One of the main stumbling points for both Christians and non-believers is reconciling the differences between their view of God in the Old Testament and their idea of who Jesus is in the New. These views can appear to contradict each other unless we understand this important truth: the Old Testament only gave partial revelation of God's nature, but Jesus gives us the clear and perfect image.
Jesus is the expression of God's love toward us. "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe" ( Hebrews 1:1-2 ). God has always tried to communicate with us. He sent messengers, prophets and kings to show us his intentions. Each one gave a portion of the truth. But we could not fully understand God’s character by the limited revelation they conveyed, so God sent Jesus to communicate His full nature to us.
It is easy to misinterpret God by solely looking at the Old Testament without the filter of Jesus. For instance, The Old Testament shows us God's justice, but Jesus shows us God's mercy. The Old Testament shows us God's holiness, but Jesus shows us God's grace. The Old Testament shows us God's righteousness, but Jesus is the one who provided that righteousness for us. God has always been merciful, abounding in grace and faithful to save. But Jesus is the one who demonstrated these characteristics to us in a complete and full way. "For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known" ( John 1:17-18 ).
Jesus, the very same person who created the universe, who holds it together by his word, who sustains life on this planet, and was sent to reveal God's love to us. "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation" ( Colossians 1:15 ). Everything Jesus is, shows us the Father in a complete way so we can know and understand him. I John 4:8 tells us that "God is love". Love is not an attribute of God; it is the essence of God. John went on to explain, "This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins" ( I John 4:9-10 ).
What an amazing truth that Jesus was sent to show us God’s complete nature. This is one of the reasons Jesus came to earth as a man. This is an important truth to understand, Jesus came in the flesh so He could interact with us in a way that we could see, hear and understand. The result is putting our trust in Him.
Tomorrow we look at Part 3: The Word Became Flesh
