The Person of Christ - Part 1

Why Do We Believe That?  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  45:41
0 ratings
· 46 views
Files
Notes
Transcript
* Prayer
Introduction
The Core of Our Faith
Last week we covered the Doctrine of Sin.
We said that the most pressing problem humanity faces is the problem of sin.
So, for at least the next four weeks, we're going to study the glorious solution to the problem of sin, namely, the God-Man, Jesus Christ, the One who came into this world to save sinners.
Biblical Christology (the study of Christ) consists of two main parts:
The study of the Person of Christ
The Work of Christ
Who Christ is (His person) and what he's done (His work) is the source of our hope and the foundation of the confidence we enjoy as redeemed, born-again believers.
So, both today and next week, we're going to consider who Jesus is; meaning we’ll finish up 2020 studying and teaching about Jesus and begin 2021 studying and teaching about the person and work of Jesus.
How can you go wrong with that? You can't!
The core of our faith and the source of our hope isn't a congregation, a creed, an experience, an idea, or a philosophy.
The core of our faith is a person: Jesus Christ the God-man, the promised Messiah.
Knowing him isn't the beginning of the Christian life – it is the Christian life.
As a born-again believer, each of us have a personal relationship with Jesus, which means Christology is deeply practical.
When we discuss the person of Christ, we always want to keep in mind this great mystery… that at Christ’s birth (known as the incarnation) Jesus was both fully God and fully man in one person, the God-man.
Emmanuel, God with us. He was one person, with two natures.
Let's start with the deity of Christ, which means Jesus Christ is fully God.
The Deity of Christ in the Old Testament
In Luke 24, while walking on the road to Emmaus, Jesus tells his disciples that the OT is all about Him… imagine that.
You guys believe I just think these things up don’t you…?
The OT prophecies were full of teachings concerning His coming and His triumphant reign.
The OT teaches us how he's worked for the salvation of His people from the beginning.
Luke 24:44 NIrV
Jesus said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you. Everything written about me must happen. Everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms must come true.”
So, what do we see in the OT?
A. Son of Man
First, we have Daniel's vision of the Son of Man.
In Daniel 7, we find a glorious description of the LORD, the "Ancient of Days," seated upon His throne.
Then just a few verses later, Daniel describes another vision, but this time he sees another figure, the Son of Man.
Daniel 7:13–14 NIrV
“In my vision I saw One who looked like a son of man. He was coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Eternal God. He was led right up to him. And he was given authority, glory and a kingdom. People from every nation and language worshiped him. His authority will last forever. It will not pass away. His kingdom will never be destroyed.
And who is this Son of Man?
In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus uses this title for himself and taught…
Matthew 25:31–32 NIrV
“The Son of Man will come in all his glory. All the angels will come with him. Then he will sit on his throne in the glory of heaven. All the nations will be gathered in front of him. He will separate the people into two groups. He will be like a shepherd who separates the sheep from the goats.
Can you hear how Jesus' words refer to Daniel 7?
B. Son of David
Next, the OT builds the expectation that a Son of David is coming who will reign on David's throne forever.
God promises this to David in…
2 Samuel 7:13 NIrV
He is the one who will build a house where I will put my Name. “ ‘ “I will set up the throne of his kingdom. It will last forever.
And yet, this highly anticipated Son begins to be described in unmistakably divine terms.
Psalm 45:6–7 NIrV
Your throne is the very throne of God. Your kingdom will last for ever and ever. You will rule by treating everyone fairly. You love what is right and hate what is evil. So your God has placed you above your companions. He has filled you with joy by pouring the sacred oil on your head.
Did you notice how the king is referred to as… "God"?
Hebrews 1 teaches that this passage is all about Jesus.
Here's a familiar Christmas passage…
Isaiah 9:6–7 NIrV
A child will be born to us. A son will be given to us. He will rule over us. And he will be called Wonderful Adviser and Mighty God. He will also be called Father Who Lives Forever and Prince Who Brings Peace. The authority of his rule will continue to grow. The peace he brings will never end. He will rule on David’s throne and over his kingdom. He will make the kingdom strong and secure. His rule will be based on what is fair and right. It will last forever. The Lord’s great love will make sure that happens. He rules over all.
So, who is this king?
A royal son of David who is also Mighty God, his name is Everlasting Father, not in the sense that he is God the Father, but that he's a king who rules benevolently like a loving father.
This royal figure is Jesus Christ.
That's what “Christ” means – it's the Greek translation for Messiah, which means "Anointed One."
Romans 1:2–3 NIrV
He promised the good news long ago. He announced it through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures. The good news is about God’s Son. As a human being, the Son of God belonged to King David’s family line.
The Deity of Christ in the New Testament
As we move into the NT… let's look at six ways we’re taught that Jesus Christ is fully God.
1. Jesus Christ is called God and Lord
John 1:1 NIrV
In the beginning, the Word was already there. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Romans 9:5 calls him "Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever."
Titus 2:13 calls him "our great God and Savior Jesus Christ." There’s also several instances where the words used for God [Theos] and Lord [Kyrios] in the Greek translation of the OT are applied directly to Jesus.
One of the most amazing examples of this is Philippians 2:11, where Paul says that every tongue will "confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
Here, he's quoting Isaiah 45:23 nearly word for word.
And yet the one to whom every knee bows and every tongue swears allegiance to in Isaiah 45 is none other than Yahweh, the covenant Lord of Israel.
2. Jesus Christ Claimed to Be God
Secondly, we have Jesus' claims concerning himself.
Listen to this statement in John 8:58… "Before Abraham was born, I am!"
These Jews clearly understood that he was claiming to be God, so they picked up stones to kill him because their unbelieving hearts judged this to be a blasphemous statement.
Later, in John 10:30, he says, "I and the Father are one," and again, the Jewish leaders attempt to stone him.
Why?
John 10:33 NIrV
“We are not throwing stones at you for any of these,” replied the Jews. “We are stoning you for saying a very evil thing. You are only a man. But you claim to be God.”
3. Jesus is Presented as the Object of The Believer's Faith and Trust
In John 14:1 "Believe in God; believe also in me."
What believers do? We place our faith and trust in Christ.
1 Thessalonians 1:3 "steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ."
John 17:3, eternal life is to know Jesus Christ.
4. Jesus is Presented as the Object of The Believer's Worship
Here's some more Christmas scripture…
Matthew 2:10–11 NIrV
When they saw the star, they were filled with joy. The Wise Men went to the house. There they saw the child with his mother Mary. They bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures. They gave him gold, incense and myrrh.
John 5:23 NIrV
Then all people will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Those who do not honor the Son do not honor the Father, who sent him.
In Isaiah 48:11 God says… "My glory I will not give to another."
And yet, from his birth in Matthew 2 to the heavenly throne room in Revelation, Jesus receives worship, glory, and honor.
This isn't blasphemy or idolatry... it's entirely appropriate because Jesus is God.
This leads us to number five…
5. Jesus Christ is Described as Both Being God and Performing the Works of God
John 1:1–3 NIrV
In the beginning, the Word was already there. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were made through him. Nothing that has been made was made without him.
John 1:14–18 NIrV
The Word became a human being. He made his home with us. We have seen his glory. It is the glory of the one and only Son. He came from the Father. And he was full of grace and truth. John gives witness about him. He cries out and says, “This was the one I was talking about. I said, ‘He who comes after me is more important than I am. He is more important because he existed before I was born.’ ” We have all received one blessing after another. God’s grace is not limited. Moses gave us the law. Jesus Christ has given us grace and truth. No one has ever seen God. But God, the one and only Son, is at the Father’s side. He has shown us what God is like.
Clearly, Jesus is the Creator.
Hebrews 1:1–4 NIrV
In the past, God spoke to our people through the prophets. He spoke at many times. He spoke in different ways. But in these last days, he has spoken to us through his Son. He is the one whom God appointed to receive all things. God made everything through him. The Son is the gleaming brightness of God’s glory. He is the exact likeness of God’s being. He uses his powerful word to hold all things together. He provided the way for people to be made pure from sin. Then he sat down at the right hand of the King, the Majesty in heaven. So he became higher than the angels. The name he received is more excellent than theirs.
Jesus reveals God and sustains all creation.
Colossians 1:15–20 NIrV
Christ is the exact likeness of God, who can’t be seen. He is first, and he is over all of creation. All things were created by him. He created everything in heaven and on earth. He created everything that can be seen and everything that can’t be seen. He created kings, powers, rulers and authorities. Everything was created by him and for him. Before anything was created, he was already there. He holds everything together. And he is the head of the body, which is the church. He is the beginning. He is the first to be raised from the dead. That happened so that he would be far above everything. God was pleased to have his whole nature living in Christ. God was pleased to bring all things back to himself because of what Christ has done. That includes all things on earth and in heaven. God made peace through Christ’s blood, through his death on the cross.
6. Jesus Christ is Assumed to Have Been Preexistent as the Eternal Son of God Prior To His Incarnation
This is a crucial point because it emphasizes that God the Son has always existed.
It's not that Jesus, a human being, somehow became God by his miraculous birth or spectacular baptism.
It's the other way around… the second person of the Trinity took on human nature in addition to his divine nature.
The incarnation is not a subtraction… but an addition.
We see this in a passage like…
Philippians 2:6–7 NIrV
In his very nature he was God. But he did not think that being equal with God was something he should hold on to. Instead, he made himself nothing. He took on the very nature of a servant. He was made in human form.
In doing this, He didn't give up his divinity; he only paused the status and privilege of his heavenly standing.
2 Timothy 1:9–10 NIrV
God has saved us. He has chosen us to live a holy life. It wasn’t because of anything we have done. It was because of his own purpose and grace. Through Christ Jesus, God gave us that grace even before time began. It has now been made known through the coming of our Savior, Christ Jesus. He has destroyed death. Because of the good news, he has brought life out into the light. That life never dies.
Paul isn't trying to demonstrate the preexistence of Christ; he's arguing from the fact.
So, scripture is clear when it teaches the mystery that Jesus Christ is God.
A helpful way to remember the way the Scriptures speak of Christ's deity is:
HANDS
Jesus Christ Shares the Honors Due to God (he receives worship).
Jesus Christ Shares the Attributes of God (holy, righteous, all-powerful)
Jesus Christ Shares the Names of God (Lord, God, Alpha and Omega)
Jesus Christ Shares in the Deeds that God Does (forgives sin, raises the dead, creates the world)
Jesus Christ Shares the Seat of God's Throne
IV. The Importance and Beauty of Christ's Deity
Christ's deity is both supremely important and beautiful.
When we rightly understand the person of Christ, it leads us to confidence, joy, and worship.
So might ask… why does the deity of Christ matter so much?
Let me give you 3 reasons as we finish up.
1. The Deity of Christ Matters for Revelation
God didn't merely send us a prophet, a messenger, or a press secretary.
He didn't just give us a book… He gave us himself.
This should give us great assurance, we don't have to wonder about what God is like… if he's merciful or compassionate.
Hebrews 1:1–2 NIrV
In the past, God spoke to our people through the prophets. He spoke at many times. He spoke in different ways. But in these last days, he has spoken to us through his Son. He is the one whom God appointed to receive all things. God made everything through him.
John 1:18 NIrV
No one has ever seen God. But God, the one and only Son, is at the Father’s side. He has shown us what God is like.
Do you ever struggle with how to imagine God? Do you ever ask yourself – is God really for me or against me?
I love what Michael Reeves says: "For all our dreams, our dark and frightened imaginings of God, there is no God in heaven who is unlike Jesus'Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father,' he says (John 14:9). God cannot be otherwise."
So, if you want to know God, just look at Jesus because he's God in the flesh.
2. The deity of Christ Matters for Salvation
The constant message of the Bible is that no mere man could ever achieve salvation for himself, yet alone on behalf of others.
Jonah 2:9 declares – salvation belongs to the Lord.
God himself achieves this salvation, and he does so in the person of his Son, Jesus Christ.
In a well-known phrase in Acts 20:28, Paul teaches that God bought the church "with his own blood."
The blood of a mere man could never atone for countless millions.
Colossians 1:19–20 NIrV
God was pleased to have his whole nature living in Christ. God was pleased to bring all things back to himself because of what Christ has done. That includes all things on earth and in heaven. God made peace through Christ’s blood, through his death on the cross.
Only the God-man could serve as the perfect mediator between God and man (1 Tim 2:5).
Please know and understand that Jesus didn't just die as a good example… he died as a sinless sacrifice, "the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God" (1 Pet 3:18)
And his resurrection proves his divinity – as Hebrews 7:16 teaches, Jesus is our high priest "by the power of an indestructible life."
This means that as sin-stained rebels we have a sure and steady hope.
Our salvation doesn't come through a highened consciousness, positive thinking, man-made religion, the five pillars of Islam or the eightfold path of Buddhism, all of which assume that human beings can be delivered from our deadly dilemma by applying discipline and devotion.
God himself accomplished and guarantees our redemption.
That's our only hope!
Trust in Christ, and you'll never be disappointed.
3. The Deity of Christ Matters for the Christian Life
Our salvation isn't some sort of get-out-of-hell transaction.
It's a transformation of who we are in Christ.
We go from being represented by Adam to being united with Christ.
"Jesus Christ is in you…" Paul tells the Corinthians (2 Cor 13:5).
Christ dwells in us by his Spirit, and that's why we can walk in a way pleasing to God.
Romans 8:10 NIrV
Christ lives in you. So your body is dead because of sin. But your spirit is alive because you have been made right with God.
So, take heart if you’re struggling hard against temptations, sin, and additions.
When you were born-again, you became a new person, supernaturally empowered by the Spirit of Jesus.
Sin is never unavoidable for the Christian, but it no longer defines us. Christ is ours, and we are his.
VI. Conclusion: Know and Adore Christ
As we leave here today, what should we do with what we've learned?
For one…
We should seek to know Christ better
Abide in him
Listen to and obey his Word
John Owen said, "You love Him not, because you know Him not."
John Calvin wrote, "Since rich store of every kind of good abounds in [Christ], let us drink our fill from this fountain, and from no other."
2 Corinthians 4:6 NIrV
God said, “Let light shine out of darkness.” He made his light shine in our hearts. It shows us the light of God’s glory in the face of Christ.
He's our Prophet, Priest, and Eternal King, the radiance of the glory of God: worthy of worship, awe, wonder, and affection.
He's supreme and lifted up, yet he humbled himself on the cross of Calvary.
He took our filthy rags and clothed us in his brilliant righteousness.
And one day soon, he'll return, and we'll sit with him at the banquet table of the Wedding Supper of the Lamb, the cleansed and radiant Bride with her divine, faithful, glorious, loving Bridegroom.
Let's Pray
Related Media
See more
Related Sermons
See more