08/04/2016
Who Is Jesus?
Before creation was God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Not only Earth and Heaven was created, but everything that exists in space, even in the furthermost distance, and also the angels.
Jesus is the God of the Old Testament. Different versions of the Bible have a variety of names for him such as: Yahwey, Jehovah, El-Shaddai, I Am, Adonia, Elohim, El-Elyon, .... I don't think the Bible gives the name of God the Father, it pleased him to make Jesus the center of everything from creation to eternity. The Holy Spirit reveals Jesus to us, rather than himself.
“Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM! ””
John 8:58 NLT
“God replied to Moses, “ I AM WHO I AM. Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.””
Exodus 3:14 NLT
“And God said to Moses, “I am Yahweh—‘the LORD.’ I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty’ —but I did not reveal my name, Yahweh, to them.”
Exodus 6:2-3 NLT
It was Jesus who told Noah to build the ark. He instructed Abraham to leave his home and move to a land that is now called Israel. He spoke to Moses in the burning bush. And it was Jesus who said, "King David is a man after my own heart".
When Jesus came to Earth as a man, he had three main purposes. The first was to reveal the character of God the Father. The second was to tell people about God's Kingdom, and the third was to redeem mankind.
Jesus has a heart that mirrors his Father's. They are so much alike, it was as though the Father himself was walking Earth. Therefore, Jesus revealed the Father to us by his own actions and personality.
“Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you?”
John 14:9 NLT
After devoting his whole life toward the first and second, he accomplished the third purpose with his death. Jesus was the only person qualified to redeem mankind. He was born of a virgin made pregnant by the Holy Spirit, therefore he is God's begotten son. He was born spiritually alive and never sinned even once.
“For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”
2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT
Being a man, he had to learn things, just like the rest of us. He wasn't born with the knowledge of being God's Son. But, since he was born spiritually alive, the Holy Spirit was with him his whole life. He learned at a young age to allow the Spirit to guide and teach him.
“And the Spirit of the LORD will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. He will delight in obeying the LORD.”
Isaiah 11:2-3 NLT
Jesus spent much time learning Scripture, which was evident when he was twelve. The family made the annual journey to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast. Jesus was a responsible boy, so on the journey back, his parents weren't concerned that he wasn't with them. They assumed he was with friends who accompanied them on the journey.
When evening came and he still wasn't with them, they became concerned and started searching. They searched for three days before finding him back at Jerusalem in the Temple.
He had been listening to the religious leaders, and asking many questions. They were all amazed at his ability to understand, and he was even able to teach them some things. His parents asked how he could do this to them, causing them to be frantically searching. He said, "But why did you need to search? Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49 NLT)
This following scripture confirms Jesus was in Heaven as God the Son, before coming to Earth as human. When it says he gave up his divine privileges, this reveals he was 100% human while living as a man. As flesh and blood, he sacrificed his blood to become redeemer of mankind. Then God the Father brought him back to Heaven and restored his divinity. He is now the eternal King of kings and Lord of Lords.
“Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Phi 2:6-11 NLT
While on the cross, the Holy Spirit left him and he said, "My God, why have you left me"? Before this, the Spirit had been God's presence with Jesus his whole life. When the Spirit left him at a time when needed the most, he apparently wasn't expecting the separation, leaving him to endure Crucifixion by himself. This was so he could alone endure the pain of everyone's sins, he was paying the price for our redemption.
Just before dying on the cross he said, "it is finished". The moment Jesus died was the activation of the New Covenant. Now, animal sacrifices are no longer needed to cover people's sins. The sacrifice of Jesus was the final sacrifice that will ever be needed.
“We can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.”
Hebrews 10:19-22 NLT
Three days later, God resurrected Jesus. For the next 40 days he was alive on Earth and hundreds of people were witness to this, then he was taken to Heaven. The Lord now has a throne to the right of God's throne.
During the three days after his death and before being resurrected, he was preaching to everyone who lived prior to the Crucifixion. Even people who lived before the great flood were receiving the Good News as Jesus told them the information. All these people were presented with the choice to accept him as their Savior, or reject the New Covenant. This is the same choice we face while living.
“That is why the Good News was preached to those who are now dead —so although they were destined to die like all people, they now live forever with God in the Spirit.”
1 Peter 4:6 NLT
According to the New Covenant, when someone accepts Jesus as their Savior and Lord, that person becomes a Christian, and their sins can be forgiven. The person becomes spiritually alive and the Holy Spirit will be with him/her for the rest of their life. We will receive eternal life in God's Kingdom.
By accepting Salvation, we become children of God the Father, and belong to Jesus, because he redeemed us. Now through Jesus, we have access to God, to boldly approach him in prayer. Even though Jesus will be our Brother, he will also be our forever King.
People who decline to accept Jesus as their Savior, will remain in a fallen state, eternally separated from God. They will be sent to a place which is completely void of God's presence and love, to wait until Judgment Day.
Jesus was the first to be resurrected, and we will be resurrected as he was. He has been given all authority over Heaven and Earth. He will be our best friend if we allow him. It is written that if we draw near to him, he will draw near to us.
When Jesus returns as King of kings and Lord of lords, he will be mighty with all authority. Upon his arrival, militaries poised for battle will turn their weapons toward him, they will die.
He will take over Earth, and will remove all people whose names are not written in the Book of Life. He will also have all the demons rounded up and incarcerated. For the next thousand years, we will live on Earth, and Jesus will be our King.
After the Sabbath Millennium will come Judgment Day, and Jesus will be the Judge. Books will be opened, containing records of everything everyone has done. The Book of Life will also be open, and people whose names are not within, will be found guilty of all their wrong doings.
“And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire."
Rev 20:15 NLT
People whose names are written in the Book of Life, will have their Salvation finalized. Our sins will be wiped clean and forgotten, because Jesus already paid the price. We will forever live in God's Kingdom surrounded by his love, and Jesus will be our Almighty King.
“All who are victorious will be clothed in white. I will never erase their names from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and his angels that they are mine.”
Rev 3:5 NLT
It appears that we, who are united with Christ, are the first born of God's children. There will be future ages, and we are on the ground floor of Gods plans. Apparently there will be new people in ages to come.
“So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.”
Ephesians 2:7 NLT
Kenny Hinrichs
