Who Is? Who Is Christ? Who Are You? Who Is the Church?

By C. Hysten

In this current crucial age that we live in, to say that the storms of life have increased with greater intensity is a severe understatement. We can agree that the intensity of the storms that we have encountered in recent times has increased exponentially. The torrential rains have flooded our lives with uncertainty and loss of direction. The strong accompanying winds of these storms have blown at a velocity that we never before could have imagined or comprehended. The aftermath of the winds has sometimes caused complete disorientation and disarray. These cataclysmic times have shaken some to their very core and have caused a massive upheaval in the foundations of others. We have been able to handle challenges and situations in our lives before recognizing them as just a part of life. However, it seems the challenges and situations are more complex, and they compound one after another, one on top of another. It has caused us to go back to the basics, and in introspection, we again seek out the truth of who we are and what our purpose is on this earth.

There are three essential questions we need to establish in ourselves to ensure our foundations are solid. Our approach must be without previous assumption, cultural tradition, or societal influence.

Our journey together will begin the discourse of the following fundamental questions as we discuss who Christ is, who you are, and who the church is.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781098079840

Book preview

Who Is He?

When you think of the word Christ, what is the very first word you think of? Take note, and we can discuss it later.

Whom do men say that I am? The men that Christ Himself had handpicked rattled off a bunch of different answers. When they finished answering, He asked them who had walked with Him daily since his public ministry began, But whom say ye that I am? Oh, how we wish that we could have been in the Master’s circle when He asked that question, and that we could have so bold a response as Simon Peter’s, Thou art the Christ. Just imagine what it would be like for the morning star to turn the light of His brilliant countenance, rest it upon you, and then say, Blessed art thou. Well, actually, you are in the Master’s circle right now, and He is asking you, Whom do ye say that I am? He is asking you as a believer. He is asking you as a follower, a disciple of Him. He is asking you who is Christlike and has a personal relationship with Him. He is asking whom do you, who has committed the last twenty years of your life to Him, say that He is? On this question, we want to readily jump on the bandwagon with Peter’s answer and say, Thou art the Christ, but He is not looking for us to parrot an answer from Peter without any concept of what the answer means. He wants us to be clear on what the answer means. Come journey with me and let us converse more about Christ.

So many words come to mind when we hear the word Christ. For some, the word that comes to mind is friend. For others, the word that comes to mind is master or teacher. We have coined many phrases about who Jesus is, a way out of no way, a doctor in the sickroom, or a lawyer in the courtroom. We even said, He is food on the table, or He is my everything! What about you? What was the word that you wrote down moments ago? Was it teacher? Was it friend? Was it rabbi?

It will serve us well to revisit and add to our study of the meaning of the word Christ. Several years ago, through progressive teaching and revelation, we came to understand that Christ is not Jesus’s last name. We are very thankful that revelation is progressive, and that the Father has had great patience while He waits for us to catch up so that He can reveal more to us at a greater pace as the time is