A Word from Our Interim Pastor – The Rev. Dr. Steven M. Marsh

Who do you say Jesus is? The Gospels, the first four books of the New Testament, center on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The Gospels are all about Jesus. He is the fulfillment of the covenant made with Abraham that God had chosen a people to be a blessing to all nations. In and through Jesus Christ, we become connected to and participants in that covenant.

Who do you say Jesus is? The orthodox, historic and apostolic Christian faith teaches that Jesus is fully God and fully man. The apostle John, also known as the evangelist, expounds eloquently on the divine character of the eternal Logos (Word) who was manifested on earth in Jesus Christ. John sets his face uncompromisingly against Docetism, the heretical teaching that Jesus was not really man. John does not say that the Logos assumed manhood. He affirms that the Logos “became flesh” (John 1:14).

So essential, indeed, is Jesus’ true manhood to the gospel that in John’s first epistle the confession of this is a criterion of membership in the family of God (1 John 4:2; 5:1), while its denial is a mark of the spirit of the antichrist (1 John 4:3; 2 John 7). The gospel of our salvation depends upon the genuineness of our Lord’s humanity and deity. Only as Jesus presents himself to us as perfect man and perfect deity, can we be encouraged to grow up, not only individually but corporately, “to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).

Who do you say Jesus is? Be careful. Your answer really matters.

On this transition journey with you, I remain faithfully yours,

Steve

The Rev. Dr. Steven M. Marsh

Interim Pastor