Jesus loves each of us and wants to know us, and for us to grow through knowing and loving Him.
In the New Testament book of Mark, the very first words are, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1, NKJV).
Jesus Christ, our Lord, and Savior, is the Son of God. He is one of the three eternal members of the Godhead. Jesus affirmed this when He commanded His disciples to preach the gospel, “Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19, NKJV).
Referring to Jesus, Paul writes, “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9, NKJV). Jesus Christ was the physical manifestation of the eternal God, sent to us to redeem us from the curse of sin.
John, the disciple, says, “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, NKJV).
Adventists believe Jesus was co-existent with God from “everlasting to everlasting” (Psalm 90:2). Jesus, the same “Word” that “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14), is the eternal God who “inhabits eternity” (Isaiah 57:15, NKJV).
At the beginning of His earthly ministry, Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. As He walked out of the water, God’s voice spoke from heaven: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17, NKJV). These words, in front of many witnesses, confirmed Jesus was God’s Son.
At the end of His earthly ministry, during the trial before His crucifixion, the High Priest asked, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”
Up to this point, Jesus had been mostly silent. Jesus had taken the physical torture and verbal insults without comment. Now, His gaze turned towards the High Priest.
He said simply, “I am.” Then He gave this promise, “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven” (Mark 14:61-62, NKJV).
Revelation talks of the fulfillment of this promise, “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him” (Revelation 1:7, NKJV).