Now when Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they answered, “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah, or [just] one of the prophets.” (Matthew 16:13-14 AMP)
Be very careful who people and other religions say that Jesus is and how they explain salvation.
Some religions believe that Jesus was a revered prophet and messenger of God, not the divine Son, just a historical figure, teacher or rabbi, the literal created spirit Son of God, the offspring of the heavenly father and heavenly mother, the actual spirit brother of Satan, God’s first creation, a spirit being, not co-equal with God, died on a stake and not a cross, not part of the trinity, no view of Jesus at all, a compassionate, enlightened being, not a eternal, just the manifestation of God, a divine messenger, not God incarnate, an ascended master, enlightened teacher or spiritual guide.
All wrong. Not Biblical. Be careful. Do not be deceived, So many are!
Who do you say that Jesus is?
Jesus is Lord, the one true, sovereign God, with all authority in heaven and on earth, who died on the cross to pay the penalty for the sins of all of mankind and then was raised from the dead to grant eternal life to all who genuinely repent and put their faith and trust in Him.
The Deity of Jesus Christ
“In the beginning [before all time] was the Word ([1]Christ), and the Word was with God, and [2]the Word was God Himself.” (John 1:1 AMP)
- In John the Apostle’s vision (Rev 19), he sees Christ returning as Warrior-Messiah-King, and “…His name is called The Word of God…and LORD OF LORDS.” (Rev 19:13, 16).
- In this phrase, “God” appears first in the Greek word order, emphasizing the fact that “the Word” (Christ) was God—so “God Himself.” Jesus is God!
“And the Word (Christ) became flesh, and lived among us; and we [actually] saw His glory, glory as belongs to the [One and] only begotten Son of the Father, [the Son who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, who is] full of grace and truth (absolutely free of deception).” (John 1:14 AMP)
Jesus, as Peter correctly said in Matthew 16:16, is “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Christ means “the Messiah” or “the Anointed One,” consecrated, chosen, or empowered by God for a sacred purpose. He is life and light, full of grace and truth… grace, to redeem man and truth, to reveal God. Jesus is God incarnate, which means the deity of God in human form (Colossians 2:9). the Revealer and Redeemer. He is the eternal Word, who was in the beginning with God, made flesh, the God-Man… both God and man, truly God and truly human, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin named Mary. Jesus is the only human who lived a sinless, righteous life, making Him the only “human” who could pay the penalty for your sin, because He never sinned.
Read Colossians 1:13-20 – (The Incomparable Christ)
“Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
In John 1:29 AMP, John the Baptist is referring to the fulfillment of the need for the Old Testament Passover lambs which was now fulfilled in Christ’s sacrifice, the ultimate and final sacrifice for sins.
The timeless message of Isaiah is reflected in the Old Testament prophet’s emphasis on God’s sovereign control of history and in his many predictions describing the ministry of the Savior that God would send to deliver His people. The Savior, Jesus Christ, described so powerfully by Isaiah, has appeared with the offer of salvation for all. Ultimately, in God’s own time, Jesus will return to earth and then all things truly will be set right. (from Isaiah 9)
“And because God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow [in submission], of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess and openly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord (the one true, sovereign God), to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11 AMP)
Jesus was arrested, beaten, falsely convicted, had His hands and feet nailed to a cross, His side pierced with a spear, willfully suffered, bled and died and was placed in a tomb, to pay the penalty for your sin and the sin of all mankind. This was God’s plan of redemption.
“For indeed Christ died for sins “once for all,” the Just and Righteous for the unjust and unrighteous [the Innocent for the guilty] so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit.” 1 Peter 3:19 (AMP)
But His righteousness is not yours until you hear the gospel message and the Holy Spirit draws you to Himself and convicts you that you are spiritually dead in your sin and leads you to surrender to Jesus with a “broken spirit and contrite heart,” through genuine repentance and then grants you a supernatural gift of faith in Christ.
Faith in Jesus Christ is not merely a human endeavor but is portrayed as a supernatural gift bestowed upon believers by the Holy Spirit. (Adapted from 1 Corinthinians 12:9)
His death to pay the penalty for other men’s sin would never have to be repeated. It would apply to all mankind for all time, although the Bible tells us that “narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to (eternal) life, and there are ‘few’ who will find it.” (Matthew 7:13)
And Jesus did this for only one reason…
LOVE!
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish (die) but have everlasting (eternal) life.” (John 3:16 NKJV; emphasis added).
“Begotten” does not mean that Jesus was a created being. As the second person of the trinity, the Son, He always existed (John 1:1). The word begotten comes from the Greek word monogenes, describing Jesus as “uniquely God’s Son—sharing the same divine nature as God.” And in one of God’s greatest miracles, the virgin Mary, through a spiritual “immaculate” conception by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit (the third person of the trinity), gave birth to Jesus. Jesus was “truly God and truly human” and lived as the only sinless human being, as God’s justice required, so that He could die to pay the penalty of sin for all mankind, as only God Himself could do.
“But God demonstrates (and proves) His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8 NKJV; emphasis added)
There is no greater love than this.
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