NAMES AND TITLES OF JESUS Part 2
NAMES AND TITLES OF JESUS Part 2
It should be noted here before moving on that the expressions Jesus uses here about eating His body and drinking His blood are to be understood spiritually. They are used figuratively, not literally. In V51 Jesus is in effect saying, "I will give this bread which symbolises my body given in death to save the world" (CP V51). By comparing V47-48 with V53-54 we see that believing in Jesus is the same as eating His body and drinking His blood.
We receive spiritual life by believing in Jesus and sharing in the redemptive benefits of His death on the cross (CP V 47-48 with 53-54 and 63). Jesus teaches in V63 that even if we could literally eat His body and drink His blood it would not save our souls. The life Jesus speaks of is spiritual and eternal life, not fleshly life. Eating His body simply means that man must accept by faith what Jesus has done for him and live by obedience to God's word, without sin (CP 1Cor 11:23-32). Paul received the revelation of the Lord's Supper direct from Jesus Himself and it is clearly symbolic in nature. As the word remembrance in V24-25 signifies, it is a memorial of Jesus.
Jesus called Himself the Resurrection and the Life (CP Jn 11:25-26). What Jesus is saying in effect is that whoever believes in Him has an assured future eternal life in Him that death cannot conquer or diminish. He has the power of resurrection and of life in His hands (CP Jn 5:21). Jesus promised believers that because He was resurrected and lives forever, they too will live forever (CP Jn 14:9). Jesus also called Himself the True Vine (CP Jn 15:1, 5). Jesus is warning Christians here of the dangers of not bearing fruit for His kingdom (CP V 2-6). This is a dire warning to those who profess faith in Jesus, but are not abiding in Him. Every question on a Christian's relationship to Jesus must be equated and evaluated in the light of this passage of scripture.
Jesus is also called the Deliverer out of Zion, fulfilling another prophecy in the Old Testament by Isaiah (CP Isa 59:16-20 with Ro 11:26-27). In 1Cor Paul refers to Jesus as the Power of God and the Wisdom of God (CP 1Cor 1:24). In V30 Paul calls Jesus Wisdom, and Righteousness, and Sanctification, and Redemption (CP V 30). This emphasises even further that all we are and have, comes from Jesus. Jesus and the message of the cross is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe (CP V 18-24). Jesus is the Wisdom of God as the way of salvation.
In Him believers have a wisdom that guarantees their salvation (CP V 25-30). As Righteousness, Jesus enables all who have faith in Him to be justified before God (CP Ro 3:21-26; 4:5; 5:1-2). As Sanctification, Jesus makes holy all who live according to God's word (CP Jn 17:17-19; 1Cor 6:9-11). As Redemption, Jesus is the consummate liberation from the presence and the power of sin which He procured by laying down His life as a ransom for those who love Him (CP Mk 10:45; He 9:11-14; 1Pe 1:18-20).
In He 9:11 Jesus is called a High Priest and is referred to as such throughout the book (CP He 2:17; 4:14-15; 5:10; 6:20; 7:24-26; 8:1; 10:19-21). In another place Jesus is called the Apostle and High Priest of our profession (CP He 3:1). Elsewhere Jesus is called a Priest (CP He 5:6; 7:15, 17 20, 21). Also in Hebrews, Jesus is called the Author of Eternal Salvation (CP He 5:9); the Author and Finisher of our Faith (CP He 12:2); the Mediator of a Better Covenant, Mediator of the New Testament, and Mediator of the New Covenant (CP He 8:6; 9:15; 12:24).
As the Mediator of the New Testament or Covenant, Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecy that God would give Messiah as a Covenant of the People (CP Isa 42:6; 49:8). In other places in the New Testament Jesus is called the Last Adam (CP 1Cor 15:45). Here the first man, Adam, who was human, is contrasted to Jesus, who is a life-giving Spirit (CP 1Jn 2:1). Here Jesus is referred to as our Advocate with the Father. "Advocate" is from the same Greek word, parakletos, as "Comforter" - designating the Holy Spirit - is derived (CP Jn 14:16). An advocate is one who comes forward in behalf of and representative of another, and pleads their cause. Jesus pleads the cause of those who love Him, with the Father (CP He 7:25).
We will bring this study to a close with the names and titles of Jesus recorded in the Book of Revelation (CP 1:5). Here John calls Jesus the Faithful Witness, the First Begotten from the Dead, and the Prince of the Kings of the Earth (CP 1:8, 11, 17; 2:8; 3:14; 21:6; 22:13). In these scriptures Jesus calls Himself Alpha and Omega which means the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Alpha signifies that Jesus was the one who brought all things into existence (CP Jn 1:3; Ro 11:36; Eph 1:10; He 1:8-10; Rev 3:14; 4:11). Omega signifies that Jesus is the one who will bring all things to their determined end (CP Psa 102:25-27; Isa 51:6; He 1:10-12; 2Pe 3:10-13; Rev 22:13).
The fact that Jesus applies the title Alpha and Omega to Himself is another proof of His Deity and equality with the Father (CP Jn 1:1-2; 8:56-58; 17:5; Php 2:5-8; 1Ti 3:16; 1Jn 1:1-2). Jesus' statement, "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty" in Rev 1:8 is a declaration by Jesus that He is the Lord God Almighty who died and rose again, and will come again to defeat God's enemies and establish His eternal Kingdom (CP Rev 1:8, 12-18 with 19:11-16).
In Rev 1:11 Jesus called Himself the First and the Last. This further confirms His Deity (CP Isa 44:6; 48:12-13 with Rev 1:11, 13, 17; 2:8; 22:13). In Rev 1:13, which was noted earlier in this study, John ascribed the title Son of Man to Jesus, which was Jesus' self-designated title. In Rev 1:18 and 2:8, Jesus refers to Himself as "I am He that Liveth, and was Dead; and behold, I am Alive for Evermore" (CP Rev 1:18; 2:8). In Rev 2:1 Jesus calls Himself, "He that holdeth the Seven Stars in His right hand, who walketh in the midst of the Seven Golden Candlesticks" (CP Rev 1:12-16 with 2:1). The seven stars represents the angels of the seven churches in Asia Jesus addressed through John, and the seven candlesticks represents the seven churches (CP Rev 1:11, 20).
In Rev 2:12 Jesus referred to Himself as "He which hath the Sharp Sword with Two Edges". The sword symbolises divine judgement (CP Rev 2:12 with V 16 and 19:15, 21). In Rev 2:18 Jesus calls Himself "the Son of God, who hath His Eyes like unto a Flame of Fire, and His Feet are like Fine Brass". John's description of Jesus was similar to this in 1:14-15 (CP Rev 1:14-15 with 2:18 and 19:11-12). Jesus referred to Himself as "He that hath the Seven Spirits of God and the Seven Stars", in Rev 3:1. The seven spirits of God denote the fullness of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus, which was prophesied by Isaiah in the Old Testament, while the seven stars again symbolise the seven angels of the seven churches in Asia (CP Isa 11:2 with Mt 3:16; Jn 3:34-35 and Rev 1:4; 3:1; 5:6). In Rev 3:7 Jesus called Himself "He that is Holy, He that is True, He that hath the Key of David, He that Openeth and No Man Shutteth; and Shutteth, and No Man Openeth". The Key of David symbolises Christ's absolute power and authority when He comes again (CP Isa 22:22 with Rev 3:7; 5:5; 22:16).
In Rev 3:14 Jesus speaks of Himself as "the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the Creation of God". As the Amen, Jesus is the embodiment of faithfulness and truth (CP 2Cor 1:19-20). And saying He is the beginning of creation, does not mean, as some teach, that He was the beginning of the creation by God. It means that He began all creation. In His pre-incarnate state Jesus carried out the work of creation (CP Gen 1:1-31 with Psa 90:2; 102:25-27; Jn 1:1-3, 10; Eph 3:9; Col 1:16-17; He 1:1-2; 11:3). In Rev 5:5 Jesus is called the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David. Judah was the tribe from which it was prophesied in the Old Testament Messiah would come (CP Gen 49:8-10; Isa 65:9 with Rev 5:5).
Root of David means metaphorically that Jesus is a descendant of David (CP Mt 1:1-17; Rev 22:16). In Rev 5:6 Jesus is symbolised by a lamb. This is the foremost symbol of Jesus in Revelation - He is depicted as such twenty-seven times (CP Rev 5:6). The seven horns denote power (CP De 33:17; 1Ki 22:11; Dan 7:24). The seven eyes denote Omniscience - all-seeing (CP Zech 3:8-9). The stone here is symbolic of Messiah. The horns and the eyes of the lamb in Rev 5:6 denote the fullness of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus.
In Rev 14:14 John refers to Jesus as One like unto the Son of Man, Jesus was wearing a crown, which denoted His authority, and had a sickle in His hand with which to reap the harvest of the earth (CP 14:14-15). In Rev 17:14 John calls Jesus Lord of Lords, and King of Kings (CP 17:14). They that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful refers to the saints of God in heaven. These that shall make war with the Lamb, are the confederation of nations aligned with Antichrist who will be defeated by Jesus at the battle of Armageddon, the war they will make with Jesus, symbolised by the lamb (CP 19:11-21).
In V 11 Jesus is called Faithful and True. In V 13 He is called the Word of God. In V 16 He is called the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. And last, but by no means least in Rev 22:16, Jesus calls Himself the Root and the Offspring of David, and the Bright and Morning Star (CP Nu 24:17-19). Even so, come, Lord Jesus (CP Rev 22:20).
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