Christ Jesus' Roles

Maturity in Christ is evident in us as we move beyond our personal testimony and even sharing with others what we have learned from Christ. That is because Christian maturity is not really about us; it is about the Lord Jesus Christ. We have come to see this truth as we have grown in our knowledge and love of Christ. In becoming his disciple, we began to learn about this man we call Jesus. We got to know him as our teacher, and discovered that he is also the only person who is Prophet, Priest, Lamb of God, Savior, King, Judge, Lord of all, and the Son of God. He is the Christ whom God the Father promised to send. And He did send him. The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us. In his many roles, Jesus Christ transforms our lives. That transformation impacts how we talk about him and even what we talk about. As we mature we are no longer focused on talking about ourselves, but about who Jesus is and the ways in which he goes about transforming the lives of others. As we intentionally seek to make disciples, we teach people about Jesus in light of all his roles. Our desire is to see God glorified through Jesus Christ. In glorifying God we also work with those who are being discipled so that they too are equipped to go and make disciples in the authority of the Lord.

Growth towards Christian maturity

Dealing with My Issues

With no knowledge of Christ, we are left without a true knowledge of God to work through all of life's issues on our own. We don't know the source of life or the reason for our existence. We have no understanding of why the world is the way it is. Nor have we heard what God has is doing to address the world's issues. Thus, being self-focused as we are and without knowledge or hope in Christ, we do the best we can to deal with the issues we face. The problem is that are blind to the root cause of our issues and therefore ignorant of God's solution. We may think we are doing well, but from God's perspective we are dead in our trespasses and sin. We don't know it and wouldn't acknowledge it, but we are in need of help from heaven. We are in desperate straits and in desperate times. We need God to intervene. We need a Savior who can save us from sin and death, who can save us from ourselves. We need a Prophet to bring us the word of God. We need a Priest who can intercede for us at the throne of God. We need a Lamb without blemish offered for us and our sin. We need a King to rule over us for we are incapable of ruling over others, let alone ruling over ourselves. We need a Judge who can judge in righteousness all that has been done to us as well as all that we have done to others. We need a Lord to serve with meaningful service. We need God Himself to come to us in flesh, in the form of a man to dwell among us being the Son of God. What we need is a message of hope, a promise from heaven to let us know that one is sent to us who would be all that we need. We need a Messiah, a Christ, whom only God can give. We cannot see that this is what we need. We try our best, but our best doesn't lead us to God or make him known. For us to even begin to have an interest in Christ, God is going to have to penetrate our darkness with His light. He is going to have to give us opportunities to notice Christ and to be drawn to him. Unless God takes the initiative to speak to us directly or put Christ's disciples in our path, we are going to remain with no knowledge of Christ.

Recognizing My Need for Help

Discovering Who Christ Is

Reaching Out to Christ

Uniqueness of Jesus

By the grace of God those who are moving towards maturity do begin to hear about Jesus. We are exposed to the person we know as Jesus. We learn about him and encounter him. Much to our surprise we discover that he is unique, unlike anyone we have ever known or heard of. The more we learn about him and learn from him, the more we are drawn to him. The closer we get to him, the more amazed we are by him. In the process of being drawn to him, we are also cooperating with the Holy Spirit working in us and transforming us more and more into the character and likeness of Christ Jesus. The transformation going on in us is the working of God that takes place in concert with the many roles of Jesus Christ. We encounter truth and grace through him as Prophet. We approach them through of God by his intercession for us as Priest. Our sins that are red as scarlet are made white as snow by the blood of the Lamb who was slain for our sins. We experience deliverance from sin, death, and shame through the work of our Savior. We learn to serve the King for we have become citizens of the kingdom of God. In humility we come before the only Judge who can rightly judge our heart, who in turn does not condemn us, but sets us free and tells us to go and sin no more. Having been bought with a price, the blood of the Lamb, we bow before the Lord of heaven and earth in whom is all authority. We see now what we could not see before, that truly he is the Son of God. We call him Jesus, but we know that he is the Christ who had been promised by God. Surely his is much more than a mere human being, he is the Lord Jesus Christ. In him our heart has been transformed and is continuing to be transformed. We bow our knee and proclaim him Lord for he is truly our Lord. With our increasing awareness of the uniqueness of Jesus Christ, we share our testimony about the changes he has brought about in our life. In learning from him, we also seek to pass on what we have received, desiring that others would enter the transformed life in Christ and not simply gather information. But we also start moving beyond speaking about these aspects in order to talk about the things Christ does through his various roles. We don't understand them fully, but we are aware of the effects and speak about him and what he does.

Proclaiming Jesus in All of His Roles

Though we may never know Christ as fully here on earth as we will when he abides with us in heaven, we have come to know him in his many roles. Having experienced the grace and mercy of God in Christ as our Prophet, Priest, Lamb, Savior, King, Judge, Lord, and the Son of God, we find that we want to talk to anyone who will listen about him. When opportunities arise to speak of him we may share with others how as Prophet, Jesus speaks the truth of God. Therefore we help people see that what Jesus teaches is absolute truth. He is Priest, so we direct people to him so that they too may approach the throne of God through Christ's atoning work. He is the Lamb and it is by his sacrifice that people's sins are forgiven, so when we forgive others we do so in Christ and invite those who struggle with forgiveness to come to him. He is Savior, so we warn people of the wrath to come and tell them the good news that he has the power to save us from sin and death. When we speak of Christ as Savior, we speak about the present and future salvation. We teach about how Jesus Christ transforms lives and through the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, we are able live a new life here and know which includes a grand promise of a future life with Christ. In mentioning that he is King, we share about the one who provides for those who are in his kingdom and the joy it is to serve him. He is Judge, so we encourage people to confess their sins here and now and not wait for the coming Day of Judgment in which they will not be able to stand. We explain that he is faithful in the judgments he renders and that we can receive mercy and grace here and now. We identify him as Lord, that to him belongs all authority in heaven and on earth, that he is our master and that it is good to serve his interests. We tell how Jesus is the Son of God, conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin named Mary. He is the one promised by God, he is Christ Jesus our Lord. This we proclaim in ways too numerous to count. We speak of who he is and what he does to people as they are willing and able to hear the good news. We speak the truth to others in love.