David Bryant came across a quote from 19th century preacher Charles Spurgeon:
“There is not a text of Scripture that does not provide a road that takes us to Christ. So it is your job, my brothers and sisters, to find that road and take it.”
After hearing that quote, Bryant wondered if that could really be true. He undertook a nine month journey from Genesis to Revelation armed with a highlighter. Bryant went verse by verse looking for any passage that he could use to ultimately point back to God’s son.
When the nine months had been completed, he leafed back through the Bible and found that roughly 65 percent of it had turned yellow.
“Here I was” Bryant explains, “with two seminary degrees and I thought I had it all figured out. And I suddenly realized that this is SO much about Christ.”
When he had finished that nine month exercise, he wondered if there was any way he could simplify the hundreds of passages to get a simple understanding of who Jesus is.
“The goal,” Bryant explains, “is to be able to look at all of life through the glasses of that understanding.” As he dug through, Bryant settled on 7 simple prepositions that summarize everything the Bible teaches about “the person of God’s Son.”
Who Jesus is to us? What is his nature and character and how does that impact our response to Him?
Who Jesus is for us? The birth, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus; what did that accomplish for us?
Who is Jesus over us? What is his role over creation and nations?
Who is Jesus before us? The Bible states that he has gone to prepare a place for us. What implications does that have on our life?
Who is Jesus within us? What is his role in our lives today, and in the life of his Church?
Who is Jesus through us? How is his power and authority being used to advance his kingdom?
Who is Jesus upon us? Who will he be when he returns?
That realization, Bryant explains, has impacted how he teaches. “When I teach, whatever the passage, if I don’t show them a larger vision of Christ, I have failed in what God has called me to do.”
