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Jesus' First-Sentence Perspective
Here is what might seem to be a ridiculously obvious statement: Jesus was focused first and foremost on God!
Even though you might think you already know that don't dismiss it too quickly. I'm not saying that Jesus had a pet project and He thought it might be cute to put God's name on it. That's how we do it. It is absolutely and unequivocally not what Jesus did.
Jesus' All-Consuming Focus
What's my point? Jesus was consumed with one single person. That person was, is and will always be, God. Jesus lived and died, learned, taught, ate, and breathed from that perspective and that perspective alone.
He knew and practiced first-hand what we often overlook in our faith journey — God. The priority of God, the love of God, the knowledge of God, and even the fear of God inspired every word and action that emanated from Jesus.
In His Own Words
Out of his own mouth we read these words in John's Gospel:
“For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. John 6:29
So Jesus answered them and said, “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me. John 7:16.
An Ancient Message
He did not come with a new message; He came with an ancient message that had been on God's heart from the beginning. Early heretics of the faith would lead us to believe that the Angry God of the Old Testament was made more palatable and friendly in the form of Jesus, even somewhat apologetic for all He had done.
Jesus' words reveal He knows nothing of such a heretical thought. His words and His thoughts are God's words and God's thoughts.
God's First Lesson
Jesus knew, without hesitation or doubt, what God first taught Israel in their desert journey from the misery of Egypt to the freedom of the Promised Land. There had been no Bible, no written word of God. These people had been enslaved in a foreign land and under the influence of thousands of gods. They had lost touch with their God.
To establish them as His people He first established who this God, who had stolen them from another nation and thousands of gods, was. He introduced Himself with these first four words of the first sentence of what we now call Scripture: "In the beginning God..."
Retelling Their Story
Then He began to retell the story, their story, like they had never heard it before. They had been told that everything that existed had been made through the mishaps and adventures of the gods of Egypt and the other gods who ruled the earth. God began to set the record straight.
It was He who spoke everything into existence. He traced His first words through their ancestry and revealed to them that they were His and had been from the beginning. He gave them a First-Sentence Perspective of where they had come from, who they were, and what their purpose was.
In Need of Another Refresher
By the time of Jesus, they needed yet another refresher. Once again ruled by a foreign nation and under the administration of foreign gods they had been sidetracked in their journey toward the fulfillment of their purpose.
Although we often forget or neglect what Jesus knew, His mission was to set the people of God on a straight path that would avoid a harsh and eternal judgment. God had been separated from His creation by their sin and Jesus was here to reconcile, to restore His creation to Him.
The Priority of God
Jesus came speaking of the priority of God in all things. Following the words of His cousin John, Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." (Matthew 4:17) He had come to speak and teach on behalf of His Father, using His Father's words and acting like and for His Father. He did so to ensure that the Father's creation would be restored to Himself.
Strong Language
In doing so, he used extraordinarily strong and sobering language. The gospel of John records one such articulation.
19 ..., “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. ...He has given all judgment to the Son, 23 so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. John 5:19-24 (Emphasis mine)
Jesus lays out clearly that there is a serious judgment of death in view for those who neglect this message. Those who are not reconciled to the Father by the Son, have no hope of life in the future. He also says that He is death and judgment's antidote.
He does this by speaking the Father's words, representing the Father in the World.
The Sermon on the Mount
The content of His teaching is powerfully captured in the Sermon on the Mount. In that sermon, Jesus re-establishes what the Father had revealed at Sinai as the way those united in the Kingdom of God were to act: to govern themselves. Jesus was the means by which they would enter that Kingdom and these instructions were their righteous response to the grace they would receive at His expense.
I encourage you to read and ponder that sermon. You can find it in the Gospel of Matthew in chapters 5 through 7. After this powerful teaching and following on the heels of some incredibly challenging statements regarding the restrictiveness of this Kingdom, came the warning of those, like wolves, who would deceive them with enticing lies. Perhaps the most chilling are these words:
21 “not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’
23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’ Matthew 7:21–23.
Jesus' Challenge: Choose Your Foundation Wisely
Jesus closes with a challenge to His hearers to choose a foundation on which to build their hopes and their future (Mt 7:24-27). The rock is the foundation that anticipates the storm: judgment.
The foundation built on the sand ignores Jesus' message of judgment and destruction. Many of those who build on this foundation look and sound like believers but in truth do not live with a First-Sentence Perspective priority of God in all things.
Those that heard that message that day were both offended and encouraged by this amazing and authoritative teaching. Which are you?
Join the Journey
You've glimpsed the power and intrigue of viewing life from a First-Sentence Perspective. Here is how I define F-SP:
Exploring and establishing scripture's horizon to reflect Heaven's will into the earth by viewing it through the lens first four words of Scripture's first sentence, "In the beginning, God ...".
This journey promises to radically transform how you read Scripture, relate to God, and live out His purposes.
The choice is yours: continue living life focused on yourself or embrace the adventure of fixing your eyes on knowing and glorifying God with all you are.
If you desire the latter, here's your chance. Hit "subscribe" now and commit walking this road less traveled. There is no cost, just a willingness to go deeper.
Share this with 5 friends who long to ignite their faith and live for Christ. Discuss it together. Hold each other accountable. In future articles, together we'll walk through God's Word and re-examine it for life-altering truths tethered to a F-SP.
