This post is pinned to always appear first, as I attempt to explain the principles of Christianity in the most basic way. Obviously, one post cannot cover everything, but it can lay the foundation.
The Old Testament
Most people are aware that the Bible is made up of two parts, the old and the new testaments. In total, 66 separate books, from 40 different authors. What a lot of people don’t realize is that the whole Bible is about Jesus. Not only was he prophesied in the old testament, he was there from the beginning:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” [John 1:1–2]
The “Word” is Jesus and he was the “Lord” people saw in the old testament. No man has ever seen God himself:
“Jesus therefore answered and said to them, ‘Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, “And they shall all be taught by God.” Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father.’ “ [John 6:43–46]
Everything in the old testament was setting the stage for Jesus to be “born” as a man, and the new testament is about how Christians worship him, both while he was alive and after his resurrection. In other words, the Bible is about Jesus, not us! We are here to please him, not the other way round. What we get is eternal life.
Jesus, the Seed of Abraham
In Genesis, the first book in the Bible, we see the first reference to Jesus when the Lord is speaking to Abraham, although it is very easy to miss it:
“Then He brought him outside and said, ‘Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.” [Ge 15:5–6]
“In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” [Ge 22:18]
The Apostle Paul, reiterates this in one of his epistles in the new testament:
“Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ‘And to your Seed,’ who is Christ. “ [Ga 3:16]
It is also important to notice that the Lord “accounted it to him for righteousness”. It means Abraham was saved because of his faith, the same way we are today:
“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” [Ga 3:26–29]
The New Testament
When Jesus was born as a man through the virgin Mary, he grew as any child does. When he became an adult, he announced his authority in the Jewish synagogue in his home town of Nazareth by reading from the book of Isaiah. [Luke 4:16-30]
But the Jews did not accept that he was the Messiah prophesied in the old testament, yet alone “The Son of God”.
If you read my narrative, the combined Gospels, you can follow the life of Jesus. Toward the end, he tells his inner circle of 12 disciples, that he must die as prophesied. [Isa 52:13 – 53:12] But the disciples did not understand what he meant, yet alone what it signified.
Death and Resurrection
After only around 3 years of ministry, he was executed by crucifixion. The Jews wanted him dead because they said he saw himself as the Messiah and the “Son of God” but, under the Roman occupation at the time, they were not allowed to kill anyone. So the Romans executed him by nailing him to a cross, the cruel method used at that time.
What happened 3 days later not only surprised the 12 disciples, but everyone else – Jew, Roman and all of Jesus’ followers. He rose from the dead! That was the first time in history a religious leader had done that and has not happened since.
While many see the crucifixion, and therefore the Cross, as the foundation of Christianity (which is true), it is the resurrection that makes Christianity different from all other religions. As prophesied in the old testament, but not understood by the Jews, his sole purpose in taking human form was to die as a perfect man and therefore pay the ransom for the sin of all mankind.
That sin was inherited from Adam and Eve when they ate of the forbidden fruit from the “Tree of Knowledge” in the Garden of Eden.
His death and resurrection literally reset the clock and enables mankind to have the same relationship with him as Abraham did, with the added promise of eternal life after death.
The Ascension
Jesus lived among his disciples for 40 days after his resurrection, eating and drinking again as a man. Then he made a promise to his 12 disciples, now known as Apostles:
“And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, ‘which,’ He said, ‘you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.‘ Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, ‘Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?’ And He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.‘ ”
“Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.’ ” [Acts 1:4-11]
That last sentence refers to his return to earth, this time with all power and glory. Christians refer to it as “The Second Coming”. But, as Jesus said above, only the Father knows when that day will be. At that time, there will be a new heaven and a new earth, where sin no longer exists.
Faith
In the mean time, we are still left fighting sin on a daily basis. But, because of the ransom paid by Jesus, he gives us a way to fight off the power of sin – faith, as the Apostle Peter explains to a Roman Centurion:
“Then Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ – He is Lord of all – that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead. To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.‘ ” [Acts 10:34–43]
Father, Son, Holy Spirit
One God as 3 entities can be hard to understand. Often it is called the Trinity, but that word is not found in the Bible, it is a man-made word. To help us understand, we will look at three passages.
Jesus asked his disciples who they thought he was:
“Simon Peter answered and said, ‘“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.‘ “
[Mt 16:16–17]
At his ascension, the Gospel of Mark says:
“So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.“ [Mk 16:19]
And after his resurrection, but before his ascension we saw above:
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;” [Acts 1:8]
Putting all that together, we find that God is in heaven, Jesus is the son of the living God and is now seated at his right hand and the Holy Spirit was sent to the Apostles. For us today, until Jesus returns, we receive the Holy Spirit to guide us and he intercedes with both Jesus and God on our behalf.