Who is Jesus Christ? - The Christian Online Magazine

Who is Jesus Christ? Was he just a good man? He was more than that. The Bible says He did not sin (1 Peter 1:22). Was he a great teacher? He was more than that. Officers sent to arrest Jesus returned to the priests and Pharisees and said that no man ever spoke like He did (John 7:46). Jesus differed from any man who ever lived because He was God in the flesh (John 1:1-14).

Today many cults and even ministers and professors of religion deny Christ's deity (that He is God), His virgin birth, His payment for our sins on the cross and physical resurrection from the grave. So it's important that we know who Jesus is and what He came to earth to do. This can help us not only to be sound in faith, but also to be witnesses to those who have gone astray. In the Bible we find these truths:

CHRIST ALWAYS EXISTED

The Apostle John said that Jesus existed from the "beginning", but that He became flesh and lived among mankind (John 1:1, 14). Christ Himself claimed to be "the Beginning and the End," "The One who is, was, and is to come," and "the Almighty" (Revelation 1:8).

When Micah foretold that the Messiah--Jesus Christ--would be born in Bethlehem, he added that He was the One who came from ancient times, from everlasting or eternity (Micah 5:2). And the Apostle Paul wrote that Jesus is before all things, and in Him all things are held together (Colossians 1:17). John also testified that "through him all things were made and without him nothing was made that has been made" (John 1:3).

JESUS CHRIST IS BOTH GOD AND MAN

God revealed to Adam and Eve that Christ would be born of a woman (Genesis 3:15). Then Isaiah foretold that a virgin would have a Son and he would be called "Immanuel" meaning "God with Us" (Isaiah 7:14), Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

When angel Gabriel told the virgin Mary about this child she would give birth to, she exclaimed, "How shall this be since I know not a man?" (Luke 1:34). Gabriel answered, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; herefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God" (v. 35). The only child ever born of God and a woman, Jesus is both God and man.

JESUS CAME TO DIE FOR OUR SINS

God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him shall have everlasting life (John 3:16). Isaiah foretold that Christ would be wounded for our sins (53:5). And the Apostle John called Jesus the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). His coming to earth to die for our sins was God's plan before He even made man.

JESUS IS THE FUTURE KING

A thousand years before Christ, the psalmist prophesied His second coming to earth in judgment, power, and glory to take His throne as King (Psalm 45:6). Hebrews 1:8 quotes this prophecy, saying that God the Father said it to God the Son.

The only way we can understand these truths is to accept by faith the teaching of the Godhead made up of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19)--one God in essence, yet three Persons. Check John 1, Ephesians 1, Colossians 1, and Hebrews I.

Jesus Christ was crucified for claiming He was God and the Son of God (John 19:7). He is the greatest hero this world ever has had! And when He walked this earth, He set the perfect example of love, caring, and patience that we could ever have.

Just imagine what great love He had for us to humble Himself and become a man so that He could suffer and pay for our sins on the cross! Now that you know who Jesus Christ is, what will you do with this knowledge? Will you tuck it away in your mind or will you receive Jesus Christ as your Savior and let Him change your life?