The Man Upstairs – Unveiling the KING of Kings & LORD of Lords (Series Part 1)
It all started with the Spirit of God hovering over the waters, and God said, “Let there be light, and there was light.” Then He said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness..” –Gen.1:26
In 2005, I authored a book titled The Man Upstairs: Unveiling the King of Kings & Lord of Lords. When my mind-in-motion was thinking of my next serialized article, my thoughts centered on that published book. I would not serialize the entire content but focus on the book’s cornerstone. I do not know how many parts it would be but let me take the first step with the series Part 1.
Life and blessing come from God. And God inhabits the spiritual realm, earth’s reduced fecundity (fruitfulness) after the Fall can be thought of as a disruption of the power flow of the sustaining energy of the spiritual realm into the physical realm of our “two-storied” universe – ‘Upstairs & Downstairs’.
The ‘Man Upstairs’ was part of the creation. According to the Bible notes on Ephesians 1:11 (NIV Bible Study), “Christ is the center of God’s plan. Whether the universe or the individual Christian is in view, it is only in relationship to Christ that there is a meaningful future destiny.” The Man lives upstairs, and the whole World stays downstairs. There is only one way that leads to the upstairs. It is hard climbing the steps, except you stay focused on the Man only with His permission. He knows every living creature, and He loves His creation. He sees all and affects all positively or negatively depending on your relationship with Him. He is the only way, the truth, and life. You must know Him and pass through Him to reach the Father. He lives upstairs, where there are many mansions. I love the place He lives; His Glory dwells there. He beckons to all to know Him, proclaims His praise, and tells of all His wonderful deeds.
Once He came downstairs, He was brutalized by hooligans and sinners. He took all the beatings and punishment in His stride, still loving us. The Man died. He descended to the basement that we call hell to fight the battle against the evil one on behalf of those who brutalized Him. What wondrous love, He exhibited! He arose from dead on the third day, having won the battle against evil and death. Oh, death! Where is thy sting? He later ascended to heaven to remain upstairs and sits at the right hand of the Father, advocating for us.
This article encourages spiritual babes, ‘Come & See’ and ‘Follow me’ groups. It enlightens those who seek to know The SON OF MAN and THE SON OF GOD. Others might learn one or two things from it, but mostly it is an evangelical outreach. I have written it in poetic prose. I seek to be understood so that you might understand the deep love of Jesus Christ, who cares for us. Jesus Christ, the LORD of Lords and KING of Kings, is the only one to meet our basic spiritual and emotional needs. He was in the beginning and is still the same. Life without Him is meaningless.
The ‘Man Upstairs’ is our LORD, our REDEEMER, and the MESSIAH. Get to know Christ intimately, and you will never be the same. A sect claims He was born by a roman soldier who impregnated Mary. What a blasphemous (profane) statement on my Lord and Saviour. This group calls themselves cross-bearers. What cross do they bear?; if their Jesus is a bastard. My Jesus is the Son of God that came into being by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. A sin against the Holy Spirit is grave and can never be forgiven. The Word of God cautions us to test all words and beware of heresies and false doctrines.
Unveiling The ‘Man Upstairs’
Who Is He?
He is known by different names. He gave himself seven self- descriptions. “I am” is the first of these seven self-descriptions of Jesus Christ (John 8:12; 9:5; 10:7,9,11,14). He is the “Prince Of Peace,” and like the chorus of a song composed by Marc Imboden, I sing heartily:
“You are holy, You are mighty.
You are worthy, Worthy of Praise.
I will follow, I will listen, I will love you,
All of my days.”
The book of Isaiah tells us: “For to us a Child is born, to us, a son is given and the government will be on his shoulders, And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with Justice and Righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.” Isaiah 9: 6-7
According to the Word of God in Colossians 1:15-20:
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him, all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. Whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities, all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and on Him, all things hold together. And he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead so that he might have supremacy in everything. God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace with his blood shed on the cross.
His genealogy is written in the gospel of Matthew and Luke (Mat. 1:1-17; Luke 1: 1-17). His birth was a miracle. Prophet Isaiah first prophesized it in Isaiah7:14b “The Virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him ‘IMMANUEL.'” An angel announced his birth (Mat.1:18 – 25; Luke 1: 26 – 45). His actual birth was recorded in the gospel of Mat. 2: 1-12 and Luke 2: 1-40.
As revealed by Apostle John in his gospel John 1:1, He was the ‘WORD’ that became flesh. The WORD is the Son of God. John 1: 1 – 5 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him, all things were made that have been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.”
His first known name is Immanuel meaning ‘God is with us. At birth, He was given the name ‘JESUS .’As a boy, He was overboard, ‘pure and blameless. He was always in the Temple with his earthly parents. Luke 2: 41-52 tells us about his life as a boy in the Temple. His for-runner was John the Baptist, who baptized him and witnessed His re-affirmation as the ‘Son of God. Matthew 3: 17 says, “And a voice from heaven said, “This is my son, whom I love; with Him, I am well pleased.” The Spirit of God testifies to Him as the Son of God the Father. Jesus Christ possessed two natures: Humanity and Divine.
The Humanity of Christ:
The Virgin Birth
Scientifically at conception, Man & God came together. At Jesus’s conception, the reconciliation of Man to God started. Scripture clearly states that Jesus was conceived in the womb of his mother, Mary, by a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit and without a human father. (Luke 1: 34-35, Matthew 1: 18-20, 24-25)
The Virgin birth of Christ is a reminder that our Salvation comes about through the supernatural work of God. (Galatians 4: 4-5). When the Holy Spirit comes on one, it purifies one; so the morally pure Mary was further purified to bring the World a pure Child, making Jesus Christ fully Man but without inherited sin. God promised in Genesis 3: 15 that the ‘Seed’ of the woman would destroy the serpent (Satan), so God brought this about by His power, not through human effort.
Human Weakness & Limitations
Jesus Christ was born like any Child and grew up like any Child in terms of physical, mental, social, and Spiritual growth. He had a human body, a human mind, a human soul, and human emotions. Jesus became tired just as we do (John 4:6). He became thirsty (John 19: 28). was hungry (Matthew 4: 2), and was physically weak (Matthew 4: 11; Luke 23: 26, 46).
As part of His genuine humanity, Jesus Christ learned a trade – carpentry and learned the normal process of how to eat, talk, read and write. Jesus Christ identified with other human beings. His brothers and sisters that grew up in the same household never realized that he was anything more than them until His death and crucifixion when He arose. They had no idea that He was God incarnated in human flesh.
Sinlessness
The New Testament affirms that Jesus was fully human but differed in one crucial aspect: He was without sin and never sinned throughout his lifetime. The difference between Adam and Jesus Christ is the disobedience of Adam and the total obedience of Jesus Christ.
Reasons for being Human
Jesus had to fully man if he was going to be the Messiah and earn humanity’s Salvation. Jesus Christ complied with these necessities by:
- Representative Obedience – Jesus obeyed for us where Adam failed and disobeyed God (Luke 4: 1-13, Genesis 2: 15-13:7, Romans 5: 18-19)
- Substitute Sacrifice – Jesus had to be a man to die in our place and pay the penalty that was due to us. (Hebrews 2: 16-17)
- As a Mediator between God and Man – sin had alienated us from God, so Jesus had to be a mediator between God and us in fulfillment of God’s original plan and purpose to rule over His creation. The purpose of God for Man in Genesis 1: 28 was not fulfilled because of sin. Jesus obeyed and earned the right to rule over God’s creation on earth. (Hebrews 2: 7-9; Ephesians 1: 22; Matthew 28: 18).
To show us an example and patterns of living:
Jesus had to become a man to live as our example and pattern in life. 1 John 2:6; 3: 2-3; 2 Corinthians 3: 18, Romans 8: 29; 1 Peter 2: 21, Hebrews 12: 2, 30
The Pattern for our Redeemed Bodies:
Jesus had to be raised as a man to be the ‘firstborn from the dead (Colossians 1:18), the pattern for the bodies that we would have in eternity (1 Corinthians 15:42 – 44, 49)
As our High Priest
Jesus was tempted like us, yet He did not sin. Through His temptations and struggles in life as a man, He can sympathize with us more in our experiences, thereby advocating for us with God the Father.