A Christmas Message that Keeps on Giving - His Person.
Last time we looked at Jesus Christ Pre-existence; now His Person.
I. His Deity.
A. Proper names.
1. God.
The name God is applied to Him (Jn.1:1; 20:28/Rom.9:5/Tit.2:13/Heb.1:8-9).
"And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life." 1 John 5:20
It is true that the name God is sometimes applied to creatures, especially in the plural (Jn.10:34-35/Psa.82:1,6,7/Ex.4:16; 7:1; 22:28) but it is always clear whether God or the creature is meant. When the singular is used, there are modifiers that make it plain.
2. Son of God.
Over 40 times this title is applied to Christ: Mat.16:16-17; 8:29; 14:33/Mki.1:1/Lu.1:35/Mt.27:40,43/Mk.14:61-62/Jn.5:25; 9:35-37; 10:36; 11:4.
If this meant only a son of God, why did the Jews accuse Him of blasphemy?
"63 But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, "I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God." 64 Jesus *said to him, "You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN." 65 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, "He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy;" Matthew 26:63-65
Note the force of John 5:18.
Five times He is called the "only-begotten Son" - Jn. 1:14,18; 3:16,18/1 Jn.4:9. This distinguishes Him from the many sons of God.
3. Lord.
This title is applied to Him hundreds of times in the N.T. Rom.14:9/1 Cor.2:8/Ja.2:1/1 Tim.6:15/Rev.17:14; 19:16/etc.
The title Lord means "over all" and indicates sovereighty. Furthermore, it is the N.T. translation of Jehovah as well as indicating deity.
The epression "Lord of lords" (Rev.17:14 and 19:16) is the highest possible indication of Deity.
4. Jehovah [Yahweh] of the O.T., is Jesus Christ of the N.T.
a. The Shepherd (Psa.23:1)..............Jn.10:11/Heb.13:20/etc.
b. Called upon (Joel 2:32)................Rom.10:13/Ac.2:21/etc.
c. Savior (Isa.45:15,21-22)................Lu. 2:11/Mt.1:21/etc.
d. I AM (EX.3:14)..............................Jn.8:24, 58/etc.
e. Rock (Psa.18:31)...........................1 Cor.10:4; 3:11/etc.
f. Judge (Psa.75:7-9).........................Jn.5:22
g. Creator (Isa.45:18)........................John 1:3
h. Omniscient One (Jer.17:9)............Jn.16:30; 2:24-25/etc.
i. Almighty (Gen.17:1).......................Rev.4:8-11/etc.
j. Omnipresent (Jer.23:24)................Mt.18:20; 28:20/etc.
k. Eternal (Isa.44:6)...........................Rev.1:8; 21:6; 22:13/etc.
l. Immutable (Mal.3:6)......................Heb.1:10-12; 13:8/etc.
Not an exhaustive list...
B. Praise is given to Christ.
The Scripture recognize that worship is to be paid only to God, not to the creature.
"'Then Jesus *said to him, "Go, Satan! For it is written, 'YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.'" Matthew 4:10
"'25 When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and fell at his feet and worshiped him. 26 But Peter raised him up, saying, "Stand up; I too am just a man." Acts 10:25-26
"20 Now he was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; and with one accord they came to him, and having won over Blastus the king's chamberlain, they were asking for peace, because their country was fed by the king's country. 21 On an appointed day Herod, having put on his royal apparel, took his seat on the rostrum and began delivering an address to them. 22 The people kept crying out, "The voice of a god and not of a man!" 23 And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died." Acts 12:20-23
"8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 9 But he *said to me, "Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God." Revelation 22:8-9
And yet, the Lord Jesus Christ accepted worship that was given to Him (Mt.14:33/Lu.24:52; 5:8/Jn.20:28/Heb.1:6.
The same honor and praise are ascribed to Christ as to the Father (Jn.5:22-23/2 Tim.4:18/1 Pet.4:11/2Pet.3:18/Rev.1:6; 5:13).
In 2 Thess. 2:16-17, the Father and the Son are invoked to comfort the hearts of the believers [and note that in spite of the double subject, the verb "comfort" is in the singular; this is not evident in the English but is in the Greek manuscript]
Prayer is an act of worship and recognition of deity. Prayer is offered to Christ and He Himself promises to work in answer to prayer, as well as the Father (Jn.14:13-14; 15:16/Ac.4:29; 7:59; 9:13/2Tim.1:16,18/2 Cor. 12:8).
Believers are defined as those who call on the Lord (1 Cor.1:2/2 Tim.2:22).
C. Personal attributes of Christ.
1. Life [Self-existence] and the power to give life (Jn.1:4; 5:21,26; 10:10,17-18; 14:6/Heb.7:16).
2. Eternity (Jn.1:1; 8:58; 17:5/Eph.1:4/Col.1:17/Heb.1:11-12/Rev.21:6/etc).
3. Immutability (Heb.1:12; 13:8).
4. Omnipresence (Mt.18:20; 28:20/Col.1:27).
5. Omniscience (Mt.9:4/Lu.5:22/Jn.1:47-49; 2:24-25; 4:16-19;16:30; 21:17/Ac.1:24/Rev.2:23).
The only case that SEEMS to cast doubt on His omniscience is Mt. 13:32. But that passage does not contradict the many passages given.
(1) Some say this ignorance refers only to His human nature.
(2) Others that it is simply saying that it was not the right time to announce the date of His coming.
6. Wisdom (1 Cor. 1:24,30/Col.2:3).
7. Omnipotence (Rev.1:8,18).
Again this is not an exhaustive list...
D. His Performance.
1. He is the Creator (Jn.1:3/Col.1:16/Heb.1:10)
2. He is the Sustainer of all things (Col.1:17/Heb.1:3).
3. His power to forgive sin (Mk.2:5-10/Lu.7:48).
4. He raises the death (Jn.6:39-40,44,54; 11:25).
5. He is the Judge of all (Mt.25:31-46/Jn.5:22,27/Ac.17:31/2 Tim.4:1,8).
E. His Part in association with the Godhead.
1. The Benediction.
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all." 2 Corinthians 13:14
2. Baptismal formula.
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit," Matthew 28:19
II. His Humanity.
A. Proper names.
He has human names (Lu.19:10/Ac.7:56/1 Tim.2:5).
He is called "man" and "son of man" the last name is used over 80 times.
He is called the "Son of David" (Mt.9:27/Lu.12:35).
B. Parentage.
Mt.1:18; 2:11; 13:55/Lu.2:7/Jn.2:1/Ac.2:30; 13:33/Rom.1:3/Gal.4:4.
C. Progression in visdom and stature (Lu.2:40,52).
Jesus human nature was sinless but obviously developed.
D. Picture in scripture as a real human being (Lu.24:18/Jn.4:9; 20:15; 21:4-5).
Whatever can be said of men in general, can be said of Him, except what relates to sin (Heb.4:15).
1. He had a real human body (Mt.26:21/Jn.1:14/Heb.2:14/1 Jn.1:1).
2. He had a human soul (Mt.26:38/Jn.12:27).
3. He had a human spirit (Mk.2:8; 8:12/Lu.23:46/Jn.11:33; 13:21; 19:30).
When He became incarnate He did not appropriate some existing man. His personality was His own. And His humanity will continue for all eternity as a part of His amazing Person.
E. His Passion.
The law demanded the shedding of the blood of animals by sacrifice, thus Christ had to shed His blood in death (Gal.3:13/Heb.9:22; 10:1-10/1 Pet.1:18-19).
F. His Purpose for becoming a man.
1. To reveal God to men (Mt.11:27/Jn.1:14,18; 14:9/2 Cor.4:6/Col.2:2/1 Jn.3:16).
2. To reveal man to man (1 Pet.2:21-23).
3. To provide a sacrifice for sin (Heb.10:1-10)
4. To destroy the works of the devil (Jn.12:31; 16:11/Col.2:13-15/Heb.2:14/1 Jn.3:8).
5. He came to be "a merciful and faithful high priest in things pretaining to God" (Heb.2:16-18; 4:14-16; 8:1; 9:11-12,24).
6. He came to fulfill the Davidic Covenant (2 Sam.7:16/Lu.1:31-33/Ac.2:30-31,36/Rom.15:8).
7. He came to become the "Head over all things to the church, which is His body" (Eph.1:22-23).
III. His Unity.
The Person of Jesus Christ is unique. There is no other person like Him in all the universe! He is fully God and fully Man in One Person. That is a great mystery!
"By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh, Was vindicated in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory." 1 Timothy 3:16
A. Jesus Christ is true God.
From the moment of gestation to the resurrection He was without diminution, the presence of God in the world. He permitted His glory to be veiled but He never sacrificed any of it. The child in Bethlehem could have ordered the dissolution of all created things. He is God, has been from all eternity, and could never be less, under any limitations.
B. Jesus Christ is true Man.
He had a complete perfect human nature, and let us keep in mind that sin is not a necessary part of human nature. Adam was created without a sin.
The two natures united in the unique incomparable Person of Jesus Christ, without diminution or complication. Christ was not superhuman because of His deity, nor less divine on account of His humanity. He was jsut as perfectly God as if He were only God, and just as perfectly man, as if He were only man.
He was hungry.........................yet fed the multitudes (Mt.4:2/Jn.6:1-14)
He was thirsty..........................yet gives the water of life (Jn.4:10-14; 7:37;19:28-29)
He was tired............................yet He gives rest (Jn.4:6/Mt.11:28)
He was less than 50 years old...yet He was eternal (Jn.8:57-58)
He died....................................yet He gives life (Jn.6:51; 44).
Well I hope you all have a very Merry CHRISTmas, it is unavoidable as long as we keep our focus on the Christ of Christmas.
Johnny Palmer Jr
StrugglingThruScriptures.ning.com
