The Lordship of Christ

Intro

Exalting Jesus in 1,2,3 John Six Superlative Witnesses that Jesus Is the Son of God (1 John 5:6–12)

Bertrand Russell lived from 1872–1970. He was a well-known atheistic philosopher who authored more than 100 books, wrote a three-volume autobiography, and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1950. One of his best-known books is Why I Am Not a Christian (1927). In it he argued that all organized religions are the residue of the barbaric past, and they dwindle to mere hypocritical superstitions and have no basis in reality. On one occasion Russell was asked what he would say to God if he found himself standing before Him. Russell’s answer: “I probably would ask, ‘Sir, why did you not give me better evidence?’ ” (Rosten, “Bertrand Russell and God,” 26).

Evidences. Evidences that Jesus is truly God. This is what we crave. This is what we need.

Belief in God. Belief in Jesus. You know, that isn’t enough! Many over the years have believed that Jesus Christ existed, lived, and died… They believe that He may have been a good teacher or a good man; However, none of this can be true without Jesus being the Son of God and part of the Trinity Himself.

C.S. Lewis said Christ either had to be a liar, a lunatic, or Lord. The way in which he taught and uprooted culture, He couldn’t be good without being God.

Evidences of the divinity of Jesus Christ is something people have debated for the last 2,000 years and everyone who give this thought comes to one of two conclusions. Jesus is Lord or Jesus is a lair.

Evidences are what we want to see right? Evidences help us understand right? Evidences outside of Scripture are great to help us tie human rationality to our faith, however, the evidences in Scripture ought to be more than enough to cause us to have belief in Christ Jesus as Lord and God.

John 1:14 and John 1:18 are some of the most definitive and clear verses in Scripture proving the divinity of Christ, but they aren’t the only.

When we look to Scripture, we can trust it. When we look at 1 John 5:6-12 we can trust John as an eye witness, part of Jesus’ inner circle, and the last living apostle to give us the truth about why Jesus is the true Messiah, Son of the Living God, and part of the Trinity.

Look with me at the six witnesses of the Lordship of Christ.

Witness of His Baptism

1 John 5:6–8 (KJV 1900)

This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.

When we read all of 1 John 5:1-12, which we will, a courtroom setting can be easily imagined and the first witness in the case of the Lordship of Jesus is the witness of His baptism.

Throughout history, many theologians have discussed and disagreed on what this passage means especially in reference to the water. Was this talking about the birth of Christ? Maybe it is talking about the water that flowed from Jesus’ side on the cross. However, when you look at the context and the fact that these verses exist to prove the divinity of Christ, we can easily deduce the fact that this is indeed talking about the physical baptism of Jesus Christ.

Why is that so important?

The water baptism of Jesus is so important that it is referenced in all four of the Gospels. (Matt 3:13–17; Mark 1:9–11; Luke 3:21–23; John 1:29–34).

During this baptism, 1) we see the example which we are to follow once we accept Christ as our Savior but 2) we also see proof of His divinity as Jesus takes on His public ministry.

As Jesus is being baptized, the Father comes down from heaven and declares, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I’m well pleased.”

The Father was quoting His own words of old in Psalm 2:7 “I will declare the decree: The Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; This day have I begotten thee.” and Isaiah 42:1 “Behold my servant, whom I uphold; Mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.”

Why should this matter to you?

In order to believe that Jesus is your Savior, you must have these evidences and witnesses of His Lordship. Jesus cannot be your Savior without being God. This is proof number one as we see in 1 John. When the Father declares the truth of the divinity of Jesus verbally to His creation on His earth, you’d better listen!

As we will see in a few moments as well, the baptism of Jesus didn’t just exist as a public declaration or a model, it foreshadowed what was to come.

Witness of His Crucifixion

Our second witness this morning is the crucifixion of Christ. In order to fully understand the crucifixion of Christ, we must first understand His baptism. The baptism of Jesus in the water foreshadowed His crucifixion, how? The same way our baptism symbolizes it.

Baptism is our partaking in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ Jesus which happened with the Crucifixion. It is a physical water demonstration of what Jesus did at Calvary.

At the crucifixion of Jesus, we also see the witness of the Father present just as in the baptism of Christ.

As Jesus was crucified and took His last breath, as “it is finished” left His lips we see evidences of the Lordship of Christ as the earth went dark and shook and as the veil of the Temple tore from top to bottom.

Crucifixion was a nasty death, but it in itself held no power as it happened often. However, when Jesus was killed on the cross we see the Father tear the veil, we see creation react, we see evidence that the One just killed surely was the son of God in the words of the Roman soldier.

Exalting Jesus in 1,2,3 John We Have the Witness of His Crucifixion (1 John 5:6–8)

Jesus of Nazareth was not God’s special agent who was adopted at His baptism but abandoned at the cross. He was and is the eternal Son of God who entered this world in time and space and died as our propitiation (1 John 2:2; 4:10). His death was not an accident. It was not an act of martyrdom. It was a divine, saving substitution for sinners with redeeming value and worth.

For centuries God’s prophets were killed by the hands of fallen people. Not once did the earth react. Not once did the veil tear. These evidences, the shaking, the darkness, the veil … these evidences are the painful reaction to the fact that the Son of God Himself, a Person of the Trinity has died.

The greatest witness the crucifixion has to offer us is what happened next. Not only did Jesus die and be buried. Jesus rose! Jesus conquered death and the grave and folks, no man has ever done that, only God!

Witness of the Holy Spirit

The water, the blood, and the Spirit agree that Jesus is the Son of God. The water baptism, the baptism into death for sin-payment, and the Spirit of God testify together that Jesus Christ is Lord.

The Spirit of God or the Spirit of Truth is the main agent in relaying to mankind the reality of the divinity of Jesus Christ.

As the main agent of truth, the Holy Spirit works to illuminate His word, to speak to the hearts of His people, and to provide for us the evidences in Scripture that Jesus is the One True Son of God.

Exalting Jesus in 1,2,3 John We Have the Witness of the Holy Spirit (1 John 5:6–8)

“The witness of the Spirit is God’s witness to us, in us, and through us. Just as the arrow of a compass always points towards the North, the Spirit of God always points to Jesus”

If the witness of the Father’s work in the baptism of Christ was not enough, and if the witness of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ for you was not enough, then the Spirit of God must be enough for you to believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

The Spirit of God is who inspired Scripture. The Spirit of God is who came after Christ. The Spirit of Christ is the one who, as we read in John 16 glorifies Christ.

The Spirit of God in the lives of believers is the main witness that Jesus was the Son of God who lived, died, and rose again paying the price for your sin.

Witness of the Father

1 John 5:9–10 (KJV 1900)

If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.

The Spirit of God works in the lives of men and provides additional witness to the Lordship of Christ, and upon that witness many come to Jesus; therefore, if we receive the witness of men, then how much greater is the witness of God?

In Deuteronomy, the witness of men was challenged and the Israelites were told to accept the witness of 2 or 3. One witness could not be verified, however, 2 or 3 could.

And for centuries, God’s people have accepted the witness of men. But now, with a matter as important as the divinity of Christ, we must not just trust the hundreds of eye witnesses, we must trust the Father’s own three-fold witness (the baptism, the crucifixion and subsequent resurrection, and the Spirit).

Exalting Jesus in 1,2,3 John We Have the Witness of the Father (1 John 5:9–10)

John is saying that the abiding testimony of Jesus’ baptism, His crucifixion, and that of the Holy Spirit is God’s historical witness that Jesus is His Son. Never did God give such a witness concerning anyone else in all of history. The Father’s witness concerning His Son is singular and unique. Therefore, it demands a response from each and every one of us. Neutrality and indecision is not an option. In fact, to not believe that Jesus is the Son of God is to not believe God and to make Him “a liar, because [you have] not believed in the testimony God has given about His Son” (v. 10). John says that believing in Jesus as the Son of God is equivalent to accepting God the Father’s testimony about His Son. To reject Jesus as God’s Son is equivalent to charging God with perjury. It is that simple, and John is that straightforward

Folks, this may not sound important to you, but for the basic call to salvation we must believe in the Lordship of Christ, if you do not believe that Jesus is in fact God, then you cannot be saved.

Witness of Our Conversion

1 John 5:10 “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.”

Our conversion is the number one witness of the Lordship of Jesus Christ in out lives. This conversion is what drives us, it is what causes us to listen to the witnesses listed above. This conversion is what causes us to become a witness ourselves to the world around us.

Folks, simply this morning, the world needs Jesus. The world needs to know these witnesses and evidences. The world will not see this without the witness of your conversion leading to a life lived like Christ and conversations about Him.

Romans 10:9–10“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

This is what you need. This is what the world needs. This is your responsibility. At the risk of friendships, family, and even life we must proclaim the good news that leads to conversion.

And, once we are converted, Paul says in Romans 8 says that the Spirit of God testifies with our spirit and we know the truth. He confirms it!

Your conversion ought to be the biggest evidence to those around you that Jesus is Lord. The change that takes place in you ought to cause others to become curious. Your conversion will, even through doubt, confirm in your heart the divinity of Christ.

And this conversion leads to the greatest truth of all — eternal life.

Witness of Eternal Life

1 John 5:11–12 (KJV 1900)

And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

Understand this morning, eternal life does not exist outside of God through the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Eternity exists, however, it will be eternal death in Hell rather than eternal life with God.

The final witness that Jesus is not jus the Christ but God Himself is the promise of eternal life.

Eternal life cannot be promised by anybody this morning outside of God. A prophet cannot conjure eternal life, humanity can hardly fathom it; but God. God cannot only promise eternal life to all who believe, but He can follow through on that promise and make it a reality! For eternal life to be a promise by the Savior Jesus, he must be God Himself come in the flesh, anything else would be a farce.

Conclusion

Jesus lives. Jesus reigns. Jesus is the sacrifice for your sin. And Jesus is God in the flesh. All of Scripture stands to testify that Jesus Christ is Lord and God. The Baptism of Christ, the crucifixion and resurrection, the Spirit and the Father, along with our conversion and the promise of eternal life stand in witness that Jesus is God.

Salvation is unobtainable without the Lordship of Christ. Heaven for eternity cannot be real if Jesus Christ is not Lord. To believe that Jesus is anything but God is to make the Father and the Spirit a liar and Jesus a lunatic.

The evidences are all around, both in the physical world and the Scriptures of God, Jesus Christ is Lord. Jesus Christ is Lord. Jesus Christ is Lord. To believe anything less is to believe a lie and make God a liar.

And this morning, that belief coupled with repentance will save you.

SONG

*salvation plea*