Every body likes to receive a gift! It is an expression of friendship or even love. I have met people that have kept preciously something without any value whatsoever to anyone else, but they cherished the gift, because they knew the giver and the occasion on which it was given, and these factors made the gift most precious. The title of this chapter is very special, because it draws our attention to a great Giver; someone we don’t know much about and from whom we do not ever expect a gift, that Great person is GOD our creator! I realise that on the worldwide net this article can be read by people that do not know or do not believe in the God of the Bible; they may have never heard that there is such a thing as a Bible, they have never handled one, or seen one let alone read one, but somehow because of an inner, natural search for God who, for reasons unknown to most, they believe, that He does not exist. Yet all men at certain times in their life time have thoughts of God, which can suddenly come alive and often lead, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit may be led to the greatest discovery of their life.  I have made enough references in the previous chapters to sin and its power, this horrible thing that has come between man and his creator, to this day sin remains this great barrier that stands between man and God, which until now, no-one has ever removed!

I have discovered that, through history, people have in their search for someone, some god, made idols and in their inner need to worship, bowed down to the objects they made of wood, stone and metals of all sorts, sacrificed to them, prayed to them and worshipped them even to this very day. I have mentioned previously the first family on earth of which Adam, whom God created, was the father. They knew God very personally, but through his disobedience to God Adam sinned and God never spoke to him again! By his sin, as men increased, the knowledge of Adam’s God died with him. But, if you have a Bible and read it, you will discover that many believed in Him, even in that first family, a son of Adam called Able, believed in the God his father spoke about, he sacrificed to Him and worshipped Him. God spoke directly to a man called Abraham, whom He called to walk with Him. Other manifestations of God, whom Abraham knew under the name of Jehovah, took place from time to time. Abraham became the father of a people that later on received a name, and that people is known even today as the People of Israel, now known as the Israelites. God spoke to them, revealed Himself to them and did some terrific miracles; the Bible is full of them.

Yet the other nations did not know about this God and made their own gods, in rebellion the God who is known as the Creator of heaven and earth. He is the only God, the real God. Man’s idols became to most people on the earth more important than their creator, who is also known as The Almighty God, and their rebellion was condemned by God, who punished these worshippers, for to them their creations became most precious divinities! To some of these idols, men have been known to even sacrificed their own children; they invented gods more and more cruel, from which their worshipers, received nothing in return, because an idol is just q bit of wood or stone, a thing without feelings. When the Apostle Paul was in Athens, the Greek capital, it is said: “That he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols”. Paul became a preacher of the Gospel, as I have mentioned already. His message was about Jesus-Christ! there he mentioned to them that He rose from the dead, Paul knew about the resurrection of Jesus Christ first hand, for He appeared to Him, and spoke to him! What Paul said about his Saviour disturbed religious teachers, priests and philosophers, of which Athens was full. So, he had to explain to them who he was talking about, what was this new doctrine? It happened that in the midst of the many altars erected to the idols, there was one to an ‘unknown god.’ And this is what Paul said to them. “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknownI am going to proclaim to you” (Acts 17:15-34.)

Hence the title of this chapter is, ‘God’s greatest Gift’, it speaks of the GOD of the Bible, called Jehovah, which means ‘I am that I am’ the ever living God. He is the Father of the Lord Jesus-Christ and that of every Christian, and this God gave to the world the greatest gift His, own son: ‘Jesus-Christ’. Concerning this gift, it is written: “For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” (John 3:16,) Hence ‘God’s greatest Gift’ is this fabulous person, this amazing person: ‘Jesus-Christ’ His Only Son, born in Bethlehem! at the age of thirty, began His ministry, and what He preached amazed the people, because what they heard from Him, and the great miracles that He performed they asked: Who is this man?What is the meaning of what He says? What did He do? Why did Jesus do it? What does He do now? And what is He going to do in the future? To find Him, is to find one’s greatest treasure, I know how great because I have Him! Jesus alone gives a meaning to who we are, why God created us and Jesus alone reveals man’s true destiny. 

1 Who Is Jesus? He said concerning Himself: “I am the Alpha and Omega,” says the Lord God, “Who is, and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8.) These statements from the mouth of the Lord, spoken to the apostle John, exiled on the isle of Patmos, prove, by His own confession, that He is the Great ‘I am’ (Jehovah), the ever living ever present God, The Almighty.” (El Shaddai). Jesus Christ is worshiped by all those that He redeemed, He is worshipped by all celestial beings just as is His Father, one day everything and everyone will fall before Him and worship him, for He is God! The apostle John became a prolific writer, and contributed greatly to the New Testament. He wrote an account of the life and teachings of Christ, it is called: ‘The Gospel of John’; it was written just before the fall of Jerusalem, in AD 70, by Titus a Roman Emperor.

The rest of his contribution to the New Testament, are 1rst, 2cd and 3rd Epistles which are believed to have been written between the years 85 to 95 AD from the Isle of Patmos where he was a prisoner, as for the Book of Revelation, also called ‘The Apocalypses’ it is believed to have been written as late as 100 AD. I mention this because it shows that about 65 years after the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ, John confirms that he was writing exactly what He heard from the very lips of Christ, the revelations concerning the end times, and His glorious return to Earth, to establish His Kingdom on earth, which will be followed by the creation of a New Heaven and a New Earth! It is a part of God’s final revelation concerning the end times.

It is not about Abraham anymore, nor is it about Isaac, about Jacob, it is not about Moses neither; they were great men of God, wonderful personalities in God’s economy, but they have had their day, they all died, and like all men of faith they wait for the day of the resurrection. Up to this day, the Israelites pride themselves to be the descendants of Abraham especially, and as such they still feel special and call themselves the people of God, without the Holy Spirit but still relying on the flesh; yet Abraham was what he was because of his faith in Christ, and most of the promises God gave to Abraham have been fulfilled and are being fulfilled by God in Christ and what Christ means and what He does to and with His Church; and the end is not yet, there are still sheep outside the flock! The Bible declares that Abraham is the father of all those that believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. (Romans 4:9-17)

Jesus said to the Jews who were bragging about their father Abraham: “Your Father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.” (John 8:56.) This joy, this special joy has to do with all that God purposed to do in and through His Son, Jesus-Christ, who is preached to all for all nations, with Abraham, God started to change men two thousand years before Christ came, with the call of Abraham, followed by that of Isaac his son, to whom God also spoke and renewed the promise, which was made certain in Jacob whom He called ’Israel’, (meaning prince with God) These patriarchs of Israel, made the coming of Christ a certainty: “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them.”  (Hebrews 11:13.)  When Jesus came to the world He came as a Jew and started His ministry by calling His disciples, who were Jews like Him, He called them and they fallowed Him. They lived with Him, followed Him during three years. After His death and resurrection, they became the nucleus of the Church of Jesus-Christ, which in spite of all the persecutions raised against them, by the very people that condemned their Master to die on the CROSS, grew and grew until now the Church of Christ fills the whole world, but the first missionaries where Jews, apostles that Jesus sent to preach the Good News ~ the Gospel ~. 

To these men, the Patriarchs of this special nation, God promised certain things which they never obtained, by faith, (as stated in the Epistle to the Hebrews chapter eleven) they looked to Jesus-Christ who alone is the heir of all the promises. This is the Christ, the Messiah, the awaited one, not only by the believers from the Hebrew stock, but all the believers from the Gentile stock also, the chosen ones, the redeemed of the Lord, whom He called, the spiritual Israel, Jesus being the first born from among the dead.

2. Isaiah especially, with Jeremiah and the Minor Prophets, prophesied a lot about the coming of the Son of God. They saw things that they could not understand, but the Holy-Spirit was using them as a ‘Porte-Parole,’ to reveal the purpose of the Lord’s coming to earth. Isaiah said concerning Him: “Thus saith God the Lord, He that created the heavens, and stretched them out; He that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein; I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and ‘give thee for a Covenant to the people’, for a light to the Gentiles.” (Isaiah 42: 5-6.KJV) And again: “Thus saith the Lord. In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee ‘for a Covenant of the people’, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages.” (Isaiah 49:8.) Isaiah was prophesying about Jesus Christ, who by fulfilling the law sealed the New Covenant with His blood, and now, shares His victory with all His brothers.

All these mighty words have been said concerning Jesus-Christ and He alone is the Mighty Word of The New Covenant. From His birth right up to His death and after His death, the New Testament is full or references to events prophesied in the Old, including these two chapters of Isaiah, and many more! This is why the New Covenant is different from all the others. All the others were spoken of God and were written, recorded in the Bible, demanding of men submission and obedience, which because of the weakness of the flesh men were unable to keep. But the New Covenant is Jesus-Christ, it is expressed by the life, the words and the acts of the Divine Son of God, and the blessings promised by this Covenant can only be given to the people that receive and believe in Christ, whom God gave as a New Covenant to His people!   This is why the Bible says: “And this is the testimony: God has given Eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son (meaning Jesus-Christ, the Son of God) has life (eternal) he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (1 John 5:11.) In other words, the whole world, people outside of Jesus Christ are spiritually dead, dead to God! Their spiritual death is revealed by their rebellion to God; through their disobedience such men became the enemies of God and of those that believe and belong to Him! For this purpose, Jesus came on earth, to give life, but more about it will be expressed later! 

                     God’s greatest gift to man is Jesus HIS only SON!

“For GOD so loved the World that He gave His Only Son, that whosoever believes in HIM (Jew Or Gentile) shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16.) This verse expresses faithfully who Jesus Christ really is and why He did what he did. It reveals what was and is the eternal intent God has for the man He created. With this verse we have the revelation of the amazing attribute of God which is complemented by the next one which says: “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave Him up for us all ~ how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32.) Here Paul is addressing himself believers in Christ! The New Covenant cannot fail, because it is not left to man to do what he proved unable to do, it cannot fail for Christ is The New Covenant, having fulfilled redemption of all His people, giving freely eternal life to His new people! 

 In Christ, man and God meet never to be separated again. No power on earth or heaven can break or annul this holy union. “God has given us (it means those that have believed in Christ) 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 has not life. (1 John 5:11-12.) If Jesus has you then you have Him! It is not a question of earning this life, through obedience to The Ten Commandments; it is receiving it by grace as a free gift that comes with the Son of God. Everything that man needs, for time and eternity, is given freely to those who accept God’s gift, and with Jesus-Christ His Son, the believer receives the full package, for everything is incorporated in Christ for all those that abide in Him! Forgiveness of sins, justification, the Holy Spirit, and to crown it all, God as our Father!

This is how this Covenant is not the dead letter of the Law, written on tablets of stone, but written in the heart of men, glorious realities for one to feel and enjoy forever: “The time is coming declares the Lord, when I will make a New Covenant with the House of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the Covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my Covenant, though I was a husband to them, declares the Lord. This is the Covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my Law into their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbour, or a man his brother, saying ‘know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34.) In the New Covenant Christ enters the life of man; this happens when man, responding to the Holy-Spirit’s call, accepts Christ as his Lord and Saviour and of the Holy Spirit is born again. This intimate union no-one can brake and the will of God, by Christ the Covenant, dwelling in the heart of His people, is written on the mind and on the heart. A living letter, whose power changes, from within, the whole purpose of one’s life! 

Prophesies are mighty utterances foretelling the future. If you want to know what your future holds for you, you must turn to the Bible and you will learn what is God’s will for you! Many things written in this chapter have been fulfilled by Christ; some continue to be fulfilled to the letter. Prophets foretold things about Jesus-Christ that have offended people since they were uttered, and they continue to offend people especially the most erudite of men, for the human mind sees Him as only another man, but what God says and does cannot be understood by human intellect, there are words which belong to the domain of the Holy-Spirit and a man only begins to understand their meaning when he is born again of the Holy-Spirit, He alone gives the spiritual sense of spiritual things! 

The most educated person can find Jesus obnoxious and unreal; and yet millions, whose eyes have been opened by the Holy-Spirit, see Him as what He truly is, God! He is the third person of the Holy Trinity, the Incarnate Son of God, the promised prodigy, called ‘the seed’, is the true heir of all divine promises made to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, and etcetera. Jesus is the extraordinary man, the God-man. He is: The Alpha and the Omega, for by Him were all things created and it is He, that will bring all things to an end, according to the will of God, the Father. But not until the last elect is brought into the fold, and everything is done as God ordained it before the foundation of the earth. So, Jesus-Christ is the Covenant to the people of God. All others were spoken but never personified, nor were they kept, apart from personal ones, all others were broken. They are recorded in scriptures, but this Covenant, the New Covenant is written by the life, the words and acts of the divine Son of God!There are not written rules that one can learn by heart, but they are found in Christ which means, that none, of the blessings promised by this Covenant, can be enjoyed by those that do not belong to this wonderful person, and form the family of God! Who is this unique man?  He is Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God. This is why the Bible says: “He who has the Son has life!” One cannot bargain with God things are as they are, by the Word of God! The following portion of the Epistle of Paul sent to Christians in Rome, shows what Christ offers to those who put their trust in Him, who is God’s Greatest Gift!

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the Law was powerless to do (for a strict obedience to the Ten Commandments has proved to be impossible) in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. (Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.) So, He condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the Law might be fully met in us, (believers in Christ) who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

         Those who live according to the sinful nature have their mind set on what that nature desires; but those who live accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Holy Spirit is life and peace’ the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

         And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. (These people are the elect whom God has set apart for Himself before the foundation of the earth!) For those whom God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren, and those He predestined, He also called; those He called, he also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.

         What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God be for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, and gave Him up for us all (his elects – all true Christians) ~ how will He not also, along with Him (Jesus-Christ) graciously give us all things? Who wil bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is He that condemns? Christ Jesus ~ who died ~ more than that who was raised to life ~ is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered’. NO, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, (Nothing and no-one) will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:1-39.)

All these privileges, this special standing with God of the people chosen before the foundation of the earth, has nothing to do with merits for there is none, it is all given by pure grace and as far as their eternal state is concerned, everything has already been decided, even before they were born, their appointment for eternal glory has already been settled, proving that this special people, that James mentions, are believers in Christ ~ “God has first shown His concern by taking from among the Gentiles a people for Himself. The words of the prophets are in agreement with this as it is written: ‘After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins will I rebuild, and I will restore it, that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things that been known for ages.” (Acts 15: 15-18) ~… they have their origin in God himself, and it includes all Jews and Gentiles that are set aside, through faith is Christ, from amongst all nations.

People that have accepted Christ as Saviour are born again, they are a new creation born of God by the Holy Spirit, who applies the promises of the New Covenant and as such, they are in Christ and Christ is in them, and since Christ is one with His Father so are all believers one in God. A man saved by grace is the greatest miracle on earth. It seems so impossible for anyone to be saved, let alone a multitude, that no man can number! It took the whole power of God, the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit, to make salvation a reality, that power is at work by the Gospel just as the Apostle Paul says… ~ “I am not ashamed of the gospel (of Jesus-Christ) because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the Gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16-17) ~. This righteousness speaks of a total perfection, moral, and spiritual, all will be completed when at the resurrection of all believers will receive a New Body, as glorious as that of Christ who is sitting on their behalf at the right hand of God! The New Covenant guarantees that God cannot alter the terms as they are embodied in Christ, FOREVER!

The New Testament story concerning Christ starts with an extraordinary man, John the Baptist, the last prophet of the Old Testament, God appointed him to a special ministry. It begins with his father Zechariah, who, whilst serving as a priest in the temple saw an angel: Gideon. He told Him that his barren wife, Elizabeth, was going to conceive a male-child, and that He was to call His name ‘John’. Concerning John, who later was going to be called John the Baptist (or baptizer) Gideon said: “He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of His birth. He will be filled with the Holy-Spirit even from birth, and he will go on before the Lord, (Jehovah) in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous ~ to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. (Luke 1: 14-17.)

 When this John began to minister it says that: “The word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one calling in the desert ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight the path for Him.” (Luke 3:2-6.) I have underlined the word ‘Lord’ because in the quotation from Isaiah, the word Lord meaning Yahveh, better known by most people under the name of ‘Jehovah’. It was so holy to the Israelites that they changed it to Adonai. (Meaning Lord or master) Therefore to really comprehend, in part, who Jesus really is, one has to go right back to Genesis and consider all that “Yahveh” (Lord) did and said, to bring into being things that were not. The New Testament was written in Greek and the word for Lord is ‘Kurios’‘LORD, ‘Yahveh’ in Hebrew, which reveals right from the start the divinity of Christ. The word of God makes it plain that the man who came to John the Baptist to be baptised by him was Jesus, God incarnate, the Holy Son of God, also called Jesus of Nazareth!

Few months later, the angel Gabriel came also to Mary and told her: “Mary, do not be afraid, you have found favour with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name of Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most-High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of his father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; His kingdom will never end.” (Luke 1: 29-33.) This Lord, this Yahveh, was born of a virgin, thus fulfilling the promise given to Adam and Eve, before they were put out of the Garden of Eden; on that eventful day, in Eden a Deliverer was promised to them and all their descendants, just as God said that he would be born of the seed of a woman, so Jesus was born of the seed of a virgin called Mary! He is called:‘Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the Son of God, He is set apart to be an Eternal King. 

When Mary got pregnant she went to visit Elizabeth her relative, as soon as: “Elizabeth heard Mary’s greetings, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy-Spirit, he was to be ‘called the Son of the Most-High.’ (Luke 1:23-55.) The Apostle John begins his gospel with these awesome words which reveal Christ’s divinity seen in creation: 

“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him were all things made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men, but the darkness has not understood it. He was in the world, and though the world was made though Him, the world did not recognise Him. He came to that which was His own people, but His own did not receive Him. Yet to all who received Him to those that believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God ~ children born not of natural descent, not of human decision nor a husband will, but Born of God………The word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. WE have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1-14.)

Jesus said: “I am the light of the world”. These are words that show without doubt that this Jesus is our Creator, God incarnate, the WORD by which all things exist and are held together.  

Jesus’eternity is beyond doubt. The baby born in Bethlehem, who in harmony with His Father, created all things seen or unseen, and it is He that sustains it. By His divine authority the world’s existence is safe and will be so until the New one is created. Men play games, thinking that by their own efforts they can save the world, from what? Who knows, man can only speculate, people need not worry, for nothing will happen to it until the time of the end! Then no-one will save it! It is He that came into the world in accordance to His Father’s will, to save men from eternal damnation. Christians, above all, must believe and proclaim these truths, if they are not doing so they are not His disciples, they are fakes and not worthy of the His Name.

“In the past God spoke to our fathers through the prophets, at many times and in various ways. But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the Universe. The Son (Jesus) is the radiance of God’s Glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful world. After He has provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So, He (Jesus) became as much superior to the angels, as the name He has inherited is superior to theirs.” (Hebrews 1:1-4)

Therefore, we must believe that the Gospel is full of power, they are creative words which alone are able to create a new life, and change the whole character of man by creating of him a new being. Jesus did not come to make men better Jesus has come to make new men; of course, being new they are much better and are born eternal! Every true Christian is a new eternal man, yet while in this body none of it is apparent, yet inwardly very real, when comes the day of resurrection all will be revealed for he will have a new body, glorious and eternal just as is the body of Jesus, the God-man that sat down at the right hand Of God.

1. Who is Jesus?  There are many versions as to when this beginning was. But then there are many beginnings mentioned in the Bible, but whenever that first of all beginnings was, Jesus was there, Eternal, shining with divine glory, the Creator of life by the will of His Father. This next verse, already quoted, crowns all the others: “The word became flesh, and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”(John 1: 14.) Have men seen God? Thousands have, only the blind have not, blinded by Satan they have become fools! The apostle John mentions the event of Jesus’ transfiguration mentioned in Matthew’s Gospel 17:1-8. as follows: “After six days Jesus took with Him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as light. Just then there appeared Moses and Elijah. Peter said: ‘Lord, it is Good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters ~ one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah. ~ While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said. ‘This is my Son, Whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him.”

This event was unforgettable to them, both John and Peter mention it often, there they saw the divine shine through the mortal man, who was destined to give His life as a ransom of his brothers. Because of Christ’s way of life and His teaching Peter with the rest of the disciples realised that there was something more than human about Him and with the help of the Holy Spirit, when he was asked the question, Peter could easily confess to the divinity of Christ: “Who do people say the son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say: John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you” Jesus asked “Who do you say I am?! Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in Heaven.” (Matthew 16:13-17) Such experiences are jewels for us all.

The answer that Jesus gave to them, after Peter’s confession, show that only those, to whom God has opened the eyes of the heart, can know who Jesus really is. There are many references in the Bible stating that Jesus is the Son of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity. But these few references suffice for you to know, as you read them, that, although He was a prophet, the greatest of all prophets, He is not just a prophet, for that Jesus is God!  But just as in His days people wondered who He was, it is so to day, people wonder who is, this babe, born in Bethlehem. “Who is this man”? People wondered when Jesus stilled the tempest, and said ‘who is this man that even the wind and the waves obey to him”?

 Even the religious authority of His country did not know who He was, and when He told them clearly that he was the Son of God, they did not believe Him, and later they chose his affirmation of who He was, for an excuse to condemn Him to be crucified. Religious leaders can be the last persons to listen to, unless they have been enlightened by God, like the disciples have been, and born of the Holy Spirit, they cannot see and know the shining glory of the Son of God; do not listen to self-made men, they are dangerous! Therefore, we conclude this question by saying emphatically that Jesus-Christ is the divine Son of God!

2. What did He say?  “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit and news about Him spread through the countryside. He taught in their synagogues and everyone praised Him.” (Luke 4:14.) The Bible is a faithful record of all that God has said; it is enough for men to know Him and to know His will. Men want to see God, even the disciples of our Lord wanted to see God. In the days of Christ men have asked for visions and wanted to see miracles, so that they could believe, yet God has chosen to reveal Himself by His words, the truth about God is found in the Holy Script, The Bible, outside of the Bible it is simply impossible to find God and understand Him. The same thing applies to the Lord Jesus-Christ. It is remarkable that as soon as Jesus left Nazareth, his employment and family, and made His home in Capernaum, he went to the river Jordan to be baptised. It is there that Jesus revealed openly that the most important thing for Him to do was the will of God His Father.

When He requested to be baptised John the Baptist resisted Him, because he knew that Jesus did not need his baptism, we have this record left to us: “John tried to deter Him, saying ‘I need to be baptised by you, and do you come to me?’ Jesus replied. ‘Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness.’ Then John consented.” (Matthew 3: 13-17.)  To do the will of God from the heart, is to be truly righteous, we realise just how particular Jesus was to obey to the will of His Father. He did not start preaching until He was baptised in the waters of the river Jordan, and because He obeyed God, He was baptised in the Holy Spirit. This is an important sequence because Jesus ministered as a man not as the God that He was, and all He did and said, the miracles He performed, everything was done in the power of the Holy-Spirit!

This is why Jesus said to John; ‘we must do this’ then John consented to baptise Him. This is supported later in the reply of Peter to the Sanhedrin Council: he and the other disciples replied: ‘We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead ~ whom you have killed by hanging Him on a tree. ~ God has exalted Him to His own right hand as Prince and Saviour that He might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy-Spirit, Whom God gave to those who obey Him.” (Acts 5:29-32.) As I often say: ‘There is no function in the work of God without the unction of the Holy Spirit.’ This special unction that Jesus received was mentioned in the discourse Peter gave at the house of Cornelius the devout Roman Centurion to whom God sent Peter. God was going to do something great in that house and to that end He sent Peter, for through the conversion of Cornelius with his relatives and friends, God opened the door for the Gentiles into the kingdom of God. 

Peter said, as he started his discourse: “I now realise how true it is that God does not show favouritism but accepts all men from every nation who fear Him and do what is right. You know the message to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus-Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached ~ how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy-Spirit and power, and how He went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with Him.” (Acts 10:34-38.) Peter referred to the baptism mentioned above, it shows clearly that all that Jesus did and said; He did it with the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit that anointed the Disciples of Christ in Jerusalem when the He filled all those gathered in the upper room. (Acts 2:1-4.)

So, as soon as Jesus-Christ was baptised in the Jordan, it is recorded that He prayed and immediately: “Heaven was opened and the Holy-Spirit descended on Him in a bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, Whom I love; with you I am well pleased;” nothing pleases God more than obedience. It is disobedience to God that brought the whole world into a spiritual vacuum, away from God and it will never be different to its very end! This happened when men started to worship idols rather than God. The Almighty burned Babel, because this idolatrous temple was being built to worship demons, men refused to give God the honour He deserved! God came down and cursed the temple and those that were building it; sending a terrible fire from heaven He burned into rocks as hard as flint. Following the Jews’ rejection of Christ, God rejected them, just as He rejected the Gentiles as I mentioned; idolatry brought them all, Jews and Gentiles into this irrevocable position which humanity bears to this day. God has proved that if men challenge Him, there comes the time when their destruction is inevitable.

The blessings of obedience to God shine out with the obedience of Jesus-Christ, the Son of God. It is important to note that even in the Old Testament, no man could minister under the Old Law without being anointed; it is the anointing that sets men apart for the work for which God appoints them. For this purpose, a special anointing oil was formulated with which the high priest was anointed and all the Levitical priesthood; prophets were also anointed and so were the kings of Judah and Israel. Under the New Covenant the same applies, but the anointing is not with natural essence of certain plants, it is a choice spiritual anointing which the Holy-Spirit applies on chosen vessels. This infilling is called the Baptism in the Holy Spirit!

This is why the Holy-Spirit descended on Jesus-Christ when He obeyed and was anointed to fulfil the purpose for which He came to earth! We shall not dwell on this any longer, enough to say; in conclusion, that this holy anointing descended on the Church in Jerusalem when they were all filled with the Holy-Spirit and began to testify boldly to the resurrection of Jesus-Christ. It was not a very special blessing for the apostles only, but it was shed upon every disciple of Christ that was in that room on the day of Pentecost. It is written in the Bible that the whole Church, every member of the true Church of Jesus-Christ is a priest, and as such, for whatever functions they have, they need this anointing. (Acts 2:1-4), just as we do today! Therefore, from His baptism in Jordan, even unto His death, everything that Jesus did, He did it in the power of the Holy-Spirit. It is the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus went into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil, from which He returned victorious and “Jesus, full of the Holy-Spirit, returned form the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert where for forty days he was temped by the devil.” (Luke 4:1.) But this time, unlike Adam who disobeyed, Jesus overcame him.

After those forty days: “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through the whole country side. He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised Him. He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was His custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”(Luke 4:14-19.)  Jesus never got tired to say that what He did was in the Power of the Holy Spirit, ever stressing that He worked the works of God as a man, never using His divine powers, thus He could say to His disciples: “The works that I do you will do also.” (John 14:12 KJV

Why did Jesus go to Nazareth, where every body knew Him? He spent many years in that town. His father was a carpenter there, just as He was. Brothers and sisters were born into the family, they grew up together, but no-one ever knew who Jesus really was. He knew it, God His father knew it; did Mary not know it? Could she have forgotten some of the things Gabriel told her concerning Christ whom she brought into the world? She knew who He was; she could never forget what Gabriel said concerning Christ before He was even conceived in her womb. Nevertheless, time has a way of changing people and things. We cannot know how much; his brothers and sisters knew as to where He came from and what was going to be his mission. But, the time had come for the world to know it, and it happened when Jesus reached thirty years of age. It was God’s appointed time and so Jesus went to Jordan to be baptised by John, whom God primed concerning the coming of the Messiah. Everything has its timing in God’s economy, waiting for God’s timing is never wrong; it is as much a sin to decide to do something good, as it is when we do something bad, if it is not done in the will of God and without His approval. It is an act of disobedience and all disobedience is sin. Jesus obeyed God to the letter even when He died on Calvary.

Sometime between 740 and 680 BC a prophecy was given by Isaiah the prophet and after all that time Jesus was there, in the synagogue of Nazareth, bang on time to fulfil His Father’s will! A prophecy given one day, will be fulfilled the next, if that is what God wants to do, whereas, one given centuries before will still be fulfilled on the appointed day; this is what happened in Nazareth on that Sabbath morning, when the attendant handed the prophecy of Isaiah to Jesus. It was a scroll, not a book as it is known today. There were no chapter and verses, but Jesus knew exactly where to find it, and read the portion quoted in the previous paragraph. These were followed by the following statement: “Then Jesus rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on Him, and He began by saying to them: ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’ (Luke 4:20-21 – quoted from Isaiah 61:1-2)

The folk that knew Jesus so well, began to wonder what made such a difference to Him, they were asking themselves questions for they realised that something had happened to Him but: “All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from His lips. ‘Isn’t this Joseph’s son? They asked. But Jesus did not answer their questions and began to speak to them: “Surely you will quote the proverb to me, ‘physician, heal yourself! Do here in your town what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’ ‘I tell you the truth’, he continued, ‘no prophet is accepted in his home town. I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut up for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed ~ only Naaman the Syrian.’ All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. It is amazing how quickly people can change when the Word of truth hits them in the heart! The citizens of Nazareth did not like what Jesus said, and the mood soon changed because he seemed to have favoured gentiles rather than them, such as the widow and Naaman the Syrian, whatever it was they who seemed so gentile and opened to what Jesus said previously, became violent and:

“They got up, drove Him out of the town, and took Him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. They wanted to kill Him!! What inspired them is a mystery. “But He walked right through the crowd and went on His way.” (Luke 4:20-30.) Passages like these cannot be missed or shortened, they are important to establish certain truths. They show how Jesus knew the people and by his foreknowledge He knew that they would want to get rid of Him there and then. A bit of divine truth that hits the mark and folk can change from a lamb into a lion, even his own brothers did not stand up for Him. It does not say that His mother defended Him, he was left on His own, although not of His own for His Heavenly Father was with Him and Jesus from the top of the cliff just walked though them and no-one could lay a finger on Him, His time had not come! Jesus said from the prophecy of Isaiah; read in the synagogue in Nazareth: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” (Luke 4:14-19)

As we read all that Jesus said and did, we discover the true essence of the New Covenant, the strength of it is not any longer how men react to the terms of it, but everything depends on how Jesus dealt with it and everything He accomplished in the plan of God, was fulfilling His Father’s will to the letter, it was done for those that would believe in Him. The blessings and promises of most preceding Covenants could never be applied to men as God wanted to because they broke them by rebellion and disobedience to Him. Not so with this Covenant, for it was nor depended on what men did, but on what Jesus did for men His Father gave to Him before the foundation of the earth! Because this Covenant is sealed with His own blood it is still in force today, and all those that come to Christ, repenting from their sins and accepting Him as their Saviour, receive eternal life, now and forever, Why? Because Jesus remained true to God, and fulfilled everything that was necessary for the justification of men that would believe on Him. Believe now and you also will be saved and you too will receive eternal life as a gift of God, by pure grace! Believe that He died for your sins which can now be forgiven!

Everything I have said about Jesus-Christ so far has to do with the person He is. I have mentioned what God said about Him, what men said about Him, what the disciples said about Him and even what demon possessed people said about Him. To know these things, is necessary, to read about them is necessary, because we need to know the God we are dealing with, and why Jesus, to fulfil the law, and die for the sin of the people, chose to become a man. But all of that is of no value to men, unless they are led by the Holy-Spirit to a personal commitment to Him, in other words one has to do more than know things about Jesus, and one must do more than just read about Him, to be saved one must accept all that Jesus is, and all that he has said and did, including Hid sacrificial death, is for all that would believe in Him and accept Him as their personal Saviour. 

All the blessings of the New Covenant cannot be enjoyed without accepting Jesus as Saviour one has to commit one’s life to Him and to His direction, this is what it means when men follow the One that the Bible declares as Lord, and say that “Jesus-Christ is Lord in their life!” If you feel that the Holy-Spirit is touching your heart, and that His call warms your heart, surrender to Jesus-Christ and accept Him as your Saviour, do so and pray a simple prayer, because you do not need a priest for that, you can speak to Jesus yourself and say simply: “Lord Jesus I believe that you died for my sins, I believe that you live in Heaven to save me from sin, from eternal death and from the power of the devil. Come into my heart and help me from now on to live for you, be my Lord and Saviour forever!”

I would like to give you some examples that we find in the Bible of people that came to Jesus, or people that confessed their faith in Him. In the Gospel of Mark, we read concerning a young man that came to Jesus. This is how the Bible explains it. “As Jesus started on His way, a man ran up to Him and fell on his knees before him. ‘Good teacher,’ he asked, ‘what must I do to inherit Eternal Life?’

         ‘Why do you call me good?’ Jesus answered. ‘No-one is good ~ except God alone ~. You know the commandments,’ Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honour your father and your mother.’

‘Teacher’ he declared, ‘all these things I have kept since I was a boy.’

         Jesus looked at him and loved him. ‘One thing you luck,’ he said. ‘Go, sell everything you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.’ At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.” (Mark 10: 17-24)

This is a very sad story, it shows that there is a cost to discipleship; this very rich young ruler sought for a long time for an answer to his deep need, he was obviously a sincere young man. He had everything! There is nothing that he could not get, the kind of situation so many covet, thinking that once one gets to that level in society one needs nothing and no-one else, there is that sense of power. But no money can buy all that one needs, there was obviously a deep set need in the heart of this rich ruler, and he came to Jesus seeking an answer, and what He should do, most probably he was prepared to pay a good deal for it! PEACE! Peace of heart, the feeling that you are alright, safe for ever! That is all this young man wanted. From childhood he kept the commandments, but seeking assurance and peace of his searching heart, he asked: “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit Eternal Life?” Money got him everything he wanted, but it could not help him to find eternal life which he so sincerely sought after! In his estimation, the only thing he so desired, was going to cost too much! So, he turned away from following the Lord, to finish a sad life till he passed away, leaving all his riches and losing his soul! 

Jesus saw that he was sincere, He loved Him, thus he had to tell him to go and sell everything he possessed and to follow Him. Money was his god and he was not prepared to lose it, God had very little room in His life, he obeyed every commandment except the four commandments that dealt with honouring, reverencing God in giving Him the first place in one’s life, which he never did. If Jesus cannot have the throne and rule one’s life, if somebody or something else has it, then, that thing or person is an idol. We have seen previously just were idolatry has led the world and what happened to Israel as a nation! This rich young ruler could not have come closer to the answer he sought for so long, forgiveness of sin and eternal life, he came right at the feet of the Master, but he could not do what Jesus told him to, and went away full of sorrow. 

You might have some wealth as well? Jesus did not mean that everyone that follows Him must get rid of it, but one must not be attached to it or let it become a god, one must be prepared to keep it and serve Jesus, support His work, use riches as a tool not as an idol, and make Him the Lord of it and use it for the maintenance of God’s work in his vicinity, or abroad, but never by obligation, but willingly, one must serve Jesus Christ with everything that one has and is. If you are in that position, then you can use it to serve God with your body and all its faculties, the whole of your heart and soul and everything you may possess to help the work of God or others in need as God leads you. To see the expansion and growth of the work of God is the calling of every Christian, everyone is needed to serve Jesus with everything one has, and with every faculty which God bestows by His Holy Spirit! On the other hand, you might not have any wealth at all, nevertheless by accepting Jesus Christ as Saviour, you must surrender everything you are to Him and follow him ready, to obey Him, and serve Him joyfully in everything, deny yourself and take up your cross and follow him, just as He said!

Jesus loves you just as He loved this young ruler, He readily gave His life for you and shed His precious blood by dying on a horrible cross, on it He suffered untold griefs to cleanse you from sin and redeem your soul from hell! He did it out of love, because there was and there still is no other way. He left His home and His Father for you, gave up everything for your soul to be saved, can you not give Him your puny life and let Jesus  save you and have this Loving God as your friend, your Lord, your Master forever?

If yes, then say this prayer! “Lord Jesus-Christ, what I have learned about you tells me that I am sinner, and that you died for my sins. I believe it and I pray that you take my life and lead it, wash away my sins in your precious blood; help me Lord to live it for your Glory. Amen.” Once you have prayed this prayer and you feel that God has touched you with His love, pray and read your Bible, The New Testament especially, every day. Start with a quarter of an hour. Through prayer you speak to Jesus, and by reading the Bible the Holy-Spirit will speak to you, He will reveal to you how much God loves you and teach you His will, as found in the Gospel. You will feel that something strong is happening to you, true repentance will drive you to tears of joy, and give you a sense of God’s presence in your heart! If it does not happen immediately, then wait for it for it will surely hqppen!

When Jesus was hanging on the cross, two men were also crucified with Him, one on his left and one on his right. The story goes as follows. “Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with Him to be executed. When they came to the place called the scull, there they crucified Him, along with the two criminals ~ one on his right, the other on his left…One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at Him: ‘Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!’ But the other criminal rebuked him. ‘Don’t you fear God,’ he said, since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve, but his man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said: ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ Jesus answered him, ‘I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise’. (Luke 23:32-33& 39-43.) 

It is not important for us to know what these men did; but they did enough for one of them to admit that they deserved death! That is an amazing confession! Then he confessed that Jesus did not deserve such a terrible death! Somehow, he knew who Jesus was, then though in terrible pain, he stood up for Christ and knew that He was a King that would return to take His throne of power, finally, he asked Him to remember him when He would actually come into His kingdom. That was the kind of faith God gives and leads a man to be saved. To this Jesus said something so wonderful. He said: “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in Paradise.” That happens to every one that believes from the heart and confesses who Jesus is! When confession is sincerely made from the heart, Eternal life is given immediately to every person that truly believes. Many would say that he did not deserved it, but the no-one deserves it, this is why God saves a sinner by grace alone. Since all have sinned all need saving!

The thief on the cross confessed the Lordship of Jesus-Christ stating that He was punished unjustly. The Bible says: “Jesus-Christ died for our sins.” Lastly, He believed that Jesus would live forever and that His kingdom was a certainty! The confession of His faith was accepted by the Lord and He saved this criminal there and then. One is not saved by some exceptional merit. No! One is saved by grace, through faith and that does not come from man, this saving faith is a gift from God! I could quote many instances of how people hearing the call of God, believed and followed Christ all the days of their life, but this one must suffice, but as you read your Bible all this will become clear to you, because the Holy-Spirit is true to the Word.

Then Jesus cried out: “When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no-one who believes in me should stay in darkness. As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him, for I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day, for I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. So, whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.” (John 12: 44-49.)

This portion of the Gospel of John states very clearly that it is God who sent Him to this world. Jesus-Christ His Son is the greatest gift God, His Father, gave to the world, to save men from slavery to the devil, from the curse of sin, and from eternal death, all those that would believe on Him. Jesus was sent by God for a special mission, that of proclaiming to men the words of life. Jesus-Christ and His word are one, He is the word and the word is Him. The Gospel is the next great gift God gave to the world, and whereas Christ is now in heaven, He is the Gospel that is preached to the world, the good news is CHRIST, one can hear the Gospel, but it is only as it leads the hearer to Christ, and believes in Him, that he is saved. 

As for Christ His great gift to every believer is Eternal life, it is God’s special gift in Christ, but for you to receive it, by grace, Jesus had to die on the cross and rise again on the third day. It is because that Jesus lives that the believer lives also, for: “Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those that have fallen asleep; for since death came through one man, the resurrection of the dead (in Christ) comes also through one man. (Christ) For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:20-22,) There will come a day of resurrection for every disciple of Christ-Jesus. On that day a new eternal body will rise from the ground into which it was put, and the soul of every redeemed believer, that was in Paradise with Jesus will enter the new body, and with Him the Church of the redeemed will enter the house of God to be with Christ forever! A word to believers will bring this chapter to an end

“But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is Eternal life in CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD” (Romans 6:22-23). I invite you to read more about this subject in the next chapter.