goal is accomplished (83%); doing more than what
other people expect of them (82%); overcoming adversity (81%); and staying
level-headed in a crisis (81%). Ò
*****
Over the years, IÕve
heard dozens of different dispensational preachers try to go about best-explaining
the all-important ÒsecretÓ God made known to the Apostle Paul, often varying
wildly in their methodology (and skill) in trying to get across the information
where the Ôaverage JoeÕ can get it.
In JordanÕs latest
attempt at a weekend Bible conference earlier this month in Southern California—where
many attendees had never been exposed to either dispensational Bible study or
the ÒsecretÓ before—he started by explaining just who Jesus Christ really
is.
He first asked the
crowd to compare Ephesians 1:10 with Colossians 1:16,
stressing, ÒYou absolutely need to get this!Ó
Ephesians 1:10 reads, ÒThat in the
dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things
in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him.Ó
Colossians 1:16 reads, ÒFor 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.Ó
*****
Prep work done, Jordan launched in with: ÒJesus
Christ is the manifest person of the godhead. HeÕs the image; you couldnÕt see
God—Jesus Christ is the one who manifests Him!
ÒYou remember in John he says, ÔIn the
beginning was the WordÕ? What do you do with words? You express yourself. His
name—itÕs a capital letter, a proper noun. His name is the Word.
ÒHeÕs the chief spokesman of the Godhead. HeÕs
the one who speaks so GodÕs person and will can be known. If youÕre going to
know God, Jesus said, ÔNo man comes to the Father but by me.Õ
ÒThe only way to find the God of creation is
in Jesus Christ because He IS the God of creation! Paul says, ÔHeÕs the image
of the invisible God, the first born of every creature.Õ HeÕs the head of ALL
of the creation. He not only manifests who God is; HeÕs the head of the
creation that HE created!
*****
Jordan continued, ÒNow, when Paul talks about
the Ôthings in heaven and things in earth,Õ heÕs not talking here about stars
and nebula (the physical creation); whatÕs he talking about, because he tells
you, is thrones, dominions. Well, those are positions of government. Where are
they located? In heaven and in earth.
ÒSo back here in Genesis 1, isnÕt it
interesting (Moses) didnÕt say ÔGod created the universe.Õ He says, ÔIn the
beginning God created heaven and earth.Õ He didnÕt just create the physical
universe; He created a government to run that physical universe. Now if youÕve
got a government, what do you need? You need some creatures to be in the
government.
ÒWhat He does is He populates the heaven and the earth with positions of
government; then creatures to be in them. Now, the original creatures in those
positions were angels, and races of angels—statuses of angels.
ÒAnd GodÕs original intention was that all the
positions of government in heaven, and all the positions in the earth, would
focus on Jesus Christ and promote His will and His glory. Because why were they
created? They were Ôcreated by him, and for him.Õ (Col. 1:16)
ÒNow, we know something happened. ThereÕs a
fellow that He created called Lucifer. What
Lucifer does is he says, ÔYou know, GodÕs got this plan. ItÕs called ÔtruthÕ
and itÕs a wise plan, but I got a better plan,Õ and he develops what Daniel 10
calls a Ôpolicy.Õ ItÕs called Ôthe lieÕ by God.
ÒBut he develops a counter-plan to usurp GodÕs
plan of truth and Lucifer goes out . . . If
you want to usurp a position of governmental authority, what do you do? You get
the folks in it to follow you and not the other guy, right? So Lucifer did
that. And you have the fallen angels.
ÒIn response, God says, ÔIÕll tell you what, I
got a plan. IÕm not going to tell anybody about it, but I got a way to fix
this. Because I got a plan where IÕm going to come and do for man what he
couldnÕt do for himself, and IÕm going
to do it by way of a cross—something nobody ever thought about doing.Õ
ÒGod
said, ÔIÕm going to become the creature and IÕm going to pay for their sins, and
IÕm going to redeem them, and IÕm going to reconcile them through the blood of
that cross.Õ YouÕd have never thought about that as long as you live and Satan
never would have either!
ÒEzekiel 28 says of Lucifer, ÔHe was so wise
there was no secret you could keep from him.Õ God says, ÔWell, IÕll just show you how dumb he is; IÕll keep a secret
he wonÕt figure out.Õ
Ò
ÔHe wonÕt figure out that somebody could love the unlovely so much that they
would give their total self for him. Because SatanÕs whole wisdom was built on
taking and Ômaking me No. 1.Õ ThatÕs the reason ÔIÕ is the middle letter of the
word sin, pride and Lucifer. ItÕs the deification of the creature. Romans 1:25
says thatÕs the basis of the lie program. ÔIÕ is also the middle of that word Ôlie,Õ
okay?
ÒSo again, God says, ÔIÕll come and do for man
what he canÕt do for himself.Õ And He does that. He had put man on the earth
and said, ÔAdam, go win the earth back; subdue it,Õ but how good does Adam do?
He doesnÕt even last a week. He joins the enemy.
ÒGod says, ÔOkay, IÕll do for man what he canÕt
do for himself. IÕll be the seed of the woman; the seed of the woman become the
seed of Abraham, becomes the seed of David, becomes the seed of Christ.Õ He
goes to Calvary and He dies and He pays for the sin of the world. Nobody even
knew that but God did!
ÒAs we know, Christ then ascends up into heaven,
sits at the right hand of the Father up there and tells everyone, ÔThe wrathÕs
coming.Õ He says, ÔIÕm going to do all
this,Õ and Satan says, ÔYou canÕt; I got you covered. IÕve got you defeated.
You canÕt. TheyÕre in sin; theyÕre my possession.Õ Jesus Christ says, ÔWhoa,
wait a minute, IÕm going to do it.Õ Isaiah 49. The devil says, ÔNo you canÕt.Õ
ÒAnd
then God reveals the secret about how, ÔYes, I can because I got a plan. Satan,
you did something (by crucifying Christ on the Cross) thatÕs going to let me do
it and you didnÕt even know you were doing it! Why? Because youÕre not as smart as I am.Õ
ÒIt
ainÕt arrogance if you can do it. ThereÕs an old saying: ÔIt ainÕt brag if you
can do it.Õ God did it!
*****
Jordan concludes, ÒNow, in the dispensation of
the fullness of time whatÕs His purpose? This is how He got there. His purpose
is that HeÕd gather all things in heaven and in earth under one head—Jesus
Christ. The essence of bible Christianity is that God has one grand purpose.
That is to glorify himself in Jesus Christ. Two spheres to do it in—the
heaven and the earth.
ÒTwo agencies to accomplish one purpose:
Israel in the earth and members of the Body of Christ in the heavens. And thatÕs
why it says HeÕs Ôblessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly
places in Christ.Õ
ÒYou need to understand the reason HeÕs
forming the Body of Christ is to accomplish that eternal purpose of making Jesus
Christ the head of all things. Without the Body, He could be the head of the
earth but not the heavens.
ÒAs Ephesians 1:11 says, ÔIn whom also we have
obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him
who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.Õ
ÒThis is called Ôthe counsel of his will.Õ Understand
that what that means is you have become, by virtue of being in Jesus Christ, a
part of that plan. God has this great cosmic plan for His Son. To be the head
of all things and He made you a part of it.
ÒYouÕre a part of something big, folks. DonÕt
stoop along the way to be something else. ThatÕs the mystery of His will. HeÕs
given it to you to know because HeÕs made you a part of it and thatÕs who you
really are, and thatÕs why He made you who you really are.Ó