Mighty God Series

Jesus, Mighty God

Isa. 9:6

Have you ever found yourself at the mercy of someone else?

•Car broken down, stranded in snow, hospitalized, lost in the woods

•It’s not a fun feeling, is it?

Illus. – Several people stranded in the recent storm.

•Family from San Fran found in OR after 9 days (father lost/died)

•Those people were absolutely dependent on others for their rescue.

Today, we’re reminded that in many respects we’re just like them.

We’re looking at Who Jesus really is by looking at His names as found in Isa. 9:6.

•Last week, we discovered that He is our Wonderful Counselor.

•Today, we’re going to discover that He is our Mighty God.

Our message today is more “theological” than normal, but it’s crucial to understand just Who Jesus is so we can better relate to Him.

Prayer

(Read Together) Isa. 9:6 FOR TO US A CHILD IS BORN, TO US A SON IS GIVEN, AND THE GOVERNMENT WILL BE ON HIS SHOULDERS. AND HE WILL BE CALLED WONDERFUL COUNSELOR, MIGHTY GOD, EVERLASTING FATHER, PRINCE OF PEACE.

The first word I’d like to look at today is the word “God”.

To do that, we’re going to take a little “Theology 101” course.

I. IS JESUS GOD?

This seems like a simple question with an obvious answer.

Col. 2:9 FOR IN CHRIST ALL THE FULLNESS OF THE DEITY LIVES IN BODILY FORM,

Heb. 1:3 THE SON IS THE RADIANCE OF GOD’S GLORY AND THE EXACT REPRESENTATION OF HIS BEING, SUSTAINING ALL THINGS BY HIS POWERFUL WORD.

That being said, there are still many people who doubt that Jesus is really God.

Why would someone deny that Jesus is God?

•Jehovah’s Witnesses, for example, deny Jesus’ deity.

•They claim He is god-like or divine, but not fully God.

•In fact, they go so far as to say He is a mighty God, but not Almighty God.

•Other people claim that Jesus and Satan are brothers.

So I want to look at several Scriptures that prove Jesus is, in fact, God.

There are 3 key ways to prove this.

A. His Names prove it.

Remember, a person’s name described his character/being.

We see that Jesus has the same names that God has.

1. He is called the Son of God.

He has the same makeup/DNA as His Father.

Jn. 5:25 Jesus called Himself THE SON OF GOD.

Jn. 5:18 FOR THIS REASON THE JEWS TRIED ALL THE HARDER TO KILL HIM; NOT ONLY WAS HE BREAKING THE SABBATH, BUT HE WAS EVEN CALLING GOD HIS OWN FATHER, MAKING HIMSELF EQUAL WITH GOD.

2. He is called I Am.

Remember what God told Moses His name was? I am Who I am (YHWH).

Jn. 8:58 “I TELL YOU THE TRUTH,” JESUS ANSWERED, “BEFORE ABRAHAM WAS BORN, I AM!”

Jn. 18:4-6 (Jesus’ betrayal) JESUS… WENT OUT AND ASKED THEM, “WHO IS IT YOU WANT?” 5“JESUS OF NAZARETH,” THEY REPLIED. “I AM HE,” JESUS SAID…

Jesus uses 7 other “I Am” statements in Jn. that imply that He is God.

•Bread of Life (Jn. 6:35, 48), Light of the World (8:12, 9:5), Gate for the Sheep (10:7, 9), Good Shepherd (10:11, 14), Resurrection and the Life (11:25), Way, Truth, and Life (14:6), True Vine (15:1).

Jesus Himself claimed to be God.

(C.S. Lewis) Jesus is either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord of all.

3. He is called God. (in passages other than Isa. 9:6)

Heb. 1:8 BUT ABOUT THE SON HE SAYS, “YOUR THRONE, O GOD, WILL LAST FOR EVER AND EVER, AND RIGHTEOUSNESS WILL BE THE SCEPTER OF YOUR KINGDOM.

John 20:28 THOMAS SAID TO HIM, “MY LORD AND MY GOD!”

Titus 2:13 WHILE WE WAIT FOR THE BLESSED HOPE—THE GLORIOUS APPEARING OF OUR GREAT GOD AND SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST,

There are several other names for God that are also given to Jesus.

Suffice it to say, His Names describe Who He is. Scripture clearly states - He is God.

It’s one thing to claim you’re God, but can Jesus prove it?

B. His Attributes (qualities, characteristics) prove it.

His attributes prove He is God because He has the same attributes God has.

1. He is eternal.

We know that only God is eternal, without beginning or end.

•What does Scripture say?

Jn. 1:1 IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD, AND THE WORD WAS WITH GOD, AND THE WORD WAS GOD.

•The verb “was” suggests His continuous existence in time past.

2. He is all-knowing.

We saw this last week, looking at His infinite wisdom.

Jn. 2:24-25 JESUS… KNEW ALL MEN. 25HE DID NOT NEED MAN’S TESTIMONY ABOUT MAN, FOR HE KNEW WHAT WAS IN A MAN.

Jn. 16:30 (disciples) NOW WE CAN SEE THAT YOU KNOW ALL THINGS…

He frequently told His disciples about His impending death and future events.

3. He is all-powerful.