Bible Study

The Real Jesus, Part One

Throughout history, some people have misunderstood or twisted the foundational scriptural truths about Jesus. Based on inaccurate ideas about our Savior, cults have broken from historical Christianity. In this two-part study, learn the scriptural evidence for defending what the Bible says about Christ.

• Before you begin, write down your understanding of who Jesus is.

   

A. Son of God

1. Scripture teaches that Jesus is God’s Son.

    

   The Old Testament spoke of a royal Son who would be uniquely related to the Father (Ps. 2:7; Is. 9:6)

   • What did the angel tell Mary about her child (Luke 1:32, 35)?

      

   • In the Gospels, God affirmed Jesus’ sonship by speaking from heaven (Matt. 3:16-17; Matt. 17:2-5)? Why do you think He did this? Use a concordance or search engine to locate other passages that record God’s audible words. What additional details are provided in those accounts?

      

   • According to the parable in Matthew 21:33-41, how is Jesus different than the Old Testament prophets who had been sent by God?

      

2. Scripture teaches that Jesus is God’s Son.

   The divine sonship of Christ doesn’t just mean that He obeys the will of the Father perfectly. It means that Jesus is God. Although He is one person, He is fully divine and fully human.

   • How did the Jews respond to the Messiah’s claim to be God’s Son? Why (John 5:18)?

      

3. Application: Cults will sometimes acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God but deny His divinity. However, our faith teaches that Jesus is truly the almighty God, although He fulfills a different role than God the Father.

    

   • How is Christ uniquely qualified to reveal the Father to mankind (John 1:18)?

      

   • How does the believer’s “sonship” differ from that of our Savior (Gal. 4:4-7; Rom. 8:15-17)?

      

   Note: Revelation depicts us as serving Jesus in eternity, not as gods or co-equal brothers and sisters (Rev. 22:3-4).

B. Born to a virgin

1. Jesus was miraculously conceived of a virgin.

    

   • How did Mary become pregnant (Matt. 1:20; Luke 1:34-35)?

      

   • What Old Testament prophecy did this fulfill (Is. 7:14)?

      

   • What does Immanuel mean (Matt. 1:22-23)?

      

   • How do we know Jesus wasn’t the son of Joseph (Matt. 1:18, 1:25)?

      

2. The people of Jesus’ town knew Joseph wasn’t His father.

    

   • The Jews said to Him, “We were not born of fornication” (John 8:41). What were they implying?

      

   • In Jesus’ day, people were known by their father's name, unless his identity was in question. How do the townspeople refer to Him in Mark 6:3?

      

   Note: Critics claim the story of the virgin birth originated from pagan myth. It is true that myths and legends depict divine males, in human or other form, impregnating female humans. But theologian James Leo Garrett Jr. points out that unlike the myths, the story of Jesus’ conception was without sensuality or immorality. At the time, the Israelites excluded themselves from Gentile thought and practice. Therefore, it’s unlikely that devout Jewish Christians would have borrowed mythological elements for the story of the Messiah (Systematic Theology: Biblical, Historical, and Evangelical, 591).

3. Application:

    

   • Why is Jesus’ absolute holiness so critical to our faith (1 John 3:5; 2 Cor. 5:21)?

      

   The virgin birth is an essential historical indication of the Incarnation. It confirms both Jesus’ humanity and His deity.

C. Fully human

1. Scripture refers to our Savior as human.

   Paul wrote, “The one mediator between God and man is the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5, emphasis added).

   • What did John say about the idea that our Lord didn’t come in the flesh (1 John 4:2-3)?

      

   • From your knowledge of the Bible, describe the ways Jesus experienced the physical and emotional aspects of being human. (For help, see Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 2:40, 52, 4:2; and John 4:6, 11:35.)

      

2. Jesus willingly took on human characteristics while remaining fully God.

    

   • Read Philippians 2:5-8 and describe what this passage reveals about Jesus’ deity.

      

   • When He became a man, Jesus operated within the limitations of humanity and chose not to exercise some of His divine attributes, such as unlimited knowledge (Mark 11:13; Matt. 26:53). Regarding the second coming (Luke 21:27), for instance, Jesus said, “But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone” (Mark 13:32). We can be assured that today, Christ knows when He is coming back (Lectures in Systematic Theology, 93).

      

3. Application:

   Various cults—such as the Gnostics in the first century—have claimed that Jesus merely appeared to be a man. However, any reliable historian would assert that Jesus was a genuine, first-century historical figure.

   • Why is the fact that God came in human form so important (Heb. 2:14-15, 4:15-16, 7:25-27)?

      

   Unless Jesus was fully man, His death could not have been the perfect substitutionary sacrifice for humanity’s sins.

Closing: Because Christ was the sinless Son of God, yet fully human, His death and resurrection made a way for us to be reconciled to the Father. Today, He sits at the Father’s right hand, making intercession for us.

Prayer: Father, thank You for sending Your Son to die for our sins—and be raised to life again—so that we could live eternally with You. Help us be prepared to give an answer for the hope that we have. In Jesus’ name, amen.