Jesus's Mission on earth.

From right at the beginning, in the book of Genesis, we read of a descendant who would come and reverse the effects of Adams sin. We read of a promised ‘seed’ who would destroy the effects of sin (Gen 3:15 – see The promise in Eden). As we continue we read of this descendant being the focal point of the promises which God gave to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – that he would have victory over enemies and that he would eventually bring a blessing to all the nations of the earth (Gen 22:17-18 – see The promises to Abraham). This hope of a ‘promised seed’ was known to the Jewish people as “The Messiah” – the saviour. Many prophecies were given by the prophets concerning this one who would come to bring men back to God. The Bible speaks of how the people of Israel were chosen by God and that he established a Kingdom for them in the past. However due to disobedience this Kingdom was destroyed but the Bible teaches that the Messiah would be the one who would restore the Kingdom once again to Israel – but this future establishment would be everlasting and the rule of the Messiah would be righteous. As a reward for following the example of the Messiah the Bible teaches that we too can be given eternal life to rule in this Kingdom.

This was ‘the purpose’ that God had from the very beginning which became reality when Jesus (a name which means “saviour”) was born. That God would seek to reconcile mankind back to him again. As the gospel of John records:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1

The reference to “the word” is of great significance. The Greek word is “logos” and simply means “idea” or “purpose”. Gods purpose therefore was centered in Christ and so when “the man Christ Jesus” was born the purpose, the word, became flesh as we read of later in John:

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

Jesus Christ was therefore ‘flesh’. Born a man. He lived a life in which he was tempted to sin like all other men – yet unlike all other men he had the power to resist the temptations of the flesh. He resisted and lived a perfect life of obedience. He is the only man to have ever lived who ‘did no sin’ (1 Peter 2:22). He fulfilled God’s will perfectly so that he was “the image of the invisible God” Col 1:15 and could say to his followers “he that hath seen me hath seen the father” John 14:9.

We read he died a sacrificial, painful death in utter submission to the will of the Father. Why did he need to do this? Why was this in the purpose of God?

Well it was God’s way of opening up a way of salvation and reversing the effects of Adams fall. Only one who possessed the inclination to sin and yet overcome it’s temptations completely could be a perfect sacrifice to take away sin. No other man could ever have done this for everyone else has “sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Jesus then was totally unique. He was indeed the only begotten son of God.

We read in the Bible that death is the wages for sin (Romans 6:23) and so therefore God raised Jesus from the dead because he had no personal transgressions. Jesus had to die to because he possessed our ‘sin cursed’ nature – the same nature we all inherit from Adam. In death he overcame that nature destroying that nature “that had the power of death” (Hebrews 2:14).

Because of this, God raised Jesus Christ from the dead opening a way of salvation for all who have faith in God and in the Messiah – that by associating ourselves with Christ by belief and baptism in the gospel, we can have our sins forgiven and we too can be raised from he dead and given the gift of eternal life.

The Bible teaches us that Jesus has indeed become the “mediator” between God and unrighteous, sinful man (1 Tim 2:5) and that God is willing to input righteousness to us if we associate ourselves with him through baptism. This is the immediate benefit of being associated with Him – that, in the eyes of God we are counted righteous and are able to approach unto God to seek forgiveness of sin. However the ultimate befit is to be given eternal life when Christ returns to the earth. To have our vile bodies of sin prone flesh destroyed and made into immortal bodies. To have our natural natures we in inherit from Adam, destroyed and to be given the gift of an immortal nature.

The promised seed then that was in God’s purpose from the beginning was indeed Jesus Christ. In his first coming he opened a way for men to have salvation and to draw near to God and in his second coming he will restore the Kingdom of God on the earth.