Who Jesus Is

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.— I Peter 2:9-10

 

Throughout history, God has been speaking a message of good news to all mankind. What is this good news?
It is news about Jesus of Nazareth, Who He is, what He has done, what He is doing, and what He will do for the benefit of His people.

  1. Hundreds of years of history, commonly known as the Old Testament (first part of the Bible) indicate that many people were looking forward to Jesus’ appearance because God had repeatedly foretold it at various times and in various ways.

  2. From the time of His birth until His death, Jesus performed many works which attested to His Own claim that He was the One to Whom the Old Testament pointed forward. These works included power over spiritual evil, healings of sickness and other physical infirmity, raising people from the dead, stilling a raging sea by His speech, living a life which even His enemies recognized as blameless.

  3. His most glorious work was His perfectly righteous life before God followed by His death on a Roman cross. During this death, Jesus experienced the full wrath due for the sins of God’s people. This death was necessary to pay the penalty incurred by sin so that God might be both just and the justifier of sinners (those who have neither loved perfectly nor glorified God as is His due).

  4. Three days after His death, Jesus rose from the dead as further attestation of Who He is, and after His resurrection, Jesus was seen by over 500 witnesses.

  5. Jesus is now in heaven from where He sends the Holy Spirit to explain through written and spoken words Who Jesus is, and the magnificence of His great works. This understanding of Who Jesus is along with His past, present, and future works persuades men and women to receive Him by faith / to trust Him as the only way they can completely overcome their guilt, selfishness/self-centeredness, dishonor, hatred, physical death, alienation from God and men, addictions, pride, harshness, foolishness, and other miseries.

  6. Jesus shall return again to earth. At that time, He shall evaluate each person’s life. Those who, prior to their physical death or His return, receive His righteousness by faith and repent of their sins (turn from their sins to God) shall be openly acknowledged as justified (accepted in God’s sight). At His return, He shall also renew the entire created universe to remove the consequences of sin upon the creation: injustice, war, hatred, greed, devastation, decay, etc.

  7. Each person, individually, needs “salvation” (translation from a circumstances of sin and misery to a situation of benefit and enjoyment). This salvation is freely offered to all mankind, and it is acquired by receiving Jesus as He is freely offered in explanations of the good news of Who He is and What He has done.

  8. Those apart from Jesus are under God’s wrath and holy, just punishment. They continue in that state unless they hold fast to Christ by faith as the only solution to that problem of God’s wrath toward sinners.