Series: 1 John
Week: 19
Passage: 1 John 4:13-16
Title: Three Biblical Truths about Christ
Focus: Jesus Christ as God
INTRODUCTION: John has discussed the following principles numerous times. At this point we ought to have wrapped our minds around the concepts he is addressing. Therefore today we will take a step back and see how we as a church body have encompassed these biblical truths and applied them into our local biblical community. What we normally do is look at the verses, see what John says and apply those principles to our lives. Today we will take a different approach and look at the passage through a different lens to see how these truths have become real to us in an everyday setting.
There is nothing more phenomenal than the task of developing one’s personal set of biblical guidelines (doctrine). To be able to articulate what you believe using biblical truth is one of the most fulfilling and powerful tools a Christian can possess. To articulate the faith is a powerful weapon. However, to actually live out those principles is another weapon all together. When we live out what we believe, who profess who we are inside and out and where God has us going.
One of the most crucial and critical doctrines of the Christian faith is the doctrine of the deity of Jesus Christ (the God/Man). It is through this doctrine that many religious groups leave the faith, and many false ideas and teachers arise.
NOTE: If Jesus Christ is not who He claimed to be, then we are hopelessly lost and condemned as sinners (messiah/prophet/lunatic – we believe He is the Messiah). This morning our desire it to take our own constitution and combine it with the doctrine of God to demonstrate how we will continue to make Christ known near and far to illuminate the name of Jesus.
SCRIPTURE: “By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” 1 John 4:13-16
TITLE: Three Biblical Truths about Christ (1 John 4:13-16)
POINT #1: We Believe Jesus Christ Existed with God Forever (1 John 4:13-14)
• Explanation: What John says here partners with Article three, section two in our church constitution states “We believe that the Godhead eternally exists in three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; and that these three are one God, having precisely the same homage, confidence and obedience. I John 5:7; John 1:2,14; Acts 5:3,4”
o In this statement we (CGC in association with the global church of Saints) are declaring the same truth that John declares in the first two selected verses; God (the creator) gave us His Spirit (the counselor) through Jesus (the Son) as the Savior of the world. John claims here the doctrine that Jesus was existent before His earthly conception!
• “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1
• "Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am." John 8:58
• "Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed." John 17:5
• "For by him (God the Father) were all things created that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him (Jesus)." Colossians 1:16
• Since father, Son, and Spirit all existed forever, we call this the doctrine of the trinity.
• Illustration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1zZOTI6ffE - An explanation of the Trinity
• Application:
o NOTE: John’s statement in verse 14 is the only place in John’s epistles where he used the term “savior.” It also appears only once in his Gospel (John 4:42). The Church has no more effective way to testify to THE WORLD about the Saviorhood of Jesus than by the RE-DISPLAY of the Savor’s love in the fellowship of His disciples (us as believers).
• So what does this mean for the believer? Why would we claim such a truth and defend it like we do?
1. We have an Eternal Father: God the Father is not only the creator but also the Father “of” all who believe. He is sovereign over us, lives through us and manifests Himself in us!
i. “There is one body and one Spirit just as you were called… one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” Ephesians 4:4-6
2. We have a Existent Brother: Jesus Christ, God’s Son is our brother, knowing us in our physical state and having the ability to overcome the human sinful condition.
i. “Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters… I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters; in the assembly I will sing your praises.” Hebrews 2:12
3. We have an Everlasting Companion: The free gift of the Holy Spirit enables us to understand and interpret God’s Word (John 16:13), be equipped with spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12) and help us produce fruit (Galatians 5:22-23).
i. NOTE: Christ has always existed with God the Father. He was not a created being, but Co-existent, and Co-Eternal with God the Father!
POINT #2: We Believe Jesus Christ was Born of a Virgin (1 John 4:14 – How Christ Came)
• Explanation: John claims, “we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.” This lines up with Article three, section three in our church constitution states, “We believe that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God, conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, and is true God and true man. Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1:35; Heb. 4:15”
o The Account: "And she shall bring forth a son, and call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet saying, "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us." Matthew 1:21-23
• Every Biblical birth is somehow tied into the birth of Christ. From Noah to Abraham to John the Baptist there has never been a birth quite as unique and special as the virgin birth of the Christ.
• Illustration: The Candy Cane, used during the holidays, stands as an important Christmas symbol. A candy maker wanted to come up with an idea to express the meaning of Christmas through the imagination of candy. That is when he came up with the idea of the Candy Cane. There are several different symbols incorporated through the Candy Cane. First, he used a plain white peppermint stick. The color white symbolizes the purity and sinless nature of Jesus. Next, he decided to add three small stripes to symbolize pain inflicted upon Jesus before his death on the cross and a bold stripe to represent the blood he shed for mankind. Two other symbols are distinctive on the Candy Cane. When looked at, it looks like a shepherd’s staff because Jesus is the shepherd of man. Then if you turn it upside down, you will notice the shape of the letter J symbolizing the first letter in Jesus’s name. These five symbols were incorporated into this piece of peppermint stick so that we would remember what we really celebrate the Christmas season.
• Application: It’s easy to celebrate the season and miss the reason.
o Why we must believe in the virgin birth?
• The birth is essential to the truth of the Bible: We cannot claim to believe anything else the Bible says and at the same time deny the virgin birth.
• Matthew (1:23) declares that the virgin birth was the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14, a merge from OT to NT.
• The birth affirms the deity (God side) of Jesus Christ: If Jesus Christ is the son of a human father and a human mother through natural biological processes, then He is not God in human flesh. It’s that simple.
• The birth confirms the sinless humanity of Jesus Christ: If Jesus was born of natural parents, then He was born a sinner like all other human beings, and He would have needed a Savior for Himself. If He had sin of His own, He could not have died as the substitute for your sins. If He did not die as your substitute then you are lost and without hope.
POINT #3: We Believe Jesus Lived Without Sin to Die for Us (1 John 4:15-16)
• Explanation: John finalizes his passage saying, “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” This pairs with Article three, section seven states “We believe that salvation is by grace through faith, not of works and that all who repent (turn from sin to God) and receive by faith Jesus Christ as personal Savior and Lord, are born again of the Holy Spirit, thereby becoming children of God. Eph. 2:8,9; Acts 20:20,21; John 3:16; John 1:12; I John 5:11,12” This passage and doctrine also shows us traits about Jesus…
o Christ is the Sinless Human
• "And we know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin." 1 John 3:5
• "He was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin." Hebrews 4:15
• We deserved to go to the cross and die but God laid on Christ the wickedness of us all.
o Christ the Human Substitution
• "He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." Isaiah 53:5
• "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." 2 Corinthians 5:21
5. Illustration: A great illustration of propitiation is found in the Old Testament when on the Day of Atonement the high priest of Israel would enter in the holy of holies with the blood of a bull. There in front of him was the Ark of the Covenant (a chest that looked like a coffin). In it were the tables of the law, which Israel had broken over and over again. Above the ark was the covering cherubim’s and God's glory was said to dwell between them. You have a holy God, a broken law, and, in between, a mercy seat (same word as propitiation). There the high priest would sprinkle the blood. Now the blood stood between a holy God and the broken law. The blood was atonement, a propitiation, or proper sacrifice for the sins of Israel. God's offended justice could only be propitiated by the blood that was sprinkled. All of this was a shadow of the final once-for-all sacrifice of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.
• Application: Christ faced the same temptations that we face. He endured and overcame the temptations of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. He never once sinned. He never once disobeyed God the Father, or failed to do His will, all so He could die in our place.
o BELIEF IN THIS IS WHAT MAKES ONE A CHRISTIAN!
CONCLUSION: It would be a sad, a dark day for Christians if Christ stayed dead. However, Christ came back and ascended to the heavens and is now interceding on our behalf for those of us who believe.
• "For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us." Hebrews 9:24
• “God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.” Acts 5:31
Christ now only rose from the dead but the day will come when He will come again once and for all.
• "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:3
• "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumph of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 1 Thessalonians 4:16
Today, if you never have been before, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no other hope, no other Savior, no other way to God.
