From the pulpit
Ancient Words — Christ, the Light
With regards to Jesus Christ, the Bible (spanning 1,500 years) can be divided into four parts. In part one, the Old Testament contains many places where Christ (Messiah) is foretold with verses of prophecy, life stories that are a
“type” of Christ and words that are “indicators” of Christ.
In part two, the New Testament and the four gospels tell of Christ Jesus’ life on earth as a living man. In part three, Acts through Jude describe how the people responded to the life of Christ after he ascended to heaven. In the final part four, Christ Jesus reveals himself many years later to John in Revelation through an angel and explains how a new heaven and new earth will come to be – how good will triumph over evil – how the current heaven and earth will pass away.
The first “indicator” of Christ is found in Genesis 1:3, where God speaks the first words recorded in scripture: …And God said, “Let there be light.” This “light” was created and spoken into existence on the first day. The Hebrew word for light in verse 3 is “ore” which means total and complete illumination. The sun, moon, stars and all the lights of heaven were created on the fourth day and this “light” or “lights” (Gen. 1:14-19) have a Hebrew word, “maw-ore” which means “a luminary body.” So we find the “light” (ore) spoken of on the first day is different than the “light” (maw-ore) spoken of on the fourth day. Let’s look at the “light” (ore) of the first day and see if this is an indicator of Christ Jesus.
In Isaiah 9:2: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light (ore); on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light (ore) has dawned.” This passage is a commonly accepted prophecy of the coming Messiah and one sees that the “light “(ore) is the same as the “light” (ore) in Gen. 1:3.
The gospel of John 1:4-9 records: “In him (Jesus) was life, and that life was the light of men.” The Greek word for light in the NT is “foce” and “fotismos.” Both Greek words mean luminousness or total and complete illumination in the widest application, just like the Hebrew word “light” (ore) in the Old Testament.
Jesus himself spoke of this same “light” in John 8:12 when he gave sight to the blind man: “I am the light (foce) of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light (foce) of life.”
In 2 Cor. 4:4-6:… “the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light (fotismos) of the gospel that displays Christ who is the image of God…..For God, who said ‘Let light (foce) shine out of darkness,’ made his light (foce) shine in our hearts to give us the light (fotismos) of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ….”
Christ Jesus is the first light of the world, the first born of creation on the first day, and through the Ancient Words we learn that glorious illumination created all things and is available to all men, (Col. 1:15-20).
(Scott Johnson is pastor at East Faulkner Church of Christ and author of the BRG Bible).
Sparks From The Gospel Anvil Psalm 44:1
This is one of my favorite verses in the book of Psalm; the reason being is that the historical accounts of what God did for His people, used to be handed down from one generation to another through stories and the first-hand testimony of those that encountered those events.
Without the knowledge of what took place in the past, God’s people could repeat poor decisions that their ancestors did, or could cause them to see a true revival among their people and a new awareness of the presence of God in their lives. It is God that raised up those reformers, revivalists and revolutionaries that reveal to humanity their need for a Savior, which is the Lord Jesus Christ.
For thousands of years God has allowed men and women to point to the masses and proclaim the message of the gospel so that humanity should be saved. It is names like John the Baptist, that preached repentance and declared, “Behold, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world,” and lost his head for the cause.
It is names like Martin Luther, that mere monk, who penned the 95 theses and sparked the Reformation in his own day; names like John and Charles Wesley, who became the preacher and poet for God and helped to stop the French Revolution in their day; names like Amanda Smith and Phoebe Palmer, who were women that lived in the 1800’s and were leaders of the “Holiness Movement” in America; names like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was martyred for his faith as he stood against Nazism in his own day; names like William and Catherine Booth who was in the East End of London, rescuing the prostitutes, drunkards, the down and outs, by sharing soup, soap and salvation to the masses; names like Gipsy Smith, who was a real Romany, who heard the voice of God in the woods and was converted on the 17th of November 1876.
And then 88 years to the date, Gipsy’s eldest son, Gipsy Smith Jr., preached in a tent on the corner of Champagnolle and North Madison, here in El Dorado in a month-long revival meeting.
There were others, like my great-great-grandfather, Wiley Bunch, who was a scriptural exhorter in the Methodist Protestant Church who travelled from Tennessee to Illinois, to Nebraska to Arkansas, preaching the gospel.
And just think, God is still raising up people to proclaim the gospel and perform kind deeds to the last, the lost and the least. Maybe it will be our sons and daughters, or grandchildren that the Lord will call and cause them to share their story of what God did for them in the past to help those that need Jesus today.
Just think of when David penned these words in Psalm 44 and what he was thinking about – of how the children of Israel were brought out of Egypt by God’s mighty hand, how Pharoah’s heart was hardened and he chased after the Israelites. Just think how God delivered His people by parting the sea and drowning the Egyptian armies.
What was chronicled in the past, happened for a reason and for us to retell to our children and our children’s children of the mighty things that God did and will do. His word says that He never changes (reference – Hebrews 13:8; Malachi 3:6) God is faithful (reference Deuteronomy 7:9, Psalm 119:90 and 2 Thessalonians 3:3) and He wants us to come to Him (reference – James 4:8, Matthew 11:28 and John1:39).
So today, take a moment and the time and sit and go through the stories of the Old Testament and see how God raised Noah, Moses and Abraham, Joshua and the judges, the Prophet Samuel, Saul and David and how they shared God with their families and friends and what He did for them, He could surely do it again.
Why do we doubt God so much today, especially in our advanced day and age of technology and the ability to learn the historical element of the early leaders of holiness and Christianity? I think the reason we doubt so much is because we don’t think God is capable of making a difference in people’s lives today, we don’t give God a chance. Watch what God can do through nature, through the seasons, that during spring the flowers bloom and the trees blossom and the birds cheer; just think what He can do for you. Give God a chance and then your children and grandchildren can tell others about your story and the great things that God did for you.
(Lieutenant Charles Smith is commanding officer of the Salvation Army of El Dorado).