Thinking about names and their meaning is fascinating, and deeply instructive; however lest we focus on the terms instead of the person they represent – we’ll now turn our attention to “this Jesus”.

When Paul the apostle wrote to the church in Rome, he uses his opening greeting to summarise some of the most important things about Jesus as regards the Gospel. Let’s look at it together:

¹ Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, ² which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, ³ concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh ⁴ and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord

Romans 1:1-4

What points does he make? First of all, he confirms what we have already said, that Christ is Jesus, and in him is fulfilled the promise of the Old Testament.

Next however, we are given three very important statements regarding Jesus. First, that he is the Son of God; second, that he is a descendant of man according to ‘the flesh’; and third, that he is Jesus Christ our Lord.

Christ: man and God

The first two of these points (that Christ is the son of God and that he is descended from man) are probably as confusing as they are important, and the manner in which both are true at the same time is something we’ll need to look at in a little detail. In order to do this, we’ll take a look at the way John starts his Gospel – because amongst the introductions to Jesus the Christ given by the Bible, this stands out, starting before creation rather than with the events of the birth.

John talks about ‘the Word’ which, we’ll read, was in the beginning. In fact, the ‘Word’, John reveals, was not only with God in the beginning, but the Word was God:

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. ⁴ In him was life, and the life was the light of men.⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

John 1:1-5

The mysterious ‘Word’ is explained a few verses later, in verse fourteen, where we read that the Word became human (flesh) and lived amongst men. Whilst it takes no great deductive leap to see that the Word is Christ even at this point, and the rest of John’s gospel makes this link indisputable:

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14

This then provides us another answer to our question, “who is Christ?” – that Christ is God, that Christ was with God in the beginning, and that all things that were created were created through him. Yet, not only that, but it shows how we arrive at the second point, that he became man by becoming flesh and dwelling among us.

These perspectives present two important ways to describe Christ; that he is both divine and human. As to the nature of this, the scripture as a whole leads us to conclude that he is ‘fully man’ and also ‘fully God’. Try to keep these two distinct but inseparable natures of Christ in mind as we continue to discuss his role in salvation.

Christ is: Jesus, God, and man

Christ the Lord

We noted as our third point that Paul also calls Jesus “Lord” when he greets the Christians in Rome. This can be a helpful term for our understanding of Jesus, and it primarily expresses the concept of master or ruler. This is the title used by the angels who herald the birth of Christ when they greet the shepherds with the wonderful news that “unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11), and it’s also the term of choice for his disciples as they speak to him.

The Old Testament also establishes the basis for this term, and contains prophesies directly related to it. For example, Christ explains his role as Lord by using a passage from the Psalms (Psalm 110:1), explaining the way in which whilst he is descended from King David yet he is a greater than him, having a divine rule that makes him Lord even over Kings:

⁴¹ Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, ⁴² saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” ⁴³ He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying:

⁴⁴ “‘The Lord said to my Lord,

Sit at my right hand,

until I put your enemies under your feet’?

⁴⁵ If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?”

Matthew 22:41-45

So, for Christ to be Lord is an expression of his status as ruler – but not only over his followers, but in an absolute or divine sense. He is not just a king or a lord, but rather “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Revelation 19:16).

There is also, in some parts of the New Testament, a further significance to the title “Lord” – for the Greek word κύριος (kyrios) we translate “Lord” is used in Greek to translate the Hebrew name for God, יהוה(Yahweh, in some Bibles written Lord). So, to confess that Jesus is Lord in this sense is no less than to confess that he is God – and this is just what we find in places such as Paul’s exhortation to the Romans where he quotes the Old Testament (Hebrew) prophet Joel who wrote of Yahweh as applying to Christ (Joel 2:32):

⁹ … if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (….) ¹³ For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord (originally Yahweh) will be saved.”

Romans 10:9, 13

Christ is Lord

Christ the Son of God

Whilst the title of Lord is founded in the relationship of Christ as ruler and Lord over man, the title of Son of God which we’ve touched on already is based upon the relationship between Christ and God. We’ve already seen in our introduction to Christ that Christ is both God and man; and here we start to see a little of the way in which this divine authority and status rests upon Christ. It is a status and position which is established early in the narrative account, with Luke recording that the very angel who announced the forthcoming birth used such a term:

³⁰ And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Luke 1:30-32

The same terms are again used at the baptism of Jesus, when the voice of God declares that he is the Son of God. It is already clear that this Jesus is not merely a prophet or holy man – but distinctly and definitely of God.

¹⁶ And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; ¹⁷ and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Matthew 3:16-17

Although it would take his disciples some time to really understand his divinity, only really coming to terms with it after he died and had risen again, the demons were aware of it from the beginning – testifying to him as the Son of God.

²⁸ And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. ²⁹ And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”

Matthew 8:28-29

By the time Christ had risen and sent the Holy Spirit to his disciples, this title as applied to Christ was well understood and employed in the scripture. We see expressions describing God as the Father of Jesus, and Jesus as the Son of God in many places within the letters of the New Testament – such as this statement from the letter to the Colossians:

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you

Colossians 1:3

Christ is: the Son of God

Christ the Son of Man

Now, in what may initially seem to be a contradiction to the title ‘Son of God’, Christ frequently describes himself as the Son of Man. It is this term by which Jesus often refers to himself, hinting at his fulfilment of the vision of Daniel¹. Likewise, it puts forward his humanity and so contributes to a certain tension as those around him seek to understand just who he is.

A powerful example of this phrase is seen in the so-called account of the healing of the paralytic. Here we meet Jesus who performed two miracles, separated by a teaching about himself.

The first, was to forgive the sins of a paralytic man – an action which is to declare himself to be God who alone can forgive sins. The second, was to heal the man, an action which is explained as being done to show that “the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”:

² And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” … ⁶ But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” ⁷ And he rose and went home.

Matthew 9:2-7

Notably, it’s also the way that Christ later refers to himself when he predicts his death and resurrection (e.g. Mark 8:31).

Christ is: the Son of Man

There is so much more that could be said about who the Christ is that it would fill volumes and to cover them all is beyond the scope of this book². However, having set out some of the foundations, we will go on to learn a lot more about Christ in the rest of the book.

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Warren Weirsbe’s book ‘Jesus in the Present Tense’, subtitled ‘the I Am statements of Christ’ really is a book which does what it says on the cover. If you’re expecting a treatment of the ‘I Am statements of Christ’ then you are most certainly not going to be disappointed; yet, this in this work Warren Weirsbe does much more than exposit the relevant verses of scripture. Throughout this work the audience is challenged to think more deeply upon Christ’s message, and in particular – the immediate aspects of Christ.

The major body of this work consists of a discussion of places where Christ describes himself by a phrase of the form ‘I am…’. Thus, we have treatments of both the more obvious statements such as ‘I am the light’ but also those less frequently discussed such as ‘I am the door’. Throughout the work, the author strives to look at the way in which these statements of what Christ ‘is’ mean in an immediate context of us who ‘are’. So, not only is there a good discussion of the resurrection (‘I am the resurrection’).

Through this structured discussion of the major ‘I am…’ statements we arrive at a surprisingly well balanced and considered understanding of Christ and how he revealed himself. Some of the statements do indeed provide a challenge to the way we tend to think about Jesus as long past or end-of-the-age future, and so provide refreshing opportunities to think about Jesus now – or I suppose – Jesus in the present tense. In some places it was difficult to understand how the ‘present tense’ implication was derived from the Biblical text, however this was rare.

Expect a fast paced but detailed discussion amply backed up by Biblical references. One of the great strengths of this work is that not only will you take away the author’s interpretations and reflections, but you will have set before you no small amount of the word of God. I recommend this to all, without qualification – for although I am sure that as in any theological discussion there are points that some might quibble about – the work definitely presents a great deal of valuable reflection and information. As with all theological works you will need to reflect for yourself upon the topics and the Biblical passages and see where you agree, and indeed where you differ.

This particular version is in audio format and is narrated very ably by Maurice England, who is both clear and brings interest to the text. It is delightful that the included scripture was not passed over with a verse reference but read as provided, making this a work which can be well received even without a Bible in hand.

With thanks to christianaudio.com who provided the review copy that made this possible.

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