Only Begotten Son (John 3:16)
Jesus was the only person to be born of a mortal mother, Mary, and an immortal father, God the Father. That is why Jesus is called the Only Begotten Son of God. From His Father, He inherited divine powers (see John 10:17–18). From His mother, He inherited mortality and became subject to hunger, thirst, fatigue, pain, and death.
Christ is also referred to as the “only” begotten in a revelation to Moses — “mine Only Begotton Son, who is full of grace and truth, even is Jesus Christ” (Moses 6:52).
Additionally there are numerous references to Christ as the Son of God: “therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:26–27, 30–32, 35; see also 1 Nephi 11:16–21; Alma 7:10); “Thou art the Son of God” (Matt. 14:33); “the Son of the living God” (Matt 16:15-16); “thou art the Christ, the Son of God” (John 11:25, 27); “The Son of God cometh” (Helaman 14:2)
God the Father refers to his Son as “his Beloved Son” on several occasions — at Christ’s baptism, “my beloved son,” (Matt. 3:17); at the Mount of Transfiguration, “my beloved son,” (Matt 17:5); at the appearance to Joseph Smith, “This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!” (Joseph Smith — History 1:17)
Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6)
Christ is the only reason we can truly live peacefully with God (Romans 5:1). In Him, death is overcome, sins are removed, gifts are given and in eternal life is promised.
Not only can we live peacefully with God, but this peacefulness extends even further to include our daily turmoils in a world of challenges. Paul entreats us to “Let the peace of God rule in your hearts,” (Col. 3:15) and Matthew invites us to “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” (Matt 11:28).
How does peace prevail in a world of turmoil? It is not by the removal of turmoil that peace comes, but by choosing how to react to the commotion that comes our way. If an untimely death occurs, one can refrain from asking, “Why me? Why now? What is wrong? God, How could you?” and instead focus on the pleasant memories from their acquaintance, the understanding that they are in a better place, the peace of knowing that you will see them again in the resurrection, and the truth that no soul escapes time but it should view it as a temporary move to another apartment. — and the same with family/friend betrayals, loss of employment, declining health, and a myriad of other things that seem “unfair” but are part of an earthly experience that cause growth, vision, godliness and individual progress to take place.
Perhaps one of the basic problems of “difficulties” is that most people do not understand their purpose on the earth. It is to obtain a body, to be tested away from a godly presence to see if we will keep his commandments, and to develop godly attributes and characteristics. None of these purposes are reflected with the worldly measurements of good health, wealth, friends, good looks, education, security and acceptance by others.
“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. … I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. … Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14: 1, 18, 27)
Prophet (Matt. 21:11)
A prophet is the mouthpiece of God on the earth. A prophet would speak the word of God, foretell events, perform healings and perform other miracles. Christ not only spoke the word of God (Heb 1:1-3), but he was the “Word of God” (John 1:1).
Christ was declared to be a “prophet” on numerous occasions: “This is Jesus the prophet” (Matthew 21:11); “a great prophet is risen among us” (Luke 7:16); “Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet” (John 4:19); “a prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin” (Mark 6:4); “and it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet (Moses predicted god would raise up a prophet) shall be destroyed from the people” (Acts 3:23)
Christ not only functioned as a prophet, but also as a priest and king. Normally these three functions are performed by three different people, but in the case of Christ, his role in saving humanity is wide as the magnitude of eternity. Luke described Christ as “Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people” (Luke 24:19).
Redeemer (Job 19:25)
There are three personages before the organization of the earth; these personages are called God the first, the Creator; God the second, the Redeemer; and God the third, the witness or Testator. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p 190)
What is a “redeemer?” – It is one who redeems or gains something in exchange for payment. Redeemer also has the meaning of one who compensates for the faults or bad aspects of something or someone. Christ is referred to as both a redeemer and a savior. A “savior” is a person who rescues or keeps one safe from harm or danger; also with the idea of keeping or storing something up for future use.
How are God’s people redeemed? Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
Is Christ the only one who can accomplish this? Yes – Christ alone can atone for mankind’s sins (Helaman 5:9) and bring him to a state of worthiness acceptable to enter into the presence of God. No other person can bring about the resurrection, nor erase another’s sins.
In Christianity, Savior and Redeemer are synonymous. They refer to the Saving/Redeeming act by Jesus Christ of His atonement where, through his exhaustive suffering, he brought about a universal resurrection to all mankind (Isaiah 49:26, 1 Nephi 10:5) and a conditional exaltation to the faithful. He voluntarily offered himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world (John 1:29, 3 Nephi 27:13-14). His atonement was voluntary in the pre-earth existence (Abraham 3:24-27), and foretold by prophets prior to his birth (Hel. 5:9). He concluded his sacrifice successfully (D&C 19:16-19)
How was he able to do this? President Hinckley describes how Christ could accomplish this: The Atonement is the sacrifice Jesus Christ made to help us overcome sin, adversity, and death. Jesus’s atoning sacrifice took place in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross at Calvary. He paid the price for our sins, took upon Himself death, and was resurrected. This is the redeeming power of the Atonement is as one turns to Christ and repent of their sins, He will forgive you and cleanse you and change your heart. Through his atonement, “just men are made perfect.” (D&C 76:69). It is the “greatest miracle in human history… nothing done before or since has so affected mankind as the atonement wrought by Jesus of Nazareth..” (Pres. Gordon B Hinckley, Apr 1994 general conference)
Rock (1 Cor. 10:4)
Christ is the Rock: The Rock of ages, The stone of Israel, The sure foundation.
There are numerous passages that refer to Christ as the rock: “Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone” (Eph 2:20); “whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken” (Matt 21:44); ” or they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ” (1 Cor 10:4); “There is none holy like the Lord; there is none beside you; there is no rock like our God.” (1 Sam. 2:2); “The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation.” (Psalm 18:46); “He is my rock and my salvation” (Psalm 62:2); “Jesus Christ is the stone that was set at naught” (Acts 4:10-11); “Upon the rock of our Redeemer that we must build our foundation” (Hel. 5:12); “I am Messiah, the King of Zion, the Rock of Heaven” (Moses 7:53).
Rock can also refer to revelation, by which God makes His gospel known to man (Matt. 16:15–18).
Is Peter the rock in Matthew 16?
No. The New Testament was originally written in the Greek, from which the Latin, English, and other versions were translated. If you study the Greek text you will find that the word Peter and the word Rock on which Christ was to build His church are two separate and distinct words, each having a different meaning. The word Peter in Greek is petros, which means “a piece of rock; a stone; a single stone; movable, insecure, shifting, or rolling.” The word rock is petra, which means “a rock; a cliff; a projecting rock; mother rock; huge mass; solid formation; fixed; immovable; enduring.” The word petros for Peter in the Greek is in the masculine gender and the word petra for the rock is in the feminine gender. Petros and petra are two distinct words in the Greek.
“They drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock [petra, in the Greek] was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4). Here we have evidence that petra refers to Christ, and not to Peter, petros. Again we quote: “Jesus Christ Himself being the chief Cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:20) “He is the Rock, His work is perfect” (Deuteronomy 32:4; 2 Samuel 22:2-3) (2 Kings 22:2-3).
