Christian Foundations

 So far in our First Series of blog posts on Christian Foundations, we presented the nature and character of Jehovah as a God of love.  Then in #2, we went on to discuss the creation of angels and demons in the spiritual realm.  #3 in our series, we looked at the Perfect Creation of the universe and the natural world we live in.

Next, in #4 we looked at how this perfection was corrupted by the actions of Adam and Eve and the resulting fall of the human race.

Our loving Creator did not leave us alone in the corruption and decay of the fallen place of destruction.  He had already planned on a solution!  In #5 in this first series, we continue the greatest story ever told:  Jesus – Who is He and what do we need to know about Him in our troubled world today?

In our next posts, we shall investigate the Holy Spirit.  Who and why was the Holy Spirit sent?  How can we understand His work more and even, cooperate with Him?

Then, in #7, we conclude this series by looking at the place of the Church in God’s history.  How has the church changed and where do we belong in the body of Christ?

 

 So let’s get back to our topic in part 1 of ‘Christian Foundations belief about Jesus, the Christ’

1.  No other single person has influenced the course of history as much as the humble carpenter from Nazareth.  His life and death divides the modern calendar into BC / AD.

Human history was turned upside down within the generation that followed His life and death.  Christianity grew from a few frightened followers, awaiting their own crucifixion, to untold millions of believers.

Jesus came to proclaim this:  “God isn’t angry at you any longer!  In fact, Father wants to restore the sweet fellowship that was lost with Adam and Eve’s disobedience – BUT He wants it even better!!”

God began personal relationships first with Abraham, throughout history with His kings and prophets and then finally through His Christ.  Jesus had one major message:  “The Kingdom of God was come and that everyone needed to enter into it.”

2.  Meet the historical Jesus:

We know little about the earthly life of Jesus except from the four Gospels in the New Testament.  Jewish historians and traditions offer us little more than:  “He practiced magic, beguiled the people and said that he had not come to destroy the law or add to it.  He was hanged on the eve of Passover for heresy and misleading the people.  He had 5 disciples who healed the sick.” 1

However, the spoken and written records about Jesus were carefully handed on until some 30 years after His death.  Then they were copied and revealed as the four Gospels we know today.  Each of these four writers reveals Jesus from a different perspective.

3.  An overview of the Life of Jesus:

a.  He was born in Bethlehem and spent His early life in Nazareth, where He worked as a carpenter with his earthly father, Joseph.

b.  Baptised in the River Jordan, about 29 AD, Jesus received the Holy Spirit and was commissioned for His work.  Next, He withstood Satan’s enticements during a 40-day desert journey.  He passed the same tests that Adam and Eve failed, thus proving His obedience to God.

c.  He commenced His public ministry, mainly around Galilee, at age 30.  He chose 12 disciples and went about preaching and healing in Judea and beyond, doing some 35 separate healings and miracles.

d.  Later He went to Jerusalem, where He was arrested, falsely accused and put to death at Passover time, about 33 AD.

e.  He arose from the dead after 3 days and 3 nights, appeared to some 500 witnesses, commissioned His disciples and entered heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father.

f.   Earth History will go into a completely different chapter with His Second Coming as a triumphant King and Judge.

4.  Jesus Fulfils scripture prophecy.

a.  Some 46 Old Testament prophecies describe what this ‘Christ’, the One sent from God, would be like.  Jesus matched these prophecies perfectly.

b.  He captured the people’s hearts with some 32 parables and 35 miracles.  He walked on water and even stilled violent storms.  Demons recognised His authority and obeyed His commands.  Jesus even forgave sins – the exclusive right of God alone!

c.  Jesus also showed the Father’s heart of compassion; He was touched by people’s pain and grief many times.  As a result of His teachings, miracles and the work of the Holy Spirit within people’s lives, thousands of people believed in Him and His message – and the world was never the same again!

5.  The Jewish nation expected someone different.

Many people believed the long hoped for era of God’s rule was beginning.  However, the people

Jesus’ compassionate call for repentance and forgiveness was contrary to the Jews beliefs about what their Messiah would preach.  They expected Him to sweep into the scene and to restore their former glory.  They thought their Messiah would be the Warrior-King, someone who would bring them deliverance from their cruel Roman overlords.  Therefore, Jesus couldn’t be the ‘Anointed One’ …. because He was crucified.

They failed to recognise ‘the suffering-servant’ aspect of Jesus’ life and death, as foretold in Scripture.  They missed the need for the cross and reconciliation to God.

6.  Meet the Supernatural Jesus!

We met the supernatural Jesus at His baptism, the account of the trans-figuration, in the witness of others, in His healing and miracles and at His resurrection.  We can only understand who Jesus really is from the perspective of the events after His death, resurrection and the continued revelations of the Holy Spirit.  He is God come in the flesh as the only begotten Son of God.

a.  Jesus’ claims and God’s confirmation

Although Jesus did not make an explicit claim to say “I am God”, yet He claimed things for Himself that only God could claim (Matthew 16:17, John 2:16, 5:17, 6:27):

b.  He said He would send His angels (Matthew 13:41, Luke 12:8-9, 15:10),

c.  Many times, Jesus placed His own words above the OT: “You have heard it said  …but I say to you ….”, as in Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28,

d.  He claimed to forgive sins, Mark 2:5-7, which only God could do,

e.  He spoke about “God’s coming kingdom” as His as well as God’s,

f.  Jesus claimed a role to judge the world in the future (Matthew 25:31-46),

g.  He claimed to be “Lord of the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:3-8, Mark 2:27-28),

h.  He declared His unusual relationship with Jehovah God, as ‘Father’.  Jesus claimed to be one with the Father (John 10:30, 14:7),

i.  Jesus claimed pre-existence in God (John 8:58, 3:13, 14:2),

k.  At trial he was charged with making Himself “the son of God”.  His reply was that they would see Him sitting at God’s right hand (Mat. 26:64),

l.  Jesus talked about His power over death and life:

“I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me will live even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” (John 11:25-26)

            m.  He linked His work with that of the Father, making himself equal with God (John 5:18),

n.  Jesus fulfilled all the Old Testament prophecies

o.  His deity is seen in His ministry of healing and miracles

p. Even The demonic realm recognised Jesus.

 

The conclusion from these passages is that Jesus understood Himself as equal with the Father.  He possessed the right to do things, which only God has the right to.  He accepted divine names and worship.  He used titles, which claimed His omnipotence, such as the Good Shepherd (John 10:11), the Way, Truth and Life (John 14:6).  “You are the Christ, the son of the living  God” (Matthew 16:16)

7.  Yet Jesus was fully Human. 

a.  Jesus had a human body from birth, conceived in the womb of a human mother, nourished prenatally as a baby.  Although birth was in unusual circumstances, the actual birth sounds human.

b.  He grew as a child (Luke 2:40), and learned obedience (Heb. 5:8),

c.  He learned a trade (Mark 6:3, Luke 3:23),

d.  He experienced human temptation, but without sin (Matthew 4:11, Hebrews 2:18, 4:15)

e.  Jesus was a full human in every physical sense.  He was subject to same physical limitations as all mankind.  He experienced hunger (Matthew 4:2), thirst (John 19:28), weariness and need for sleep (John 4:6),

f.  He had emotions.  He could make decisions but relied on the Father for direction.

g.  His physical body was injured with the spear (John 19:34).  Jesus suffered physically and died as all humans do.

The facts of Christ’s life are relatively easy to pin down, but faith is required to see the supernatural realm that surrounded Jesus.  This is the same realm that we need to recognise and step into as we become more and more ‘Jesus Followers’.

In our next post we will continue with the central figure of the New Testament and all Christian Foundations – who was He, how did those who followed Him know Him and what is ahead for those who chose to follow Him now?

May you know the real, living Lord Jesus in your own life,

Susanne Fengler, Blog Author

www.christianfoundations.jesus-treeoflife.info

Tags: Jesus Christ
Filed under: Foundations of our Faith, Series #1: Being a Jesus Follower