W ho is J esus ?
So, while we don’t know what name the Son of God had (other than the name Lord) before He appeared as Jesus of Nazareth, we know that he was called the Angel of the Lord, and the captain of the host of the Lord.
Jesus’ Role in Creation In addition to being involved in certain events of the Old Testament as the Angel of the Lord, Jesus was also involved in the creation of the world. The apostle John stated that “all things came into being through Him; and apart from Him nothing came into being” (John 1:3 nasb). The apostle Paul wrote, “For in Him [Jesus] all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created by Him and for Him” (Colossians 1:16 nasb). So, in summary, while we don’t know what name the second member of the Trinity went by before He became Jesus of Nazareth, we know that He existed before the creation of the world. In fact, as God, He has always existed. Through Him the universe was created, and He was active in the affairs of people in the Old Testament.
Why Believe Jesus Was a Man? We believe Jesus was a man because the Scriptures declare Him to be a man, and His words and works prove Him to be a man.
Not only was Jesus God; He was also man. His humanity, as we read about it in the Scriptures, is clear. He was born an infant; grew as normal people grow (Luke 2:52); was raised in a normal family environment; got tired (John 4:6), hungry (Matthew 4:2), and thirsty (John 19:28); had emotions (Matthew 9:6); and eventually died. We might summarize His humanity by saying, “Jesus was a first-century Jew who lived in Palestine during the reign of Tiberius Caesar. His early life was spent as a carpenter, and later He was an itinerant preacher. He claimed to be the Messiah, the savior of the world, and the deliverer of the Jews. He was executed by crucifixion under Pontius Pilate after a brief life of thirty-three years.”
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