God is Fully Jesus

For several years now, I’ve only been reading the Psalms and Gospels from the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) with a focus on the Gospels. In that vein, when I come across Old Testament passages — whether they’re referenced in a book or online article — I read them through a “Jesus lens.” That is, since I’m a (stumbling, bumbling) follower of Jesus, I believe that he’s the goal toward which the Old Testament was headed (Romans 10.4). As Jesus told some of the Jewish leaders of his day, “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me” (John 5.39; NLT[1]). 

Not only does the Old Testament point to Jesus, the writers of the New Testament go a bit further. According to the New Testament he’s the only true image we have of Abba God. Saint Paul wrote, “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1.15a; NLT). The writer of Hebrews stated that Jesus is “the exact representation of God’s being” (Hebrews 1.3; TIB[2]). John wrote, “No one has ever seen God; it is the Only Begotten, ever at Abba’s side, who has revealed God to us” (John 1.18; TIB). And Jesus himself said — 

Matthew 11.27b (TIB): … no one knows Abba God except the Only Begotten…

John 14.9 (TIB): Whoever has seen me has seen Abba God.

John 10.40 (TIB): Abba and I are one.

In a conversation I was having with some of my closest friends, we stumbled into something. For such a long time, we’ve been so focused on the idea that “Jesus is God,” that the other side of the equation never occurred to us — “God is Jesus.” As Jesus said, “Abba and I are one.” It doesn’t get much clearer than that, my friends.

Following this way of seeing then — using the “Jesus Lens” — one has to make some choices when reading the Bible. It’s not too extreme to say that the Bible no longer carries a flat, “all verses are equal,” reading for me and it hasn’t for a long, long time. Since Jesus is the true image of God — and God is the true image of Jesus — then some of the views of God in the Old Testament (as well as some in the New Testament) don’t carry the same weight. That is to say, Jesus surpasses any image of God in the Bible that doesn’t look, sound, or act like Jesus.

Notice again John 1.18, “No one has ever seen (or understood) God…” That means Abraham didn’t fully understand God. Moses didn’t fully understand God. Neither David nor Solomon nor any of the prophets. In another place, Jesus told the religious elite of his day, “you’ve never heard God’s voice; you’ve never seen God’s form” (John 5.37; TIB). Those were the same people who continually “search[ed] the scriptures” (v. 39). But when God showed up, they completely missed it.

Likewise, when I read the scriptures and I come across passages that don’t look like Jesus, I have a choice to make — either I accept that this other image is an equally valid image of God or I reject it because it doesn’t look like Jesus. That, my friends, is a very scary dilemma to be in! It flies in the face of everything I grew up believing about the “inspired” and “infallible” Bible. But what am I to do? If I believe Jesus is the very image of God — that he and God are one and the same — then I must do the courageous thing and reject those other images.

This idea that Jesus is the only one who has revealed God to us — indeed, he and God are one — isn’t limited to the other biblical images of God. No. I have to compare the image of God as displayed by Jesus to that of the god(s) spoken of in various streams of the Christian faith.

Currently, I’m reading on this very subject. I just finished Keith Giles’ book, Jesus Unbound: Liberating the Word of God from the Bible and I’m currently reading, A More Christlike God: A More Beautiful Gospel, by Brad Jersak. I’ve recently discovered these two men through Jonathan Martin’s podcast, The Zeitcast. Giles and Jersak can also be found on the Patheos website.

At one point in Giles’ book, he makes the statement that when we read the phrase “Word of God” in the Bible, it’s not referring to itself but it’s actually referring to Jesus. For example, “Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart” (Hebrews 4.12; NABRE[3]). Here, the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews is not talking about the Bible. The writer is talking about Jesus. Look at the rest of the verses — 

Hebrews 4.12ff (NABRE; adapted):

12Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart. 13No creature is concealed from [God], but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of [the One] to whom we must render an account.

14Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the [Firstborn] of God, let us hold fast to our confession. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin. 16So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.

Here we see that the writer is talking about Jesus, not the Bible. As St. John pointed out — 

John 1.1, 14, 17-18 (TIB):

1In the beginning was the Word; the Word was in God’s presence, and the Word was God. … 14And the Word became flesh and stayed a little while among us; we saw the Word’s glory — the favor and position a parent gives an only child — filled with grace, filled with truth. … 17For while the Law was given through Moses, the Gift — and the Truth — came through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever seen God; it is the Only Begotten, ever at Abba’s side, who has revealed God to us.

What do you think, dear reader? Have you ever thought the phrase “Word of God” meant anything other than the Bible? What would happen to your Bible study if you replaced “Word of God” with “Jesus”? Granted, there might be some contexts where that won’t make sense but I’m beginning to think that they’re fewer than we realize.

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In the Love of the Three in One,

Br. Jack+, LC

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[1] Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation, Inc. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

[2] Scripture Unless otherwise stated, all scripture quotations and references — and scripture quotations marked (TIB) — are taken from The Inclusive Bible. Copyright © 2007 by Priests for Equality. Used by permission.

[3] Scripture quotations marked (NABRE) are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved.