Who Is This Jesus?

By Alfred Davis

Who do you think Jesus Christ is? Do you think the Bible accounts of the life of Christ are true and accurate or more the stuff of myth and legend? Could Jesus Christ really be God manifest in the flesh or was He simply a prophet and a teacher? Did He really die on the cross to pay for our sins or was the cross and unforeseen failure? Is Jesus alive today or dead in the grave?

"Who Is This Jesus?" looks at the nature and work of Jesus Christ as revealed in the greatest book of all time, the Bible. It is an examination of such things as the incarnation, the Trinity, the resurrection, and the deity of Jesus Christ. Along the way it looks at the Lord's Supper, Sunday worship services vs. Sabbath keeping, the reality of heaven and hell, and whether or not Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation.

"Who Is This Jesus?" also includes a final chapter presenting the birth of Jesus Christ entirely from the Scriptures. This chapter alone makes a great personal or family devotional and an inspirational Christmas Eve reading for home or church.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alfred Davis
• Release date: Oct 16, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301686520

Alfred Davis

Alfred B. Davis (Pastor Al) is the pastor of the Bible Baptist Church (http://bbc.mapleknoll.us/), located in his hometown of Richfield, Ohio. He also hosts "Live with Pastor Al" and "Late Night Live with Pastor Al" (http://live.mapleknoll.us), live, call-in radio programs dealing with Bible questions and current events in light of God's Word. Pastor Al has a B.S in Wildlife Biology, with a minor in Botany, from Colorado State University and a B.A. in Bible from Heritage Baptist University. He also served in the United States Air Force prior to going into the ministry. From a background in biology and natural resource management, a stint in the United States Air Force, church planting in the Samoan Islands of the South Pacific, and pastoring in Northeast Ohio, Pastor Al brings an uncommon outlook and unique insights to his comments, discussions, and writings. "Late Night Live with Pastor Al" airs Sunday nights, 11:00 PM - 12:00 AM on WHKW 1220 AM & 96.9 FM (Cleveland, Ohio), & WHKZ 1440 AM (Warren, Ohio). "Live with Pastor Al" airs Friday afternoons, 1:30 PM - 2:00 PM, on WHKW 1220 AM & 96.9 FM (Cleveland, Ohio). You can listen to previous programs at http://www.livewithpastoral.com.

Book preview

Who Is This Jesus?

A Look at the Nature and Work of Jesus Christ

by

Alfred B. Davis

Maple Knoll Publications

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2012 Alfred B. Davis

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If your would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

All Scripture quoted is from the King James Version of the Bible.

Cover photo courtesy of Nova Development Corporation

Table of Contents

Foreword

The Mystery of Godliness

Grasping the Trinity

Did Jesus Go To Hell?

Cross or Crucifix?

This Do In Remembrance

Is It Wrong To Worship On Sundays?

A Reasonable Basis of Faith

A Debt We Cannot Pay

A Little Religion

On What Day Was Jesus Crucified?

The Birth of Christ as Recorded In the Scriptures

About the Author

Connect with Me Online

Acknowledgements

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Foreword

Who do you think Jesus is? Do you think the Bible accounts of the life of Christ are true and accurate or more the stuff of myth and legend? Could Jesus Christ really be God manifested in the flesh or was He simply a prophet and teacher? Did He really die on the cross to pay for our sins or was the cross an unforeseen failure? Is Jesus alive today or dead in the grave?

As a pastor, Bible teacher, and a Christian radio talk show host I am frequently asked questions about Jesus Christ. People want to know who He is and what He is. They want to know what He has done, why He was put to death, and whether or not He really rose from the dead. They want to know why people devote their lives to Him.

I've had people ask me how Jesus can be present as God on the earth and yet talk to God the Father in heaven and still be one God. I've been asked how I can believe Jesus is the only way to heaven and how one man's death can atone for the sins of many. I've answered questions regarding Jesus Christ, His nature, and His work by religionists and atheists, Christians and non-Christians, people of various ages and backgrounds, and even scoffers, mockers, and seekers.

Every question, every challenge can be met and answered with the Word of God. In Luke 24:13-27, for instance, Jesus appealed to the Scriptures while walking along the road to Emmaus in order to teach His disciples who He was: ...O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. Then, in Acts 8:26-35, Phillip uses the same approach with the Ethiopian eunuch when he, ...opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.

Paul used the same approach as well. In Acts 17:1-3 we read, Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ. Furthermore, the Bereans were later commended in Acts 17:11 as being, ...more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

So, come join me as we search the Scriptures together and answer the question, Who is this Jesus?

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The Mystery of Godliness

Have you ever read a really good mystery? I mean the kind that keeps you turning page after page until you finally find out whodunit. Some mysteries tease you with tantalizing clues and red herrings that keep you guessing until the very end. Others let you know whodunit in the very beginning but the mystery involves how the hero can prove it. Still other mysteries do not necessarily involve a crime. They may be based on a mysterious legend or an odd happening that leads to an exciting adventure, or perhaps a chance encounter or revelation of hidden knowledge that profoundly alters the life of those involved.

In the Bible we are presented with several mysteries, including: the mystery of the kingdom of God (Mark 4:11); the mystery of the rapture (1 Corinthians 15:51); the mystery of God's will (Ephesians 1:9); the mystery of Christ (Ephesians 3:4); the mystery of His will (Ephesians 6:19); the mystery of iniquity (2 Thessalonians 2:7); the mystery of godliness (1 Timothy 3:16); and the mystery of the seven stars and the seven golden candlesticks (Revelation 1:20). These Bible mysteries largely have to do with the revelation of previously unknown or hidden spiritual truths that have profound implications for mankind.

Time and space do not permit me to discuss all of the various Bible mysteries mentioned above. However, there is one in particular that I would like to look at, the mystery of godliness: And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. (1 Timothy 3:16). The mystery of godliness was revealed by the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul to a young coworker, Timothy, whom Paul had left to shepherd the church in Ephesus (1 Timothy 1:2-3).

Specifically, the mystery of godliness encompasses the life and ministry of Jesus Christ in six short statements:

1.He was God manifest in the flesh.

2.He was justified in the Spirit.

3.He was seen of angels.

4.He was preached unto the Gentiles.

5.He was believed on in the world.

6.He was received up into glory.

Of these six statements the fact that God was manifest in the flesh is probably the greatest mystery and the greatest revelation. The other five statements help support and verify the revelation that Jesus Christ is the incarnation of God Himself in the form of a man.

The incarnation of God in the form of the man, Christ Jesus, is an incredible mystery. It is revealed to us in the Scriptures through prophecies such as Isaiah 7:14, which 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. This prophecy is fulfilled in Matthew 1:23, where we