One of my favorite things about being on a church staff is getting to know new people. I love meeting strangers, watching them become friends, and then getting plugged into the Community of Faith family. This is so rewarding for our team, to see an individual move from visitor to attender, from attender to connected, connected to community, community to discipleship, and then discipleship to ministry. In order to do that, you have to know who they are and they have to know you.

Over the next week of these first 100 days, I want us to get to know Jesus. I want to look at who Jesus is; the person, position, provision, passion, and purpose or Christ. The gospels are the primary source for the life and teachings of Jesus, but I think John gives us the most details of His divine side. Paul also gives great detail of what we call Christology, the theology of Christ. This will be some basic information but I will give you some scripture for further reading as well.

Jesus is the eternal Son of God
John 1:2-3 tells us that Jesus was with God the Father at creation and that everything was made through him. Paul furthers that claim by expanding on his participation in creation and his eternal existence. “For by him all things were created…all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things…” (Colossians 1:16-17).  The author of Hebrews also continues this truth that both he is the Son of God and that he created the universe. He also expands on the point that He is indeed the Son of God (Hebrews 1:1-14).

Jesus is God
Colossians 2:9 gives us a unique look into his divinity. “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.”  This was Paul’s way of saying that Jesus was fully God although he was fully man. The word “deity” in the Greek (theotes, from the root word theos, God) means the nature or state of being God and this is the only place in the New Testament where it is used. Jesus also makes the claim to be God and it is ultimately the reason the Jewish leaders sought to kill him (John 5:18; 19:7).

Jesus was human
As we previously stated, Jesus was fully God and fully man. Paul elaborates on this point further in Philippians 2:6-8 where he explains that although Jesus existed in the very nature of God, he divested himself of his power and prestige to take on the nature of a man, made in human likeness. The Greek word Paul uses here to describe Jesus’ divinity and humanity is morphe, meaning the nature, form or character of something. We of course know that Jesus has physical, mental and emotional qualities. He was born like a human, grew up, got hungry, had compassion, wept, bled, and died. (You will discover more of this in your further reading.)

Knowing who Jesus is as the eternal Son of God, fully God and fully man, is of great importance for us to then understand the how and why of his sacrifice and what it means for humanity. Knowing who Jesus is gives us a greater understanding of not only his love toward humanity, but his right to grant forgiveness and eternal life.

Further Reading
Read the following verses and jot down what you learn about the person of Christ
1. Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:31, 35
2. Hebrews 7:26; 1 Peter 2:22
3. Acts 2:22; 10:38
4. 1 Corinthians 15:3, 2 Corinthians 5:21
5. Matthew 28:6; Luke 24:39; 1 Corinthians 15:4
6. Acts 1:9, 11; 2:33; Philippians 2:9-11; Hebrews 1:3

Application
1. What have you learned about who Jesus is?
2. What have you gained from your understanding?