Systematic Theology Series (03) - Jesus Christ

In this post, we will look at what the Bible teaching about God's Son - Jesus Christ. This post is adapted from my systematic theology book - Knowing the Doctrines of the Bible.

Jesus is God's Son:

“The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” (Mark 1:1, NRSV)

Jesus is eternal – He has always existed and will always exist. Notice that In the following passage, Jesus is referred to as “the eternal life that was with the Father”:

“We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us--” (1 John 1:1–2, NRSV)

Jesus is the one through whom God created all things:

“2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds.” (Hebrews 1:2, NRSV)

God and His Son Jesus communicate with each other.  As far back as Genesis, the Bible records God speaking with His Son about the creation of mankind:

“26 Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness…”” (Genesis 1:26, NRSV)

Who was God speaking to when He said “us”?  It must have been someone who shared His “image” since He said, “Let us make humankind in our image”.  That person is His Son Jesus Christ  Because Jesus is just like His Father, He is called “the image of God”:

“4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4, NRSV)

Jesus sustains the universe:

“3 He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word…” (Hebrews 1:3, NRSV)

Jesus became a human being and was born of the Virgin Mary. The name “Jesus” means “saviour”:

“4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,” (Galatians 4:4, NRSV)

“21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,  because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”  (which means “God with us”).” (Matthew 1:21–23, NIV)

In His earthly ministry, Jesus healed the sick, taught, and preached about the kingdom of God. 

“ 23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.” (Matthew 4:23, NRSV)

Jesus never sinned:

“15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15, NRSV)

Jesus was crucified for our sins and rose from the dead on the third day.  He ascended into heaven where He is now seated at the right hand of God:

“3 For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, 4 and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures,” (1 Corinthians 15:3–4, NRSV)

“19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.” (Mark 16:19, NRSV)

God has now made Jesus “Lord” and “Christ”.  “Lord” in this context means that He is the supreme ruler, and “Christ” (which means “anointed one”) indicates that God has anointed Him as King:

“36 Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.”” (Acts 2:36, NRSV)

Jesus is the Head of the church:

“18 He is the head of the body, the church…” (Colossians 1:18, NRSV)

Jesus prays to God for the church:

“34 Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us.” (Romans 8:34, NRSV)

Although He is Lord, Jesus is subject to God the Father:

“3 … God is the head of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:3, NRSV)

Jesus is the only means by which humanity can be saved:

“12 There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.”” (Acts 4:12, NRSV)

Jesus reveals God the Father to us:

“9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14:9, NRSV)

Jesus perfectly reveals God to us because Jesus is one with God.  We saw in the previous chapter that there is only one God: 

“4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.” (Deuteronomy 6:4, NRSV)

The Hebrew word rendered "The Lord" in this verse is God's name – “YHWH”.  In the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament (the Septuagint), “YHWH” is rendered as kyrios, which means “lord”. In the Septuagint, Deuteronomy 6:4 reads as follows:

“4 “And these are the ordinances and the judgments that the Lord commanded the children of Israel when they came out from the land of Egypt: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord [kyrios] our God, the Lord [kyrios] is one.” (Deuteronomy 6:4, LES)

Notice that God is called both "Lord (kyrios)" and "God" in this verse. This will be important as we now turn our attention to the following verse in which Paul, writing in Greek, alludes to the Septuagint's rendering of Deuteronomy 6:4:

“6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord [kyrios], Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.” (1 Corinthians 8:6, NRSV)

Paul is saying that the one being who was called both "God" and "Lord" in Deuteronomy 6:4 is God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  In other words, whilst God is one being, He is more than one person.  The Lord God is not only God the Father; He is also the Lord Jesus Christ.  As such, Jesus is referred to as "God" numerous times in the New Testament:

“In the beginning was the Word [Jesus], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1, NRSV)

“28 Thomas answered him [Jesus], “My Lord and my God!”” (John 20:28, NRSV)

“9 For in him [Jesus] the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,” (Colossians 2:9, NRSV)

“13 while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” (Titus 2:13, NRSV)

“Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:” (2 Peter 1:1, NRSV)

“20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.” (1 John 5:20, NRSV)

Both God the Father and His Son Jesus are called “God”.   As this is the case, how can it also be said that there is only one God?  The answer is that the one true God eternally exists in three persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (we will explore who the Holy Spirit is in the next post).

The concept of God as one being that exists in three persons is called “the Trinity” by Christians. This word means “tri-unity”.  Whilst no analogy is perfect, the following may prove useful: the substance water exists as liquid, ice and steam; yet all three are the same substance – water.  Even so, God exists in three persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – yet in each person, we meet the same God.  Ice is not steam, and neither ice nor steam is liquid, yet they are all water.  Similarly, the Son is not the Holy Spirit, and neither the Son nor the Holy Spirit are the Father; yet they are all God.  That the persons of the Trinity are distinct is seen vividly at Jesus’ baptism:

“16 And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”” (Matthew 3:16–17, NRSV)

Jesus the Son was baptized, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him, and the Father spoke from heaven.

Despite the numerous times that Jesus is called "God", the title "God" is primarily used for God the Father in the New Testament. This may be because the New Testament emphasizes Jesus' new role as the human that God has exalted to be King of the universe i.e. the Messiah.  Whilst Jesus remains God, He has also now become human. It is His new Messianic role as God’s chosen human that the New Testament emphasizes:

“5 For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human,” (1 Timothy 2:5, NRSV)

It is also important to note that when Jesus is called “the Son of God” it does not mean that He is the Son of the whole Trinity; it means that He is the eternal Son of God the Father.  It is an eternal relationship that has always existed within the Trinity – Jesus has always existed as the Father’s Son.
 
At no point did God become three persons – He has always existed in this way.  We have already seen that Jesus has always existed (1 John 1:1–2), and we will see the same regarding the Holy Spirit in the next chapter.

God the Father and His Son Jesus are distinct persons. Unfortunately, some have misunderstood the following passage and wrongly interpreted it to mean that Jesus Christ is God the Father:

“6 For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.” (Isaiah 9:6–7, NRSV)

One of the titles given to Jesus in this passage is “Everlasting Father”.  However, this does not mean that He is God the Father.  The passage is a prophecy about the coming Messiah who would sit as king upon “the throne of David” (v7).  In Mark 11:10, the crowd cried out:

“10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!”” (Mark 11:10, NRSV)

The Greek word translated “ancestor” in this verse literally means “father”.  David was referred to as “our father”.  Like King David, Jesus is a father to His people because He reigns over them as their king.  However, unlike David who only reigned for 40 years, Jesus reigns forever. Therefore, He is called “Everlasting Father”.  As such, this title is a reference to Jesus’ everlasting reign. It is not a reference to God the Father, who is clearly distinguished from His Son throughout the New Testament.

Because Jesus is God, He is to be worshipped, just like His Father is worshipped:

“23 so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.” (John 5:23, NRSV)

“6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”” (Hebrews 1:6, NRSV)