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The Bible teaches that, before the foundation of the world, God planned to have a son who would be the very centre of His purpose with mankind and the earth 1, 2, 3
Both in the Old Testament and the New Testament, Jesus of Nazareth is revealed as the focus of God's divine plan and the highlight of all His promises that make up the Gospel.
In prophecy Jesus is described as:
...the seed of the woman 4 The one who would deal with the enormous problem of sin:
...the seed of the patriarch Abraham 5, 6: the one who would inherit the land of Israel and indeed the whole earth 7:
...the prophetic fulfilment of important features in the Law of Moses such as that of the high priest and the sacrifices 8, 9
...the son of king David of Israel 10, 11 - who would eventually sit upon the throne of David in Jerusalem.
For God’s promises to Abraham and David to be fulfilled, Jesus must return from heaven to be king over the earth, and reign from Jerusalem 12, 13, 14, 15. This is the Good News of the Bible – the Gospel of the kingdom of God 16, 17.
Jesus was conceived – that is to say, came into existence, by the power of the Holy Spirit operating on the womb of the virgin Mary 18, 19, 20. He is therefore called ‘the son of man’ being born of Mary and also called ‘the son of God’ having God as his Father.
As son of man, through his love of his Father, 21 and also his love for his spiritual brothers and sisters 22, 23, 24, he was able to overcome the natural desires of the flesh – that is to say, using Bible words, he destroyed the devil 25, 26. In order to achieve this, Jesus had to be of the same flesh and blood as those he came to save 27, 28, 29. If Jesus had existed before his birth or had a nature like that of the angels, it would not have been possible for him to have overcome in himself that same human nature, which has enslaved men and women from the days of Adam and Eve.
During his ministry, as recorded in the four Gospels, Jesus demonstrated his roles as prophet, priest and king in his conduct, his preaching and by performing miracles through the power of the Holy Spirit 30, 31.
Jesus died because it is right that all flesh is worthy of death 32. Yet because he lived his mortal life without ever sinning, 33 it was right that God should raise him from the dead after three days and nights 34, 35. Because of this, those people who believe the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ 36, can be accounted as righteous, have their sins forgiven and have the wonderful hope of eternal life 37.
Jesus is now at His Father’s right hand as an immortal high priest through whom faithful believers have access in prayer to the Almighty Creator 38.
Jesus will return to the earth, and with the help of his brothers and sisters 39, 40, 41 will restore the earth to its Edenic state 42, 43 before delivering it to his Father 44.
It is impossible to overstate the importance of Jesus Christ in God’s creation 45, 46.