Hebrews 5:9 “And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him”
The term ‘author’ indicates that which is causative of or responsible for.
This term of respect is given to the One who has completed the single greatest work in the history of all mankind. As a composer who writes a beautiful sonata, so Jesus wrote the story of this world. From the inception of life itself, to the final conclusion of this age, Jesus has not only wrote but is orchestrating a masterpiece for all time.
One of the beauties of our Creator is….He loves to create!
John 1:1-5 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.“
It seems that the importance of recognizing the eternal nature and divinity of Jesus is to first understand the magnitude of Jesus’ work in creation.
In the introduction to the Gospel of John, the scope of Jesus’ influence was laid out eloquently. The eternal and divine nature of Jesus was demonstrated through His creative work.
The Author of Creation
Jesus was not only pre-existent before creation was formed, He existed with the Father as God. The term ‘Son of God’, which is given to Jesus, is a reflection of His work within the Trinity, not a declaration of His origin. God has no origin.
God has always been, is, and will always be.
Jesus came forth from the Father when He came in the form of a child, to die for the sins of mankind. The Son is the image of the Father. The role of Christ as the image of God has proven significant in history in respect to how God has interacted with mankind.
Exodus 33:21-23 “The LORD continued, “There is a place near Me where you are to stand upon a rock, and when My glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will take My hand away, and you will see My back; but My face must not be seen.”
When the pre-incarnate Christ appeared to Moses, God revealed His glory to Israel. One day Israel would look upon Him whom they had pierced, and mourn for Him as an only Son. The One who saved them out of Egypt would be the One who would restore once and for all their relationship to God.
Pre-Incarnate Christ
Jesus appeared to mankind many times in history–His involvement in the affairs of man has shown that He is actively involved in our world.
Who did Adam walk with in the garden?——Jesus!
Who did Abraham converse with before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah?—-Jesus!
Who met with Moses on the top of Mt. Sinai, to reveal His glory?——Jesus!
Who did Jacob wrestle with?——-Jesus!
Who appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus?——Jesus!
To whom will every knee bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord of all?——Jesus!
Any beliefs that attribute anything other than Divine Godhood to Jesus, any teaching that lowers Him before men and blasphemes His name is accursed. What many false belief systems do is they attempt to redefine Jesus in a way that removes Jesus from the center of the story or diminishes His position.
The Catholic church attributes many of the same qualities of Christ to Mary, this blasphemes the name of Christ. Practices in many false religions such as praying to saints, calling Jesus the brother of Lucifer, calling Him only a prophet, maintaining a position that Jesus was only a good man or faithful teacher diminishes the Author of all life to a role as one simply subjected to creation and not the originator of it!
Creation itself was made through Christ.
All of creation bears His image. If Jesus had not been apart of it, creation would have never been formed. Jesus imparted His life into creation and that life shines in the hearts of those who are His.
Echoing Hezekiah’s prayer:
Isaiah 37:16 “O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.”
Who was Hezekiah referring to?—-Jesus!
The Author of Creation has written many best sellers, one of which is our salvation.
Salvation through Christ alone
Not only was all of Creation made through Him, the path to bring His Creation back into order was made possible by Him as well.
Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
*How did God author the divine process of redeeming mankind from the throes of sin?
He implemented His plan from the beginning.
The very name of God is a revelation of His character, His plans, and His response toward mankind’s sin.
Jesus the Messiah was ordained upon creation, His plan to redeem the world from sin and death…..and He still chose to create us! Calvary was not a response to sin, it was the expression of love that God holds for His people.
Revelation 13:8 “All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”
You may ask, why would Jesus not just make us without the ability to sin?
If we couldn’t sin, we wouldn’t be able to love God. Sin is a rejection of God by denying His character as expressed in His moral law. Our ability to love God is measured so that we can know how to love Him in return. The world cannot love God, it is filled with good intentions lacking knowledge.
How do we Respond?
Jesus said, “you don’t love Me if you don’t obey my commandments”. Love is expressed by action. The way we act on our love toward God is by honoring His moral law.
The world responded to Jesus revealing His divine character by murdering Him upon the cross. Acts 3:15 “You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.”
God’s people respond differently….Acts 3:19-21 “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.“
The world has been in a state of enmity with God since the fall of man. The only solution to sin was to offer up once and for all the perfect sacrifice. Those who choose the path of Life have repented of sin and chose to walk a new path…the path Jesus has laid out from the inception of mankind.
Hebrews 2:10 “For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.”
Sin broke our relationship to God, that relationship has been restored because of what Jesus did for us. His perfection becomes our righteousness when we accept Him as Lord and Savior, we are now counted as sons and daughters to the King of kings.
When your body dies and you stand before the throne of God, how will you appear? Guilt as being a transgressor of the law, or having been made perfect by the shed blood of the lamb? As one redeemed, when you appear before God, you will look like Jesus!
1 John 3:2 “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”
The author of all life will clothe you in righteousness, the righteousness of God’s perfection. The reward for submitting to the love that Jesus expressed…
Matthew 23:12 “And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Jesus will be exalted one day, over all the nations. He will assume His place of honor and glory and will alone be lifted up. Do you know where the church is at this time?
Revelation 3:21 “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.”
The church will be with Him, being given the honor that He alone deserves. Why would Jesus share so great a position? His love for us is such that He wants to share with us His joy.
How could anyone deny such a love?
U.T. 