THE KEY QUESTION TO BE ANSWERED IN OUR LIVES
_______________________________________________________
Who is Jesus Christ? This is the pivotal question upon which all Christianity is based. It is the single most important question we can ask ourselves. Our answer is not only of infinite importance in this life… but for all of eternity.
Is Jesus the Son of the only true God? Is He fully divine and fully human? The way to discern a false teacher from a teacher of the Truth is that a false teacher will claim that Jesus was either divine or human… but not both. We are to test the spirits of all who teach with authority (1 John 4:1).
“‘Very truly I tell you,’ Jesus answered, ‘before Abraham was born, I am!'” – John 8:58
- Jesus never claimed to be anything except the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God. He claimed to be “I AM” – Jehovah, the covenant God of Israel. When questioned, He stated definitively who He was… “I AM”… the Promised One… the One to whom all prophecies point. He was saying, “I AM God.”
“The Father is in Me, and I am in the Father.” – John 10:38
- Jesus was not just a good teacher… an inspired prophet… a gifted healer… a worker of miracles… as some would argue. He always claimed to be one with the Father. All His words, all His acts, all His miracles… all were because His Father dwelled in Him and He in the Father. He declared that He and the Father are one.
“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. All things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” – Colossians 1:15-17
- Jesus is the perfect reflection of the invisible God. He is the true manifestation of the almighty God. He is Lord of all creation. Jesus is preexistent and eternal. He is a part of the Holy Trinity… the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. He was and is and will forever be.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made.” – John 1:1-3
- Jesus is the eternal Word of life. He was there at the creation of the world. He is the Creator of the universe and the Sustainer of all. He is not only equal to God… He is God. This is a core truth of Christianity.
“In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” – John 1:4-5
- Jesus is the Light of life… the Light of the World… the Light that overcomes all darkness. At the cross, He disarmed all evil. His resurrection proved His power over sin and death. He has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and brought us into His everlasting kingdom (Colossians 1:13).
“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form… He is the head over every power and authority.” – Colossians 2:9-10
- Jesus has absolute supremacy. He is ruler over all… heaven and earth and under the earth, humans and angels, time and eternity. Christ is the Omnipotent One. He is the name above all names… to whom every knee shall bow and tongue confess that Jesus is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11).
“For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things… by making peace through His blood shed on the cross.” – Colossians 1:19-20
- Jesus is God incarnate… fully God, fully man. This is a key point of Christianity. If we deny either His divinity or His humanity, we make Him less than Christ our Savior. Although Jesus lived as a man, He was always the eternal God… the Word made flesh… who alone offers eternal life to all who believe.
“To all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” – John 1:12
- Jesus is Lord over all creation. When we crown Him Lord over our lives, we become children of the living God. We are reborn and recreated spiritually. Jesus is Lord of the new creation… and the only way to forgiveness, eternal life and peace with God the Father.
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel (which means, God with us).” – Matthew 1:23
- Jesus fulfilled this prophecy of Isaiah. He is forever with us. As God in the flesh, He became Immanuel literally… God among us. He is “God with us”, as believers, through the indwelling Holy Spirit.
“These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.” – John 20:31
Perhaps the question then is… Who is Jesus Christ to you? The most important question we could ever ask ourselves is what we believe about Christ. It is the question upon which all eternity hangs in the balance. Is He more to you than just a great teacher, prophet, miracle worker? Has Jesus become the Savior of your life? Is He your Messiah? Have you crowned Him King and Lord over your life?