Treasury of Faith index

by J. W. Jepson, D.Min.

copyright © 1998 by J. W. Jepson

All rights reserved, including the right to grant the following permission and to prohibit the misuse thereof:

The Author hereby grants permission to reproduce the text of this article, without changes or alterations*, as a ministry, but not for commercial or non-ministry purposes.

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(First published in The Pentecostal Evangel, December 17, 1967)

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The Christmas card concept of Jesus, however beautified by gold and glitter, falls short of presenting Him as He is today.

No longer is He an infant. The artists portray Him as a Babe resting in His mother's arms, or as a Shepherd carrying a lamb. They paint Him blessing the children, or knocking at a door, or agonizing in the Garden. These pictures may show us the heart of our Savior, but they fall short of showing His present position of power and glory.

Today He is no longer "made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death." He is, rather, the Mighty One "crowned with glory and honor" (Hebrews 2:9).

Of those with our Lord in the days of His flesh, perhaps no one was closer to Him than John the Beloved. John learned on Jesus' bosom; he was included in the select three; in fact, he even saw a glimpse of His glory on the Mount of Transfiguration. Certainly it could be said that if anyone knew Jesus, John did.

But one day on the Isle of Patmos the aged apostle heard a voice behind him "as of a trumpet." He did not recognize it and turned to see the source. Then for the first time he caught the full impact of the brilliant glory of Christ as He stood in triumphant authority in the midst of the golden candlesticks!

"His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; and his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead" (Revelation 1:14-17).

All those years John had remembered Jesus as He was in the days of His flesh--sometimes weary, sometimes sad, sometimes rejoicing, sometimes flashing a glimpse of the greater glory. But now he saw Him as He is forever in His exalted majesty and glory!

Is your vision of Christ too dim? Paul, who had become acquainted with Jesus on the Damascus road when a light "brighter than the noonday sun" shone about him, kept this vision of power and glory alive in his heart and shared it with others. For the Ephesians he prayed:

"That the Father of glory may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know... what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named , not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church...."

When Jesus ascended to be again with the Father, He did not retire to the sidelines. He ascended a throne of power! Our vision of Him should be of a mighty Sovereign. We should realize that He is now our Advocate, the Author and Finisher of our faith, our Mediator, Leader, Counselor, the Captain of our salvation.

To John He said, "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death."

How well do we know the real Christ? How much better can we know Him? When we pray, let us not think of Him as a mere human. The days of His humiliation are past. May the Holy Spirit help us to know Him in the fullness of the power He has today. He is all-sufficient.

While we honor Him this Christmas season because He came to earth as a Babe in Bethlehem, let us realize that He now sits enthroned in omnipotent power and is ready and able to do "exceeding abudantly above all that we ask or think" (Ephesians 3:20).

Let us follow on to know Him better, always keeping in mind that the most the eye of faith may behold here is very small compared to what we shall see on that wonderful day when "we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2).