Who is Jesus? Understanding the Qualities of Christ
Would you agree that as believers we are on a lifelong journey to know Christ better? And would you also agree that this learning never truly stops?
Paul tells us that his hope is that we would experience the love of Christ, even though it is so vast we will never fully understand it. Scripture even describes Christ as a mystery or a secret. These words can make Him feel elusive, almost unknowable.
We can know some, but not all.
So does that make our pursuit futile?
It can feel like the more we know, the more we realize how much we do not know. How do we come to know someone whose depths cannot be measured?
And yet, Christ is the all to our some.
Childlike Faith and the Mystery of Christ
There is something powerful about the purity, innocence, and honesty of a child’s mind.
During a conversation about God, children once asked these questions:
Dear God, do you really see everything? How many eyes do you have? There are lots of people down here.
Dear God, I bet it is very hard for you to love everybody in the whole world. There are only four people in my family and I can never do it.
Dear God, instead of letting people die and having to make new ones, why don’t you keep the ones you have?
Simple questions. Profound truths.
If someone asked you, Who is Christ, how would you answer?
Would you describe who He is?
What He does?
Or would you ask curious questions like a child?
Who Is Christ According to Scripture?
Paul gives us a clear and powerful answer in Colossians 1:15–17.
Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation.
For through Him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see and the things we cannot see.
Everything was created through Him and for Him.
He existed before anything else, and He holds all creation together.
When children were asked to describe Jesus, they responded simply:
He is very bright
He heals our owies
He knows everything
How true.
From this passage, we see three defining qualities of Christ.
1. Christ is the Revealer.
Verse 15 tells us that He is the visible image of the invisible God. He reveals the Father to us through His words, actions, and presence. Jesus Himself prays in John 17:23 that we would experience the same oneness with God that He shares with the Father.
Have you ever experienced a relationship so safe, so connected, and so deeply understood that finishing each other’s sentences felt natural?
That is the kind of relationship Christ invites us into.
As we grow in intimacy with Him, we are transformed. We begin to look more like Him.
And just as Christ reveals the Father, we reveal Christ.
Do our words and behaviors make it obvious that we belong to Him? If that question brings conviction, there is hope.
Because it is already in your DNA.
2. Christ is the Creator.
Verse 16 tells us that through Him all things were created, both seen and unseen. That includes you.
Jeremiah 1:5 reminds us that before you were formed in the womb, God knew you and set you apart. You are not an accident. The script for your life has already been written.
Christ is waiting for you to take your place on the stage.
There is always a second take with Christ.
There is no condemnation.
There is no shame.
He simply asks that you do not steal the pen when He wants to add to your story.
Because you were created for Him.
“Every day we have an opportunity to make an invisible God visible.”3. Christ is the Connector and Sustainer.
Verse 17 tells us that He holds all creation together. He prevents chaos from taking over in ways both visible and invisible. And He chooses to use people like us to make Himself known.
One small act of kindness can reveal an invisible God.
A little girl once wrote a letter to God after her beloved dog, Sadie, passed away. She sent a picture and asked God to take good care of her.
Days later, a package arrived. Inside was the picture she had sent, a book about grief, and a handwritten letter assuring her that Sadie was safe, healed, and happy.
We do not know who wrote that letter. But that act made God visible.
Christ the Faithful Thread Through It All
Christ is the faithful thread woven through all of existence.
He was there in the beginning as Creator.
He is present now as Revealer.
He will be there at the end as Connector and Sustainer.
We may not know all. But we know Him. And He is the all to our sum.
Christ provides light for the journey. Purpose for the path. An anchor in the storm.
Our limitations are not failures. They are invitations into His grace.
He is waiting for you to step fully in.
Will you take the stage and let Him tell your story?