JES-01 The Redeemer

There’s an old story about a little boy who built a toy boat. He carefully painted the hull and made small sails for it. When the boat was ready, he sailed it in a stream. It floated easily for a time, but then got swept away by the current. The boy searched for his lost boat, but never found it. Sometime later, he was surprised to see his little boat in the window of a shop. He rushed inside and said, “My boat is in the window!” The store clerk replied, “I’m sorry, son, but you’ll have to pay for it.” The boy worked for weeks to save enough money to buy back his boat. As he left the store with the boat in his hands, he told it, “Little boat, now you’re mine again. I made you, I searched for you, and I bought you back.”

In many ways, the relationship between Jesus and his people is similar to the relationship between this little boy and the boat. The Son of God created us, but we strayed into sin and were lost. But he never forgot us. He came to earth to seek and to save what was lost. And after he found us, he paid the ultimate price to redeem us — the price of his own death.

This is the first lesson in our series, We Believe in Jesus. In this series, we’ll explore the area of theology known as Christology, the doctrine of Christ. Throughout these lessons, we’ll examine many different truths about the person and work of Jesus Christ that his followers have affirmed for thousands of years. We’ve entitled this first lesson “The Redeemer” because we’ll focus on how Jesus redeems sinners from sin, and ensures the final restoration of creation for our enjoyment and for the glory of his Father.

In this lesson on Jesus the Redeemer, we’ll explore the person and work of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, during four different periods. First, we’ll consider his existence and plan in eternity, before the creation of the world. Second, we’ll survey his activity during the initial period of creation. Third, we’ll speak about the era of redemption that began after humanity’s fall into sin and stretches through the present age. And fourth, we’ll examine the consummation of history that will take place when he returns. Let’s begin with eternity.