Study 3 Objective: To discuss who Jesus Christ is, and why He is central to the faith of the believer
|
But that story is not over. It continues from New Testament times into eternity. The Bible explains that Jesus lives His life in us, and how He does that will be discussed in a subsequent study.
Also, Jesus will return (John 14:1-3; Acts1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 2 Peter 3:10-13; etc). He is returning, not to deal with sin (which has been already dealt with through his sacrifice), but for salvation (Hebrews 9:28). At his “throne of grace” (Hebrews 4:16) “He will judge the world in Righteousness” (Acts 17:31). “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20). Reflection: How would you explain to someone that Jesus is the Messiah? How does the return of Christ affect your faith CONCLUSION
Scripture reveals Jesus as the incarnate Word, the Son of God, the Lord, the King, the Messiah, the Saviour of the world who will return a second time for mercy and for justice. He is central to the faith of the Christian believer because without Christ there is no Christianity. We need to listen to what he has to say. From the Statement of Beliefs of the Grace Communion International/ Worldwide Church of God UK: https://www.gci.org/articles/the-gci-statement-of-beliefs/ The Son of God The Son of God is the second Person of the triune God, eternally begotten of the Father. He is the Word and the express image of the Father. The Father created all things through the Son, and the Son sustains all things by his word. He was sent by the Father to be God revealed in the flesh for our salvation, Jesus Christ. Jesus was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, fully God and fully human, two natures in one Person. He is the Son of God and Lord of all, worthy of worship, honour and reverence. As the prophesied Saviour of humanity, he suffered and died for all human sin, was raised bodily from the dead, and ascended to heaven. Taking on our broken and alienated humanity, he has included the entire human race in his right relationship with the Father, so that in his regeneration of our humanity we share in his sonship, being adopted as God’s own children in the power of the Spirit. As our representative and substitute, he stands in for all humanity before the Father, providing the perfect human response to God on our behalf and reconciling humanity to the Father. He will come again in glory as King of kings over all nations. (John 1:1, 10, 14; Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 1:3; John 3:16; Titus 2:13; Matthew 1:20; Acts 10:36; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Titus 3:4-5; Hebrews 2:9; 7:25; Galatians 4:5; 2 Corinthians 5:14; Ephesians 1: 9-10; Colossians 1:20; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 1:8; Revelation 19:16) |
Additional reading material:
Dickson, John. Simply Christianity: beyond religion. 1999. Australia: Matthias Media. Jinkins, Michael. Invitation to Theology. 2001. USA: InterVarsity Press. McGrath, Alistair. Christian Theology: An Introduction. 1994, 1997. UK: Blackwell Publishers Next Study What did Jesus our Lord have to say, and how does that affect us? |
