Introduction to Jesus Christ

Jesus all Man, all God and His mission to offer salvation to all mankind.

Introductions to Jesus Christ

Luke 1:1-4

1 Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.

John 20:31 | but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

Genesis 1:1 starts with the moment of creation and moves forward to the creation of humanity. John 1:1 starts with creation and contemplates eternity past. The fact that the Word was with God suggests a face-to-face relationship. In the ancient world, it was important that persons of equal station be on the same level, or face-to-face, when sitting across from one another. Thus the word with indicates a personal relationship, but also implies equal status. The Word, Jesus Christ Himself, is an active Person in communication with the Father. Moreover, the Word was God. The word order in Greek shows that the Word was “God,” not “a god.” This is a straightforward declaration of Christ’s deity, since John uses Word to refer to Jesus. The Word was of the very quality of God, while still retaining His personal distinction from the Father. Neither the Person of Christ, nor His Sonship, came into being at a point in time. Rather, the Father and the Son have always been in loving fellowship with one another. All things were made through Him: God the Father created the world through God the Son. All creation was made through Him. Thus He is the Creator God. Note that life is not said to have been created; life existed in Christ. Humans are dependent on God for life. Our existence, spiritually and physically, depends on God’s sustaining power. In contrast, the Son has life in Himself from all eternity. The life, Jesus Christ, is also the light of men. This image conveys the concept of revelation. As the light, Jesus Christ reveals both sin and God to humans. Later in this Gospel, Christ declares Himself to be both the life and the light. Death and darkness flee when the life and light enter. The dead are raised and the blind receive their sight, both physically and spiritually. Humans did not appropriate or understand the light, nor did they overtake or overpower it. Although Satan and his forces resist the light, they cannot thwart its power. In short, Jesus is life and light; those who accept Him are “sons of light”.  As the creation of light was the beginning of the original creation, so when believers receive the light, they become part of the new creation. 

Jesus became man in order to reveal the truth to all people. 

Jesus is the Word, the life, and the Light—that is, He is the Christ, the Son of God. To them He gave the right refers to the legitimate entitlement to the position of children of God. By believing, undeserving sinners can become full members of God’s family. Each person must individually trust Jesus Christ for eternal life. It is a gift to be received, not a reward achieved through any human effort. This is the doctrine of the incarnation: God became human. Nothing of the essential nature of deity was lost in this event; we might rephrase became as “took to Himself.” As God manifested His glory in the tabernacle, so Jesus displayed His divine presence before the apostles. All who trust Christ are born of God. In the Gospel of John, these “born ones” are called children of God, but Jesus Christ is the unique Son of God. He is the only Son who is fully God. He is also full of grace and truth. When God revealed Himself to Moses, He proclaimed Himself to be “abounding in goodness and truth”. Jesus Christ is the author of perfect redemption and perfect revelation. NKJ Bible.

John begins by quoting the opening words of Genesis in Greek. He uses Genesis 1:1–5 to establish the “Word” as a preexistent agent of creation present with Yahweh from the beginning. John uses the term “Word” as a title for Jesus throughout this prologue. The Greek term used here, logos,  had a rich network of associations in the Hellenistic Judaism of the first century ad due to its ability to evoke both biblical and philosophical concepts. 

The Word was with God

This phrasing testifies to the distinction between God the Father and Jesus while emphasizing the intimate relationship between the Father and the Son.

The Word was God

The Word shares the same character, quality, and essence of God. John’s phrasing preserves the distinction between God the Father and God the Son while emphasizing their unity in all other regards.

The concept of creation through the divine Word reflects Yahweh’s act of speaking the universe into existence in Genesis 1:3–26. Jesus’ preexistence and role as Creator and sustainer of all things. The Word is the source of life, both physical through the creation of all things and spiritual. For John, Jesus’ ability to grant life to those who walked in “darkness” or “death” is the key issue at stake. Jesus has the ability and authority to do so because He was there in the beginning when God’s creative works took place. The contrast between light and darkness is a prominent theme in John’s Gospel. This antithesis draws on Genesis 1:1–5 as well as ot traditions of the advent of the Messiah as a light dawning over a world of physical and spiritual darkness. He introduces John the Baptist  as the messenger sent by God to announce the coming of His salvation into the world through Jesus. John was the prophesied forerunner of the Messiah. The preaching of John the Baptist was intended to inspire faith in God by pointing people to Jesus as His supreme act of providence. God doesn’t send a messenger; He sends His very Son, the means of creation itself. Not only did the entire world not recognize its Creator, but God’s chosen people rejected their Messiah. Unlike the people who rejected Him, those who accepted Jesus as Messiah are the true “children of God”. Through His Son, God is taking up a post among His people just as He had done for ancient Israel. † The glory of Jesus, the Word, is the same as the glory of God the Father. Jesus embodies the ultimate expression of God’s covenant loyalty and unmerited favor toward the world that rejected Him. John contrasts Moses with Jesus, emphasizing the superiority of the gospel of Christ to the law of Moses. Throughout his Gospel, John presents Jesus as the fulfillment of ot expectations. The world will fully see God only as revealed through Jesus. Faithlife Bible.

John 1:1-18

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.

12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ”

16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

Isaiah 49:6 | Indeed He says,‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob,And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles,That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”

Malachi 3:1 | “Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant,In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,”Says the LORD of hosts.

Colossians 1:17 | And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.