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.
Col. 1:15-17 HE IS THE IMAGE OF THE INVISIBLE GOD, THE FIRSTBORN OVER ALL CREATION. 16FOR BY HIM ALL THINGS WERE CREATED: THINGS IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH, VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE, WHETHER THRONES OR POWERS OR RULERS OR AUTHORITIES; ALL THINGS WERE CREATED BY HIM AND FOR HIM. 17HE IS BEFORE ALL THINGS, AND IN HIM ALL THINGS HOLD TOGETHER.
4. He is all-present.
While on earth, it’s obvious Jesus couldn’t be in two places at the same time. And yet…
Jn. 1:48 “HOW DO YOU KNOW ME?” NATHANAEL ASKED. JESUS ANSWERED, “I SAW YOU WHILE YOU WERE STILL UNDER THE FIG TREE BEFORE PHILIP CALLED YOU.”
Mt. 28:20 AND SURELY I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, TO THE VERY END OF THE AGE.
There are several other attributes of God that are seen in Jesus.
•I want to look at one last, convincing attribute.
5. He is worshiped.
We know that only God is to be worshipped.
Ex. 20:3-5 (10 Commandments) YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME… 5YOU SHALL NOT BOW DOWN TO THEM OR WORSHIP THEM…
Dt. 6:13 WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.
And yet, there are at least 5 occasions in the Gospels where Jesus is worshiped.
Wise men (Mt. 2:11), disciples in the boat (Mt. 14:33), blind man healed (Jn. 9:38), women at the tomb (Mt. 28:9), and the disciples at His ascension (Lk. 24:52)
Phil. 2:9-11 THEREFORE GOD EXALTED HIM TO THE HIGHEST PLACE AND GAVE HIM THE NAME THAT IS ABOVE EVERY NAME, 10THAT AT THE NAME OF JESUS EVERY KNEE SHOULD BOW, IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH AND UNDER THE EARTH, 11AND EVERY TONGUE CONFESS THAT JESUS CHRIST IS LORD, TO THE GLORY OF GOD THE FATHER.
Jesus is to be worshipped because Jesus is God! His names and His attributes prove it.
How could you prove that Jesus is God?
II. WHAT KIND OF GOD IS HE?
Let me give you five descriptions we see of Jesus as God.
A. He is a Holy God.
Acts 3:14 (Peter) YOU DISOWNED THE HOLY AND RIGHTEOUS ONE…
B. He is a Glorious God.
Heb. 1:3 THE SON IS THE RADIANCE OF GOD’S GLORY…
C. He is a Royal God.
Heb. 1:8 ABOUT THE SON HE SAYS, “YOUR THRONE, O GOD, WILL LAST FOR EVER AND EVER…
We’ll take a closer look at this in 2 weeks.
D. He is a Saving God.
Titus 2:13 WHILE WE WAIT FOR THE BLESSED HOPE—THE GLORIOUS APPEARING OF OUR GREAT GOD AND SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST…
By the way, this is THE key difference between Christianity and other religions.
E. He is a Mighty God.
AND HE WILL BE CALLED MIGHTY GOD… He is a champion, a great and valiant warrior.
Dt. 10:17 FOR THE LORD YOUR GOD IS GOD OF GODS AND LORD OF LORDS, THE GREAT GOD, MIGHTY AND AWESOME…
Ps. 24:7-10 LIFT UP YOUR HEADS, O YOU GATES; BE LIFTED UP, YOU ANCIENT DOORS, THAT THE KING OF GLORY MAY COME IN. 8WHO IS THIS KING OF GLORY? THE LORD STRONG AND MIGHTY, THE LORD MIGHTY IN BATTLE. 9LIFT UP YOUR HEADS, O YOU GATES; LIFT THEM UP, YOU ANCIENT DOORS, THAT THE KING OF GLORY MAY COME IN. 10WHO IS HE, THIS KING OF GLORY? THE LORD ALMIGHTY—HE IS THE KING OF GLORY.
What’s one key difference between Christianity and all other religions?
(Keil & Delitzsch) “Who else would lead Israel to victory over the hostile world, than God the mighty? The Messiah is the physical presence of this mighty God.”
We can’t fully understand it, but there’s an incredible battle taking place at this very moment in the spiritual realm over the people of this world.
•There are forces of evil battling forces of good.
•But there’s coming a day when the King of Glory, the LORD strong and mighty, Jesus Christ our Mighty God, will return as a great champion and victor!
•When He claims victory, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess.
That’s why Jesus came to us, and is coming again, not only to be our Wonderful Counselor, but also to be our Mighty God.
Jesus Christ is a Holy God, a Glorious God, a Royal God, a Saving God, and a Mighty God.
III. WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH ME?
What’s the big deal? Why do we have to understand that Jesus is God?
Why does Jesus have to be both human and God?
Why is this so important? Let me give you three reasons.
A. My salvation depends on it.
Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, came as a baby, perfectly human, yet perfectly God.
He had to both God and man.
•All those animal sacrifices could never completely remove sin.
•Human sin ultimately required human sacrifice.
Jesus had to be human in order to be a perfect substitute for our sin.
But He also had to be God because He had to be perfect, without sin.
•What’s more, only a perfect God was sufficient enough to save the entire world.
If Jesus wasn’t fully human, He couldn’t have been the perfect substitute for our sin.
If He wasn’t fully God, He couldn’t have died for the sins of the whole world.
My salvation depends on Jesus being fully human and fully God.
B. My strength depends on it.
Not only is Jesus God, He is a Mighty God.
It doesn’t take much for us to realize we are not in control.
•We are not as strong as we would like to think.
•In fact, we are very fragile beings, helpless and hopeless in our own strength.
Ex. 15:2 THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH AND MY SONG; HE HAS BECOME MY SALVATION.
Ps. 73:26 MY FLESH AND MY HEART MAY FAIL, BUT GOD IS THE STRENGTH OF MY HEART AND MY PORTION FOREVER.
Phil. 4:13 I CAN DO EVERYTHING THROUGH HIM WHO GIVES ME STRENGTH.
When the storms of life seem to bury us, when we feel like we can’t go on, it’s incredibly refreshing to know that our Savior, Jesus Christ, is also our Mighty God.
Our strength depends on Him.
C. My security depends on it.
Jesus, as our Mighty God, is the only One able to protect us and keep us safe from harm.
He alone is our Valiant Warrior, our Deliverer, our Fortress in times of trouble.
There’s a battle raging for the souls of men and women.
Satan prowls about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.
•He uses all sorts of tactics to attack and defeat us.
We don’t have to fear the enemy if God is on our side.
•Our Mighty God is infinitely more powerful than Satan could ever dream of being.
Ps. 18:2 THE LORD IS MY ROCK, MY FORTRESS AND MY DELIVERER; MY GOD IS MY ROCK, IN WHOM I TAKE REFUGE. HE IS MY SHIELD AND THE HORN OF MY SALVATION, MY STRONGHOLD.
What a Mighty God we serve!
Our salvation, our strength, our security is absolutely dependent upon Him.
The blessing is that while we are dependent on Him, He is always available for us.
He is always on our side, as long as we trust and follow Him.
Jesus Christ is God, but more than that…
The Bottom Line: Jesus Christ is our Mighty God!
This Christmas season, let’s remember to worship Jesus, our Wonderful Counselor and Mighty God!
Prayer/Reflection
Hymn What a Mighty God We Serve
Outlines and Power Point for this sermon are available by emailing the Contributor.
