Articles - Jesus Christ

   The patriarch Jacob “called his sons and said, ‘Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days’” (Genesis 49;1). As Jacob addressed his sons, he said to Judah, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people” (Genesis 49:10, NKJV). This is a Messianic prophecy indicating the first coming of Christ.

   The word scepter was “a rod held in the hands of kings as a token of authority” (Graybill 758). A biblical example involving the scepter is seen when the Persian king, Ahasuerus, “held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther went near and touched the tope of the scepter” (Esther 5:1-2). Esther’s touching the top of the golden scepter was an act of respect and an indication of her desire to speak to the king.

   The world does not like the biblical concept that Christianity is exclusive. In fact, some Christians do not like it either. It is argued that such a concept is intolerant and unacceptable to both God and man. Those who hold that Christianity is exclusive are considered prejudiced, narrow-minded, and by some arrogant. The tolerant argue the need to accept those from other faiths “as they are.” Any attempt to convert those from other faiths [Islam, Hinduism, etc.] to Christ and Christianity is strongly criticized. However, you cannot separate Christ and Christianity. Should Christians accept the world religions as equal to and/or perhaps superior to Christianity? Is it true that adherents to the world religions are simply serving the same God as the Christian? We ask is Christianity improved if it borrows teachings from the various world religions? We believe Christianity cannot be improved upon, but works for man as God intends.

Our belief in the deity of Christ is derived directly from statements concerning Him in the Bible (John 5:39). One of the crucial moments in the ministry of Jesus is Peter’s confession: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). Jesus called for the confession then and He calls for it now. He knew people often talked about Him and had various opinions concerning Him as is seen by His first question, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” (Matthew 16:13). This is quickly followed by the question, “But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15). This question confronts every man of every age so that in the end all have to give their answer to it.