We believe that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Why? What is the basis of our faith? John
tells us: -- "This is he which came by water and blood, even Jesus
Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that
beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth." Here is the witness of
the water, the blood, and the Spirit.
1.
We know that Jesus is
the Christ, the Son of God BECAUSE HE CAME BY WATER. What does that
mean? Water is an emblem for the written Word of God (John 15:3; Eph. 5:26;
Tit. 3:5). We know that Jesus Christ, our Lord, is the Son of God, the anointed
One, because he came according to and in fulfilment of all the types, promises,
and prophecies of the Old Testament Scriptures (Lk. 24:27, 44-47).
2.
We know that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God BECAUSE HE CAME BY BLOOD. The sinlessness of
his life, his obedience to God, and his miraculous powers are not sufficient to
prove Christ's Deity. We see his Deity when we see the death which he
accomplished as the sinner's Substitute upon the cross (Matt. 27:54). His death
was a voluntary act (John 10:17-18), a vicarious atonement (John
11:49-52), and a victorious accomplishment (John 19:30).
3.
And we know that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God, BECAUSE THE SPIRIT BEARS WITNESS TO HIS
DEITY. John the Baptist recognized Christ as the Messiah, the Son of God,
by the descent of the Spirit upon him at his baptism, in the form of a dove. On
the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit bore witness to Christ's exaltation and
enthronement as King, by his descent upon the assembled church. And the Spirit
bears witness to Christ's Deity and dominion through the preaching of the
gospel, convincing sinners, chosen and redeemed by him, that he has the power as
the God-Man Mediator to give them repentance and the forgiveness of sins (Acts
5:30-32).
Every
believer knows, with absolute assurance, that Jesus Christ is God the Son, the
Son of God, our sovereign Lord, and our almighty Savior by the witness of the
Word, the witness of the Blood, and the witness of the Holy Spirit.