Previously here in our blog, we talked about the fact that mankind could never pay the debt caused by sin; man could never provide his own salvation by himself, because sin caused the spiritual separation between man and God. Only a divine intervention could build that connection again; only the grace of God could restore our spiritual beings to the original format. So, God, because of His amazing goodness and mercy, sent Jesus Christ, His Son, to die for us on the cross, bringing salvation to humanity.
The Bible says, in John 3:16, that “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”. As we see here, God elaborated a perfect plan to fully save man from the strongholds of sin. There was no man pure enough to offer himself as a sacrifice for the entire humanity; because Adam was the first man, he transferred that inclination to sin to the rest of the human race; and, as a result, men would be forever stained. However, Jesus came as a man to save us.
The Bible also says, in John 1:14, that “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth”. Here, Jesus is referred to as “the Word”, meaning that He was the perfect expression of God. Jesus Christ was God’s message to man. Not one specific type of man, but all men, all races, in all regions, in the entire globe. Jesus, the Son of God, came to Earth to reveal the heart of God; therefore, throughout the entire period of time that Jesus lived among men, He revealed the character of God through His actions and through His ultimate sacrifice.
Jesus came to Earth the same way as all of us – in a woman’s womb. Her name was Mary. The book of Luke tells us a little about her history. She was a virgin that lived in the city of Nazareth; she was pledged to be married to a man named Joseph. One day, an angel, the angel Gabriel, came to her, saying that she would conceive and give birth to a son called Jesus. Since she was still a virgin, how would she conceive such a baby? God would put that baby inside of her, and He would be the Son of God. That way, Jesus could identify Himself with us.
It was necessary for Jesus to come as any other man, so that he could partake of human nature; that way, He could understand the weakness and hardships faced by man. That way, He could be our representative to die for us, to bring us a new possibility of life and to show us how to live accordingly to this new nature, as it is written in Hebrews 2:14-15: “Since the children are all creature of flesh and blood, Jesus took on flesh and blood, so that by dying He could destroy the one who held power over death – the devil – and destroy the fear of death that has always held people captive“.
When man was created, there was a honest and perfect relationship between him and His Creator; however, sin interrupted that communication. And, because man could not restore himself, God took the initiative of saving man, making possible the perfect and eternal reconciliation between Him and man. In order to represent man before God, it was necessary that Jesus could experience the temptations that man suffers in his flesh and soul. However, Jesus lived his entire life on Earth without committing any sin. He was blameless; He was pure. The way He came to Earth represented the way He lived His life – He was generated in a virgin’s womb, and He lived a virginal life.
This sinless life could serve two purposes. First, if, for the ultimate forgiveness of man’s sins, it was necessary a perfect sacrifice from man, Jesus was the only man capable of offering that sacrifice; He was the only man that did not commit any kind of sin from birth to death. Second, He became a model for man to follow. Although partaking of human nature, He showed us how to live a life connected to God, guided by His directions and being inspired by Him to act and to think. That way, when we accept the sacrifice of Jesus, when we accept Jesus into our heart as our Lord and Savior, we already have a model of how to live according to godly principles, because, as I said before, Jesus is the perfect expression of the heart and character of God. When we observe how Jesus acted throughout His life, we have a perfect picture of how God is.
In the Bible, in John 1:12, it says: “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”. Here, we see that Jesus came to Earth as a man so that we could be made sons and daughters of God. With the perfect communication with God being reestablished, we become part of the family of God – He is not just our Creator, but also our everlasting Father. However, what does it mean “to receive Jesus”? In that case, to receive means to grasp, to claim, to lay hold of and to not let go. Using what happens in a marriage as an example, when someone takes a person as a wife or as a husband, to receive Jesus is to willingly take Jesus to yourself. It is to lay hold of Jesus inside of your heart. In order to receive Him, you have to believe in Him; however, it does not mean to just believe that Jesus truly existed, but to completely rely on Him. You have to understand and to accept with your heart that the sacrifice of Jesus is truly capable of changing your life if you rely on Him as the Lord and Savior of your life.
Jesus died on the cross to wash away the sins of man and He resurrected to make this new life with God a reality, to make it available to us. Through Him, you can find forgiveness for your sins and have peace with God. Through Him, you can find a life full of purpose. In Jesus, we have the perfect provision for redemption from the guilt of sin. You do not need to live a life surrounded by guilt and misery. You can have an inspired life. A meaningful life. The price of debt was already paid; you just need to truly accept this truth into your heart and to decide to change. Jesus, the Son of God, has the power to change your life and to connect you to God; you just need to be willing to truly believe in that.