FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

IS JESUS CHRIST A MAN, OR IS HE GOD?

The story of Jesus is either the greatest event in history or the cruelest hoax. If it is a hoax, then the whole of the Christian message crumbles together with the hopes of those multitudes of lives built on his name. The apostle Paul said: “And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up; if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.” -1 Corinthians 15:14-19 (NKJV)

But if the story is true, then this world has been hit with extraordinary news of earth-shaking consequences. Have you taken the trouble to decide which it is? In a matter this weighty, it is in your interest to explore the truth or falsity of Christ's claims. Amazingly however, many people who don't believe have never bothered to explore the evidence in support of Jesus,[1] but to the contrary, often run away from it. At the same time, many Christians themselves are not sure, at bottom, whether the claims of their faith are solid. Is the Christian claim a hoax? Is it just wishful thinking? Or is it actually true?

SORTING THROUGH THE CONFUSION Disagreement abounds today regarding the identity of Jesus of Nazareth. If you were to randomly ask people in a survey who they think he is, you would get a variety of responses. Some might say he is a great prophet who stands equal to Buddha, Mohammed, Confucius, and others. Some give him credit for being a profound moral teacher. Still others might say he was a loving, but weak person who happened to get killed for a noble, but lost, cause. Who do you think Jesus is? Are the above opinions accurate to any degree? Or are some relevant details missing? Our age rightly demands open-mindedness and intellectual honesty in any investigation. So also regarding Jesus, it is essential to have all the facts before deciding for, or against, him.

Jesus Christ claimed to be God, the Creator of the cosmos, the one and only way by which we can enter into Heaven. These are high claims!

Our relativistic age is confusing the whole issue about Jesus by imagining his relevance to be merely a matter of individual taste, like one's choice of hats! But the issue is really of an altogether different kind. Either this claim of the New Testament is true or it isn't. If it is falsehood, then let us go on to something else. But if the claim is true, shall we not come to terms with him and believe in him as he commands? The answer to that question rests not on what we may happen to prefer, but on whether Jesus of Nazareth stacks up as the one he claims to be.

Helping you understand that he indeed is The Eternal Son of God (John 8:58) is what this answer is all about. Millions of Christians are quite certain that your eternal destiny and mine is at stake over what we have done with Jesus Christ (1 John 5:11-12).

Jesus Christ is most definitely God. He is the Creator of the universe. The Bible says, "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made" (John 1:3). This includes all the stars, all the original animals and plants, and even the angels (Colossians 1:15-17).

It is important not be confused. Jesus was not created by God, but he was always existed. Because He created Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, in his own image.

Jesus proved that he is God by doing many things that only God could do. These are called miracles. He made dead people alive. He walked across a great lake. He made blind eyes see perfectly again. He healed deadly diseases with a word.

He humbled himself to become like one of his own creations. He chose to become a man to help us in an extremely important way. This amazing event happened about 2-thousand years ago. The results have changed the world forever.

The part of God that is called the Holy Spirit created God's human body inside of a woman named Mary (Matthew 1:20). God went into this human body that grew inside of Mary. The baby was born and grew into a man. At various times, Jesus had appeared to people in human form. One example is when he appeared to Abraham just before the judgment of the evil cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. But now, for the first time in history, God did not simply appear as man, he became fully human. Yet, he is still God. He is both God and man.

One huge difference between this man and every other man and woman, or boy and girl, is that Jesus was (and still is) sinless. We humans are full of sin. We sin every day. Jesus never did anything wrong, not even once. No matter what temptations came to him, he refused to sin. He has always remained pure and perfect.

Isn't it amazing to think about?! Our Creator walked among us. Like us, our Almighty God smelled the flowers and touched the animals that he had created. He loved boys and girls. As a man, God experienced the same temptations that we feel (Hebrews 2:18). He suffered the same kind of physical pains that we suffer with. He also experienced emotional pain. He even wept about the city of Jerusalem (John 11:35). He was ignored, unappreciated, unloved, misunderstood, and even despised -- even though he did nothing wrong, and always loved everyone (1 Peter 2:23). Not only is Jesus Christ the greatest man that ever lived; he is our Creator. He deserved all glory and honor!

I am sure that you have heard what people did to him. It was horribly painful and terribly unjust. He had the power to stop their torture and taunting at any time. His power is awesome beyond anything we can understand. Yet, he did not defend himself. He let himself be like a perfect, innocent little lamb that hurt no one, and was sacrificed for the sins of the people.

He did this for us, because he loves us. Only he could pay the price for our sins. Only he could save us from the punishment we deserve. He suffered for us (1 Peter 2:21; 3:18; 4:1).

Today, he lives in Heaven and works to help us (Romans 8:34). The Bible tells us that one day he will return to earth to become the rightful king of the entire world. That will be a most wonderful time! Finally, we will have a leader that is good and wise in every way. The earth will be filled with God's glory and justice. Life on this planet will become so much better. Even the dangerous animals will become harmless (the wolf will lie down with the lamb) (Isaiah 11:6).

Is Jesus Christ God or man? The amazing answer is BOTH; he is God and man.

Why did God become a man?

God did this wonderful thing for various reasons, including:
....to fulfill the prophecies of God's Word To satisfy the law, paying for all who are guilty of sin (Isa. 53; Heb. 9:12,15).
....by his sacrifice, he purchased the right to give us salvation.
....to show us an example of how to live, and to tell us important stories face-to-face.

“And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”—1 John 5:11-12(NKJV)

Next Question:
How and why did God greatly humble himself?