The Most Important Question!

What is the most important question that anyone could ask?  I believe the question is, "Who is Jesus Christ?"

Why is this the most important question? Because knowing the answer is the key to eternal life in Heaven... it is the key to our purpose... it is the only thing that can give life true meaning... It is light in the darkness, it is true wisdom and knowledge, it is peace amid chaos, it is faith, hope and love. Why do I say this?  Hopefully what follows will help to clarify these points.

There is one primary source of truth that can be counted on to provide the answers to the deepest questions of life, and that is the written Word of God, the Bible. It says of itself (in II Peter 1) "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture comes from the prophet’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever brought about through human initiative, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit" and "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." (Heb 4). Psalm 119 is the longest psalm in the Bible (176 verses), and EVERY verse in the psalm makes mention of the Word of God. Clearly God's Word is a source that can be trusted (for God cannot lie!). What does the Word of God, the Bible, say about Christ?

Jesus Christ is the central figure in the Bible.  The entire Old Testament leads up to his coming, and the entire New Testament is about his ministry and what he accomplished. As we will see, he is present and active from Genesis 1:1 through Revelation 22:21. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last. How can I say this? I will explain:

Genesis 1:1 says, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." This one, seemingly simple, yet enigmatic verse holds a deep wisdom.
John 1 goes on to clarify, "He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it...He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." 

 

So we clearly see that Jesus is the Living Word of God, and that from the beginning, He was both with God and is also God. This theme is reiterated in Colossians 1:

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, .."

What all this means is that Christ existed with the Father long before He came to earth and became human as well as divine. As we read in Philippians 2: 

 

"In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself

by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

and gave him the name that is above every name,

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father."

All this having been said, you may still be wondering, how can Jesus Christ be both the Son of God and also be God? For most believers, the trinity is still a mystery. I believe it is not as hard to understand as some have made it out to be. Consider that man was originally made of soul, body and spirit (that third part, the spirit, was lost by Adam but restored by Christ in his followers)... making us a sort of 'trinity'.  The Bible says in Genesis 1, "God created mankind in his own image...". As God is a 'trinity' we were made a 'trinity', but of course God is a 'trinity' on a much grander scale (to say the least)!  You see, that which we understand as 'God the Father' is the 'Soul' of God, the Word of God, Jesus Christ, is the 'Body' of God, and the 'Holy Spirit' is the "Spirit" of God. What evidence do I have for this? Look carefully at the wording in John 1. "...Through him [The Word] all things were made..." and in Colossians 1, "For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him." What we see here is the God the Father is the SOURCE of all creation and the Word, Jesus Christ, is the MEANS of creation. In Genesis 1: 2 we read, "Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters", so that completes the trinity that created all things. 

 

What does it mean when we say that Jesus Christ (i.e. the Word of God) is the body of God? We live in a multidimensional universe. The material realm exists in the three dimensions plus time, and God, who is Spirit, is most present in the spiritual dimension. For God, as spirit, to create in the physical dimension, He needed an 'interface', a means by which He could create a physical reality. That 'interface' is His Word. Note that Genesis 1 states that "God SAID let there be... and there was..." When God 'speaks' that is His Word in action. That Christ is the 'body of God' is confirmed through the use of a figure of speech called a synecdoche.  A synecdoche may use part of something to represent the entire whole. In several places Jesus is referred to as the "Arm of the LORD". The Prophet Isaiah said (prophesying of Christ):

"Who has believed our message and to whom has the ARM of the LORD been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground... 

Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way;

and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all."

When we ask, 'Is Jesus Christ God?' it is the same as asking 'Is your arm you?'  If someone cuts your arm, have they hurt you? Yes.  Yet, your arm is a part of you.  You would still be you without your arm.. but somehow incomplete. Your arm is 'with you' and your arm is 'you'.  The Word was with God and the Word was God.  

From this we see that Jesus Christ is interdependent with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. He is the Lord over all creation because it was through Him that creation came into being. We need to make the choice to make Him our personal LORD if we are to spend eternity in Heaven (meaning we agree to live as He wants us to live). Doing His will is the purpose for our existence. When we are doing His will, our lives have meaning, and we can have peace in the midst of the most violent storms. We have faith in and get faith from the Lord, our hope is in His return, and we can love with the love we receive from Him. Time itself is centered around Christ (BC = Before Christ and AD = Anno Domini, which is Latin for "year of our Lord", and it means the number of years since the birth of Jesus Christ). He is Light in the darkness, He is full of all wisdom and knowledge. He is the head of the Body, and we (who serve Him) are the members... the hands and feet of Christ on earth, here to do good to all we meet, to help the needy, defend the defenseless, heal the hurt, comfort the afflicted, to declare the Great News of the Gospel!

So knowing who Christ is, how can we do any less than make Him Lord of our lives?  Romans 10:9,10 says, "If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved." When you accept Christ as your Lord, you receive the holy spirit, which is God in Christ in you! If you haven't already, won't you make that verbal covenant with God to make Jesus your Lord? Like a wedding vow, your life should change for the better... you become the bride of Christ and you no longer put anything or anyone before Him. That is what it means to make Jesus Lord of your life. You live as he commands (it's one thing to fall from time to time and repent, but another to live a life of deliberate, habitual sin, which is rebellion and refusal of Christ's Lordship).  What are his commands? 'Love God with all your being, and those around you with the same love that we received (and continue to receive) from Him' (Matt 22:37, Jn 13:34) and share the good news (Matt 28:19)!  In doing that we fulfill our purpose. Have you accepted Christ as your Lord? Welcome to the Family... the Family of God! As John 1 says, "Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God" and " No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.” Heaven is waiting for YOU!