Teaching Guidelines:
- Even though there is a lot of content in this topic, some parts could be skipped based on the needs of the truth seekers, with the goal of completing this topic in one to two sessions.
- The goal of this class is to help truth seekers understand the essence, virtues, and greatness of the one true God and His existence and understand who Jesus is and what He has done.
- If possible, please prepare a personal testimony to share about how God has been present in your life.
Presentation slides:
▶️ Slides on Jesus the True God for use in class
Does God Exist?
The Bible tells us that the almighty and loving God created and rules over all things. But if we cannot see Him, how can we know if this God actually exists? The truth is, no one can empirically prove God’s existence. This inability is due to the limitations of human capacity. A finite human being cannot reproduce the infinite God in a laboratory or observe Him through a physical instrument. But belief in God is not blind faith. God makes Himself accessible to us in many ways, and it is possible for us to know that He is real.
Creation
First, we can know that God exists from the existence of the universe and living organisms, including human beings.
For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. (Hebrews 3:4)
If you are in the middle of a jungle and come upon a beautiful mansion, even though you don’t know who built the mansion, you automatically assume that someone had built it. It would be absurd to even think that the mansion could have erected itself. By the same token, when we see the myriads of carefully crafted things in this universe, we know that there is a master Builder.
Scientists have shown that the universe as we know it, including space, time, matter, and energy, had a beginning. By means of a vast amount of energy the universe continued to expand. This is often known as the Big Bang. The fact that the universe had a beginning is a strong indication that there is a Creator who brought everything into existence, because all finite things have a cause. They don’t appear out of nothing.
The Big Bang was not a random explosion. In this immense cosmos, which scientists estimate to be 92 billion light years in diameter, things have been carefully fine-tuned to sustain life on planet Earth. Many constants of nature had to come together in perfect precision for physical life to be possible. For example, if the strength of gravity were a fraction of a percent stronger or weaker, there wouldn’t have been stars and planets. This was certainly not a coincidence.
On the molecular level, scientists have discovered that very complex mechanisms are at work in a single cell. Highly specified information has been coded into the DNA to dictate how the protein performs certain functions within the cell. This information is like the signature of a highly intelligent designer. Such phenomena just cannot be explained by blind chance.
So it takes far greater faith to believe that everything we see, including human beings, is the product of pure coincidence, than to believe that there is an infinite God who created all things.
For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (Romans 1:19–20)
The Creation is the best testimony to the power, wisdom, and love of God. Man has also been given the capacity to know God the Creator. To reject God is to suppress the truth that has been clearly displayed before us.
Moral Law
All human beings have an inward sense of right and wrong. When reading a novel or watching a movie, we all want good to triumph over evil. Whenever we make a judgment about whether a behavior is good or bad, we appeal to a universal higher moral standard. If all moral decisions are relative, then there would be no such thing as good or evil.
For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them (Romans 2:14–15)
The Bible explains that even those who have not learned the written law of the Holy Scriptures have the law written on their hearts. God has given this natural ability to man. The conscience within each one of us testifies to this inward law as well as to God the lawgiver.
Religion
One thing that sets human beings apart from all other living organisms is human beings’ innate desire to seek God and find meaning in life. Whereas you would never find a group of monkeys gathering to pray or worship, religion has thrived throughout human history and in every corner of the world, even in the most primitive societies. We know that without God, our existence would have absolutely no meaning. We would merely be walking molecules and a cosmic accident. All such values as love, wisdom, and dignity would be an illusion. What instilled in us this inward urge to reach beyond ourselves to search for a higher purpose?
And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, (Acts 17:26–27)
According to the Bible, God created the entire human race and He governs the life of each individual in such a way that man is born with the urge to seek Him. Such a spiritual need within us is a powerful testimony of the existence of God the Creator.
Miracles
The Bible teaches that God not only made all things, He is also personally involved in His creation. He acts in history and in the lives of people to accomplish His purpose. Such divine interventions are called signs or miracles.
Many people have cried out to God for help or followed the teachings of the Bible and experienced miraculous outcomes that couldn’t be explained by mere coincidence. Problems were solved; sicknesses were healed; hearts were changed; and even the dead were restored to life. Many believers in the True Jesus Church would be able to share such personal testimonies.
Perhaps the surest evidence for God is when you personally experience God. One way is to pray to God for the promised Holy Spirit.
Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. (Acts 2:33)
Receiving the Holy Spirit is an extraordinary experience that can be seen and heard outwardly. When God pours out His Holy Spirit on a person, the person is given the ability to communicate with God in a miraculous way. He is led by God’s Spirit to speak in a supernatural language with his tongue. It is not a language that is learned or taught, but is given to us when we receive the Holy Spirit. This is one of the most direct ways to experience God. Jesus promises that those who believe in Him and ask Him will receive the Holy Spirit. Throughout the True Jesus Church worldwide, we can observe this miraculous experience.
Who Is God?
Who is God? What is His relationship to human beings? The Bible holds answers to these questions, because God reveals Himself to us through the words of the Bible.
Creator
“You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you.” (Nehemiah 9:6)
Everything in this universe, from the tiny atom to the enormous galaxy, from a single cell to the most complex organism, testifies to the existence of an infinitely intelligent designer.
This designer is God. At His word, the sun, the moon, and the stars came into being; and by His command, oceans, mountains, and rivers were formed.
God is also the giver of life. He created fishes, birds, land animals, insects, and plants. Most importantly, He made human beings in His image. We are created to carry the divine nature of our Creator and share His glory. And yet, many of us have failed to acknowledge the Maker of all things and to live up to God’s expectations of His children.
If you are willing to return to the God who has made you and entrust your life to Him, He will create a new heart within you today so that you may become a new person and lead a new and meaningful life.
Ruler
For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! (Psalm 95:3–6)
The God who created the universe also rules His creation with His sovereign power. God’s universal and unchanging laws are seen from the microscopic to the astronomical realms. Through these laws, God sustains and holds together all things.
God rules over living things as well. His providence and care keep the entire ecosystem in a balanced structure; the existence of all species is always mutually supportive under His divine guidance. God supplies sufficient air, sends rain from heaven, and gives sunlight to maintain the food chain.
Today, God also rules in the hearts of those who believe and trust in Him—not by force, but with love. Believers who obey God’s rule find guidance in life and assurance of eternal bliss. It is the duty of Christians to proclaim God’s Kingdom until the King of kings ultimately reigns over all nations and peoples with justice and righteousness. Then, He will receive all praises and exaltation as He deserves.
Savior
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6–8)
Who would ever have imagined that the glorious God in heaven, surrounded by thousands upon thousands of angels, would humbly take the form of a human being, born in a manger and brought up in a carpenter's home?
Jesus, who is God in the flesh, came to this world to preach the love and mercy of God and His Kingdom; He healed the sick, freed the demon-possessed, and comforted the destitute.
Despite His many compassionate deeds, Jesus was slandered, envied, and scorned; He was arrested, mocked, spit at, whipped, and finally nailed to the cross. For our many transgressions, the Lord Jesus suffered the agony of crucifixion and tasted the bitterness of God’s rejection. But He rose on the third day, boasting victory over sin and death, and completing His work of salvation for humankind.
The salvation that the Lord Jesus brought to us fully manifests the immense love of God. It is by His self-sacrifice that we are spared the eternal punishment in hell. It is through His death that we have a chance to return to God and a hope of everlasting life in the joyous and glorious heavenly Kingdom.
Judge
But the Lord sits enthroned forever;he has established his throne for justice,and he judges the world with righteousness;he judges the peoples with uprightness. (Psalm 9:7-8)
God’s mercy doesn’t nullify His justice. Although God readily pardons sinners who truly repent and turn from their evil, He does not leave evildoers unpunished.
Justice often seems obscured in a world filled with fraud, greed, oppression, and hatred. The absence of immediate reward and punishment makes us question the existence of an all-knowing Judge in heaven.
But God has promised in the Bible that justice will eventually prevail. The Lord Jesus will come one day as the Judge of the whole earth to repay everyone according to his deeds and reveal every sinful thought in his heart. He will also condemn those who refused to accept His salvation but reward the righteous with honor, glory, and eternal life.
God’s Essence and Nature
Through the Bible, God reveals to us who He is and what He is like using words that we can understand and relate to. We can look at some Bible passages that teach us about God’s essence and nature. From these passages we can also learn what His essence and nature mean to us.
God Is Spirit
“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24)
God is Spirit. Unlike an idol, He is not a physical object confined to one place. Worshipping Him, therefore, needs to be done by means of the spirit. This means that worshipping God is not simply having an outward form of piety. We need to seek Him out of a sincere heart. Even though we do not see Him and cannot touch Him, by faith we may come before God and experience His presence in our lives.
We also need to humbly submit to the guidance of God’s Spirit and truth. By inviting God’s Spirit to dwell in our hearts, we can establish a much closer and intimate connection with God.
God Is One
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” (Deuteronomy 6:4)
The LORD, the God whom the Israelites believed and worshipped, is one. This was God’s self-revelation to His people as well as the basic tenet of faith for the Israelites. The confession that the LORD God is one is lived out in total, undivided dedication to Him:
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (Deuteronomy 6:5)
God spoke to His people repeatedly through the prophet Isaiah to assure them that He alone is God:
Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.” (Isaiah 44:6)
Because God is the only Creator, King, and Savior, we can put our complete trust in Him, knowing that the God who is above all loves us and watches over us.
God Is Eternal
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. (Psalm 90:2)
God exists beyond the confines of time. He was before all creation and He will forever be God. We as finite and short-lived creatures can find meaning only in our eternal Creator.
God Is Invisible and Immortal
who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. (1 Timothy 6:16)
In our present state of physical existence, we are very limited in what we can experience. Therefore, no one is able to see God. His existence far transcends this created realm. We must humbly render to our infinite and eternal God all glory and honor. The Bible does promise, however, that all who serve God shall see God face to face one day. Their corruptible existence will also be transformed into immortality.
So far we have looked at passages in the Bible that tell us about who God is in His transcendent existence. Now, we will continue to look at some passages that speak about God’s essence in terms of His interactions with human beings.
God Is Omnipotent
“‘Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.’” (Jeremiah 32:17)
The Bible teaches that God is almighty. Nothing is too difficult for Him, but with Him, all things are possible. As children of God, we can depend on Him completely, especially in the face of insurmountable difficulties. No problem is too big for God.
God Is Omnipresent
“Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 23:23–24)
Our God is so great that even the highest heaven cannot contain Him. He is beyond the confines of space. Wherever we may be, we may call on Him and He would be there to answer us.
God Is Omniscient
“The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.” (Proverbs 15:3)
God has perfect knowledge of the ways of man, to reward each one according to his works. He even sees our thoughts and the intent of our hearts. He also knows the future as well as directs the course of future events. Nothing is beyond the reach of God’s all-pervasive wisdom and understanding.
God Is Unchanging
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)
The Bible tells us that God is the same. With Him there is no variation or shadow due to change. This does not mean that God is static and unresponsive. Rather, God is unchanging in the sense that He is forever trustworthy and faithful to His words.
God Is Sovereign
“remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’“ (Isaiah 46:9–10)
As the sovereign ruler over all creation, God reigns in the kingdoms of men. Every event under heaven is within His control. He does all things according to His will. Not only can we entrust our lives to Him, we are to also humbly seek His guidance in our lives and obey His will.
God Is “I AM”
God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:14)
Moses, the servant of God chosen to lead the Israelites, asked the LORD what he should answer the Israelites if they demand to know who had sent Moses to them. God revealed His identity as “I AM WHO I AM.” This self-revelation of God effectively sums up the many qualities and attributes of God that we have looked at so far. In essence, God is simply who He is. There is none that may be compared to God, whether in terms of His eternal self-existence, His power, or His all-pervasive presence. He alone is worthy of all the glory, might, thanks, and praise.
The above qualities are generally unique to God. Now, we will look at attributes of God that He wants His children to also imitate and develop.
God Is Holy
“Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the Lord our God is holy!” (Psalm 99:9)
The basic meaning of “holy” is “set apart.” When God declares in the Bible that He is holy, it means that He is set apart from His creation in His essence. He is high above all things, and is worthy of our praise and honor. He is the absolute, perfect standard against which everything is measured. Whatever He deems to be displeasing to Him is unclean or sinful, and He would have no part in it.
As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:14–16)
Not only is God Himself holy, He wants us to be holy, too. As worshippers of God, we need to measure our thoughts and actions by God’s values and learn to live in obedience to God. Then we may be considered true children of God.
God Is Just and Righteous
For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. (Isaiah 30:18)
Not only has God established order and laws, He also adheres to His own moral standard. We can always trust that He is good and upright. Therefore the Bible calls God a just and righteous God.
As the Judge of all the earth, God rewards each person according to his works. Although for a time an evil-doer may prosper, God will ultimately repay everyone with perfect justice.
He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. (Romans 2:6–8)
God Is True and Faithful
But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation. (Jeremiah 10:10)
God is known in the Bible as the true and living God. He is true in the sense that He alone is the Creator and King over all creation. Because He is the only almighty and everlasting God, we can trust in Him fully to govern and direct our lives.
Furthermore, God is faithful. He is true to His words, and He cannot lie. He brings to pass everything He has spoken, and not a word ever fails. Because of His enduring faithfulness we can always believe in His promises.
These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace; (Zechariah 8:16)
God desires to see the quality of truthfulness and faithfulness in His people. In both our speech and our conduct, we ought to be trustworthy.
“But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” (John 3:21)
Being truthful extends beyond our relationship with fellow human beings. We also need to be true to God by faithfully following His words. If we walk in the truth, we can see the light of God and experience His guidance.
God Is Loving
“The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” (Psalm 103:8)
One manifestation of God’s faithfulness is His unfailing love. While God is perfectly just and does not tolerate sin, He is not quick to punish us when we disobey Him. Instead, He is compassionate and forbearing. He gives us many second chances to turn back to Him.
In the Bible, we see that the people God had chosen time and again rebelled against Him. Yet for the sake of His promises to them He showed them mercy. Even when He had no other resort but to punish them for their evil deeds, He still had mercy on them and offered to forgive them.
Likewise, God loves us despite our disobedience.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
God loves us by giving us His beloved Son to pay the price of our sins so that we may be reconciled with God. There is no greater love than this.
The Bible tells us, “God is love.” He is the source of love and our prime example of love. He inspires us to love others as ourselves just as He has loved us.
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. (1 John 4:7–12)
Jesus, the Most Extraordinary Man
Jesus was a man who lived in Israel about 2,000 years ago. Most of what can be known about Him is recorded in the Bible. His teachings, works, death, and resurrection had a profound and lasting effect on the world through the centuries.
Birth and Childhood
Jesus had a most extraordinary birth. His birth was announced by angels. He was conceived through the Spirit of God and born of Mary while she was still a virgin. There was no place for the baby in the inn so they placed Him in a manger. Wise men from the east saw a star that revealed to them the birth of the king of the Jews. They traveled to Bethlehem to worship Him.
Little is written about Jesus’ childhood. But we do know that He grew up as the son of a carpenter and led the life of a commoner. His wisdom at the age of 12 startled the rabbis at the temple. It was clear to His parents that He was no ordinary child, yet He submitted to them as an obedient son.
Public Ministry
And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. (Matthew 4:23)
Jesus’s ministry in this world consisted of teaching, proclaiming the gospel, and healing.
He taught the people to know God and His ways. He spoke many things pertaining to our relationship with God and with each other, including sin, judgment, repentance, prayer, forgiveness, suffering, compassion, faith, and humility. He showed us that what God desires is not a superficial religion but a life that comes from a heart of obedience. He helped us return to the spirit of God’s law, stressing love and mercy toward our neighbors. He used stories that are called parables, such as the parable of the Good Samaritan and the parable of the lost son, to reveal to us the heart of God. His teachings demand the highest moral standard and yet are so practical for daily living. Unlike the scribes in His days, Jesus taught with authority, and crowds followed Him to hear His teachings.
Jesus also proclaimed the good news of eternal life. He Himself was the gift of God’s love to the world. His name, Jesus, means “the LORD saves.” He came to this world to be our ransom and deliver us from our sins. He declared that He was the source of life. He would fill the spiritual hunger and quench the spiritual thirst of anyone who comes to Him. He promised that those who trust in Him will not be condemned but will have everlasting life. On the last day they will be raised to life. He told the people that He had come to seek those who are lost. That’s why He mingled with the people society despised, such as tax collectors and prostitutes, that they may have the chance to return to God and turn from their sins.
Besides teaching and preaching, Jesus also healed the sick. As a visible demonstration of His mission to deliver the people of this world, Jesus healed all kinds of diseases and freed the demon-possessed wherever He went. He opened the eyes of the blind, made the lame walk, gave speech to the mute, cured the leprous, and even raised the dead back to life. He was not only full of God’s power but also had great compassion for the people. He touched the untouchable and gave hope to the hopeless. Through His healing touch people could feel the love of God and their lives were transformed.
Conduct and Character
Jesus did not merely bring us a set of ideals, but He exemplified His teachings and message with His own life. In Him we see the holiness of God, for His words and conduct were perfectly pure and without sin. At the same time, He manifested the love and mercy of God. He forgave sinners and those who persecuted Him. He sacrificed His time, energy, and finally, His own life to meet the needs of others. His words were full of wisdom and authority, and yet carried grace and reassurance. He was brave before His adversaries but meek and gentle with all men. He showed no partiality, but cared especially for the weak and the despised. He taught the most lofty morals but served as the lowest of slaves. No one else has ever fully embodied the perfection of God.
Influence
Paul, one of Jesus’s disciples, used to be a persecutor of Christians. But after he came to know Jesus, he gave his whole life to preach about Jesus. He writes,
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
Many followers of Jesus can testify how He had transformed their lives. Since the founding of Christianity countless believers have lived and died for the One whom they called Savior. Like Paul, they have been compelled by Jesus’s selfless love to vouch for Him and preach His name.
James Francis, who lived in the 1900’s, had this to say about Jesus:
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
Jesus has changed history and brought lasting joy, hope, and peace into the lives of people down through the centuries. I invite you to come and know this most extraordinary man. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, lived in this world, died on the cross, and was raised to life. He continues to live today. He has come to give us life. In Him you will find abundant life and life everlasting.
Jesus, the Son of God
What sets Jesus apart from all other human beings is that He was not only man, but also God. The Bible tells us that God became man, and He did so in order to save mankind from sin.
According to John chapter 1, Jesus is called “the Word.” He is the eternal God and the Creator who revealed Himself to the world by coming in the flesh.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)
All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. (John 1:3)
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only begotten Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)
No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known. (John 1:18)
For this reason, Jesus was called the Son of God. This is a designation unique to Jesus. It means that He had come from God and was the manifestation of God in the flesh. So Jesus said, “’Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.’” (John 14:9) He also said, “’I and the Father are one’” (John 10:30). It was for this very reason that the Jews accused Him of blasphemy, because by these words Jesus was claiming to be God.
Jesus also made many authoritative statements about His identity. Here are some examples:
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.” (John 6:51)
“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25–26)
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
These words of Jesus, if true, were statements and promises that only God can make. He was telling the world that He is the only way to God and whoever believes in Him will have everlasting life.
How can we trust Jesus’s claim that He is God? Can we accept the confession of His disciples that He is the Son of God? We will now look at the evidence that the Bible presents to show that Jesus was in fact the Son of God.
His Birth
Jesus’s birth was most extraordinary. Mary, who had been betrothed to Joseph, was found to be with child before they came together. When Joseph learned about it and was planning to break the betrothal, an angel of the Lord appeared to Him and told Him that the child that was conceived in her was from the Holy Spirit. The angel Gabriel had also appeared to Mary to foretell the virgin birth:
And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. (Luke 1:35)
Since Jesus was God in the flesh, He was not born through human antecedents but was conceived through the Holy Spirit of God. More than seven hundred years before Christ God had already announced this unprecedented divine entrance into the world:
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)
Jesus’s birth was the fulfillment of this prophecy. This was something humanly impossible. It demonstrates that He is the Immanuel which means “God with us.” He is God who had become flesh to dwell among human beings.
His Perfection
“For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,” (Colossians 2:9)
Being God in the flesh, Jesus was the complete embodiment of God.
“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature,” (Hebrews 1:3)
God’s divine nature is seen clearly in the man Jesus. He was blameless in His words and actions. The Bible tells us that He was tempted in every way but was without sin. Those who envied Him kept trying to find fault with Him but they could not. Before His opponents Jesus asked,
“Which one of you convicts me of sin?” (John 8:46)
Not only was Jesus sinless, God’s perfect holiness, justice, mercy, and compassion radiated through Him. His holiness made people aware of their sinfulness, but His love drew sinners to Him to find forgiveness. No other human being could exhibit God’s qualities as fully as Jesus.
His Miracles
The Gospel accounts are full of stories of Jesus performing miracles. His divine power testified to the fact that He was the Son of God.
As mentioned in the previous section, Jesus healed all kinds of sicknesses and freed the demon-possessed wherever He went. He even brought the dead to life, demonstrating that He is the Lord of life.
He exercised His authority over nature. He calmed the storm, changed water into wine, and walked on the sea. He fed multitudes of thousands with just a few loaves of bread and fish. Jesus’s disciples could not catch any fish all night, but at His command, they let down their net and caught a full net of fish.
Jesus also possessed transcendent knowledge. Even before His follower Nathanael met Him, He already saw what Nathanael had been doing. He knew the thoughts of the scribes who questioned Him in their hearts. He accurately foretold His own sufferings and death. He understood the repentant heart of Zacchaeus the tax collector and brought him hope and forgiveness.
The Bible tells us that the deeds of Jesus were so many that if every one of them were to be written, even the whole world could not contain the books that would be written. The miracles He performed not only helped those who were in need, but they also show the world that He is the Son of God. In another section, we will look at the greatest sign that Jesus performed—His resurrection from the dead. Because He is risen from the dead, we can personally touch the living Savior today. Jesus’s many signs and miracles, including His ultimate sign of resurrection, convince us that He is the Son of God whom we may put our trust in.
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30–31)
Jesus was not only a good man or an exemplary moral teacher. He is the true and living God and the only Savior of the world. As we come before Jesus, we need to make a choice. He presents this choice to us clearly in the Bible. Whoever trusts in Him will have everlasting life. But whoever rejects Him stands condemned and will die in sin.
Jesus’s Suffering and Death
When Jesus was in the world, He was clearly aware of His mission, which was to save mankind from sin. To accomplish this mission, He must lay down His life. He told His disciples,
“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)
Jesus explained the two-fold purpose of His coming into this world: to serve and to give His life as a ransom.
To Serve
Jesus is the Creator and the King over all creation. But when He came in the flesh as a man, He humbled Himself and took on the form of a servant. He was born in a manger and lived a lowly life. Jesus owned the whole world, yet He became poor for us:
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9)
Jesus gave up a life of comfort in order to preach the good news of the kingdom of God and heal the sick. He said to someone who wished to become His disciple:
“Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. (Luke 9:58)
The term “Son of Man” was Jesus’s way of referring to Himself. It indicates the fact that He was a man like us, and it was associated with His lowliness and suffering.
In order to carry out His ministry, Jesus also suffered rejection, envy, hatred, and accusations. He fulfilled the prophecy about the suffering servant in the book of Isaiah.
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isaiah 53:3)
Because of Jesus’s sufferings, He can fully relate to our sufferings and sympathize with us. He knows and understands our grief and our pain.
To Give His Life
Jesus’s sufferings culminated on the cross, on which He gave His own life for mankind. From the beginning of His ministry Jesus knew that He must suffer and die on the cross to accomplish salvation. He declared,
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. (John 3:14–15)
By being lifted up Jesus meant that He would be hung on the cross and that He would eventually resurrect and receive glory. The purpose for His death on the cross is so that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.
After about three years of public ministry, when the time came for Jesus to carry out His mission, He resolutely journeyed to Jerusalem. He foretold His death to His disciples:
“See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.” (Matthew 20:18–19)
As Jesus predicted, one of His disciples betrayed Him and made arrangements with the religious authorities to arrest Jesus. Jesus, facing the agony that He was about to endure on the cross, prayed with loud cries in the Garden of Gethsemane.
And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (Luke 22:41–44)
On the night of the Jewish Passover, Judas, the disciple of Jesus who betrayed Him, brought with him a great multitude with swords and clubs to arrest Jesus. In obedience to the will of the heavenly Father, Jesus surrendered Himself to His enemies. The Jewish council produced false witnesses to bring charges against Jesus and condemned Jesus to death. They brought Jesus to the Roman governor Pilate to have Him executed. Pilate questioned Jesus and could not find any fault in Jesus. But because of the intense pressures from the Jews and their leaders, Pilate gave in to their wishes. He washed his hands to declare that he had no part in shedding the blood of an innocent man. Then Pilate ordered that Jesus be executed.
The Bible records the humiliation and torture Jesus endured:
Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor's headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him. (Matthew 27:27–31)
Crucifixion was the cruelest form of execution. The Romans reserved it for the worst criminals. Crucifixion was designed to cause an excruciating, slow death. Jesus, although He was a righteous man, was crucified as a criminal, with two robbers crucified next to Him. Even as He was hung on the cross, the people below hurled insults at Him.
On the cross we see the darkest side of humanity. The greatest evil was perpetrated against the perfect Son of God. But on the cross we also see the triumph of good over evil through the greatest manifestation of love. As He had told His disciples, Jesus became our ransom. Jesus’s sacrificial death is to redeem us from our sins. He paid for our transgressions and bore our punishment. God laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was forsaken by God and tasted death on our behalf.
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, (1 Peter 3:18)
As Jesus was suffering on the cross, darkness covered the whole land, as if heaven could not bear to see the punishment inflicted on the Son of God. Jesus finally cried with a loud cry, bowed His head, and gave up His Spirit. Then the earth shook, and the curtain in the temple was torn from top to bottom. Even the Roman centurion and the soldiers were in great awe at Jesus’s death and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
There is no greater love than what our Lord Jesus has suffered for us. God does not simply love us from a distance or with some feelings of affection. He loved us by coming to this world to bear our pain and to die for us, who have rebelled against Him.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
Through the death of His Son God has given us the greatest gift—eternal life. The way to receive this gift is to believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior and entrust our lives to Him.
Jesus’s Resurrection
During Jesus’s ministry, He predicted that He would suffer and die, and that He would rise again on the third day. He declared that He had the divine power to lay down His own life as well as take it up again,
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep... No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.” (John 10:11, 18)
This was no small claim. No one in history could or had ever brought himself back to life. But Jesus claimed that He would do just that, since He is the Lord of life. The belief that Jesus is truly the Son of God would stand or fall depending on whether Jesus’s claim came true.
The Empty Tomb
After Jesus had died, He was buried in a tomb cut in the rock. A large stone was rolled into place to securely cover the entrance. Such an enormous stone would take at least several men to move. The religious leaders who opposed Jesus remembered Jesus’s prediction while He was still alive that He would rise after three days. They feared that His disciples might steal His body from the tomb and deceive the people that Jesus had risen from the dead. So they obtained permission from Pilate to secure the tomb by sealing the stone at the entrance and setting guards to watch the tomb.
Toward dawn of the third day, a great miracle happened:
And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. (Matthew 28:2–4)
Very early that day some of the women among Jesus’s followers came to the tomb with spices to anoint Jesus’s body. Just as they were wondering who could possibly help them roll away the large stone at the entrance, they looked up and saw that the stone had been rolled away! After they went into the tomb, they could not find Jesus’s body. It was gone! They saw the angel, dressed in white sitting there. They were frightened. But the angel said to them,
And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him.” (Mark 16:6)
The tomb where they had laid Jesus was empty. Jesus had risen from the dead as He had said He would.
Jesus’s Appearance
After Jesus had risen from the dead, He appeared to His disciples. He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, who had come to the tomb to see Jesus’s body. Mary went and told the disciples that Jesus was alive, but the disciples would not believe it.
While two disciples were on their way to a village called Emmaus, Jesus appeared to them as a fellow traveller and started a conversation with them. Jesus even explained to them from the Scriptures how Christ must suffer and enter into His glory. It wasn’t until Jesus sat down at the table to dine with them that they recognized that it was Jesus. Then Jesus vanished from their sight. They quickly returned to the other disciples to tell them that they had met Jesus on the road. But the other disciples would not believe them either.
One evening, the disciples were together in one place. They had locked the doors because they were afraid of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” Thomas, one of Jesus’s disciples, was not among them. When the disciples told him that Jesus had appeared to them, he refused to believe. This is the well-known story of the doubting Thomas. He said that he would never believe unless he could see and touch the mark of the nails in Jesus’s hands and place his hands in the side of Jesus. Eight days later, while Thomas was with the other disciples, Jesus appeared to them again. Jesus invited Thomas to touch His hand and side. Thomas said to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!”
On different occasions, Jesus the risen Lord appeared to His disciples, to as many as five hundred of them at one time. The Book of Acts sums up Jesus’s post-resurrection appearances this way:
He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. (Acts 1:3)
The Lord Jesus knew that the disciples could not believe that He would in fact come back to life. So He used many proofs to convince them that He was alive. At the end of the forty days, He ascended to heaven on a cloud before His disciples.
He Lives
The Bible tells us that Jesus was declared the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead. If Jesus did not resurrect after He died, He would have been merely a human being. He would have been at most a hero who died for a noble cause. His death would be admirable but would not bring eternal life to His followers. But if He did resurrect from the dead, then He is indeed our Savior in whom we may trust and be saved.
The Lord Jesus said to His disciples while He was still with them:
Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. (John 14:19)
The Christian faith rests on the living Christ. Because the disciples personally witnessed the Lord Jesus and because they received the Holy Spirit that Jesus had promised, they knew that the gift of eternal life is true. These timid disciples became powerful witnesses for the Lord. They went everywhere preaching that Jesus is the living Christ.
The enemies of Jesus knew the implications if the disciples proclaimed that Jesus had risen from the dead. To make sure that no one could steal the body of Jesus and fabricate such a lie, they sent soldiers to seal and guard the tomb. But death could not bind Jesus, the Lord of life. The empty tomb was solid evidence that testified to Jesus’s resurrection. If Jesus did not rise from the dead as the disciples preached, it would have been easy to prove it. All one had to do was to produce the body of Jesus and that would have been the end of Christianity. But no one could do that because Jesus had risen.
Despite persecutions from the religious authorities, the disciples continued proclaiming the name of Jesus. Many Christians had died in the hands of their persecutors, but the message of Christ spread far and wide. No fool would willingly sacrifice his life for telling a lie. Jesus’s disciples could not be silenced even in the face of death because they had personally seen the risen Lord.
Today, we can also know personally that Jesus is alive. We can ask Him to give us His Holy Spirit as He has promised. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we can know for certain that Jesus has risen from the dead. Because He lives, we who believe and follow Him shall also live. Because the Lord Jesus had conquered the power of death, we can be confident that we will also be raised to everlasting life when He comes again.