Introducing Jesus | His Person & Mission Part 1 by Apostle Joshua Selman: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

Many subjects have been taught across the body of Christ — faith, healing, power dynamics of the anointing, success, prosperity, purpose, destiny — but none of these teachings in themselves compare to the theme that represents the epicenter of the believer's pursuit. Every other thing sought outside this central theme is auxiliary knowledge. The foundation, the pivotal point of the believer's pursuit, is understanding the person of Jesus.

A healing can be received. A miracle can come. Deliverance is possible. Prosperity is real. But Jesus is beyond a principle. Principles are derived from the knowledge of his person.

1 Corinthians 8:2 — If any man thinks he knows anything, he knows nothing as he ought to know. There is a standard in the spirit that God desires and demands we rise unto as far as knowledge is concerned.

Any dimension of light and truth that fails to empower is false. The True Light that lighted every man — if it is true revelation, it empowers.

Ezekiel 2:1–2 — Ezekiel did not have the power to stand, and then the Spirit entered into him when God spoke. With the words came the empowerment. This means that as the word is received, the grace component behind it also rests upon the hearer — not just intelligent information, but an alteration of understanding and a deposit of grace at a higher dimension.

Three Questions This Message Addresses

1. Who is Jesus? — Who exactly is he, beyond the walls of religion, beyond the walls of history, beyond the Galilean who walked the earth born of a virgin?
2. What was his mission? — Why did Jesus come? Many believers — including preachers — cannot articulate with intelligence the mission of Jesus. We often find ourselves victims of knowing many things except what Jesus actually came for.
3. Did he succeed in his mission, and if yes, what is the proof? — This third question is where the victory of the believer lies. The entire span of a lifetime should be a project proving to the earth that Jesus's mission did not fail.

Acts 4:33 — With great power the apostles gave witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and great grace was upon them all. Not with discussions, not with assumptions — with great power.

Introducing Jesus: John's Portrait

The most concise and inspiring introduction of Jesus in scripture is found in John 1:1–12. Other synoptic gospel accounts come from a historic standpoint or with testimonies of his humanity, but John begins by tracing the Divinity of Jesus.

• "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
• The same Word was in the beginning with God.
• All things were made by him — without him was not anything made that was made.
• In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
• The light shines through darkness in a way that darkness will never comprehend.
• John the Baptist was sent to bear witness of that light — but he was not himself that light.
• That was the True Light which lighted every man that comes into the world.
• He was in the world, and though the world was made by him, the world knew him not.
• He came to his own, and his own received him not.
• But as many as received him, to them he gave power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.

What Jesus Said About Himself

The greatest way to understand Jesus is to hear what he had to say about himself. Whatever a man says about himself is considered the most trusted information about that man.

1. The Bread of Life

   John 6:35

   Jesus called himself the Bread of Life — the sustaining nourishment for the soul.

2. The Light of the World

   John 8:12

   Jesus called himself the Light of the World.

3. The Door

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   John 10:7, John 10:9

   Jesus called himself the Door — the authorized access point. Everything is entered through him.

4. The Good Shepherd

   John 10:11

   Jesus called himself the Good Shepherd. There are bad shepherds, but there is one who is good.

5. The Resurrection and the Life

   John 11:25

   Jesus declared, "I am the resurrection and the life."

6. The Way, the Truth, and the Life

   John 14:6

   Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life." He then clarified: "No man cometh unto the Father but by me." He is not one of many options to the Father. Any man who claims a relationship with the Father while ignoring Jesus is mistaken, because Jesus himself declared he is the only way.

7. The True Vine

   John 15:1, John 15:5

   Jesus called himself the True Vine.

8. The Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the Ending

   Revelation 1:8, Revelation 21:6, Revelation 22:13

   In the isle of Patmos, Jesus continues his self-revelation: "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending."

9. The First and the Last

   Revelation 1:17

   Jesus called himself the First and the Last. Everything — including whatever troubles a person — came after him. The only thing greater than Jesus would have to be what came before him. He is the first and the last, meaning whatever is faced in life did not precede Jesus.

10. He That Liveth

    Revelation 1:18

    Jesus declared: "I am he that liveth — I was dead, but only for three days. I am alive forevermore." Every time the death of Jesus is spoken of, it must be remembered that he died for only three days. He is alive forevermore.

The entire journey of life will require all of these revelations of Jesus to survive. He took out time to spread an understanding of himself such that there is no endeavor in life through which a reason to need Jesus cannot be found.

• If the Bread of Life is rejected, the Light of the World will be needed.
• If the Light is rejected, the Door will be needed.
• If the Door is rejected, the Good Shepherd will be needed.
• If the Good Shepherd is rejected, the Resurrection and the Life will be needed the day sickness comes.
• If that is rejected, the confusion that plagues the world will demand the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
• If he is rejected still, the True Vine will be needed in the moment of deepest confusion about life.
• And in the final days on earth, it will be deeply comforting to know that the one who died is now alive and lives forevermore — giving hope beyond the grave.

Why Jesus Came: Three Principal Assignments

If the mission of Jesus is not understood, the foundation of a Christian life will be faulty. Psalm 11:3 — If the foundation be destroyed, what can the righteous do?

1. An Accurate Revelation of the Misunderstood God

   Jesus's first assignment on earth was not even to die. He came as an accurate revelation and manifestation of the misunderstood God — as a manuscript to correct the understanding of God. Until the manifestation of Jesus, no one had an accurate understanding of God.

   Hebrews 1:1–3 — God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in times past through the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things. He is the brightness of God's glory and the express image of his person.

   Before Jesus came, God was understood only through the lens of priests and prophets. Whatever they told the people about who God was or what God was doing, the people had to corporately believe. And through that lens, many did not do justice to the description of God.

   Reading the Bible entirely through the lens of the prophets and priests gives a very confusing description of God — a blend of kindness and what appears to be evil. Statements like "an evil spirit departed from the Lord" will be found, and they confuse, because the entire covenant people did not have the privilege of personal experience with God. God would isolate an individual — a Moses, a Samuel — and have a covenant relationship with that person, and that person would reveal God to the people based on personal experience.

   1 Corinthians 13:9 — We know in part and we prophesy in part. This is a default in all men: no matter the level of alignment as a single individual, unassisted by the revelation of Jesus, a complete picture of God cannot be communicated.

   Jesus came as a marking script. A marking script is the reference used to mark every other script — the teacher's answer key against which all other answers are compared. The first assignment of Jesus was to clarify the misunderstanding humanity had about God, and he did that by living his life.

   Before Jesus ministered, God accredited him and said, "This is my beloved Son" — in other words, whatever Jesus did not do is not consistent with the character of God. It does not matter what a prophet said.

   • If God's love is to be confirmed, check Jesus: what did he do when he saw sick people? He healed them. God loves — this can now be said with confidence.
   • If God's holiness is to be confirmed: Jesus was a man tempted in all ways, yet without sin. When he entered the temple and saw abuses, he reacted. That was the thoughts of God — God's opinion about any abuse in his temple.
   • The statement "a lying spirit came from God" — from the lens of Jesus, who is full of grace and truth, in whom there is no variableness nor shadow of turning, this can now be corrected. God cannot lie. Something was limited in the prophetic experience of the one who recorded that vision.

   Jesus is the True North. Navigators lost at sea must first find the true north — from that standpoint, location can be determined and direction taken. Anyone who wants to keep a person lost will disable the capacity to find the true north.

   • To know how right a culture is — gauge it against Jesus.
   • To know how right the educational system of the world is — gauge it against Jesus.

   A believer is not merely one who has surrendered life to Jesus — a believer is one who has subscribed to Jesus as the thoughts of God, the logos of God, such that their entire life is governed by those thoughts. When opinions are sought, the question is not personal preference — it is what the position of Jesus reveals concerning that matter. This cures the various confusions that plague the world.

   If God is described as gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, and rich in love — that word can be rightfully doubted until verified through Jesus. What did Jesus do when he saw sick people? He healed them. The scripture is now confirmed. When Jesus entered the temple and reacted to its abuse — that confirmed God's holiness. Every description of God in scripture must be verified through the lens of Jesus.

   Nations send ambassadors whose first assignment is to give a worthy presentation of their nation — to preserve and project everything that makes that nation admirable. That is exactly what Jesus did when he walked the earth. All he was projecting was the Father, because until that time the people had a mixed understanding of who the Father was.

   When Jesus saw the woman bound for eighteen years, he said, "Ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham..." — he kept referring them back to what God had said. He came as the living verification of every promise.

2. To Make the Life of God Accessible to Man

   The second assignment of Jesus was to make the life of God accessible to man by reconciling man to God.

   John 3:16 — For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

   When it has to do with certain gifts, they are specific: Ephesians 4:11 — He gave some apostles, some prophets. But when it has to do with the life of God, whosoever is the qualifier. The old, the young, every nationality, every background — whosoever believes.

   John 10:10 — The thief cometh not but to steal, to kill, and to destroy. But "I am come" — this is the Manifesto of Jesus — "that they might have life and have it more abundantly," to its fullest.

   Anything that looks like death is an attack. Poverty is an expression of death. Sickness is an expression of death. Limitation is an expression of death. The inability to care for one's children is an expression of death. These things do not need to be questioned as to whether they are the will of God. Jesus himself declared his Manifesto: he came to give life.

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   • The greatest need of an unbeliever is salvation. No matter what is given to an unbeliever — money, housing, advice, medical treatment — only temporal problems are solved. The ultimate project on every unbeliever is to bring them to the kingdom.
   • The greatest need of a saved person is transformation.
   • The greatest need of a transformed person is empowerment.
   • The greatest need of an empowered person is purpose.

   This is how it works in the kingdom. When someone is not saved, the first assignment is to get them to encounter the God of the Bible — through Jesus. When saved, the next project is transformation through the word, the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and the ministry of a teaching priest. Jeremiah 3:15 — "I will give you pastors according to my heart." But when believers are transformed alone without empowerment, they become frustrated — they know what should happen but lack the grace to make it happen. And empowerment without purpose becomes destructive, like a vehicle with full fuel and good tires but no direction.

   The life of God is not just another life that is greater than earthly life — it is an indestructible life.

   A bulletproof vehicle can be compared to an ordinary SUV. When inside a bulletproof vehicle and someone points a gun, the response is peace — because there is an orientation that between oneself and the threat is not ordinary glass. Someone will shoot multiple times, and there is only calm. When the Bible says the life of God has been received, something has come in that stops ordinary vulnerability from operating.

   It takes revelation for the reality of that life to manifest. Those who visited shrines against a person before they were born again may continue to do so even afterward. What immunizes is not their stopping — they will continue. What immunizes is the presence of the life of God. Mark 16:18 — They shall take up deadly things and it shall not harm them. Only in eternity will it be fully known how many attacks the life of God quietly neutralized.

   Romans 8:11 — The same power that raised Christ from the dead dwells in the mortal body. No enchantment and no divination can stand against the life of God — this is the revelation that supports confidence. Without it, encounters with spiritual opposition can be overwhelming.

   I have the life of God. The same power that raised Christ from the dead dwells in my mortal body. No enchantment and no divination shall prosper. The life of God is an indestructible life operating in me now.

   Everything that you are silent about is authorized to continue. The life of God gives the authority to bring an end to generational patterns — broken marriages, role reversals in families, repeated loss — and to declare that what has prevailed ends here.

3. A Model of God's Expectation for Man

   Jesus came as a model of God's expectation for man.

   John 14:12 — "Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do he shall also do, and greater works than these shall he do."

   The reason "greater works" are possible is not about greater miracles in volume or spectacle. There are miracles Jesus himself could not perform while alive — because performing them would demand his death. Jesus could heal the sick, but everyone he healed still eventually died. The first person to receive eternal life was not through a healing — it was through the apostolic proclamation of the resurrection after his death. Jesus was still alive, so the full impartation of eternal life — the translation from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of his dear Son — was not yet available through him personally.

   • With one declaration, every believer can now make that translation happen for another person — that is what makes the work greater, not greater miracles.
   • In terms of miracle volume, no one has yet fed five thousand from nothing. That is a lifetime benchmark for all of us.

   John 20:30–31 — There are many other miracles Jesus did that were not recorded. The "greater" is not a comparison of miracle magnitude — it is the expansion of the kingdom through the ministry of every believer.

   Jesus as a model demonstrates how a life should be lived:

   • He was never defeated. Satan could not defeat him. Men tried and could not. That means every believer has a right to declare that no power, no force, no enchantment against their destiny shall prevail before their assignment is finished.
   • He fulfilled his assignment. His dying was part of the process of the assignment — it was not weakness or limitation. Likewise, every believer should fulfill the portion of assignment called purpose.
   • He was focused. Jesus did not come to the earth doing everything. He made his Manifesto clear. Being busy doing too many things is a sign of lack of vision. Vision creates focus — it coordinates energy toward a few things and achieves them. Those who find themselves doing too many things are giving evidence of confusion.
   • He was diligent. Jesus was not lazy. Every believer who is lazy is behaving in an antichrist manner. Antichrist behavior is not only deceiving people — it is acting in a way inconsistent with the portrait given. Whether one serves God or not, diligence is demanded by the nature of any meaningful assignment.
   • He started early. By age twelve, while his peers were occupied elsewhere, Jesus was at the temple learning. Timing matters. There is a time to invest in destiny — to cut away distractions and commit to what God has ordained. God gives advantages like restoration and speed because he knows that by default something will have tampered with time. But those advantages do not eliminate the importance of starting.
   • He was prayerful. Jesus was consistently found in prayer. Every spirit of prayerlessness that allows a person to grow older without spiritual investment must be dealt with.
   • He edited his relationships. There is no record of casual friendships in Jesus's life until the disciples. Love is a command — but relating with everyone is not. For the sake of what is upon a life and where it is going, certain relationships must be edited. There are people who love someone too much to allow them to obey God. They will interfere with fasting, with prayer, with sacrifice — not out of malice, but because they do not know what is on that person's head.
   • He was helped by God. At every given point in his life, help appeared. When people came to embarrass him over financial matters, a fish produced a coin. There are three ways God helps a man:

     • He shows him mercy.
     • He gives him access to men — help through human relationships.
     • He opens him to the ministry of the Holy Spirit, who is called the Helper.

   Destiny is like a relay. Many people depend on another's succeeding in order to succeed themselves. For every person listening, there are at least two people beyond themselves whose destiny actualizing depends on their own actualization. For every time God is told, "I am not serious with you," the connected destinies of others are also being delayed.

   If someone was supposed to rise to prophetic ministry and decided in their will to remain uncommitted, God — being merciful but not indefinitely tolerant — will find the next available faithful vessel and entrust that responsibility to them. This is the mystery in the parable of the talents: what was collected from the unfaithful servant was not stored — it was given to the one who already had the most.

   Matthew 25:28–29 — He collected from the one who did not value the gift and gave it to the one who had used his well.

   The only way to make a dream come to pass is to wake up. As long as the dreaming continues without action, intentions will keep downloading and never come to pass. There is a time when the investment must be made — books purchased, the word studied, prayer developed, the call taken seriously.

The Proof of Jesus's Victory

The revelation of whether Jesus succeeded in his mission is where the victory of the believer lies. The assignment of every believer is to ultimately be a validator of the victory that is in Christ. The entire span of a lifetime should be a project proving to the earth that Jesus's mission did not fail.

Acts 4:33 — With great power the apostles gave witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and great grace was upon them all.

The early church had no PA systems, no social media, no freely distributed Bibles. Peter — a former fisherman who had once run away in fear — stood after the Holy Spirit came upon them and delivered one presentation of Jesus. The result:

• Three thousand people gave their lives in one meeting.
• They were "cut to the heart" and asked, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"

Something about the portrait of Jesus being presented to the nations must be re-examined. There are approximately eight billion people on earth. Statistics indicate only about 2.8 billion professing or practicing Christians — this with all the spiritual provisions given: the name of Jesus, the word of God, the ministry of the Holy Spirit, the ministry of angels, the fivefold ministry. A software built in less than fifteen years can reach five billion people because it was structured in a way that people saw the value and need for it. The same must happen with the presentation of Jesus.

The kind of Jesus that only the poor need is not the real Jesus. The kind of Jesus that only the rich need is not the real Jesus. When Jesus is presented properly, all men will run to him — because the one thing both the poor and the rich need together is love. And it was love that defeated hell, sin, Satan, and the grave.

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Closing Declarations