Who is this Jesus?  There are so many misconceptions of who Jesus is.  84% of America believes in Jesus, but they fail to know the Gospels, what He actually preached, where He is from, and so much more.  Many people have tried to depict Him, but they have a poor definition of who Jesus really is.  Some people think he was just a good man, a great teacher, but fail to realize that He is God’s own son.

This lack of awareness stems from a poor definition and misconceptions of God.

God has been misperceived in many different ways.  Some see God as one who counts all our wrongs and is out there to condemn us.  People use God to condemn others and bring them down.  Others see God as the “fall” guy, and blame Him when things go wrong.  Then there are others that see God like a good luck charm and believe it is His responsibility to bless us. Even Christians misconceive who God is.  A lot of people fail to realize that God is the hope for a crooked world.

Jesus is the one man who stands out in the whole world.  His life was short; His ministry was only three years long.  He has inspired the world’s greatest music, literature and art.  Countless people have given their lives to Him.    His word has been studied, analyzed, scrutinized, and debated. People have debated whether Jesus existed, but there is more proof that Jesus has walked around on this Earth than others.  There are historical records of His existence.

People need to know who Jesus is.  In the end God will ask us what have we done with His son.  Even his disciples did not realize that Jesus was one with God. As the Bible says, "Jesus said to him, 'Have I been so long with you and yet you have not come to know Me? He who has seen Me has seen the Father'" (John 14:9).

Jesus was God in the flesh.  He is the fullness of God, if you know Jesus, you know God.  As it is written, "For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body" (Col. 2:9 NLT).

Jesus’ divinity was from God His father, and humanity from His mother.  He had the power to command the angels and the heavens, but yet He was human. He died and gave to those who believe in Him everlasting life.  You are not going to know God, through religion and rituals.  You will know God by Jesus.  To learn who He is, you must:

1.  Measure Jesus by GOD'S WORD, not man's.

God’s word is the truth and it is narrow and specific.  It has certainty and there are no generalities with it.  Knowing God’s word is knowing who He is. Scripture says, “Now these (Bereans) were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the Word with much eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so" (Acts 17:11).

To know Jesus, you must do,

·     Devotions and journal daily.

It is important to read the Bible and journal daily. Reading will help you gain your knowledge.  Use the word of God to give a clear concise picture of who Jesus is. Journaling will help you reflect on what you read.  It is reflections that will change and shape you, not the experience.   Reflections help us define the experience that changes you.  Feed yourself the word and become F.A.T. in it. F.A.T. meaning, Faithful, Available, and Teachable.

To know Jesus it is also important to,

2.  Ask Jesus to Reveal Himself to you.

Remember, "If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching whether [or not] it is of God" (John 7:17). Also …

·     Be sure to keep an Open heart

Jesus will reveal Himself to you, but you must ask.  You must also keep your heart open to Him.  If you have a closed heart, you will not be receptive to Him. You must also understand that …

·     Revelation comes only to those who Obey.

As it is written, "He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me, and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and disclose Myself to him" (John 14:21).

We keep our hearts open to Jesus, by listening to Him and keeping His commandments. If we are obedient to keeping His commandments, Jesus will reveal Himself to you. By reading His word, keeping an open heart, and being obedient, it helps us to correctly know who Jesus is. 

You must be willing to,

3.  Respond to Jesus!

Jesus is waiting for us.  He calls us to respond to Him.  Most people don’t respond to Him, because they don’t want to make a decision and commit to Him.

There are tons of proof that Jesus has existed.  God has all the knowledge of the universe, but what He placed in the Bible are the things to believe so that we can have life in Jesus. 

God is a just judge. He has created us in His image and we are eternal.  God made heaven for us.  He created Hell for Satan, his angels, and for those who chose not to believe in Him.  We are punished by the consequences of our sin, not God.  God needs to be accurate and just.  He holds the universe with His word.  His precision and accuracy is why we are able to live and exist on Earth.  If the earth was positioned in any other way, the earth would either be too hot or too cold to support life.

The priests were angry with Jesus because He overturned the tables at the temple.  They questioned Him about His authority but He answered by questioning them. The Bible continues, "And answering Jesus they said, 'We don't know.' He also said to them, 'Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things'" (Matt. 21:27).

·     In other words, "If I cannot be accountable to the truths I already know, why should He reveal to me truths that I don't yet know?"

God will not respond to you, if you chose not to respond to Him.  He places the truth in front of you, and it is your responsibility to make that decision and commit to Him.

You should only compare yourself to Jesus, not other people.  In man’s own eye, we think our actions are good compared to others.  The Nazis thought they were doing good and they were fulfilling scripture by how they treated the Jews.  They would do painful experiments and tried to exterminate them.  They were comparing themselves to other humans, and thought they were good.  You must take great caution not to compare yourself to other people.

As the Bible says, “But when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding" (2 Cor. 10:12).

You should use Christ as the standard of measure, not other people.  Using Him as a measure gives you the awareness that we are all sinners and in need of a savior.  If you compare yourself to other people, you end up thinking that you are better and you don’t need to repent.  You must humble yourself before Christ.   It will help you be more aware of who he is and who God is.

Always remember, "Behold, now is the acceptable time, behold now is the day of salvation" (2 Cor. 6:2).

1.   How do you get to know God’s word?

2.   How do you become FAT?

3.   How Does Jesus reveal himself?

4.   Why is it important to respond to Jesus?