Blog

by Katie Erickson

Who is Jesus? It is fitting that we started off 2014 talking about this very question, and we’re (almost) ending 2014, still talking about this question. The identity of Jesus is key to being a follower of Christ; after all, you can’t truly follow someone you don’t know (except maybe on Twitter).

This week we’ll be looking at some words that describe who Jesus is, and some of the roles that He plays, both in our lives and in God’s grand plan of all time. Today I’ll give a brief overview of a few of these words - Creator, Redeemer, Savior, and Friend.

Jesus is the Creator of the world. While in Genesis 1:1 it says that “God” created the heavens and the earth, that doesn’t just mean God the Father. The Spirit was there too (Genesis 1:3), and Jesus was there too, because Jesus is God. Jesus didn’t just start to exist at His birth in Bethlehem; that’s when His human body came to earth, but He has always existed, even before time. Jesus’ role in creation is evident in Colossians 1:15-17: “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” A very similar thought is echoed in John 1:1-3, where “the Word” is Jesus: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”

Jesus is the Redeemer of the world. To redeem means to buy back or rescue, and you can read more about that here. Jesus came to this earth to pay the price needed to bring us back into right relationship with God. The world was created in perfection, but humankind messed that up and separated ourselves from God. Only a perfect person could redeem us back to that right relationship, and Jesus is that person. 1 Timothy 2:5-6 describes Jesus as the redeemer in this way: “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.”

Jesus is the Savior of the world. This idea is very similar to that of a redeemer. Because Jesus lived that perfect life to redeem us, or buy us back, from the power of the world, He is our savior. Jesus is the only way that we can be saved from the evil of this world. He is our only hope for salvation!

Jesus is the Friend of the world. Even though Jesus is one with the almighty, powerful, God of the universe, He is still our friend. Friendship and companionship are important to us as humans; friends can even be closer to us than actual blood relatives at times. I knew a guy who came to a church and received Holy Communion, and the only reason he kept coming back to church was because he was certain the pastor had said “buddy of Christ” (instead of the usual “body of Christ”) when handing him the bread. He wanted that friendship relationship with Jesus, and he had found it.

It is only because Jesus completed the work of redeeming us and saving us that He can be our friend. Without that redemption and salvation, we could not approach the holy, creator God of the universe, because we would be unworthy. But because of who Jesus is and what He has done for us, we can all be in relationship with Him.