Tell Me About Jesus

Christian Theology, Jesus, Salvation 6 Minutes

Jesus Christ is unique. There is no one like Him. He is God incarnate, both God and Man, theanthropic. In the incarnation, the eternal Son of God took on true humanity without surrendering His deity, becoming the God-Man forever. This is the hypostatic union: undiminished deity and true humanity united in one Person. He is fully God and fully man, with two distinct natures, neither mixed nor altered. His deity is eternal. His humanity was added in time. From the incarnation forward, both natures are permanently united in one Person, Jesus. Chafer states:

Christ is God in His divine nature and man in His human nature, but in His Personality as the God-man He is neither one nor the other apart from the unity which He is. Isolation of either nature from the other is not possible, though each may be separately considered. The divine nature is eternal, but the human nature originates in time. It therefore follows that the union of the two is itself an event in time, though it is destined to continue forever.[1]

Before time, before creation, God the Son already existed. Micah foretold a ruler from Bethlehem whose “goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity” (Mic. 5:2). The writer of Hebrews says of the Son, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever” (Heb. 1:8a). John states, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). As God, He did not begin; He already was. John further states, “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being” (John 1:3; cf. Col. 1:16). Because He is the Creator, He is not part of creation, for “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (Col. 1:17). He sustains what He created. Time does not age Him. History does not limit Him, for “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8). He is self-existent, immutable, sovereign, possessing every attribute of deity.

The incarnation was planned in eternity past. Before entering history, God the Son addressed God the Father, saying, “Sacrifice and offering You have not desired… but a body You have prepared for Me” (Ps. 40:6; Heb. 10:5). The Father sent the Son on a specific mission to be the Savior of the world. Jesus said, “I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:38). He came as the Servant foretold in Scripture (Isa. 53:3–12). As He stated of Himself, “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45), and “the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). When the mission was completed, He could say, “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was” (John 17:4–5)

At a point in time, without surrendering deity, God the Son added true humanity to Himself. John wrote, “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14a). Paul states, “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form” (Col. 2:9). Jesus was “born of a woman” (Gal. 4:4), born of a virgin (Isa. 7:14; Luke 1:35), entering the human race without inheriting Adam’s sin. He lived under genuine human limitations while perfectly relying on the Father and the Spirit. He “emptied Himself” not of deity, but of the independent use of His divine attributes, taking “the form of a bond-servant” (Phil. 2:6–7). According to Fruchtenbaum, “The kenosis does not imply that He divested Himself of the form of deity. Rather, it means that He laid aside the independent exercise of His divine attributes by which the form of God expresses itself.”[2]

Jesus is a Jew, born under the Law and within the covenant promises given to Israel (Gal. 4:4; Rom. 9:4–5). The Abrahamic covenant promised a specific Seed through whom universal blessing would flow, for “in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 22:18), and Paul identifies that Seed as Christ, writing, “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed… that is, Christ” (Gal. 3:16). He arose from the tribe of Judah, concerning which it was said, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah” (Gen. 49:10), and He stands in the legal and royal line of David, fulfilling the covenant in which God declared, “I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Sam. 7:13). The prophets anticipated this anointed ruler, “His Anointed” (Ps. 2:2), and Daniel fixed the time of Messiah’s coming (Dan. 9:25). When Andrew confessed, “We have found the Messiah” (John 1:41), and Nathanael declared, “You are the King of Israel” (John 1:49), they rightly identified Him as Israel’s promised King.

Jesus’ earthly life displayed perfect righteousness in thought, word, and deed. Scripture affirms, “in Him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5; cf. 2 Cor. 5:21). Peter testifies, “Who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth” (1 Pet. 2:22). Though He faced real temptation, He was “tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). He fulfilled the Law in its entirety, for He said, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets… but to fulfill” (Matt. 5:17), and Paul states, “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Rom. 10:4). His obedience was active and continuous, grounded in love for the Father’s will, for of the Son it is written, “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness” (Heb. 1:9).

As our substitute on the cross, Jesus bore divine judgment in our place. Peter states, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness” (1 Pet. 2:24). His death was substitutionary and sufficient, for “Christ died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet. 3:18). John identified Him as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), language rooted in the sacrificial system yet fulfilled in a single act. Unlike repeated Levitical offerings, “He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God” (Heb. 10:12). The seated posture signifies completion. The atonement is accomplished, the ransom paid, and salvation rests entirely upon His finished work.

Jesus’ saving work was substitutionary, sufficient, and final. On the cross, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). The penalty of sin is death (Rom. 6:23a), and He bore that penalty in our place. Paul states, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21). The issue for salvation is not human merit or reform, but faith in Jesus to save. Scripture states, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31), “For by grace you have been saved through faith… not as a result of works” (Eph. 2:8–9). Because Jesus’ work is complete, forgiveness is secured, for “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses” (Eph. 1:7), and eternal life is granted to all who believe, for “He who believes in the Son has eternal life” (John 3:36a).

The risen Christ did not abandon His Davidic claim. After His resurrection He declared, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matt. 28:18), and He ascended to the Father’s right hand (Ps. 110:1; Acts 2:33–35). He now awaits the appointed time when He will return visibly and bodily. The angelic promise stands: “This Jesus… will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). At His second coming He will sit on “His glorious throne” (Matt. 25:31) and fulfill the covenant made with David, for God swore, “I will raise up your descendant after you… and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Sam. 7:12–13). He will reign from Jerusalem as King over all the earth, for “The Lord will be king over all the earth” (Zech. 14:9), and “the government will rest on His shoulders… on the throne of David and over his kingdom” (Isa. 9:6–7). The One who came in humility will return in glory, and His kingdom will be righteous, visible, and everlasting.

Steven R. Cook, D.Min., M.Div.

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[1] Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology, vol. 1 (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1993), 350–351.

[2] Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Messiah Yeshua: Divine Redeemer, Second Edition (San Antonio, TX: Ariel Ministries, 2019), 5.

Published by Dr. Steven R. Cook

Dr. Steven R. Cook is a Christian educator. He is protestant, conservative, and dispensational. Studies in the original languages of Scripture, ancient history, and systematic theology have been the foundation for Steven’s teaching and writing ministry. He has written several Christian books, dozens of articles on Christian theology, and recorded more than seven hundred hours of audio and video sermons. Steven currently serves as professor of Bible and Theology at Tyndale Theological Seminary, and hosts weekly Bible studies at his home in Texas. Steven’s ministry activity is entirely voluntary (articles, blogs, podcasts, and video lessons), as he works a full time job as a Case Manager for a local nonprofit agency that helps the elderly and disabled in the community.

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One thought on “Tell Me About Jesus”

  1. AMEN and AMEN! HALLELUJIAH to the Lamb of God!

    Greeting and blessing in our great God and Savior!

    In Christ,
    Tara

    Reply

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