Who Is Jesus the Christ?
Christ has been around from the beginning with God the Father.
"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:..." (Genesis 1:26)
"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 (Christ); and without him was not any thing made that was made." (John 1:1-3)
"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)
"I and my Father are one." (John 10:30)
"Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence." (Colossians 1:15-18)
In what way is God and Christ one?
"Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them." (John 17:20-26)
The oneness of God is to be members of God’s family just as God the Father and Jesus Christ are one.
Is Christ a Separate Creation?
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
"Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:" (Colossians 1:15)
"And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; " (Revelation 3:14)
Christ was created by God as the beginning of God's creations. The Bible calls Christ the "only-begotten Son" of God. The Bible speaks of God as the "Father" who is the senior. Christ is the junior, in time, position, and power.
Christ never claimed to be God. Everything he said about himself indicates that he did not consider himself equal to God in power. In every period of his existence, whether in heaven or on earth, his speech and conduct reflect subordination to God. God is always the superior.
"And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." (John 17:3-5)
"Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God." (John 20:17)
"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;" (2 Corinthians 1:3)
God and Christ are distinctly separate, and referred to as the God of
Christ.
"And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God." (Mark 10:18)
So Christ was saying that no one is as good as God is, not even himself. God is
good in a way that separates him from Christ.
"Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel." (John 5:19-20)
"For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me." (John 6:38)
"Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me." (John 7:16)
In the parable of the vineyard. He likened God to the owner of the vineyard, who traveled abroad and left it in the charge of vine dressers. When the owner later sent a slave to get some of the fruit of the vineyard, the vine dressers beat the slave and sent him away empty handed. Then the owner sent a second slave, and later a third, both of whom got the same treatment. Finally, the owner said: "I will send my son [Christ] the beloved. Likely they will respect this one." But the corrupt vine dressers said: "'This is the heir; let us kill him, that the inheritance may become ours.' With that they threw him outside the vineyard and killed him." (Luke 20:9-16) Thus Christ illustrated his own position as one being sent by God to do God's will, just as a father sends a submissive son.
When Christ came up out of the water after being baptized, the Father in heaven
said:
"And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:16, 17)
When the mother of two disciples asked that her sons sit one at the right and one at the left of Christ when he came into his Kingdom. Christ answered:
"And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father." (Matthew 20:23)
Christ always showed his subservience to the Father.
"But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father." (Mark 13:32)
"And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34)
"Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done." (Luke 22:42)
"And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost." (Luke 23:46)
The Bible plainly states that Christ was created by God the father, Christ did not exist before his creation.
None have ever seen God the Father, yet we know what he looks like due to Christ
being in his image.
"Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father." (John 6:46)
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake." (John 14:6-11)
What were Christ's objectives?
- MEDIATOR:
By living through the same temptations as the rest of mankind, Christ could better understand our human weaknesses and stand as a mediator on our behalf.
(ISA 53:5-12)... and with his stripes we are healed .... made his soul an offering for sin.... and made intercession for the transgressors.
(JOHN 1:1) In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.
(JOHN 1:14) And the word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory being the only procreated from the father) full of Gods grace and truth.
(1 TIM 2:5) There is one God, and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.
(1 JOHN 2:1) My brethren, I write this to you, that you will not sin. We now have an advocate with the father, which is Jesus Christ.
(HEB 12:24) Jesus the mediator of the new covenant.
(EPH 2:18-19) And through him we have access to the spirit of the father. Now we are no longer strangers and foreigners, but we are family and of the household of God.
God refuses to have personal contact with sin, so he sent his son to make a personal intervention on our behalf.
- QUALIFY:
In order to qualify as the future ruler, to replace Satan who is the present ruler of this world, he had to prove it possible to overcomes sin.
(JOHN 6:38) For I came from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of the one that sent me.
- SIN OFFERING:
Christ offered his own sinless life for a final sin offering on our behalf, doing away with the need for the sin sacrifices, and the curse (the second death) of sin.
(MARK 10:45) For the son of man came not to be ministered to, but to minister, and to give his life for a ransom for many.
(I COR 15:3) For I have given to you first, all that I have received, how Christ has died for our sins fulfilling the scriptures.
(REV 1:5-8) And from Jesus Christ, who is our faithful witness, and the first to be reborn of the dead, and the prince of the king of the earth. He that loved us, and washed us from our sins through his own blood. And has made us kings and priests for God and his father. For him will be glory and rule for ever and ever, Amen. Behold, he will return through the clouds and every eye will see him, they that pierced him and all the people of the earth will howl because of him, even so let it be, amen.
- CONFIRM:
Christ came and confirmed God's laws and commandments, not to change them. He also confirmed, or informed us of a new covenant to replace the old.
(JOHN 12:47-50) And if any man hears my words and does not believe them, I will not judge him, because I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. And any that reject me, and do not accept my words, has only one to judge him, for by the words that I have spoken, the same will judge him on the last day. For I have not spoken that from myself, but from the father which has sent me, he gave me a commandment as to what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatever I speak of is by instruction from the father.
- RESCUE:
Christ set out to save those people who had known, but had become lost from God.
(LUKE 4:43) And he said to them, I must preach the gospel of the kingdom of God to other cities, for this reason have I been sent.
- BUILD:
Christ built a new foundation for the church, one free from all the traditions and burdens placed upon it by men.
(COL 1:18) And he is the head of the church.
Christ preached in an effort to save those Jews that had become frustrated and confused by all the false doctrines and traditions imposed upon them by the different religious sects that had sprang up after the captivity and dispersion of Israel.
When Christ returns, he will take retribution on those that refused to obey the gospel. What gospel? There was no new testament at that time, so the gospel had to be the old testament.
Christ died to remove the penalty of sin from our lives by becoming the ultimate sin offering, through his own blood, on our behalf.
If we accept that Christ was the son of God in the flesh, then we must
accept his instructions, his commands, his warnings, and his promises.
"And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;" (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9)
What Did Christ Look Like?
A study of your Bible will show that Christ did not look anything like in the movies, or how pictures present him to be. The Bible describes him in this way:
"For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not." (Isaiah 53:2-3)"Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard" ( Leviticus 19:27)
"They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, ... " (Leviticus 21:5)
"Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?" (1 Corinthians 11:14)
Most adult males of Israel wore full beards in compliance with
the law regarding beards, there is no doubt that Christ and the apostles wore
full beards in compliance with this law and short hair.
Because Christ looked like every other Jew, Judas had to point him out with a
kiss to the chief priests and the scribes and the elders when they came to
arrest him, Mark 14.
Christ was a Jewish carpenter working outdoors in all kind of weather carrying
wood. This means he would have been tanned, weathered and muscular in
appearance, not weak, pampered and feminine looking as he is always pictured.
The people of Judea are known to have brown eyes, dark hair and olive-brown
skin.
His clothing would have been a tunic adorned with tassels on the corners of their garments which would be a blue cord or thread, a belt of some sorts, and an outer shawl or mantle, These were three primary garments worn by most Jews of the time
So to summarize, Christ would have been muscular, yet an average looking man with a full beard. Pictures and statues of Christ are completely false and should be discarded, we are commanded to worship in truth
NAMES FOR CHRIST
| Messiah: (John 1:41) | The Son: (John 8:36) |
| Only Begotten Son: (1 John 4:9) | Beloved Son: (Matthew 3:17) |
| Son Of David: (Matthew 1:1) | The Root And Offspring Of David: (Revelation 22:16) |
| Son Of Abraham: (Matthew 1:1) | Abraham's Seed: (Galatians 3:16) |
| Son Of Man: (Matthew 26:64, see Daniel 7:13) | Son Of God: (Matthew 26:63) |
| Son of the Father: (2 John 1:3) | Son Of The Most High: (Luke 1:32) |
| Only Begotten God: (John 1:18) | Firstborn: (Hebrews 1:6) |
| Firstborn Of All Creation: (Colossians 1:15) | Beginning Of The Creation Of God: (Revelation 3:14) |
| Firstborn From The Dead: (Revelation 1:5) | The Last Adam: (1 Corinthians 15:45) |
| Rabbi: [Teacher] (Matthew 23:8) | King Of Israel: (Mark 15:32) |
| King Of The Jews: (Matthew 27:37) | The Word: (John 1:1) |
| The Word Of God: (Revelation 19:13) | The Word Of Life: (1 John 1:1) |
| The Life: (John 11:25) | I Am: (John 8:58, see Exodus 3:14) |
| Lord: (Romans 10:9-13, see Joel 2:32) | God: (John 1:1) |
| Immanuel: [God with us] (Matthew 1:23, see Isaiah 7:14) | Master: (Luke 8:24) |
| Savior Of The World: (John 4:42) | Savior Of All Men: (1 Timothy 4:10) |
| The Deliverer: (Romans 11:26) | The Prophet: (John 1:25, see Deuteronomy 18:15) |
| Holy One: (Acts 3:14) | Righteous One: (Acts 3:14) |
| Prince: (Acts 5:31) | Prince Of Life: (Acts 3:15) |
| Judge Of The Living And The Dead: (Acts 10:42) | Stone: (Mark 12:10) |
| Chief Cornerstone: (Mark 12:10) | Chief Shepherd: (1 Peter 5:4) |
| Good Shepherd: (John 10:11) | Shepherd And Guardian Of Our Souls: (1 Peter 2:25) |
| The Lamb: (Revelation 5:12) | Passover Lamb: (1 Corinthians 5:7) |
| Lamb of God: (John 1:36) | Lion Of Judah: (Revelation 5:5) |
| Advocate, Counsel For The Defense: (1 John 2:1) | Light Of The World: (John 8:12) |
| King Of Kings And Lord Of Lords: (Revelation 19:16) | The Faithful Witness: (Revelation 1:5) |
| The Faithful And True One: (Revelation 19:11) | The Amen: (Revelation 3:14) |
| Servant: (Acts 4:27) | The Bright Morning Star: (Revelation 22:16) |
| The Apostle: (Hebrews 3:1) | The Great High Priest: (Hebrews 4:14) |
| The Author And Perfecter Of Faith: (Hebrews 12:2) | The Chosen One: (Luke 9:35) |
| The Mediator: (1 Timothy 2:5) | The Way, The Truth, And The Life: (John 14:6) |
| The Door: (John 10:7) | The Alpha And The Omega: (Revelation 22:13) |
| The First And The Last: (Revelation 22:13) | The Head Of The Body, The Church: (Colossians 1:18) |
| The Beginning And The End: (Revelation 22:13) | Head Over All Things: (Ephesians 1:22) |
| Heir Of All Things: (Hebrews 1:2) | The Image Of The Invisible God: (Colossians 1:15) |
| Horn Of Salvation: (Luke 1:69) | The Beloved: (Matthew 12:18) |
| The Bridegroom: (John 3:29) | The Vinedresser: (John 15:1) |