TEXT: JOHN 1:4
AIM: To know that Jesus is the Son of God, equal in deity with the Father
INTRO:
‘Jesus’ was a common Jewish name and appears in the Greek language of the New Testament as the equivalent of the Hebrew ‘Joshua’ in the Old Testament. The name meant ‘Yahweh (Jehovah) is our Savior’, and therefore was a fitting name to give to the one who would save his people, Yahweh’s people, from their sins (Matt 1:21). ‘Christ’ was a Greek word equivalent to the Hebrew ‘Messiah’ (Matt 22:42).
MESSAGE:
I. JESUS AS FULLY MAN
A. The writers of the four Gospels provide most of the information concerning Jesus’ life and teaching. They wrote at different times, for different people, in different places, for different purposes, and they selected their material accordingly (Luke 1:1-4; John 20:30-31).
B. Yet there is no disagreement in the picture of Jesus they present: he is God in human flesh, the Lord and Savior of the world.
C. Nothing more is recorded of Jesus’ childhood till he was twelve years old. Even at that early age Jesus knew that he existed in a special relation with God; for he was God’s Son (Luke 2:42,49).
D. There is no record of the next eighteen years or so of Jesus’ life. Then, when about thirty years of age (Luke 3:23), he was baptized and began his public ministry. His baptism showed on the one hand his complete willingness to carry out all God’s purposes, and on the other his complete identification with the people whose sins he would bear.
E. God then showed, through the descent of the Spirit in the form of a dove upon Jesus, that he had equipped him for this task (Matt 3:13-17; Acts 10:38)Jesus had the Spirit’s power in unlimited measure (John 3:34), but he had to exercise it in keeping with his position of willing submission to the Father.
F. Almost immediately after Jesus received this special power from the Father, Satan tempted him to use it according to his own will, independently of the Father; but Jesus overcame the temptation (Matt 4:1-11).
G. He then began to move about doing the work that his Father had entrusted to him. This public ministry of Jesus seems to have lasted about three and a half years. He did much of his work in the northern part of Palestine known as Galilee (Matt 4:12,23), though he met his fiercest opposition in Judea in the south, particularly in Jerusalem, which was the center of Jewish religious power.
H. The Jewish leaders considered that Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God was blasphemy (Mark 2:7; 3:22; 14:61-64; John 7:25,40-44; 8:56-59; 11:55-57). Jesus knew that he eventually would be killed by the Jews in Jerusalem (Matt 16:21; 20:18-19; Luke 9:51), but he knew also that first he had to complete the work his Father had sent him to do (John 4:34; 9:4). Only when he had finished that work and the time appointed by his Father had come would he allow the Jews to take him and crucify him (John 7:30; 10:18; 13:1; 17:4-11).
I. At the same time Jesus was fully human (1 Tim 2:5; 1 John 1:1).
J. He knew how it felt to be hungry, thirsty and tired (Matt 21:18; John 4:6; 19:28).
K. He experienced poverty and sorrow as well as joy (Luke 9:58; 10:21; John 11:33-36; 15:11; Heb 5:7).
L. He showed some of the emotional reactions common to human nature such as astonishment, disappointment, pity and anger (Mark 3:5; 6:6; 8:2; 10:14; Luke 7:9).
M. He was inwardly troubled as he saw his crucifixion drawing near, and he desired the sympathetic company of his closest friends during his time of spiritual conflict in Gethsemane the night before his death (Mark 14:32-41; Luke 12:50; John 12:27).
II. JESUS IS GOD WHO BECAME FLESH
A. He was the son of God(John 1:14; Gal 4:4; 1 Tim 3:16; 1 John 1:1-4).
B. This came about through the miraculous work of God’s Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary, so that the child who was born, though having no human father, was nevertheless fully human. He was not an ordinary person whom God adopted as his Son, but a unique person who was actually God’s Son (Luke 1:27,31,35).
C. Jesus from all eternity had existed as God, yet he willingly sacrificed the supreme glory of heaven and took instead the place of a servant. What he sacrificed was not his deity, but the heavenly glories that were his by right.
D. The limitation that he accepted in being born a human being was not a lessening of his divine powers or being, but the limitation of living like other human beings in a world of imperfection and suffering (Phil 2:5-8; cf. John 17:5; 2 Cor 8:9; Heb 2:9).
E. Not only Jesus’ physical form but also his human nature was like that of human beings in general; except that, whereas the human nature common to all other people is infected by sin from birth, Jesus’ human nature was not. Because his oneness with humankind was complete, he was able to die for his fellow human beings and so free them from the evil results of sin (Rom 8:3; 2 Cor 5:21; Heb 2:14-15).
III. FULLY DIVINE YET FULLY HUMAN
A. Though human, Jesus retained his divine being and powers (Col 1:19; 2:9; Titus 2:13). His human and divine natures existed together – complete, united and inseparable – without either one lessening the other.
B. Jesus was still the creator and controller of the universe (Col 1:16-17; Heb 1:2-3)
1. The Lord of life (Luke 7:22; John 5:21,26; 8:51; 10:10,28),
2. The forgiver of sins (Mark 2:5,7,10; 2 Cor 5:19),
3. Judge of the world (Matt 13:41-43; 25:31-32; John 5:26-27; 2 Cor 5:10).
He was still the originator of divine truth (Matt 5:22,28,32,34,39,44; 12:5-8; Mark 13:31; John 14:6,10),
4. The possessor of superhuman knowledge (John 6:64; 11:14; 18:4),
5. The satisfier of people’s deepest needs (Matt 11:28-30; John 4:14; 6:35; 11:25)
6. The object of people’s worship (Matt 2:11; John 5:23; 9:38).
IV. JESUS AS FULLY GOD
A. Being the Son of God, Jesus was equal in deity with the Father (John 10:30). So completely were they united that Jesus could say that whoever saw him saw the Father (John 14:9; cf. Matt 1:23; 2 Cor 4:4; Col 1:15; Heb 1:3).
B. Therefore, whoever received him received the Father and whoever rejected him rejected the Father (Matt 10:40; Luke 10:16; John 12:44; 15:23; 1 John 2:23).
C. Because he was God, Jesus demanded that total allegiance which only God could demand (Matt 10:37-39; Mark 8:34-35; John 3:36).
V. JESUS, A GOD WHO HELPS
A. On account of Jesus’ endurance and obedience through all his temptations and sufferings, his life was one of continuous yet perfect development and maturing. The perfect boy grew into the perfect man, who thus became the perfect Savior for all people (Luke 2:40,52; Heb 2:10; 5:8).
B. He can sympathize with the human weaknesses that people normally experience, but more than that he can help them triumph over those weaknesses (Heb 2:18; 4:15).
C. Their Saviour is God, but he is a God who has lived as one of them in their world. To deny that Jesus was either fully divine or fully human is to deny that which is basic to Christian faith (1 John 2:22-25; 4:2-3; 5:6-12).
D. Only because of the divine oneness between Father and Son can Jesus bring God to the people of the world, and only because of the human oneness between Jesus and his fellow humans can he bring people back to God (John 14:6-10; 1 Tim 2:4-6).
VI. JESUS, OUR LORD AND SAVIOR
A. The controller of life and death (Acts 1:24; 13:10-12; 17:24; Rom 14:9,11; 1 Tim 6:15-16). Through the resurrection and exaltation of Jesus Christ, God declared dramatically the absolute lordship of Christ (Acts 2:36; Rom 1:4; Phil 2:9-11). Believers in Christ gladly acknowledge him as Lord.
B. They submit to him as to one who has complete authority over their lives, yet they love him as one who has saved them and given them new joy, peace and hope (John 20:28; Acts 10:36; Rom 10:9; 1 Cor 1:2-3; Eph 1:22-23; 2 Thess 3:16; Rev 22:20).
C. One day Jesus Christ will return in power and glory. In that great day there will be universal acknowledgment that he is indeed Lord (1 Cor 15:24-26; Phil 2:11; 2 Thess 1:7; Rev 19:16).
D. Salvation is not through the birth of Christ, nor through his life, but through his death (Matt 20:28; Rom 3:25; 1 Cor 15:2-3; Heb 9:12-14; Rev 5:9-10). Jesus knew that the chief purpose for which he had been given a human life was that he might offer that life back to God as a sacrifice for people’s sins.
E. But the offering of that life could be an acceptable sacrifice only because Jesus lived it in full obedience to his Father, without sin (John 4:34; 6:38,51; 8:29; 12:27; Rom 5:19; Heb 10:5-10). This devotion to his Father’s will drove Jesus on, even though he knew it was leading to crucifixion (Mark 8:31; 9:31; 14:36; Luke 9:51; 12:50; John 12:23-24).
F. He saw the whole of his life, including his suffering and crucifixion, as a fulfilment of the Old Testament Scriptures (Matt 26:53- 54; Mark 14:21,27; Luke 4:18-21; 18:31-34; 22:37; 24:25-27; 24:44-46). This did not mean that he felt no distress or temptation in the face of death.
G. Jesus’ death, then, was not an unfortunate accident, nor was it the heroic deed of a martyr. It was the great act, the only act, by which God could deal with sin and release the guilty from sin’s punishment. Jesus gave his life as a ransom. He paid the price to deliver guilty sinners from the power of sin and death (Matt 20:28; 26:26-28; 1 Tim 1:15; Heb 9:12-14; 1 Peter 1:18-20).
H. Although Jesus was crucified by wicked men, his death was according to God’s plan (Acts 2:23). He was under the curse of God as he hung on the cross, but it was the curse he bore on behalf of sinners (Gal 3:13).
I. He who was sinless bore the sins of those who were sinful (2 Cor 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24). He who was not under God’s judgment bore that judgment in place of those who were.
J. He bore the wrath of God so that he might bring guilty sinners back to God (Rom 3:23-25; Col 1:20; 1 John 2:2; 4:10).
K. Christ’s one sacrifice is sufficient to bring complete salvation. It needs nothing to be added to it. It does not need to be repeated. It is a finished work – complete, final, perfect (Heb 9:12,25-26; 10:12-14; cf. John 17:4; 19:30; Rom 8:31-39; Col 2:13-15).
L. Jesus’ death was not for his own sins (for he had none) but for the sins of others. Therefore, death could have no power over him. He rose from death as proof to all that the Father was pleased with the Son’s entire work.
M. Jesus had made full atonement for sin and was the triumphant Lord, Messiah and Savior (Acts 2:24,36; 3:13; Rom 1:4; 4:25; 1 Cor 15:3-4; Phil 2:8-11; Heb 2:14-15).
VII. JESUS WILL COME AGAIN
A. In considering the second coming of Jesus, we should not think of it independently of his first coming. His return and the events connected with it form the climax of what he did through his life, death and resurrection.
B. All that he achieved at his first coming will find its full and final expression in the events of his second coming:
1. The conquest of sin, death and Satan (1 Cor 15:54-57; Rev 20:10; cf. Heb 2:14);
2. The salvation of sinners (Heb 9:28; cf. Eph 2:8);
3. The gift of eternal life (Matt 25:46; 2 Cor 5:4; cf. John 5:24);
4. The healing of the physical world (Rom 8:18-23; cf. Mark 1:31,42; 4:39);
5. The establishment of God’s kingdom (Matt 25:34; 1 Cor 15:24-28; cf. Luke 17:21).
C. Preceding and accompanying this day of the Lord there will be great wonders in the heavens and great distress upon earth. In an event as sudden, as open and as startling as a flash of lightning, Jesus will return in power and glory to save his people and judge his enemies (Matt 24:27-31; 2 Thess 1:7-10; 2:8; Rev 19:11-16).
D. Believers of former generations will be raised from death and, along with believers still alive, will enter a new order of existence in imperishable, spiritual bodies. They will then be with Christ for ever (1 Cor 15:20-23,42-57; Phil 3:21; 1 Thess 4:13-18)
E. The characteristics of Christ’s return:
1. A revealing of himself in majesty and power (1 Cor 1:7; 2 Thess 1:7; 1 Peter 1:7,13; 4:13).
2. An indication of his appearing visibly before people’s eyes (2 Thess 2:8; 1 Tim 6:14; 2 Tim 1:10; 4:1,8; Titus 2:13).
3. An indication of his coming, arrival and presence (Matt 24:3,27,37; 1 Thess 2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 2 Thess 2:1,8; 1 John 2:28).
4. Judgment is an inevitable consequence of Christ’s return (Matt 24:30-31,40-42; 25:31-32,46). While unbelievers will have no way of escaping condemnation and punishment, believers can face the coming judgment with confidence. They know that Christ has already delivered them from the wrath of God (Rom 5:9; 1 Thess 1:10; 5:9).
5. Yet, though saved from eternal condemnation, believers are not saved from all judgment. They are answerable to God for the way they have lived on earth, and on that day they will face God and their lives will be examined (Rom 14:10; 2 Cor 5:10; 1 Thess 2:19).
6. The second coming of Jesus, therefore, though it is something Christians look forward to (Titus 2:13), is also something that urges them to be holy, diligent and sincere in the way they live now (Phil 1:10; 1 Thess 3:13; 5:23; 2 Tim 4:8; 2 Peter 3:11-13; Rev 22:12). In addition it makes them more
CONCLUSION:
As a person, Jesus exercised his divine knowledge in the same way as he exercised his divine power – always in complete dependence upon and obedience to his Father. He never exercised it for his personal benefit (John 5:19,30; 7:16; 12:49; cf. Matt 26:53-54). Although Jesus lived a genuinely human life, he did so in the perfection that his deity demanded.
In becoming a human being, Jesus did not cease to be God. His deity was not lessened in any way. When Philippians 2:7 says that Jesus, in being born into the world, ‘emptied himself’, it does not mean that he lost, voluntarily or otherwise, any of his divine attributes or qualities.
CHALLENGE:
To empty one’s self means to deny one’s self totally, to sacrifice all self-interest. Let us follow Jesus’ example.
