THE RECORD OF THE APOSTLE JOHN

 John wrote the Fourth Gospel, the three letters which bear his name, and the book of Revelation.  Let us examine excerpts from his writings concerning this very significant subject.

 John 19:30-42

 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!"  And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
 Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day) the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.  Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him.  But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.  But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.  And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. . . .
 Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.

 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead.  But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.  I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.  Amen.  And I have the keys of Hades and of Death."

The Writings of the Apostle Paul
 No figure in Christian history stands so tall or has had such a tremendous influence as has Saul of Tarsus, who later became the Apostle Paul.  The passing of centuries has not dimmed the luster of his personality nor altered the significance of his incredible insight into the Christian message.  From the day of his conversion on the road to Damascus until his martyrdom thirty years later, Paul found love, life, liberty, and light as a bond-slave of Christ Jesus.
 I feel that if Muhammad had experienced Christ as Paul did on the road to Damascus, he would have become another Paul.
 At any rate, since Paul understood the death, resurrection, and atonement of Christ so well, his writings, preserved in the New Testament, are full of such references.  The Christ-centered labors of this dedicated missionary-evangelist so deeply rooted the faith that within three centuries the Roman Empire adopted Christianity as the state religion.
 The writings of Paul contain the most comprehensive theology (teaching) about the person, nature, and mission of Jesus Christ.  John 1:1, 8:58, and 20:28, Titus 2:13, and Romans 9:5 are just a few of the verses which confirm that Jesus Christ is truly God, of the same nature as His heavenly Father.
 Romans 1:3-4, and Philippians 2:5-11 are two Pauline passages affirming that the divine Son of God also became man.  First Timothy 2:5 points out the importance of the Incarnation, that is, that God became man: "There is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus."
 Christ’s incarnation, death, resurrection, and exaltation are eloquently summarized in Philippians 2:8-11:

 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death on the cross.  Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.