To be fully HUMAN — A Daily Reflection

 

Jesus said to the Jews, “I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.”

 

“I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I am!” 

 

That is a powerful statement… Think about how the world perceives Jesus – giving Him every description imaginable except the one that is true and correct – prophet… good man… reincarnated “Christ spirit”… Michael the Archangel in human form… one of the Gods… anything and everything to try to turn the world’s thinking away from who He said He was… and from who He really is. 

 

But Jesus said – if you don’t believe He is who He claims to be, you will die in your sins.  That’s a pretty cut-and-dried statement… one that doesn’t leave room for creative definition of who Jesus is.  Perhaps the best thing to do is take a look at who Jesus is according to God’s Holy Word – the only source of truth that any of us has.

 

Jesus has existed eternally as God the Son.  Romans 9:5 gives us, perhaps, the clearest statement of who Jesus is.  “Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised!”  John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  The Greek text in this phrase uses a verb that does not refer to any point in time when Jesus began or came into existence.  Rather, in the “beginning” it says that Jesus was ALREADY in existence.  Jesus had no beginning, and He has no end.  As God the Son, He is “from everlasting to everlasting”.  “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”  (John 1:3)  There is nothing “limiting” about this statement.  It says ALL things, which includes the entire universe and all parts thereof… He created all of space, all of matter and all of time, along with every being that exists or has existed.  He didn’t begin somewhere and then make just a few things.  He made ALL things.  “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”  (Revelation 22:13)  You and I want to put a beginning and an end on everything… because we are finite, and our minds cannot comprehend something that vast.  But God the Son has no beginning, and He has no end.  He was not created at some point in time by another God.  He is God.

 

But wait a minute… isn’t Jehovah the Eternal God?  Yes.  Remember when Moses was confronted by God at the burning bush?  Who did God say He was?  He gave Moses His name… I AM.  Now look at John 8:58, where Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I am!”  In this statement, Jesus uses exactly the same term to identify Himself that God used with Moses at the burning bush – “I AM.”  So Jesus says that He is God.

 

Have you created a definition for Jesus that is contrary to what Jesus says about Himself?  If you have, then you must also believe, like Josh McDowell said, that He is also a liar or a lunatic.   There can be no middle ground.  Like Jesus said, the only way to escape eternal damnation is to believe He is who He says He is… God Incarnate who died for you on the cross to pay for all of your sins.

 

Do you believe He is who He says He is?