My dear friends, here we are again in 2018! A new year, new season, new beginning, new perspective, new opportunities for everyone. I pray that we make the best of it with God's help!
We got to know God better in 2017 with our mini-series on His character traits. That helps us to put our relationship with Him in order and I do hope that some of you (those who did not know God) have made a step by entering into a relationship with Him. Listen: you would never regret having done that!
In todays blogs and the ones to come, I want us to take a closer look at Jesus. He is the central figure of Christianity because He is the link between God the Father and humanity (1 Timothy 2: 5-6). Without Jesus, Christianity would be empty and thus our faith would be in vain and useless. Therefore, it's important for us to know Jesus better so that our faith in Him can grow stronger. And all those who have the desire to enter in a relationship with Jesus - by making Him the Lord and Savior of their lives - will get a clear picture of the One they want to “engage” with.
So who is Jesus? Is He God or a human? Or both?
I think many people are confused when it comes to the "status" of Jesus. They do not know if He is God or if He is a human like we all. He remains a mystery to many; Thank God the Bible always helps us with all topics, also with this one. Many passages in the Bible confirm that Jesus is God and He has never lost His Divine nature. At the same time, the Bible teaches that Jesus became fully human. "Sorry”? This is certainly the question that comes straight to your mind now. How can that be possible? Did Jesus had a split personality? Was He schizophrenic? (It's okay in this case to ask that question - This is not a blasphemy)
Let's start with the Deity of Jesus for today
- Jesus has been called God many times in the Bible. The introduction of the Gospel of John says, "In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself "(John 1: 1). In verse 14 we can clearly see that by "word" John was talking of Jesus.
- In the Letter to the Hebrews we read the following: "but of the Son he says, 'Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and a righteous scepter is the scepter of your kingdom"(Hebrews 1: 8).
- Apostles Paul and Peter have each called Jesus God in their letters. We know that the Bible is the Word of God written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, meaning that these apostles didn't call Jesus God just because they wanted to flatter Him. While Paul said in Titus 2:13, "as we wait for the happy fulfillment of our hope in the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” Peter wrote "… to those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ, have been granted a faith just as precious as ours"(2 Peter 1: 1), thus confirming the deity of Jesus.
- Jesus introduced Himself as the Son of God in several verses in the Bible, including Mark 14: 61-62 where the High Priest asked Him if He was the Christ, the Savior chosen by God, the Son of God. Jesus answers, "I Am." He is also called Lord in various verses like in 1 Corinthians 12: 3.
We see in the Bible that divine attributes and words have been associated with Jesus. He is eternal (John 17: 5), omnipresent (Matt 28:20), and omnipotent (Hebrews 1: 2). Moreover, the Bible tells us that He is the Creator of all (Colossians 1:16), He is the One who holds everything together (Colossians 1:17), He has the authority to forgive sin (Luke 5: 20-24) and every human being will stand before Him for judgment (John 5:27). All of these are attributes of God and they are related to Jesus in the Bible.
What does the deity of Jesus mean for us practically? Jesus, the central person of Christianity, is not like other religious leaders who have existed. He is God. The Bible says, God Himself came to this earth, lived in our midst and showed us the way back to Him through a close fellowship with Him, as He has planned from the beginning of time. If Christ were not God, then the Bible would be wrong and salvation is still not available, since the death of a mere man (no matter how good and noble he may have been) cannot provide the infinite price required to redeem other men of their sins. We would all be sitting now in a mess without the sacrifice of Jesus.
Thank God, He paid this price for humanity Himself so that you and I can be saved, redeemed and free today. Isn't that a good news? I definitely think it is!!!
Jesus deity means that we have or we can put our faith in the right One (like a lottery with a bonus number). Because as God, Jesus is everything the Bible says He is, has and can. So you can “back the right horse” with Jesus by putting your trust in Him - you will never be disappointed!
