Jesus Christ is not merely a good man, a prophet, or a great religious teacher. He is the eternal Son of God. He did not begin His existence when He was born in Bethlehem. He existed with God before the world was created, and He is God.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).
John later tells us who “the Word” is:
“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).
Jesus is fully God, yet He became fully human. He was born of a virgin, lived among us, felt hunger, weariness, sorrow, and pain, but He never sinned.
The Bible says of Him:
“For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form” (Colossians 2:9).
Jesus was not created. Everything that was created was made through Him.
“All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being” (John 1:3).
Jesus said, “Before Abraham was born, I am” (John 8:58). He was declaring His eternal existence and identifying Himself with the name God used when He spoke to Moses: “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14).
Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Every person has sinned and stands guilty before God. We cannot remove our guilt through good deeds, religion, baptism, church membership, or personal effort.
Jesus willingly died on the cross in our place. He took the punishment our sins deserved.
“He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross” (1 Peter 2:24).
Jesus truly died and was buried. On the third day, He rose bodily from the grave. His resurrection proved that He is who He claimed to be and that His sacrifice for sin was accepted.
“Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:3–4).
Jesus is now at the right hand of the Father. He is Lord, Savior, King, and Judge. One day He will return, and every person will bow before Him.
“So that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Philippians 2:10–11).
There are not many saviors or many roads to God. Jesus said:
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).
Knowing facts about Jesus is not the same as knowing Him. Salvation comes when we turn from our sin, believe in Jesus Christ, trust Him completely, and follow Him in obedience. We are not saved because our obedience earns salvation. We obey because true faith submits to Jesus as Lord.
“The one who believes in the Son has eternal life; but the one who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36).
Jesus Christ is God the Son who became man, died for our sins, rose from the dead, and offers eternal life to everyone who believes in Him, trusts Him, and obeys Him. He is the only way of salvation.