Can we know God?
At Providence, we believe that God created the world and that he reveals Himself to humanity through the Bible in the person of Jesus. This is why we believe that Jesus is the most important figure in history, and he is relevant to our lives today.
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. – Hebrews 1:3
So who is Jesus?
The Bible tells us that Jesus is God’s Son and he was sent into the world to save humans from their rebellious (sinful) nature. Although God has rightful rule over creation, humans rebelled against his kind and loving rule. Because God is perfectly just, sin must be punished with the consequence being death.
In spite of our rebellion, God initiated a rescue plan. He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die as a substitute for our sin. During his life on earth, Jesus lived an incredible life that displayed God’s unfathomable love. Jesus was extravagantly generous to the types of people that society shunned – prostitutes, tax collectors, children, widows, the poor and the diseased. He displayed unparalleled authority over nature and the spiritual world.
Like us, Jesus was incredibly human. He struggled with thirst, hunger, betrayal, sadness, physical pain, and fear – but unlike us he never gave in to temptation. Even when he was crucified on a Roman cross, he asked God to “…forgive them, for they know not what they do.” – Luke 23:34
However, Jesus didn’t stay dead. He rose from the dead to show that he comes with a power and authority over sin and death itself. No-one beats death, but Jesus has. In doing so, his death and resurrection accomplishes for us our rescue, as the penalty for our sin has been satisfied in full. Jesus is God’s rescue plan for humanity.
How is Jesus relevant to me?
As a church, we know that unlike Jesus – none of us make the cut. We know that if our lives and private thoughts were put under the microscope, none of us would be innocent. We fail to love and obey God as Jesus did. Thankfully, the Bible tells us that God loves imperfect people like you and me.
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
The foundation of Christianity is not ‘do more for Jesus!’ but ‘Jesus has done everything for you.’ Jesus is relevant to us today because if we put our faith in him, we get to enjoy an unbreakable relationship with the God of the universe, both now and into eternity.
If you are not sure about Jesus and want to find out more about what we believe, we’d love for you to join our Meet Jesus course where you can learn about Christianity in a casual environment.