One
of my favorite verses from these scriptures is John 17:3. This is also the
principle I chose for this week. It reads,
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee
the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
Those
who truly come to know Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ will have eternal life.
I thought about what it means to truly come to know them. If you really
understand the Plan of Salvation and the Atonement and all that Heavenly Father
and Jesus Christ have done for you, you will love them and want to grow closer
to them. This reminded me of John 14:15 that says, "If ye love me, keep my
commandments." I think it becomes like a cycle. As you draw closer to Heavenly
Father and the Savior and realize all that they have done for you, your love
for them grows, and as your love grows, you will have a greater desire to keep
the commandments, and as you keep the commandments you will draw closer to
them, and on and on. When you truly come to know them, you will devote
your life to them, make and keep covenants, and be able to receive eternal
life. This is such a blessing! This verse also made me think about sharing the
gospel with others, so that they can also come to know Heavenly Father and
Jesus Christ and receive eternal life.
Titles of the Savior….
- Christ: Greek meaning the anointed. It is equivalent to the Hebrew word Messiah. Jesus is mostly referred to as Christ in the New Testament.
- Messiah: An Aramaic word meaning the anointed. It is used as a title of an office; it denotes the King and Deliverer whose coming the Jews were eagerly awaiting.
- Jehovah: The covenant or proper name of the God of Israel. It denotes the “Unchangeable One,” “the eternal I AM”.
- Immanuel: God is with us. A name-title given in two verses of Isaiah as a sign of God’s deliverance. It was Specifically identified by Matthew as a prophecy of Jesus’ birth into mortality. It signifies that Christ as God will be born into mortality of a virgin and will be among the people to save and redeem them. This prophecy received its fulfillment in Christ.
- The Word: Heavenly Father operated through His Son, Jesus Christ, in the Creation, “who thus became the executive through whom the will, commandment, or word of the Father was put into effect. It is with incisive appropriateness therefore, that the Son, Jesus Christ, is designated by the apostle John as the Word; or as declared by the Father 'the word of my power.” (James E. Talmage) (John 1:1 – 14)
In his book Jesus the
Christ, James E. Talmage said, "Christ
is a sacred title, and not an ordinary appellation or common name; it is of
Greek derivation, and in meaning is identical with its Hebrew equivalent
Messiah or Messias, signifying the Anointed One. Other titles, each possessing
a definitive meaning, such as Emmanuel, Savior, Redeemer, Only Begotten Son, Lord,
Son of God, Son of Man, and many more, are of scriptural occurrence; the fact
of main present importance to us is that these several titles are expressive of
our Lord's divine origin and Godship. As seen, the essential names or titles of
Jesus the Christ were made known before His birth, and were revealed to
prophets who preceded Him in the mortal state."
There is no way to put
into words all that Christ means to each one of us. Without him there would be
no hope and no purpose. I think all of these names help us better understand
his essential role in the Plan of Salvation. The Bible Dictionary gave this
beautiful description of our Savior, “He is the greatest Being to be born on
this earth—the perfect example—and all religious things should be done in His
name. He is Lord of lords, King of kings, the Creator, the Savior, the God of
the whole earth, the Captain of our salvation, the Bright and Morning Star. He
is in all things, above all things, through all things, and round about all
things; He is Alpha and Omega, the first and the last; His name is above
every name and is the only name under heaven by which we can be saved.”
Scripture References:
http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/john/17.1-5?lang=eng#primary
http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/christ?lang=eng&letter=c
http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/christ?lang=eng&letter=c
