Who are we actually trusting when we put our faith in what Jesus accomplished?
When we place faith in what Jesus accomplished, we are trusting the Creator Himself—the same God of Genesis 1:1 who was manifested in the flesh as Jesus of Nazareth. He is not merely a Jewish man from a carpenter shop, but God who took upon Himself the work of redemption.
Les teaches that the Jesus of the cross is the same God who created everything in Genesis 1:1. He recalls teaching this about 25 years ago to a living room full of people, and it blew their minds—many had been in church all their lives but had never seen it. Jesus of Nazareth was the same God of Genesis 1:1, only now manifested in the flesh. Therefore, when we put our faith and trust in what He accomplished, we are not talking about some Jew who grew up in a carpenter shop. We are talking about the Creator Himself, who took upon Himself the very work of redemption. Les also notes Paul's defense of his apostleship in 2 Corinthians 4:5—'we preach not ourselves'—as a bondslave for Jesus' sake, not for personal fame or empire, reinforcing that the focus is on Christ, the Creator-Redeemer.