Why do I believe in Jesus?
September 16, 2018
Every Christian should be able to answer this question. If you're a Christian then you should be able to explain "Why?". Is it just because your parents told you to believe in Jesus? It is because everyone around you is doing it? If any of these reasons are your answer, then it is not enough. The testimony of believing in Jesus should never be an inherited religion or a result of cultural appropriation.
I think about this almost every day. Why am I Christian? Why do I believe in Jesus as my Savior? A part of me wonders that if I have gown up under different circumstances, would I have believed in Jesus? If I grew up in, for example, the Middle East. Would I still have turned out to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? While I can't completely negate the possibility, I can say that the odds would be low.
However, fortunately I grew up in a household and community that was conducive to believing. My Mom raised us to be Christian. Of course, this isn't the only reason that I believe. Even though it played a big part in my initial salvation, a lot had to happen to solidify my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Church is the outward expression as the Body of Christ on this earth today
Coming back to the question - why do I believe in Jesus Christ? I continue to believe in Jesus not mainly because of my own salvation and experience, but because of that of others. The most effectual testimony of Jesus to the world is a group of people coming together, putting aside their self, differences, and preferences, to worship and love this wonderful Jesus. The Bible calls this the Body of Christ.
"For even as the body is one and has many members, yet all the members of the body, being many, are one body, so also is the Christ." - 1 Corinthians 12:12
"And He subjected all things under His feet and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church, which is His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all." - Ephesians 1:22-23
These two verses show us the universal church, the Body of Christ.
However, if I were to just look at traditional Christianity today, the picture wouldn't fit the book. Christianity today sadly does not express this truth. There are divisions, sects, and even some exclusive groups all claiming to be the "real church". This is wrong.
This doesn't mean the Body of Christ ceases to exist. According to the Bible, the Body of Christ includes all the genuine believers of Christ. I am fortunate enough to have met some believers who endeavor to hold this scriptural view. Recognizing that our oneness doesn't come from whether or not we agree on the same doctrinal points, but rather our oneness if of the Spirit. The Spirit within us is the oneness that constitutes us as the Body of Christ. Once I saw this, I was captured. This is God manifested in the flesh.
When I genuinely saw a group of people loving the Lord, keeping the oneness in the Spirit, and loving each other, my faith grew. How is it that the same God that I am subjectively experiencing is working in so many others? The answer is that He is God! Jesus is God. Humanity in it of itself can never express such oneness and love. It has to be God.
Don't get me wrong, humanity is not perfect. We all make mistakes and eventually fall back to our old sinful nature that we have. The Apostle Paul wrote sixteen chapters to the church in Corinth addressing their imperfections. Even though I've seen that the church as the Body of Christ is where God is, I also realize that it's impossible for a person to be in Christ all the time. Mistakes will happen in the church. Temptations will come and some will give in. But I am learning to see the church as God sees it, as a wonderful golden lampstand.
The Lord making Himself real to countless individuals
Throughout my Christian journey, I've meet several believers who testify of the same Lord. Jesus has made Himself real to them, regardless of their educational background, nationality, or their past beliefs.
During one of the Christian meetings I attended, in less than half an hour several individuals stood up to give their testimony of how they have come to know the Lord. One lady sought her way to Jesus from a Hindi background, another from a Buddhist background. Earlier that year I had lunch which a man who was previously atheist, he then had the gospel preached to him and received the Lord Jesus as his Savior. From "Church Kids" to the most stubborn of people, the Lord captured them all. It wasn't religion, forms, or practices that captivated them. It was a real and intimate relationship with Jesus.
When I first started studying the Bible, one of my mentors would encourage me to pray to the Lord and call on His name. It was later that I found out that he actually grew up in a Jewish home. He didn't come to know Jesus until he prayed "Jesus, if you are real, show yourself to me." The Lord led him to some believers and eventually to His Word. This saved my Jewish mentor and captured him to be a lover of Jesus Christ.
The story above is just one of many that I've heard. How can a simple philosophy or religion capture so many to love Jesus? Impossible. It has to be the work of God Himself.
The Lord subjectively making Himself real to me
Prayer. Once I had a deep realization that Jesus Christ is in me, my personal conversations with Him began to increase. Prayer was a way for me to contact this One who lives inside of me and absorb more of Him.
The Bible confirmed this. I don't understand a lot of this book yet, but no doubt these words are from God. The Bible speaks of living a life of the highest virtues. How can we do it? We can't. We must turn to the Lord as the source within us. He is the only One qualified to live such a life. When we turn to Him in prayer and in our spirit, He supplies us with everything that He is. This is why Paul prayed that we be strengthened into the inner-man:
"That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit into the inner man" - Ephesians 3:16
Through reading the Bible with a prayerful spirit, the Lord is continuing to make Himself real to me. This is how I know He is God. It's not a religion. It's not forms, practices, or doctrines. It's an intimate relationship with the very Creator.
The Lord has made Himself clear all around the world. The Body of Christ exists universally and through countless of individuals. Regardless of their backgrounds, people all over the globe have come to know a personal relationship with Jesus. Through prayer, His Word, and much experience, I know that He is God. I believe in Jesus because I know He is God.
