Who
is Jesus Christ – Part Two
In Part One
of this discussion, I closed with the following comments:
“More
on the Ascended Lord Jesus will follow in Part Two of this topic. Also we will
pose responses to the second two questions cited above. They are: “What is the
significance of the Bible?”, and “Why are there such major differences in the
interpretation of what the Bible wants man to believe about Jesus Christ?”
Before
moving ahead I’d like to briefly revisit the Lord’s time on the Earth. One of
my teachers recently pointed out the disbelief that some even in this present
day have expressed regarding Jesus being the “Son of God”. This same cynicism was
raised initially twice by the Devil Satan when he tempted Jesus in the
wilderness shortly after His baptism by John the Baptist. (Matthew 4: 1-10)
Throughout
His Ministry, Jesus performed innumerable miracles, signs and wonders to
convince Israel that He was their Messiah, the long-awaited Anointed One who
would establish His Kingdom on the Earth. (John 21: 25; https://www.christianity.com/wiki/jesus-christ/what-miracles-did-jesus-perform.html#google_vignette ) Even so, later at the end of His Earthly
Ministry, the Pharisees and others echoed disbelief as the Lord hung on
Cavalry’s Cross. (Matthew 27: 39-43) “If He were the Son of God…” why did He
allow Himself to be so tortured / mistreated?
One
thing that those in disbelief did not understand was that Jesus suffered for
the benefit of mankind. Remember the Scripture of Isaiah Chapter 53, that
prophesied: “By His stripes we are healed”? That same prophecy also
included several other blessings that would come to those who believed in
Him…including us today. One of my
teachers (Ron Carpenter Ministries) reminded me that what neither of those
disbelieving entities understood was that Jesus had to die to bless us in
these earthly lifetimes as well as to save us through eternity. [Also remember that we are truly eternal
spirit beings made in the likeness of God, but now living in these temporary
mortal physical bodies.]
Remember
the early Scripture regarding Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis
Chapter Three). Adam’s sin against God resulted in the penalty of death.
(Genesis 2: 15-17) The immediate effects
of that penalty were the / separation of man’s spirit / soul from His Creator
(Genesis 3: 6-9); and the beginning of the process of the dying of their
physical bodies. (Genesis 5: 1-5)
Because God is Supreme, and the Standard for Truth and Justice, His
penalty for disobedience could not be revoked or ignored. In His foreknowledge,
God knew man would sin and it would result in this death penalty. Because
the first man Adam committed this offense against God thereby affecting all
mankind, only a “second Adam” could pay that penalty to offer salvation of
their soul and spirit to all mankind. (1 Corinthians 15: 45-49) It was
because of His love for His favored creation man that the Lord Jesus took on
the form / likeness of a man, to suffer and die as the substitute for those who
would acknowledge who He is and what He has done for us. (John 3: 16; 1
Corinthians 15: 1-4; Romans 10: 9-13)
Also
remember from the Genesis Scripture re the
Garden of Eden, Jesus (as the LORD God) prophesied about the punishment to be given
to the Serpent (Satan) for his actions that resulted in Adam’s sin. Jesus said: “And I will put enmity between
thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it
shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
(Genesis 3: 15) Jesus knew that He would become “the seed of the woman”
and would suffer and die while in the process of ending Satan’s control over
man and the Earth. (2 Corinthians 4: 4)
Even
as our Lord Jesus was preparing His Disciples for His coming death, and return
to the Father in Heaven, He thought of their well-being. In addition to “bruising
the head” of the Serpent / Satan, from the beginning He knew that He had
come to Israel to fulfill the promises made to Israel’s Patriarchs / Fathers
towards establishing His Earthly Kingdom. (Genesis 12: 1-3, Romans 15: 8) But in leaving after this First Advent, He
also knew that His Disciples (and we)
would need God’s continuing support / guidance in this world under the
influence of the “god of this world (Satan)” (2 Corinthians 4: 4) He promised He would send another
“Comforter” / the Holy Spirit who would remain with them forever. (John 14:
15-20, 25-26; 16: 26)
In
the Lord Jesus’ own words to His Disciples, He said:
“4 But these things have I told
you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them.
And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I
go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? 6 But because I have
said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.
7 Nevertheless I tell you the
truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the
Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto
you. 8 And when he
is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of
judgment:
9 Of sin, because they believe
not on me; 10 Of
righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11 Of
judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
12 I have yet many things to say
unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. 13 Howbeit
when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he
shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak:
and he will shew you things to come. 14 He shall
glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.” (John 16: 4-14)
I underlined the phrase in Verse 7 above because it explains why
even after His Resurrection and Ascension, Jesus had to leave those who
believed in Him to return to the Father. That part of His Earthly mission
had been completed.
The Holy Spirit / Comforter acts to
“quicken” or “make alive” man’s spirit and will reside in believing Christians after
the Lord Jesus has removed the impact of sin from their spiritual lives. For
those of the Nation of Israel under the Gospel of the Kingdom, believers had to
recognize that Jesus was the Son of God and believe in His Name as their
Messiah / Anointed One. Gentiles and Hebrews
who later became believers have expressed their faith that Jesus is the Son of
God who died for our sins, was buried and was resurrected on the third day
(victorious over death). We have been
saved from spiritual death through our faith in His shed blood because He
suffered death in our place. (1 Corinthians 15: 1-4; Romans 10: 9-13; Hebrews
Chapters 9 and 11)
While we are in these earthly bodies, the Bible tells us that from
His Heavenly position on the right hand of the Father, Jesus is the “Advocate”
for believers, against the accusations of sinful behavior made against all
mankind by the Enemy / “Accuser” / Satan. (1 John 2: 1-2; Mark 16: 19; Romans
8: 34; Colossians 3: 1-3; Hebrews 3: 1-3; Revelation 12: 10) Jesus speaks for us because as believers we
have become “ambassadors for Him…and the “Righteousness of God in Him”. (2
Corinthians 5: 17-21)
It is very important to note what the closing chapters of the Bible
reveal in the Book of Revelation. At the end of this World Age and after His
Second Coming, It is this same Jesus who will ultimately be the judge of
every man. With the
acknowledgement of the Holy Spirit, our Lord Jesus confirms that by their faith
in His Name / or His death, burial and resurrection, believers are named in the
Lamb’s Book of Life. Believers
will have eternal life with God, while others (those who chose to not believe
in Him) will suffer the “Second Death” of eternal separation from God. (Revelation Chapters 5, 12, 19 and 20)
In resolving the “unfinished business” of the Garden of Eden
(Genesis 3: 15), our Lord Jesus (the seed of the woman) will have ultimately
defeated / “bruised the head” of the Serpent / (the Enemy Satan and his seed) who
instigated man’s fall into sin. In this manner, “the Second Death” will have
been defeated permanently. All who have lived we will receive new physical
bodies fit for their lives in eternity.
Believers will live with God, but others will be forever separated from
Him. (1 Corinthians Chapter 15; Revelation Chapters 19 - 22)
In the third and final post on this topic of “Who is Jesus
Christ”, I will focus on the two remaining questions raised earlier: “What is the significance
of the Bible?”, and “Why are there such major differences in the interpretation
of what the Bible wants man to believe about Jesus Christ?”
Dr.
W. A. (Bill) Robinson
https://christianityandbiblestudy.blogspot.com
