FOR
THIS PURPOSE
By
Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.
“Now
is My soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father save me from this
hour: but for this CAUSE
came I unto this hour.” (John 12: 27); “Pilate therefore said
unto Him, Art Thou a King then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am
a king. To this end was I born, and for this CAUSE
came I into this world, that I should bear witness unto the truth.
Everyone that is of the truth heareth My voice.” (John 18:37); “For
this PURPOSE
the Son of God was manifested that He might destroy the works of the
devil.” (1 John 3:8)
Many
have asked the age old questions: “Why
did Jesus of Nazareth have to die? For what purpose was His
torturous death on the Garbage Dump on Golgotha's Hill outside
Jerusalem's City wall? Why would the Son of God be incarnated to
suffer, bleed and die as a common criminal on a Roman Cross? Why did
the Jewish nation reject Him as Messiah?”
GOD
WAS MANIFEST IN THE FLESH!
“And
without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was
manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels,
preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up
into Glory.” (1
Cor.3: 16)
This
is one of the most revealing statements concerning the Deity of Jesus
of Nazareth in the Bible. God the Son was incarnated (God
in human flesh) so
that He could Redeem fallen man. He was TRUE GOD from eternity and
TRUE MAN by virtue of His Virgin Birth.
Although
He died for the sins of the world as God's perfect paschal Lamb, He
was spotless and without SIN. His Spirit as well as His body was
pure, righteous and flawless. If there would have been even one sin
in Him, He could not have risen from the dead. Death would have held
Him until the Resurrection Day!
There
is a dangerous doctrine taught by some American preachers which
denies the FULL DEITY and total perfection of Jesus Christ. They
ignorantly state that Jesus Christ became SIN (instead
of bearing our sins)
and went to Hell to suffer as a SINNER and was born again, in order
to rise from the dead.
If
Jesus became a sinner, He could not have been GOD in human flesh
because God CANNOT SIN! And He could not have risen from the dead,
because DEATH would have held Him fast! And if Jesus Christ, for even
one moment was less than TRUE GOD, the Godhead would have ceased to
exist!
The
truth is that although Jesus of Nazareth gave His perfect body on the
CROSS as our Substitute to meet the demands of Divine Justice thereby
satisfying the Righteousness of God the Father, the Holy Spirit was
in Christ at that moment reconciling the world unto Himself!
GOD
WAS IN CHRIST ON THE CROSS!
St.
Paul declared: “That is, that GOD
WAS IN CHRIST
reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses
unto them, and hath committed unto us the ministry of reconciliation.
For
He (the
Father)
hath made Him to be sin
(sin
offering) for
us,
WHO KNEW NO SIN, that
we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”
(2 Cor.5:19,21)
How
could we be made the righteousness of God in Christ, if at the moment
of reconciliation through His vicarious death He was suffering in
Hell? The only time Jesus went to Hell was after being in Abraham's
Bosom in Paradise for three days. The Holy Scriptures declare that He
went there to preach; NOT TO SUFFER!
“For
Christ also hath once
suffered
for sins the just for the unjust that He might bring us to God, being
put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
By
which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
Which
sometimes were disobedient, when once the long suffering of God
waited in the days of Noah...” (1 Peter 3: 18-20)
Our
precious Lord Jesus was put to death in
the flesh
and was raised back to Life by the Holy Spirit. “He
went”
into Hell and preached. If He were already there suffering, He
wouldn't have had to go there! The fallacy of the 'born
again Jesus' teaching
is so “off the charts”, only a seductive spirit could convince
well meaning people to believe it!
JESUS
specifically told His disciples on two occasions that He would be
“lifted up on the cross”, but that His Father was always with Him
and would not leave Him: “Behold,
the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every
man to his own, and shall leave Me alone: and
yet I am not alone because the Father is with Me.”
(John 16:32; John 8:29)
We
stand with Evangelical theologians who declare: “Any
doctrine or theological teaching that denies the full deity or true
humanity of Christ the Son of God is a faith devoid of truth and all
its tenants are without merit.”
WHY
DID JESUS LOVE US?
St.
Paul declared: “Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and.
from our Lord Jesus Christ, Who
Gave Himself
for
our sins, that He might Deliver
us
from this present Evil
World.
” (Gal.1: 4,5)
Jesus
Christ admonished His followers to love one another because in the
world
they would experience HATE, because of their faith in Him:
“If
the world
hate you, ye know that it hated Me before it hated you. If ye were of
the world,
the world
would love its own: but because ye are not of the world,
but I have chosen you out of the world,
therefore the world
hateth you.” (John 15: 18, 19)
St.
John stated: “Love not the world,
neither the things that are in the world.
If any man love the world,
the love of the Father is not in him.
“For
all that is in the World;
the Lust of the Flesh, and the Lust of the eyes, and the Pride of
life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world
passeth away and the Lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God
abideth forever.” (1
John 2: 15-18)
St.
James said: “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the
friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever
therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”
(James 4: 4)
JESUS WAS FACING THE CROSS!
Jesus
Christ knew what He was facing. He had come to earth to die on the
rugged Cross as God's paschal Lamb. As our Substitute, He 'Met
the Demands of Divine Justice'
and satisfied the Righteous Judgment of a Thrice Holy God, in payment
for the sins of the world!
The
outpouring of His holy, untainted blood on the cursed tree at Calvary
would satisfy the wrath of God against humanity, because of Adam's
High Treason against the Creator.
Our
Lord says: “For
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting
life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world;
but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John
3:16,17)
JOHN
WESLEY made this powerful statement: “Understand God? Can a worm
understand a man?” Here is another great question: “Can a man
KNOW God?” The answer is, “YES, but only Jesus Christ can reveal
Him to us.”
Jesus
said: “All
things are delivered unto Me of My Father: and no man knoweth the
Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the
Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him.”
(Matt.11: 27)
“Believest
thou not that I am in the Father and the Father in Me? The words that
I speak unto you I speak not of Myself: but the Father that dwelleth
in Me, He doeth the works.” (John 14: 10)
The
Bible states: “...For this purpose the Son of God was manifested
that He might destroy
the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8).
“For
as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He
also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through Death
He might Destroy
him
that had the power of death, that is, the Devil;
and Deliver
them who through the fear of death were all their lifetimes subject
to bondage.” (Heb.2:14-15)
“How
God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and power: Who
went about doing good, and HEALING all that were oppressed of the
devil; for God was with Him.”
(Acts 10: 38)
Some
time ago I was agonizing in prayer for sick and suffering people who
have been ministered to, but have not yet received the miracle they
urgently need! I know that Jesus Christ healed everyone who came to
Him for a miracle.
He did not turn away anyone, but healed them all.
He went uninvited to Gadara
to
liberate a man from demons and to the Pool
of Bethesda
to heal a paralytic. (Mark 5: 1-19; John 5: 1-9)
By
God's grace, I have witnessed miracles among countless sick and
diseased people across the world for the past many years. God's
answer to my agonizing prayer was: “Preach
the Gospel!”
The
Gospel is the Good News. It solves everything! Nothing is too hard
for our Lord, because He is the same yesterday, today and forever.
The
Living God Whom we serve has not changed, cannot change and will not
change! He has not lied, cannot lie and will not lie! He has not
failed, cannot fail and will not fail. He is Not a respecter of
persons, places or times! And He is on call 24/7. He doesn't get
tired. He doesn't get sick. He will never retire and He cannot die!
The
Gospel is the Good News that Light is come into a world of darkness;
that Peace has come into a world of turmoil; that Healing has come
into a world of Sickness; that Love has come into a world of Hate;
that that Forgiveness has come into a world of Sin; that that Life
has come into a world of Death; that Freedom has come into a world of
Bondage; that Satan's Slaves are made free by the shed BLOOD of Jesus
Christ, the Liberator and Emancipator of the Human Race. And the
Holy Spirit is calling sinners to repentance, and the Church to faith
in God, working in the hearts, minds and bodies of sinful, fearful,
sick and suffering people everywhere!
WHY
CHRIST WAS MANIFESTED!
“He
that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the
beginning. For
this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the
works of the devil.”
(1 John 3: 8)
This
declaration by St. John the Beloved should settle the question of our
Lord's priorities while here on earth! He came to earth to
DESTROY
the works of the Devil. He came to war against the Evil One and to
defeat him totally in His quest to liberate fallen man and to build
His Church.
In
the synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus read the Prophecy of the Coming
Messiah: “...The
Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach
the Gospel to the poor: He hath sent Me to HEAL
the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and
recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are
bruised.”
(Luke 4: 17, 18)
Seven
hundred years earlier, Isaiah foretold His vicarious death for us
all: “But
He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our
iniquities;
the chastisement of our peace was upon Him and by His stripes we are
healed.”
(Is.53: 4,5).
It is a definite FACT that Jesus Christ of Nazareth was
the fulfillment of that prophecy and hundreds more in the Old
Testament that foretold His coming!
Jesus
Christ was the Deliverer Almighty God declared would crush
Lucifer's head: “And
the Lord God said unto the serpent... And I will put enmity between
thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; It shall
bruise (crush)
thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (Gen.
3: 14,15)
“And
there were in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he
cried out, Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with Thee, Thou
Jesus of Nazareth? art Thou come to destroy us? I know Thee Who Thou
art, the Holy One of God.
"And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy
peace, and come out of him. And when the unclean spirit had torn him,
and cried with a loud voice, he came out.” (Mark
1: 22-28)
After
that spectacular Deliverance in the synagogue, the sick and suffering
came to Jesus Christ from every quarter and He healed and delivered
them all! Here are some of His great Healing Campaigns:
“And
at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto Him ALL that were
diseased and them that were possessed with devils. And all the city
was gathered together at the door. And He HEALED many that were sick
of divers diseases and cast out many devils: and suffered not the
devils to speak, because they knew Him.
“And
in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out, and
departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. And Simon and they
that were with Him followed after Him. And when they had found Him,
they said unto Him, All men seek after Thee.
“And
He said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach
there also: For
therefore came I forth. And He preached in their synagogues
throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.”
(Mark 1: 32-39)
It
was most fitting then, that UNCLEAN SPIRITS were the first to confess
that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of the Living God.
JESUS
declared: “No
man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except
he will first bind the strong man, and then will he spoil his house.”
(Mark 3: 27)
Jesus'
enemies accused Him of casting out unclean spirits by the power of
Beezebub, the prince of devils. Our Lord warned that by calling the
Holy Spirit an unclean spirit, they were in danger of committing the
unpardonable sin: “Because
they said, He (Jesus) hath an unclean spirit.” (Mark
3: 30).
Jesus
referred to the Devil as a strong man who had enslaved multitudes of
lost and tortured souls, but that He was the STRONGER man who had
come to bind the Devil and liberate his slaves!
The
Holy Spirit through St. Luke gives us a commentary of the work of our
Lord: “How
God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and power Who went
about doing Good and HEALING all who were oppressed of the Devil for
God was with Him.”
(Acts 10: 38)
The
Holy Scriptures declare that Jesus of Nazareth was approved of God:
“Ye
men of Israel, hear these words, Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved
among you by miracles and wonders and signs which God did by Him, as
ye yourselves also know.”
(Acts 2:22)
WHY
JESUS WAS AGAINST SICKNESS
Have
you ever wondered why Jesus of Nazareth had such a holy passion and
vendetta against sickness, disease and demons? Two-thirds of His
Ministry was taken up by healing the sick and casting out evil
spirits while one-third of His time was used in teaching and
preaching!
When
God created the worlds and all things, He made man in His own image
without sin, sickness or death. It was Lucifer the deposed archangel
who tempted Eve and Adam in the Garden of Eden and SIN brought fear,
sickness and death. Satan and his demon hordes are to blame. They are
responsible for mankind's disenfranchisement from God and the
horrible consequences of Adam and Eve's Fall!
All
the Evil things triggered by the Fall of Adam and Eve opened the
flood gates of the vicious, never ending onslaught of death and
destruction which we see today! By healing the sick and casting out
evil spirits, Jesus was beginning the process of CRUSHING the
serpents head, which effectively happened at Calvary!
Dr. Oral Roberts,
who was healed miraculously from T.B. at seventeen years of age and
witnessed great numbers HEALED through his Healing Ministry, made
this powerful statement:
“Sickness
is torment! It is the devil's oppression. It is a frontal attack of
Satan against the Kingdom of Heaven. Really, Satan is not striking at
you or me. He is striking against God. But Christ, in His power comes
to deliver us. Healing is God's counter attack against Satan!”
The
Son of God was incarnated (God
in human flesh)
and came to earth to redeem Mankind by meeting the Demands
of Divine Justice
in payment for our Sins. Jesus of Nazareth sacrificed Himself as
God's paschal Lamb to be the PROPITIATION (satisfaction,
covering)
for
our sins and that of the entire world, past, present and future!
The
Vicarious BLOOD of Jesus Christ -True God from Eternity and True Man
through His virgin birth - satisfied the righteous JUSTICE of a
thrice - holy God in full payment for Adam and Eve's High Treason and
the sins of every human being since the Fall!
Our
PASSOVER LAMB, Jesus of Nazareth as our Substitute
suffered, bled, died vicariously and three days later ROSE from the
dead, victorious over death, Hell and the grave!
The Bible says: “Purge
out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a New Lump as ye are
unleavened. For even Christ our Passover
is sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old
leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with
the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”
(1 Cor. 5: 7, 8)
St.
Paul stated that gross SIN must not be allowed in the Church. They
must deal with it and excise it. He compares the old life of sin of
malice
and wickedness,
with the new life in Christ of sincerity
and truth.
He refers to Christ as God's Passover Lamb whose death has the power
to change us from the old lump to a New
Lump,
through the New
Birth!
(John 3: 3, 7; 1 Peter 1:23)
CHRIST
OUR PASSOVER!
Christ our Passover is the most perfect picture of the Gospel of Christ played out before
our very eyes. It is a story so tender and yet so powerful that only
the Holy Spirit can make it live in our spirit. It is the culmination
of three and one half years of the life of the Jewish Messiah, Jesus
of Nazareth. And it is more – It goes back seven hundred years to
the Prophet Isaiah who declared:
“Surely
He hath borne our sicknesses (heb.
makob),
and carried our pains (heb.
nasa):
yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. But He
was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our
iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him and with His
STRIPES we are healed.”
(Is. 53: 4,5)
The
CONVERSION of Saul of Tarsus changed the Dynamics of the fledgling
Church which suddenly enjoyed a much needed period of peace and time
to grow exponentially when the chief Jewish enforcer joined the
Christians!
“Then
had the churches REST throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria,
and were EDIFIED; and walking in the FEAR of the Lord, and in the
COMFORT of the Holy Ghost were multiplied.” (Acts 9: 31)
God
used Saul of Tarsus so mightily that he laid the Foundation for the
churches among the Gentiles. He wrote:
“According
to the grace of God which is given unto me, and as a wise master
builder, I have laid the foundation and another buildeth thereon. But
let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other
foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
(1
Cor. 3: 10,11)
St.
Paul was given amazing understanding and supernatural insight into
the hidden mysteries of God. His meeting with the Glorified Jesus
Christ on the Damascus Road brought shock waves to his spirit which
he would never forget. Jesus confronted him with the words: “Saul,
Saul, Why persecutest Thou Me?”
Lying in the dust of the Damascus Road, Saul cried out: “Who
art Thou Lord?” and “What do You want me to do?”
In
my opinion, it wold be difficult to find another man who was given a
greater order to carry out, a heavier responsibility to bear, as much
spiritual understanding and any more suffering to endure than Saul of
Tarsus, who became the great Apostle, and Founder of the Church of
Jesus Christ among the Gentiles!
St.
Paul declared: “Now unto the King Eternal, Immortal, Invisible,the
only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (1
Tim. 1:17);
“For
this is good and acceptable in the sight of God, our Saviour; Who
will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the
truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus, Who
Gave
Himself a Ransom for all,
to be testified in due time.” (1 Tim. 2: 3-6)
“Who
hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to
our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was
given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. But is now made
manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, Who has
abolished DEATH and hath brought LIFE and IMMORTALITY to light
through the Gospel.” (2 Tim.1: 10)
THE
GOSPEL OF CHRIST WORKS!
Jesus
said: “But
ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you:
and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all
Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
(Acts 1: 8)
Our
Lord and Saviour gave us our marching orders in what we call, 'The
Great Commission'.
Jesus Christ said: “Go
ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He
that believeth and is baptized shall be saved but he that believeth
not shall be damned.
“And
these signs shall follow the than believe; In My name shall they cast
out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up
serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them;
they shall lay their hands on the sick and they shall recover.”
(Mark
16: 15-18)
Does
the Gospel of Christ really work? Here is the proof that it does: “So
then after the Lord had spoken unto them, He was received up into
Heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth and
preached every where, the Lord working with them, and Confirming the
Word with Signs following.” (Mark
16: 19,20)
“And
when the Day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one
accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from Heaven as
of rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were
sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire,
and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy
Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them
utterance. (Acts
2: 1-4)
PETER'S PENTECOSTAL MESSAGE!
The
great phenomenon of one hundred and twenty followers of the crucified
Jesus speaking in other tongues, glorifying Him as Lord and Saviour
were understood by Jews from many nations. They heard Peter's
Pentecostal Message of the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ and
how they were complicit in His death, even though what had happened
was according to the Plan of God!
The
BIBLE says: “Now
when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto
Peter and to the rest of the Apostles, Men and brethren what shall we
do?
“Then
Peter said, Repent, and be baptized every one of you for the
remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
For the promise is to you and your children, and to all that are far
off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”
(Acts 2: 37-39)
WHAT
WAS THE OUTCOME?
“They
that gladly received his Word were baptized: and the same day there
were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued
steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking
of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many
signs and wonders were done by the apostles.”
(Acts 2: 41-43)
The
Church of Jesus Christ was born on the Day of Pentecost, fifty days
after our Lord was raised from the dead. The Blessed Holy Spirit was
poured out upon the 120 in the Upper Room in Jerusalem and has been
leading and empowering His Church ever since!
Jesus
Christ said: “All
power is give unto Me in Heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and
teach all nations baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even
unto the end of the world. Amen.”
(Matt. 28: 18-20)
