Basic Doctrines: Who Is Jesus Christ?
Who is Jesus Christ? How you answer this all too important question will affect every aspect of your life. Was He a prophet? Is He God or simply a good man? Who is this person that has been a key central figure in society for over 2000 years?
The world and many other religions have varying opinions about Jesus. But for Bible-believing Christians, who is Jesus Christ? We believe that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin. He was without sin, fully God and fully man.
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Born of a virgin…
But Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; for that reason also the holy Child will be called the Son of God.” – Luke 1:34-35
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit. – Matthew 1:18
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will name Him Immanuel. – Isaiah 7:14
There are many conflicting ideas out there surrounding the virgin birth of Christ. But Scripture makes it clear. Mary was a virgin when she conceived Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit. This truth speaks volumes when it comes to the deity of Christ (which we will get to in more detail below).
Without sin…
For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin. – Hebrews 4:15 (emphasis added)
You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. – 1 John 3:5 (emphasis added)
For you have been called for this purpose, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you would follow in His steps, He who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth. – 1 Peter 2:21-22 (emphasis added)
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. – 2 Corinthians 5:22 (emphasis added)
Jesus never sinned. The Bible makes this abundantly clear. In fact, it’s what allowed Him to become the spotless sacrificial Lamb of God on the cross. But just because He never sinned, doesn’t mean He was never tempted. The devil himself tempted Jesus in the wilderness when He was fasting for 40 days. Jesus knows what it is like to be tempted, so He understands what we go through as human beings.
Fully God…
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. – John 1:1 (emphasis added)
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” – John 8:58
For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over every ruler and authority. – Colossians 2:9-10 (emphasis added)
This is definitely an area that can be quite controversial among other religions. Many other religions teach that Jesus was a prophet or a great teacher, but Christianity believes that He is fully God. The Bible tells us that He was with God at Creation, that all things were created through Him and for Him.
In John’s gospel, Jesus makes the bold claim, “before Abraham was born, I am.” This certainly ruffled a few feathers! Not only was He claiming to be alive and present before the time of Abraham, but He also used the phrase “I am” to describe Himself. This is the name God gave Moses for Himself back in Exodus 3:14.
Fully man…
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. – John 1:14 (emphasis added)
But when the fullness of the time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons and daughters. – Galatians 4:4-5
While Jesus was fully God, He humbled Himself to become fully man as well. He felt temptation, pain, suffering, and even loss. We serve a God who understands what it’s like to be one of us.
Next, we will be diving into the basic doctrine of our salvation by grace through faith… so stay tuned!
*Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.
**Photo by Duncan Sanchez on Unsplash
