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Vital
Issues: Who Is Jesus? By:
Joe Dennison
Question: Who do you think
Christ is?
Jesus Christ was born over 2000 years ago in an obscure
village in present day Israel. His life, death and
teaching have had a tremendous impact on our world. He
was truly a great man. But was He more than that? Most
people in America would agree that Jesus was a "good
man." Certainly, His teachings contain high moral
standards. Yet the Bible claims that Jesus was something
more than just a good man. It declares that Jesus is
actually God’s Son, the Creator of our world!
Who Jesus is has profound implications for your own
life. Perhaps you have thought of Jesus as simply a good
man who was martyred in the prime of life. Possibly you
have viewed His teachings as only noble ideals, to be
accepted or discarded according to society’s current
preferences. However, if Jesus is God, then His words
are eternal truths and you can reject or ignore them
only at your own peril.
Consider the arguments that the Bible presents for
the deity of Jesus. First of all, it is clear that Jesus
Himself claimed to be God’s Son. Jesus said, "I and the
Father are one" (John 10:30). On the eve of His death,
Jesus was asked, "Are you then the Son of God?" He
replied, "You are right in saying I am" (Luke 22:70). On
another occasion Jesus said, "before Abraham was born, I
am!" (John 8:58). The people to whom Jesus spoke
understood these to be clear statements of His deity—and
as a result, they tried to kill Him.
Jesus demonstrated His deity by performing many
miracles. He restored sight to the blind, healed the
lame, gave hearing to the deaf and cured the sick. His
greatest miracle was to give life to the dead. On at
least three occasions, Jesus raised a person to
life—including one man who had been in the grave for
three days! Jesus’ enemies never questioned these
miracles because they were impossible to deny! Jesus
intended the miracles to demonstrate His deity.
Furthermore, Jesus displayed characteristics that
only belong to God. He displayed His infinite
supernatural wisdom and knowledge by revealing the
thoughts of those around Him. His unlimited power over
nature was seen when He calmed a raging storm on the
Galilean Sea with three words: "Peace! be still." The
Gospel writers record His absolute righteousness in the
New Testament. Even His enemies could find nothing wrong
in His life. These characteristics—perfect
righteousness, infinite wisdom, and divine power—were
also demonstrations of His deity.
Finally, the Apostles clearly believed and understood
Jesus to be the Son of God. Their New Testament writings
are full of references to this indisputable truth. Paul
wrote of the Lord Jesus as "being in the form of God"
(Philippians 2:6) and as "the image of the invisible
God" (Colossians 1:15). Also referring to Christ, John
wrote, "In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with
God and the Word was God" (John 1:1). These men gave
their lives to defend the truth about Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus claimed to be God. He demonstrated His
deity by performing miracles—including raising the dead
to life. Both His disciples and His enemies alike
understood His claim to be God’s Son. The New Testament
unmistakably proclaims His deity.
Since Jesus is God’s Son, He has claims on your life.
In John 3:3 Jesus said, "Except a man be born again, he
cannot see the kingdom of God." In John 5:24, Jesus also
said, "He who hears My word, and believes Him who sent
Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment,
but has passed out of death into life." We challenge you
to face the claims of Jesus today! If Jesus is Lord and
God then you cannot afford to ignore Him. Jesus said "I
am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes unto
the Father but by me" (John 14:6). Your eternal
destiny—heaven or hell—hinges entirely on who you think
Jesus is, on whether you are willing to accept Him as
your Savior and bow to Him as Lord.
Who do you think Christ is? |
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