Son, Savior, Servant of God and man--and yet the everlasting Father on an eternal throne. King of Kings and Lord of Lords forever.

God came to His earthly creatures--projected Himself--in the form of man, as Son and Servant. The sacrifice--incomprehensible to human minds--secured the tie between creature and Creator, and guaranteed forever the sanctity of the human Spirit. Else, were we all animals. But now, in Christ, we are an integral part of the Deity.

He who was called "the Son," emerges as God, Himself, clothed in humanity. "That He might taste death for every man." As we are one with God, God is one with us. This union of Deity and humanity strips the universe--awesome and overwhelming--of its infinite "otherness," and makes us a viable functioning part of all that is.

The throne is eternal, as God is eternal, but it is also rooted in the temporal realm through the throne of David. Thus, God has established an irrevocable link between Himself and His creatures, and the temporal sovereignty is raised to an eternal level. If the throne is everlasting, so are the subjects. The truth of this puts everything into perspective. Whatever one's present distresses, painful though they be, they constitute but a fraction of our eternal lives. In the light of eternity, what do they really matter?

And the Son, Eternal Sovereign, was also the one who laid the foundations of the earth, and fashioned the limitless expanses of the heavens. They would perish before He would. Thus, if He is the Son, He is also the Father--Originator of all things. How can this be? We don't really know. "Now we see through the glass darkly [in an enigma (puzzle)]... Now we know in part" (I Corinthians 13:12). If we get too philosophical, we get lost in the quagmire of human misapprehension. Suffice it to say that the multifaceted God-head has an infinite variety of ways to reveal Himself to man.

"The sceptre of rightness is the sceptre of thy Kingdom." The sceptre is a rod--symbol of authority: symbol of discipline. The Greek word for "rightness" is the word for "straightness." All that pertains to God is right and straight and true. All that pertains to the world and the flesh is subject to distortion and deception. Satan, the god of this world, is the great deceiver. For the millennia of human history, he has stirred up conflict among nations and people; masses and individuals. He brings dissension through deception. He falsifies and distorts reality, so that conflict is fostered and nurtured through lies and half truths and misconceptions. As long as Satan is around there can be no end of conflict.

Believers need to be aware of this. All interactions with unbelievers, and all input from them, is subject to the falsehoods of their father, the devil. If one is not a child of God, one is de facto a child of Satan, however noble one may appear. That is why so much of the world today languishes in the quagmire of misapprehension. Utterances that come from world leaders, as well as from politicians, educators, and analysts of the world scene, are likely to be distorted if not intentionally deceptive. Media presentations are notoriously slanted. For the most part, the view of the world that reaches the eyes and ears of the public is rooted in non-Christian sources. Extreme caution must be exercised by believers in receiving such input. Commentators or professors or leaders may be ever so clever and well trained, but, if they are not identified with Christ their ideas may be very unsound. It is of crucial importance to limit the input from the world. The Christian mind must be fortified by spiritual nourishment. One who has substantially more involvement with the people of the world than the followers of Christ may, like those who suffer from malnutrition, be susceptible to weakness.

But it must also be noted that Satan can stir up believers and bring about conflict through distortions and misunderstandings. He is quick to pick up careless words and blow them out of proportion, or distort events to foster dissension. If there is doubt, check with Christ. Ask Him to help you see the truth.

In the matter of deception, Christ is the only safeguard. Keep open to Him. He is the ultimate authority; the ultimate truth; the ultimate guide to all that is right and real. Stay close to Him. Judge everything through His eyes. You may feel that you are missing a lot that the world has to offer. But never mind. It is all a snare and a delusion. Satan is able to make a dirt clod look like gold; and gold look like a dirt clod. Only Christ can get us safely through the jungle.

Thou art the same and thy years shall not fail.

Nothing of Christ shall ever change, or become defunct. "All flesh Is grass, and the goodliness thereof as the flower of the field; The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of God shall stand forever" (Isaiah 40:6-8).

The world ever changes and decays. In Christ is our only stability and permanence. How Satan sidetracks the believers! He sends them chasing after the butterflies of bliss and rainbows of earthly satisfaction. Alas, he has set his traps for the feet, while he dazzles the eyes with his lures. He deceives one into false security and the bravado of independence. "I am the captain of my ship: I am the master of my fate" (Henley). It is a cruel deception. The truth is that we don't even have control of the next sixty seconds. The more certain one is that one can "handle things," the more likely that Satan has brought out the blinders. Jesus said, "Without me ye can do nothing." Satan counters with the "Edenic" slur--"Surely He can't really mean that." But Christ does mean it. And the only safe course through the gauntlet of evil cosmic forces, is to follow Christ in everything.

Do nothing without Him, because without Him you can do nothing.

The throne of Christ is forever. His truth is forever. He is changeless forever. Our place at His side is forever. What more do we need for everlasting peace and stability?

David Morsey

July 1985

www.harvestermission.org