John3:16-18 tells us of God’s the Fathers great love for us that He chose to send His own Son to rescue us from our fallen, sinful ways and, to provide a way for us to approach and enter into the presence of a holy God. This is only possible through the cleansing work of Christ Jesus.
Jesus says of Himself in John 3:16 that “whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
This presents us with a very important question – who is this Jesus in whom we are to believe? We need to get this right.
There are several creeds and confessions which give us a concise definition of who Christ is. The Baptist Faith and Message define Jesus, the Son of God this way:
Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever-present Lord.
For this creed to be meaningful there needs to be a biblical basis for each of the statements. Each of the twenty-three separate phrases in this statement of faith are broken down and the scripture that supports each of those assertions appears below. These help us to dig a little deeper into God’s word as it reveals who Jesus is, His mission, His obedience and His character.
1) “Christ is the eternal Son of God.”
John 1:1-3
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
2) “In His incarnation as Jesus Christ…”
John 1:14
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
3) “He was conceived of the Holy Spirit…”
Luke 1:35
And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born[e] will be called holy—the Son of God.
4) “…and born of the virgin Mary.”
Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
5) “Jesus perfectly revealed…God…”
John 14:9
Whoever has seen me has seen the Father
6) “…and did the will of God…”
Philippians 2:5-11
(8) he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
7) “…taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities…”
Philippians 2:5-11
(6-7) though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
8) “…and identifying Himself completely with mankind…”
– and –
9) “…yet without sin.”
Hebrews 4:14-15
(15) For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
10) “He honored the divine law by His personal obedience…”
1 Peter 2:21-25
(22-23) He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.
11) “…and in His substitutionary death on the cross…”
Isaiah 53; 1 Peter 2:21-25
(25) He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
12) “…He made provision for the redemption of men from sin.”
Romans 3:23-26;
(23-25a) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.
13) “He was raised from the dead with a glorified body…”
1 Corinthians 15:1-8
(3b-4) Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
14) “…and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion.”
Luke 24:36-42
(36b-40) Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.
15) “He ascended into heaven…”
Acts 1:9
And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.
16) “…and is now exalted at the right hand of God…”
Romans 8:34
Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God
17) “…where He is the One Mediator…”
1 Timothy 2:5-6
(5) For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
18) “…fully God, fully man…”
Colossians 2:9
For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily
19) “…in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man.”
Colossians 1:13-22
(19-22) For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him
20) “He will return in power and glory…”
– and –
21) “…to judge the world…”
Matthew 16:27
For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.
22) “…and to consummate His redemptive mission.”
Hebrews 9:24-28
(28) Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
23) “He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever-present Lord.”
John 14:23
Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
If you do not know this Jesus, the savior of the world, who wants to be the savior of your own soul, please consider listening to His heart and committing your self to Him. He will redeem your life, He will save you from lostness and give your life true purpose. Want to learn more? Read about the salvation He offers here.
