FBCD_FaithEssentials_June_FlipBook

Faith Essentials

coming to Satan’s domain, this sin-stained earth. Instead of insisting on and clinging to the privileges of eternal deity, He sacrificed that status, entering temporal time in “the form of a bond-servant." Everything about His earthly existence—birth, life, and death— exhibited humility. Virgin birth— The virgin birth of Christ, a monumental Kingdom axiom, is “anticipated in Genesis (3:15), prophesied in Isaiah (7:14), and proclaimed in Matthew and Luke.” 1 When Mary asked Gabriel how this could happen since she was a virgin, the angel Gabriel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the most high will overshadow you” (Luke 1:35). God had to be the Father, for otherwise Jesus would have had the blood of a sinful Adam flowing through His veins, thus rendering His sacrifice for sin unacceptable. Fully human— Speaking of Jesus, the Bible says, “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). Paul states that He was “made in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7). As I’ve already alluded, Jesus did not cease being God when He became a man. He was the “God-Man.” In fact, his favorite designation for Himself was “Son of Man” —a title He used 87 times. He was a Jew, raised in a Jewish home. Attending the synagogue in Nazareth, He studied what we now call the Old Testament. Being human, He faced temptations like the rest of us –the difference being, He never sinned. He experienced hunger and thirst, shed tears, and expressed joy and compassion, which leads nicely into the next section, a brief description of Jesus’ earthly ministry. During this three-year time, which the Gospels carefully record, Jesus engaged primarily in a three-fold ministry of preaching, teaching, and healing. He fed the hungry, raised the dead, led the lame to walk and restored sight to the blind. He played no favorites, spending time with the up-and-comers, the down-and-outs, and everyone in between. Rather than pointing fingers and berating the

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