I Believe in Jesus Christ |
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The Apostle's Creed starts its second part with the declaration: And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, Our Lord. Taking this clause in its entirety we see that there are four statements here.
Eventually we will want to look at each of these statements individually but for now let us see how they fit together to make that one, all embracing, summary of who Jesus is. He is named "Jesus".She [Mary] will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." We tend to think of Jesus as a very special name which we (at least in the English speaking world) would think twice before giving to our own children. (Spanish speakers do not seem to have the same inhibition). However, in first century Palestine it was not particularly special, it was quite a common name. It was, in fact, just another version of the name Joshua, which means "The LORD saves" or "The LORD is Salvation". The name is a very meaningful one, of course, and is prophetic in terms of his ministry but it is still just a name. It shows us the humanity of our Lord. It shows that Jesus is fully a man, fully human. It is important to remember that, while some ancient religions had myths about gods who came to earth disguised as humans, we have a Saviour God who became truly human and lived among us, not back in the mists of time but in recorded history. He is called "Christ"."But what about you?" Jesus asked. "Who do you say that I am?" We tend to use the expression "Jesus Christ" as if it were Christian name and surname. But Christ is not a name at all. It is a title, or a job description. Christ is the Greek word for "anointed" and is the equivalent to the Hebrew word "Messiah". For centuries the prophets had foretold the coming of an anointed King who would come to bring about the Kingdom (or Reign) of God. It was the Messiah who would fulfill the ultimate destiny of Israel as the chosen people. Peter, when he was challenged about his belief as to the person of Jesus declared his conviction that Jesus was the promised Messiah. It is that belief that is at the heart of the Christian faith. Jesus said: "this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not overcome it." The rock on which the church was to be founded was not Peter (which means "stone") but the Messiahship of Jesus. He is called God's only SonIf Peter's declaration of Jesus' Messiahship was the rock on which the Church was to be built, the special relationship between Jesus and the Father has been the rock over which many people have stumbled. Muslims cannot accept the possibility of God having a son - for them it is blasphemy. Jehovah's Witnesses, Christadelphians, Unitarians all accept that the Bible refers to Jesus as the Son of God but cannot accept that such a title can suggest any degree of divinity for Jesus. Other sects and early heresies (including many Gnostics ) have believed that Jesus is God but refuse to accept his true humanity. The Christian Church believes that Jesus is both truly Man and truly God - that Jesus' relationship to God the Father is different to the relationship which any other person or angel can enjoy. That is why the creed says that Jesus is God's only Son. He is "Our Lord"To an Englishman, the word "Lord" usually suggests either an hereditary title for a "peer of the realm" or a life member of the upper chamber of parliament, the House of Lords. Either way, in today's society, it does not mean very much. To any person living in the Roman Empire it meant a great amount. Lordship meant absolute ownership. The person who is called Lord is absolute master. People living in the Empire were expected to state that "Caesar is Lord". That indicated absolute royalty and also divinity. This is partly why it was so dangerous to be a Christian in the early days of the Church. Nobody who followed Jesus could say "Caesar is Lord" because "no man can have two masters". ( Mat 6:24 ) To say that "Jesus is Lord" is to confess that he is my master, my owner - I am his slave. But he is the one "whom to serve is perfect freedom". It is also to confess that he is my King and must be allowed to rule in my life and he is worthy of all my worship. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain (All full biblical quotations in this article are taken from the New International Version and have been inserted into the text using "QuickVerse for Windows" from Parsons Technology .) |