Almighty God makes a promise through his prophets in the Old Testament, to provide The Messiah, The Christ, and that he would come through the line of David. Jesus the Son of God, comes forth in order to fulfill God’s promise and reveals himself as the perfect Sacrificial lamb of God, The Messiah.
Through Jesus teachings, through the miracles and the healings he performs Jesus proves himself to be the one prophesied.
JOHN: 3: 14-18;
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but, he that believeth not, is condemned already because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
In these verses Jesus is explaining to Nicodemus a Pharisee, a would be follower and apostle about how salvation for ones soul, one’s spirit is a gift from God and how to achieve redemption from sin. Jesus is also saying that it matters not whether one be Jew or Gentile or, what nationality one might be, that all of mankind is important to God and that belief in Jesus as the “Christ” the Messiah, and believing in Jesus teachings is what is important because through belief in Jesus is the only way to salvation.
What Nicodemus and Jesus’ Apostles fail to understand, is that Jesus is referring to the salvation of one’s spirit.
For it is only through accepting Jesus as one’s savior and through repentance and baptism can one’s spirit be saved from eternal damnation and the “Lake of Fire” thus creating a total and final separation from Almighty God for ever.
In MATTHEW: 23: 8-10;
“But be not called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man Father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.”
Here Jesus teaches the Pharisees and the crowd, but, alone with his apostles Jesus teaches:
JOHN: 13: 13;
“Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well for so I am.”
This is an extremely important statement made by Jesus to his apostles for Jesus openly and freely identifies himself. I AM speaks to Moses in the wilderness and now Jesus identifies himself as, I AM . Furthermore Jesus identifies himself as Lord therefore we can know that in the Old Testament when the Lord is speaking to his prophets or to his people and refers to himself as “I the Lord” it must be Jesus referring to himself, for we can only have one Lord.
In EXODUS: 3:13-14;
“And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me What is his name? What shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”
Through these two passages of scripture from EXODUS:3: and JOHN: 13; we can now establish the fact that Jesus is God, and Jesus is “The Lord” and Jesus is Master and teacher for one and all who will accept him as such. It is also fair and right to believe that every time the “Old Testament” refers to the “Lord”, it is referring to Jesus. I AM and Jesus are one and the same.
JOHN: 10: 30; “I and my Father are one.”
JOHN: 10: 37-38;
“If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though you believe me not believe in the works: that ye may know, and believe that the Father is in me, and I in him.”
The apostle Thomas asks to Jesus; How can we know the way? Jesus responds to Thomas.
JOHN: 14: 6-7;
“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him and have seen him.”
Then the apostle Philip asks Jesus to show the Father to the apostles, to which Jesus replies.
JOHN: 14: 9-11;
“Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not, that I am in the Father and the Father in me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.”
JOHN: 17: 20-21;
“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they may be one; as thou, Father, are in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”
JOHN: 11: 25-26;
“I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.
It is in these verses in the Gospel of JOHN; that Jesus, openly to his apostles and followers, declares and reveals himself to be not just the “Son of man” but “God” the second person of the Holy Trinity of God.
It is through these verses, that Jesus points out to his followers his apostles that redemption from sin no longer requires the sacrificing of a lamb or a goat, that Jesus was and is the “Perfect Sacrifice” recognized by God our Father. Jesus goes on to teach us that his sacrificial blood, will wash away the sins of any person who freely recognizes Jesus as their savior and redeemer and repents their sinfulness to Jesus.
It is through this acknowledgement, by faith that one through their sincerity and trust in Jesus as God that one becomes sanctified and achieves purification from their sin. To demonstrate one’s faith and belief in this, one is baptized, made anew, reborn.