The Everyman

The Everyman by Joe La Bianca

You can work all your life to understand God. You could arrive at the top of the clergy and be in councils, and still not see what God is all about. In fact, this is the predictable ending of such a course. You will be afraid to believe in Jesus for fear of the rejection of your peers.

To understand God, one must believe that God gave His only Son for the world. This will result in your spirit coming to life. Religious people cannot understand below the surface. They take the words of Christ and only see the outside meaning, without perceiving the spiritual things Jesus was trying to convey.

Jesus spoke about being born of water. As people we are mostly water, 60%. Babies have an even greater percentage of water in their bodies, 78%. How did Jesus know that babies are mostly all water? He came from God and told us of what he saw. Jesus answered, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."

A human has the ability to make another human - more water, if you will. But only the Holy Spirit can give birth to your wind. The word "spirit" means wind. This should not be a surprising thing to hear. "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." So, yes, we are born of water, but we need the wind.

How is one born of the Spirit? That's the rub. So many people have added many things to gain control of you. The Mormons say they must baptize you for you to be saved. Many religions add works and rituals to salvation. But Jesus said this:"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." There you have it! Now, believe it or not, but don't add to it! If you add, then God will take away!

Jesus is the only one who came down from God. He knows all about heavenly things, but many people do not accept His testimony. Believing in the Son of Man gives you eternal life. Jesus came to do a man's job. He is the Son of Man. He came for every man and to be every man. Jesus is the Everyman in the sense that He is the pinnacle man, the highest man, the man that did it right! The Everyman equips all of mankind for Heaven. So believe in the One God sent and get God!

This Everyman, who never sinned, was likened to a snake. Hear the words of Jesus. "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ^"[f]15that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him." How is Jesus like a snake? "He bore our sins on the tree in His body," says Peter. "He became sin so that we could become the righteousness of God in Jesus," says Paul. Lots of pastors shy away from these verses because they do not understand the gospel. They think it's disrespectful to talk of Jesus this way. But it's the glory of Jesus that He bore our sins. What love, to become the thing He hates, for us! This is the grace of Christ!

I said all that to say this. You have a Savior. Believe in Him. That's all you must do! The only thing that will keep you from the blessing of complete forgiveness is fear of the light. Come into the light. Don't let the darkness, the hider of your sins, keep you from confession. The darkness hides your sins, but you must confess that you have sinned to benefit from the Savior. He is the forgiver of sins. Go to Him -- He is in the light. Run out of the darkness. It's deceiving you. See yourself for who you really are; let God see you and forgive you. You are afraid of God's reproof, when it is God who sent His Son to die for the very sins that you are hiding. Believe the truth. Let your evil deeds be seen by God so that God can forgive them. This grace is free. The Everyman has paid the price. Don't perish. Get never-ending life! Jesus will reverse everything. All your sins will be washed away so that only what Christ has done will remain. Your deeds will be wrought in God, through faith in the Everyman, Jesus Christ.