| Recently I was fortunate to have a discussion with a
Muslim friend of mine regarding the differences in our two religious
beliefs. I learned much about Islam through this discussion.
While we were talking he asked me, "Who is Jesus
Christ?" This is a simple question, but one full of
meaning. I prepared a detailed response to this question, which I
decided to publish on my web site. This study is intended for
those who know little if anything about Jesus Christ and who He
is. I begin with an introduction to the Bible, followed by a brief
study establishing the authority of the Bible in religious matters
today. Next I consider the question, "Who is Jesus
Christ", and end the study with a summary.
What is the Bible?
The Bible is one book comprised of 66 different
books. It is broken down
into two major divisions: The
Old Testament and the New Testament.
The Old Testament covers the period of time from the creation of
the world to the coming of Jesus Christ.
The New Testament covers the period from the birth of Christ to
the end of time, the Judgment Day, and eternity.
The books of the Bible have been further subdivided into chapters
and verses. This makes it easier for the Bible student to find a passage
of interest. For example,
when you see the reference “John 3:16” you look in the New Testament
for the book of John, chapter 3, verse 16.
What makes the Bible unique? Is it like any other book, or is it different than every
other book? I’d like for
us to look at the unique nature of the Bible, that makes it unlike any
other book ever written.
1.
It is inspired. The
word “inspired” simply means “God-breathed”, and refers to the
origin of the Bible. 2
Timothy (New Testament) 3:16-17 tells us of the inspiration of the
scriptures. As part of this
study I've prepared a detailed study of the word "scripture"
and the Greek words from which it is translated.
2.
The revelations found within the Bible prove its inspiration.
a.
Job (Old Testament) 26:7 tells us that the earth hangs upon
nothing. How did Job know
this? He must have been told
by someone who knew, and the only one who knew was God.
b.
Isaiah (Old Testament) 40:22 tells us that the earth is round
(“The circle of the earth”).
How did Isaiah know this? Again,
he must have been told by someone who knew, and the only one who knew was
God.
c.
Isaiah 7:14 tells us that a virgin would give birth to a son.
Matthew (New Testament) 1:18-22 and Luke (New Testament) 1:28-38
tell us of the virgin birth of Jesus.
Hundreds (perhaps thousands) of years before the birth of Christ we
read of his being born of a virgin.
d.
Micah (Old Testament) 5:2 tells us that a very special child would
be born in Bethlehem. Matthew
2:1-6 tells us that the birth of Jesus Christ represented the fulfillment
of this prophecy.
e.
Acts (New Testament) 3:24 tells us that all the prophets from
Samuel on foretold of the days of Christ.
These
specific prophecies fulfilled to the letter shows us how the Bible is
different than any other book ever written.
Jesus fulfilled more than 300 Old Testament prophecies.
A mathematician once calculated that the likelihood one person
would fulfill only 16 Old Testament prophecies by chance was 1 in
1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000!!
The likelihood that one person would fulfill, by chance, more than
300 is a number beyond comprehension.
The fact that Jesus fulfilled these prophecies tells us that it
wasn’t by chance. The Old
Testament foretold of His coming.
I have a
study on my website entitled, "Why must
we use the Bible only?" It addresses the evidences noted
above in greater detail.
Who
is Jesus Christ?
I’ll
answer this by looking to the Bible for the answers.
We know from the fulfilled prophecies that the Bible is unlike any
other book. Lets see what it
says about Jesus.
1.
Jesus was with God during the creation.
a.
John (New Testament) 1:1-2: The
“Word” was with God in the beginning.
b.
John 1:14: The
“Word” was made flesh and dwelt among us.
c.
John 1:15: John (a New
Testament prophet) bare witness of the Word saying, "This was He of
whom I said, "He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He
was before me."
d.
John 1:29-30: John
tells us that the one who was before him was Jesus.
e.
Conclusion: The Word
is Jesus, Jesus was with God at the creation, therefore Jesus is not an
ordinary man. No ordinary man
can truthfully claim to have been with God during the creation of all
things.
2.
Everything was created by Jesus.
a.
John 1:3: All things
were made by the Word.
b.
Hebrews (New Testament) 1:1-2: God made the worlds by Jesus.
c.
Genesis (Old Testament) 1:1: In
the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
d.
Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26, 29:
“Then God said…” Here we read that God said something and then it happened.
e.
Conclusion: All things
were made by the Word, the word is Jesus, and He created all things in
obedience to the commandment of God.
God said, “Let there be light” and Jesus created the light.
This is true of all things that were made (John 1:3).
3.
Jesus is divine (that is, He has the same characteristics as God
the Father)
a. John 1:1: John tells us that the “Word was with God, and the Word was God”. Since the Word was with
God, the Word cannot be God the Father (to whom we oftentimes refer as
simply “God”). The word
“with” tells us that at least 2 individuals are present.
However, the Word has the same characteristics as God (“the Word
was God”). Therefore we
know Jesus is omnipresent (everywhere at the same time), omniscient
(all-knowing), and omnipotent (all-powerful).
These are characteristics of divinity.
4. Jesus is the Son of God
a. Hebrews 1:1-2
b. Luke (New Testament) 1:35
c. Many other
verses which confirm this fact.
5. Jesus was obedient to the commandments of
God. John 15:10
6. It was God’s purpose that Jesus should suffer.
a. Acts 3:18
b. Matthew 26:36-44: The
cup Jesus would shortly drink was the suffering he experienced prior to
and during His death. Jesus
asked God that, if it were possible, He might not have to go through these
things. However, He closed
this prayer with the statement, “O My Father, if it is possible, let
this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
He was obedient to the Father’s will when He suffered and died on
the cross.
7. God raised Jesus from the dead.
a. Acts 4:10
b. 1 Corinthians (New Testament) 6:14
8. Jesus now sits at the right hand of God.
a.
Luke 20:41-43
b.
Luke 22:67-69
c. Acts 2:32-36
d. Acts 7:54-56
e.
Romans 8:34
9. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to
Jesus.
a. Matthew 28:18-19
10. There is no name under heaven other than Jesus by which we must be
saved.
Acts 4:10-12
11. Jesus sent the Helper (also known as the Spirit of Truth, the Holy
Spirit, the Holy Ghost, or the Comforter), who came only after Jesus
departed into Heaven.
John 16:7
12. The Spirit of Truth spoke only what Jesus told Him to speak.
John 16:13
13.
The Holy Spirit revealed the words spoken by Jesus to Holy Apostles
and Prophets.
Ephesians (New Testament) 3:1-7, specifically verse 5
14. Judas Iscariot was an apostle of Jesus.
Matthew 10:2-4
15. Judas betrayed Jesus and hanged himself.
Matthew 27:3-5
16. It was prophesied that another man would take Judas’ place as an
Apostle of Jesus Christ.
a. Psalm (Old Testament) 109:8
b. Acts 1:16-20 (prophecy in Psalm 109 fulfilled, prophecy referenced
in verse 20)
17. The one who would take the place of Judas was a man who had been
with Jesus from the time of John’s baptism to the day He was taken up
into heaven.
a. Acts 1:21-22
b. Conclusion: Since a
true Apostle must have lived during the time of Jesus, there are no true
Apostles today. Since there
are no true Apostles living today, the Holy Spirit is no longer revealing
the Word of God to Apostles.
18. Prophecy is included in a list of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:4-11 (specifically verse 10)
19. Prophecies will end (“fail”) when that which is complete
(“perfect”) has come.
1 Corinthians 13:8-10
20. The gifts of the Holy Spirit were given by the laying on of an
Apostle’s hands.
a. Acts 8:14-17
b.
Conclusion: Since
prophecy is a gift of the Holy Spirit and was given by the laying on of an
Apostle’s hands, prophecy ended when the last person to have an
Apostle’s hands laid upon them died.
Since the last true Apostle died nearly 2000 years ago, prophecy
ceased shortly thereafter. Since
the Holy Spirit revealed the Word of God only to Apostles and prophets,
and all true Apostles and prophets have been dead for several centuries,
the Holy Spirit ceased revealing the Word of God to mankind nearly 2000
years ago. Since prophecy was
given to reveal the Word of God to mankind, and it would end after that
which was complete had come, and prophecy must have ended, then the
complete Word of God was given to mankind nearly 2000 years ago.
21. Paul was an Apostle of Jesus Christ.
Galatians (New Testament) 1:1
22. Paul preached to the Galatian Christians.
Galatians 1:11
23. The gospel Paul preached to the Galatians was given to him by the
revelation of Jesus Christ.
Galatians 1:11-12
24. There were those who were preaching another gospel to the Galatian
Christians.
Galatians 1:6-7
25. Paul warns the Galatian Christians not to believe any gospel
preached to them other than the one they received from Paul.
Galatians 1:8-9
26. Paul tells the Galatians that anyone, man or angel, who preaches
anything different than the gospel they received from Paul is to be
accursed.
a. Galatians 1:8-9
b.
Conclusion: Since the
Galatian Christians were to believe nothing other than the gospel preached
to them by Paul, the entire gospel must have been preached to them.
There was no need to add anything to the Word of God they’d
already received. Anyone, man
or angel, who preached anything other than the gospel preached by the
Apostles or prophets (those who have been given the revelation of the Word
of God by the Holy Spirit) is to be accursed.
If the last living Apostle (John) lived to an extraordinary age, he
would have likely died shortly after a.d. 100 (he was a contemporary of
Christ, who was crucified and resurrected ~a.d. 33). If
John laid his hands upon someone, granting them the gift of prophecy,
shortly before his death, this person would have likely died in the late
a.d. 100’s (had they lived to an average to above-average age).
Therefore, the full revelation of God was complete by a.d. 200 at
the latest. (These figures
are derived from the reasoning of man, and are not known precisely.
They are given to illustrate the latest time prophecy could have
continued. Prophecy may well
have ended well before this time, but could not have continued much
longer.)
Conclusion
I hope this
study helps you understand who Jesus Christ is.
We know the Bible contains scientifically-proven information which
the writer could not have know on his own.
This fact confirms the Bible as being the Word of God, since God is
the only one who could have known these facts at the time they were
written. Since God cannot lie
(Titus 1:2), everything written in His word must be true.
We see in His word that Jesus was with Him during the creation.
Everything was created by Jesus in obedience to the Father’s
commandment. In obedience to
the Father’s commandment Jesus came to the earth as a man, suffered
innumerable torments at the hand of man, was crucified by man, and now
serves as man’s only hope of salvation.
After leaving the earth for Heaven He took His place at the right
hand of God, where He sits today. He
sent the Holy Spirit, which spoke the words given Him by Jesus.
He revealed these words to Holy Apostles and prophets, who then
revealed them to us through the written word of God (which we know is the
Bible, since it contains information that could only have been known by
God). Prophecy was a
time-limited gift, and ended when the complete Word of God had been
revealed. Since true Apostles
cannot be alive today, and prophets received this gift only through the
laying on of an Apostle’s hands, the revelation of God’s Word by the
Holy Spirit ended 1900-2000 years ago.
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