I’m going to present to you, as a present, my gift, or better said God’s gift to you, on the Sunday before Christmas, what would be considered the greatest verse, most widely read and communicated verse in the bible…
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.-NKJV
Lets pray…
I read this week what one consumer publication termed as…
27+ Jaw-Dropping Christmas Spending Statistics for 2021-capitalcounselor.com
10% of Europeans go into debt due to Christmas shopping.
41% of Americans are willing to take on debt due to gift shopping.
In 2021, Americans are expected to spend nearly $6.1 billion on Christmas trees.
$15.2 billion is the estimated total of unwanted presents.
Friends are the worst Christmas shoppers when it comes to unwanted gifts.
23% of people have labeled their own friends as a source of unwanted gifts.
In-laws take the second spot on the list above with 14%, and parents come third with 7%.
Also, Gen Xers seem to receive the worst gifts when it comes to age, with 44% of them disliking what they receive. However, Christmas spending facts show Gen Xers also spend the most ($121.90) on presents that turn out to be unwanted.
In 2021, Americans are going to spend an average of $886 on Christmas gifts.
Now having read all that on excessive spending on what prove to be unwanted gifts, can I take this Sunday morning’s bible verse, and unpack it for you, by presenting to you what I’ve entitled todays message after…
John 3:16 - The Greatest Gift of All!
And though the reasons are almost innumerable, can I like the "The Twelve Days of Christmas" the Old English Christmas carol, places before us 12 gifts given, that I’m confidant that the majority of which no one in this room would actually want…
1. A partridge in a pear tree,
2. Two turtle doves,
3. Three french hens,
4. Four calling birds,
Unless you where starting an aviary is a large enclosure, or zoo for confining birds
5. Five gold rings,
6. Six geese a-laying
7. Seven swans a-swimming,
8. Eight maids a-milking,
9. Nine ladies dancing,
10. Ten lords a-leaping,
Maybe if I was starting a basketball team!
11. Eleven pipers piping,
12. Twelve drummers drumming.
May If I was starting a marching band!
But anyway, I would like to have us go slowly through this verse so that you and I can see why within it is contained the greatest gift ever given which can be yours if you’ll just receive it!
And let us start from where we need to start from where this verse begins…
John 3:16a For God…
I. The Greatest PERSON.
A) God!
Psalm 95:3 For the LORD is the great God, And the great King above all gods.
Deuteronomy 10:17 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.
Jeremiah 10:6 There is none like You, O Lord; You are great, and great is Your name in might.-ESV
1 Chronicles 16:25 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
He also is to be feared above all gods.-ESV
1 Chronicles 29:11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all.
Proverbs 26:10 The great God who formed everything,
Malachi 1:14b I am a great King,” says the Lord of hosts, “and My name is feared among the nations. -ESV
Isaiah 66:1 Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest? 2a For all those things My hand has made, And all those things exist,” Says the Lord. -NKJV
Romans 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has become His counselor?”
35 “Or who has first given to Him
And it shall be repaid to him?”
36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.-NKJV
Hebrews 6: 13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, 14 saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you. -NKJV
John 3:16b so loved….
II. Out of the Greatest PASSION…
A) Passion ?
1. A strong and barely controllable emotion.
2. Any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, as love or hate.
B) Point?
1. So (houtos) emphasizes the intensity or greatness of His love.
2. The construction of the Greek sentence stresses the intensity of God’s love.
3. Loved is aorist tense which speaks of a completed action in the past.
a) Aorist is a verb tense in the classic Greek expressing action or in the indicative mood, without further limitation or implication
C) Picture?
1. Loved(agapao) means to love unconditionally and sacrificially.
D) Purity?
1. (Wuest) Agapao "expresses the purest, noblest form of love, which is volitionally driven, not motivated by superficial appearance, emotional attraction, or sentimental relationship."
1 John 4:8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.-NASB
The Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - God is love and has demonstrated that love in everything that he does…
The Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - The theme of the entire Bible is the self-revelation of the God of love. In the garden of Eden, God commanded that "you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die" (Ge 2:17). We are not prepared, then, when God looks for Adam after his sin, calling out "Where are you?" God seeks Adam, not to put him to death, but to reestablish a relationship with him. God, the Lover, will not allow sin to stand between him and his creature. He personally bridges the gap.
So let’s put this together….
I. The Greatest Person (God).
II. Out of the Greatest PASSION (Love).
III. Reached out toward the Greatest POPULACE!
John 3:16c the world…
A) Populace?
1. The inhabitants of a place; it’s population.
2. World ??sµ?? -kosmos
a) The inhabitants of the earth, men, the human family
b) The ungodly multitude; the whole mass of men alienated from God, and therefore hostile to Him.
c) The whole kosmos of men, including Gentiles, the whole human race.
So let’s put this together….
I. The Greatest Person (God).
II. Out of the Greatest PASSION (Love).
III. Reached out toward the Greatest POPULACE! (World)
John 3:16d that he gave…
IV. That He Gave the Greatest PRESENT!
John 3:16e his only begotten Son,
John 3:16e he gave his one and only Son – NIV
A) Picture?
1. Only begotten (One of a Kind, One and Only, unique)
a) Monogenes from monos = alone + genos = birth, race, kind!
i. That which is the only one of its kind or class.
B) Point?
Isaiah 9 (NKJV)
6a For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
1. Mighty means having or showing great strength, force, or intensity, having might; being powerful or strong, possessing impressive power, this Infant, this baby, is Mighty!
2. And this infant, this baby is not just a baby, not just a Man, but He is God, the God-Man!
Adrian Rogers - This little baby that was upon the straw is the Mighty God of Genesis 1. This little baby who held Mary’s hand as a toddler and learned to walk is the One from whose fingertips the sun sprang and oceans dripped. He is the Mighty God. This little boy playing with the shavings in Joseph’s carpenter shop is the One who made every tree, and every hill, and every mountain. He is the Mighty God. We have some people today who’d like to take the deity from the Lord Jesus. I wonder what they’re going to do with Isaiah 9:6, where He is called “The mighty God.
Isaiah 9:6b Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
3. Everlasting Father - (In Hebrew actually Abi'ad [ab = father and ad = eternal] - which literally means "The Father of Eternity!"
4. Prince of Peace –The Prince (sar) the leader; commander; captain; chief; prince; ruler, chieftain, who bring Peace!
Adrian Rogers - He is the secret of peace—of personal peace, domestic peace, international peace. And, world peace waits upon His coming,
5. That is why He came into the world to a song of peace: “Glory to God in the Highest and on earth peace....” and He went out of the world with a legacy of peace: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you.”
Wow! So let’s continue to unpack…
.
I. The Greatest Person (God).
II. Out of the Greatest PASSION (Love).
III. Reached out toward the Greatest POPULACE! (World)
IV. That He Gave the Greatest PRESENT! (His Son)
Who is by the way…
V. His Greatest PRODIGY
A) Prodigy?
1. A person, especially a child or young person having extraordinary talent or ability!
2. Something wonderful, marvelous, or a wonder!
3. An amazing or unusual thing, especially one out of the ordinary course of nature.
4. Something extraordinary regarding prophetic significance!
Luke 1:26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
Luke 1:29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” 34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man? -NKJV
Luke 1: 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.-KJV
John MacDuff – The Watches of the NIght
"The only real mystery of the Bible," says an old writer, "is a mystery of Love." "God so loved the world that He gave His only- begotten Son." What! that for a lost and ruined world, the Prince of Life should leave His Throne of glory, travel down to a valley of tears, and expire by an ignominious death on the bitter tree! Love unutterable! unspeakable!
John MacDuff – The Watches of the NIght
"This is far too great- it is far too good to be true." Infinite majesty compassionating infinite weakness! The great Sun of heaven, the Fountain of uncreated light, undergoing an eclipse of darkness and blood for the sake of a candle that glimmered in nothingness in comparison with His beams…
My soul! seek to enter into the secrets of this Love of your adorable Redeemer! Before all time, that love began. We have glimpses of it bursting out from the recesses of a past eternity…and "when the fullness of the time had come," though foreseen were all His untold sufferings- nothing would deter Him from pursuing His anguished path- "He set His face steadfastly to go to Jerusalem;"- no, as if longing for the hour of victory, He exclaimed. "There is a terrible baptism ahead of me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished! "Think of that love…..”
Earthly love may grow cold and changeable; earthly love may die. Not so the love of this "Friend of friends." It is strong as death- surviving death, no, as deathless as eternity! Listen to His own exponent of its intensity- "As the Father has loved He, so have I loved you!"….
"An ocean of love without bottom, without bounds, overflowing the banks of heaven, streaming down upon this poor world to wash away the vileness of man!" Blessed Jesus! how cold, and fitful, and transient has been my love to You in comparison of Your love to me! Bring me more under its constraining influence. May this be the superscription on all my thoughts and actions; my occupations and my time….
Wow! Wow, Wow, wow, o let’s continue to unpack the gift…
.
I. The Greatest Person (God).
II. Out of the Greatest PASSION (Love).
III. Reached toward the Greatest POPULACE! (World)
IV. That He Gave the Greatest PRESENT! (His Son)
V. Who is His Greatest PRODIGY (Representative)
John 3:16f that whoever
VI. The Greatest PURVIEW
A) Purview?
1. The scope of the influence or concerns of something.
2. The range of operation, authority, control, concern, etc.
3. The range or reach or something!
B) Point?
1. Who is this gift for?
a) WHOEVER!
i. The meaning of WHOEVER is whatever person : no matter who!
ii. Please note the pronoun whoever flings open the gates of paradise, for this pronoun
means any person, or anyone.
Wow! Wow, Wow, wow, let’s continue to unwrap this gift…
I. The Greatest Person (God).
II. Out of the Greatest PASSION (Love).
III. Reached out toward the Greatest POPULACE! (World)
IV. That He Gave the Greatest PRESENT! (His Son)
V. Who is His Greatest PRODIGY (Representative)
VI. To make it available to the Greatest PURVIEW (Whoever)
VII. Who exercises the Greatest PERFORMANCE.
John 3:16g believes…
A) Believe?
1, Believes (pisteuo) means to consider something to be true and therefore worthy of one’s trust. To accept as true, genuine, or real.
John 6:28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” 29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” -NIV
Romans 4: 4 Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. 5 However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. 6 David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
7 “Blessed are those
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
8 Blessed is the one
whose sin the Lord will never count against them.” -NIV
Thomas Chalmers - Faith is like the hand of the beggar that takes the gift while adding nothing to it.
B) Blueprint
1. Forsaking
2. All
3. I
4. Take/trust
5. Him
Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. -NIV
C) Belief?
1. Satan/Santa?
You better watch out
You better not cry
You better not pout
I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town
He's making a list
He's checking it twice
He's gonna find out who's naughty or nice
Santa Claus is coming to town
He sees you when you're sleeping
And he knows when you're awake
He knows if you've been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake
Luke 18:18 And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.-NIV
a) Here is another variation of this acrostic -
1. For All I Take Him.
2. For All I Trust Him.
3. For All I Thank Him.
4. For All My Need I Trust Him.
Jerry Bridges – The Bookends of the Christian Life
Faith is both a renunciation and a reliance. First, we must renounce any trust in our own performance as the basis of our acceptance before God. We trust in our own performance when we believe we’ve earned God’s acceptance by our good works. Second, we must place our reliance entirely on the perfect obedience and sin-bearing death of Christ as the sole basis of our standing before God.
Rock of Ages, cleft for me
Let me hide myself in thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From thy riven side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure,
Cleanse me from its guilt and pow'r.
Not the labors of my hands
Can fulfil thy law's demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears for ever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and thou alone.
Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to thee for dress,
Helpless, look to thee for grace;
Foul, I to the Fountain fly;
Wash me, Saviour, or I die.
I. The Greatest Person (God).
II. Out of the Greatest PASSION (Love).
III. Reached out toward the Greatest POPULACE! (World)
IV. That He Gave the Greatest PRESENT! (His Son)
V. Who is His Greatest PRODIGY (Representative)
VI. To make it available to the Greatest PURVIEW (Whoever)
VII. Who exercises the Greatest PERFORMANCE. (Belief)
John 3:16g in him…
VIII. The Greatest PRESERVER, PROTECTOR, DELIVERER, ie. SAVIOR!
A) Perspective?
1. In Him?
John 3:15-16 (NKJV) ""that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
Q: Why?
John 1:4 (NKJV) "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men."
2 Corinthians 1:20 (NKJV) "For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us."
2 Corinthians 5:21 (NKJV) "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
Ephesians 1:4 (NKJV) "just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,"
Ephesians 1:7 (NKJV) "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace"
Ephesians 1:11 (NKJV) "In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,"
Philippians 3:9 (NKJV) "and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;"
Colossians 2:10 (NKJV) "and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power."
2. Him who? Christ!
Romans 3:24 (NKJV) "being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,"
Romans 8:1-2 (NKJV) "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. [2] For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death."
1 Corinthians 1:30 (NKJV) "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God; and righteousness and sanctification and redemption;"
1 Corinthians 15:22 (NKJV) "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive."
2 Corinthians 2:14 (NKJV) "Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place."
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV) "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."
2 Corinthians 5:19 (NKJV) "that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation."
Galatians 3:26 (NKJV) "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus."
Galatians 3:28 (NKJV) "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus."
Galatians 6:15 (NKJV) "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation."
Ephesians 1:3 (NKJV) "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,"
Ephesians 2:6 (NKJV) "and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,"
Philippians 3:13 (NKJV) "Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
1 Thessalonians 4:16 (NKJV) "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with he trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first."
3. In Whom:
Ephesians 3:12 (NKJV) "in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him."
Colossians 1:14 (NKJV) "in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins."
Colossians 2:3 (NKJV) "in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."
Wowee! Let’s unpack it and clarify it a little more…..
I. The Greatest Person (God).
II. Out of the Greatest PASSION (Love).
III. Reached out toward the Greatest POPULACE! (World)
IV. That He Gave the Greatest PRESENT! (His Son)
V. Who is His Greatest PRODIGY (Representative)
VI. To make available to the Greatest PURVIEW (Whoever)
VII. Who exercises the Greatest PERFORMANCE. (Belief)
VIII. In the Greatest PRESERVER, PROTECTOR, DELIVERER, ie. SAVIOR! (Jesus)
Acts 4:12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. – NIV
Watch this now, this is the most amazing thing….those who do this….
VIII. Will be delivered from the Greatest PERIL!
John 3:16h shall not perish…
A) Perishing!
B) Perish?
1. Shall not perish (apollumi from apo = away from or wholly + olethros = state of utter ruin <> ollumi = to destroy) means to destroy utterly but not to cause one to cease to exist.
R. Brewin. -What does it mean to perish?
What is it to perish? It is to die in our sins, without bright angels to smile upon us as they wait to carry us away from earth; it is to die without the Saviour's glorious presence to cheer us in the valley of the shadow of death. It is to be turned away from the shut door of our Father's mercy, because, like the foolish virgins, we are not ready when the bridegroom comes. To perish is to lose the smile of God, the company of the redeemed, the society of angels, the glories of the heavenly world, and, with no ray of comfort or gleam of hope, to be driven away into outer darkness, into misery and woe, without deliverance and without end. The thought of this awful perdition made Jesus weep over Jerusalem and say, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem: thou that killest the prophets and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not."
Ok let’s pull off a little more of the wrapping….
I. The Greatest Person (God).
II. Out of the Greatest PASSION (Love).
III. Reached out toward the Greatest POPULACE! (World)
IV. That He Gave the Greatest PRESENT! (His Son)
V. Who is His Greatest PRODIGY (Representative)
VI. To make available to the Greatest PURVIEW (Whoever)
VII. Who practice the Greatest PERFORMANCE. (Believing)
VIII. In the Greatest PRESERVER, PROTECTOR, DELIVERER! (Jesus)
IX. Will be delivered from the Greatest PERIL! (Pershing)
And imparts to us the…
John 3:16 but have eternal life.
X. And gives us the Greatest POSSESION! (Eternal life)
A) Perspective?
1. Eternal life?
a) When the Bible speaks of eternal life, it refers to a gift of God that comes only “through Jesus Christ our Lord”
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. -ESV
b) A common New Testament word for “eternal” is aiónios, carries the idea of quality as well as quantity.
B) Point?
1. Eternal life is not solely associated with “eternity” but as something that Christians “experience now.”
2. It is not only a quantity but also a quality of life you possess now!
3. Eternal life is not simply the quantity (how long) but also the quality of the life (how good).
John 3:36 “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life.”
3. The believer “has” (present tense) this life!
C) Presently?
John 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent -ESV
1. That they might recognize and know you as the only true God, and Jesus Christ, as the Messiah, the Christ, the only Savior of the world!
2. Know ????s?? ginosko =means to know experientially, through personal experience!
Phillips Brooks, D. D. - What is it, then? When everything else decays, what is it that is imperishable? Jesus says it is the knowledge of God and of Himself. Now, remember that the knowledge of God and Christ in the Bible always does mean, a personal relationship with God and Christ. It is not mere absolute knowledge. It is what He is to us
D) Possess?
1. Know God as Father
2. Jesus as Lord
a) Savior
b) Brother
c) Bridegroom
d) Best Friend
Let me close with…
I. The Greatest Person (God).
II. Out of the Greatest PASSION (Love).
III. Reached out toward the Greatest POPULACE! (World)
IV. That He Gave the Greatest PRESENT! (His Son)
V. Who is His Greatest PRODIGY (Representative)
VI. To make available to the Greatest PURVIEW (Whoever)
VII. Who practice the Greatest PERFORMANCE. (Believing)
VIII. In the Greatest PRESERVER, PROTECTOR, DELIVERER! (Jesus)
IX. Will be delivered from the Greatest PERIL! (Pershing)
X. And gives will the Greatest POSSESION! (Eternal life)
XI. Which is God’s Greatest PROMISE! (To us!)
1 John 2:25 And this is what he promised us—eternal life.
John 3:17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18a He who believes in Him is not condemned…
1 John 5:13 I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
XIII. The Greatest PROBLEM?
A) Problem?
John 3:18b he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
1. Reason?
B) Proof?
1. Lack of?
C) Plenty!
1. Angelic Announcement
Luke 1:32: “He will be called great and will be called the Son of the Most High.”
Luke 1:35: “...therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.”
2. Demonic Acknowledgement
Luke 4:41: “And demons also came out of many, crying, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.”
Mark 3:11: “And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, ‘You are the Son of God.’”
3. Prophetic Acclamation
John 1:34: “And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of Gon
4. Apostolic Affirmation
Matthew 14:33: “And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’”
Matthew 16:15 “He said to them, ‘But who do you say I am?’ 16 Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’”
5. Preexistence Awareness
John 17:5, “And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
6. Fathers Affection!
Matthew 3: 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Matthew 17: 1 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. 4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!
7. Authority to forgive sins!
Mark 2: 3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” 6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? 10 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, 11 “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!
D) Pronouncement – Judgment of God!
John 3: 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. -NIV
#1. Problem? PERISHING!!
2. Present? Gift of Eternal life?
3. All found in One Person – Jesus Christ!
4. Position will shift from a child of the devil to a child of God!
5. Possess it?
2 Corinthians 9:15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
