Our Lord, Our Saviour.
The Baptism of Christ by Fransesco Albini 1578-1660.
Our Lord God, Jesus Christ; God The Son, is our Saviour. And it is for humans to always try to keep in mind that human identity is bound to our Creator; that we are His creatures. And that what we identify in is always on and within a divine level. But that our fallen human level makes divine things obscure to us, but that nevertheless they are there, and that God, who wants our salvation, has and does provide help for us. It is a most immense, an incalculable honour for us, that we can call God our Father; and which also reveals to us His love and care for us. Our Creator is our Father.
These matters concerning our true identity are described very well for us by St John the Apostle/the Divine, himself, at the beginning of his gospel. St John writes in the context of our Saviour's life on earth and His being witnessed by St John the Baptist. He writes:
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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 made nothing that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to give testimony of the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but was to give testimony of the light. That was the true light, which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world.
He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, he gave them power to be made the sons of God, to them who believe in his name. Who are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt amongst us, (and we saw his glory, the glory as it were of the only begotten of the Father, )full of grace and truth. (Jn1:1-14.)
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Our Lord Jesus Christ; God the Son, is God's creating Word; through Him all things were made. He is our Saviour, we must be joined with Him in His glorious resurrection from the dead. All things of our identity must, as a first priority, be focussed on His; our Redeemer's identity.
Our Lord said:
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me.” (Jn.14:2-6.)
He is the teacher and the revealer of Truth.
Our Lord God's life on earth and His glorious resurrection from the dead, and His Ascension into heaven was the culmination of God's loving plan of salvation for mankind. This took place “in time” it is an historical fact.
The Garden of Eden.
In the garden of Eden, Adam was warned, by God, not to eat of the forbidden fruit; the tree of knowledge of good and evil:
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And the Lord God commanded the man thus," "From every
tree of the garden you may eat; but from the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil you must not eat; for the day
you eat of it, you must die."[Gen 2: 16-17]
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Eve eats of the forbidden fruit at the instigation of “the serpent;” the devil; the fallen angel, Lucifer. And the circumstances provide us with an understanding of the vast intelligence of the devil and his demons. The serpent (Lucifer) knew who Adam and Eve were, he knew when they were in the garden of Eden, and why they were there; he knew that they were in a period of probation, he knew exactly what they were allowed and were not allowed to do, he knew where Eve was, he knew exactly what to say to her to gain his desired response, and he found her and tempted her accordingly.
The Book of Genesis goes on to tell us of how Adam and Eve, on eating the forbidden fruit, realised that they were naked, and made themselves coverings [Gen.3:7-8.] They were now doing things apart from God; and thus now in a state of a rebellious nature. When they fell, the whole of mankind fell with them, and which meant an automatic descent into hell upon death. But God, in His great Mercy and Love had a plan to help mankind to avoid this automatic fate.
God Himself clothed Adam and Eve, and warned them of the serious nature of their sin:
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The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife
and clothed them. And he said, “Indeed! The man has become
like one of us, knowing good and evil! And now perhaps he will
put forth his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat,
and live forever!” Therefore the Lord God put him out of the
garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.
He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden
he placed the Cherubim, and the flaming sword, which turned
every way, to guard the way to the tree of life. [Gen.3:21-24]
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God's Plan of Salvation.
But just after the fall, and before their expulsion from the garden, God, in His great Love and Mercy for mankind, and in the way of a loving Father, had set in place a way for mankind; a plan of salvation. It is told of in Genesis 3. God said to the serpent, Lucifer, the devil, just after Adam and Eve had eaten the forbidden fruit:
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"I will put enmity between you and the
woman, between your seed and her
seed; He shall crush your head, and
you shall lie in wait for his heel "[Gen 3:15.]
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This is the one battle that the whole of mankind are part of, whether this is understood by individuals or not. Mankind must beware, for the devil and his demons will always seek to implicate mankind, individually and collectively, in their rebellion against God.
God's plan of salvation is told of in the Bible: It saw Him meeting mankind in our contemptible fallen state, choosing a people to reveal Himself through; making things understandable to them, and for them to write it down. And to nurture and cajole, to forgive, to chastise, and to sanctify; never casting them of, always preparing them; always bringing them back along the course of His loving plan, and all culminating “in the fullness of time” with the birth of our Saviour. It was good of Him! We must be joined with our Saviour's glorious resurrection from the dead.
God's plan of salvation was the way of a loving Father, and in the way of significance for us which is only learnt fully upon death, but we must try to grasp its significance as fully as we can in this life, and Trust God. It was good of Him, who has no need of us whatsoever. And rightly do the words of the preface of the Feast of the Epiphany say:
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It is truly meet and just, right and for our salvation, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God; for when Thine only – begotten Son was manifested in the substance of our mortal flesh, with the new light of His own immortality He restored us....
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Only God Himself could save mankind from our sins; only the perfect Sacrifice; His great Sacrifice, could suffice for God's Justice. By the power of God, Our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ became incarnate in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary; the Archangel Gabriel saying to the Blessed Virgin:
..."The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee; and therefore the
Holy One to be born shall be called the the Son of God...." [Lk:1:26-38.]
The Hypostatic union is the term used to explain Our Lord God and Saviour taking on human flesh; to become man, without losing a single feature of the God Head; true God and true man. Jesus Christ (God the Son) begotten of God the Father before all ages; God from God. He is of one substance with the Father, and one substance with the Holy Spirit; Consubstantial with God the Father and Consubstantial with God the Holy Spirit. Fully equal in all ways. Taking on human flesh did not diminish His God Head in any way. The glorious Trinity. The Hypostatic Union is described in the following way:
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"A theological term used with reference to the Incarnation to
express the revealed truth that in Christ one person subsists
in two natures, the Divine and the Human. Hypostatic means,
literally, that which lies beneath as basis or foundation." *
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The monumental significance of Our lord God becoming man for us must be grasped by man. The stakes are very high, because this is, as it always is, is all about souls. God made man (the soul and body) immortal, and when we die from this life, we go to judgement.
Our Lord God, Jesus Christ, who dwells in glory, humbled Himself to partake of our human nature; making Himself "the Son of Man" for our sakes. And humans should never mistake how serious this is. He warned us about hell on numerous occasions, for example:[Lk12.5] [Lk16:19] [Mt5:22] [Mt5:29-30] [Mt7:13][Mt13:41-42][Mt25:41][Mt25:46] [Mt13:50] [Mk9:42-48.] Hell is real; a real place; the Abyss. It is a place where, at all and every conceivable cost imaginable, humans Must Not Go! For there, human souls (soul and body) are abased, and in horrifying ways by our terrible enemies, the devil and the demons.
We Must be joined with Our Lord's glorious resurrection from the dead; with His victory.
The Apocalypse tells of Christ and the victory of His word. It is this victory that is symbolized by the white horse and horseman. In Chapter 6 of the Apocalypse, St John tells us of Our Lord; The Lamb, opening the first of the seven seals: he writes:
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“And I saw that the Lamb had opened the first of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying, as with a voice of thunder, “Come!” And I saw, and behold, a white horse, and he who was sitting on it had a bow, and there was given him a crown, and he went forth as a conqueror to conquer [Apoc:6: 1-2]
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Traditional Catholic commentary affirms the identity of the horse and horseman:
Ver.2. White horse. This horseman with the bow symbolizes Christ and the victory of His word. cf. 19:11:13. (p243 Holy Family Bible 1950 commentary.)
Our Lord set in place one Church, to be one; Catholic; universal; and that Church can be and is The Roman Catholic Church. The Church founded by His word on St Peter. Our Lord said to His apostle Simon, “Thou art Rock” (Peter means Rock):
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“Blessed art thou, Simon Bar Jona, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to the thee, but my Father in heaven. And I say to thee, thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."[Mt 17:18-19]
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The Apostles, and the great missionaries of the Church brought to us our treasure from the Lord.
And rightly should all keep in mind Our Lord's words:
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“For what does it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, but suffer the loss of his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?[Mk 8:36-37, Mt 16:26.]
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The First commandment is:
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Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart,
and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind. (Mt 22:37)
(Deut.6:4-5) (Lk 10:27.)
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Our Lord affirmed this as being the greatest commandment (Mt.22:34-38.)
In Deuteronomy, and directly after relaying the first commandment, Moses stated:
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“..Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today. Drill
them into your children. Speak of them at home and abroad,
whether you are busy or at rest. Bind them at your wrist as
a sign and let them be as a pendant on your forehead. Write
them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.
(Deut: 6:4-9.)
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And the words of the Our Father "......Thy will be done......"
Bible text from:
The Holy Family Bible: The Holy Bible: Douay Rheims Text (1609) (Challoner notes): New Testament and Psalms in the Confraternity Text. Approbation, (Imprimatur) 1950. Virtue & Company Ltd. 1956. On this page: (Our Lord, Our Saviour) St John 1:1-14 in Douay Rheims text.
* Hypostatic union: as stated in new advent Catholic online encyclopedia.
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Bless you great Lord for all that it means.