Who is Jesus?

The Bible describes Jesus as the image of the invisible God - he is God's clearest revelation of himself, and the focal point of his purposes in the world. You may have heard the word Gospel - this word means “good news”. It’s pretty important to understand that. The Bible is not a book that tells us what we have to do to earn salvation, it is a book that tells us what God did to give us salvation as a gift. We believe it is a book that makes sense of the world as it is, and gives us hope for what it will be.

 

God created human beings and intended for them to look after his world in partnership with Him. Jesus taught that we were created to above all else love God with all our hearts, and to love each other as we love ourselves. Any honest look at ourselves shows us that we don't live that way - we live for ourselves. Any honest look at the world around us shows the consequences - fractured relationships with God, one another, and our world.

 

The heart of the Gospel is the Good News that Jesus has come as God in the flesh and has obeyed God perfectly and has therefore won the right to all the blessings God originally intended to give to men and women. Furthermore, through his sacrificial death on the cross, he has paid the debt that we owed to God for disobeying his commands. There is therefore no need anymore for us to hide from God. In Jesus, we can come home and we can be restored.  The climax of the Gospel is the great news that he rose from the dead and ascended into heaven where he now represents us to God the Father. He gives the Holy Spirit to all his people, who changes our hearts, reforms our desires and teaches us how to be the children of God we were always intended to be. The Spirit also gives all believers different spiritual gifts for the building up and growing of the church.

 

For now, Jesus remains in heaven, changing the world one person at a time, but one day he will return and judge the world justly. He will remove from this world all sin and all causes of sin and he will renew creation to a state of peace, prosperity and flourishing. All those who have received him as their Lord and Saviour will participate in his rule and enjoy his goodness forever.