Is it right to say that Jesus is more important than Christianity?
Answers request by David Creedon
Christianity would not exist without Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, nothing would exist without the Son of God, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches that everything was created through Him. Even in the Old Testament, the Son of God is equated with God.
The Messiah, of whom the Old Testament said to expect, was the Son of God who would also be known as the Son of Man. The motif “Son of Man” was the appellation designated for the Son of God by the prophet Daniel, who wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit; otherwise, he would not have recorded what he saw in the visions he had. Similarly, the writer of Proverbs equated the Son of God with possessing the Name of God.
- I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One. Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name? Surely you know! (Proverbs 30:3-4)
- I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. (Daniel 7:13)
- But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, take up your bed and go home.” (Matthew 9:6)
- For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12:40)
- He answered, “He who sows the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world, and the good seed means the sons of the kingdom; the weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. The Son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers” (Matthew 13:37-41)
We learn from the New Testament that the Messiah is the Christ who is to come. Lord Jesus Christ was designated the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead.
- Designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 1:4)
The historical account of the book of Acts informs us that the disciples of Lord Jesus Christ were called Christians originally in Antioch and this was understood to require a conversion, evidenced some twenty years later in the reply by King Agrippa to Paul when at Caesarea.
- And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church, and taught a large company of people; and in Antioch the disciples were for the first time called Christians. (Acts 11:26)
- And Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time you think to make me a Christian!” (Acts 26:28)
- If one suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but under that name let him glorify God. (1 Peter 4:16)
To suffer as a Christian because you identify with the Son of God brings no shame, for Jesus Christ is your Lord. However, to suffer because you have been identified as a Christian, or because you are wrongly perceived as part of Christianity simply by being a Westerner—even if you do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord—will bring shame. Christianity is merely an appellation given to a perceived state of existence that includes relics and ornaments representing various organizations that claim to acknowledge Christ. This could include the New Age concept of Christ consciousness, the mother of God, or other misleading ideas.
When considered in the context of everything that exists, it is clear that Lord Jesus Christ is more important than the concept of Christianity. A parallel can be drawn to the altar, which makes a gift holy and is therefore more important than the gift itself.
- You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? So he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it; and he who swears by the temple, swears by it and by him who dwells in it; and he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it. (Matthew 23:19-22)
As is clearly evident in the words of Jesus, it is not what is added to a thing that makes it important, but rather what gives it importance in the first place. In this case, Jesus must surely be more important than Christianity.
