Who Is Jesus?

There is probably no more personal or controversial question than this. Where does one begin? You could start with the definition from the Apostle’s Creed:

I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come again to judge the living and the dead.

What better way to discover who Jesus is than let Him tell us. Who does Jesus say He is?

Savior: John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
King: John 18:37 Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered,”You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”
Judge: John 5:22,27 “For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son,…and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.”
Messiah: John 4:25-26 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.”Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
Way, Truth, And Life: John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Good Shepherd: John 10:10-11 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.”
Bread Of Life: John 6:35 “And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”
Light of the World: John 9:5 “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
Not Of This World: John 8:23 “And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.”
Overcomer: John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
Resurrection and Life: John 11:25 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.”
Teacher and Lord: John 13:13 “You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for soI am.”

The greatest question Jesus ever asked was “Who do you say I am?” How has Jesus been defined by people who have experienced Him?

John the Baptist states in John 1:29,” Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”. He also states in John 1:34,” And I have seen and testified that this is the son of God.”
Peter states in Matthew 16:16,” You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
The Samaritan woman at the well in John 4:19 says, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.”
Nicodemus states in John 3:2,” Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
“A rule I have had for years is: to treat the Lord Jesus Christ as a personal friend. His is not a creed, a mere doctrine, but it is He Himself we have.”Dwight L. Moody
“After I set out to refute Christianity intellectually and couldn’t, I came to the conclusion the Bible was true and Jesus Christ was God’s Son.”Josh McDowell
“One encounter with Jesus Christ is enough to change you, instantly, forever.”Luis Palau

The starting point of all knowledge is experience. Until you have experienced who Jesus is, you will not be able to answer the question, “Who is Jesus?” To experience Jesus you must take a step in faith.

You may ask yourself, “Why should I even care who Jesus is?” That is a fair question and one easily answered by the Bible.

We are all victims of the “fall of man”. In the beginning of mankind, Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit and we now inherit a sinful nature. Romans 5:12 tells us, “… just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned”. Sin is a transgression of God’s law. The whole of creation has been placed under the curse. Romans 8:20-22 tells us, “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.”

When we break a law in today’s world there is a punishment for our violation. If we speed wehave to pay a ticket. If we steal we are placed in jail. If we murder we may be given the death penalty. We may never have committed one of these offenses but there is one offense we are all guilty of in the eyes of God. Romans 3:23 tells us, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Every one of us has fallen short of the glory of God at some point in our life.

Since we all have sinned, there is a punishment spelled out in the Bible for sin. Romans 6:23tells us, “For the wages of sin is death”. We are all guilty before God. What a wretched existence knowing that we were guilty and condemned to death and there was nothing we could do about it.

God has provided a way out. Jesus is the remedy for our sin. We are told in 2 Corinthians5:21,” For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” There is only one way to be declared innocent before God. We must know who Jesus is and experience His saving grace. We must be born again.

How do I become “Born Again”?

Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:3,” Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he can not see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus was greatly confused by this statement and asked Jesus, “How can a man be born again when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”(John 3:4) Jesus was speaking of the need to be reborn in the spirit.

As soon as we have committed one sin we are spiritually dead. Physical death and spiritual death are two different things. Romans 6:23 tells us, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Sin brings death but the gift of God is eternal life.

In order to be born again one must realize the need for a Savior. Romans 3:23 tells us,“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The hardest part is admitting that you are a sinner. Ask yourself have I ever done something that would displease God. We all have. To be born again you must realize you are a sinner in the eyes of God.
Once you have admitted that you are a sinner, you must also realize that there is a penalty for your sin. Romans 6:23 tells us, “the wages of sin is death”. To be born again you must realize that there is a penalty for your sin. That penalty is spiritual death. To be born again you must realize the penalty for sin is death.
There is one who has already paid the penalty for our sin. That one is Jesus Christ. Romans 5:8 tells us, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” God loved us so much that He sent his own Son to die in our place. God had a remedy for our sin and that remedy was Jesus Christ. John3:16 tells us, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”To be born again you must realize that God loved us so much that He sent His son Jesus to die for our sins.
Through Jesus Christ we can be born again. Romans 6:23 tells us,” but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The only way we can claim the gift of eternal life is to ask for it. We must ask forgiveness of our sins and invite Jesus Christ into our lives. To be born again you must claim the gift of eternal life.
The Bible offers us proof that we can be born again. Romans 10:9,10 tells us, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation.” Salvation is a two-step process: confession and belief. To be born again we must confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord of our lives and believe in our hearts that He is the Savior of the world who died for our sins.
Just in case there is any doubt Romans 10:13 gives us one more confirmation that salvation is through Jesus. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

To be born again we must call on the name of Jesus.

You might be surfing the web right now and ended up on our web page out of curiosity. If you are still reading then you are probably at a turning point in your life. You may be looking for a change in your circumstances. Maybe everything you do seems to go wrong. You try to do right and live a good life and you still seem to always fall short. Maybe you have no satisfaction in the direction of your life. Maybe you just feel lost or can’t believe where you have ended up. Proverbs 13:15 tells us, “Good understanding gains favor, But the way of the unfaithful is hard.”

There is a way to live victoriously. Jesus tells us “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)

Have you placed your faith and trust in Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of your life? If today is the day you have decided to be born again pray this simple prayer:

Dear Father, I know that I am a sinner and have fallen short of your glory. Please forgive me of all my sins. I accept the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. I ask Jesus to be the Lord of my life and believe in my heart that He died for my sins. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

If you have prayed this simple prayer the first thing you need to do is tell someone about your decision to follow Jesus. Get a Bible and read the Book of John. You need to get involved in a Bible believing church. Christians are meant to be part of the body of believers. Once you find a church, get water baptized. Baptism is not necessary for salvation. Being baptized is an outward sign of the inward change that has taken place in your life. The old man is dead and the new is raised with Jesus. You are now a child of God!

“But as many as have received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” John 1:12