II : JESUS CHRIST – OUR SAVIOR
Philippians 2:5-11
“The only Redeemer of God’s elect is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the eternal Son of God, became man, in two distinct natures, and one person, forever.” (Westminster Shorter Catechism)
The Son of God
Who is Jesus Christ? This is the question each one of us must answer. Two thousand years ago people were asking it. In those days, some said He was John the Baptist, some, Elijah, and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. But Jesus stressed the importance of answering the question for oneself. “Who do you say that I am?” asked Jesus. Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”[1] It is upon this statement that the Church was built. Whatever others thought of Him, Jesus knew that He was the Son of God. Nothing less than that is acceptable as a confession of faith from those who would follow Him today.
The Gift of the Heavenly Father
Jesus Christ is the supreme gift of the Heavenly Father to His earthly children. “For God so loved the world He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life,”[2] is the best-loved statement of the Christian faith. As the gift of God, Jesus had a mission and often spoke of it. “The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost,”[3] He said. “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”[4] “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”[5]
Our Redeemer
Given for our salvation by the Father, and in turn giving Himself on the cross that we, through Him, might be saved, Jesus states His claim in no uncertain terms, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die” (that is, will not die eternally). “Do you believe this?”[6]
And so through the years, Christ remains a fact in history, a force in believing hearts, a guide to Christian living, and the Savior of all who will believe, placing into His nail-scarred hands the empty hands of faith.
What we believe is encapsulated, for us, in the words of the -
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.
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