What are the Crucial Facts about the One and Only Jesus Christ?

Christ of Saint John of the Cross is a painting by Salvador Dalí made in 1951

Many New Agers are ignorant of the Savior's credentials.  Their idea of "the Christ is dim and dull, based on childhood images, sentimental distortions, occult clichés and misinterpretations of Scripture.  Yet Christians have great opportunity to boast in their Lord.  Among other things, Christians can highlight these crucial facts about the one and only Christ:

1. He fulfilled a score of Old Testament prophecies concerning his life, death and resurrection.

The Presentation at the Temple is painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Andrea Mantegna dating to c. 1455.

These predictions fit only one person, Jesus Christ -- as the early church saw so clearly.  No other religious leader can rightly claim to fulfill them.  Jesus was and is "the Mighty God" of Isaiah 9:6, the personal revelation of God.  In view of some New Agers' interest in vague, ancient, pagan prophecies -- whether Mayan, Aztec, Hopi or Hindu -- they should be willing to consider the reality of specific, fulfilled biblical prophecy concerning Jesus Christ.

Consider the confidence in Christ shown by Pascal, who viewed fulfilled prophecy as a strong reason to believe:

Blaise Pascal (19 June 1623 – 19 August 1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer and Christian philosopher.

I hold out my arms to my Redeemer, who, having been foretold for four thousand years, has come to suffer and die for me on earth, at the time and under all the circumstances foretold.  By His grace, I await death in peace, in the hope of being eternally united to Him.  Yet I live with joy, whether in the prosperity which it pleases Him to bestow upon me, or in the adversity which He sends for my good, and which He has taught me to bear by His example.

2. Jesus predicted his own death and resurrection and rose from the dead.

Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus) is a 1954 oil-on-canvas painting by Salvador Dalí which depicts the Crucifixion of Jesus, though it deviates from traditional portrayals of the Crucifixion by depicting Christ on the polyhedron net of a hypercube and adding elements of Surrealism.

Few others have predicted their resurrection from the dead, let alone actually done it!  Christ actually rose again on the third day, thus vindicating his claims (Romans 1:4).  The evangelistic vigor of the early church is inexplicable apart from Christ's actual physical resurrection.  Without this his disciples would have remained (literally) dispirited.  They would have known he predicted his resurrection to no avail.  They would have no gospel to preach.  But preach they did -- because of the resurrection.

Although the New Age claims we are gods, I know of no New Ager who has died for the karma of the world or has risen from the dead.  And none seem forthcoming.  (It is said that Swami Yogananda, founder of the Seal-Realization Fellowship, decayed quite slowly after his death, but whatever significance that has pales in comparison with the risen Christ.)

3. Jesus cannot be forced into the New Age mold of just another "enlightened master" if we accept what the Bible says about him.

The Incredulity of Saint Thomas by Caravaggio

Either he was who he said he was -- uniquely God incarnate -- or he wasn't.  He never made general claims about the divinity of all people, but singled himself out as the Incarnation of God.  To some of his detractors he declared, "I tell you the truth ... before Abraham was born, I am!" (John 8:58).  At this they tried to stone him because he called himself what God had called himself in the revelation to Moses in the burning bush (Exodus 3:14).  Jesus also said to a paralytic he was about to heal, "Son, your sins are forgiven," thus disturbing some of the religious leaders there who thought, "Why does this fellow talk like that?  He's blaspheming!  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  Jesus didn't shrink back, but knowing their thoughts he revealed that "The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins" (Mark 2:10), after which he demonstrated his divine power by healing a crippled boy (verses 5-12).  Jesus also received the worship of Thomas who -- after his doubts about Jesus' resurrection melted in the presence of the risen Christ -- cried out, "My Lord and My God" (John 20:28).  Jesus did not correct him but rather blessed him (v. 29).

If Jesus thought he was uniquely God incarnate but he wasn't, he was far less than "an enlightened master" -- he didn't even know who he was!  If he knew he was not uniquely God incarnate, but said he was, he was a flaming fraud, and in no sense was he an "enlightened master."  Rose yet, h e would have been a deceiver, leading a multitude astray.  IF he though he was uniquely God incarnate and was -- as the record relates -- let us throw off this nonsense of placing him in the pantheistic pantheon.  Let us worship and serve him instead.

Christians may want to challenge New Agers imply to read thought the Gospels themselves, rather than relying on secondhand interpretations given by New Age writers and teachers.  Confronted with the uncensored Word of God, they might "believer that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing ... have life in his name" (John 20:31).

Source: Groothuis, Doug. Confronting the New Age. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 1988, pages 119-121.

The Fear of the Lord is The Beginning of Emotional Intelligence.

Fear of God is the first official studio album by industrial band Deitiphobia, who had been known as Donderfliegen up until that time. It was originally released in late 1991 by Blonde Vinyl. 

What's missing from the discussion about Emotional Intelligence?  God is. 

Solomon writing Proverbs (Gustave Doré).  Proverbs 9:10: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom."

We suggest that what is missing in the wisdom model presented is the acknowledgement of God or a divine Other to whom an individual can be personally related.  A major corrective to the model is found in Proverbs 9:10: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom."  To fear, or to have awe or respect, of God is presented as the foundation upon which all other wisdom is based.

Jesus Christ is God's Wisdom

Christ crucified , Diego Velázquez

The subject of wisdom in the Bible is primarily dealt with in the Old Testament wisdom books (Proverbs, Job and Ecclesiastes)  and in certain parts of the New Testament, most notably writing that centers on "Jesus Christ who is God's wisdom and who reveals it to us" (Goldsworthy, 1987, p. 16).  As the fulfiller of the Olt Testament, only Jesus Christ can provide an  understanding of the full meaning of the wisdom books of the Old Testament.

Biblical Wisdom is not just knowledge of what is good and right but also putting that knowledge into practice

Parable of the Wise and the Foolish Builders.  This parable compares building one's life on the teachings and example of Jesus to a flood-resistant building founded on solid rock.

The word wisdom (or to be wise) is used over four hundred times in the Bible.  While many of these refer to knowledge of what is good and right, mnany also refer to how a person is to practically live out that knowledge.  In Scripture, making the right decision and living the right way is linked with wisdom.  Note, for example, Matthew's parable of the wise and foolish builders (Gospel of Matthew 7:24-29).  While a wise man builds his house upon a rock, the foolish man builds his house upon the sand.  The wise person "hears these words of mine and acts on them ... [But] everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand" (verse 24 nad 26).  Although Matthew begins by associating wisdom as knowledge, he quickly adds that no on eis wise unless they put that knowledge into practice.  Thus Baltes and Freund's assertion that wisdom includes the two components of knowledge and practical abilities comports very well with a biblical perspective on wisdom.

God has turned "worldly wisdom" into foolishness.  Wordly wisdom is actually foolishness because it cannot put man in touch with reality by bringing him to God.

Descent from the Cross, depicted by Rubens

Outside of the Gospels, 1 Corinthians 1-2 most directly addresses the issue of wisdom.  The heeart of the Corinthian passages can be summed up in 1 Corinthians 1:20: "Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?"  We could wrongly conclude that Paul is discounting the value of any "worldly wisdom."  In truth, all of us have absorbed and depend on much "worldly wisdom" in our daily living.  The wisdom described in Balte's model is valuable, those who have more of it are better off than those who have little.  Goldsworthy (1987, p. 31) helps us understand the difference between such worldly wisdom and Godly wisdom by summarizing Paul's assertions on the two kinds of wisdom mentioned in 1 Corinthians 1-2.

First, Paul says that the gospel would be emptied of its power if he were to preach it with eloquent worldly wisdom (1:17).  This is because the wisdom of the world judges this gospel, the message of the cross, to be foolishness (1:18).  Such wisdom is therefore doomed to perish (1:19).  Wordly wisdom is actually foolishness because it cannot put man in touch with reality by bringing him to God (1:20-21a).  God's way of salvation through the preaching of Christ curcified is an offense to the Jews and stupidity to the Greeks, yet it is both the power and wisdom of God (1:18-24).  So, that which the unbelieving world calls foolishness is in fact wiser than the wisdom of the world (1:25).  Paul avoids the wisdom which the world sees as superior and persuasive, and centers his whole message of Christ crucified (2:1-4).  He does this in order that faith might rest, not in man's wisdom, but in God's power (2:5).  Paul's wisdom is wisdom from God which is taught by the Spirit of God (2:6-13).  He who does not have the Spirit of God will never see this true wisdom for what it is (2:14-16).

While wordly wisdom has meaning in a limited sense, God's wisdom has meaning in an ultimate sense

Truth and Wisdom assist History in writing by Jacob de Wit, 1754

To Paul worldly wisdom has meaning in a limited sense, but if falls short of God's wisdom, which has meaning in an ultimate sense.  Paul is not saying there is no value to wrodly wisdom, only that it fails to answer the ultimate questions of what the meaning and purpose is to life.  The cultimation of biblical wisdom is seen in the person and life of Jesus Crhsit, who was wholly God and wholly human.  Jesus Christ modeled wisdom as knowlege and how to put it into practice in daily living and interaction with others.  Even though Baltes's model (Paul B. Baltes (1939 – 2006) was a German psychologist) of wisdom is limited, it is valid to the extent that it is modeled by the humanity of Jesus.  Thus we find that the "wordly" model of wisdom comports very well with a biblical view of wisdom.

Aging makes you wiser

Old Woman Dozing by Nicolaes Maes (1656). 

While the development of wisdom comes with aging, it is a process that goes on throughout the entire life span.  Hopefully, the end of midlife is accompanied by the recognition of others that one is becoming wise.  Where there have been barriers to the development of wisdom, the mere passage to the elderly years is no guarantee that a person will become wise.  Where the beginning of wisdom has emerged, the elderly years can be a time when the more routine and material concerns of life can be put aside in favor of a life in which the further development of wisdom can flourish. 

Source: Balswick, Jack O., Pamela Ebstyne King, and Kevin S. Reimer, The Reciprocating Self: Human Development in Theological Perspective, locations 2715 to 2745.

Christian Psychologists believe that our souls are relational and permeable and that God has designed us to absorb the presence of others

Our way of relating to others is affected by our earliest experiences as babies

Sweet Dreams, by Belgian artist Firmin Baes

Learning to relate starts at least as early as the day we are born (and probably in the womb).  Our way of entering into and maintaining all our relationships (not just marriage) is one of the earliest psychological structures formed in us.  We come into the world neurologically wired to make connections, to attach to others.  When our early connections are healthy, we will find it easier to connect well as adults.  To the extent our emotional attachment with our primary caregivers is lacking while we are children, we will find our relational capacity limited as adults.

Our Learned Relational Attachment System affects our future relationships

"Weak-strong-ties" by derivative work: PalfretWeak-strong-ties.jpg:g

It is virtually impossible to overstate the significance of our learned relational attachment system in the early years and its profound influence on our relational experience as adults.  The quality and character of the programming we received early in life establishes a pattern of attachment that controls our relationships later in life.

God designed us to absorb the presence of others

Famille d’un Chef Camacan se préparant pour une Fête ("Family of a Camacan chief preparing for a celebration") by Jean-Baptiste Debret shows a woman breastfeeding a child in the background.

We are able to attach to others because our souls are relational and permeable.  God designed us to absorb the presence of others, especially when we are young.  Two primitive instincts are in service of the infant's attachment design.  First is the sucking instinct.  It fosters a bond with the mother whereby the child absorbs both the physical and emotional needs of the young soul.  Second is the instinctual search for the gaze of another's eyes.  Looking for and locking on to the eyes of another also fosters a bond.  These instincts build the neural network that compels the infant's connection with others.

Our attachment network controls how we connect with others

A mother breast feeding—a process that facilitates mother–infant bonding.

The attachment system is so significant and comprehensive that it literally organizes and influences the development of other critical neurological systems in the body.  Our feelings, will and memory come under its domain in the first months of life.  When our cognition comes online later, it will also be under the influence of our attachment system.  In other words, the attachment network compels us to connect with others, and it eventually controls how we connect with others.

Source:  Plass, Richard and James Cofield. The Relational Soul: Moving from False Self to Deep Connection. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2014, pages 24-25.