Gospels

For the past several months I've been working my way through the epistles to the Church. Since we are in the Church age, that doctrine is particularly appropriate to us, especially now, in this time of great apostasy. It has been startlingly familiar in many ways, to the ongoing situation we see in our churches today. We must be aware of the realities we face in the devil's world, and the certain hope we have of our own endurance. Now, with the Christmas season approaching I'm looking forward to a different course of study; The Gospels. They are miraculous in their presentation of the life of our Lord. There are parallels to Old Testament symbolism and historical connections across the millennia. There are truths about Jesus that the world simply does not know or care about, but they are truths that are necessary to our knowledge of His Person and His Work. In Ezekiel 1:10-11, the prophet described a vision of four living creatures who represent the character of God: Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a human being, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle. Such were their faces. Again, in Revelation 4:6-8 here they are: In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle.
These living creatures' faces have meaning, regarding the person of Christ, and each one is represented in one of the four Gospels.

The Lion represents strength and authority: Messiah, the King of Israel is presented in Matthew. The Ox means service and power. We find the powerful servant-redeemer throughout Mark. Luke gives us the Perfect Man, demonstrating wisdom and character. In John we see the deity of the Son of God, whose emblem is the Eagle. Matthew gives a geneaology of the Messiah, of great importance to the religious Jews. In Mark the pragmatism of Roman thinking is in view. Greek idealism is seen in Luke's perfect Man. John's gospel has universal application. No religion, no specific culture as the focus, just the introduction of the Son of God, creator and redeemer of all mankind.

You see, these are not random writers who had different stories to tell. They were specifically appointed communicators of God's Word about His only Son, the savior of the world. There are no contradictions in God's Word. There is a definite pattern to His revelation of Himself and His Son to mankind. The Old Testament gives us the history of God's dealings with His people, and the promise of the Messiah. The New Testament gives us the fulfillment of His promise: the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. The Gospels will be a refreshing study for the next few weeks. I'm ready to get on with it.