Christ’s Autobiography

In considering this title, I had a little difficulty making my choice. A biography is defined as a person’s life story written by someone else. Certainly, the Bible was written by many people, consisting of sixty-six books. An autobiography is written by the person himself and considering Peter’s statement in 2 Peter 2:21, “For the prophecy came not of old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost”. I admit that the Bible was authored by Christ himself. But why refer to the Bible as Christ’s autobiography? This choice emphasizes that the Bible from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21 is the story of Christ and His mighty works, those already performed and those which are to come when Christ revisits us to begin His reign of peace in His Kingdom which will not be destroyed and which shall endure for ever.

To me, the Bible does not start at the beginning of the story.. To find the beginning. we must search in Proverbs 8:22-23. “The Lord possessed me in the beginning of His way, BEFORE His works of old. I was set up from everlasting from the beginning or ever the earth’s was.” (Read to the end of the chapter: it is beautiful.) There is an alternative translation in Ferrar Fenton’s translation which reads as follows, “The Lord formed me, the first of His plans, BEFORE He began to create: and I was enthroned from of old, ere the first preparations of earth.” So, we are told clearly that Christ’s formation was the first of the Creator’s mighty works, BEFORE the creation of heaven and earth. This is beautifully. confirmed by John 1:1-4, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him: and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life: and the life was the light of men.”

On the sixth day, God created man. This followed a short discussion, as found in Genesis 1:26, “And God said. Let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So, God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him: male and female created He them.” Now, God knows the end from the beginning, and the creation of man would inevitably cause problems. Since man was given the freedom of choice, God knew that man would not follow His precepts and perfect laws governing life, (avoiding death) and therefore a plan was required for man’s redemption to achieve the status of sons of God. Jesus solved the problem with the statement that is found in Psalms 40:6-8. “Sacrifice and offerings Thou dost not desire: but preparest for me a body, whole burnt offerings and offerings for sin Thou dost not require. Then I said. Lo. I come: (in a volume of a book it is written of Me): I delight to do thy will, 0 My God, Thy law is within my heart.” So, with this declaration Christ became the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the earth. In other words. Christ agreed to sacrifice the body prepared for Him (through the Virgin Mary) as a perfect offering for the redemption of man BEFORE man was created. When Christ said, “Thy law is within My heart”, He was declaring that He knew the requirements of the law and was willing to endure His encounter with death.

Well, what about this law for which Christ was willing to die? How to teach man to love and obey the law? That was the second part of God’s plan. The method He chose was to select a God fearing man (Abraham) and using his posterity to form a people and a nation and let that nation be an example to all other nations by reason of their prosperity. This prophecy is found in Isaiah 2:2-3, “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain [nation] of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains [above all other nations and shall be exalted above the hills [smaller nations], and AI.I. NATIONS SHALL FLOW UNTO IT. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain [nation] of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob: AND HE WILL TEACH US OF HIS WAYS, AND WE WILL WALK IN HIS PATHS, for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” That is all very well, but we know that Israel failed in that mission because they walked in their own paths forsaking the Lord and His laws. How is this to be overcome.? Ezekiel 36: 24-28 describes how the Father will achieve this result. “For I will take you from among the heathen and gather you out of all countries and will bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water upon you and ye shall be clean from all your filthiness and from all your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers: and ye shall be My people and I will be your God.” Sprinkling water to cleanse us is a metaphor for having our sins washed away with Christ’s precious blood. Yes, His perfect sacrifice from the foundation of the world also redeemed the sinning nation, Israel. So, besides purchasing the nation Israel, He offered forgiveness to anyone who believed in Christ, offering them everlasting life!

An important part or the autobiography was written in the four gospels, inspired by the Holy Ghost. During His time as an itinerant preacher in Palestine, Christ performed many miracles, preached the spirit of the law and preached that the Kingdom of God was at hand. He took great pains proclaiming that He was the messenger of God and indeed sent by the Father. His preaching antagonized the Jews and they finally succeeded in removing Him by His Crucifixion on Calvary. More importantly, His Resurrection was documented by eye witnesses and by this extraordinary sacrifice He proved that He was “The way, the truth and the life.” Now, usually an autobiography ends with the death of the subject person, but in Christ’s case it does not. In fact, Christ dictated what was to happen in the future by showing John, through vision, the two thousand years of the Christian dispensation.

So, Christ’s autobiography is a Christian document from beginning to end and the scribes who wrote His inspiring words were Christians. Of course, the name Christian did not come into being until the Resurrection was accomplished. In the Old Testament, when the messenger encountered men and women of God, He was known as the Angel of the Lord, the Captain of the Host, Peniel, etc. Now the term, “Jew” did not come into effect until the return of the remnant front Babylon to form the Jewish nation and rebuild the temple for Christ’s appearance there. Some of the Jews that performed the duty of scribe to Christ were, like Daniel, a pure child of Abraham, living according to the law of Christ, resulting in the fiery furnace and the lion’s den. On the other hand, the Jews that persecuted Christ were Idumeans which incorporated the bloodlines of Esaa/Edom. Therefore those “Jews” who contributed to the autobiography, like Ezra and Nehemiah, were men of God telling their part of the Christ story.

Christians need to understand that the Bible is a Christian book, written by Christians for Christians and in no way depends on the Jews or the Jewish faith. When King Solomon dedicated the temple, the Lord appeared to him in a vision at night, as recorded in II Chronicles, 7: 14. “[f my people. WHICH ARE CALLED BY MY NAME shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways: then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” What is His Name? Christ! Who are called by His name? Christians, that’s who! So let us use the blessings Christ has offered us, by following the four instructions in II Chronicles, falling to our knees in adoration and worship!