Who is Jesus?

 Who is this man Jesus?

If we took a survey asking people around the world, “Who is Jesus?” we would receive many different answers.  Some would say “He was a Jewish carpenter, the son of Mary,” others may respond “He was a good man.”  Another response may pronounce Jesus as a “holy man,” a “teacher,” or even a “prophet of God.”  And although Jesus may be all of those things, he is also so much more.

Jesus’ Identity According to the Bible

For those of you that do not know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, or maybe have never even heard the name of Jesus before reading this book, we need to dig a little deeper. 

In Isaiah 60:1-2 we learn that God “is a good Father” and that He is “for you and not against you.” Sometimes it feels like if there is a God, He must be against you on every front, and you blame Him for all the things going wrong in your life. According to the Word of God, that is not true. God is FOR YOU! There is an enemy too, and he (that enemy Satan) is the one that is against you, but let’s not jump ahead, we will get back to the enemy in a moment. 

John 3:16-17 (NKJV) says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” We learn here that Jesus is God’s son, and that God gave us His only Son, Jesus, as a gift.

The Apostle Paul further describes who Jesus is in Colossians 1:15-17 (NKJV) “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Wow!  What a beautiful and powerful description of Jesus.  He is the creator of all things and holds all things together.  

And John 10:10 reveals to us that Jesus came to give us life.  Why do we need life from Jesus?

Why did Jesus come to give life?  Because God has an enemy!

Yes, God has an enemy and his name is Satan. Satan is not some fictional cartoon character, rather he is very real.  John 10:10 (NKJV) “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”  Satan brought sin into the world through Eve’s temptation to rebel against God.  You can read the full account of man’s fall through sin in Genesis chapter 3.  And according to Romans 6:23a (NIV), “For the wages of sin is death.” That is the bad news.  ALL mankind are born with the nature of the fallen sinful man, meaning we ALL sin.   So, exactly what is sin?   Sin is an archery term that literally means to “miss the mark.”    Sin is missing the mark of God’s perfection.  Or, not being 100% perfect 100% of the time, or missing the bull’s-eye. I don't know a single person that has never missed the mark or not messed up somewhere in life at some point in time!  Do you?   Hmm, so that means every single human being, that’s all of us, fall into the “sinner” category.    Romans 6:23a, tells us the wage (or price) for sin is death.   That means we all deserve the penalty of death because all of us have sinned and fall short of perfection.

Great news!

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.” Romans 5:8-9 (NKJV)

Jesus’ coming was foretold in the Old Testament Scriptures.

Isaiah 53:4-9 (NKJV) prophesies these words: “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, everyone, to his own way, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked—but with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.”

The gift of God is Jesus and eternal life.

John 3:16-17 (NKJV) says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

Jesus is the gift that was given for us and to us.  He paid the penalty of sin and death so we would not have to die eternally. He was accused of blasphemy; He was whipped, beaten, and bruised for our illnesses and diseases. He was sent by his own people to die a bloody and gruesome death on a Roman cross where He, Jesus, the God/man, would then carry the sins of the entire world upon Himself. 

He that knew NO SIN became sin, for us. 

He did it willingly, without arguing or saying a word.

Why? Because He wanted to pay for the sins that WE had committed but could not meet the expense of. He did not fight against his torture and sacrifice; rather He poured Himself out for us. One drop of His perfect blood would have been enough, but HE POURED HIMSELF OUT for US! He gave all! With His blood spilled, the gruesomeness of death and sin was then carried to the grave on our behalf.

Jesus’ power over death, Hell, and the grave…what does it mean?

Down in the grave where death and Hell reside, Jesus dragged down and buried the sins of the world and defeated the author of those sins, Satan. In Revelation 1:18 (NKJV) Jesus declares, “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.” 

Jesus took back that power we lost to Satan. The keys we handed over to the devil when sin entered the world. Jesus took them back and now holds them and offers Himself as deliverer. After three days and nights in the grave, Jesus rose again. He is alive today. He holds the keys to Hell, death, and the grave. He holds that power; it is no longer Satan’s. All we have to do to be released from the prison of sin is to ask. There is nothing we can do on our own to save ourselves; it is 100% through grace and acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. 

Titus 3:4-7 (NKJV) says, “But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy. He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

Satan is the tempter, the accuser, and the destroyer.  Satan deserves the blame we so often place on God.  It is Jesus that defeated this enemy along with death, Hell, and the grave.   Jesus defeated ALL sin when He died on the cross, then He rose again from the dead three days after His crucifixion. Jesus is ALIVE today and is ready to give you a seat at His banquet table. The invitation is extended, your seat is reserved, will you come? Will you sit? Will you eat of the food of life that the Lord has set before you? If so, then accept Him right now. 

There are only two options in this world: Heaven vs. Hell or also stated Jesus vs. Satan, and if you do not intentionally choose Heaven and Jesus, then by default you will have chosen Hell and Satan. “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on Heaven and Earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!” Deuteronomy 30:19 (NLT)  Choose Life!

No one wants to die!  Eternity is written in our hearts.

All of us would love it if death was abolished and we could live forever.  Scripture tells us that eternity is in our hearts.  No one wants to die!

According to the second half of Romans 6:23 (NIV, emphasis added), “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord,” we can have that eternal life we so desire.

How do we get this gift of eternal life? How do we make Jesus our Lord?  How do we receive Jesus and eternal life?  You choose to believe there is a gift, then receive the gift when offered. 

The gift is Jesus and you receive Him by believing what God tells us about His Son.  Then once you believe, you repent of your sins.  Repent means to acknowledge you are a sinner in need of a Savior and turning away from a life of sin.  Then ask God’s Son to save you by allowing Jesus to be the Lord of your life.  

Know and understand these 3 things:  One: (I John 5:13) You will be saved spiritually and gain eternal life. Two: (James 5:14) You will be saved physically, and all manner of healing will belong to you immediately. Three: You will be saved mentally so that all sinful thoughts, lusts, temptations, and chaos of the mind can be instantly corrected and healed. You can have a sound mind today. Remember, it is all about your Faith in Christ, believing the Father’s words about His Son; it’s about your intentions and surrender of the heart before a holy and loving God.

Pray out loud to Father God in the name of His Son, Jesus, and realize the surrender that is set before you.  

“Jesus, I realize now that I am a sinner. I know that because of my sin, I cannot stand before a Holy God and that I am doomed to death, Hell, and the grave apart from Christ.          

Jesus, your death has made a way for me to know the Father God.  Because you have shed your blood for me, my sins can be washed away.  

Jesus, I receive you today and I ask you to forgive me of my sins.  I choose to turn from my old life and turn to you now thru repentance of all my sins and any way that displeases you. Forgive me for my transgressions and cleanse me white as snow with your blood that you shed on the cross for me. Renew my mind thru your Word and heal my body for your word says I am healed by the stripes You bore on your back for me. 

I accept Your invitation for salvation. Come into my life and be my Lord and my Savior. Transform me into the person You created me to be. 

I love You, Jesus!  Now help me to love others and myself, and to follow You all the days of my life. Reveal Your perfect plan for my life to me and help me to walk it out in joyful and faithful abandon as I remain consecrated to You. In Your Mighty Name I Pray, Jesus. Amen.”

Who the Bible says you are in Christ.

The Bible says that once you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are an ambassador of Christ (II Corinthians 5:20). You are already seated in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6). You are the temple of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 3:16-17, I Corinthians 6:19-20). As such you have the power and authority to speak, declare, and proclaim the will of God over your life, and to have the faith to fully accept that perfect will of God (Romans 12:12). That includes speaking and declaring healing over yourself and others. After all, Jesus commanded us, “As you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of Heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:7-8 NKJV)

Jesus is the Chain Breaker. He is the Freedom Maker. He is the Healer, Jehovah Raphe; the One that makes all things NEW. Jesus is God come in the flesh that lived, died, rose again, and is still ALIVE today. Jesus—He LOVES you!

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV) says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new.”

Now go tell someone and get into a Bible teaching church!  Declare Jesus as Lord for all to hear, and show your example to others by being water baptized.  Never stop learning about Jesus by reading the Word of God (the Bible).