This session explores the profound identity of Jesus Christ, delving into His divine nature, earthly ministry, and the impact of His teachings and resurrection.

Jesus: God Incarnate

Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was with God from the beginning and participated in creation. His coming to Earth in human form is a central mystery of Christian faith.

• John 1:1-4: "In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone."

Jesus’s Earthly Life and Mission

For 33 years, Jesus lived among us, teaching, performing miracles, and ultimately sacrificing Himself on the cross. His perfect, sinless life culminated in His willing death to pay the penalty for our sins, exemplifying ultimate love and sacrifice.

• John 10:30: "I and the Father are one."

• Philippians 2:6-10: “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name...”

The Singular Role of Jesus in Salvation

Jesus's statements about Himself reveal His unique role in salvation and His divine nature.

• John 14:6: "Jesus answered, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'"

• John 8:12, 10:9-11, 11:25-26: These passages further illustrate Jesus’s claims to be the light of the world, the gate for the sheep, the good shepherd, and the resurrection and the life.

Lunatic, Liar, or Lord? - C.S. Lewis's Trilemma

C.S. Lewis famously articulated the trilemma regarding Jesus’s identity: "I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. ... Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God." - C.S. Lewis

Jesus's Resurrection and Divinity

The resurrection is a cornerstone of Christian faith, proving Jesus's claims and divinity.

• Luke 24:6-7: "He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.”

Reflect and Respond: Consider how these revelations about Jesus impact your faith.

1. Jesus's Dual Nature: Reflect on Jesus as both fully God and fully human.

2. The Teachings and Sacrifice of Jesus: How do Jesus's life and teachings influence your understanding of His mission?

3. Resurrection and Faith: What does Jesus's resurrection mean for your personal faith journey?