WHAT IS THE "GIFT OF GOD?": PART FIVE

Let me begin with a summary of what I have written so far. Part One explains why Ephesians 2:8 does not say that faith is a gift of God, but that salvation is the gracious gift of God to man. Part Two discusses how faith is necessary for one to be saved. Part Three presents the necessary of Jesus being the object of one's faith in becoming a child of God. Part Four began our study into the identity of the biblical Jesus, the Savior. Part Five is a continuation of our look into Who the biblical Jesus really is.

*Jesus was, is, and always will be the Son of God (Rev. 4:8).
*He is eternal (1 Jn. 5:11).
*He is the Creator (Jn. 1:1-3; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:1-2).
*He humbled Himself and died for the sins of the world (Jn. 1:29; 3:16; Phil. 2:8).
*He is the Son of God, demonstrated by His resurrection from the dead (Rom. 1:4).
*He is with God in heaven making intercession for us (Col. 3:1; Heb. 7:24-28).
*He is awaiting the time to gather His Church (Mk. 13:32; Jn. 14:6; 1 Thes. 4:13-18).
*He will return to rule this world for one thousand years (Rev. 19:11 - 20:7)!
*He will judge the living and the dead (Rev. 20:11-15).
*He will create a new heaven and earth (Rev. 21:1, 23).

Notice that when we describe Jesus, we say that He is the eternal Son of God. The rest of what we say identifies Him by His actions: what He has done, is doing, and will do in the future. In other words, most of what we really know about His identity is recognized through the description of His actions in relationship to mankind.

The Bible is our source for, not only understanding who Jesus Christ is, but it is the source for our true understanding who we are. It is how we know we were created as a triune being, having a body, soul, and spirit (1 Thes. 5:23). It is how we know that when we sin, we die spiritually (Gen. 2:17; Jn. 3:3-8). It teaches us that, as sinners, we are in need of a Savior (Rom. 3:23). And, praise God, it reveals to us that Jesus freely offered Himself to be the Savior to all who "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ" (Jn. 1:12; Acts 16:31; Rom. 6:23; 10:9-10; Eph. 1:13).

The "gift of God" spoken of in Ephesians 2:8, like any other gift, is given out of the love of the Giver. God loves us, so He GAVE us His Son (Jn. 3:16). Salvation is not earned by works, for then it would be our "wages" rather than a gift (Rom. 6:23). God offers us salvation, He "holds it out for us to accept." It is when we recognize our need for what He offers, when we believe His offer is genuine, and when we are choose to accept it, that we are saved! We become a child of God! We are born again! JESUS IS THE GIFT OF GOD!