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“We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.”

INTRODUCTION: Our message series is called Biblical Foundations, and we are looking at the seven areas of teaching that comprise our church statement of faith. These are the seven major areas of teaching in the Bible that define the essential, core beliefs of Christianity and the church. There is a whole lot of teaching in the Bible, but if you can master these seven areas, you will have a strong foundation for your faith and life as a Christian. So far, we have looked at what the Bible teaches about itself and about God. Today we come to what the Bible teaches about Jesus. (Read Romans 1:1-4 and pray.)

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There is probably no more central area of teaching in the Bible than the Bible’s teaching about Jesus Christ. The whole Bible is essentially about Jesus. The Old Testament looks forward to the coming of Christ into the world. The New Testament proclaims that Jesus Christ has come and tells us what that means. Jesus Christ is absolutely central. He is central to the Bible; he is central to Christianity; he is central to all of history. When it comes right down to it, it really is all about Jesus.

So today we will look at what the Bible tells us about Jesus. We will look first at the person of Christ: who Jesus is. And then we will look at the work of Christ: what Jesus did, what he is doing now, and what he will yet do in the future.

I. The person of Christ (who Jesus is)

We begin with the person of Christ: who Jesus is. Let’s read the first part of our statement of faith on Jesus as you find it on your outline this morning: “We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ and in His virgin birth.”

One of the most important questions you can ever answer in life is this: “Who is Jesus Christ?” Who is this man that has had such a profound influence on the rest of mankind? The enormity of Jesus’ influence on history is undeniable. Just take a look at the calendar. We divide the entire history of man into the years before and after Christ’s birth.

The poem, “One Solitary Life,” captures the incredible influence of Jesus well:

He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another obscure village where he worked in a carpenter’s shop until he was thirty. He never wrote a book, he never held an office, he never went to college, … he never traveled more than two hundred miles from the place where he was born. He did none of the things usually associated with greatness. He had no credentials but himself. He (died when he) was only thirty-three…. Twenty centuries have come and gone, and today Jesus is the central figure of the human race and the leader of mankind’s progress. All the armies that have ever marched, all the navies that have ever sailed, all the parliaments that have ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned put together have not affected the life of mankind on earth as powerfully as that one solitary life.

So, who is this man who has so greatly impacted nations and cultures and history for the past two thousand years? Most people would agree that Jesus was a good man, a powerful teacher, perhaps even a prophet sent from God. And they would all be right – but only partly right, for Jesus is all that and more. The Bible teaches, Jesus claimed, and his disciples affirmed that Jesus Christ is none other than the Son of God who became a man. Jesus is far more than just a teacher or prophet. He is both fully God and fully man.

   A. Jesus Christ is fully God (the second person of the Trinity)
      – John 1:1-2

First of all, Jesus is fully God. We won’t talk about this a lot this morning, because we discussed this in detail last time when we looked at what the Bible says about the trinity. God is one God in three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – and all three of those persons are equally God. We looked at a number of passages which clearly teach that Jesus is God, and that Jesus is equally God with the Father. For example, John 1 says this about Jesus: “In the beginning was the Word (Jesus), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning” (John 1:1-2). Jesus Christ is fully God and has been from all eternity.

   B. Jesus Christ is fully man (the incarnation)
      – Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:34-35; John 1:14

But the Bible also teaches that Jesus is fully man. John 1:14 puts it this way: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Jesus has always been God, but he was not always a human being. John says that he became flesh. He became man at a specific point in time, at a specific time in history. We celebrate the Word becoming flesh each year at Christmas. And the big, fancy theological word for this is “the incarnation.” The incarnation simply means that Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God became a man. The Word who in the beginning was with God and was God became flesh.

How did God do this? How could God become a man? Of course, it is a mystery and a miracle beyond our understanding, but the Scriptures give us some clues as to the process. The gospel of Matthew tells us that Mary the mother of Jesus “was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 1:18). Mary was still a virgin when she conceived and gave birth to Jesus. She was pledged to be married to Joseph, but they were not yet married, and they had not yet come together as husband and wife.

So how does a virgin conceive and give birth to a baby? Mary asked the same question when God first told her that she would give birth to a son. We read in the gospel of Luke: “How will this be,” Mary asked, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:34-35). Mary had no physical union with anyone to produce her child. The conception of Jesus Christ was a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit.

And so, Jesus was miraculously conceived in Mary’s womb. But apart from the miracle surrounding his conception, physically Jesus grew and developed in the womb just as any other human baby grows and develops in the mother’s womb. When the nine months were almost at an end, Mary, just like any other human mother, was “great with child.” When Mary gave birth to Jesus, it was just like any other human birth – well, aside from the fact that Jesus’ birth was heralded with angels and had been prophesied for centuries. The point is this: Jesus did not just suddenly appear one day as a fully grown human being. God could have done it that way. Adam and Eve were created as fully human adults. But if God had done it that way, people would have had reason to doubt whether Jesus was truly human.

God made sure that Jesus from the very moment following conception followed the same path as all humans do. He developed in the womb; he was born as a baby; he grew to be a man. Jesus was fully and truly human. He was just as human as you and I are. And yet he was also fully God. He wasn’t part God and part man. He was fully both. He became fully man without ceasing at the same time to be fully God.

This is the miracle of the incarnation. This is who Jesus is. And this is so important, because unless you understand who Jesus is, you will never understand what he did. This is because what Jesus did could only be done by one who was both fully God and fully man. Or, to put it another way, the work of Christ is inseparably tied to the person of Christ.

II. The work of Christ (what Jesus did)

So let us turn our attention now to the work of Christ where we consider what Jesus did. Here our statement of faith highlights six things Jesus did (or will do).

   A. He lived a perfect, sinless life
      – John 8:29,46 14:31, 15:10; Hebrews 7:26-27; 1 Peter 2:22; 1 John 2:1, 3:5

First of all, he lived a perfect, sinless life in complete obedience to God the Father. Jesus said in John 8 concerning his Father: “I always do what pleases him” (John 8:29). On the last night of Jesus’ life, the night before he was crucified, Jesus said: “The world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me,” and, “I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love” (John 14:31, 15:10).

In the book of 1 Peter the apostle Peter quotes the prophet Isaiah concerning Christ: “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth” (1 Peter 2:22) The book of 1 John calls him “Jesus Christ, the Righteous One,” and says: “He appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin” (1 John 2:1, 3:5).

Jesus asked the Jews of his day: “Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?” (John 8:46). How comfortable would you feel asking that question in a public setting? I’m not going there. It wouldn’t take a whole lot to prove any one of us guilty of sin. But no one was able to bring a valid charge against Jesus. In fact, at Jesus’ trial the prosecution had to rely on false witnesses and false testimony in order to bring a case against him.

On the very last day of Jesus’ life, the day he was crucified, all of the following testified to Jesus’ innocence: Judas, who had betrayed him; Pilate, who had Jesus flogged and crucified; Pilate’s wife, who had a dream about Jesus; the repentant thief on the cross, who said of Jesus, “This man has done nothing wrong”; and the centurion who proclaimed: “Surely this was a righteous man. Surely this was the Son of God” (Matt. 27:4,19,23-24,54; Luke 23:41,47). All of these testified to Jesus’ innocence.

Why is it important that Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life? Because only one who is sinless could ever die for someone else’s sin. Listen to Hebrews 7 which speaks of Jesus as our great, high priest: “Such a high priest meets our need — one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself” (Heb. 7:26-27).

No one else could die for another person’s sin, because everyone else would have to die for their own sins first. Only Jesus who was sinless himself could die for our sins. What did Jesus do? First, he lived a perfect, sinless life.

   B. He worked miracles to demonstrate that he came from God
      – Acts 2:22; John 10:37-38, 14:11

Secondly, he worked miracles to demonstrate that he came from God. Jesus worked many miracles involving a wide range of powers. He healed people; he cast out demons; he worked miracles over nature, food and drink; and he raised people from the dead – including the biggest miracle of all, his own resurrection from the dead (we’ll say more on that one in just a moment).

Not only that, but Jesus’ miracles were not limited to a select audience of believers. His miracles were part of his public ministry. They were done openly in plain view of many witnesses – believers and non-believers alike. Jesus’ enemies never denied that he did miracles. Instead, they either blamed Satan (Matt. 12:24), or they tried to get rid of the evidence (John 12:9-11).

All these miracles demonstrated that Jesus indeed came from God. As the apostle Peter said to his fellow Israelites in Acts 2: “Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know” (Acts 2:22).

Jesus specifically pointed to his miracles as evidence that he had come from God. In John 10 Jesus said to those who did not believe him: “Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father” (John 10:37-38). In John 14 Jesus said to his disciples: “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves” (John 14:11).

That’s the second part of our statement on what Jesus did. He worked miracles to demonstrate that he came from God.

   C. He died on the cross to pay the penalty for sin
      – Isaiah 53:6; 1 Peter 3:18

Thirdly, Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for sin. The next part of our statement of faith speaks of his “vicarious and atoning death through his shed blood.” The key words here are vicarious and atoning, so let’s talk about each of those.

The word “vicarious” simply means “in place of” – in other words, Jesus died in our place. Isaiah 53:6 says: “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Is. 53:6). We were the ones who sinned, but God laid all our sins on Jesus. Jesus died as a substitute in our place.

1 Peter 3:18 says: “Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (1 Pet. 3:18). Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, died in the place of lost, rebellious sinners. The Father sent the Son, and Jesus the Son voluntarily died on the cross to pay the penalty for sin. That’s what the word “vicarious” means.

And then we need to look at the word “atoning.” The word “atone” means “to remove wrath or anger.” For example, let’s suppose that one of you forgot to get your sweetheart a gift for Valentine’s Day. And let’s suppose that said sweetheart was not happy about this oversight. Let’s say that person was me. No, just kidding. I actually remembered this year. But let’s say that person was you. And let’s suppose in order to make things right, you surprised her the next day with a beautiful bouquet of flowers, a romantic card, and then whisked her off to a fancy restaurant where a candlelight dinner was awaiting your arrival. What would you be trying to do? You would be trying to “atone” for your mistake of forgetting, and if you were successful in your atonement, then your sweetheart would no longer be angry with you.

That’s what the Bible means when it speaks about “atonement,” although of course the situation in the Bible is much more serious. God is justly and rightly angry with us because of our sins. God is a holy God and must punish sin. But God also loves us, and so he sent his Son for us. When Jesus died on the cross, he atoned for our sins. He paid the penalty and removed God’s wrath from us. He satisfied God’s justice and accomplished salvation for all who trust in him.

Once again, the person of Christ is essential to the work of Christ. Jesus could not have done what he did, if he had not been who he was. Jesus was fully God and fully man. Only as man could he die. Only as God could he die for our sins.

   D. He rose from the dead victorious over sin and death
      – Romans 1:4, 6:5; Hebrews 7:24-25

The next part of our statement speaks of Jesus’ bodily resurrection. Jesus died for our sins, but he did not stay dead. He rose again on the third day. It was the same body he had lived and died in. And yet it was different, for it was his resurrected and glorified body, no longer subject to death. We could speak forever about the resurrection, and one day in heaven we will, but let me just say three things about the resurrection for now.
First, the resurrection proves that Jesus is the Son of God. Romans 1:4 says that Jesus “was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead” (Rom. 1:4).

Secondly, because Christ rose from the dead, we who believe in Christ will also rise from the dead. Romans 6:5 says: “If we have been united with him . . . in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection” (Rom. 6:5). We will receive a glorified, resurrected body like Christ’s and live forever with him in glory. If you want to learn more about what your resurrected body will be like, go home this afternoon and read 1 Corinthians 15. It is awesome.

Thirdly, the fact of Christ’s resurrection means that we serve a living Savior. Hebrews 7:23 speaks about how the priests in the Old Testament were not able to continue in their priestly office … because they died. But then verse 24 continues: “Because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them” (Heb. 7:24-25).

Jesus is alive, and he lives forever. We do not follow the teachings of a dead and departed master. We serve the living Christ who rose from the dead victorious over sin and death.

   E. He ascended into heaven and will come again
      – Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:16

The final part of our statement speaks of Jesus’ ascension to the right hand of the Father, and his personal return in power and glory. When Jesus rose from the dead, he appeared to his followers over a period of forty days. After this time, he met his disciples at a mountain in Galilee, gave his final instructions, and then ascended to heaven personally and visibly before their eyes.

The book of Acts tells us: “He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven’” (Acts 1:9-11).

Jesus Christ will come back the same way he ascended into heaven. He ascended personally, and his return will also be personal. The angels said, “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back.” Notice that his return will also be visible. The angels said, “He will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” The book of 1 Thessalonians says that “the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God” (1 Thess. 4:16).

Jesus ascended into heaven, and he will come again. Notice that our statement of faith doesn’t say when Jesus will return or specify the details. That’s because Christians hold to various views on Christ’s return as we do our best to understand God’s word in this area. In our statement of faith, we are seeking to find the common ground, the things that all Christians who believe the Bible can agree on together. We may not all agree on details concerning the tribulation or the millennium, but we can all agree that Jesus ascended into heaven and is coming again.

(Just as a side note, my personal favorite eschatology comes from a woman who was asked what she believed about the end times and simply said, “He’s coming, and I’m going!” If you’ve got that part right, you should be all set!)

CONCLUSION: We said earlier that one of the most important questions you can ever answer in life is this: “Who is Jesus Christ?” We have seen from the Bible that Jesus is more than just a good man, or a teacher or a prophet. He is the eternal Son of God who came into our world as a true human being. He became fully man without ceasing to be fully God.

The next most important question you can answer is this: “What did Jesus do?” We have seen that what Christ did, he could only do because of who he is. Jesus, who was fully God and fully man, lived a perfect, sinless life. He worked miracles to demonstrate that he came from God. He died on the cross to pay the penalty for sin. He rose from the dead victorious over sin and death. He ascended into heaven and will come again.

But there is a third question that is just as important as the first two and follows logically from them. Once you have answered the questions: “Who is Jesus?” and “What did Jesus do?” the next question is obvious: “What will you do with Jesus?”

Jesus is the eternal Son of God who voluntarily became man so that he could die on the cross for sin. He rose from the dead, ascended into heaven and is coming back again. No one knows the hour or the day of his return, and many will not be ready for him. In the meantime, God calls people everywhere to turn from their sin and to put their faith in his Son. Jesus is the Son of God. He died for you. Will you put your faith and trust in him?

© Ray Fowler

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Click here for more messages from the Biblical Foundations series.
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