If Jesus Christ is who He claimed to be, if what the Bible says about Him is true, then what we do with Jesus Christ will be the single most important decision we will ever make. Not only will that decision have consequences for our lives here and now, but it will determine where we will spend eternity.
JESUS IS GOD
He was before He became, that is, Christ existed in eternity past before His birth as Jesus. He said, “before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). Christ has forever been; when nothing else was, Jesus was. John tells us that Jesus is “the one who is, who was, and who is to come” (Revelation 1:4). Jesus said He was “the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Revelation 22:13). We are told that “in the beginning was the Word [Jesus], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning” (John 1:1, 2).
He created everything and holds everything together. This means that all creation is dependent upon Jesus. John declares that “all things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created” (John 1:3). The apostle Paul states that “everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and by him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:16, 17).
While on earth, Jesus claimed to be God. In John 10:30 He said, “I and the Father are one.” When Philip said to Jesus, “show us the Father, and that’s enough for us,” Jesus responded by saying, “the one who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Paul said the “He is the image of the invisible God… For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him” (Colossians 1:15, 19). In Matthew 1:23 we are told that “the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated ‘God is with us.'”
JESUS IS MAN
While Jesus did not start as a baby in a manger, he did come into the world in just that way. God the Son put on flesh, took on a human nature, became a man. He lived in the world. John declared, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). He had all the needs we have (Matthew 21:18; John 11:35). He even experienced all the temptations that we experience. Hebrews 4:15 says that “we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin.”
Jesus was like us in every way, except one. He was completely holy and righteous; He was sinless. Peter declares that Jesus “did not commit sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth” (1 Peter 2:22). Paul states that God “made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21). He does not share this sinful condition with us. Instead, he is the righteous man who never broke God’s law. Jesus lived a sinless life so that He could do something no man had ever been able to do before.
JESUS IS REDEEMER
Paul writes, “What then? Are we any better off? Not at all! For we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin, as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away; all alike have become worthless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one… For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:9-12, 23). What are the consequences of our sin? Spiritual death and alienation from God: “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Because we are sinners, there is nothing at all that we can do to repair our broken relationship with God. We are under the just penalty of death.
Thankfully, what is impossible with man is possible with God. God sent Jesus to die in our place for sin’s penalty. John declared that “God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). This was the whole reason Jesus came to earth. He offered himself as the perfect sacrifice for sin. He did this by dying on a cross. Jesus Himself said that “the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). Paul declares, “this saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them” (1 Timothy 1:15).
On the cross, Jesus became sin for you. He gave up His life so that you might have life through Him. Paul teaches us that “God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). In this act He redeemed His people from lawlessness (Titus 2:14). However, because He Himself was sinless, death had no claim on Him and three days after He was buried, He rose again.
Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, sinners can be reconciled to God because the penalty for our sin has been paid. Through Jesus, we can stand before God justified from sin. Paul teaches us that “through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone, so also through one righteous act there is justification leading to life for everyone” (Romans 5:18).
Jesus can be your redeemer too. You must “confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).
JESUS IS LORD
The Dutch statesman, Abraham Kuyper once said, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!” Jesus, having conquered sin, death, and the grave, now lives forever as the Lord of all things. He has defeated all his enemies and has absolute authority. In his sermon on the day of Pentecost, Peter said, “therefore let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah” (Acts 2:36).
As a result of his resurrection and ascension, Christ has been enthroned at the right hand of God the Father, with universal dominion. Paul says that God the Father “exercised this power in Christ by raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens—far above every ruler and authority, power and dominion, and every title given, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he subjected everything under his feet and appointed him as head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way” (Ephesians 1:20-23).
Some seem to believe that they have—or can have—a right relationship with Jesus Christ while refusing to surrender to His lordship and do not obey Him in their daily lives. Yet Jesus Himself said, “if you love me, you will keep my commands” (John 14:15). Following Christ is a complete and total surrender to his authority and control over us. When we believe in Jesus, we will be truly submitted to his Lordship. God has a great plan for each of His people that He will see through to the end. In his letter to the Philippian’s Paul wrote, “I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).
We would do well to remember the words of the psalmist: “The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all” (Psalm 103:19).
WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH THE MAN CHRIST JESUS?
Without Jesus, we are all lost. We have no hope, no peace, no joy, no purpose. Jesus said that “anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God” (John 3:18).
God calls all men to “repent and believe the good news” (Mark 1:15). “The jailer… trembling before Paul and Silas… said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?'” Their response? “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:29-31). In John 8:12 Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”
“Confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9), for “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006-2021 by Miguel J. Gonzalez Th.D.
Dr. Miguel J. Gonzalez is the Founder and President of Reasons for Faith International Ministries. He served as a pastor for ten years in Charlotte, NC and has taught in churches and conferences throughout the United States. He currently hosts the Time in the Word and Truth To Live By podcasts and writes at KnowingChristianity.blogspot.com.
