WHO IS THIS MAN JESUS?

                                             

                                         WHO IS THIS MAN JESUS? 

INDEX:
- MAN IS SEPARATED FROM GOD
-WHAT IS IT THAT SEPARATES US FROM GOD OUR CREATOR?
-THE PROMISED MESSIAH (SAVIOUR)
-JESUS  CHRIST THE MESSIAH/SAVIOUR
-THE MESSIAH'S DEATH AND RESURRECTION
-WHY THE SECRECY, WHY ALL THE OBSCURITY?
-WHAT ACTUALLY WAS JESUS' EARTHLY MISSION?
-WHO IS THIS JESUS REALLY?
 JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF MAN
 JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD
-WHAT IS ACTUALLY BEING SAID BY CALLING HIM 'THE SON OF GOD?"
-JESUS CHRIST IS GOD!
-CONCLUSION



"And they feared greatly, and said one to another, 'What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?'" Mark 4:41


"Therefore also it is contained in the Scripture, 'Behold, I lay in Zion a Chief Corner Stone, Elect, Precious: and he that believes on Him shall not be confounded/shamed.' Unto you which believe He is Precious: but to them which be disobedient, the Stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner. And a Stone of stumbling, an a Rock of offence..." 1 Peter 2: 6-8

MAN SEPARATED FROM GOD
 The intended role of religions has been to teach us right from wrong and give instruction as to how we should live in order to please our Maker. Well, there have been a lot of them around, but mankind is still initially separate from God our Creator. Following religious rules and regulations, and even good ones, does it bring God nearer to us? We know that God is Spirit (John 4:24), all knowing, all powerful, and not restricted by time or distance. Not only can we know this from the Scriptures of the Bible, but we can observe that from this amazing universe which He has created, just as the Apostle Paul wrote, "For since the creation of His world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse." Romans 1:20 NAS. So why is He so far away?
  True, we are extremely limited in our ability to reach Him with all our good intentions and efforts. We have assuredly found out that our super technology is useless when it comes to communicating with Him. That is why so many scientists (but certainly not all) claim there is no God. But what keeps Him from reaching us? We cannot put up any barriers to keep Him away. Most certainly we can, no doubt, make ourselves so odious that He will not reach out to us because of our behaviour. But what if we truly want Him in our lives? What can we do?

 WHAT IS IT THAT SEPARATES US FROM GOD OUR CREATOR?

 "Behold, the Lord's hand is not so short that it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull that it cannot hear. But your INIQUITIES (sinful tendencies) have made a separation between you and your God, and your SINS have hidden His face from you so that HE does not hear." Isaiah 59:1-2 NAS

 Now we are getting somewhere. We have identified the problem. What is more, this problem is common to the entire human race, regardless of time, gender, age, and location. We all lie, cheat, steal, hate, covet, and so on. It does not matter who you are, when or where you were born, we are all the same and have the same iniquitous tendencies. What is more we know from the Bible that God is Pure and Holy, and does not tolerate sin and evil in His Presence:

 "For You are not a God that has pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with You. The foolish shall not stand in Your sight: You hate all workers of iniquity. You shall destroy them that speak lies: the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man." Psalm 5:4-6

 "The Lord  tries the righteous, but the wicked and him that loves violence His Soul hates." Psalm 11:5

"You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on iniquity." Habakkuk 1:13

 Furthermore, God had established the penalty for sin with Adam in the Garden of Eden. It is DEATH: "...for in the day that you shall eat thereof, you shall surely die." Genesis 2: 17, " For the wages of sin is death..." Romans 6:23

 Well there you have it, we are all guilty of the same problem, we are also all facing the same sentence. But wait! Did not God tell Adam that he would die the day that he ate of the fruit if he did eat it? Yet he lived for years after. Was God not being totally up front? Certainly not! On the very day Adam and Eve sinned by eating of the forbidden fruit they were driven from God's Wonderful Presence. To God, and actually to us whether we realize it or not, that is true death. Their physical death was to follow. "Jesus said to him, 'Let the dead bury their dead..." Luke 9:60 "And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, has He quickened together with Him, having for given all you trespasses: Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to the cross..." Colossians 2:13-14

  So all of mankind is found in the same situation, the same dilemma; we all struggle with sin, and from birth we are born separated from our Creator. No religion or manmade tradition, teaching, rules, can change that aspect, or remove sin, or save us from death, nor bring us nearer to God.

 Clearly we are in a terrible predicament! We are sinners, born so, separate from our Creator, facing death and damnation, and are powerless to do anything about it. Now we are trusting that God is gracious and merciful, and He is! But we also know that He is righteous and will not unjustly pass over all our transgressions. WE NEED HELP, AND IT HAS TO COME FROM HIM!

THE PROMISED MESSIAH (SAVIOR)    Who is this Man Jesus? He is one of the most central figures of the Human race, well known, loved, despised, accepted, rejected, followed, fled from, proclaimed, and also concealed by many so as to prevent Him from being made known. He was born in basic poverty, and as an infant sought out by mighty foreigners, yet hunted by the king. He grew up as the son of a carpenter, gathered a following, worked mighty miracles and healings, never promoted Himself, but relentlessly pointed everyone to God and constantly quoted the Scriptures. Nonetheless, He enraged the religious leaders of His people. He eventually yielded to His opponents, was accused, beaten, spat upon, scourged, and finally crucified. Then on the third day - He rose from the dead as He said He would. From His first disciples, untold numbers have laid down there lives to serve Him and to proclaim that He is the Son of God and that He is indeed risen from the dead. Who really is this man Jesus? Many groups, religions, and even nations acknowledge this Man, but many do not agree or know Who He really is. As disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, His Church, we recognize, acknowledge and proclaim Him as the Only Begotten Son of God -

JESUS CHRIST THE MESSIAH (SAVIOUR)

  Beginning immediately at the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden, God had declared that He would raise up a seed from the woman that would defeat the devil. Throughout the Scriptures of the Old Testament He would make reference to Him, casting further light on His promise, but not just for the nation of Israel, but for entire world.

 "Behold My Servant, Whom I uphold: My Elect, in Whom My soul delights; I have put My spirit upon Him: He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles...I will give You for a covenant of the people, a Light of the Gentiles." Isaiah 42:1-6

 The following verse is the first announcement and revelation of the Messiah.

  "And I will put enmity between you(the serpent/devil) and the woman, and between your seed and her seed: it shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel." Genesis 3:15

 In this passage of the Scripture, God is telling the devil that there will be war between the woman's descendants, and his. And that the descendant of Eve will crush the head (authority of the devil) at a painful price. This is Jesus Christ, the Son of man.

 "Blotting out the handwritings of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out f the way, nailing it to the cross; and having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a show of them openly, TRIUMPHING over them in it (the cross)." Colossians 2:14-15

 Here we have a beautiful picture of the fulfillment of this promise from God. Jesus Christ, the seed of the woman, bruises - actually crushes the head or authority of the devil and his angels in an open display through His sinless life, suffering, and death on the cross.

 THE MESSIAH'S DEATH AND RESURRECTION

 "Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently, He shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. As many were astonished at You: His face was so marred more than that of any man, and his form more than the sons of men, and His form more than the sons of men: So shall He sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at Him...He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief...Surely He has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed...for He was cut off from the land of the living: for the transgression of My people was He stricken.  And He made His grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death...when You shall make His soul and offering for sin, He shall see HIs seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper at His had. He shall see the travail of His soul, and be satisfied: My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong; because He has poured His soul unto death... and He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. Isaiah 52:13-15, 53:1-12

 "For You will not leave my soul in hell; neither will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption." Psalm 16:10

 These prophetic passages of the life, suffering, death, and resurrection of the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ says it all. They speak clearly of Him being fully man, being the atoning Sacrifice for our sins. It clearly speaks of His death, and then speaks of Him being alive following His death. Then the verse in Psalms to which Peter and Paul both referred to indicated the same.

 We must also remember that the Gospels are eye witness accounts of His life, death, and resurrection.  Matthew and John were there, Mark was involved to some extent, but was an associate of the witnesses personally, and so was Luke a living recipient of their testimonies in their day, and both were living witnesses of the power of the Holy Spirit's work following His resurrection. The testimonies of James (the Lord's half brother), and Jude, James's brother, along with Peter's Epistles are a further confirmation. Paul's testimony is also a confirmation through his own divine encounter with Jesus which was recognized and accepted by the original apostles. The Lord in the Old Testament said that by the testimony of two or more witnesses is every word established. The Holy Spirit does the final confirmation in the hearts of those who believe the Gospel.

Jesus said, "Unless you believe that I Am He, you shall die in your sins." John 8:24. He also said, "I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man comes to the Father, but by Me." John 14:6 The Apostle Peter further added, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Acts 4:12

 WHY THE SECRECY, WHY ALL THE OBSCURITY?

 One might ask why did He not make His plan more obvious and clear in the Scriptures? "...the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they understood it, they would not have crucified the LORD of GLORY." 1 Corinthians 2:8 NAS

 The devil knew from the Scriptures that God had promised a Saviour, so had he known that it was God's plan in the beginning to defeat him through Christ's death, he would most certainly not have had Him killed. But for our redemption and salvation, Jesus the Messiah had to suffer and die, and be raised from the dead. "And He said to them, 'O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?'" Luke 24:25-26 NAS Guess what, the devil knows now.

WHAT ACTUALLY WAS JESUS' EARTHLY MISSION?

 We have already declared that HE was to break Satan's power over us, but there is so much more. In the verses above God is stating that He is giving Him as a Covenant  to the people, and also that He was to bear their judgment and punishment for their (our) sins and transgressions. "Behold the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world." John 1: 29

 OK, but there is a problem here, because the Scriptures declare that, "None of them can by any means redeem either himself or his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him; for the ransom of their life is too costly, and (the price they can pay] can never suffice. so that he should live on forever and never see the pit [the grave] and corruption." Psalm 49:7-9 AMP- "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23 But for such a mission, He had to be a man, but being a just a man He could have never redeemed the world.

WHO IS THIS JESUS, REALLY? 

JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF MAN

"Since they have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity, so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death - that is the devil - and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels He helps, but Abraham's descendants. For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, in order that He might become a Merciful and Faithful High Priest in service to God. Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted." Hebrews 2:14-18

 "Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." Matthew 20:28

 So the Messiah had to be a man, not only to represent the people of Israel, but all the peoples of the world JOHN 3:16, and He had to die. This is HUGE. For death not to hold Him, He had to be sinless, because that is the wage of sin. Even if a man can be sinless, how could he pay for the sins of the world?! From the Scripture mentioned above, He could not. If He was just a man, how could He gain eternal life for anyone? He would also have to make them perfectly pure and holy so that God can live in them through His Holy Spirit "For by one offering He has perfected forever them that are sanctified." Hebrews 10:14 . Now we know that this is only something God can do.  The man Jesus had to be special. He had to be a man in order to pay for the sins of mankind, and He had to be sinless in order to defeat death. Otherwise if He had at all sinned He would have died for His own sin, and His death would have made his life a complete loss. He could not have risen from the dead since death would have the right over Him if He had sinned even once. So, He had to be special just to be sinless and live a sinless life. But that is not enough. A sinless human cannot atone/pay for the sins of the entire human race, so He had to be so much more.

JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD!
"And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straight out of the water, and the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him: and a voice from Heaven, saying, 'This is my Beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased." Matthew 3:16-17

"Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14

"...He asked His disciples, saying, 'Whom do men say that I the Son of Man Am?... but whom do you say that I Am?' And Simon Peter answered and said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.' Matthew 16:13-16  "Then Mary said, 'How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?' And the angel answered and said to her, 'The Holy Ghost shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall over-shadow you: therefore also that Holy Thing which shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God.'" Luke 1:34-35.

   Now we are making progress. We know that our Lord Jesus Christ is Special, a man, but more than just a Man, He is the Son of God - God has a Son, and it is so declared in the Old Testament - "Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish form the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him." Psalm 2:11-12   OK, what does that mean? God, through the Holy Spirit, planted the Seed of His Son into the womb of a virgin. What makes Him different from us is that the Father of this Child is God Himself. But is that all? This would account for Him being undefiled, able to lead a sinless life, and pay for our sins, then rise from the dead. This indeed makes Him the Son of God as well as the Son of man. But there is a mystery here, and the Church fathers at the counsel of Nicene came to this road block and eventually solved the Mystery. Even a special Holy Man could not do all this, especially pay for the sins of the world, nor could an angel. Again, Who really is this Man Jesus?! We find in the New Testament Him receiving worship from various people including His disciples "And they worshipped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy." Luke 24:52 "And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, 'All hail.' And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped Him." Matthew 28:9  "And Thomas answered and said to Him, 'My Lord and my God." John 20:28 Do you remember when the devil tried to get Jesus to worship him, and how Jesus rebuked Him quoting from the Old Testament? "Then Jesus said to him, 'Be gone, Satan! For it is written 'You worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.'" Matthew 4:10 Yet even the legion of demons in the possessed man, worshipped Him. "But when he saw Jesus far off, he ran and worshipped Him..." Mark 5:6  Now we see Jesus Christ receiving what only belongs to God - worship. How can this be without committing the supreme sins of idolatry and blasphemy, unless of course He is GOD? If He is not God, then none of the other feats that He attained for the world could have been possible. Let us look at the Scriptures "Which cannot be broken." John 10:35

 WHAT IS ACTUALLY BEING SAID BY CALLING HIM 'THE SON OF GOD?'

 "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name, Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." Matthew 1:23
 "For unto us a child is born, and unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the MIGHTY GOD, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

  "But you, Bethlehem Ephratah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, you out of you shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; Whose goings forth have been from of old, from Everlasting." Micah 5:2

 This son, this child, this ruler, is the Almighty God, Whose days are from Everlasting...is the Son of God Himself - He is GOD!. That is why the religious leaders accused Him of blasphemy when He said that He is the Son of God, because, you are what your father is. If your father is a human being, so are you. " 'I and My Father are One.' The Jews answered Him, saying, 'For a good work we are not stoning you, but for blasphemy; and because that You, being a man, make Yourself God." John 10:30,33"

 "And again, when He brings in the first begotten into the world, He says, 'And let all the angels of God worship Him.'... But unto the Son He says, 'Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Your Kingdom. You have loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even Your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above Your fellows.'" Hebrews 1:6,8-9 from Psalm 45:6-7

 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made." John 1:1,3

  But aren't we sons of God too? Yes, by adoption Galatians 4:5-6. Jesus is His only Begotten Son. Jesus said, "I proceeded forth and came from God." John 8:42. "For I have given to them the words which You gave Me; and they have received them, and have known that I came out (forth) from You, and they have believed that You have sent Me" John 17:8 
 At this point we are now getting into the Trinity of God, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. One triune God, a Mystery for mankind, but the Solid Rock Christian foundation. He is One God, inseparable, indivisible, but completely distinguishable. This concept for our limited understanding, the early fathers of the Church at the counsel of Nicene penned it beautifully like this:

- I believe in One God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.

 - I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God, begotten and not made, consubstantial with the Father... 

  Jesus, the Son of God referred to His pre-birth and co-existence with the Father more than once - "And now, O Father, glorify Me with Your own Self with the glory which I had with You before the world was." John 17:5
  One other point I must make here for those of you who may be struggling with this. First of all, this knowing of Who Jesus Christ really is comes by revelation from God. That is what Jesus told Peter when Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Matthew 16:16-17  So all this teaching will mean nothing to you until or unless you do have the revelation from Him. Still for those who have a hard time figuring out how Jesus can be fully man, and fully God. Remember that we humans are created spirits, with a soul, living in a body (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Therefore the obvious difference between us and Jesus is that He does not have a created spirit. His Spirit is God in the body of a man. Jesus Christ is God!   "Namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself..." 2 Corinthians 5:19

 How wonderful, amazing, and cool is that!!! God Himself took it upon Himself to bring us back to Himself at His own expense. He did this by taking on the body of a man, and through His suffering and death on the cross He paid our debt. He did not come here to tell us what is wrong with us. Nor did He come here to show us how we should live. He came here to buy us back from the slavery of sin and death and paid the price with His own blood! Now, in Christ Jesus, it is not longer God out there somewhere and we here, but it is "Christ in you, the hope of Glory." Colossians 1:2

 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was GOD. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him: and without Him was not anything made that was made...He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not." John 1:1-3,10



 JESUS CHRIST IS GOD!

1 -This fact is declared throughout the Old and New Testaments
2 -This understanding makes reasonable the declaration of John the Baptist, "Behold the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world." John 1:29
3 -This knowledge makes it acceptable that He was and is rightly  worshipped.
4 - This truth means that in Christ Jesus as our Lord and Saviour:

 - All God's best and promises are now available through Him
 - He will raise us up at His return
 - He now lives in us who trust Him
 - We will be with Him FOREVER, !!

CONCLUSION

Who is this man Jesus Christ? He is the only Begotten Son of God - HE IS GOD!

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