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Lesson 14 – The Names and Titles of Jesus

Lesson 14 – The Names and Titles of Jesus

Lesson for April 8, 2026

The Names and Titles of Jesus — Lesson 14

Originator and Perfecter of Our Faith

Hebrews 12:1-2 — “Therefore, since we also have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let’s rid ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Christ is the originator of our faith, in that He died on the Cross and fulfilled the plan of salvation. It is through faith that we accept the payment for the penalty of our sin that Christ made on our behalf. Salvation, therefore, begins with believing in Christ for salvation. The Greek word translated “perfecter” appears only this one time in the New Testament. It means literally “completer” or “finisher” and speaks of bringing something to its conclusion. Putting the two words together, we see that Jesus, as God, both creates and sustains our faith. He is also the sustainer of our faith, meaning that salvation cannot be lost. (Philippians 1:6; Ephesians 1:13-14, 2:10)

The Light

John 8:12 — “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the Light of the world; the one who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.’”

Jesus was in the temple treasury, according to John 8:20. Along the side of the treasury, they had chests you could walk by and put money into for various causes. Each chest carried a designation: some went to the priesthood, some to the animal sacrifices, etc. Then, in the very middle of the treasury was the largest candelabra, and the rabbis claimed that when it was lit in the evening you could actually see the light all over the city of Jerusalem. They had a special ceremony for lighting this candelabra every evening. It included the singing of a prophecy from Isaiah 42:6-7:

“I am the Lord, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You, and I will appoint You (Christ) as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon, and those who dwell in darkness from the prison (spiritual darkness).”

After the completion of the ceremony of lighting the candles, there was a great period of rejoicing, singing, and dancing in the temple. So, Jesus used light for His message. Jesus began His message by referring to Himself as being the Light of the World. In I Peter 2:9, believers are called out of darkness into the light of Christ at salvation. In I John 1:5-7, believers are told to walk in the Light (Christ) and not to walk in darkness. Unbelievers are said to be in spiritual darkness, in Luke 1:78-79, Isaiah 9:2, and Psalm 107:10-11.

Walking in the Light (Christ) is an analogy for being filled with God the Holy Spirit, following the pattern of Christ’s life, and executing the Christian Way of Life. The command to walk in the Light is a reference to Experiential Sanctification. The Greek word for walk in these verses is “peripateo,” which is used to express the entirety of a believer’s spiritual life. Just as walking in the darkness is incompatible with walking in Light, so carnality is incompatible with the execution of the Protocol Plan of God. Walking in the Light is a term used specifically for a believer’s living in accordance with God’s plan for believers during the Church Age. Therefore, walking in the Light is synonymous with the Christian Way of Life. The command to walk in the Light is a command to be filled with the Spirit and learning and applying Bible doctrine. (I John 1:5-7)

The Lamb of God

When Jesus is called the Lamb of God in John 1:29 and John 1:36 by John the Baptist, he was referring to Jesus as the Messiah. The Jews who heard him would have immediately thought of the ritual sacrifices. The Messiah would fulfill these rituals of the Old Testament when a spotless lamb would illustrate the sacrifice for sin by Christ. The sacrificial system established by God in the Old Testament set the stage for the coming of Jesus, Israel’s Messiah.

With the time of the Passover feast being very near, the first thought might have been the sacrifice of the Passover lamb. The Passover feast was one of the main Jewish holidays and a celebration in remembrance of God’s deliverance of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. In fact, the slaying of the Passover lamb and the applying of the blood to doorposts of the houses, in Exodus 12:11-13, is a beautiful picture of Christ’s atoning work on the Cross.

The Word

John 1:1-2 — “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.”

John begins his Gospel with the Greek phrase “en arche,” which means “in the beginning,” which was not a beginning. Therefore, this phrase refers to the eternal existence of Christ as a member of the Godhead. This is confirmed by John when he said, “and the Word was God.”

The first few verses of the Gospel of John are about the deity of Christ. The Greek word for the Word is “logos,” a reference to Christ’s deity. Jesus affirmed John’s statement in John 8:58 when He said, “Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” The Jews to whom Jesus said this, picked up stones to throw at Him, signifying that they understood exactly what Jesus was asserting, that He was God in the flesh! There are some very important, basic doctrinal truths found in these first five verses regarding the Word (Logos).

The first doctrinal truth is that the Word is eternal. Therefore, the Word, Jesus Christ, has no beginning and no end. As the second Person of the Trinity, the Word was with God the Father and the Holy Spirit in eternity past. And the Word is coequal and coeternal with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

John 1:3 — “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being.”

The second doctrinal truth is that the Word, Jesus Christ, is the Creator of all things. When John declared that Christ was the Creator of all things, he gave further confirmation of the deity of Christ. Only a totally rational being, like God, could design, plan, and execute the complex world in which we live. This includes the angels, the earth, all the creatures of the earth, and the human race.

Paul clearly stated that Jesus Christ is the Creator of all things in Colossians 1:15-17:

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation: for by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”

The deity of Christ is the image of the invisible God. There are two different Greek words for image and it is very important as to which one is used here. There is the Greek word “omoioma,” which means a representation. But this word is not used here. Instead, we have the Greek word “eikon,” which means an exact image. So, there is no question that Jesus Christ is God, a member of the Trinity. Jesus Christ does not merely have the “spark” of God, Jesus Christ is God. Jesus Christ is the exact image of the invisible God.

The Greek word for firstborn is “prototokos,” meaning chief or head. Firstborn means that Christ is over all creation as its Creator. He is the sovereign over all of creation. The word firstborn is a reference to Christ’s preeminence over creation. We have a similar use of firstborn other times in the Bible. Christ is called “the firstborn” in Colossians 1:18, Romans 8:29, Hebrews 1:6, and Revelation 1:5. In Colossians 1:18, Romans 8:29, and Revelation 1:5, He is the “firstborn” from the dead, a reference to His resurrection. He was the first to rise from the dead. In Hebrews 1:6, He is the firstborn in His humanity in that He is the God-man, the unique Person of all humanity.