Sermon Tone Analysis

We Like to… Debate?

Last week, I started our time together by discussing how we, as human beings, are inquisitive.

We like to know things.

We like to know the answers to things.

We spend huge chunks of our lives seeking truth, and researchers spend literally billions of their supporters dollars seeking new discoveries.

As I stated last week, there are some things we cannot answer, because they are mysteries of God.

This is unacceptable to some, but truly it is part of life, especially that of a Christian.

We cannot always know the mysteries of God, and much we won’t understand until we are with Christ in glory.

But another thing we as human beings enjoy, is a good debate.

We do some research and come to a conclusion, and someone else does similar research and concludes something else.

Now it is human nature to want to argue our case with those who think differently than us.

The words I’ve used to describe this situation are pretty pleasant.

I say we like to debate.

In reality, most humans just like to argue.

A debate requires you to listen to the other side, while, in an argument he or she who argues loudest and last feels triumphant, and listening is not a priority.

Unfortunately, Christians are not immune to this.

In fact, there are few more bitter arguments I have personally witnessed than theological and religious arguments.

It’s why it’s not just “no politics at the Christmas dinner”, but “no religion” as well.

For some of us, we want to staunchly defend the beliefs of our parents and the church we grew up in.

Some of us spend a lot of time thinking and studying and praying and developing our own conclusions, and we take offense when those conclusions are challenged.

Or, maybe we think ourselves superior in our knowledge and to show others that they are wrong.

For all of us who are truly Christians, our beliefs are so significant to us because our faith is so important to us.

Our understanding of salvation has eternal consequences.

And so, we argue with each other.

Genesis - literal?

Figurative?

BUT WHAT MATTERS FROM THIS NARRATIVE?

There was nothing!

GOD CREATED EVERYTHING.

He did it in an orderly fashion - the universe is not chaos.

GOD RULES EVERYTHING.

GOD CREATED MAN FOR A PURPOSE, and gave him dominion over parts of creation, and also, gave him choice.

Argue all you want about the meaning of Hebrew word translated as day.

Could be 24 hours, could be a thousand years, could be completely figurative, but don’t argue that which is essential.

God is creator.

God is Ruler.

God is Sovereign.

Like creation… The nature of Christ is one of these arguments.

Some sects that call themselves “Christian” will want to argue much about Jesus - about whether God the Son is eternal, about whether or not he is a “created” being.

But the eternal Son of God coming to earth as a real human is essential part of what it is to be a Christian.

The confession of a genuine incarnation is one of the basic theological affirmations of Christianity.72

Although Christians may differ on a number of theological issues, the incarnation has been one of the few boundary doctrines that applies to all who are legitimately called by the name of Christ.

I think part of this is that it is hard for people to reconcile the idea of the Trinity.

Father, son and holy spirit?

Monotheism (The Lord our God is One)

One God in three persons

Not one god who acts in different ways at different times

Not one god who is split three ways like a pie

Not one god who started as God the Father Creating, then changed substance to become God the Son incarnate as Jesus, then changed substance again to be the Holy Spirit.

But rather, One God.

Who at the same time is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit.

Three persons.

One God.

All of the same substance, all united, operating together yet independently.

One God, who at one moment in time - who at one very significant moment in the history of creation - existed as God the Father in Heaven, and God the Holy Spirit who had been filling Jesus since his baptism, and Jesus ans God the Son who was on his knees in the garden of Gethsemane pleading with God the Father.

Are you confused yet?

Don’t be.

Though today I won’t clear up for you the mystery of the Trinity for you, I do want to finish this Sunday morning with you having a clear understanding of the Deity of Jesus Christ.

That Jesus existed as God the Son for eternity past, that he is God today, and will be God forever.

The Deity of Jesus / Jesus as God

The Son of God vs God the Son

The Son of God

Jesus is given two “son of titles”, that mean two very different things: Son of God, and Son of Man.

Son of Man we will talk about next week, but today we are going to talk about Jesus as the “Son of God”.

I want to start of by telling you this is a complicated relationship.

Not complicated like an earthly father-son relationship can be, but complicated in that there are several difficult things to process.

First, Jesus was literally born as the human son of the eternal God.

Though quite different in execution, Jesus is God’s son like Benjamin is my son.

One of our inquisitive church members asked me last week while discussing this how the genetics work.

Does Jesus’s Y chromosome someone contain God’s DNA.

I won’t get into this, but those are the types of questions that entertain me.

Does that have any eternal significance?

No.

But is it interesting to wonder how that all worked, considering that God himself is not human and thus does not have human DNA?

Absolutely, that is interesting.

But, regardless of genetics, Jesus the boy - Jesus the man - is literally the earthly son of God.

We see this quite clearly in the Christmas story.

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.

When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.

19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.

20 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.

21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

and they shall call his name Immanuel”

(which means, God with us).

“From the Holy Spirit” - the Trinity

God the Son

John 1:1-18

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.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

7He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.

8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.

11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.

12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

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.

15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’