Untitled Sermon

John 3:1–2 ESV

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”

A rabbi was a teacher of Judaism.

· At best Nicodemus understood Jesus to be a religious teacher. (Kind of like Islam does today)

· But was confused because he saw him healing people

· And touching peoples lives in a way that Judaism nor any other religion ever had,

· So this intelligent man and ruler of the Jews by the name of Nicodemous says there’s something Godlike about you.

· “There’s no way you could do these things unless God was with you.”

Siddhartha Gautama became known as Buddha of which came Buddhism.

· He was a man who was believed to have been born into a wealthy and royal family,

· But became poor in order to become enlightened as it were.

Hinduism has 330 million gods.

· None of which (even encompassing) can meet all our needs.

· And most who are impersonalble and uncaring about the human race,

· With one reigning supreme; Brahma who is both impersonal and unknowable.

· But none of these god’s care enough about humanity to come and die for their sins.

The new age movement started up during many of our lifetimes and mid-twentieth century influences,

· Such as the UFO religions of the 1950s,

· The Counterculture of the 1960s (Hippie Generation),

· And the Human Potential Movement, are among its main influencers with no real God except for self or spirit guides to lead a person.

And then there is Islam

· Who identifies oddly with much of the same history and religious foundation as Judaism and Christianity,

· But only believes Jesus to be at best a Prophet and follows instead Muhammad’s teachings over Jesus’s as they consider Muhammad to be the last prophet.

And then there is this one that I want to focus on who Nicodemus was confused about, Jesus.

· There has been confusion about Jesus Christ since the day of His birth.

· While some followed a star from the east to come and worship at the stable He was born in, others sought to kill Him when He was just an infant.

Although Nicodemous didn’t know yet exactly who Jesus was,

· He did have one thing right.

· Jesus had come from God.

As a matter of fact tells us exactly who He was.

Matthew 1:23 ESV

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

Matthew 1:23

We understand today that according to , Jesus is better than Muhammad, as Muhammad was only a prophet and a self-proclaimed prophet at that.

But the Angel of God spoke in and declared:

Matthew 1:23 NIV

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

This scripture is telling us here that Jesus Is God. Understand that the child that was born of virgin birth was conceived of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 1:20 ESV

But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

So many get confused when Speaking about Jesus and want to make Him the 3rd individual and part of something called the trinity,

So many get confused when Speaking about Jesus and want to make Him the 3rd individual and part of something called the trinity,

· But understand what is saying.

· “That which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.”

In other words, the Father (Spirit) if you will of the Jesus Christ (Flesh) was the Holy Ghost.”

But then helps us understand the incarnation even more.

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

· Who was “manifest in the flesh?

· Jesus Christ – right?

· is also telling us here that Jesus was in fact God.

Then let’s look at…

Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me:

· What’s He talking about here?

· Let’s go back to But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

· When Jesus is saying that He is in the father and the father is in Him, what He is saying is that the Holy Ghost is in Him and He is in the Holy Ghost.

Do you see that?

The flesh of Jesus was simply that.

· Flesh.

· It hungered.

· It thirst.

· It was tempted.

· It was beaten and crucified and it even died.

· But it was resurrected through the power of the Holy Ghost who placed His seed into the womb of Mary at conception.

Now some choose to refer to the Father and that’s ok.

· But understand who the Father is.

· The Father is the Holy Ghost or the Holy Spirit.

Lets go back to : And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

Then Jesus told us in I am come in my Father's name…

· What name was that?

· And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.

Now who is the father of Jesus?

· The Holy Ghost – right?

· So let me ask you – If Jesus said “I am come in my Father’s name” …

· Then what is the name of the Father or Holy Ghost?

· “Jesus”

That’s what he said, “I am come in my Father’s name.

In other words, I have the same name as my father.

· So the name of the Holy Ghost.

· The name of the one who fathered Jesus was Jesus.

· “I am come in my Father’s name.”

Now I know this doesn’t make sense if we are talking about how human beings are conceived.

· But we are not talking about a mere human being here.

· We are talking about “God manifest in the Flesh”.

· “Or God Who Became Flesh”

So who could father God manifest in the Flesh, except God Himself.

· I know that doesn’t make sense to our natural mind, but that is what the scriptures tell us nonetheless.

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

So Jesus was not some third individual of a trinity

· Nor was he the second part of some dualistic Godhead.

· But according to 1 Timothy, Jesus was in fact God Manifest in the Flesh all by Himself.

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

The Jews seeing the miracles that He did and hearing the wisdom from which he taught asked Him the question.

· Because like the Muslims, they believed that Abraham was their father.

53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?

54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:

55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.

56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.

57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?

58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

· He told that to Moses… “Tell them “I Am” sent you.”

Then verse 59 tells us they got so mad at him for making himself greater than Abraham that they took up stones to Kill him.

But how could Jesus say that before Abraham was “I Am”?

· This was only possible because Jesus was the same God… manifest or made flesh that Abraham worshiped.

· This made the Jews mad.

· And this makes the Muslims mad.

· And this makes some Christians mad who want to make him only the smallest part of a triune Godhead.

· Why? Because Jesus is here telling them that He is in fact the God that Abraham worshipped.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

See, Jesus was not simply some 3rd part of God or a third individual who made up the godhead whose total makeup was God; kind of like the Hindu religion with all their gods.

· But Jesus, the Child that Isaiah spoke of here was in fact Wonderful.

o Anyone who knows and loves Jesus knows how wonderful He is?

o But that word Wonderful also means powerful and able to do great wonders.

o How many know He’s a miracle working God?!

But Isaiah also called Him what? Counselor.

· Or Teacher if you will.

· There has never been a teacher, rabbi or buddah like Jesus.

· His teachings perplexed the greatest philosophers and religious thinkers of His day and they still do to this day.

Then Isaiah called Him “The Mighty God”

· In other words, All Powerful.

· This is why when we call on the name of Jesus we can expect our prayers to be answered.

But then Isaiah called him the Everlasting Father.

· What?

· The psalmist said, Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

o Isaiah, if He is the Everlasting God from this day forward,

o Then He is the Everlasting God from this day backwards.

o Isaiah are you saying that this child that was to be born…

o This Jesus was and is the God of the eternities?

That’s exactly what he said – The Everlasting God.

· And that’s what Paul said in Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and forever.

See when you call on Jesus.

· You are calling on the One who created everything.

· That’s what the apostle John said… (KJV) All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

· John said that Jesus Christ was in fact the Creator of the universe and all that is in it.

John understood Jesus to be God almighty and all by Himself. He knew Him to be the creator of the universe.

Look at it again, talking about Jesus Christ… All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

· That makes Him better than Buddha,

· That makes Him better than the gods of Hinduism

· That makes Him better than Judaism and Islam

· That makes Him better than the New Age movement who doesn’t even have a God, but is led by channeling with demonic spirits.

· That makes Jesus Christ better than any religion in the world.

Why?

· Because our God, the creator of the universe…

· Cared enough about you and I to not let us die in our sins,

· But rather to come and pay the penalty of our sins on the Cross so that we could be saved today.

That makes Jesus Better.

How many know that Jesus is better?

And then Isaiah called Him The Prince of Peace.

· Oh My… This is what it’s all about.

· This is why He robed Himself in flesh and dwelt among us and allowed Himself to be crucified for our sins.

· Peace.

· This is the one thing that Jesus brings into the world that no other religion in the world can bring because Jesus brought salvation and with it a clear conscience before God into the world.

o All the searching

o All the philosophizing

o All the staring into the heavens and trying to figure out the reason and purpose for it all.

o All the false religions and false Christs as Jesus put it.

o All of these billions of people who are searching but never finding are trying to find peace.

o Peace with God.

o Peace with their maker.

o Peace with the one that judges every idle word, deed and action.

And the reason we can’t find peace is because our words, deeds and actions are evil and we know it.

· It eats us up.

· It destroys our lives in so many ways.

· But Jesus came to deliver us from our sins and as such offer us Peace with God.

· That’s why Isaiah called him the Prince of Peace.

Jesus the child that was born, the son that was given: who has authority over spiritual governments and powers: He is Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, and The Prince of Peace.

Jesus Is Better

· He’s better than Buddha,

· He’s better than Mohammad

· He’s better than any New Age philosophy

· He’s better than the 330 million gods of the Hindus

He’s better because He is God Himself and all by Himself.

· He doesn’t need any other God’s help.

· When you say Jesus, you said the name that is above every name.

9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.