Don Stewart :: What Should We Conclude about the Identity of Jesus Christ?

What Should We Conclude about the Identity of Jesus Christ?

What Everyone Needs to Know about Jesus – Question 42

After looking at what the New Testament has to say about the Person of Jesus Christ, we can make a number of observations and conclusions about His identity.

1. Jesus Was Fully God

From the totality of Scripture, we find that Jesus Christ was fully God. The Bible says that He is the eternal God who has always existed, and always will exist. He is God the Son, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. The Bible gives both direct and indirect evidence to this.

2. Jesus Was Fully Human

Though Jesus was God the Son for all eternity, He became human at a certain point in history. Indeed, He came to a specific nation as a member of the human race. While He was supernaturally conceived, everything about His birth, childhood, and humanity was normal.

In other words, He was not super-human. Christ experienced all the things other human beings experience. This means that Jesus was human in every sense of the term. Yet, there is one main difference between Jesus and the rest of us; He never sinned. Jesus went through His entire life without once breaking the laws of God. Therefore, while Jesus Christ was a human being, He was also perfect humanity.

3. The Incarnation Is a Mystery That We Cannot Completely Understand

How God could become human being with two natures, yet living in only One Person is not completely understandable to us. God the Son becoming like one of us is certainly a mystery; a mystery the Bible does not attempt to explain.

Our responsibility is to accept what the Bible says about Jesus’ deity as well as His humanity. In doing so, we must recognize that we will never fully understand this truth. It is important that we realize this.

4. Jesus Is Prophet, Priest and King

Jesus Christ has three offices; Prophet, Priest, and King. When God the Son came to earth the first time, He came in the role of a prophet. He spoke God’s truth to the people. However, His words were rejected. He was crucified on the cross of Calvary. His death on the cross was for the sins of the world. In other words, He died as our substitute.

Three days after His death on the cross, Jesus Christ rose from the dead. After appearing to certain people for some forty days, the risen Christ then ascended into heaven. Today, He intercedes for believers as our Great High Priest. He is the One through whom we pray. It is because of Jesus’ role as our High Priest, that our prayers to God the Father are heard.

Jesus’ coming to earth is not the last time the world will see Him. There will come a time when He will return to earth. When Jesus returns a second time, He will return as King. He will set up His everlasting kingdom that will have no end.

This is a brief summary of what the Bible says about the identity of Jesus. While there are many other things we would like to understand about Him Scripture gives us sufficient information so that we can know who He is, what He has done on our behalf, and what He expects from us.

Summary – Question 42
What Should We Conclude about the Identity of Jesus Christ?

After looking at what the New Testament teaches about Jesus Christ, there are a number of observations and conclusions which we can make concerning who He is.

From the Bible, we find that Jesus Christ was fully God and fully human. He is the living God, God the Son, who became human at a certain time in history. Before He came to this earth He had only one nature, a divine nature. When He came to this earth He took upon Himself something which He did not previously have, a human nature.

While this is the teaching of Scripture, it is not totally understandable to us. In other words, it is a mystery as to how God could become a human. Our responsibility is not so much to understand this truth but rather to believe it.

Scripture also teaches that God the Son has three basic offices; that of a Prophet, Priest, and King.

Jesus Christ was a prophet, or a spokesman for God, at His First Coming. He spoke God’s truth to the people. Unfortunately, His prophetic words were rejected. Instead of receiving Him as the Promised Messiah, they put Him to death. However, death could not hold Him. Jesus came back from the dead three days after His death. He rose from the dead in a glorified body never to die again.

Presently, Jesus Christ is our Great High Priest. This means that He is interceding for us to God the Father. It is because of Him, and what He has done, that we are able to have our prayers answered.

When Jesus returns to the earth, He will return as King of Kings. At the time of His return, Jesus will set up His everlasting kingdom. He will remain King for all eternity.

This briefly sums up what the Bible says about the identity of Jesus Christ. Though we have many unanswered questions about Him what the Scripture does tell us is certainly sufficient. Our responsibility, therefore, is to learn what we can about Him and then act upon the things which we know are true. This is how we can live a life which is pleasing to Him.