Jesus – the Name above all other names. No other name has inspired and evoked greater adoration, worship, devotion and reverence than the name Jesus. On the flip side of the same coin, no other name has ignited greater controversy than the name Jesus. The controversy over who Jesus was, is, and is to come began 2000 years ago and continues to this day. Everyone has an opinion about Jesus, but the most important question is, “Who do you say that He is?”
Everyone has an opinion about Jesus, but the most important question is, “Who do you say that He is?”
When I tell people about Jesus, I want to make sure that I include four key elements of who Jesus was, is, and is to come. They include the reality that Jesus is 100% God and 100% man, that He demonstrated God’s perfect love by dying on the cross for your sins, and that He is the living God who rose from the dead just as the Scriptures foretold and He is sitting at the right hand of the Father in honor and power.
Jesus is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15). That means when you think about whom God is, you don’t have to play guessing games. You can look directly to Jesus to find your answers. As we’re talking about who God is we must turn to the complete revelation of the God of the Bible. The most complete revelation of God the world has seen is Jesus Christ. The author of Hebrews says that “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature (Heb 1:3). In other words, Jesus is the exegesis of God. And with the incarnation of Jesus Christ, God literally became a man, God became flesh, He took on a human nature. The second member of the Trinity, the Son, did all of this while keeping all the attributes of deity. Jesus Christ assumed full humanity in order to save you and me. For those who have repented of rebellion against your Creator, that is our God and aren’t you glad that He is, or else we would still be dead in our sins.
God reveals himself to everyone everywhere through general revelation, which includes creation and conscience. In general revelation, God has made known his power and divine nature, wisdom, majesty, justice, and goodness.
God has supremely revealed himself to fallen humans through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It’s only through special revelation, God’s gracious self-revelation in Jesus, that any of us comes to a saving and transforming knowledge of God.
Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and humanity.
Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and humanity. Because God is holy and all humans are sinful and sinners, we need a Savior who mediates between us and God. Religious rituals do not mediate between us and God—neither do the good works we do. Nobody else, except the God-man, Jesus Christ, serves as our mediator to God. There is no other name by which a person can be saved other than the name Jesus (Acts 4:12). Jesus intercedes on our behalf and his sacrifice alone is sufficient to atone for sin.
Jeff is a disciple of Christ, a husband, a daddy, and serves as senior pastor of Newark Community Church, in beautiful Newark, CA.
