How To Know Who Jesus Is

Many people who read the Bible understand that within it, Jesus Christ is called the “Son of God” and the “Messiah” (Hebrew - the anointed one) and Savior (one who brings salvation). But there are other revelations it gives in regard to Jesus Christ and the steps below help us to understand these, as claimed and stated in Bible scriptures.

1. Read the scriptures that claim Jesus was God – part of the triune Godhead (Father, Son and Holy Ghost), who became a human being. The Bible states in I Timothy 3:16, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh..." This verse states that Jesus was “God manifest in the flesh”, meaning that God was made into a man. Many other verses in the Bible state this as well, including a passage in John’s Gospel, stating that Jesus was the creator who became flesh. John 1: 10-12 says, “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not..." This passage states that the creator came to those he created, on their level but was rejected by some of them and crucified as a blasphemer, for claiming to be God.
2. Jesus refers to his “pre-existence” as part of the Godhead, before becoming a man. In John’s Gospel, chapter 8, Jesus was conversing with the religious leaders of the time and they began to question who he was, while also accusing him of being demon-possessed. This led to Jesus making a statement in regard to his pre-existence, meaning that he was part of the Godhead before becoming a man. John 8:53 and 58 say:

   “Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead?...
   Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.”

3. Old Testament prophecy/scriptures state that Jesus is God and pre-existed his appearance as a man on earth. Jesus at his coming to earth, as stated in the scriptures, fulfilled over 300 Old Testament prophecies and there are an additional 500 in regard to his second coming. In Isaiah 9:6-7, we find an Old Testament scripture passage that is a combination of both first and second coming prophecies but also reveals who Jesus is and was. It reads:

   “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”

   Isaiah 7:14 is another Old Testament scripture that reveals who Jesus is, and is re-quoted in the New Testament. It says, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” The re-quote of this scripture in the New Testament is found in Matthew 1:22-23, which says, “Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”

4. The Bible claims that Jesus will return to earth and will place all of the governments of the world under God’s authority. The scripture that was quoted in the previous step, found in Isaiah chapter 9, states that “the government shall be upon his shoulder”, in reference to Jesus as part of the Godhead, taking back the worldly authority that Adam lost to evil/Satan in the Garden of Eden. The Bible says that by Adam’s acceptance of evil in the Garden of Eden (Genesis chapter 3), he was turning his God-given authority and dominion (Gen 1:26-28) over to evil.

   A scripture in the Book of Romans, in the New Testament, describes this type of yielding authority in terms of servitude. Rom 8:16 says, “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” This is what took place according to the Bible, when Adam yielded to Satan in the Garden of Eden; afterward, Satan is actually referred to as “god of this world”.

   There’s another example of this in II Corinthians 4:4, where it says, “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” Notice in this verse just quoted, that the “god” in this scripture is not capitalized, as opposed to all references to God. This is a description of the present evil system of this world that is not yet placed back under God’s authority but that the Bible claims soon will be.

   Here is scripture from Revelation 5:9-10, in regard to Jesus Christ taking back the world’s authority, which says:

   “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”

   Another one in Revelation that similarly makes this claim is in Rev 11:15, which states, “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.”

The Bible scriptures, as quoted above, clearly convey that Jesus pre-existed his appearance on the earth, was involved in the creation of all things and will, at some point, place all government and dominion in the world back over into God’s authority. While certainly not everyone is a Bible believer, these steps listed above can inform a reader of what the Bible claims in these areas.