Jesus the Eternal One
March
10, 2015
Gary
Chapman, Senior Associate Pastor
The
most fundamental tenet of the Christian faith is the belief that Jesus is
divine. He was not simply another prophet who lived a good life, taught helpful
lessons and eventually died. He is the divine Son of God who came to earth from
heaven to pay the supreme penalty for our sins, so that God could forgive us and
still be a just God (Phil. 2:5-11).
In
John 16:27-28, Jesus makes it clear that God loves us as His children, because
we have chosen to love Jesus and believe that He came from the Father. God
loves all people, but only those who choose to believe in Jesus become God's
children (John 3:16; 1:11-12). Nothing is more important in life than one's
response to Jesus.
In
verse 28, Jesus states clearly where He came from and where He is going.
"I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now, I am
leaving the world and going to the Father." He came into time and space as
a babe in Bethlehem. He left as the crucified, risen Lord from the Mount of
Olives overlooking Jerusalem. As they watched Him ascend into heaven, his
disciples must have remembered his words, "I came from the Father and...I
am going to the Father."
However,
that is not the end of the story. The heavenly messengers said: "This
Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you
saw him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11). Christ is coming to earth again to
establish His kingdom. Until then, we must be faithful in sharing the good news
of His first visit to the earth.
ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURES: Acts 1:6-12
TWEET THIS: Jesus is eternal. If you
are in Christ, you will spend eternity with him too! #UpperRoom
