Jesus asked. “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.” Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Simon Peter
answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock, I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.” (Matthew 16:13-19 NIV)
Who is Jesus? Now that’s a question asked through the ages. Many will admit that he lived and died as recorded in history, but just as a man. Many will say that Jesus was a good teacher but not God. The Bible confirms that Jesus Christ existed with the Father and the Holy Spirit before the creation of the earth. We believe that Jesus is the eternal Son of God and that He was fully man and fully God while He was on earth.
Jesus existed before creation before there was time and space. John tells us, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” (John 1:1-2 NIV). Jesus was an active participant in creation. John continued, “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” (John 1:3-4 NIV)
John 1:3 “All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created.” God’s Word is not like any other word spoken. When God speaks His Word creates, molecules snap into place, things happen. Jesus, as the Word of God went forth and created as God spoke in Genesis 1 and 2. He was an active participant in creation.
We call Christ coming to earth in human form the incarnation. He was literally God in the flesh. As the gospel of John put s it, the eternal Word “became flesh and took up residence among us.” (John 1:14 NIV)
The Virgin’s birth is another essential belief in Christianity. He came as an actual human being, although A human father did not conceive him. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit, a miracle we have difficulty grasping. It confirms His deity and sinless conception. He can empathize with us in our humanity, but He is without sin. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.” (Hebrews 4:15 NIV)
Yet He did not sin. He fulfilled all the righteous requirements of the Law, something no one else could do. His perfect obedience and sinless life made Him the once and for all sacrifice for all that would accept Him as Savior.
Jesus paid the price for our sins by dying on the cross. His work on the cross satisfied God’s righteous demand against sin. Why did there have to be blood? Because life is in the blood, the life of the flesh. Our flesh and sinful nature (that came from Adam) had to die before we could have fellowship with God. In short, Jesus’ death canceled the guilt of man’s sin.
Just as important as Christ’s sinless life and death were, so was the resurrection. The Apostle Paul tells us, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” (I Corinthians 15:17 NIV). Jesus resurrected body is different from the perishable bodies we enjoy. We are promised that one day we will rise with resurrection bodies. Paul tells it this way to the Romans, “And 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 because of his Spirit who lives in you.” (Romans 8:11 NIV).
We also believe in the second coming of Christ. This time He will not come venerable as an infant, but this time He will come in power and glory. When He comes, He will claim His bride (the church), finish the work He started, bring all things to completion, and judge the world.
We must be ready to defend the virgin birth of Christ, His full deity and humanity, His work on the cross as the substitute for our sins, and His victorious return.
