Jesus

Jesus is the savior of all man, a member of the Trinity, the begotten Son of God, representative of man, the second Adam, the Word made flesh, God incarnate and the firstborn of many brethren.

### The Need for a Savior

Man needed to be saved from a belief system that was killing them, called the knowledge of good and evil. this was the belief that God was withholding his life from us, therefore we need to work to produce lives for ourselves. Since eternal life only comes by accepting it as a free gift from God, the belief in life by our own works leads to death.

Death is the thing we are saved from. God saves us from death because

### Taking on Sin Without Sin

Jesus took on sin, meaning that he experienced the same death we do. But he did not sin, meaning that he did not partake of the knowledge of good and evil. He believed in God for eternal life. He took on our sin so that we could relate to Him, making Him our representative. Jesus went through a process to believe in God for eternal life. First, the news that he was born of a virgin told Him that God was his source of life. Psalm 40:7 told Him that all of scripture (the Old Testament) was written as a letter to Him. Through this revelation, Jesus learned about His sonship, God's gift of eternal life, and the salvation plan entirely through the old testament.

### The Cross

The idea that Jesus took on sin but did not sin can be seen as he was crucified on the cross. In addition, the cross was meant to show the fruit of the Knowledge of good and evil. The cross is tree like, as a stand in for the knowledge of good and evil. Through this, we die to the knowledge of good and evil.

### His Resurrection

Three days after His death, Jesus rose from the grave. This shows that God gives eternal life as a free gift. This disproves the knowledge of good and evil. Salvation from death comes through faith in the resurrection of Jesus because faith in the resurrection of Jesus is simply receiving the same life that raised Jesus from the grave.

On the return of Jesus, the dead will be resurrected. Those who believe in the resurrection of Jesus will receive immortality and dwell forever in union with God. For now, believers in the resurrection experience union with God and the fruit of the Spirit.

### Savior of all People

Jesus came to save all people. All man kind were under death. We see this in the life of Jesus and be befriended those that society looked down on. This included Romans, tax collectors, prostitutes, Samaritans, and many more. The apostle Paul continued this theme as he points out that both Jew and Gentile were under death and both Jew and Gentile are not under Christ.

## Word Made Flesh

One of the most important names of Jesus is the Word made flesh. The Greek word translated as Word is *logos*. Logos can mean reasoning, idea, or way of thinking. The Greeks had this idea called the Logos. The Logos to them was the reasoning behind the universe. The Hellenized Jews took on this idea and saw the Logos of the very wisdom of God through which he made the world.

## In the Trinity

In the Trinity, Jesus was the Son. He and the Father were of one mind, that mind being the Holy Spirit. He was begotten of the Father and the Father loved Him. Jesus existed before His birth and enjoyed fellowship with the Father. When He became a man, he did so to reconcile all man back to God. He still enjoyed fellowship in the Trinity and came so all man can can partake of that same fellowship.

## Names, Titles and Roles of Jesus

### Aleph Tav

Also: The Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last

Aleph and tav are two Hebrew letters that appear together throughout the Old Testament and remain untranslated in most translations. Aleph is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Tav is the last. In Revelation, Jesus calls himself the Alpha and Omega. Alpha is the first letter in the Greek aplabet, and omega is the last. John probably heard the statement in Aramaic as "I am the Aleph and the Tav." He used the first and last Greek letters in place of the Hebrew letters since Revelation was written in Greek.