Who is Jesus Christ?
Jesus Christ is the most important person ever to walk the earth. His name is commonly used by those who curse God. The speculations about His identity ever-abound, which distorts both His person and the work He came into the world to do. The Holy Bible, in both Old and New Testament, is God’s written revelation about Jesus Christ. In other words, the portion of the Bible written before He came into the world, tells its readers that He is coming. The portion of the Bible written after He came, confirms and clarifies everything God intends for us to know about this most important person.
The Bible explains why the world is such a desperate place. Sin is the world’s problem, and for this reason the world needs a Savior. Sinful man knows judgment day is coming. Each person knows he or she will have to give an account of every thought, word, and action. This fearful proposition should drive every soul to search for a solution. Many people opt out of this search via endless distractions provided for them, during their fleeting life here. Others turn to man-made religions. Sometimes like a voice crying in the wilderness, or at times a still small voice, God tells those who have ears, “listen to Jesus Christ.” If one has eyes to see, he is told to look to Jesus and be saved.
Did you know that Jesus Christ has existed eternally? Are you aware that He created the heavens and earth? Did you know He was decreed to be the Savior of the world before anything was created? Are you informed that His strategy for success, as Savior of the world, was to come and die on a Roman cross? Do you know that Jesus Christ is today sitting on the throne of God reigning over the universe He created? Have you been warned that He is coming back to righteously judge the living and the dead? Have you heard that the earth will soon be destroyed by fire, but that Jesus Christ will create a new heavens and a new earth? Did you know that Jesus Christ sent the Holy Spirit to arrest you and convict you of your place in the coming judgment? Have you been instructed to repent, today, of your sins and trust Him as your Savior?
If we accept the Bible as our source for knowing Jesus Christ, then we learn from Genesis that God promised to send a Savior some four thousand years before He came into the world (Genesis 3:15). There are over 350 more promises of His coming, in the Hebrew Scriptures. Only one man in the history of the world has ever fulfilled these promises. These promises are also called, “prophecies.” God foretold, during a period of over 1400 years, that Jesus Christ was coming, to save His people from their sins against God. No one else even comes close, to fulfilling even a few of the prophecies of the Bible, pertaining to the Messiah.
Jesus Christ means, “Jesus Messiah.” Messiah means, “anointed one of God.” The prophets of old were inspired by God’s Spirit, to write the Scriptures and point the people of Israel to a person — to be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2); born of a virgin girl (Isaiah 7:14); born at God’s appointed time (Daniel 9:24–26); who would have an everlasting kingdom (Daniel 7:13–14); and who would actually be God incognito (Isaiah 9:6), that is, God enfleshed (John 1:14). Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has become the Son of Man. To know Christ is to know God, and to know God is to know the salvation of God. This is the reason Jesus Christ is vitally important to each person.
The apostle Paul helps us see the supremacy of preaching Jesus Christ. He told the church at Corinth that, “we preach Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor 2:2).” This is the missional message of the church to the ends of the earth. Paul assessed its worth for the church at Philippi, “…I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ (Phil 3:8).” The message, about this man, actually reveals the man with the most important message anyone could ever hear. In other words, Jesus Christ validated the Bible, and the Bible validates Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was sent by God His Father on a mission from heaven and into the world. The Son bore witness of the Father, vindicating Him, who has been incessantly misrepresented and slandered. He also came to save His people from their sins. God sent His Son, as a siren call to warn sinners of impending doom, set for a coming date. The day of God’s judgment of the earth is looming. The warning has been issued by faithful prophets, apostles, and Jesus Himself. The message, however, has not come to man through open channels because of the Adversary’s obstruction. This is another reason why Jesus Christ came into the world: to destroy the works of Satan. Jesus Christ is the truth, and the truth of God is like light removing darkness. Satan is a liar and a deceiver, and he has blinded the minds of people, so they cannot know and understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The wars of this world are actually about truth and lies. God is true and every man is a liar, being deceived by the father of lies. Under the power and influence of the devil, the children of the devil (people in this world) do everything to gain advantage for themselves and thwart others’ advancement in the process. They fool themselves, by denying they came into the world with nothing, that they will leave the world with nothing, and then there is hell to pay. People want power, position, and money to be little gods upon the earth. When one person’s little kingdom is encroached upon by another person’s little kingdom, there is inevitable conflict. Nothing has changed in the thousands of years of human history.
Jesus Christ is a foil to the kingdom of this world. He came to serve God and man. He desired no earthly position. He lived and died as a poor man. Every exercise of power was for the benefit of others. His example is so exalted, that no man in his own strength and wisdom has ever come close to Him, by comparison. The reason for this is not just because Jesus Christ is the greatest man who ever lived, but because He is fully God and fully man. This is a remarkably unique attribute shared with no one else.
As the Son of God, who set aside His heavenly glories, Jesus Christ suffered immensely in this world, as a perfectly righteous man, living among unrighteous humanity. He suffered unto death, at the hands of sinful men. Men plotted and killed the Prince, of the King they loathed. The enemies of God, Satan, his angelic and human minions, and everyone else marveled at the murder of the Promised One.
The whole of the Christian story must be embraced entirely by faith, and the story cannot be altered or stunted in any way. Confucius; Buddha; Krishna; Mohammed; and every other religious icon the world has produced all have a tomb. Jesus Christ does not have a tomb because His was a temporary stay. He is risen from the dead. This, too, is a remarkably unique claim of Bible-believing Christians. According to the Scriptures, Jesus Christ would die, be buried, and rise again on the third day. He fulfilled these prophecies, too. Of course, this means we are considering a living man, who is God. This is an utterly unique claim, too.
Every consideration of the doctrine of Christ warrants an entire book, but our words are merely introductory. The purpose is for you to delve deeper, into learning more of Christ Jesus, our Lord. He is Lord. In fact, He is Lord of all. Ignorance of this fact is the basis of man’s continuing rebellion against God. There are some who are not ashamed of the good news about Him. We are Christians.
When Jesus Christ died on the Cross, His blood was shed for the forgiveness of sins. The scope of His death has reached people from all around the world and throughout history. Today, the Holy Spirit is gathering-in the people God has chosen to be family members in the kingdom of God. After Jesus Christ died, He was buried in a tomb near Jerusalem. His own prophetic Word taught His twelve disciples that He would suffer at the hands of the Jewish religious leaders, be put to death, but then rise again from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is an exceptionally unique event, for no one else in the history of the world has even ventured to suggest this idea.
Hundreds of people witnessed the risen Savior, during the forty days following His Passover sacrifice, as the Lamb of God, whose blood diverted the wrath of God, directed against sinners. His resurrection meant that He conquered the power of sin, death, and Satan, who controlled death until Jesus’ victory. His kingdom reign began at His resurrection, as He laid claim to the earth, as His rightful possession. All authority in heaven and earth was given to Him by God the Father.
Jesus Christ ascended into heaven for the purpose of coronation and enthronement. Today, there is a man who sits on the throne of God. He is not a usurper like other men and demons. He has the blessing of His Father, who anointed Him with His Spirit, and gave Him the name above every other name in heaven or on the earth. This is the reason that every person must bow the knee to King Jesus, the eternal, immutable, immortal, only-wise God, who deserves all honor, glory, and praise forever and ever. Amen.
This may not be the Jesus you grew up learning about from family or friends. The ramifications of this higher view of Jesus Christ are staggering. He demands perfect allegiance from every sinner. The impossibility of this devotion is answered, by what Jesus Christ does for the ungodly. First, He fulfilled the Law of God that we, daily, fail to keep in obedience. Second, He offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for sins, as the High Priest, appointed by God to mediate between God and man, in their separation from one another. Third, He is the only Mediator between God and man, who is prayerfully interceding for us throughout our lives. He is the one and only approach to the throne of God, for the sinner to become a saint. His blood brings us near to the throne of judgment, which has become for us a throne of mercy and grace. He calls all men everywhere to repent from their life of rebellion, and He commands them to trust Him. Finally, He makes a way for us to live for Him.
The “Lord Jesus Christ” is the New Testament title, for those who have humbled themselves and called upon His name. Our prayer for you is that this short introduction, to the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, is a benefit, to your knowing the one true God and Savior. There is so much to learn about the infinite God, who has revealed Himself to the world. To refuse Him your allegiance, means you are consciously persisting in your open disobedience against Almighty God. In reading these words, you have proverbially tasted the good things of God, with whom there is only one Way, one Truth, and one Life. Satan’s deceit and your sinful pride are the very obstacles holding you back from abundant and eternal life in the kingdom of God. Deny them, but do not deny Jesus Christ.
David E. Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
November 20, 2020
