The Son of God, who has come into the world incarnated in human flesh by the Holy Spirit was: born of the virgin Mary; circumscribed the eighth day;revealed to Simeon (Luke 2:25-35) as the Lord’s Christ; witnessed by Anna, a prophetess (Luke 2:36-38), upon entering the Temple, being recognized in the Spirit, who this Child was, and “she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.”
Luke 2:39-40, NKJV, continues, “So when they (Joseph, Mary, Jesus) had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God (His Father) was upon Him.” (inserts mine)
This is the Child that has grown into Manhood and presented Himself to John the Baptist to be water baptized to “fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). This is the Child that when He came up out of the water “the heavens were opened to Him and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him (Matthew 3:16). This is the Child to whom a “…voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17)”
This is the Child, “Now Jesus Himself began His ministry about thirty years of age…(Luke 3:23)”.
This is now no longer a Child, but Jesus, Son of God/Son of Man, who “being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the (Holy) Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.” (Luke 4:1-2, NKJV), “Then the devil left Him, and behold angels came and ministered to Him. (Matthew 4:11 NKJV) “Then Jesus returned in the power of the (Holy) Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went through all the surrounding region. And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.” (Luke 4:14-15 NKJV) (inserts mine) [emphasis mine]
What is the Lord Jesus Christ’s P.H.D.?
What do the synoptic Gospel writers record?
Mark 1:14 (NKJV), Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
Matthew 4:23-24, (NKJV), ” And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in the synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Then His fame went through all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.”
Mark 1:39, (NKJV), “And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.”
Luke 4:31-37 (NKJV), “Then Jesus went down to Capernaum , a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths. And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority. Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? did You come to destroy us? I know who You are–the Holy One of God!” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, Be quiet, and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and I’d not hurt him. Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves saying, “What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out. And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.”[emphasis mine]
Luke 4:38-39 (NKJV), “Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. But Simon’s wife’s mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her. So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she arose and served them.”
Luke 4:40-44 (NKJV), “When the sun was setting, all those who have any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them. And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of God!” Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; but He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.” And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.”
I want to ask you to re-read these verses, and see the following: Jesus preached the Gospel of the kingdom of God; Jesus healed the sick; Jesus delivered those with demons.
The Lord Jesus Christ’s P.H.D. was Preaching, Healing, Deliverance.
Jesus, the Son of God/Son of Man in human flesh, anointed by the Holy Spirit, was governed by His relationship to His Father, doing only what His Father showed Him to do (John 5:18-19); and saying only what My Father commands Me to speak. (John 12:29)
Jesus walked ‘orderly’ and ‘obediently’; therefore, everywhere He went His Father’s Kingdom came, and His Father’s will was done “on earth as it is in heaven”(Matthew 6:10) because Jesus was ‘governed’ by the Holy Spirit.
In Matthew 10:1 NKJV, (Mark 6:7, Luke 9:1) Jesus sends out his disciples to minister.
“And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out(deliverance), and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.” [insert, emphasis mine]
Matthew 10:5-40, Jesus explains to them in detail what to expect and what they will encounter. Looking specifically at Matthew 10:7-8 NKJV, “And as you go, preach, saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out [deliverance]demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” (See Mark 6:7-13; Luke 9:1-6) [insert, emphasis mine]
Q: What did Jesus confer upon His disciples? an honorary P.H.D.!
He told them to go and preach, heal the sick, and cast out [deliverance] demons.
In Luke 10:1-23, NKJV, Jesus sends out a group of 70 disciples, two by two.
Please read Luke 10:1-23.
Working through the text, note the following:
vs. 9 “heal the sick” [boldness mine]
vs. 17 the disciples had finished their assignment, and they tell Jesus, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name” (inference is deliverance, casting out of demons) [boldness mine] (insert mine)
vs.9-16, I suggest what Jesus says, imply that the disciples shared, taught, and preached the message of the gospel.
You may ask, how do you come to that conclusion?
vs. 13, Jesus pronounces “Woe” to two cities, Chorazin and Bethsaida. He says, “For if the mighty works which were done in you (healing and deliverances) had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.” (Acts 14:3; Hebrews 2:4; Mark 16:20; John 4:48) (insert mine)
In I Thessalonians 1:5 Paul writes, “For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake.”
Studying the ministry of Paul, you will discover that he, too, had a P.H.D.
His ministry consisted of Preaching, Healing, and Deliverance.
What was Prophetic, Historical, and Documented in the Word of God about Jesus Christ was lived out in a ‘body’.
The ministry of Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom of God; He healed those who were sick and diseased; and He delivered those who were afflicted with demons.
He gave that authority and power to His disciples, and then to 70 others to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God; heal the sick and diseased; and deliver others from demonic power and influence.
Is it time to ask a question? I think it is.
Q: Has the Church, the Body of Christ, been given the authority and power to minister just as Jesus did?; as He instructed His 12 disciples to do?; and as He sent out the 70 to do?
He sent them out to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God; heal the sick and diseased; and deliver those afflicted with demons, just as He had been doing..
Continuing: The Lord Jesus Christ, now sits at the right hand of God, His Father.
His position in the heavenlies validates completely the life that He came to live flesh, in a human body, offering Himself as the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world and being crucified on a cross, dying a substitutionary* death for all mankind separated from God because of their sin nature.
The Word of God says, “For He {God}made Him{Jesus} who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him{Jesus} .” (2 Corinthians 5:21), [*See Got Questions: What is the substitutionary atonement?] {inserts mine}
The validation of the completeness of Christ’s sacrifice is contained in these words written in Hebrews 9:23-28 NKJV.
[There are things written in the Word of God that one can only read and accept by faith as the revelation of God made to mankind by the Holy Spirit, who inspired the inerrancy of the Bible.]
“Therefore it was (see Hebrews 9:16-22 for context) that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enter the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another–He then would have to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the end of the ages, He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.”
Jesus presented His blood. The Father’s wrath against sin has been fully satisfied. Our sins can now be forgiven, forgotten, and flung “into the depths of the sea”(Micah 7:19 NKJV), or “as far as the east is from the west so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”(Psalm 103:12 NKJV)
Since Jesus has completely fulfilled His Father’s will, and He is seated at the right hand of His Father, then the glory that He set aside (Philippians 2:5-8), His Father restored to Him. (Philippians 2:9-11)
Recount Jesus’s prayer to His Father prior to His arrest. John 17:1-5, NKJV.
“Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which you have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” [emphasis mine]
[Personal note: I would like to suggest that this was in part “…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.” (Hebrews 12:2 NKJV)]
In consideration of ‘Putting It All Together‘, we have returned to an upper room in Jerusalem. (previous post)
In that upper room there are 120 followers of Christ, of whom 11 were originally chosen by Jesus, Himself.
They have obediently waited for 10 days that began when Jesus ascended back to heaven; and it is now 10 days later, 50 days since the Passover to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost on the Jewish ‘religious calendar’.
The Biblical record written by Luke, called, THE ACTS, of the Apostles, tells the story.
The promise of the Father, the Third Person of the Trinity, was sent on the Day of Pentecost.
The believers in the upper room were endued with power just as Jesus has told them.
Luke 24:49 NKJV says, “Behold I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.” [emphasis mine]
That is exactly what has taken place. (See Acts 1:1-2:4)
The Church, the Body of Christ, the Ekklesia, the Bride of Christ, was birthed into existence.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the Head of the Body of Christ, the Church. (Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 1:22)
Let us rest and reflect upon what has been said up to this point.
Blessings, a fellow member of the Body of Christ, deo
Living Words of Encouragement 