Beholding Christ Through Scripture

By Greg Grotewold

I’ve done and continue to do a fair amount of work travel. And interesting enough, I haven’t lost my fascination with flying. I’m still struck by the expansive landscape 30,000 feet below. Equally interesting is that most other travelers no longer are. Rather than avail themselves of such beauty, they shut their shades and find delight elsewhere. Familiarity breeds if not contempt certainly disregard. The astonishing ceases to be such.

To a certain degree, the same thing happens with us in regards to God. Familiarity with Him can cause us to lose at times our astonishment of Him. And we shut the window shade and pursue other appeals.

While there may be a plethora of reasons why, one culprit could be how we engage Scripture. I know for myself there are times where my approach becomes too passive. I don’t meditate over the words as I ought. And my devotions end up exacerbating my dullness, rather than thwarting it.

How do we see Jesus with fresh eyes? One approach that I’ve found useful might be of benefit. It’s not complicated. I take a passage of Scripture and first do an initial reading of it. I then go back through verse by verse and put on paper what I think each means. Here’s an example from Colossians 1:15-18.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. (ESV)

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation” (v. 15). Jesus resembles God because He is God. He is more than a wise prophet, learned teacher, or moral man. He is God incarnate—begotten, not made. He has never had a beginning and never not existed. “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him” (V. 16). Jesus formed every atom and every galaxy and everything in between. He stands up regimes and topples them. He is the superintending authority over all other dominions and has no jurisdictional equivalent. “And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (v. 17). Jesus precedes every event in human history, either causing them to happen or allowing. He is never surprised, never caught off guard. He is not only creator of all things but their sustainer. The sun rotates on His command. “And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent” (v. 18). Jesus resurrects His church—the elect—securing their blood-bought path to glory. He is the prevailing force of the universe so that He would be the prevailing affection of our hearts. He exists to be glorified above all else. He exists to be made much of above all else. He exists to be adored above all else.

Something transformational happens when we go from merely reading a passage to challenging ourselves to explain it on paper. That something is clarity of thought. The written word is a powerful aid for it necessitates a certain exactness, a certain conciseness of understanding. It causes us to be diligent in truly grasping the intricacies of that which we seek to articulate. Writing causes us to think.

This is certainly the case for me. I write to think. I write to understand. It’s my space to work through, wrestle with, and expound upon the glories of Jesus as explained in Scripture. Stated differently, I write to replace wander with wonder, indifference with deliberation, lethargy with curiosity.

May we be diligent in finding ways to attack our disinterest towards Jesus. The written word about the written Word is a powerful means to that end. I encourage you to put your thoughts on paper. It will help keep the window shade open.