There are a number of unique claims that the Bible makes about Jesus Christ that cannot legitimately be made about anyone else. Among these claims are the following:

  • Jesus Christ has always existed.
  • Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God.
  • Jesus Christ was sinless throughout His incarnate life on earth.
  • Jesus Christ was resurrected by God from death.
  • Jesus Christ is the only way a person can come to God the Father.

We will now consider scriptures that support each of these claims.  [Note:  When we quote Scripture in this article, we use the wording in the New King James Version of the Bible.]

Jesus Christ Has Always Existed

John 1:1-2, 14 declares, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. . . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Verse 14 indicates that Jesus Christ is the Word who was in the beginning with God.  This is one of the reasons that Jesus is regarded by Christians as part of the Trinity of God (i.e., Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).  [For a discussion of the Trinity of God, click on “Do Christians Worship Three Gods?”]

Jesus Christ Is the Only Begotten Son of God

John 3:16 states, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Although Galatians 4:4-5 indicates that God has adopted many sons – and daughters – as a result of their having trusted in Jesus Christ for eternal salvation, Jesus Christ is the only Son who was begotten of God.  According to Strong’s Concordance, this means that Jesus Christ “was the sole representative of the Being and character of the One who sent Him.”  [For a discussion regarding whether Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God, click on “Is Jesus Christ the Only Son of God?”]

Jesus Christ Was Sinless Throughout His Incarnate Life on Earth

2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “He [God] made Him who knew no sin [Jesus Christ] to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

The Bible indicates that God accepts only an unblemished sacrifice for the atonement of people’s sins.  In order for Jesus Christ to be the ultimate unblemished sacrifice for the sins of mankind, it was necessary for Him to live a sinless life, which He did by unfailingly being obedient to God and resisting all the temptations He faced as a human being. [For a more extensive discussion regarding Jesus Christ’s sinless life on earth, click on “The Importance of Jesus Christ’s Life.”]

Jesus Christ Was Resurrected by God from Death

There are a number of scriptures which declare that Jesus Christ was resurrected from death, including the following:

Acts 2:22-24: Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.

Acts 2:32: This Jesus [Christ] God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.

Acts 3:14-15: [Y]ou denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life [Jesus Christ], whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.

Acts 4:10: [L]et it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.

Acts 5:30: The God of our fathers raised up Jesus [Christ] whom you murdered by hanging on a tree.

Acts 10:36-40: The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ – He is Lord of all – that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly. . . .

Acts 13:27-30: For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they did not know Him [Jesus Christ], nor even the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning Him. And though they found no cause for death in Him, they asked Pilate that He should be put to death. Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. But God raised Him from the dead.

The preceding scriptures in the biblical book of Acts provide only a few of the testimonies that Jesus Christ was resurrected from death.  Several other books in the New Testament, including all four of the Gospels, also attest to the resurrection of Jesus.  Furthermore, no human can be credited for the resurrection of Jesus; God Himself performed this miracle.  [For additional evidence regarding the resurrection of Jesus, click on “Was Jesus Christ Really Resurrected from Death?”]

Jesus Christ Is the Only Way a Person Can Come to God the Father

The following are two of the scriptures which indicate that the only way a person can come to God the Father is through Jesus Christ:

John 14:6: Jesus said . . ., “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Acts 4:12: [With regard to Jesus Christ, Peter said,] “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

The explanations of these two scriptures by most Bible commentaries are consistent with those of Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible, which follow.  This indicates that there is general agreement that these scriptures pertain to eternal salvation, as well as to prayer and, perhaps, other matters.

With regard to John 14:6, Barnes states,

To come to the Father is to obtain his favor, to have access to his throne by prayer, and finally to enter his kingdom. No man can obtain any of these things except by the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ. By coming by him is meant coming in his name and depending on his merits.

And, in reference to Acts 4:12, Barnes says,

There is no other way of salvation that is adapted to the great object contemplated, and therefore, if saved, it must be in this way and by this plan. The schemes of people‘s own devices are not adapted to the purpose, and therefore cannot save. The doctrine that people can be saved only by Jesus Christ is abundantly taught in the Scriptures.

Although some people may argue that trusting in Jesus Christ is not the only way that a person can qualify to “go to heaven” (i.e., have eternal salvation) after their mortal life has ended, this argument is not only contrary to what is stated in the last two scriptures, but also it is not supported by any scripture in the New Testament, which supersedes the Old Testament with regard to this matter.  [For further discussion of this matter, click on “Will Only Christians Have Eternal Salvation?”]

Conclusion

The Bible makes a number of unique claims about Jesus Christ, not all of which we have discussed in this article.  In any case, if a person is willing to believe that the Bible is the infallible Word of God, that should provide sufficient assurance that the unique claims the Bible makes about Jesus Christ are valid.  [To learn the reasons why we believe the Bible is the infallible Word of God, click on “Is the Bible Reliable?”]