Tuesday, August 07, 2007

JESUS CHRIST THE SON OF GOD



Christianity differs from all religions, because it is more than a religion- it is the life of the Son of God made living in man. Christ is Christianity and Christianity is Christ. He is the supreme subject of each book of the NT., and fulfills all the promises of God in the OT, from His incarnation to His Second Coming as “Lord of lords and King of kings (Rev. 17:14). He is the God-man Christ Jesus in glory, exalted above all creatures, having “all power in heaven and earth” (Matt. 28:18).

During His earthly ministry, He claimed to be God incarnate (in human flesh). He is all that He claimed to be, or He is less than the least (Rev. 1:8). Before His claim can be denied, there are some things that must be accounted for.


HIS VIRGIN BIRTH

HIS HOLY, SINLESS LIFE

HIS MANY MIRACLES

HIS VICARIOUS DEATH and

HIS BODILY RESURRECTION


  1. THE DEITY OF JESUS CHRIST : John 1:1


  1. THE HUMANITY OF JESUS CHRIST : Rom. 1:3,4


  1. THE VIRGIN BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST : Lk. 1:26-35


  1. THE DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST: Phil. 2:8


  1. THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST: Matt. 28:1-20


  1. THE ASCENSION and

SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST: Acts 1: 9-11



  1. THE DEITY OF JESUS CHRIST : John 1:1


John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and THE WORD WAS GOD.


The deity of Jesus Christ, or His God nature, is well established in the NT. Some of the facts are:

  1. He is called God by the apostle (John 1:1)

  2. He is called God by the apostle Thomas (John 20:28)

  3. He is called God by God the Father (Heb. 1:8)

  4. He claimed to be God in that He was with the Father before creation

(John 17:5)

  1. He claimed to be God in that He was before Abraham. “Abraham rejoiced to see my days….” (John 8:51-59)

  2. He received worship, and only God is to be worshiped (Matt.14:33). Angels refused worship (Rev. 22:8,9). Man refused worship (Acts. 10:25,26).

  3. He forgives sin (Mark 2:5-11). ONLY GOD CAN FORGIVE SIN.

  4. He is creator and maker of all things (Col. 1:16)

  5. He is sustainer of all things (Heb. 1:3). Only God can control the universe.

10) He claimed to have “all power in heaven and in earth” (Matt. 28:18).

Only God has all power.

11) He walked upon the blue waters of Galilee.


The winds and the waves obeyed His command.

He healed the sick and raised the dead.

He gave sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf.

He cast out demons and made the lame to walk.

He turned water into wine.

He fed five thousand with the lunch of a lad.

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  1. THE HUMANITY OF JESUS CHRIST : Rom. 1:3,4


Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which WAS MADE OF THE SEED OF DAVID ACCORDING TO THE FLESH; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:


THE HUMANITY OF JESUS CHRIST IS SEEN IN HIS HUMAN PARENTAGE (Matt. 2:11)


  1. He developed as a normal human being (Lk. 2:52)

  2. He was subject to all the sinless infirmities of the human nature:

  1. He hungered (Matt. 4:2)

  2. He was thirsty (John 19:28)

  3. He was weary ( John 4:6)

  4. He wept (John 11:35)

  5. He was tempted (Heb 4:15)


Jesus is man, and yet He is more than man. He is not God and man, but the GOD-MAN. He is God in human flesh. His two natures are found together in such a way that the two become one, having a single consciousness and will.

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  1. THE VIRGIN BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST : Lk. 1:26-35



31. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.

  1. "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a

virgin?"

  1. The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon

you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.


The virgin birth of Jesus Christ is without parallel in human history. It is by the virgin birth that God became man, one perfect person but two natures: one nature being that of Almighty God, the other being that of man-man without sin (Heb. 4:15).


THE UNION OF THE TWO NATURES BECAME THE GOD-MAN CHRIST JESUS.


  1. The first hint of the virgin birth is found in Gen. 3:15. The

one to to defeat Satan was to be born of “the seed of the woman.” This is a biological miracle; there is no “seed of the woman.” For this we are to understand that One was to be born of a woman without a human father (Lk. 1:34,35)

  1. Isaiah prophesied that a “virgin would conceive, and bear a son and shall call His name Immanuel (God with us)”

(Isa. 7:14)

  1. Again prophesied saying, “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given” (Isa. 9:6,7). This means that God gave His only begotten Son who was with Him from eternity, and the Child Jesus born of a virgin. God gave His Son “unto us.”

  2. According to prophesy, He was to be born in Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2). Joseph with Mary went up to Bethlehem to be taxed, and to fulfill prophesy (Lk. 2 : 1-7).

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  1. THE DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST: Phil. 2:8



And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled

himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a

cross!


The death of Jesus Christ is mentioned more than 120 times in the NT and is spoken of many times by the prophets in the OT.

  1. THE DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST WAS VICARIOUS: Matt.: 20:28. He was God’s substitute for sinners (2Cor. 5:21). On the cross, Christ was made sin for sinner. By faith in HIM, THE SINNER IS MADE RIGHTEOUS with the righteouness of God.

  2. THE DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST WAS NATURAL:

John 19:31-37. By natural death, we meanthat His spirit

and soul were separated from His body.

  1. THE DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST WAS UNNATURAL: Rom. 6:23. By an unnatural death, we mean that since He was sinless, in that “He did no sin” (1Pet 2:22); “had no sin” (1Jn. 3:5); “knew no sin” (2Cor. 5:21) – before He could die, He had to be “made sin for us.” Therefore, His death was unnatural.

  2. THE DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST WAS PRETERNATURAL (Rev. 13:8). By this, we mean that the death of Jesus Christ was not an afterthought with God, It was the forethought of God.

  3. THE DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST WAS SUPERNATURAL; (John 10:17,18). Jesus said, “No man taketh life from me.” Then He said “ I lay it down to myself (supernaturally).” “I have power to take it up again (supernaturally).” This He did on the cross, and three days and three nights later, He took life up again when He arose from the dead. Only God in the form of man could die a vicarious, natural, unnatural, preternatural and supernatural death.

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  1. THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST: Matt. 28:1-20


Jesus said “I am the resurrection and the life” (Jn. 11:25). The resurrection of Jesus Christ was the doctrine of every disciple, the faith of every believer, the courage of every martyr, the theme of every sermon, and the power of every evangelist.


Luke tells us that we have “many infallible proofs” of His resurrection (Acts. 1:3). Let us look at some of these “infallible proofs” according to eye witnesses:


  1. After His resurrection He appeared first to Mary Magdalene (Jn.20:11-18).

  2. He appeared to the women returning from the sepulchre (Mt. 28:5-10).

  3. Then He appeared to Peter (Lk.24:34)

  4. To the Emmaus disciples (Lk.24:13-31)

  5. To the apostles, Thomas not present (Lk.24:36-43)

  6. Again to the apostles, Thomas present (Jn.20:24-29)

  7. To the seven by the sea of Tiberias (Jn.21:1-23)

  8. To over 500 brethren (1Cor.15:6)

  9. He was seen of James (1Cor.15:7)

  10. He was seen again by the eleven apostles (Mt.28:16-20 & Acts1:3-12)

  11. He was seen of Stephen, the first Martyr (Acts 7:55)

  12. He was seen of Paul on his way to Damascus (Acts 9:3-6; 1Cor.15:8)


Many of these eye witnesses died martyr’s deaths because they preached the resurrection of Jesus Christ. They were glad to die for a living Christ. They had the “infallible proofs”


When Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, all of His disciples “forsook Him and fled” (Mt.26:56). From this time until after His resurrection, the disciples lived in fear. They did not believe that He would rise from the dead (John 20:9). Had Jesus not come from the dead, the cross would have been the end of Christianity. After the death of Jesus, we see His disciples dejected, discouraged and defeated. The death of Jesus meant but one thing to them: the end. How do we account for the great change that came into their lives three days and three nights later? The only logical explanation is that they had the “infallible proofs” that He had risen from the dead, and was alive for evermore. They saw Him, talked with Him, touched Him and ate with Him.


NOW LOOK AT SOME “INFALLIBLE PROOFS” ACCORDING TO CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE:


  1. The change that came into the lives of the disciples after the resurrection – from fear to unlimited courage. They rejoiced in persecution (Acts 5:40-42). They chose death, with faith in the resurrected Christ, rather than to deny that faith and be delivered (Heb.11:35).

  2. The early church began to worship on the first day of the week, the day of the Resurrection. It was not a law-it was spontaneous (Acts 20:7). For almost 2000 years, the church has worshipped on the first day. For the Christian, every Sunday is Easter.

  3. The early Christians went everywhere with the word of the Resurrection (Acts 8:1-4)

  4. The empty tomb – for if Jesus is not alive, what happen to His body? The Roman guards were paid to say, “His disciples came by night, and stole Him away while He slept (Matt.28:12,13). First the disciples lacked the courage. Had the disciples stolen the body, then how do you account for the fact that they all suffered, and most of them died martyr’s death? In the face of death, one of them would have revealed the hiding place of the “stolen body” to save his own life. Second, no one was ever arrested or tried for stealing the body of Jesus. It is evident that the governing officials did not believe the story of the guards. Third, the guards could have been put to death for sleeping while on watch. Fourth, if they were asleep how could they have known that it was the disciples who “stole” the body? Fifth, had the enemies of Jesus moved the body, they could have produced it and brought a quick end to Christianity; and they would have

  5. The grave cloths found in the empty tomb are proof of the Resurrection (Jn. 20:1-10). Had friend or foe stolen the body. They would not have removed the grave cloths; since He had been dead three days and night. When John saw the grave cloths and recognized that they were folded the same as when they were wrapped about the body, he knew that a miracle had taken place. Jesus came out of the cloths, and they collapsed without disturbing the folds. They were left in the empty tombs as “infallible proof”; and when John saw and understood, he believed that Jesus had come from the dead.

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  1. THE ASCENSION & SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST: Acts 1: 9-11


09 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.

  1. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken

from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."


After 40 days of instructing His disciples, the risen Christ ascended up on high and is seated at the right hand of the Father (Heb.10: 12). Two men brought the message of His second coming to the apostles: “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner.” The message of the second coming of Jesus is so important, that it is mentioned over 300 times in the NT.


  1. He is coming to take His church to be with Him (1Thes.4: 16,17); (John 14:1-6).

  2. He is coming to judge the nations (Matt. 25:31-46)

  3. He is coming to save Israel (Romans 11: 25,26)

  4. He is coming to sit upon the throne of David (Lk. 1:31-33); (Isaiah 9: 6,7).

  5. He is coming to bring righteous government to this earth (Heb. 1: 8).

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JESUS CHRIST IS COMING BACK TO THIS EARTH AGAIN. “EVEN SO, COME, LORD JESUS” (REV. 22:20).


Jesus Christ is the absolute Saviour, hence all glory is due to Him only. He (ACCEPTS) us because He is MERCIFUL. He (PROVIDES) us because He is GRACIOUS. No man can add anything to His finished work of Salvation. Rev. 7:10


Repentance TOWARDS Jesus Christ

Faith UPON Jesus Christ

Baptised INTO Jesus Christ

Laying hands IN THE NAME OF Jesus Christ

Resurrection WITH Jesus Christ

Judgement BY Jesus Christ


JESUS CHRIST IS THE PERFECT MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MAN. BECAUSE HE IS GOD MAN.


All doctrines must highlight the PERSON of the doctrines. AMEN (Jesus Christ)


Eg: It is not our believing or praying, but WHAT, WHOM and WHY one believes is more important.


Hallelu YAH, AMEN.


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HOW WILL IT ALL END

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