Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ: The Only Savior 

Fully God, fully man, the promised Messiah and Mediator of the New Covenant.

📜 "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." — John 1:14 (ESV)

📜 "For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all." — 1 Timothy 2:5-6 (ESV)

What We Believe

At Teaching Bridge Fellowship, we believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, fully divine and fully human, who became flesh to accomplish the salvation of His people. He is the center, substance, and climax of all Scripture—the fulfillment of every promise, the reality behind every shadow, and the only way of salvation for sinful humanity.

Fully God

Jesus is not a created being, a lesser deity, or a good man who became divine. He is the eternal Son of God, equal with the Father in power, glory, and essence. He is the one through whom all things were created (John 1:3, Colossians 1:16), the one who upholds the universe by the word of His power (Hebrews 1:3), and the one whom angels worship and demons fear (Hebrews 1:6, Mark 1:24).

When Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father, Jesus replied, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). Jesus is God in the flesh—the visible image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15). In Him, "the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily" (Colossians 2:9). To deny the deity of Christ is to deny Christianity itself.

Fully Man

But Jesus is not only God—He is also truly and fully human. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, and entered into the fullness of human experience (apart from sin). He grew in wisdom and stature (Luke 2:52). He got hungry, thirsty, and tired (Matthew 4:2, John 4:6-7). He wept, rejoiced, and felt compassion (John 11:35, Luke 10:21, Matthew 9:36). He was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15).

Why did Jesus have to be fully human? Because humanity sinned, and humanity needed to pay the penalty. A merely divine Savior could not die in our place. But a fully human Savior—one who lived the perfect life we couldn't live and died the death we deserved to die—could.

Two Natures, One Person

This is the mystery of the hypostatic union: Jesus is one person with two natures—fully God and fully man, united without confusion, mixture, or division. He is not half-God and half-man. He is 100% God and 100% man in one glorious, eternal person. This union is essential to our salvation, because only a God-man could bridge the infinite gap between a holy God and sinful humanity.

Prophet, Priest, and King

Jesus fulfills the three great offices of the Old Testament:

As Prophet, He is the final and supreme revelation of God (Hebrews 1:1-2). He speaks the words of God, teaches the truth of God, and reveals the will of God perfectly.

As Priest, He offered Himself as the once-for-all sacrifice for sin (Hebrews 7:27) and now intercedes for His people at the right hand of the Father (Hebrews 7:25). He is both the offerer and the offering—the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

As King, He rules over all creation, having been given all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). He reigns now at the Father's right hand (Ephesians 1:20-22), and one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11).

The Fulfillment of All Scripture

From Genesis to Revelation, the entire Bible points to Christ. He is the promised seed of the woman who crushes the serpent's head (Genesis 3:15). He is the greater Moses who leads His people out of slavery to sin (Deuteronomy 18:15). He is the true Israel who succeeded where national Israel failed (Matthew 2:15). He is the suffering Servant who bore our griefs and carried our sorrows (Isaiah 53). He is the faithful High Priest who entered the true Holy of Holies with His own blood (Hebrews 9:11-12). He is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8).

Every sacrifice in the Old Testament pointed to His death. Every priest foreshadowed His ministry. Every king anticipated His reign. Every prophet spoke of His coming. The entire Old Testament is the shadow; Christ is the substance (Colossians 2:17).

The Only Way of Salvation

There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). Jesus is not one way among many—He is the only way (John 14:6). Salvation is not found in religion, morality, philosophy, or good works. It is found exclusively in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

He lived the perfect life we couldn't live. He died the death we deserved to die. He rose from the dead, conquering sin, death, and the grave. And now He offers salvation freely to all who repent and believe. This is the gospel.

Why It Matters

Everything in Christianity rises or falls on the person and work of Jesus Christ. If He is not fully God, His death cannot atone for infinite sin. If He is not fully man, He cannot represent us. If He did not live a perfect life, we have no righteousness. If He did not die a substitutionary death, we are still in our sins. If He did not rise from the dead, our faith is futile (1 Corinthians 15:17).

But because He is fully God and fully man, because He did live a sinless life, because He did die in our place, and because He did rise victorious from the grave—we have hope. Not a vague, uncertain hope, but a certain, secure, blood-bought hope grounded in the finished work of Christ.

This is why we preach Christ crucified (1 Corinthians 1:23). This is why we glory in the cross (Galatians 6:14). This is why we fix our eyes on Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). Because He is enough. His life is enough. His death is enough. His resurrection is enough. His intercession is enough. Christ alone.

What Scripture Says

John 1:1, 14

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

Jesus is the eternal Word (Logos)—He was with God in the beginning, and He was God. Yet this eternal, divine Word became flesh and lived among us. This is the incarnation—God becoming man without ceasing to be God.

Philippians 2:5-8

"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

Jesus, though fully God, humbled Himself by taking on human flesh and submitting to death—even the shameful, cursed death of the cross. This is the heart of the gospel: the King of Glory stooping low to save rebels like us.

Colossians 1:15-20

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together... For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross."

Christ is the Creator, Sustainer, and Reconciler of all things. He made the universe, He holds it together, and He redeemed it through His blood. Everything exists through Him, for Him, and by Him.

Hebrews 4:15

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin."

Jesus is not a distant, untouchable deity. He is our sympathetic High Priest who knows what it's like to be tempted, to suffer, to endure hardship—yet He did so without sin. He is both able to save and able to sympathize.

1 Timothy 2:5-6

"For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all."

There is only one Mediator—not Mary, not the saints, not our own efforts—but Jesus Christ alone. He is the bridge between God and humanity, the one who reconciles us to the Father through His substitutionary death.

Acts 4:12

"And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

Salvation is found exclusively in Jesus Christ. Not in religion, not in morality, not in sincerity—but in Jesus alone. This is the scandal of the gospel, and it is gloriously true.

Historical & Confessional Grounding

The early church defended the deity and humanity of Christ against numerous heresies. The Council of Chalcedon (AD 451) affirmed that Jesus is one person with two natures—fully God and fully man—without confusion, change, division, or separation.

The 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith summarizes this beautifully in Chapter 8:

"The Son of God, the second person in the Holy Trinity, being very and eternal God, the brightness of the Father's glory, of one substance and equal with him who made the world, who upholdeth and governeth all things he hath made, did, when the fullness of time was come, take upon him man's nature, with all the essential properties and common infirmities thereof, yet without sin; being conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary, the Holy Spirit coming down upon her: and the power of the Most High overshadowing her; and so was made of a woman of the tribe of Judah, of the seed of Abraham and David according to the Scriptures; so that two whole, perfect, and distinct natures were inseparably joined together in one person, without conversion, composition, or confusion; which person is very God and very man, yet one Christ, the only mediator between God and man." (1689 LBCF 8.2)

This is our confession. Jesus is fully God, fully man, one person, our only Mediator.

Common Misunderstandings

"Isn't Jesus just a great moral teacher or prophet?"

No. Jesus claimed to be God (John 8:58, 10:30). He accepted worship (Matthew 14:33, John 9:38). He forgave sins—something only God can do (Mark 2:5-7). If Jesus is not God, then He is either a liar or a lunatic. But the evidence of Scripture is overwhelming: Jesus is Lord.

"Did Jesus stop being God when He became man?"

No. The incarnation was not God becoming something He wasn't—it was God adding humanity to His divine nature. Jesus did not cease to be God; He took on a human nature in addition to His divine nature. He was (and is) fully God and fully man in one person.

"If Jesus is God, why did He pray to the Father?"

Because Jesus prayed as a man. He had two natures—divine and human—and in His human nature, He lived in perfect dependence on the Father. His prayers show us His true humanity, not a denial of His deity.

"Can't sincere people of other religions be saved without Jesus?"

No. Scripture is clear: "There is salvation in no one else" (Acts 4:12). Jesus Himself said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). Sincerity does not save—only Christ saves.

A Word of Application

If Jesus is who He says He is—fully God, fully man, the only Savior—then everything depends on how you respond to Him. You cannot remain neutral. You must either bow the knee in worship or reject Him as Lord. There is no middle ground.

Have you trusted in Christ alone for salvation? Not in your baptism, not in your church membership, not in your good deeds—but in Jesus alone? If not, today is the day. Repent of your sin, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved (Acts 16:31).

And if you have trusted in Christ, then live in the light of who He is. Fix your eyes on Him. Delight in Him. Proclaim Him. Let His glory shape your worship, fuel your mission, and anchor your hope.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, You are the eternal Son of God, fully divine and fully human. Thank You for leaving the glory of heaven to take on flesh and dwell among us. Thank You for living the perfect life I couldn't live and dying the death I deserved to die. Thank You for rising from the dead and securing my salvation. Help me to trust in You alone, to love You supremely, and to proclaim You faithfully. You are my Prophet, my Priest, and my King. In Your holy name, amen. 🙏

Related Resources:

📖 1689 London Baptist Confession, Chapter 8 – "Of Christ the Mediator"
📘 Salvation by Grace Alone (TBF Page 5)
🎙️ Recommended Sermon: R.C. Sproul – "Who Is Jesus?"
🎙️ Recommended Lecture Series: Understanding the Gospel - RC Sproul - (3 of 12) Jesus: The Only Savior
📚 Recommended Book: The Person of Christ by John Owen

Next: Salvation by Grace Alone →

In Sum:

TBF believes Jesus Christ is fully God, fully man, the promised Messiah, and the only Savior. Learn what we believe about Christ and why it matters.