Jun P. Espina 4 min read
Updated on October 9th, 2022
Jesus Christ: Who is He?
Who is Jesus Christ and why is He either worshiped or hated? Well, no single person on earth is truly qualified to answer this question. As conceived by Mary, He was without a human father. The Holy Bible is our primary source of information about Christ. Micah 5:2 (NASB) says, “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.” Jesus existed before Mary gave birth to Him!
Christ is Immanuel
Bible scholars agree that the above verse speaks of Jesus Christ, whose “goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.” Before Christ became a human being like us, He existed from “the days of eternity.” No single religious leader throughout history has had the same claim of deity. The Prophet Isaiah wrote around 700 years before the birth of Christ that “the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.” (Is. 7:14) In Matthew, Chapter 1 and verse 23, it is written about Christ that “‘THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,’ which translated means, ‘GOD WITH US’.”
There’s no mistake biblically that Jesus Christ is Immanuel, or “God with us.”
READ MORE: Doubted God’s Word and Sincerity
The Enemies of Christ and the Demand for Truth
The enemies of the Christian faith, however, have their favorable views, saying that Christ was a Prophet, a Healer, a Good Man, or a wise Teacher. These are true.
But on the point that Christ didn’t have a human Father (thus, qualifying Him as a Supernatural Being!), non-Christians would opine that something of a miracle is always subjective and beyond the eye of science and what is known as the admissible evidence of truth. Along with this principle comes the thesis that Jesus Christ is just one of the greatest figures in history. Some may include Him on their list of gods!
God Made Faith a Precondition to Entering Heaven
The problem is that God, according to the Holy Bible, requires faith in His Son Jesus for us to live forever in His kingdom in heaven. Look at John 3:16, the heart of the entire Scriptures: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” It’s God’s way of saying one needs to believe in Christ or be damned in hell forever.
Now, speaking of faith, Christ told doubting Thomas the blessedness of believing in what is supernatural: “Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.'” (John 20:28-29, NASB)
No One is Forced to Believe
Our eternal soul is promised by God a home in heaven and a spiritual body like that of the risen Christ, who was “flesh and bones” (no longer flesh and blood!). We will be with the angels of God, Abraham, and Jacob, and our Christian loved ones forever and ever. What a joyous regathering, then. The requirement for this future glory to happen in one’s life is faith in the Son, Jesus Christ; that He died and rose again for our sins according to the Scriptures.
But take note that believing in the Son is not forced into our hearts by God. You can always reject God’s offer, like what Judas and countless other Judas did. There’s no arm-twisting in God’s kingdom, but just a simple but not cheap entrance ticket known as faith in the shed blood of Christ at Calvary for the forgiveness of sin.
READ MORE: Real God Whom Paul Met
The Only Reason for Unbelief
Created in God’s image, belief in a Creator, therefore, is just natural to us. God said only fools don’t believe in God. (cf. Psalm 53:1)
But what about unbelief in Christ as God, like what Muslims uphold? Well, no offense to the unbelievers, but Christ said it is because of darkness and sin that people don’t trust Him. Listen to our Lord:
Let’s try a little illustration. If a child had issues with his parents (utter disobedience, for example), he would distance himself from them. Christ didn’t say we were incapable of understanding His teaching. We, rather, loved to walk in wickedness and the darkness of sin, and that was the reason we ignored Him!
What Will God Do to Those Who Won’t Believe in Christ Our Lord?
Note this teaching before we move further: “For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.” (2 Thess. 2:11-12, NASB)
In effect, God is saying that He will multiply the environment and circumstances for unbelief. If you sow unbelief, you will reap more reasons not to accept Jesus. The reason is the same: we can believe, but we choose not to.
Our spiritual blindness is self-made, for our conscience serves as our spiritual eye—the lamp of God in man. (Prov. 20:27) The apostle Paul wrote: “I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me…” (Rom. 9:1)
Observe the following verses which prove man’s capability to REJECT God:
What does God want? He desires no one to perish in hell, but “you were unwilling.” Christ expanded His “you-are-unwilling” doctrine in John chapter five. Read these two verses: “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.” (John 5:39-40)
Be willing. Believe. Come to Christ Jesus by faith. He is not just the Son of God, but God the Son.
