The true identity of Jesus Christ is controverted even among believers, either out of malice or lack of divine knowledge. However, God confirmed Jesus’ true identity to us at his baptism in Matthew 3: 17, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” We understand this statement to mean that (1) Jesus is the Son of God; (2) Jesus is God’s beloved Son; and (3) God is pleased with Jesus.
Jesus is God’s beloved Son
The statement at baptism puts Christ Jesus in a unique position above all others. God added to the statement in Matthew 17: 5… listen to him. God therefore instructs the world to obey what Jesus says. God said so because he has given him all the power and authority in heaven and on earth. Jesus said in Matthew 28:18 all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
God also said so because Jesus is the truth of God. John 14: 6, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. He said the only gateway to God and all other gateways are fake and improper which lead to destruction in hell fire. Jesus therefore said in Matthew 16: 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Do we have the keys to heaven?
Jesus is the true witness of God
Only Jesus has seen the Father and he alone can truly attest to who God is. Jesus said in John 1: 18; John 6: 46 no one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known. In this passage, Jesus describes himself as God the only Son meaning he is part of the Father incarnate in human form, hence has the best testimony of God to humankind.
Jesus is therefore part of God’s conversation at creation in Genesis 1: 26, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness…” Only Jesus can make God known to man. John 14: 9 says… Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. He who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Only Jesus is competent and qualified to lead us to God the Father. A rejection of Jesus is a rejection of God. Jesus said in Luke 10:16, he who rejects me rejects him who sent me.
Jesus is the Saviour of the world
Jesus laid down his life to show God’s love for humankind. John 3: 15-16 says, for God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Therefore, the only way to see God in eternity is to believe in Jesus and to obey his words. Luke 19: 10 says for the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.
Jesus came into the world to save. The angels announced his birth thus in Luke 2: 11 for you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. He accomplished this mission by his blood. John 10: 15-17… I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So they will be one flock, one shepherd… For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. Is Jesus our true Saviour?
Jesus makes all things anew
To those who love him, he perfects their weaknesses by his unlimited grace. Jesus said in 2 Corinthians 12: 9, my grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5: 17 so if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; everything old has passed away; see everything has become new! In Christ Jesus, even the dead shall rise again renewed in life everlasting.
This was prophesied in Isaiah 26: 19 your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise. O dwellers I the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a radiant dew, and the earth will give birth to those long dead. Paul wrote in Galatians 6: 15… a new creation is everything. No matter our circumstances, when we come to Jesus, he will make all things anew in his holy name.
Jesus lives forever
The bible says of Jesus in Revelation 1: 18 says I am alive forever and ever, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. He has no beginning and no end so he says in Revelation 22: 13, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. He also said in Revelation 22: 16, I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star. Jesus was before David and lives after David.
Jesus is coming again. Revelation 22: 14 says, See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone’s work. Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates. He said in Matthew 24: 34-35 heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. (Also Matthew 5: 18; Mark 13: 30-31; Luke 21: 32-33).
Jesus lives forever as the breath of life. Acts 17: 28 says for in him we live and move and have our being;… for we too are his offspring. Who is Jesus to us? Jesus is not only our savior but our eternity, our hope and our glory.
Prayer
Dear Lord Jesus, we acknowledge you as the only begotten Son of the Father in heaven, the eternal God of love, mercy and grace. In humility, we are ready to listen to you and to obey what you say. Thank you for coming to dwell among us, to save us, and to know our challenge at first hand. Lead us in prayer so we may truly repent and obey your will in your holy name, Amen!!
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