Treasuring the Gift of Jesus Christ

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In “The Promise of Graceful Living,” you learned that the heart of “Graceful Living” is the message of God’s love and grace given to you in Jesus Christ and the reality of Christ’s continual presence in your life. What Jesus offers to His followers—to you— is a life full of His grace. In this post, you will see that the treasure that God offers you in Jesus Christ is greater than anything you could substitute for Him. He is truly God’s grace-gift to us.

Listen to this post as a similar podcast from the Graceful Living Bible Study covering the essential truths for living a life of freedom and joy in Christ. (11 lessons)

Christianity Is Christ

Think back to a time in your youth. When you heard the name of Jesus, what popped into your mind?

I spent my childhood years in Sunday School and church. I learned that Jesus died for the sins of the world, including my sins. I learned that He rose from the dead. But I never got the message that Jesus wanted to know me personally.

Then, I got to college. After a year or so of floundering around, I started attending meetings sponsored by a campus ministry. There, I heard the leaders give an invitation to know Jesus personally and that Jesus wanted to know me. Someone had me read this verse,

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10)

Jesus offers everyone a life that is abundant and full. I was at a point in my life where I was feeling emptiness. Full is not empty. Full means to have purpose and meaning. I needed that.

Then, I discovered Jesus’ invitation to me in Matthew 11:28. He basically says, “Come to me. Connect to me. Learn from me. Rest with me.” That sounded pretty wonderful. Jesus invited me to a life of fullness, freedom and joy. I said yes to that invitation. My life turned on a dime, and I’ve never looked back with any regret.

Are you interested in a life of fullness, freedom, and joy? Those are gifts wrapped up in knowing Jesus Christ.

Christianity is Christ! It is not a lifestyle. It is not rules of conduct. It is not an organization. Christianity is a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

He invites every man, woman, and child into a close relationship with Himself as brothers, sisters, and friends. Just like He invited those who knew Him 2000 years ago. And as you respond to His invitation to know Him and believe in Him, you discover that Jesus Christ is the ultimate grace-gift to you and to me.

What Jesus Claimed about Himself

But who is Jesus? The New Testament teaches that He is the Son of God who died for our sins and rose again so that we could have eternal life just by believing in Him as the Savior.

I’m sure you have heard people say, “Jesus never claimed to be God.” But is that true? When you look at the text of the first four books of the New Testament which tell of Jesus’ life, you see that not only did Jesus claim to be God, but He also claimed to be the answer to the needs of the human heart. You saw as you worked through Lesson 1 that Jesus consistently calls God His father. He declared His right to judge and said that He deserves the honor that belongs to God. Those are pretty radical statements. The works He was doing could only be done by God.

Even in His trials before the Jewish and Roman leaders, Jesus did not defend Himself against the accusations against Him. But He did speak about something especially. He clearly and boldly claimed His identity as the promised anointed one of God. He claimed to be the Son of Man who was also the Son of God. Jesus was not just a good teacher. He claimed and demonstrated that He was God in human flesh.

Jesus Was Fully Human

Human body

Jesus was fully human. We have a harder time wrapping our brains around that fact than we do believing He was God. Yet, Jesus experienced the normal process of body development from a child to an adult man. He obeyed His parents and learned to live with at least 4 brothers and 2 sisters. See that in Mark chapter 6.

In His human body, Jesus felt hunger and thirst. Tears fell down His cheeks when His friends were hurting. He had the normal human emotional response of anger against the stubborn hearts of the religious people who opposed Him and were not teachable. During the last hours before His death, He experienced distress and pain just as you and I would. He was completely human while being completely God. None of us can really understand how this is, but we must accept it as truth.

Human experiences

And because Jesus was fully human, He understands every single one of your heartaches and my heartaches. He experienced human life for more than 30 years. He gets your physical pain, your feelings of rejection, and your strained relationships. He gets your abuse, your grief, and your impatience because those were part of His life as well.

Jesus interacted with men and women everywhere He went. And there were so many who had heartaches and pain, filled with uncertainty about their future. Jesus looked upon the crowds of people with compassion. He not only felt their need but also wanted to do something about it. And He did something.

Without sin

Jesus was fully human, but He did not sin. Why is that? He lived in perfect love for God the Father, His Father. Because He loved God perfectly, He lived in perfect dependence on God the Father and perfect obedience. And He gave us a pattern to follow so that we can learn to love God and to depend upon Him by faith too.

Not only was He fully human, but Jesus was also fully God.

Jesus Was Fully God

In Colossians chapter 1, Paul wrote the strongest statement of the supremacy and deity of Jesus as the Christ and the Lord found anywhere in the New Testament!

Jesus is the image of the invisible God. He is the exact representation of God’s likeness. We’re not talking about His face but His character (Colossians 1:15; John 14:9).

Jesus as the Son of God is the firstborn OVER all creation. This refers to Him being the one who had priority and supremacy over everything that God the Father owned. He inherited all of it (Colossians 1:15).

Jesus was the Creator. He was not created. All things were created by Him and through Him (Colossians 1:16; John 1:3).

Jesus holds all things together. Christ is the controlling and unifying force in nature (Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3).

Jesus is also Head of the Church. The Jews and Gentiles are combined into one body of believers, and He is the Head of that body (Colossians 1:18).

All God’s fullness dwells in Jesus. The totality of God’s powers and attributes are in Jesus. There is nothing missing. There is nothing more of God that we can get apart from Jesus (Colossians 1:19).

Jesus Christ is fully God and is Lord over all. In the New Testament, Jesus is called the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is His title. It comes from the Greek word christos, which translates the Hebrew title “Messiah” meaning “anointed one.” According to Psalm 110 verse 1, the Messiah would sit at the right hand of God and be called Lord. Jesus not only claimed this for Himself but also demonstrated that He was the Son of God who sits at God’s right hand. Jesus is the Christ. He is also the Lord. Lord means master.

Read more about Jesus as Lord from Colossians 1 in this blog, “Stop the ‘Jesus Is Not Lord over All’ Infection.“

As fully God and fully man, you can be confident that Jesus as human understands how you feel, and He is powerful enough as God to take care of your every need. When you go to Him in prayer, you can trust that He understands, that He knows how you are feeling and what your needs are at that moment. You can trust His compassion toward you to meet your needs. Are you confident of that?

Jesus Loved and Valued Women

The Lord Jesus also demonstrated in His life on earth how much He loved and valued women. He taught them truth about God, forgave them for their sins, accepted them in His circle of followers, and gave new life to them after His resurrection. His care for them was so countercultural to what they had previously known. Women recognized that and responded with love for Him and a desire to serve him. Jesus Christ entered into the midst of their lives, visibly representing God to them, loving them dearly, and changing their lives forever! He does the same for you and me today.

Read more about Jesus’ love for women in this blog, “New Testament Women • Trust Jesus to satisfy your heart needs.”

Jesus’ Invitation to You

Jesus invites you to trust in what He says about Himself—that He is the Son of God—and believe that He died on the cross for you. Have you done that?

As soon as you trust in Christ to be your Savior,

You begin a loving relationship with the God of the universe.

You have a new spiritual life with God’s Spirit living inside you and producing many new qualities in you as you respond to Him.

You receive complete love and acceptance by God as your Father.

You receive treasure that is yours to know and experience for the rest of your earthly life.

You will never be without Him. He is in your life forever. Ever.

Make it your goal to delve into your spiritual riches and learn how to experience the kind of life your God has prepared for you. These wonderful truths are based on what Jesus Christ has done for you. None of these benefits can be earned. You received them the moment you placed your faith in Christ. Grasp them as true about your life as you grow in Christ.

Read other blogs in the “Graceful Living” blog category.

Seek the Greater Treasure

The treasure that God offers you in Jesus Christ is greater than anything you could substitute for Him. Why not spend the rest of your life getting to know this Jesus who gave Himself for you so you could have a new life? That’s graceful living.

Let Jesus satisfy your heart with His grace so that your life overflows with His grace every day. You will experience a life of freedom and joy!

All of the above information is covered in the Graceful Living Bible Study covering the essential truths for living a life of freedom and joy in Christ.

Other Resources