All right, good. It is good to be together, even though we have kind of been together. It is a blessing to be with the Lord and His people.
When you worship and take the table, and you know you are going to speak or say something later, and you sense the Lord is here, you always have the sense of, “What is the point? What is the point of speaking when the Lord is here?” But then the Lord says, “Because I want you to say something.”
I feel like the Scripture Timothy read—that God has chosen what is foolish in the world—I just wanted to read that and say, “Today this will be fulfilled in your midst.” I really thank the Lord that He puts me in these positions. It is an ongoing conversation I have with Him about why He does this.
But He is good, and He loves us, and He loves you, and He has something on His heart. He has always had something on His heart, and that is what we are talking about: the eternal purpose.
We hear the Scripture about how He chooses the foolish things of the world. Paul also talks in one text about the foolishness of preaching. Today, as we are worshiping Jesus and talking about these unsearchable riches, I got a revelation: why is preaching foolishness?
We are trying to explain something unsearchable. We are trying to preach a Christ that you cannot get your mind around. We are constantly grasping at Him, constantly seeing more of Him, and then we go to preach Him. What foolishness—that someone like me is going to say something about God. How foolish is that?
Yet this is how God has chosen to work. This is God’s wisdom, and that is what we are going to talk about.
Lord, I thank You so much that You love me and that You love us; that You have granted us peace with Yourself. Lord, that precious blood that You shed, we pray that it will be applied to us afresh, even as I speak these words.
Lord, even as You speak to the ones here and speak to hearts, we pray that there will be a manifestation of the eternal purpose. Let there be a making known of this wisdom. Lord, may we see it through the church, as You desired. Let it be real to us this morning.
We ask that You would breathe upon us. We need You, precious Holy Spirit. Lord, this is just a game without You, Holy Spirit. Unless You speak, unless You enlighten us, unless You bring to light things and bring us the things of Christ, we just get words and information.
Lord, continue to love on us by revealing Yourself to us. In Your name, Jesus. Amen.
As I speak, you guys bear with me. I am not a guy who prepares a lot of notes. The notes I do prepare, sometimes I am scared that when I get up here I will not be able to read them. I just have stuff all over different pages, all over the place.
You might find me saying, “Oh yeah, what is that point? I remember I wrote that down last night at two o’clock.” That is kind of how it works, and that is between me and the Lord—how we do that.
But I did want to talk about this principle. We are talking about the eternal purpose, and about things God had hidden from the ages. Paul said that these things were revealed to him in Ephesians. So I am going to begin in Ephesians 3.
Ephesians is a hard book for me to read because, as Jeffrey was saying, it is like one thought or one sentence. You start somewhere, and then you find yourself thinking, “Well, I need to go back to chapter 1. I need to read that.” But I am just going to make myself read this section we have been considering.
This grace was given to me—the least of all saints—to proclaim to the Gentiles the incalculable riches of Christ, or the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to shed light for all about the administration of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things. This is so that God’s manifold, or multifaceted, wisdom may be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavens.
What a section of Scripture. This is what we are talking about. There was something hidden; now it is made known. God wants it known to all, and it is that the manifold wisdom of God will be made known through the church to the powers and principalities in the heavens.
Then we get the phrase, “This is according to the eternal purpose of God.” As I have been thinking and praying about this conference, I have been locked in on this phrase: the manifold wisdom of God.
I am a very simple person. When I read something and it says, “manifold wisdom,” I always say, “Well, what is that?” I do not know what manifold wisdom is. Yet it is supposed to be made known through the church to principalities, and this was according to the eternal purpose.
You have this eternal purpose that was before us. It was hidden in ages past, and it is God’s will to manifest His wisdom. So I feel like I am going to take a chunk of time today to talk about this wisdom of God.
Before I do, I want to mention the heart of seeking. Just as this mystery was hidden in God and Paul got to see it, it was brought to light to him, and he had the grace of administration to bring it to light to others.
Before we seek the Scriptures and hear something about these things, I want to speak for a few moments about the heart behind wanting to know something. Why do we want to know these Scriptures? Why would we get in a car, drive—or get on a plane—and wear a tent in James’s backyard? Why would we do this?
Why would anyone go anywhere or take any time to seek things? How come some people see things and some people do not see things?
The Lord put this on my heart yesterday morning. I was praying, and all of a sudden I went blank. I thought, “I do not know what I am talking about. I have been preparing for months, but now I feel like I do not know anything.”
So I started asking and seeking the Lord, and He started showing me things I had not thought about before, things I had not seen before. I got very overwhelmed and thought, “Why is the Lord showing me this stuff? What would make Him show me anything?”
I just want us to get wrapped up in the heart of God: we have a God who desires to be with us. We have a God who desires to show us things. But He also hides things.
We know where He hides them. Jeffrey shared it with us: they are all in Christ. He has hidden all good things, all the riches, in Christ.
There is only one reason why you are not getting any more riches than you are getting: you are not abiding in Christ. If you abide in Christ—if you remain in His love—He is able to keep you. How is that? Because He is constantly giving you riches, and He can constantly keep you.
As you abide, you have those things. Paul saw that these things were hidden, and now he sees them in Christ Jesus. He uses the phrase “in Christ” a lot, because that is where it is at.
In Colossians 3:3, Paul says that we are dead, and our life is hidden with Christ in God. So the hidden life will find the hidden things. Remember that: the hidden life will find the hidden things.
The things God has are for those who abide in Him. We all know Romans 8:28: He works all things together for good to those who love Him. When we talk about the eternal purpose, hidden things, the wisdom of God, principalities, and things before time began, you cannot take out this element: Do I love Him?
That is it. It says, “For those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.” You can know His purpose, but do you love Him? What is the number-one commandment? To love God with everything.
Paul said that we can do all these things and understand all mysteries, but without love, what are they? You gain nothing. We want to gain riches, but it is like an open secret: you have to love Him. And how do we love Him? Because He first loved us.
My kids like to play hide-and-seek. I felt like the Lord said, “I like to play rest-and-seek. You rest in My love. You rest in My finished work. You rest in My gospel. You will see the riches of Christ. You will see the glory of God.”
Loving the Lord can be immature, and the Lord has to purify it. But to love Him is to love Him for who He is.
We are going to talk about wisdom, and the Lord opened up some things to me. Hopefully, I can get through it and it makes sense and is not a jumbled mess. Between me and the Lord, it is pretty good.
But this thing of wisdom is about knowing God. Think about it: His goal was to make known the manifold wisdom of God.
Why are we seeking? Are you here just because you love Him? Can you simply say, “God, I just love You”? In James, we are told to ask for wisdom. Yet some people do not receive what they ask for because they ask amiss.
Some of us could be here, and the question is: why do you want to know? Why do you want to know about these Bible truths? Why do I want to teach about them? Is it amiss?
Do you want to know just so you can be a more knowledgeable Christian, share it on Facebook, make a video about it, or feel better about yourself? I have a very curious mind. I just want to ask a bunch of questions and get answers.
But why did you put a question in the question-and-answer box? Why do you want an answer? Is it because you are in love with Him and want to know what He thinks, what He feels, and what He is doing?
What if the Lord just wants to tell me something because He wants to tell me, and He does not want me to tell anybody? It is just between me and Him.
There are times when I am just going down the road and the Lord says, “Stephen, so-and-so, so-and-so.” I say, “Oh, okay.” It is no sermon. I do not write it down in a book. It is not in a journal. It does not need to be on a video. It is just between me and the Lord because He loves me, and I love Him.
Francis Chan recently gave a message about the quiet life. He mentioned the seven thunders. John heard what they said. He knew what they said. He could have written it down, but God said no. Maybe the universe will know later, but at that moment, just God and John knew.
That is love. John was the apostle of love. Are you the type of disciple who, when Jesus wants to turn aside and say something, is leaning on His breast and able to hear Him?
That is the heart with which we should look at Ephesians and the eternal purpose. This is not some nuts-and-bolts thing to figure out. This is a living God. He is holy, and He is above us, but for some reason, He loves us.
We have to ask the Lord to purify our love. If you do not have this type of walk with God, you need to look into the gospel more—what Jesus actually did on the cross—and rest in it more. We have nothing to prove.
The Lord has brought me to a place where I have nothing to prove. I am what I am by the grace of God, and I know He loves me. That is my confidence.
Think about Paul. In the midst of all these revelations, what did he want the church to understand? The width, the height, the depth, and the breadth of the love of God. Even Paul, who knew all those mysteries and worked in power, was constrained by the love of God.
Without that, even the points I am about to tell you are pointless. Be before the Lord, even now, and say, “Lord, do I love You? Do I know that You love me?” Have you settled that? Are you comprehending more and more that He loves you?
You are going to need to know that He loves you and that you love Him. You need to be confident in these things if you are going to flourish to the end. You have to abide in Him.
Everything you need is in Christ Jesus. This is not just a Sunday school thing. People here who have given their lives to the Lord would testify that anything good they have ever received that lasted was found in Christ Jesus.
Run to Him. Let Him speak to you. If the Lord wants to reveal something and turn to speak, are we like John—the one right there beside Him? That place can be for all of us, because when He tore that veil, He made us one with the Father and one with Himself. This is what He died for.
I remember the first time I heard the phrase the eternal purpose. I grew up going to Sunday school, attended Bible college, and went to two Christian colleges. Then I was listening to a free audiobook online—I did not even know who it was—and there was a chapter about the eternal purpose.
I remember sitting in a chair and thinking, “Hold on. I have been a Christian and around Christian things my whole life. I went to Bible college. I do not think anybody has ever explained to me that this exists—that this eternal purpose exists.”
These things will mess with your life. You might be going one way, see this, and suddenly realize there is actually a purpose to all of this. There is a purpose why Jesus died for me. There is a purpose why His blood covers me and I am saved. There is a reason there is a church, and there is this cosmic thing going on.
It was astounding to me, even the little glimpse I received. So I want to ask: do you know the eternal purpose of God?
I know this is the foolishness-of-preaching kind of thing. Who is going to raise their hand and say, “I got it. I got the eternal purpose”? But have you at least been introduced to it? Have you heard something? Has it ever been before your spirit as you have asked the Lord about it?
If you have not, why not? Why do you not know these things that God is doing? Perhaps one reason is that you want to know amiss. You want to know for your own sake and not for the Lord’s sake.
Some things are hidden in Christ until your heart comes into that position of loving Him for what He is and who He is. When you ask amiss, you are asking for yourself and for your own gain.
If you do not know, you need to know. Why do you need to know that God has a purpose? Is it relevant to us? Even as a high school student, why do you need to know that God has a purpose?
One reason is that we like things to be about us, whether we know it or not. We can think we are humble and that it is not about us, but as you go on with the Lord, you realize, “No, I thought it was about me.” It just comes naturally to us.
A brother was talking about giving yourself to something that does not seem to have any immediate or practical meaning or application in your life. That is hard to do.
When you are going through the Scriptures during your devotional time and read, “The manifold wisdom of God according to the eternal purpose of God,” you may think, “That is great.” But you are looking for something to make you feel better right now.
You are looking for a nugget that has consequences for this morning: “I have to go to work. I have to drop the kids off. I did not do this paper; I have to write it.” Then the Scripture is talking about the manifold wisdom of God through the church. Sometimes you do not feel like saying, “Wow, I am glad I read that. Now I can go witness to my high school friends.”
But there is a call to rise, apprehend, and embrace something that seems to have nothing to do with the practical, everyday issues of your life. In one sense that is right, and in another sense it is wrong.
We are too rooted in the immediate, the visible, and the temporal. We are rooted in our needs. What is needed is the triumph of the unseen and the ultimate.
God calculated this to free us from the bondage of narrow self-interest. The eternal purpose needs to triumph in your life. God calculated this because it is what frees us from narrow self-interest.
God did not give us the eternal purpose because He wanted to get fancy. He knew that if we were not occupied with something beyond this age, we would become rooted in this age—which is to be null and void in this age.
If that is not the testimony of much of the church in America, I do not know what is. We are rooted in the temporal and rooted in our needs. But our deliverance is found in something beyond us, something not of this age.
If you are not rooted in something beyond this age, you will be conformed to this age. Then you will be no good to this age because you will be just like this age.
Why should you know these things? In one sense, you should know them because this is what God is doing, and it does not really matter whether you like it or not. This is sovereign God stuff here.
You will be judged according to this purpose—whether you think it is boring, whether you like it, whether you think you know too much about it. This is how God will sum all things up. At the end of your life, all our lives will be judged according to this purpose: what He has accomplished in Christ Jesus.
It is the eternal purpose: the purpose of the ages, the purpose that will triumph over all ages and last forever. This has everything to do with you waking up and going to high school. It has everything to do with the way you treat your wife, forgive your brother and sister, and see your social-media life.
This is the purpose God is working out, and God will judge all things according to it. It matters very much that this gets into us—that it becomes how we live and breathe, how we have church life, how we go to work, go to school, hang out, and play sports.
I want to spend some time talking about this wisdom of God. James read a Scripture last night while speaking about Satan, and some things began to come together for me.
The eternal purpose is not merely to make known the eternal purpose. What is supposed to happen through the church? The manifold wisdom of God is to be made known.
Sometimes people may not have the terms “the eternal purpose of God,” but you can see a group of people making known the manifold wisdom of God. That is the point.
Let us go on a little journey about wisdom. Proverbs 8 shows us that wisdom has been part of this whole process from the beginning.
Does not wisdom call,
And does not understanding raise her voice?
On the heights, beside the way, at the crossroads, she takes her stand;
Beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals, she cries out:
“To you, O people, I call, and my cry is to all that live.”The Lord created me at the beginning of His work,
The first of His acts of long ago.
Ages ago I was set up,
At the first, before the beginning of the earth.
When there were no depths, I was brought forth,
When there were no springs abounding with water.
This is talking about wisdom. I remember reading this years ago and thinking, “I know it says wisdom was brought forth first, but this kind of sounds like Jesus.” This wisdom says, “I was set up at first, before the beginning of the earth.”
When we talk about the eternal purpose, you have to go back before things began, because it would not be eternal if you did not. The eternal purpose is to make known the wisdom of God, and the wisdom of God was already there.
God knew that He had created all things because He was going to have an entity, a body called the church. Through this group of people, His wisdom would flow to the earth. That is what He was looking for.
We can trace the bride of Christ, the house of God, the temple, and the garden throughout the Bible. Last night, I felt the Lord say, “Look at wisdom all through the Bible. This is what I was doing.”
Who is this wisdom supposed to be made known to? The principalities. The enemy knows about this wisdom, and he does not want you to get it.
In Ezekiel 28, if that passage is speaking about Satan, what was he full of in the beginning? He was full of wisdom, perfect in beauty. But he corrupted his wisdom for the sake of his splendor.
This wisdom was there from the beginning. God knew that one day He would make known His multifaceted wisdom through the church. Satan was full of wisdom, but he corrupted it because he used it amiss. He did not have the right heart for wisdom.
In Proverbs, wisdom and understanding go together. One of the first things that came alive in my heart in Scripture was Solomon’s word: “In all your getting, get understanding.”
When I was in college, I read that and said, “Lord, if You put that in there and say that in all my getting, this is what I need to get, I am going to start asking for it. This is what I am going to ask for above everything else.”
Even an old dummy like me, the Lord starts showing you things. It is like the Lord says, “You are abiding in Me. You ask, and I will tell you.” He desires for this wisdom to be made known.
What we receive is not just for us; it is to be made known to the principalities. You see the warfare. Satan had wisdom, but he corrupted it. Yet this wisdom was there from the beginning.
Think about Solomon. When he could have asked for anything he wanted, what did he ask for? He asked for wisdom.
What gets me is that when you look through Scripture, you see what the Lord likes. It says that Solomon’s request pleased God. God was saying, “Solomon, that pleases Me.”
Solomon could have asked for riches, land, or many other things. But he wanted wisdom, and it pleased God. It was as though he touched God’s heart, and God said, “In fact, I will give you the riches. I will give you the long life. I will give you all that because you wanted to know My wisdom.”
He did not ask amiss. He asked with the right heart. He touched on the heart of God.
In 1 Corinthians, Timothy read some things this morning. You could read the first two chapters of 1 Corinthians, and I probably would not even have to talk.
Where is the one who is wise?
Where is the teacher of the law?
Where is the debater of this age?
Hasn’t God made the world’s wisdom foolish?
For since in God’s wisdom the world did not know God through wisdom, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of what is preached.
Paul is talking about wisdom, and here we see the contrast. There is a wisdom of the world. Where did that come from? It came from corrupted wisdom. Satan corrupted his wisdom.
But Satan does not know the wisdom of God. Paul says:
Consider your calling, brothers and sisters: not many were wise from a human perspective, not many powerful, not many of noble birth. Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, since God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world—what is viewed as nothing—to bring to nothing what is viewed as something.
I wish young people would get this. I am a high school teacher, so please forgive me. Satan’s goal is to get young people to think, “That is something. What I just saw—that is something.”
He does it with older people too: this job, this career—that is something. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to bring that to nothing.
You see this warfare over wisdom. We need the manifold wisdom of God in our lives, not the wisdom of this world, which is corrupted by Satan. It may contain parts of truth and sound good, but it is nothing. It comes to nothing.
All things will be summed up in Christ. Those Jordans you have to have, that boyfriend or girlfriend, that video, that degree, that college, that career—it comes to nothing if you did not obtain it through the manifold wisdom of God.
It means nothing to the principalities, and it will mean nothing in your life at the end of your life. Making things known to the principalities and the way you live, go to school, and use social media have everything to do with each other. There is no break between them.
It is from God that you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom from God for us. What is this wisdom being made known in Ephesians? It is Jesus. That is the Sunday school answer, right? Jesus is the answer.
The eternal purpose has already been accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. It is already done. Where? In Christ Jesus. We get to be in it.
This wisdom of God is Jesus. Christ became wisdom. Here is the warfare.
Paul said that he came knowing only Christ and Him crucified. He did not come with impressive speech, but in power, because he did not want their faith to rest in the wisdom of men.
Some of our faith rests in the wisdom of men. That is why we are weak. That is why it cannot get us through. That is why we are not hearing things from God. Paul refused to allow the people of God to rest their faith in human wisdom.
People every day are resting in the wisdom of men. It sounds good, looks good, feels good, and maybe it will work out—but it is nothing. Paul did not want anyone’s faith to rest in human wisdom, but in the power of God.
We do, however, speak a wisdom among the mature, but not a wisdom of this age, or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.
We speak wisdom, but it is not a wisdom like that of the rulers of this age. Here is the conflict, the warfare. The wisdom of this age, human wisdom, and the wisdom of the rulers of this age are coming to nothing.
If you are making a decision in your life right now according to any wisdom other than the wisdom of God, it will come to nothing, even if it takes your whole life to come to nothing.
We speak God’s hidden wisdom in a mystery, a wisdom God predestined before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age knew this wisdom because if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
Jesus is the wisdom of God. He is the manifold wisdom of God—the multifaceted wisdom of God. Everything you need is in Christ Jesus. You need God’s manifold wisdom in your life.
If they had known the wisdom of God, they would not have crucified Christ. What is the cross of Jesus Christ? It is the wisdom of God. The cross is the wisdom of God.
James shows us which wisdom we are living by. There is the wisdom of the world, and there is God’s wisdom. James says if you do not have wisdom, ask for it.
Who among you is wise and understanding? By his good conduct, he should show that his works are done in the gentleness that comes from wisdom.
But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not boast and deny the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, and demonic.
For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there is disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without pretense.
Every wisdom you touch that is not from above is earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. This is practical. The manifold wisdom of God is to be made known through the church, and this is what that looks like.
Are you part of this purpose? Is the manifold wisdom of God being made known in you? Sometimes we know, and sometimes we may not know, but we do know this: the wisdom of the world will be brought to nothing.
If you have envy and selfish ambition in your heart, those things are there because you have digested some bad wisdom, and the product is coming out of you.
Many of us have digested bad wisdom. It is either earthly, unspiritual, or demonic.
I know we have been in the heavens, and now I am talking about your social-media account, high school, and things like that. But this wisdom was predestined to come to us, and it was predestined for that wisdom to be manifold through the church.
What does that look like? In one sense, there is no separation. It is as though everything is transparent. We see God. We see wisdom coming down, flowing through the church, and returning to God’s glory. That is what is supposed to be happening.
There is no age limit to this. I have been praying this for my own kids: “God, give them wisdom. God, give them wisdom.” I have been begging God to give my children wisdom.
It does not say that you have to reach a certain age before you can begin to live in this wisdom. Younger people, if we had possessed this wisdom of God, a lot of us would not have done half of what we did.
I took the wisdom of the world. I looked up to things I thought were wise, things I thought were something, and God had to bring them to nothing.
This is why I talk about the goodness of God. This is why I bring it down to this: I love Him. In high school, I had digested so much ungodly wisdom that I hated myself.
I had a moment with the Lord this morning. I walked by the mirror and had a flashback to high school. I remembered looking in a mirror and saying, “Yeah, I hate you.” I hated myself. I did not like myself.
Then to think: God loves me, and I know it. I can rest in it, and you cannot take that away from me. It sounds very simple, but that is the only reason He ever shows me anything. It is because I love Him, and He loves me.
He gives wisdom because Jesus is wisdom, and we have everything we need in Christ Jesus.
I want to make this point: Jesus—the cross—is wisdom. As you go back into whatever circumstances you are facing, remember that the cross is always the wisdom of God.
In Ephesians, Paul writes about the eternal purpose of God, and then he says he does not want them to lose heart because of what he is suffering. He says, “This is for your glory.”
I have asked the Lord why Paul connects his suffering with the eternal purpose. Some of us are saved, and it is glorious. Yes, Jesus is wonderful. Then something happens, and it looks like this thing is not working out.
“This eternal purpose does not seem to be working out too well for me.” That is when we need the wisdom of God. That is when we need the cross.
Jesus was in the grave. It was getting dark, and then darker, and darker. Some of us feel that way about our lives. But if you have the wisdom of God, you know what is going to happen.
The wisdom of the world says, “Yeah, it is dark. It is over. You cannot do this. You cannot do that.” But inject the wisdom of God, which is Christ Himself, which is His cross—Christ and Him crucified.
If Satan had known that wisdom, he would not have crucified the Lord of glory. The cross was the wisdom of God to bring deliverance. It is how God brought about the birth of the church and enabled the church, in Christ, to display His manifold wisdom.
Be encouraged. I am telling you this because your life may not look like the eternal purpose is working out gloriously all the time. But Paul said, “Be encouraged. This is for your glory.”
This purpose cannot be stopped. All other things will be brought to nothing. This will always be the thing.
The purpose is to make known the wisdom of God, but it will not be made known to the principalities if we do not know these things.
Satan thought he had Jesus. He thought he was going to kill Him, but he fulfilled the will of God because he did not know the wisdom of God. That is how Satan works on people. He thinks he has us.
Every one of us has, in our testimony, a manifestation of the wisdom of God. Satan had me. As a junior, I thought about killing myself. He had my mind wrapped up. He had me. How did I get here?
I am a display to the principalities. I was going to be dead, but I am not. The manifold wisdom of God is being displayed through me to the principalities. Here I am. Why am I still here? Why are you still here?
To the praise of His glory. May God get glory through His church. All things are from Him, and through Him, and may they be back to Him.
Lord, we thank You for this morning. Thank You for Your grace and Your patience with us. Thank You for my brothers and sisters. What beautiful manifestations of the wisdom of God.
Lord, may we fight for these things. May we rest so that we can hear more of these things from You. I pray that every disciple here, young and old, would lean freshly again against Your bosom.
May they freshly lay their lives down—any ambition, anything they are working toward—and lay it down simply to hear: “What do You say, Lord? What are You saying about the eternal purpose? What are You saying about the church I go to? What are You saying about the relationships I am in?”
I pray that the wisdom of the enemy will be canceled out of everyone here, and that Your wisdom will be made more known: the manifold wisdom of God, which is Christ Jesus.
May what You did on the cross be manifested in our daily lives. Protect this word and all these words. Help us to fellowship, Lord, even as we eat. Help us to love You and love one another, even while we are here. In Your name, Jesus.