[Christ is the subject and center of the Bible and is the main content of the Bible from beginning to end. Even more He is the reality of our faith. We who have believed into Him and received grace must know Him in a thorough way.]
Matthew 1:21 says, “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.” [When Christ was incarnated to be a man, He was given the name Jesus by an angel. Jesus is equivalent to Joshua in Hebrew (Num. 13:16), which means the salvation of Jehovah, or Jehovah the Savior. Thus, He is the Savior, who will save His people from their sins.] Matthew 1:16 says, “Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.” [The second name of Christ is Christ, the equivalent of Messiah in Hebrew (John 1:41), which means the anointed One. This name reveals that He is God’s anointed One, being anointed by God with His Spirit to create and to redeem in order to fulfill God’s eternal purpose.] Matthew 1:23 says, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” [Jesus and Christ were names given by God. When men discovered that He was God, they called Him Emmanuel, which means God with us. This name reveals that Jesus, who is our Savior, and Christ, who is God’s Anointed, are actually God Himself coming to be with us.]
“Christ, who is over all, God blessed forever” (Rom. 9:5). [This word simply and strongly declares that Christ is God, who is over all, the complete God blessed forever.]
“But these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (John 20:31). Christ is also the Son of God, that is, God the Son.
“The Man, Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5). Christ is not only God, He is also man. He is the complete God who became a genuine and perfect man. This is a great mystery.
“You in the beginning, Lord, have founded the earth, and the heavens are the works of Your hands” ( Heb. 1:10). He is the Creator.
“The Son of His love...Firstborn of all creation” (Col. 1:13, 15). [This tells us that Christ is also a creature, even the Firstborn among the creatures. As the Firstborn, He is the first. As God, He is the Creator of heaven and earth and all things; as man, He is the first among the creatures.]
[In being anointed by God to be God’s anointed One to fulfill His eternal plan, Christ accomplished and will accomplish the following great things:]
“You in the beginning, Lord, have founded the earth, and the heavens are the works of Your hands” (Heb. 1:10). [The first great thing Christ did was to create the heavens and the earth, all things, and man. Hence, He is the Creator of all things.]
“And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us...full of grace and reality” (John 1:14). [The second great thing accomplished by Christ, God’s Anointed, was that He as God became flesh; that is, He came to be a man in the flesh to be the tabernacle of God among men, bringing God to men to be realized as reality and to be received as grace. Reality is God known and contacted by man, and grace is God received and enjoyed by man. In the fleshly tabernacle which He became, Christ lived with man for thirty-three and a half years, thus fully bringing God to man to be his reality and grace.]