The Truth of the Gospel PII

What About Jesus Christ? the way truth and life

The purpose, the reason Elisha Ministries exist is for the sole purpose of spreading the Gospel, the Good News of the bible. Our tag line says, “Lord open his eyes that he may see”! This comes from 2 Kings 6:17. This is where the servant of Elisha could only see the trouble surrounding them, and not Gods protection.

​2 Kings 6:17 NKJV And Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

In like manner through the study of Gods truth, it is our mission to open blinded eyes to the sovereign power, love grace and salvation that is through the word of God, Jesus Christ.

You can trust the Word of God!

The intent of today's bible study is an introduction of Jesus Christ.

What made Him different? He was unique:

He wasn’t only a man

He was also God

Jesus Christ was God in human flesh, fully man, and yet also fully God. As the Bible says, “He is the image of the invisible God…. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him” (Colossians 1:15,19).

Jesus is different from other religious leaders in His teachings. He spoke with authority that astonished His audience (Matthew 7:29). His teachings included parables, prophecies, and poetry (the Beatitudes in Matthew 5).

Who Is Jesus to You?

Matthew 16:13,15 (NKJV) When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"

Christ “the Way, the Truth and the Life”

Matthew 24:5 For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.

1 John 2:18 Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.

1 John 4:3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

Christ could not have been clearer than He was in His "I am" declarations: "I am the way, the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through Me"(John 14:6). We cannot by-pass Christ to get to God. We must come to grips with His message, accept His death as atonement for our sins, believe that He is alive, and dare to live under His lordship.

In the Old Testament, God revealed His name to Moses: “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:14).

Thus, in Judaism, “I AM” is unquestionably understood as a name for God. Whenever Jesus made an “I am” statement in which He claimed attributes of deity, He was identifying Himself as God.

“I am the bread of life” (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51). Jesus makes a statement about who He is, and He backs it up with something He does. Jesus states that He is the bread of life just after He had fed the 5,000 in the wilderness. At the same time, He contrasts what He can do with what Moses had done for their ancestors: “Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die” (verses 49–50). “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12; 9:5). This second of Jesus’ “I am” statements in John’s gospel comes right before He heals a man born blind. Jesus not only says He is the light; He proves it. Jesus’ words and actions echo Genesis 1:3, “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” “I am the door” (John 10:7 and 9, ESV). This “I am” statement stresses that no one can enter the kingdom of heaven by any other means than Christ Himself. He is the one and only way to enter the fold. “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber”. “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11, 14). With this “I am” statement, Jesus portrays His great love and care. He is the One who willingly protects His flock even to the point of death (verses 11 and 15). When Jesus called Himself the good shepherd, He unmistakably took for Himself one of God’s titles in the Old Testament: “The Lord is my shepherd” (Psalm 23:1). “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). Jesus made this “I am” statement immediately before raising Lazarus from the dead. He holds “the keys of death and the grave” (Revelation 1:18, NLT). In raising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus showed how He can fulfill Yahweh’s promise to ancient Israel: “[God’s] dead shall live; their bodies shall rise” (Isaiah 26:19, ESV). Apart from Jesus, there is neither resurrection nor eternal life.

“I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). This powerful “I am” statement of Christ’s is not merely one way among many ways to God; He is the only way. Scripture said that “The very essence of [God’s] words is truth” (Psalm 119:160, NLT), and here is Jesus proclaiming that He is the truth confirming His identity as the Word of God (John 1:1, 14). And Jesus alone is the source of life; He is the Creator and Sustainer of all life and the Giver of eternal life. “I am the true vine” (John 15:1, 5). The final metaphorical “I am” statement in the Gospel of John emphasizes the sustaining power of Christ. We are the branches, and He is the vine. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit unless it is joined in vital union with the vine, only those who are joined to Christ and receive their power from Him produce fruit in the Christian life. There are two more declarations of God’s name, as applied by Jesus to Himself. The first instance comes as Jesus responds to a complaint by the Pharisees. “I tell you the truth,” Jesus says, “before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:58). The verbs Jesus uses are in stark contrast with each other: Abraham was, but I am. There is no doubt that the Jews understood Jesus’ claim to be the eternal God incarnate, because they took up stones to kill Him (verse 59). When the mob came to arrest Jesus, He asked them whom they sought. They said, “Jesus of Nazareth,” and Jesus replied, “I am ” (John 18:4–5). “When Jesus said, ‘I am,’ they drew back and fell to the ground” (verse 6).

Jesus simply said, “I am.” Applying God’s covenant name to Himself, Jesus demonstrated His power over His foes and showed that His surrender to them was entirely voluntary (see John 10:17–18; 19:11).