Who he is and what he did

You’ll remember, friends, that when I first came to you to let you in on God’s sheer genius, I didn’t try to impress you with polished speeches and the latest philosophy. I deliberately kept it plain and simple: first Jesus and who he is; then Jesus and what he did—Jesus crucified. (I Corinthians 2:1-2 MSG)

We humans like to complicate God's simple message of salvation with a whole lot of religious talk and mumbo-jumbo. The fact of the matter is that Paul came to establish the New Testament churches with two messages: 1) Jesus and who he is; and 2) Jesus and what he did. When you teach those two things, you pretty much have the entirety of scripture rolled up into those messages, don't you?

No 'fancy words' or great 'oratorical' messages - just the simplicity of telling us who Jesus is and what he has done. There is wisdom in keeping things simple, isn't there? When we add the complications of this or that regulation, rule, or requirement, we get into the 'spiritual space' where we move from what he did for us into what we think we must do to reach him. One of my pastors used to say it this way: Salvation isn't about us working our way to God - it is him working his way to us.

Jesus and who he is - the Son of God, divine in all ways, without sin, willing to lay down all that 'divinity' to lay his life down for a bunch of wayward, selfish sinners. If a reigning king were to take of his crown and royal robes, laying them down on the throne he once sat upon, and went out to meet with his people in the fields, on the streets and byways, finding ways to work with and serve them with 100% of what he possessed, we'd have about as close a view of what Jesus did on our behalf. It isn't a perfect illustration, but it helps us understand that Jesus didn't have to abandon his position on the throne - he did it willingly and without compromise.

Living a life on this earth, amongst the people he came to sacrifice his life for, all while avoiding sin or compromise in his own life, enduring terrible criticism and brutality - not for what he would gain, but for what we needed above all else. He came so we might be free of our sin and overcome the sin nature within by allowing him to change that nature through his grace. Who he is and what he did - without sin, he became sin so we could be restored to fellowship with a holy and gracious God. There is no need to complicate that message, is there? Just keeping it simple...