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To start our survey on the things that Jesus Christ is, we will go to John
10:35-36. There, Jesus, during a conversation that he had with some Jews, said:
John 10:35-36
"If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture
cannot be broken), do you say of him whom the Father sanctified and sent into
the world, "You are blaspheming." because I SAID, "I AM THE SON OF
GOD"
As we can see from this passage, Jesus said that he is Son of God i.e. that
God was his Father. Therefore, the first thing that we see that Jesus is, is Son of
God. The fact that Jesus Christ was indeed Son of God is also witnessed by
many other Scriptures. Thus for example, when the angel announced to Mary
that she would be the mother of Jesus, he also told her that Jesus would be
called Son of God. Really, Luke 1:35 tells us:
Luke 1:35
"And the angel answered and said to her [Mary], "holy spirit will come upon
you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that
holy one who is to be born will be called the Son of God."
Furthermore, God two times, one in Jesus' baptism (Matthew 3:16-17) and
one on the mountain of transfiguration (Matthew 17:5), publicly declared him
as His Son. Really, the relative passages tell us:
Matthew 3:16-17
"When he had been baptised, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and
behold the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the spirit of God
descending like a dove and alighting upon him. And suddenly a voice came
from heaven saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased"
Besides all these, another certificate that the Bible refers as a proof that
Jesus is indeed Son of God is the fact that God raised him from the dead.
Really, Romans 1 tells us about it:
To all the above we could add many other records that declare that Jesus is
Son of God1. Therefore the first thing that we see that Jesus is, is Son of God.
Having seen that Jesus Christ is Son of God let us move ahead to see some
other things that he is. To start we will go to I John 4:14. There we read:
I John 4:14
"And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Saviour of
the world.”
Romans 10:9
if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that
God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
(NKJV-KJV)
1
It is characteristic that the Bible calls Jesus as "Son of God" 46 times
Moreover Acts 4:12 tells us about Jesus:
"Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven
given among men by which we must be saved."
Salvation is impossible without Jesus Christ for only in him there is, and
cannot be obtained but only by confessing him as Lord and believing that God
raised him from the dead. Therefore a second thing that we see that Jesus is, is
the Saviour the only one in whom there is salvation.
Apart from Son of God and Saviour, another title that is used for Jesus
Christ is Lord. Regarding the word "Lord" this is a translation of the Greek
word "kurios" that means boss, someone that is in authority position2. That
Jesus Christ is indeed in authority position is shown by the fact that he is called
"the Lord Jesus Christ" 82 times in the Bible. Apart from this, there are also
many passages in the Bible that refer to his lordship and authority, such as
Phillipians 2:9-11. There we read:
Philippians 2:9-11
"Therefore God also has highly exalted him [Jesus] and given him the name
which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
of those in heaven and of those on earth and of those under the earth, and that
every tongue should confess THAT JESUS CHRIST IS LORD, to the glory of
God the Father."
2
The word "kurios" occurs 748 times in the New Testament and the KJV translates it as "Lord" 667
times, as "lord" 54, as master 11, as sir 6, as Sir 6, and with miscellaneous other words 4 times. Its
formal meaning as it is given by the dictionary of the "On -Line Bible" is: 1) he to whom a person or
thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord 1a) the possessor and disposer of a
thing 1a1) the owner; one who has control of the person, the master 1a2) in the state: the sovereign,
prince, chief, the Roman emperor 1b) is a title of honour expressive of respect and reverence, with
which servants greet their master 1c) this title is given to: God, the Messiah
Also I Corinthians 15:24-28 tells us:
"Then comes the end, when he [Jesus] delivers the kingdom to God even the
Father, when he puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For he
[Jesus] must reign till he has put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that
will be destroyed is death. For "He [God] has put all things under his [Jesus']
feet". But when he says "all things are put under him, [Jesus]" it is evident that
he [God] who put all things under him [Jesus] is excepted. Now when all things
are made subject to him [Jesus], then the Son himself will also be subject to
him who put all things under him, that God may be all in all."
(NKJV-KJV)
As the above passages make clear everything and everyone is or will be put
under Jesus' feet. The only exception is God "who put all things under him"
and to whom, Jesus himself is subject. Apart from God everything or everyone
else is or will be under Jesus' subjection so "that every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father."
Not only Jesus Christ is the boss, the lord, of every man that believes in
him, but he also is the head, the boss of the total of those that believe in him
and who consist what the Bible calls "church". Really, as Collosians 1:18 tells
us:
Collosians 1:18
"And he [Jesus Christ] is the head of the body, the church."
Also Ephesians 4:15-16 tells us:
"but speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into him who is the
head - Christ- from whom the whole body [the church], joined and knit
together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by
which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the effective
edifying of itself in love."
As the above passages make clear, the church is not a building but a body
consisting of each one of us that have confessed with our mouths the Lord, the
boss, Jesus and believed in our heart that God raised him from the dead. As I
Corinthians 12 says about this body and its members:
I Corinthians 12:12,14,18,27
"For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one
body, being many are one body, so also is Christ.......For in fact the body is not
one member but many.....But now God has set the members, each one of the
them, in the body just as He pleased.....Now you are the body of Christ, and
members individually"
Each one of us is a member of the body of Christ and has Christ as LORD.
All of us together consist the body of Christ, the church, that has Christ as
HEAD who in turn has God as head (I Corinthians 11:3). As now in a literal
body, the head is the part that makes decisions and is responsible for everything
that the body does, so also is Christ in the church: he (and only he) is
responsible to decide how the body as a total, and each one of us as members
will move. He is the head of the church, we are its members, and God is He
who has placed us in the church as it pleased Him. As my hand is obedient to
my head so we, as members of the church, should be obedient to the head of
the church, the Christ. It is he that possesses the head position in the church.
All the others we are members whose right operation is necessary for the
smooth operation of the body as well.
Though by now we have seen many things that Jesus is the list does not
stop here. Really John 14:6 tells us:
John 14:6
"Jesus said to him, "I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the
Father except through me."
Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life. As he said, no-one can go to
God but only through him i.e. he is the only way to God. Evidently, this means
that the view that supports that all the various religions are simply different
ways that finally all drive to the one true God is entirely wrong. Really
according to what we just read there is only ONE way to God, the Lord Jesus
Christ. Without him no-one can go to God.
Apart from the only way to God, Jesus Christ is also the only mediator
between God and men. Truly, I Timothy 2:5 tells us:
I Timothy 2:5
"For there is one God and ONE mediator between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus."
John 6:35
"And Jesus said to them [the Jews], "I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE. HE
WHO COMES TO ME SHALL NEVER HUNGER, AND HE WHO
BELIEVES IN ME SHALL NEVER THIRST"
Jesus Christ promised that he who comes to him will never hunger and will
never thirst. He said that he is the bread of life. We all know how vital food and
water are for our lives. However, though even an abundance of them cannot
give us more than an average of seventy or eighty years of life, the bread that is
3
Some well known names that in some denominations are offered as "mediators" in addition to Jesus
are Mary, Peter as well as the so called saints
called Jesus Christ gives us ETERNAL LIFE. How? We already saw it: By
confessing him as Lord and believing that God raised him from the dead
(Romans 10:9). Since also he assures us that if we go to him, we will NEVER
hunger and will NEVER thirst, this means that by believing in him we will
always have all that is needed to live in this life. We will have eternal life AND
all our needs covered.
Apart from bread of life that as we saw Jesus is, he also is the one whom if
we follow, we will have the light of life. The gospel of John tells us:
John 8:12
"Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I'm the light of the world. HE WHO
FOLLOWS ME SHALL NOT WALK IN DARKNESS, BUT HAVE THE
LIGHT OF LIFE."
John 12:46
"I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in me should not
abide in darkness"
As our survival requires bread and water, so our movements require light so
that they may be made securely. However, they are not the only ones that need
light. Most importantly, it is our walk in life that needs light so that it may be
made securely and we may know where we go. As Jesus Christ
characteristically said:
John 12:35
"HE WHO WALKS IN DARKNESS DOES NOT KNOW WHERE HE IS
GOING."
To see another thing that Jesus Christ is we will go to John 10. There we
read:
John 10:7-10
"Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of
the sheep. All who ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep
did not hear them. I am the door. IF ANYONE ENTERS BY ME, HE WILL
BE SAVED, AND WILL GO IN AND OUT AND FIND PASTURE. The
thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come that
they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."
Here Jesus Christ uses a figure of speech to give us more information about
him and what will happen to those that will follow him. In this figure Jesus
presents himself as the door. Regarding the meaning of this figure, we all know
that the door is something that enters us to a different place than the one where
we are. Therefore when the Word of God presents Jesus as the door it wants to
tell us that he is someone by whom if we enter we will be in a different place
than the one where we were before we enter. And if one asks what kind of
place is this, the answer was given by Jesus Christ himself. As he said: "If
anyone enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture."
Taking each of this in turn, if one enters by the door that is called Jesus Christ
i.e. if he confesses with his mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in his heart that
God raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9) he will be saved. Furthermore, he
will be able to "go in and out" i.e. he will be free, which consequently means
that as long as one stays outside Jesus' door he has no freedom. That this is the
case, can be seen from II Corinthians 4:3-4 that referring to the unsaved man
tells us:
II Corinthians 4:3-4
"But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose
minds the god of this age has blinded who do not believe, lest the light of the
gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God, should shine on them."
Can you speak for freedom when you are blind. Can you move "in and
out"? Of course not. Only if one enters by Christ's door he is really released
from the bondage of the Devil and has genuine freedom.
Finally, another thing that one finds when he passes Jesus' door is pasture.
We can understand the importance of pasture if we recall that the figure that
Jesus used was about sheep. The pasture for a sheep is what the food is for a
man. If we imagine therefore how satisfied is a sheep when it finds good
pasture we will get a picture of how much satisfied is also the man that passes
the door of Jesus Christ.
10. Jesus Christ: The good shepherd
Apart from the door of the sheep, Jesus is also the good shepherd that the
sheep (we) need. Really, John 10:11, 14-15 tells us:
For the flock to be safe it is needed to have a good shepherd that will take
care of it. Turning now to us, the question is: is there a good shepherd for our
lives i.e. someone that will take care of us as a good shepherd takes care of his
sheep? As we saw the answer is yes there is one: the Lord Jesus Christ. Really,
Jesus Christ is the good shepherd whose guidance and care we need. As he said
"The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep", and he really gave his life for
us. As Ephesians 5:2 tells us4:
Jesus proved how good he is by giving himself for us. However not only he
is good shepherd, but he is also a powerful one, a shepherd under whose
guidance we can feel safe and secure. As John 10:27-29 tells us:
4
See also Galatians 1:3-4, 2:20 and Titus 2:14
John 10:27-29
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me. And I give
them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them
out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; and
no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand."
No-one can snatch us out of our shepherd's hand, for it is God that has
given us to him as sheep, and no-one can snatch out of God's hand. Therefore,
having Jesus Christ as our shepherd we can really feel secure and safe for we
are under the protection of the mightiest One: God.
11. Conclusion
In this article we examined some of the things that Jesus Christ is. Thus we
saw that Jesus Christ is:
i) Son of God
ii) Saviour of the world
iii) Lord
iv) head of the church
v) the only way to God
vi) the only mediator between God and men
vii) the bread of life
viii) the light of life
ix) the door
x) the good shepherd
This list is in no way exhaustive. There are certainly more things that one
can find by studying the Word of God. However, those that we saw in this
article are enough I believe to show us the great importance of Jesus Christ for
us. May, as Paul prayed, we "be able to comprehend with all saints what is the
width and length and depth and height" and to know his love "which passes
knowledge" (Ephesians 3:18-19)
Tassos Kioulachoglou