Tuesday, 27 November 2012

[www.keralites.net] Who is Jesus Christ?

 

When this question is personalized, it becomes the most important question one will ever be asked or answer. Who is Jesus Christ to YOU? Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10, NKJV). In 1 John 5:11-13 we are told that if we have the son in our life we can KNOW that we have eternal life. Jesus is the only way for us to live an abundant life here on earth, or receive eternal life in fellowship with God. Jesus died on the cross to take the punishment for our sins so that we could be sinless in the eyes of God. If we do not receive the free gift of eternal life by experiencing the forgiveness achieved by Jesus, then we will receive the punishment we so justly deserve. Jesus must become the Lord of our lives. Imagine your life as an automobile—Jesus must be behind the wheel of your life. The verses below show the attributes of Jesus, but if he has not forgiven your sins, been invited into your life and involved in a personal relationship with you, there is little purpose in reading on. You can change your life at this very moment. Admit your sin, repent of it before God. Believe in the atonement of Jesus on the cross and receive the gift of eternal life which Jesus died to freely give you. Invite Jesus into your life to live through you and thank him for doing so.

 

He is God Almighty

Isaiah 9:6 -- 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.

Isaiah 7:14 -- Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel (Prophecy).

Matthew 1:23-- "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"-- which means, "God with us" (Isaiah 7:14 prophecy fulfilled).

Comment:
Jesus was declared to be the Mighty God and Everlasting Father long before he was ever conceived in the womb of Mary. The Everlasting Father became the child and son born in the manger. Therefore Jesus truly is Immanuel, God with us. Jesus is Almighty God become a man.

Isaiah 40:3 -- A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God (Prophecy).

John 1:23--John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, "I am the voice of one calling in the desert, 'Make straight the way for the Lord'" (Isaiah 40:3 prophecy fulfilled).

Comment:
The word LORD, spelled with all capital letters is the name of God, Jehovah. For more information about God's name go to the article titled "LORD, Hebrew Tetragrammaton." In prophecy, John the baptist was to prepare the world to receive God Almighty. In reality, John prepared the world for Jesus, preaching the message of repentance. John did not make a mistake, he knew that Jesus was Jehovah God joining the human race.

Isaiah 45:23 -- Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear (Prophecy).

Philippians 2:9-11 -- Prophecy fulfilled: Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Isaiah 45:23 prophecy referring to Jesus).

Comment:
Isaiah 45:23 quotes God to say that "every knee will bow...every tongue will swear." In the previous verses God stated: "...there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me...there is no other." In Philippians, Paul, a Pharisee, uses this same language to refer to Jesus. He understood scripture's description of God as a solitary spirit, a lone sovereign. He also knew that applying this scripture to Jesus was the same as calling him the only true God. In essence, Paul was saying that Jesus was the only God and Savior, become a man.

Isaiah 44:6--Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.

Isaiah 48:12--Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.

Revelation 22:13, 16-- I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

Comment:
God declared through Isaiah that he was the "first and the last," but Jesus went further with his declaration by claiming to be the "Alpha and Omega, first and last, beginning and end." How many "firsts and lasts" are there? The only accurate explanation is found in the fact that Jesus is Almighty God incarnate.

Jesus is the image of the invisible God

Hebrews 1:3 -- The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

2 Corinthians 4:4 -- The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Colossians 1:15 -- He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

Comment:
According to John 4:24, "God is spirit." Luke 24:39 tells us "a spirit has no flesh or bone." All scripture confirms that God, in the Old Testament, was invisible. "No man has seen God" (John 1:18); but Jesus is described as the "exact representation of God, the image of God, and the image of the invisible God." The spirit of God that never permanently occupied a body or form before, took on the form of a man by becoming the person of Jesus Christ. He was no longer invisible, untouchable, without form, now he dwelt among us. Both God Almighty and man: born in Bethlehem as Jesus Christ.

Jesus came to save us from our sin

Matthew 1:21 -- "She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

John 1:29 -- The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

John 3:17 -- For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Hebrews 7:27 -- ...He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.

I John 1:7 -- But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

I John 3:5 -- But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.

Comment:
The name of Jesus in New Testament Greek is "Iesous" (e-ay-soos'). The origin of Jesus' name is found in the Old Testament names "Joshua, Jehoshuah, or Jehoshua," pronounced Yehowshuwa` (yeh-ho-shoo'-ah); or Yehowshua. These names mean Jehovah-saved, Jehovah saves, Jehovah saviour. The name of Jesus was not decided upon in an arbitrary fashion as most children's names are. Jesus' name was decided based upon his mission in life, and his mission was determined from the foundation of the world—He was to save us from our sins (Revelation 13:8) with one sacrifice for all time. The significance of the name of Jesus does not end with his mission in life. It is also found in the fact that Jesus is Jehovah. The one true God, who "stretched out the heavens alone, and spread out the earth by himself" (Isaiah 44:24), came to earth to save us by living as Jesus Christ. "God did not send someone else to save the world...he came himself."

Jesus is the Son of God

Psalm 2:7 -- I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father (Also Hebrews 1:5).

Matthew 1:18 -- This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.

John 3:16 -- "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 14:28--...If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.

Matthew 3:17 -- And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

Matt 26:63-64 -- But Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to him, "I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God." "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied.

Romans 1:4 -- ...and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.

Comment:
The sonship of Jesus was predetermined in the mind and plan of God from eternity, but he did not really exist until he was born in Bethlehem. As my mentor Robert Sabin described, when a homebuilder looks at blueprints of his future home, they see the plans for the bathroom and say, "There's the bathroom." They can see it in their mind's eye, but it doesn't exist yet. The plan of Jesus' birth, life, sacrifice, and death was similar. You might say, God had a blueprint of salvation that was so real to him he could see it as though it already existed. Romans 4:17 tells us "God...calls things that are not as though they were." Psalm 2:7 (quoted above) in the KJV states "this day have I begotten thee." Jesus was God's son, his only son—he had a birthday which means there was a time when he did not exist. The spirit of God is eternal, without beginning or end. Man is not eternal. As a man, Jesus had a beginning. The humanity of Jesus died as a sacrifice for our sins at Calvary. The spirit of the risen Christ, humanity and divinity together will never end. Since the first Christmas day, Jesus will always be God, and God will always be man. 1 Corinthians 15:28 describes a time when "God will be all, and in all." The sonship of Jesus as mediator to the human race will no longer be necessary when there is no more sin, no more death, no more sorrow. Jesus will always be God's only begotten son.

Jesus is both the creator and descendant of David

Isaiah 11:1--A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

Matthew 1:2-26--See this text for the lineage of Abraham to David, and David to Jesus.

Matthew 22:41-46--While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42"What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?" 42 "The son of David," they replied. 43 He said to them, "How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him `Lord'? For he says, 44"`The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet." ' 45If then David calls him `Lord,' how can he be his son?" 46No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Romans 1:3 -- ...regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David....

Revelation 5:5
Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals."

Revelation 22:16 -- "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star."

Comment:
When Jesus declares he is the "Root and Offspring of David," he is exposing two facts: 1) David is descended from Jesus and 2) Jesus is descended from David. How can this be? Jesus, the human, did not exist actually before David, but the spirit of God did. The "Root" is the Spirit of God. The Spirit that spoke the worlds into existence out of nothing. The same Spirit that selected David as king and then blessed his kingdom. It was that Spirit which overshadowed Mary to become the father of Jesus. The Spirit of God then took on the identity of Jesus, by living in him. Jesus' human ancestry is traced back to David and Abraham. His bloodline comes directly from God. Jesus is the Spirit of God from the Old Testament who became a man in the New Testament, thereby the "Root and Offspring of David."

He is the King of Kings and Lord of lords

Daniel 2:47--The king said to Daniel, "Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery."

1 Timothy 6:13-15--I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time-God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Revelation 17:14 -- They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings-- and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers."

Revelation 19:16--On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

Comment:
Misunderstanding these scriptures leads to an inaccurate perception of God. In any kingdom, there can only be one "King of kings." You may say, "That is true in a human kingdom, but it could work in a divine Kingdom." God Himself leaves no room for plurality within His sovereignty. He declares "I am the LORD, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself "(Isaiah 44:24). To create a doctrine to solve problems of scriptural interpretation only creates problems, not solutions. The question raised from these texts is: How can the King of kings of the Old Testament be alone as God, and yet Jesus rightfully claims the same title in the New Testament? The answer is found in the fact that the King of the Old Testament is also King in the New Testament. There is no division of power, no delegation of authority, no savior dispatched from heaven. God did not send someone else to save the world, He came Himself. God did not send a prince into the kingdom, the king put on the robe of a prince and came into the kingdom. You may ask, how can this be? Read on below.

Jesus' Father, the Spirit of God, was living within him.

John 10:30 -- Jesus said, "I and the Father are one."

John 10:38 -- But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father."

John 14:8-10 -- Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." 9 Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? 10 Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.

John 14:20 -- On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.

2 Corinthians 5:19 -- ...God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation (NKJ).

Colossians 1:19 -- For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him

Comment:
Have you ever asked yourself the question: When Jesus prayed, who was he praying to? Why did Jesus seem to have such a subordinate role if he was God Almighty? (After reading this, I encourage you to visit the Sir Isaac Watt's article "A Solemn Address to the Deity." He had very similar questions.) Jesus was born a male child of the human race. He required food, water, warmth, and nurturing to survive and flourish. Jesus became tired; he slept; he wept. He was tempted in every aspect possible. The humanity of Jesus was as fragile and susceptible to failure as any other human being. The difference between Jesus and us, is Jesus had total access to the Spirit of God living in him. John the baptist described Jesus by saying: "For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit" (John 3:34). It was the Spirit of God living in Jesus that gave him the power to do miracles, to know the thoughts of men, to be "God with us." The humanity of Jesus prayed to the Spirit of God in him for strength, insight, wisdom, knowledge, direction, and power. The Spirit in Jesus was no longer just a temporary manifestation of deity on earth (See Theophanies). God became a man, or "The Creator became part of creation" (Robert A. Sabin). The humanity of Jesus was the mediator between God and men (1 Timothy 2:5). The flesh and blood was necessary for the propitiation of our sins (Romans 3:25, 1 John 2:2, 1 John 4:10); for without the shedding of blood, there can be no forgiveness of sin (Hebrews 9:22). The importance of Jesus being a man does not end there. Jesus is also our advocate, defending us when we stand before God in judgment when the accuser attempts to steal us away from God (Romans 8:34, Hebrews 7:25,1 John 2:1). The humanity of Jesus should encourage every downtrodden, brokenhearted, defeated individual because in Jesus, we have someone who understands what we are going through. Jesus will always be a man, but he won't always need to be a mediator, an atonement for sin, an intercessor. See above reference to 1 Corinthians 15:28 under "Jesus is the Son of God." God will always reside in Jesus, therefore Jesus will always be God.

Jesus is the baptizer with the Holy Ghost, the Comforter

Isaiah 44:3--For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.

Isaiah 59:20-21--"The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins," declares the LORD. 21 "As for me, this is my covenant with them," says the LORD. "My Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of their descendants from this time on and forever," says the LORD.

Joel 2:28-29--I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. 29 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

Matt 3:11 -- "I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

Mark 1:7-8 -- And this was his message: "After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

Luke 3:16--John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

Luke 24:49--I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."

John 1:33 -- I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.'

Acts 2:1-18--When the day of Pentecost came...All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them...Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd...this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

Comment:
In the Old Testament, God was speaking when he promised the out pouring of the Holy Spirit. Isaiah 59 uses the Hebrew Tetragrammaton for the proper name of God--LORD. Yet in the New Testament, there can be no controversy that Jesus will be the one who pours out the Holy Spirit. Jesus even refers to the promise of the Father in Luke 24:49 that he will pour out. When considered in perspective of Jesus being Jehovah God in the flesh, there is no conflict between the Old and New Testaments. Any other interpretation, requires the formulation of a doctrine to reconcile the Bible with itself.

Jesus is the Holy Ghost/Comforter

Matthew 28:20--And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

John 14:16-18 -- And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

Romans 8:9-11--You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you

Comments:
One must be exercise caution to remember that the Holy Spirit is God's Spirit, not a separate entity. The words "Holy Spirit" are "pneuma hagion" in the Greek. Translated it means "holy breath." It was the holy breath of God that hovered over the waters in creation (Genesis 1:2). That same holy breath of God overshadowed Mary, the mother of Jesus, and then lived in his son. The holy breath of God raised Jesus from the dead. The spirit of the risen Christ referred to in these verses is the same holy breath of God. Only now, the spirit has taken up permanent residence in a man. Jesus told his followers in John 14: "I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you" (KJV). He identifies himself as the comforter, which is one and the same as the Holy Spirit. In Romans, Paul refers to the Spirit of God living in you, and in the next phrase emphasizes the importance of having the Spirit of Christ in you. The connection should be simple.

Jesus will be on the throne when we arrive in heaven.

Matthew 19:28--Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne...

Revelation 3:21--To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.

Revelation 4:2-3--...there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian.

Revelation 7:17--For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd;
he will lead them to springs of living water.

Revelation 19:4--The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne.

Revelation 22:3-4--The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.

Comments:
According to the Bible, how many thrones are there in heaven? It is clear by the constant use of the singular word throne, that there is only one throne. How many will be seated on the throne. Matthew refers to the Son of Man. Is that one? When Jesus speaks in Revelation 3:21, he tells us the he will be seated with his Father. Is that two? It must be understood that the Father and Jesus are one (John 10:30) because the Father lives in Jesus. There is one God, one savior, one Father, one LORD, one throne, one King of Kings and Lord of lords...Jesus.

Jesus is everything to us: He is God, savior, mediator, propitiation for sin, advocate, and comforter. Soon, he will be our rescuer, King and ruler.

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