The Foundation is Christ

We said in an earlier post that Christ is stamped all over our Bible. From cover to cover, sometimes veiled, sometimes very clearly, Christ is portrayed. He is central to what our Bible is all about. He is the thread that holds it all together.
We see that thread very clearly in Jacob's prophecy in Genesis 49. In verses 8-12, Jacob speaks regarding his son, Judah, and in that prophecy we see many allusions to Christ: all Israel would bow down to Judah, he is referred to as a lion, the scepter would remain in Judah meaning the royal line would come through him, to him would come the obedience of the peoples, there is a reference to the foal of a donkey and his garments being washed in the blood of grapes,...
Indeed, through the line of Judah a king would come. His name was Jesus. All Israel, in fact all people, will one day bow before Him and offer their obedience. He is described not only as the Lamb of God but as the Lion of Judah. His triumphant entry into Jerusalem would be on a foal of a donkey. His garments would be stained with the blood which he shed for the cleansing of many people. Though Jacob may not have known the full significance of what he said, truly his words pointed to the Bible's central character, the Lord Christ.
The Apostle Paul was not always convinced of Jesus' centrality. In fact, he persecuted those who preached Christ. But after Jesus made Himself known to Paul on the road to Damascus, Paul could speak of nothing but the Lord Jesus. In our reading in 1 Corinthians 3, Paul declares in verse 11, "For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." For Paul the foundation of all faith must be Jesus Christ. To start anywhere else, to build upon anyone or anything other than Christ, is folly. It is building on sand.
No wonder there was such joy from the angels in Luke 2 for the birth of Jesus who they declared as "glory to God in the highest and peace among those with whom God is pleased". No wonder Simeon and Anna found such peace and gratefulness knowing this One was born who was the consolation of Israel, the redemption of Jerusalem, a light of revelation, our salvation. The One whom all Scripture points to had come, and could not but celebrate His arrival.
As we think about our faith, how important it is to keep Christ central. His name must be on our tongue. To neglect Him, or to speak only of God in generic terms, is to keep the One who is the Light of the world in the shadows. Let us with Paul "proclaim Him (Christ), teaching every man and admonishing every man, until they are complete in Christ."