Who is Jesus

Is Jesus our bridegroom? Our husband? Our lover? Our coach? Our big brother? Our best friend? In the Family, Jesus is depicted in these friendly, personal, intimate ways. Prayers are prayed ‘in our Husband’s name.’ Letters are written about what ‘our Lover’ wants us to do. We are told to check in with our heavenly Coach constantly. Are these legitimate terms of reference for Jesus Christ, the King of kings? Or are these perhaps too familiar?

Worse than being ‘too familiar’, could there be the possibility that using these terms might totally redirect our attention away from the Lord Himself? Are there dangers we should be aware of before we place too high an emphasis on our own visualisations of how Jesus appears to us? Are we in danger of not only losing sight of Who Jesus really is, but of losing sight of Jesus Himself? What is our protection?

This study will look at how Jesus is presented in the New Testament, at who He is, at His role in heaven and in our lives. The specific topic of Jesus being our bridegroom is examined in a separate study.

Please note that the authors do not claim to have the only truth. All believers have been given the Holy Spirit for guidance and the Lord has promised to reveal truth to all who seek.

Jesus in power and glory

How did Jesus manifest Himself to people after His resurrection? Did He continue His life as God incarnate, as fully human yet fully God? The Bible says that when Jesus died on the cross, the Devil was defeated.

Heb 2:14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil

And when Jesus arose from the dead, He was given authority over everything.

Matt 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

Peter, James and John saw Jesus in His glorified state at the transfiguration. Jesus was manifested as the Son of God in glory and power.

Matt 17:1-2

1 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves;

2 and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.

How did the disciples react? They were terrified and confused.

Matt 17:6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid.

The women who went to the tomb on Easter morning were the first to meet Jesus after He rose from the dead. They were also terrified, and they worshipped Him.

Matt 28:9-10

9 And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.

10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

Paul saw Jesus on the road to Damascus, and this was no friendly encounter.

Acts 9:4-6

4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”

5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”

6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” And the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

When John the Beloved was an old man, exiled to a barren island for his faith, he saw Jesus appearing in glory and splendour. Jesus certainly did not appear as He had while on earth. John was a faithful old man who had spent his life faithfully witnessing about the love of God, and yet when He saw the object of His love, it nearly killed him! John was paralysed with terror.

Rev 1:12-18

12 Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands,

13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.

14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire;

15 His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters;

16 He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.

17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.

18 “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.

An interesting point we may draw from the various encounters with the risen Jesus that we read about in the Bible, is that at no time did Jesus arrive in response to a human request for his appearance. Saul (naturally) was not looking for Jesus, the women at the tomb were not praying for Jesus to come and John the Beloved did not pray for Jesus to come. When He comes it is at His will and in His time, and it is not for us to ask that He perform our will in our time.

We may see from these Scriptures is that Jesus is now in His glorified state as the glorified Son of God ruling in majesty and power, and has been since His resurrection. He may appear in a more ‘human-friendly’ state if He chooses to, as He did to His terrified and unbelieving disciples who had been mocking the women’s account.

Luke 24:10-11, 36-38

10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles.

11 And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them.

36 Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you.”

37 But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit.

38 And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts?

However Jesus now reigns as God on high. He has received all glory and power and authority. He sits on His throne in almighty majesty and from there rules the universe.

Heb 1:3

3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high

Heb 10:12-13

12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God,

13 from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.

Jesus is the almighty God, He is our past, our present and our future.

Rev 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

It would seem that if we met Jesus today, if we were able to walk into His presence (if indeed we were able to walk at all), we would be so overwhelmed by His power and glory that were it not for His grace, we would probably be utterly consumed by the sight. He is might and power itself! He is all in all! This is not a picture or helpful analogy to help us understand Him, this is Who He really is. Any ‘human-like’ idea we have of Him falls far short of reality. This is Jesus the Son of God to whom we may give our lives. A coach or a friend or an elder brother may be useful to check in with periodically, but it is only as we kneel to Jesus Christ the Almighty Who was and is and is to come that we may say, with Thomas, “My Lord and my God!”

King of kings

While it may be nice to portray Jesus as the Family’s personal basketball coach, this may be doing Him somewhat of a disservice, as He has a far higher ranking than personal trainer.

Rev 19:16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

Now this is not to say that Jesus cannot appear as a kind of personal assistant, as all things are indeed possible to Him. But that is not for us to decide. Our part is to praise and worship Him as our King, not just the King of the Family, but the King of every Christian who ever lived, and the rightful King of every non-Christian who ever lived.

Rev 15:3 They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: “Great and marvelous are Your works, lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints!

He is the mighty King of every world leader that ever lived, whether they acknowledged Him or not. Every president must answer to Him. Every church leader must answer to Him, including, of course, Family leadership. He is power and authority itself!

1 Tim 6:15 which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords,

Ps 89:27 Also I will make him My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.

When we come before Him, it should be in adoration before the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the eternal Governor of the universe.

Isa 9:6-7

6 For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Jesus’ position as the all powerful ruler of the universe should be enough to command our respect. However not only is He the King of all kings that ever lived, He also did the unthinkable. He temporarily renounced His position of authority and for the span of His earthly life lived as we lived, refusing to use His power to make things easier for Himself, and became fully human, while remaining fully divine. Even that would be enough to make us gasp in disbelief, that such a mighty God and Ruler would humble Himself to our level as Jesus did. Most shocking of all, however, is the reason why He came to earth. It was not merely to show us His love or to walk about doing good, healing a few sick people, feeding the hungry. He came to cleanse us from our sin that we may have eternal life.

Rev 1:5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood

The mighty God, the King of the universe took our sins on Himself and permitted Himself to be executed in our place. Our hearts should be so filled with amazement and love and gratitude that we fall to our knees and worship Him with every breath we take.

Who is the Jesus we worship?

This inevitably brings us to the perhaps awkward, inescapably personal question of just who we are worshipping. If Jesus is little more than a personal assistant to us, if His role is not much more than that of a sports coach shouting instructions from the sidelines, if we look on Him as our own private spirit guide, then we may have completely lost the picture of how Jesus actually is, and this means that we may even have severed our connection with Him.

The Bible warns us to worship the ‘right’ Jesus. It’s not enough to say, “Well, God knows my heart”. We are told to beware of the Devil’s craftiness, and that the Devil would try to present ‘another Jesus’ in order to corrupt us.

2 Cor 11:3-4

3 But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

4 For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted-- you may well put up with it!

Now, this does not mean that if we occasionally picture Jesus as our assistant we are following the Devil. That is not the point of this study. The point is that Jesus is the mighty God, the King of the universe, Who deigned to die in our place. This is not a mental picture to help us understand Him better, this is who He really is. And if we never worship Him as who He really is, then perhaps we are not worshipping Him at all. If our prayer and praise life revolves around our mental pictures of Him as a friend, a lover, a coach, a spirit guide, then we may have missed the real Jesus Christ, and are in danger of being deceived by ‘another Jesus’. The Devil is not afraid of the word ‘Jesus’. Those verses in 2 Corinthians 11 show that the Devil does indeed try to deceive people by creating a ‘different Jesus’ for them to follow. It will never be good enough to say, “God knows my heart” if we allow ourselves to be taken in by a false picture.

Righteous Judge

When we die, we go to be with Jesus. Our first meeting, however, will not be as old friends reunited or as a marriage ceremony or even as the post-ceremony consummation. When we face the Lord, it will be to give account for our lives, for our deeds, and even for every word that we have said.

Acts 10:42 “And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead.

Matt 12:36 “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.

Rom 14:10-12

10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

11 For it is written: “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.”

12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.

Knowing what will happen to us upon death should give us such a fear of the Lord that Paul calls it ‘terror’.

2 Cor 5:10-11

10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

11 Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences.

Paul’s fear of God had nothing to do with a lack of intimacy with Him or a knowledge of some ongoing unfaithfulness. It was based on the knowledge that Jesus would indeed judge him after He died. That fact alone should startle us into glorifying Jesus as the King of kings.

Of course, He will also come in righteous anger to judge the nations of the earth.

Rev 19:11-16

11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.

12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.

13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.

14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.

15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

Jesus is the Judge of all the nations of the earth, and He is our judge as well.

Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah

MESSIAH

(anointed one)-- the one anointed by God and empowered by God’s spirit to deliver His people and establish His kingdom. In Jewish thought, the Messiah would be the king of the Jews, a political leader who would defeat their enemies and bring in a golden era of peace and prosperity. In Christian thought, the term Messiah refers to Jesus’ role as a spiritual deliverer, setting His people free from sin and death.

The word Messiah comes from a Hebrew term that means “anointed one.” Its Greek counterpart is Christos, from which the word Christ comes. Messiah was one of the titles used by early Christians to describe who Jesus was.

(from Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary)

Jesus is the Christ.

Matt 1:16 And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.

Why is it that in the Family we have an aversion to calling Him ‘Christ’? There seems to be an unspoken agreement that the word ‘Christ’ is somehow churchy or impersonal. Throughout the New Testament, Jesus is sometimes referred to as ‘Jesus’, sometimes as ‘Christ’, sometimes as ‘Jesus Christ’ and sometimes as ‘Christ Jesus’. The name Christ is not Jesus’ surname, it has great significance as the promised Messiah, the One Who would save us from our sins.

Luke 2:11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

We read above the verses that indicate that the Devil would try to introduce a ‘different Jesus’ in order to deceive us. This may be why the New Testament very strongly talks about ‘Jesus Christ our Lord’.

1 Cor 1:2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

We are saved because Jesus Christ redeemed us from our sins.

Rom 3:23-24

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus

The love of God comes to us only through Jesus Christ.

Rom 8:38-39

38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,

39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Thus we may conclude that a Jesus who is not ‘Christ’ is not our Saviour, but an imposter. It is Christ Jesus our Lord Who saves us from our sins and gives us His strength to walk in His spirit each day. If we cannot call Him Christ, then we may be talking to the wrong person. This does not mean that every time we talk to Him we must call Him ‘Christ’, but rather that if we never call Him Christ, or if we feel uncomfortable calling Him Christ, then the horrifying possibility exists that we may have been deceived into praying to someone or something else.

Moreover, it is not enough to say, “I pray in the name of Jesus” or “I do say Jesus Christ every now and then.” The words ‘Jesus Christ’ are no magic formula to transfer a prayer to the right God anymore than a sinner who curses with the words ‘Jesus Christ’ is somehow praying to God. Jesus Christ must be God and Lord of our lives and hearts. He must be absolute master of our lives, and we must have repented of our sins to receive His forgiveness.

This is part of the test that we have been given in discerning true and false spirits.

I Jn 4:2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God

It is Jesus Christ Who is the Saviour of the world, Who came to earth as God incarnate and Who now lives His life through us. This is Jesus the Christ, not Jesus the lover, not Jesus the friend, not Jesus the coach but Jesus the Christ. If we do not know Jesus as Christ it may be that we have the wrong Jesus. Those who do not know Jesus as their Christ will never be able to gain personal victories over their sins. Those who are saved will fall on their knees before Him in repentance and adoration.

Jesus Christ alone is the foundation of our faith. There is obviously great danger in following some other Jesus.

Eph 2:19-20

19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,

20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone,

Jesus our Friend

Jesus is our Friend; He Himself used this word. It is interesting to note, however, that Jesus did not say, “I am your Friend”, but “You are My friends”. The difference is that these verses do not define our relationship to Jesus, but His relationship to us.

John 15:13-15

13 “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

14 “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.

15 “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.

During the Last Supper, Jesus also told His disciples very pointedly that He was their Teacher, Lord and Master.

John 13:13 “You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am.

John 15:20 “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.

Another thing to remember is that when Jesus used the word ‘friend’ He did not use it to signify that the ‘friend’ was righteous. The term may not necessarily be an indication of a special, close, intimate relationship. Jesus could even call Judas His friend!

Matt 26:48-50

48 Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him.”

49 Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.

50 But Jesus said to him, “Friend, why have you come?” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him.

Jesus died for all. Therefore He also died for Judas, and as He said in John 15:13, He would look at the sinful world with so much love that He would even consider sinners His friends and die to redeem them.

John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

So, can we refer to Jesus as our Friend? Of course we can! The term ‘friend’ necessarily includes a mutual compatibility of some kind. However we should remember first that our relationship with Jesus is not defined primarily as a friendship. Jesus Christ is our Lord and Master, our Saviour and God. That He would consider us as ‘friends’ is so wonderful, so amazing, so shocking that we can scarcely comprehend it. Second, we are only Jesus’ special friends if we do whatever He commands us. Not what someone else tells us He wants us to do, but what He Himself commands us. Every Christian has the ability to hear His commands personally and individually through the Holy Spirit, and to read them in the Bible. The Holy Spirit will talk to us of Jesus to give us His instructions.

John 15:26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.

It is not for us to boast that “We are Jesus’ friends!” Rather, we should heed the voice of the Holy Spirit leading us into obedience, and let Him determine whether we deserve the title of ‘friend’. And if He does call us His friends, remembering that He also called Judas ‘friend’ should keep us from too much pride.

In conclusion…

We may worship Jesus as Lord of lords, King of kings, as the Christ of God, as the Ruler of the universe. We live our lives in the fear of God knowing that we will stand before Him, and every word we have ever said will be repeated, every deed we have ever committed will be on display. He will judge righteous judgement, and who can stand before Him? We are His friends if we obey what He said. Note that He first requires obedience to what He said in the Bible, and without that obedience we may not say that we are obeying His voice of prophecy. Ultimately our lives will come down to a terrifying crisis: we will either be broken beyond measure as we watch our useless lives blow away as chaff, thus allowing Him to live in us, or all will be destroyed, as we vainly hold onto our arrogant lives of ‘self’.

Matt 21:44 “And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”

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