14. The Life Of Christ-Our Saviour
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
THE LIFE OF CHRIST-OUR SAVIOUR
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:16-17).
“If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" (Romans 10:9).
Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God. He was conceived by the Holy Ghost, and born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem of Judea. He is God manifested in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16). He is the second person of the Trinity.
On the Art Chart (www.BibleSupport.com/a/gppc.png), the birth of Jesus Christ is represented by a star, and His crucifixion by a cross. After the cross are pictured His resurrection and His ascension.
Jesus Christ was from the beginning. He lived a life of about 33 years on earth. Now He is alive at the right hand of God and He will live throughout eternity.
When Jesus was on earth He had fellowship with God, for He was holy. It was the kind of fellowship that God wants the human race to have with Him. When God created man, He made him that He might have fellowship with him also; but man yielded to temptation, he fell into sin, and he became in need of a Saviour who could bring him back into fellowship with God.
Christ was sent by God into the world on this supreme mission, to be the Saviour of man, to free man from the bondage of sin, and to bring him back to God. Christ came to earth to redeem the lost world from death unto eternal life. He gave His life on the cross to fulfill His mission as the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. He was crucified, He died, and He was buried.
The third day He arose again from the dead, and thereby He conquered death. He became alive again. He was seen then on earth, after His resurrection, by Mary and by His disciples. He walked with them and He talked with them in His resurrected body for 40 days.
Jesus ascended into heaven where now He is alive at the right hand of God. He is there as our High Priest, “after the order of Melchizedek" (Hebrews 6:20). This order refers to the royal authority and unending duration of Christ’s high priesthood (Hebrews 7:23-24; Genesis 14:18).
Today Christ is making intercession for us, His children. Because He lives, we, who are His, saved by His shed blood, shall live also, when He comes. Christ is coming again to judge the quick and the dead, His Church.
The blind carnal world will never find its way out of darkness until it opens its eyes to a true vision of the mission and power of Jesus Christ: and until it repents of its evil ways, and accepts Him as its Redeemer and Saviour. Jesus is the only one who can redeem this lost world from death unto life. This is the Gospel, the good news of the Bible.
The Old Testament contains many definite prophecies concerning the birth, life, ministry, death, resurrection, ascension and exaltation of Jesus. Many of these prophecies have been fulfilled, as recorded in the New Testament. “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself" (Luke 24:27). Some of these prophecies in the Old Testament, and their fulfillment in the New Testament, are given here:
Prophecy
Seed of the woman, Genesis 3:15Fulfillment, Galatians 4:4
Seed of Abraham, Genesis 17:7; Genesis 22:18Fulfillment, Galatians 3:16
Seed of David, Psalms 132:11Fulfillment, Acts 13:23; Romans 1:3
Born of the virgin, Isaiah 7:14Fulfillment, Luke 1:35
Born in Bethlehem, Judea, Micah 5:2Fulfillment, Matthew 2:1
His public ministry, Isaiah 61:1-2Fulfillment, Luke 4:16-21
His ministry commence Galilee, Isaiah 9:1-2 Fulfillment, Matthew 4:12-16
His entry into Jerusalem, Zechariah 9:9Fulfillment, Matthew 21:1-5
His zeal, Psalms 69:9Fulfillment, John 2:13-17
Rejected by His brethren, Psalms 69:8Fulfillment, John 1:11-12; John 7:5
Betrayed by a friend, Psalms 41:9Fulfillment, John 13:18-21
Sold for 30 pieces of silver, Zechariah 11:12 Fulfillment, Matthew 26:15
His silence under suffering, Isaiah 53:7Fulfillment, Matthew 27:12-14
Spat on and scourged, Isaiah 50:6 Fulfillment, Mark 14:65, John 19:1
Lots cast for His vesture, Psalms 22:18 Fulfillment, Matthew 27:35
His vicarious death, Isaiah 53:12Fulfillment, Matthew 20:28
His flesh seeing no corruption, Psalms 16:10Fulfillment, Acts 2:31
His resurrection, Psalms 16:10-11Fulfillment, Acts 2:32
His ascension, Psalms 68:18Fulfillment, Ephesians 4:8-10
His exaltation, Psalms 101:1Fulfillment, Hebrews 1:3 The eternal Christ is the central theme of the whole Bible. He is of the seed of Abraham and as such, He is the “blesser” of the whole world. The cross on which He atoned for our sins is the fountain of all new life. He is of the line of David, and the one who is heir to the throne of David. He is, therefore, to be Israel’s king, “the Desire of the Nations"
Jesus Christ is the Alpha and Omega. He is traced back to God in John 1:1-2 and back to Abraham in Matthew 1:1-17. Jesus Himself traces Himself back to God, “I and my Father are one"
The Old Testament is the preparation for the advent of Jesus Christ, through its history, its laws, its system of sacrifices and its prophecies.
The gospels are the manifestation of Christ in the world.
The epistles are an explanation of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Revelation is the consummation of all the purposes of God in and through Jesus Christ.
In the Old Testament, the New is concealed; while in the New Testament, the Old is revealed.
Christ is the golden thread of victory that runs throughout the entire Bible. Through Christ, the Bible becomes a connected, continuous story of humanity in its relationship to God. Christ, who is the truth, binds together the 66 books of the Bible into one progressive unfolding of the Truth, and with perfect harmony of doctrine. On the Art Chart (www.BibleSupport.com/a/gppc.png), you will notice that Christ was a prophet during His earthly life. Now He is our high priest during this church age, the age of grace. He is to be king during the kingdom age which follows the tribulation period on earth.
Christ will destroy death. “Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order; Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming. Then cometh the end when He shall have delivered up the Kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule, and all authority and power. For He shall reign until He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death" (1 Corinthians 15:21-26).
This is the Christ who is spoken of in Genesis 3:15 as the “Seed of the Woman" He is the one who is ultimately to destroy the devil and the works of the devil.
The old hymns that we have learned in a Christian home about Jesus and His love, stay with us throughout life.
“What a Friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Oh what peace we often forfeit,
Oh what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry,
Everything to God in prayer.
“Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful,
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.”
- Joseph Scriven
- Charles C. Converse.
“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ" (Ephesians 2:4-5).