Nothing But Jesus
One morning I was researching some of the early Christian views on salvation and atonement. I won’t go into detail on this topic, but it held my interest for a few hours until I started feeling downcast and depressed. Couldn’t figure out why. Finally, I realized I had gotten lost as I studied human theories, ideas, and philosophies dating back centuries. By going so deeply into the history of human thoughts on atonement, I had lost sight of God’s wisdom, authority, purpose, and plan. As soon as I recognized my mistake, a verse from 1st Corinthians flashed through my mind–in it, the Apostle Paul made it clear that he wanted to focus his mind on nothing but Jesus:
…I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
Paul was a brilliant scholar, yet he resolved to know nothing but Jesus. How could a man like Paul write such a simplistic statement? I cannot speak for him, but I believe he understood that our worldly ideas and philosophies should never get in the way of our spiritual life and our focus on Jesus.
Paul was obedient to the vision of Jesus he had witnessed on the road to Damascus. And Jesus, in turn, was obedient to God the Father.
Obedient To Death
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Jesus died out of obedience to the Father. He gave his life on the cross so that we might have the gift of eternal life.
Drawn By God
Jesus also recognized that we have to be touched by God before we can be saved. We do not just wake up one morning and say, ‘I think I’ll get saved today.’ Instead, we have to understand the process as Jesus outlined it:
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.
Foolishness
Unless we are drawn by God, the gospel message will seem silly or even foolish to us.
…the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
Jesus obeyed his Father. We also have to remember the chain of command. God commanded and Jesus obeyed. As followers of Christ, we must obey him. And, as Paul made clear, the best way to do that is to know nothing but Jesus.
Nothing But Jesus
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
How can we fix our eyes on Jesus?
Once we turn to Jesus and declare him to be the Lord of our life, then our eyes open. We realize this is a gift, not of human design or effort, but rather a gift of God.
I fought that call for years. Maybe you did too. Whether we accepted Christ early or late in life, our faith can now grow and mature. As faith grows, so grows the desire to know and understand Jesus. How can we get to know him better?
- Pray. Go off somewhere right now and pray. No need for anything fancy. Just pray. Seek Him. Ask a question. Pray for help. Pray for healing. Pray for salvation. Intercede for someone you know. Like any other relationship, it takes time. Start now.
- Read the Bible, particularly the four gospels–Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. In those books, you can read the words of Christ. Some Bibles make it very easy because his words are written in red.
- Worship. Over time you will gain intimacy with Christ, and you may want to share that with others in a church or a Bible study group. Make sure the church or group you join agrees with Paul that there can and should be ‘nothing but Jesus.’
If you already are praying, reading the Bible, and worshiping in a church, I am thrilled and excited because you are mature in your faith. Paul also wrote to those who are mature:
We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.
What is this mystery that was hidden?
Paul tells us in this passage and shows us what God has destined for us:
I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Whether you are mature in your faith or very new in it, I pray that you will adopt Paul’s approach and know nothing but Jesus.
Yours in Christ, Kurt
Here is a blog post that can help you fix your eyes on Jesus:
