The Gospel: The Divine and Historical Jesus

Marc Minter

FBC Diana

The Apostles' Creed • Sermon • Submitted 2 years ago • Presented 2 years ago

Luke 2:1–14

Creed

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Main Point: Jesus of Nazareth was and is truly God and truly man, and this Jesus is the only Savior for sinners.

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Introduction

Who is Jesus? Was He a good man? Was He a great philosopher? Was He a soft-hearted do-gooder? Was He a religious guru? Or was He more of an idea, a classic representation love and self-sacrifice?

And does it really matter who you think Jesus is or was? I mean, as long as you “believe in Jesus,” does it matter how you specifically define the words “believe” or “Jesus”? Mormons, Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and even most East Texans all “believe in Jesus,” shouldn’t we just be happy about that?

What about the core message of Christianity, the gospel? Does a person really need to believe the finer points of Christology[1]in order to understand that Jesus died for sinners? What if you or your family member or your friend don’t believe something central about Jesus? Can the Jesus you believe in, whoever He might be, actually save you on the last day? Can that Jesus forgive sins, make demands, transform your life, and grant you an eternal reward for faithfulness?

Today, we’re continuing our study through the Apostles’ Creed. Since the earliest days of Christianity, Christians have been confessing their belief in short summaries. Some of these confessions or statements of faith are right there in the New Testament (1 Cor. 15:4-5; 2 Tim. 2:11-13), and many others have been produced over the centuries.

The word “creed” comes from the Latin word “crēdō,” which means “I believe.” So, a creed is just a brief summary of what someone believes. Christianity certainly is a way of life – Christians are those who love, worship, obey, and follow Jesus – but the Christian way of life is based on the Christian worldview or Christian way of thinking– Christians are those who believe certain things about who Jesus is and what He did and does.

Thinking and living, believing and acting, these always go together; you can’t have one without the other. Our beliefs are visible in how we act, and our way of thinking shows up in our way of living. Therefore, we must consider carefully what we truly believe, and this is no more important than when we are focusing our attention on what we truly believe about Jesus Christ.

The Creed says, “We/I believe in Jesus Christ, His [God’s] only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried.” My aim today is to explain this affirmation by arguing that Jesus of Nazareth was and is truly God and truly man, and this Jesus is the only Savior for sinners.

Lord willing, we will not only come to a better understanding of who Jesus is but also to a richer and stronger trust in the one and only Savior. Let’s begin by reading a famous passage of Scripture, usually heard at Christmas time. Listen for the emphasis on Jesus as historical and earthy as well as heavenly and divine.

Scripture Reading

Luke 2:1–14 (ESV)

1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town.

4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.

6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.

10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Main Idea:

Jesus of Nazareth was and is truly God and truly man, and this Jesus is the only Savior for sinners.

Sermon

1. Jesus is Truly God

Directly speaking, with this first point, I am arguing that Jesus of Nazareth was and is the God of the universe. Jesus is not merely a god[2]or like God;[3]He is the unique Son of God and God the Son, the second Person of the Trinity. I’m simply going to summarize some of the Bible’s teaching here, and if this all sounds strange or overly complicated, then it might be because some of us haven’t really given Christian doctrine the attention it deserves. If this doctrine-rich sermon today tastes too heavy for your mental and spiritual palate, then the solution isn’t for you to avoid doctrine in the future; the solution is for you to chew on meaty Christian doctrine a bit more often, so that you will be better able to digest it.

You can jump into a Life Group on Sunday mornings, you can join a study of systematic theology with a handful of retired men on Friday mornings, you can regularly meet together with a fellow church member to discuss Christian doctrine, you can participate in the Wednesday night Bible studies in the church fellowship hall, and you can always ask me for book recommendations… I may even have something on hand to give you for free. Just tell me what you’re looking for.

The Apostles’ Creed says it like this, “We/I believe in Jesus Christ, His [God’s] only Son, our Lord…” This short phrase is dense with meaning, but let’s take it one bite at a time. “We believe in Jesus…” that is, Jesus of Nazareth, son of Joseph and Mary (but we will get to that in a bit). “We believe” that Jesus is “His [God’s] only Son…” that is, God’s Son in a unique way, a way in which nothing and no one else is.

The Bible teaches us that humans are all created in the “image” of God (Gen. 1:26-27), and there is a sense in which we might say that all people are children of God since God grants common grace to everyone. Like a benevolent father, God makes the sun to rise, the rains to fall, and the seasons to change for everyone, both the righteous and the wicked (Ec. 1:4-7, 9:2). But the Bible only uses the phrase “children of God” to refer to those who are under God’s covenantal grace and blessings in Jesus Christ (Jn. 1:12; Rom. 8:16; Phil. 2:15; contrast “children of the flesh” in Rom. 9:8 and “children of wrath” in Eph. 2:3). These are sinners who have been adopted into God’s family; they’ve become His beloved children who share in the full blessings and favor of their heavenly Father.

And yet, Jesus is not the son of God by way of creation(like all image-bearers); He was “with” the Father before creation existed (Jn. 1:1-3, 14). And Jesus is not the son of God by way of adoption (like all Christians); His “equality with God” is a reality of His very nature (Phil. 2:6; Col. 1:15-20). Jesus is the Son of God in a unique sense; there is nothing and no one else like Him.

Before He was Jesus of Nazareth, He was already the Son of God and God the Son. This is why Jesus could pray in John 17, “And now, Father, glorify me… with the glory I had with you before the world existed” (Jn. 17:5). This is why God the Father and God the Son are described as having “loved” one another “before the foundation of the world” (Jn. 17:24). And this is why the Gospel of John says that “the Word” was both “with God” and “was God” in “the beginning” (Jn. 1:1); and that the divine “Word,” which is simultaneously distinguished from God and designated as God “became flesh” in the man Jesus of Nazareth (Jn. 1:14).

Friends, Jesus was and is truly God, and that’s why all of heaven erupted in praise when He was born. As Luke recorded for us, Jesus was indeed a “a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger” (v12). But even then, He was the “Savior,” the “Christ,” the “Lord,” and the central focus of “good news of great joy… for all the people” who would finally bring “peace” on earth (v10-12, 14).

2. God the Son Became a Man

From the very beginning, Christians have worshiped Jesus as God, taught one another that Jesus is divine, and sung songs of praise to and about Jesus. And, so too, Christians have affirmed that Jesus was a real, actual, true human man. How both of these affirmations are true at the same time is something of a mystery, but that Jesus was and is both truly God and truly man is crystal clear in the Bible.

In our main passage for today, we read several details which affirm (as the Creed says) that Jesus was “born of the virgin Mary.” Joseph and Mary were “betrothed” or engaged, and Mary was already “with child” (v5). And in chapter 1 of Luke’s Gospel, he tells us how Jesus was conceived. An angelic messenger told Mary that she would “bear a son” who would be the “Son” of God and who would “reign” over an eternal “kingdom” (Lk. 1:31-33). And this miraculous “son” would be born after “the Holy Spirit” created a supernatural pregnancy, even while keeping Mary’s virginity intact (Lk. 1:34-35).

This is why the Apostles’ Creed affirms both that Jesus “was conceived by the Holy Spirit” and that He was “born of the virgin Mary.” The language here is careful to affirm the uniqueness of Jesus’s conception, and also the reality of an actual human birth. Jesus didn’t just appearto be human; God the Son didn’t merely take the shape of a man. No, in Jesus of Nazareth, God became man!

This is one of the great mysteries of Christianity, since it is impossible for us to fully grasp the mechanics of how this can be. How can the divine creator and sustainer of the universe enter into creation Himself and become one of us? How can the infinite God put on finitude? How can the timeless and spaceless One become confined within time and space? And yet, this mystery is central to the Christian religion. Unlike deism, or Islam, or modern Judaism, Christians believe that the transcendent God (who is other and outsideof creation) became immanent (near and among creation) in the person of Jesus Christ.

The author of Hebrews teaches us these simultaneous truths. Turn with me to Hebrews 1. The Scripture says, “1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power…” (Heb. 1:1-3).

The “Son” of God is the one “through whom” God “created the world” (Heb. 1:2); therefore, God the Son transcends creation, He is before it and outside of it. The Son of God is “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (Heb. 1:3), which means that God the Son shares the same “glory” and “nature” as God the Father. And the Son of God “upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Heb. 1:3), which again speaks to His transcendence – the whole universe is dependent upon Him and not the other way around.

Now, you might be thinking, “Alright, Marc. You said point 1 was about Jesus as God, and point 2 was about Him being a man?” Ok, look down to the end of Hebrews 2. Jesus is the focus of all of Hebrews, and it says about Him there, “14 Since therefore the children[speaking of the “children of God” (v13)] share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death… 17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service of God, to make propitiation [i.e., atoning sacrifice] for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted” (Heb. 2:14-18).

We will unpack more of this passage in a bit, but see here the clear emphasis on God the Son taking on real or true humanity. Verse 14 says that He “partook” of “flesh and blood” in the same way as those humans He came to save. Verse 17 says it even more emphatically, He “had to be made like his brothers [again referring to those He came to save] in every respect.” Verse 18 even says that God the Son “suffered when tempted” just as those he “helps.” Hebrews 4 is clear, however, that Jesus remained “without sin” even as He was “tempted as we are… in every respect” (Heb. 4:15).

Brothers and sisters, I could stack up several other Bible passages which affirm the same reality, but let’s just take a second to marvel at and delight in the fact that Jesus was and is a true human man. Why is it so good that God truly became a man in Jesus Christ? What specific comfort or hope or strength or help can we gain from meditating on this profound doctrine?

Charles Spurgeon (a nineteenth-century Baptist pastor in London) was preaching on Hebrews 2:18 (“because [Christ] himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted”), and he addressed his church with an illustration from the story of Pilgrim’s Progress. If you haven’t read Pilgrim’s Progress, you should… but don’t worry, I think you’ll still be able to get the gist of what he was talking about. Spurgeon said, “I think I might liken you, on a large scale, to that little band of pilgrims – Christiana, and Mercy, and Matthew, and James, and the rest of them who started from the City of Destruction – who, when they came to the Interpreter’s House, were put under the escort of Mr. Greatheart… [Our] great Saviour is Mr. Greatheart, and he is going with us all the way to the Celestial City. We are but like those boys and girls, and we are afraid of what we may meet on the road. There are lions in the way; but Mr. Greatheart can kill them, or restrain them from hurting us. There is Apollyon in the valley, but our Greatheart is more than a match for the arch-fiend. We shall have to go through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, yet each one of us shall be able to say, ‘I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.’ …We shall have to go through Vanity Fair, and to bear the jeer and the jibe of the mocking mob; but we can hear all [of] that, for we shall have our great Captain with us.

But,” Spurgeon continued, “here comes the dark thought to some, we shall at last come to the…river [of death] without a bridge. Mr. Greatheart — whom Bunyan meant to be the minister, had to go through the stream with the rest; but when we come to the river, our Mr. Greatheart, Christ himself, — will go through the river with each one of us. He will put his almighty arm around us; and when we get where our feet cannot feel the bottom, he will say to each one of us, ‘When [you pass] through the waters, I will be with [you]…’ To die with Jesus” Spurgeon said, “is better even than living with him…”[4]

Brothers and sisters, here is comfort, hope, strength, and help… and all from a little time thinking deeply on a certain doctrine – Jesus was and is truly man. Because our Savior is both God and man, He is well-able to lead and to guide us, to sympathize with us, and to walk beside us through whatever we may face in this life… For He has Himself experienced it all – frailty, sorrow, betrayal, hunger, neglect, abuse, lack, and the deepest pain – and He has both endured it all and conquered it all… and He has promised never to leave or forsake us.

3. Jesus’s Life and Death are Historical Fact

A couple of months ago, we set our attention on Christ’s resurrection and ascension. Both of these are essential aspects of Jesus’s work or role as the prophesied Messiah. Today, our attention is on the person of Christ, which certainly overlaps with His work… But with this third point, I’m arguing that Jesus of Nazareth, the incarnate Son of God, is a real flesh-and-blood person who actually had a birthday, a home address (at least as a child), a few recorded courtroom appearances, and a burial place that you could locate on a map.

Now, the details of Jesus’s life and death are less accessible today than they once were. Neither Jews nor first-century Romans kept a calendar in the same way we do today, and the sands of time have covered all the earth that was surface-level 2,000 years ago. However, we do have a lot of historical evidence for all sorts of nations and people, and none have a better historical attestation than Jesus.

The Apostles’ Creed says, “We/I believe in Jesus Christ, His [God’s] only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried.” Friends, this affirmation contains what is called falsifiable claims, and it’s an affirmation of what Francis Shaeffer called true truth.[5] Either it’s true or it isn’t, but it can’t just be my truth or your truth. This is why Christianity is more than a mere philosophy or ethic. We believe that Jesus actually, really, historically lived and died and then was resurrected from the grave, never to die again.

Friends, Christianity is not built on folklore, and it’s not just one philosophy among many others. As I’ve already said, Christianity certainly is a way of life, but the way Christians live springs from a system of beliefs, a worldview. And historic Christian belief about the person of Jesus Christ is far different than the mythical figures of other religions.

For example, before Hercules came to New York as Arnold Schwarzenegger[6]in a movie from 1970, and before Disney turned the myth into a movie about sacrifice and love,[7]the story of Hercules was part of a religious system – Greek mythology. Hercules epitomized the exaggerated masculinity of ancient Greek culture, and he was one mythical demigod among many other fantastical gods and goddesses.

But the Greeks weren’t unique in their pervasive religious system with supernatural creatures and sacred rituals. The Reformation theologian John Calvin once wrote that humans are inherently religious; we just can’t not worship, it’s what we were created to do. You may find someone here or there that claims to be an atheist, but you won’t find a single civilization in all human history without a place and system of worship.

The Romans basically shared the Greek pantheon, simply giving Roman names to Greek gods. And before the time of the ancient Greeks, Iron-Age Europeans (i.e., Celts) had a more than 20 gods in their pagan mythology. Around that same period both the Babylonians and the Assyrians embraced Mesopotamian gods, which included Baal, Marduk, and Ishtar (among others). And before these, the Egyptians worshiped Horus, Isis, and Osiris (and many more).

Around the western calendar’s change from BC to AD, the Hindu pantheon began taking shape, totaling today more than 33 million gods. The Aztecs (from the 1100s to the 1500s) worshiped about 200 deities. The Germanic pagans, during the Viking Age, worshiped Odin, Thor, Loki, and others. I could go on… Japanese Shintoism, Chinese Confucianism, Taoism, Traditional African and Native American religions… all of these have an origin story, some description of the supernatural, and a system of worship (even if it is quite vague or superstitious).

But Christianity is completely unique in its claim that God entered into real human history in the person of a true human man. The Bible teaches that Jesus didn’t arise from the fog of mystery, but that He was and is a real historical person. And His backstory does not read like mythology at all.

Look back at Luke 2 with me, and let’s see how the Bible sets Jesus’s birth in real human history. Luke says, “1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David…” (v1-4).

Think about it. The New Testament claims that the Ruler of the known world (“Caesar Augustus”) issued a decree, which was a publicly recorded order to be enforced throughout the empire. This particular decree was the “first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria,” and it sent all the Roman subjects back to their hometown. Well now… Did Caesar Augustus issue any such decree? Was there such a person as Quirinius? Did he ever sit in the office of governor in Syria? And was there more than one census of Roman citizens around the same period? These are all claims to historical fact, which can be researched. But the point is clear, the Bible means to tell us that Jesus was born in real history.

What about the claims that Jesus “suffered under Pontius Pilate,” that He “was crucified,” that He died, and that He was “buried”? The New Testament itself is the most criticized and yet the most authenticated record from ancient history. I argue that the testimony of Scripture itself is sufficient to establish and validate such claims, and the entire New Testament repeatedly affirms that Jesus as the crucified and risen Savior. But, if you’ll indulge me for a moment, I’ll show you that there are sources from outside of the Bible which support these claims too.

Two ancient historians, one a Jew and the other a Roman, both antagonistic to Christianity, have very interesting information in their writings. Flavius Josephus was a first-century Jew who wrote a History of the Jewish War (circa 70-80 AD). A portion of his text mentions a man named “Jesus,” and here’s what Josephus said about Him.

“At that time there appeared a man, if it is permissible to call him a man… He worked miracles wonderful and mighty…And many of the multitude followed after him and hearkened to his teaching; and many souls were in commotion, thinking that thereby the Jewish tribes might free themselves from Roman hands… And when thereafter knowledge of it came to the Jewish leaders, they assembled together with the high-priest and [said]: ‘We are powerless and (too) weak to withstand the Romans… we will go and communicate to Pilate what we have heard, and we shall be clear of trouble, lest he hear (it) from others…’ And they went and communicated (it) to Pilate… And he had that Wonder-worker brought up, and… he pronounced judgement… The teachers of the Law were overcome with envy, and gave thirty talents to Pilate, in order that he should put him to death… And they laid hands on him and crucified him contrary to the law of (their) fathers.”[8]

According to this first-century Jewish historian, who did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah, Jesus “worked miracles,” was opposed by the “Jewish leaders” and the “high-priest,” was betrayed by them and handed over to “Pilate,” and was subsequently “crucified” by him. Friends, this is what you call historical corroboration to the biblical witness… and from a hostile source at that!

But the Roman historian, Tacitus, is even more interesting. Tacitus lived from 50 AD until 117 AD, and he was an official historian for the Roman empire. His entry about Christians is especially fascinating because he obviously didn’t like or even respect Christians. And yet, what he wrote about them perfectly aligns with the Bible’s teaching about Jesus and His followers.

Tacitus described how emperor Nero blamed Christians for a fire he himself had started in Rome and how the Christians suffered great persecution because of this false charge. He wrote, “Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians… Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judæa, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired.”[9]

Not only does Tacitus confirm the horrible persecutions of early Christianity, but he also mentions a few specific details which are relevant to our consideration this morning. First, he says that this man who was called “Christus” or “Christ” (Christus is the Latinized version) “suffered the extreme penalty [i.e., death by crucifixion]… at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus.” Then he says that a “most mischievous superstition” “broke out” “not only in Judæa… but even in Rome.” This seems to me to be a clear reference to Jesus’s resurrection. Tacitus thought the Christians were “superstitious,” but his belittling remark nevertheless affirms that first-century Christians were indeed believing and following Jesus Christ even after His death.

Thus, we have an unbelieving Jew and an antagonistic Roman, both first-century historians, and both writing about this extraordinary person – Jesus of Nazareth – who really did live and really did die in real human history.

Conclusion

Friends, the Bible’s storyline isn’t just an interesting tale. It’s a record of how the real God of this universe has really interacted with humanity over the course of real history. The Bible tells us how God and man have been in relationship from the very beginning, and how man rebelled against God’s good authority, choosing sin over submission. The Bible tells us how sin has affected the whole of creation, yielding chaos, sorrow, tragedy, and even death. And the Bible tells us how God graciously promised a Savior, and how God continued to show Himself both merciful and holy for centuries.

And then, the Bible tells us how God miraculously entered into creation Himself, God the Son taking on a human nature from that moment on – true divinity and true humanity, one person with two natures, forevermore the God-man. And the Bible tells us that Jesus was born, that He lived, and He died… not mysteriously or secretively, but right out in the middle of the historical stage.

And after that, the Bible tells us that the same Jesus who died arose from the grave, victorious over death… proving that He was and is the one He claimed to be, God with us, Emmanuel, truly God and truly man.

And, friends, it’s only this Jesus who can save sinners like us. Only a real human can live a life of perfect obedience under God’s law, earning righteousness before God. Only a real human can suffer God’s judgment against human sinners, exhausting God’s wrath. And only a real human can serve as the gracious mediator between God and man forevermore.

So too, only a Savior who is truly God could endure the full weight of God’s wrath against all the sinners He came to save. Only a Savior who is truly God can lay down His life and take it up again of His own power. And only a Savior who is truly God can fully reveal to us the character and nature of God Himself.

Friends, this is the Jesus of the Bible. This is the only Jesus who can actually save you on the last day. This is the only Jesus who forgives sin, who makes demands, who transforms lives, and who grants eternal rewards for all those who keep the faith (or persevere in Him).

May God help us all to trust in this Jesus. May we all come to love and know this Jesus more all the time. And may we cling tightly to this Jesus who continues to be with us now, by His Spirit… until He visibly steps into real human history once more… finally returning to make all things new.

Endnotes

[1]Christology is the technical term for the study of Christ, or the doctrines describing His person and work. [2]This is the assertion of both Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons. See, for example, the teaching at JW.org regarding the Gospel of John: “The Word was in the beginning with God and was a god” (https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/john/). Jehovah’s Witnesses have their own particular version of the Bible, the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, and Mormons formally endorse the King James Version (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/requests/free-holy-bible). However, both religions affirm that Jesus was and is a god (i.e., not the God), an entirely separate deity or being than His Father. For more information, see “Are Mormons Christian?” (https://christiandefense.org/mormonism/are-mormons-christian/) and “The Jehovah’s Witnesses’ New World Translation and John 1:1” (https://christiandefense.org/trinity/the-jehovahs-witnesses-new-world-translation-and-john-11/) both articles by Dr. Edward Dalcour. [3]This idea is usually rooted in a fourth-century heresy called Arianism. Named for its main teacher and proponent, Arianism overemphasized the distinction between God the Father and God the Son. The claim was that Jesus was of like substance (homoiousia) with the Father, but not of the same substance (homoousia) with the Father. There was only one Greek letter of difference in these two terms (the ι or iota), but the two concepts are radically different. The Council of Nicea (325 AD), and later the Council of Constantinople (381 AD), formally affirmed that Jesus was in fact “of the essence of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God… of one substance with the Father.” For more information about Arius and this historic Christian controversy, see “Arianism” (https://banneroftruth.org/us/resources/articles/2016/arianism/) by Gervase Charmley. [4]See the full sermon transcript at https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/christs-sympathy-with-his-people/#flipbook/ [5]See the article linked here for an application of Shaeffer’s idea in the modern social and political context. Page 55 begins a good survey of the concept itself. https://sbts-wordpress-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/equip/uploads/2021/01/SBJT-24.2-F.-Schaeffers-Enduring-Relevance-G.-Jesson.pdf [6]See the movie info at https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065832/ [7]See the movie info at https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119282/ [8]Josephus, 648–650. [9] Tacitus, 168.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Holcomb, Justin S. Know the Creeds and Councils. Know Series. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014.

Josephus. The Jewish War: Books 1–7. Edited by Jeffrey Henderson, T. E. Page, E. Capps, and W. H. D. Rouse. Translated by H. St. J. Thackeray. Vol. 203, 487. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, MA; London; New York: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann Ltd; G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1927–1928.

Mohler Jr., R. Albert. The Apostles’ Creed: Discovering Authentic Christianity in an Age of Counterfeits. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2019.

Packer, J. I. Affirming the Apostles’ Creed. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2008.

Sproul, R. C., ed. The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version. 2015 Edition. Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015.

Tacitus. The Annals and The Histories. Edited by Mortimer J. Adler. Second Edition. Vol. 14. Great Books of the Western World. Chicago; Auckland; Geneva; London; Madrid; Manila; Paris; Rome; Seoul; Sydney; Tokyo; Toronto: Robert P. Gwinn; EncyclopÊdia Britannica, Inc., 1990.