Picturing Theology

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P i c t u r i n g T h e o l o g y

The Center and Circumference: Christianity Is Jesus Christ (continued)

• For Christians, there exists no saving knowledge of God that is not mediated through the person of Jesus Christ, John 14.6. • For us who believe, the very glory of God shines in the face of Jesus, 2 Cor. 4.6. • The fullness of the Godhead, the glorious beauty of God is seen most clearly in the person and work of Jesus Christ, Col. 2.9 (ESV) - For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily. E. Christianity is the person of Christ, relating to God in the person of Jesus Christ, who we believe lived, died, and rose again in order to bring us into a right relationship with God • It is not ethics and do-gooding (we live right after we meet Christ) • It is not merely family life (we become what God wants us to become after we come to know Christ) • It is not religious studies and liturgies (other religions have fine ethics, great worship programs, devoted teaching, and many holy books)

Jesus Is the Only Way to God

A traveler engaged a guide to take him across a desert area. When the two men arrived at the edge of the desert, the traveler, looking ahead, saw before him trackless sands without a single footprint, path, or marker of any kind. Turning to his guide, he asked in a tone of surprise, “Where is the road?” With a reproving glance, the guide replied, “I am the road.”

The Scriptures Point to Christ

Five times in the NT the Scriptures refer to Jesus as the express purpose of the writing of the Holy Scriptures. He is the reason for the story, divided into two unequal halves (Gen. 1.1-3.15, and Gen. 3.16 - Rev. 21). If you look at any part of the Bible, you will see him there. There is a bronze copy of the Declaration of Independence carved right into a bronze slate, done in meticulous accuracy