|
DOCTRINAL STATEMENT
1]
Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Son of God and the Son of man. He
was prophesied Messiah of the Old Testament and is described throughout
the New Testament as being both fully human and fully divine. As second
member of the God family, He has existed from eternity as the "Word." He
divested Himself of His power and majesty and became a human being to
die for the sins of all mankind as our loving and merciful Savior. He
was then resurrected and ascended to heaven to become our High Priest
and the head of all things to the Church. Jesus Christ shall return to
establish the Kingdom of God on earth and rule as King of kings with His
saints forever.
DOCTRINAL OVERVIEW
2]
Jesus Christ is the
chief cornerstone and foundation of Christianity, the focal point of
both Old and New Testaments and of biblical prophecy. He is the one
around whom God's plan of redemption and salvation revolves.
back to top
back to answers
3]
Christ as the
"Word of God" (John. 1:1-14) has existed with the Father from eternity. He and the Father together devised a plan to
reproduce themselves and to expand their family by means of the human
creation. This creation as accomplished by the one who became Christ
through the agency and power of the Holy Spirit. "For by Him [Christ]
were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth,
visible and invisible" (Col. 1: 16). John adds that "all things were
made by Him: and without Him was not any thing made that was made" (John.
1:3). Thus the "Word of God"-Christ-was also the Creator God, who
fashioned the universe and breathed the breath of life into Adam.
back to top
back to answers
4]
The being who later
became Jesus Christ was likewise the God of the Old Testament and hence
the one who walked with Noah and talked with Abraham and with Moses
(John. 8:58; cf. Ex. 3:14). He was the God of Israel, the God, of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God who gave His law to Moses at Sinai. He
was the one who led Israel with a cloud by day and protected them by a
pillar of fire at night. He was Israel's Protector, their Guide and
their "Rock" ("and that Rock was Christ,"
1 Cor. 10:4). He likewise was
the God of David and was the one who dwelled in Solomon's temple. He
spoke through Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and all the prophets and
inspired the entirety of the Old Testament.
back to top
back to answers
5]
In order to fulfill
the divine master plan of salvation, this great being divested Himself
of all His power, might and majesty and took upon Himself "the form of a
servant, and was made in the likeness of men" (Phil. 2:7). As
envisioned, however darkly, by Abraham and Moses, and as prophesied by
Isaiah and others, God's "Word" was now incarnate, the Son of God and
the Son of man. As a human being, Jesus led a sinless, perfect life
although He "was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin"
(Heb. 4:15). He overcame Satan's temptations and qualified to replace
him as ruler of this world. He was our example who learned obedience
through suffering; He became our Savior whose atoning death paid the
death penalty for all the sins of mankind.
back to top
back to answers
6]
This great personal
sacrifice of Christ's crucifixion is a perfect illustration of Jesus'
love and mercy toward us. In Christ's own words the greatest love a man
can have is to "lay down his life for his friends" (John. 15:13). And
Jesus' sacrifice for us is even more powerfully poignant in that "while
we were yet sinners Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8), "when we were
[still] enemies" (verse 10) and not yet friends, Jesus laid down His
life for us. Certainly the giving of His life on the cross
(stake) for all
humanity was the greatest example of the greatest love which can be
shown.
back to top
back to answers
7]
Christ's resurrection
from the dead was the focal point of universal history-an event of
ultimate importance without equal in the unfolding of God's master plan.
His burial for three days and three nights and His subsequent
resurrection was the very sign and proof of His messiahship (Matt.
12:40). His resurrection proved that man could also be resurrected; it
showed the viability of God's plan and was the means by which human
beings could eventually be resurrected to eternal life.
back to top
back to answers
8]
The death of
Christ-the Creator of everything-was designed "from the foundation of
the world" (Rev. 13:8) and was able to pay the penalty for the sins of
humanity because His life was worth far more than the sum total of all
the lives of all human beings who have ever lived or ever will live.
Upon repentance and baptism, we have the opportunity to take advantage
of Christ's sacrifice to pay the penalty for our own personal sins, and
through God's grace to receive the gift of eternal life-which Jesus
Christ's life, death and resurrection made possible.
back to top
back to answers
9]
Christ has now
ascended and is exalted at the right hand of God the Father at the
throne of heaven. He is once again actually God, all-powerful and
shining in the spirit realm like the sun (Rev. 1:13-16), yet with the
same mercy and compassion He exemplified during His physical life. Jesus
is the firstfruits of salvation, the first mortal to be made immortal,
and the first human being to become a member of the God family. He is
the Christian's elder brother and the forerunner of our salvation, the
consummate High Priest and Advocate, Intercessor and Mediator before
God's throne of mercy.
back to top
back to answers
10]
Although Christ is
under the Father in authority, it is through Christ that we learn of the
Father. Christ is the "express image" of the Father (Heb. 1:3), and "he
that hath seen [Christ] hath seen the Father" (John. 14:9). Thus we learn
of the Father, of His plan, His ways, His character, His laws and His
love, through His first begotten and His "firstborn" Son, Jesus Christ.
back to top
back to answers
11]
Jesus Christ, today,
is the living head of His Church, actively, intelligently and personally
guiding and directing it through the Holy Spirit of God. He is
simultaneously fully involved in the relentless sweep of mankind's
historical events as He prepares to intervene in the end time of world
history, returning to earth in full power and authority to take over the
governments of this earth and to set up His divine Kingdom of God as
King of kings and Lord of lords.
back to top
back to answers
12]
Christ, who began the
creation, will also finish it. After the completion of His 1,000-year
rule, Jesus Christ will turn everything over to His Father, and God
Himself will join His billions of spirit-composed sons as the new heaven
and new earth are created (Rev. 21). God and His family will then rule
the universe forever, and of "the increase of His government ... there
shall be no end" (Isa. 9:7).
back to top
back to answers
|
