"The Person of Jesus Christ"
Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 1:17:46
0 ratings
· 25 viewsFiles
Notes
Transcript
Well Good Morning. Turn with me in your Bibles to John chapter 1.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Today I have one primary goal and it is this. I want you to understand more about the person of Christ. You may be here and have not known about Jesus, while most have some knowledge of Jesus and what He has done, there still may be some questions you have.
Next week we will focus more on the work of Christ. So, today our focus is on the person of Christ. When it comes right down to it, Jesus is and has been the central figure of all of human history. Sure we could throw out some big names like Plato or Aristotle or Alexander the Great or even Genghis Khan. Of course these men were historical figures, but there has never been anyone like Christ. Jesus was regarded as a great teacher, prophet, healer, Savior, and Son of God. So, my intent this morning is really to introduce the person of Jesus Christ to you. In Matthew chapter 16 Jesus asks His disciples a key question about who others thought Jesus was, but in verse 15 Jesus gets even more specific.
15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Notice Peter’s Response:
16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Some of the major questions that I think some people can struggle with concerning the person of Christ is how can Jesus be both man and God at the same time? How can Jesus be the Son of God, and yet equal to God? So, I want to help you with these questions as we dive into the message.
Let’s begin today by addressing the title or titles of Christ. There are 3 major titles that need to be explained.
1. Lord. The word Lord carries with it or can mean a title of honor. We as humans are subject to the Lord. We are to live for the Lord and serve Him.
23 You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men.
22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.
2. Jesus. The Greek word here means (Joshua) which means Savior.
21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
Christ was God’s lamb who came into the world to take our sins.
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
3. Christ. This word Christ means the Anointed one. The Messiah. This was the official title of our Savior.
41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ).
The wonderful thing that we know about Christ is the fact that He shared so many I AM statements about Himself with us. Here are just several that you need to know about.
-Christ said, I am gentle and humble in heart. (Matt. 11:29)
-Christ said I am with you always. (Matt. 28:20)
-Christ said I am the bread of life. (John 6:35)
-Christ said I am the light of the world. (John 8:12)
-Christ said I am the door. (John 10:9)
-Christ said I am the good shepherd. (John 10:11)
-Christ said I am the way the truth and the life. (John 14:6)
-Christ said I am the vine, King, Alpha and Omega and the First and the Last. (John 15 and Revelation 1)
-And finally, Christ said I am coming quickly.
11 I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.
4 Specific Things that you need to know about the Person of Jesus.
1. Jesus is God who Became Man.
1. Jesus is God who Became Man.
Jesus came into the world in human flesh. That may sound funny, but what this means for you and I is that Jesus voluntarily set aside the independent use of His deity or divine attributes, and took on the form of man. He was fully human, a man in every way, except that He was without sin or born without a sin nature unlike you and I. This is what is often referred to as the INCARNATION. The incarnation of Christ.
So, the issue of Christ becoming a human being with flesh and blood as Luke 24:39 tells us is most widely accepted. However, it is important that we know that the Lord’s existence did not start with His human birth. Christ existed in the form of God prior to Him coming to this earth. At His birth He took on humanity and became fully God and fully man. Philippians helps us to understand this.
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
The reason why it is so important for us to understand that Jesus was fully man is because there are many who doubt that Jesus could be a man who lived a sinless life, died and then rose again. The debate is that he really never had a physical body. So, how do we know that Christ was fully human besides the birth accounts from the gospels? Here are just several verses that are extremely important.
40 And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.
Jesus grew physically and became strong. He also increased in learning and in wisdom.
38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
When Jesus grew tired He slept.
2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry.
As Christ was being tempted by Satan He had a lack of food and He became hungry. Again all of these are physical attributes.
6 Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.
After a long journey Jesus was weary.
35 Jesus wept.
One of the ways Jesus reacted when he was grieved is that He physically cried or wept.
Jesus never stopped being God. However, what we see here is that He added humanity to His deity. In fact, He voluntarily set aside or emptied himself. He set aside His glory, His independent authority, His divine attributes, His eternal riches and His face to face relationship with His father and became a bond slave.
One of the most important things about the humanity of Christ is the fact that Jesus had to become man, in order to die in man’s place. Christ had to be God, to be the perfect sinless sacrifice. Jesus was truly the spotless lamb who came to take away our sin.
2. Jesus is also Man who is God.
2. Jesus is also Man who is God.
The deity of Christ is most definitely demonstrated by His attributes. Christ is sovereign, He is eternal, He is unchanging, He is all-knowing, He is without sin, He is holy, and He is truth.
One of the most important attributes of Christ is that He has the power to forgive us of our sins. Why? There are so many people today who have never recognized that they can be forgiven and set free from sinful behavior. You don’t have to continue living in sinful patterns. Confess your sin to Christ, submit and surrender to Him and know that you will be forgiven. Only through Jesus and the power that He demonstrated through his death and resurrection can you be forgiven.
10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— 11 “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.”
Mark 2:7 tells us that God alone has the power to forgive sin and since Jesus had the authority to forgive sins this tells us that He is God.
23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”
(which means, God with us).
What is so interesting about the Lord’s claim to be the Son of God is that the Jewish religious leaders did not miss what he was saying. The Jews clearly understood exactly what Jesus was saying and that is why they were so angry and picked up stones to kill him according to their law. Finally, with the help of Judas they were able to get Jesus, and put him through an unfair and unjust trial where he was condemned and ultimately nailed to a cross.
33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”
There are many people who say today that Jesus made a lot of claims, but never claimed to be the Son of God. Clearly we know that this is a lie from Satan. Jesus claimed divine authority many times.
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
The humanity and deity of Christ is a theological phrase known as the hypostatic union of Christ. This means that Christ is two natures in one person, that He is at once both fully God and fully human.
It is important to note that there are several cults or so-called faith groups that deny the deity of Christ. They deny that Christ is God.
-Mormons deny Christ is God.
-Jehovah Witnesses deny Christ is God.
-Christian Science and Scientology deny Christ is God.
-Oneness Pentecostals deny Christ is God as well as several other cults. I share this with you today to help you see that not all churches are the same and in fact deny the deity of Christ. As believers we need to know that Jesus was fully human and well as fully God.
3. Jesus is Christ who is the Savior of the World.
3. Jesus is Christ who is the Savior of the World.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
One of the things that we know to be true of Jesus is that He came to be our Savior. Jesus came to set us free from the sinful things in this world that so easily bind us and entangle us. You may be here today and entangled in some sort of sin. I want you to know today that Jesus can set you free. He alone has the power to rescue you and save you. Some of the most powerful verses in all of Scripture show us that Jesus is the Savior. Here are just a few. What these verses show us are titles that describe God’s saving grace.
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
Jesus can fill that longing and craving that you desire today. Jesus can feed your deepest need. Jesus can take care of your hunger and thirst spiritually speaking. Church, there is a big difference between just simply admitting that Jesus is the Savior, and that of actually claiming that Jesus is our Savior and fully submitting our lives to Him. Let me ask you today, is Jesus truly your Savior? Has there come a time in your life where you humbly confessed your sin to Him and trusted in Him as your Savior? If not will you do that today? Call upon Christ, turn from your sin and live obediently for the Lord the rest of your days.
4. Jesus is the King who comes to Rule.
4. Jesus is the King who comes to Rule.
9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
Jesus will soon return, just the same way as the disciples watched Him go into heaven. The Gospel of Matthew gets even more specific about the Lord’s return.
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
One of the most important things that I want you to know today church is that Christ did not stay nailed to a cross. Jesus Christ on the 3rd day rose from the grave and shortly thereafter returned home to heaven where He is exalted on His throne. The good news is that someday He will come again in power. As we have seen, Jesus is not just a person of the past.
He is destined as King of Kings and Lord of Lords who will someday return and reign over all the earth.
When we say that Jesus is the king of kings we think or know of his rule in several ways.
-We know that there will be a second coming of Christ.
-We know that He will come in judgment.
-We know that His glory will be revealed.
Conclusion: As Believers we know God’s Word to be true, and as we look to it to be our guide throughout this life we know that God’s Word helps us to understand about the person and work of Christ. When we look to the Old Testament we see the preparation of Christ in the fact that the prophets for tell of His coming. In the gospels we see the presentation of Christ. “For He has come and is here.” In the book of Acts, or the Acts of the Apostles there is the proclamation, the message of salvation in Christ is announced.
12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
In the Epistles we study the personalization, that is, for to me to live is Christ. Christ who has died and risen from the grave, and returns to live in His people. And in the final book of God’s Word, the book of Revelation, there is the proclamation that Christ is on His throne and He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. In every sense of God’s Word it is all about Christ. It is the book that tells us all about Him. In Acts chapter 8 we see Philip sharing the wonderful news with someone who needed to hear who Jesus was and what He did.
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.
My prayer for us today is that we would know that Christ is God, that Christ came to save us from our sin, that He will return as the King of Kings and ruler over everything, and that we would share the good news about Jesus with others. So, what do we do as we await His return???
14 Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.
If you don’t know Christ today, will you trust in Him? Will you pray for others to trust in Him? Will you follow Him and live your life pleasing Him in word and deeds and thoughts?
(Pray and Close with Communion)