Sermon Tone Analysis

*GREYFRIARS** PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH*

*Minister: REV.

JOHN OLIVER EVANS*

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*HOUSE GROUP SERIES*

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WHAT CHRISTIANS BELIEVE

 

1.

ABOUT GOD

 

Background Passages: Genesis 1, Isaiah 6:1-8, Psalm 139, Revelation 4:1-11.

Introduction: "I believe in God" is a common enough statement.

But what kind of God - a God of our own making, devising, imagining or wishful thinking (our "idol", in effect) or the God who has declared and revealed himself in Scripture, in history and in Jesus?

In a word, we believe in a God who is "a living personal Spirit".

How often he is referred to as "the living God" (c.f.

Deut.5:26; 1 Sam.

17:26; Psalm 42:2~~ 84:2, Jeremiah 10:10, Romans 9:26, 2 Cor.3:3 etc).

He is at least personal - not some impersonal power, force or energy - as in Star Wars - "May the Force be with you"' He has a distinct character and nature.

He can communicate with his followers - remember how the OT says he "spoke" with Abraham as with a friend - and with Isaac and Jacob and Moses and his servants the prophets.

He is Spirit - transcending the entire world-order, though that order depends totally on him.

In the fullest sense we cannot prove that he exists, though many have tried to do so.

We must come back to what the Scripture says "whoever comes to God must have faith that God exists" (Hebrews 11:6 GNB).

 

1.

The Glory of God

This familiar biblical concept usually conveys the visible manifestation of God's being - the sense of divine majesty, greatness and transcendence, surpassing all finite reality.

Think of the experience of Moses on Sinai (Exodus 24:16,17).

Remember too, Ezekiel's vision (Ezekiel 1:28).

Some other references: Exodus 40:31, I Kings 8:11, Psalm 21:5, Isaiah 6:3, Exodus 33:22, Isaiah 42:8, 2 Cor 4:6.

~* The infinity of God - he is without limitation

            ~* The self-existence of God - he depends on nothing else "in the beginning God..."

            ~* The faithfulness of God - he is always consistent and constant, unchanging and faithful.

2.

The Lordship of God

This is made plain in the Covenant - Name, Yahweh "I am who I am", which may also be cast in the future tense.

It expresses his sovereignty, his power and his will and his purposes are unshakeable and his promises are unbreakable.

He rules in the world and his word prevails.

He is the Lord.

~* He is all powerful (omnipotent).

Nothing is too hard for the Lord .

~* He is all-knowing (omniscient) - c.f. Ps.139:1-12

            ~* He is everywhere present (omnipresent) Look at what Psalm 139:7-12 says

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3.

The Holiness of God

This is another familiar concept - especially in the 0T and is closely related to both glory and lordship - see Isaiah's vision.

Because God is holy, in serving him our lives and living are affected.

Four related ideas are - His* *righteousness, His justice, His wrath, His goodness.

4.

The Love of God

The most familiar definition of God in the NT.

In God holiness and love are not in tension, far less in contradiction.

His love is a holy love - His holiness is a loving holiness.

Read again 1 John 4:7-10.

The agape-love of God is made plain in the teaching, actions and cross of Jesus as “the means by which our sins are forgiven”.

His love ever works to redeem, forgive, restore and renew.

Closely associated with his love is his grace - unmerited favour - and concept of his fatherhood - “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”.

~*~* Fellowship Activities:

 

1.

Share with one another some experience you have known of the mystery~/wonder~/greatness~/variety of the Creator-God.

2.

Share with one another some instance of God’s constant care or of His providence and provision.

3.

Share some Bible passage from this sheet which has blessed, helped or challenged you

\\ *GREYFRIARS** PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH*

*Minister: REV.

JOHN OLIVER EVANS*

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*HOUSE GROUP SERIES*

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* *

!

WHAT CHRISTIANS BELIEVE

 

   2.

ABOUT THE HUMANITY OF JESUS

 

Background Passages: John 1:1-18; Philippians 2:6-10; Hebrews 2:9-18.

Introduction- "I believe in Jesus".

Yet what do we believe about him?

We have usually described him by names or titles - e.g.

“Son of Man" or "Son of God".

Interestingly, Son of Man is the designation Jesus uses of himself in the Gospels, notably in Mark.

Its use in the OT. can simply be another way of saying "a man".

Ezekiel is thus addressed some ninety times and that is by way of emphasising his frail humanity.

However, it was also used of a divine figure breaking in from heaven whom the Jews came to expect - so in the- book of Daniel.

Jesus' use incorporates both: human - "nowhere to lay his head" and divine "sitting at the right hand of power".

In the early Christian centuries the fight was about the reality of his humanity - whereas in more modern times generally the struggle seems to be in the reality of his divinity.

Look up the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed - both have extended paragraphs on Jesus and their aim is to stress the reality of his human existence.

This tension was resolved by the Council of Chalcedon (451) which defined Christ as one person, fully God and fully man, what the Westminster Confession of Faith describes as "two whole, perfect and distinct natures.. . .

.inseparably joined in one Person".

To stress one at the expense of the other leads to a sadly distorted picture of him.

In the NT it is the Gospel most stressing his divinity which states categorically "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14) or as GNB has it --”a human being".

1.

His Birth and Development

The Gospels commence by setting Jesus in a stream of human genealogy - e.g.

Matt 1:1-16, Luke 3:23-38.

Whatever we say about the means of conception "by the Holy Spirit", his birth was a normal one - Matt.1:25, Luke 2:7, Gal.4:4.

There was the climax of all the normal stages of developing foetus gestation and labour.

This was followed by years of apparently normal growth and development - see Luke 2:40-52, Hebrews 5:8 - within a home and family life - Mark 6:1-6.

 

2.

Physical Limitations

The Gospels make it plain he led a "normal" human existence in such mundane matters as eating and drinking (Luke 7:34-36), being hungry (Luke 4:2) or thirsty (John 19:8) or even tired (John 4:6f).

Last century a fresh attempt was made to understand a real Incarnation in which the divine nature would not swamp or "squeeze out" his true humanity.

It was based virtually on the passage in Philippians 2:6-11 especially verse 7. It says Christ "emptied himself" (RSV) or "gave up all he had" (GNB) - i.e. in terms of his glory, power, perfect knowledge and universal presence.

They were careful to maintain that while giving up his divine self consciousness (yet see the Gospels in this) he did not give up his divine nature.

The view drew a lot of attack, usually because it was felt the explanation was saying the Son exchanged divinity for humanity.

However, by any view the Incarnation surely requires some kind of self-limitation.

3.

Emotions

“Those who imagine the Son of God  was exempt from human passion do not truly and seriously acknowledge him to be a man” - John Calvin.

Our Lord knew joy [Luke 10:21], sorrow [Matt 26:37, John 11:35], love [John 11:5], compassion [Matt9:36], astonishment [Luke 9:9] and anger [Mark 3:5].

In fact an examination of some of the words used indicates the intensity of some of our Lord’s emotions - e.g.

literally "convulsed with uncontrollable grief" (Luke 19:41); "a consternation that is appalled dismay" (Matt.27:46

cf.

John 12:27); "hot indignation which .... consumes him like fire" (John 2.17).

4.

Temptation

Some might well feel that nowhere - unless it be the fact of death - ­is our human weakness more evident than here.

We are told that in this also Jesus identified with us.

See Matt.4:1-11, 27:42, Mark 1:24, 8:35, Luke 11:15-20.

The NT witness is summed up in Hebrews 4:15.

Remember* *the witness in the Gospels, that so evident was his* *humanity that the majority of his fellow-countrymen.

- including some who knew him best - could not accept his claim to be the Messiah.