Jesus Only

When on the mount of transfiguration Peter wanted to build 3 tents. One for the lawgiver, one for the prophet and one for Jesus.
When the cloud came that carried the voice of God within it, God said "This is My Son, listen to Him"
We are to longer build any more tents for the law because we are not to dwell in that, nor for the prophets because they too are now found in Jesus.

Because I love to research the bible I thought it'd be a good idea to build a thread around the studies that I have started recently based on a series of different books that are only about Jesus and His words alone. In that way I want to obey God and listen to Jesus Only.

Hebrews 1:1-3
God, who at many times and in various manners spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
Has in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

Not just of the times and seasons but as to times of speaking. There was a time God spoke thru the law and a time He spoke thru the prophets, but this was His final method to us, to speak thru His Son. What He spoke and what was recorded was for our direction. Each revealing of the past makes going forward that much clearer. Jesus clearly gives us pictures now of things that the law and prophets never could; things such as the character of God. We can now look at Jesus and ask and answer questions like " would our God treat any of us unequally or unfairly?" and be quite certain of the answer because of Jesus' portrayal of the merciful God. In Him we can see man made in the image of God and nowhere else because He is God, come to complete the plan of redemption.

The times of the gospels are the last times of revelations and we're to expect no new revelation, but only more of the Spirit of Christ to help us better to understand what is already revealed.

As God He is equal to God, but as God/man and mediator He has been appointed the heir of all things. He is the sovereign Lord of all, the absolute disposer, director, and governor of all persons and of all things, Psalms 2:6-7. All power in heaven and earth is given to him and all judgment is committed to him, Matthew 28:18; John 5:22. By Him God made all the worlds, both visable and invisable.

The intergrity of His person is seen in Hebrews 1:3 by which He Himself has purged us of our sins. Some would have us believe that only applies to males and that females are still under sin and bondage. I have never seen those words coming from Christ but only from the false representations of His choice of closest disciples of which He had many females. I think He would not be pleased at having to point that out. He has not come as the shadow of the law but as the very Spirit of the law.

In beholding the power, wisdom, and goodness, of the Lord Jesus Christ, we behold the power, wisdom, and goodness, of the Father; for he has the same nature and perfections of God in Him.

We who have seen the Son have seen the Father, we have seen that same Being because to know the Son is to know the Father John 14:7-9. For the Son is in the Father, and the Father in the Son; the personal distinction is no other than will consist with essential union. This is the glory of the person of Christ; the fulness of the Godhead dwells, not typically, but really, in him.

And because of the greatness of Who He is, He has extended that to us also, so that those of us who are in Him, having that same Spirit dwelling in us, are made partakers of the whole of the Godhead in having the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to make their dwelling within us.

Eternal life starts now and it starts in knowing Him. It seems it, eternal life, needs effort (and probably alot of it) in getting ourselves wrapped around the concept of knowing Him. Without the co-oporation of God and mankind thru Jesus Christ this will remain impossible. Getting to know Him becomes knowing His commandments and obeying them. In doing so one will come into an intimate knowledge and within that intimacy is the power to do His works. That allows the Father and Son to perform miracles in our lives and the lives He brings across our paths.


Who is this one with whom we have to do? Let's hear Him tell us a few of the things He has to say about Himself. I'm sure He has more to reveal to you also if you take the time to look. He is our Good Shepard that delights to lead us.

John 14:6-7
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
John 15:9-17
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.

Jesus has taught us that the scriptures are nothing less than the word of God. At the beginning of John 5 Jesus had miraculously healed a man on the Sabbath day. He was reproached for doing so by His enemies John 5:16. Jesus answered their charges by expounding on His claim to be working in collaboration with God the Father "My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working." John 5:17. He went on to explain that His work was twofold: giving life John 5:21 and judgment John 5:22. He then declares that those who believe will recieve eternal life and avoid judgment;

Having made these astounding claims, He then makes them again with even more force. He said that even at that very instant those in spiritual graves were being made alive ( spiritually) through His word John 5:25. Further, in the last day, He would stand as judge over everyone John 5:28-29.

He also pointed out that witnesses were collaborating His claims. God bore witness through John the Baptizer John 5:33 and the miracles or works Jesus did John 5:36 and God's own word John 5:37-38.

That last aspect of God's witness, the word, has reference to the Scripture. Jesus often referred to the Scripture (the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms) as evidence for His Messiahship. He taught that they would all be fulfilled in Him John 10:35; Matthew 5:18. The Old Testament Scriptures spoke of Jesus, pointing us to him.

Wrongly Using the Scripture
Notice Jesus' words in

First, Jesus did not condemn their view of the Scripture. They viewed it as God's word, and they were correct. It was and is. But rather, He condemns their use of it.

Neither did He condemn their searching of the Scriptures. Jesus always commended noble minded searching on the part of seekers everywhere, and promised good results when such was undertaken Matthew 7:8. To persevere in such is good Acts 17:11; 2 Timothy 2:15.

What was the problem then? They regarded their search as an end in and of itself. Scribes would copy, memorize, count words and count letters. Who could tell them that they did not have eternal life? They knew the Scriptures so well!!

The Correct Use of the Scriptures
Jesus point was, "The Scriptures do not give life, I do! They testify of Me!"

In much the same way, people today may have a precious family Bible sitting someplace in the house. Does that Bible sitting there make them holier people? Of course not. Neither does counting words or letters. Neither does memorizing passages or learning Greek and reading it in the original language in which it was written. All of us; the ones to whom Jesus spoke in the first century as well as us today, must come to Him to have life. We must obey Jesus to be saved.
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They knew what the Scriptures said, but they did not allow it to "abide in them." If they had, they would have received Jesus gladly.
They would counter, "We receive Moses, but we reject you!" (( or that could be said "we accept doctrine and dogma but reject You"))
Handling the Scriptures correctly means believing and applying what they say. That is what it meant then, and what it means today.

Summarizing the Point
It is not enough to quote a verse and be satisfied. Satan can quote verses. The Bible must be applied in the way God intended. When it is, one will obey the gospel of Jesus Christ and order his or her life according to His teachings. Knowing the Scriptures is necessary, but of little use unless applied to one's life. Only when one obeys will the Giver of Life by grace bestow the hope of eternal life on the obedient.


By Jon W. Quinn
From Expository Files 10.10; October, 2003

Tull said:

So are we to believe that people are spending too much time reading their bible and know too much about it.

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This thread is meant for edification in a forum that is about deeper fellowship and that most certainly above all includes deeper fellowship with Jesus. If you have any issues then please start a thread in a debate forum and send me a link. Thank you

Soyeong said:

In Matthew 23:23, Jesus said that justice, mercy, and faithfulness are the weightier matters of the law, and he displayed those characteristics through his perfect obedience to the law. Furthermore, those have always been characteristics of God that He displayed in the OT (Exodus 34:6-7).

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Love your neighbour as yourself is civil, and it covers all five of the civil commandments. Not only did these two cover the ten commandments, but it also covered all of the commandments that the prophets taught.

If you love the Lord God, you will be happy to keep all the spiritual laws, for that will please God, and that is what Christians set there goals to do.
If you love your neighbor then you certainly will not steal from him, you are not going to covet his property nor his wife.
We can do no better than to follow Jesus in His keeping of God's laws than by walking in His ways and example. What becomes apparent to me is that even in being the Lord of the Sabbath He had each individual's care first and foremost in His mind and that this is the same requirement He has for us, that thru God's love we love our neighbor and ourselves.
Galatians 6:2
Help carry one another's burdens,
and in this way you will obey the law of Christ.

Edit to add:
The weightier things are not left out either, like His judgement as being with Him .... as well as faithfulness and mercy

Soyeong said:

It is good to spend time studying the Bible, but we must study it to do, not just to know.

1 Corinthians 13:2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

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I was just thinking as I was logging in, that if there is one thing I was learning from this is the background of scripture for a non-work-based salvation. Salvation being the acquirement of eternal life.
And that all of the rewards, whether they be giving a cup of water to a stranger or even a smile for that matter, matters, and are all based on love. Love is the only debt we can never fully repay.
Romans 13:8-10
Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Tull said:

If I have "love" and do not communicate the whole word of God I am also nothing,the love of man does not save,the love of God and acceptance of the gospel saves,the love of man alone simply makes the journey to Hell a bit more pleasant.

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The natural love of man is still the natural love of the old creation. Of itself it can do nothing. Only as our natural selves are transformed within His love and projected again outwardly to others can they have the power to help to transform other peoples lives .. that is after our own life and love has begun to change that within.
What Soyeong , greenguzzi and you are making me realize is yes, your all right, we all need love and support rather than harshness or we are just clanging gongs.

post script:
not my first revelation of the fact. It seems I need constant reminders

Being aware there's always an ongoing conflict between good and evil surrounding us, with always the ultimate triumph of good, helps to keep a positive outlook, that which is based on love, in check with reality.
You'll find that when you respond to Jesus's life and limit yourself away from what you know the Holy Spirit would not have you doing that often friends or family will attack the light that is thrown on them because of it.

Isaiah in the OT and Peter in the New describes the conflict this way

In our obedience He makes His desires, our desires, and we find that our prayers are being answered, love and joy are part of daily life because we have chosen that which is good over that which is evil, or just not God-serving, as He so leads.

Some of (actually a lot of them) Jesus' promises are conditional. When we meet those conditions blessings then follow. In this way faith is deeply grown as we see the results in our lives and others.

Here's a long list of Christ's Promises that are for our food just as Christ had food from His Father. Our Daily bread ...
John 3:14-18, John 4:13-14, John 5:24-25, John 5:28-29, John 6:35, John 6:37, John 6:40, John 6:44, John 6:54-57, John 7:37-38, John 8:12, John 8:31-32, John 8:51, John 10:9-10, John 10:14-16,
John 10:27-29, John 11:25-26, John 12:25-26, John 12:46, John 14:2-4, John 14:12-14, John 14:18-21, John 14:23, John 14:26-27, John 15:5, John 15:7, John 15:10-11, John 15:16, John 15:26, John 16:12-15, John 16:23-24, John 16:33
Matthew 5:3-11, Matthew 5:19, Matthew 6:3-4, Matthew 6:6, Matthew 6:33, 7:7-8 11 21 24-25, 10: 32 42, 11:6 28-30, 12:49-50, 18:18-20, 19:29-30, 21:18-22, 25:34-36, 28:18-20
Luke 6:35 37-38, 9:48, 11:11-13 28 Luke 21:33