Below is part 2 of the article written by our guest author, Rev. Dave Rodgers

As “Who is Jesus?” is a significant question, so is the question, “Why did He come?” Scholars agree Jesus came to usher in the “Kingdom of God.” Jesus came to embody and introduce God’s Kingdom: God’s way of doing things in the world God created. Every key point along the way in the life of Jesus, from His unusual birth to His tragic death, to His glorious resurrection and ascension, became key elements in understanding and experiencing the Kingdom of God in all its fullness. Jesus came so that man can share in the Kingdom of God. Jesus came as God’s provision, to atone for the sin of man and to set man free from the penalty of sin. This penalty, which man is saved from, is death eternal.

Through the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ, on the cross of Calvary, God atoned for the sins of all those who will believe and call on the name of Jesus Christ as Lord. Jesus did more than simply proclaim salvation. On the contrary, he creates salvation as we share in His life, death, and resurrection. The result is that Jesus is Savior, not only from the penalty of sin, but from the power of sin as well. The salvation process we enter into when we first believe is carried through to completion throughout our lives unto glorification. As Paul states in Colossians 1:13, “God has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of His beloved Son.” This transference is the fullness of why Jesus came.

In conclusion, Jesus is the revelation of God himself in both person and purpose. It is through God’s revelation that we know Him, and it is through a personal knowledge of Him that we can be saved. Revelation comes in the form of enlightenment. The term enlightenment points us to the fact that our knowledge of God is the result of God’s grace, not of human inquiry. Jesus Christ ushers in God’s Kingdom by ushering in God’s grace.