1 Peter 3:15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect
From the arguments of Natural Theology (or general revelation) we can acquire a basic foundation for belief in God as creator and designer of the universe. But why think that such a creator is the God of Christianity? To adequately address this further inquiry, we must explore beyond Natural Theology into the more specific study of Christian Evidence (special revelation). At the center of this study is the person of Jesus Christ who claimed to be the Son of God the Father and thus the ultimate revelation of God’s nature to the world.
Who -Jesus is and what we think about him is the center of our faith and our hope in life.
What -The second clause of the Apostles Creed- I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
Why -do we believe this about Jesus and why is it important that we believe this?
Jesus is
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father. – Council of Nicaea (325).
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Who did Jesus think that he was? What was his self-consciousness?
John 14:9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
Matthew 26:63-65 But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy.
Jesus is
While nowadays there is very little argument about this aspect of Jesus, it wasn’t always this way. Docetism/Gnosticism.
There is ample evidence that Jesus was a fully human person, not lacking any of the essential elements of humanity.
He had a Fully human body- he was born as we all are. Had a typical family tree (Gospel genealogies), He grew physically, nourished by food and water. He didn’t have unlimited strength.
As well as: Hunger when he fasted (Matt 4:2), Thirst (John 19:28), fatigue when he traveled (John 4:6). He suffered physically and died like everyone else.
Jesus used the word Man in reference to himself. John 8:40 “now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth….”
1 John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— (John is here establishing the reality of the human nature of Jesus. He actually heard, saw and touched Jesus.)
Scripture attributes to him the same sort of emotional and intellectual qualities that are found in other humans. He thought, reasoned and felt the full gamut of human emotions.
He loved (John 13:23), he had compassion (Matt 9:36), he could be sorrowful and troubled, he experienced joy, he could be angry and grieved with people (Mark 3:5) and even indignant (Mark 10:14). He wept (John 11:33)
The Necessity of Jesus being fully both God and Man
If Jesus wasn’t God, he couldn’t forgive us our sins, if he wasn’t human, he couldn’t die for our sins.
Because he is fully God, the death of Christ is sufficient for all sinners who have ever lived, for it was not merely a finite human, but an infinite God who died. He, the Giver and sustainer of Life, who didn’t not have to die, died.
Because he is fully human, we have a savior who can fully relate to us. He experienced all of the temptations and trials we do. He can understand and empathize with us in our struggles as humans. He is our high priest who represents us before God and intercedes.
The Resurrection He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; The third day he rose again from the dead.
1 Corinthians 15:16-17 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins.
The resurrection is the key and linchpin to our faith for if Jesus didn’t beat the grave, then we are still in our sins and death still reigns. If Jesus didn’t beat the grave, then we have no hope for eternal life and eternity in God’s presence. If Jesus didn’t beat the grave, then he wasn’t who he said he was, and his words and his ministry were pointless.
For Further Study:
Case for the Resurrection in 2 Minutes!
The Minimal Facts Aproach for arguing for the realtiy of the Resurection