Who is Jesus? I AM!

Who Is Jesus? I AM • Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

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Sermon series Intro: Jesus was Emmanuel, God with Us, dwelling with us in order to teach and show us who He is, so we can find our identity through Him.

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Proverbs 8:32–36 NASB95

“Now therefore, O sons, listen to me, For blessed are they who keep my ways. “Heed instruction and be wise, And do not neglect it. “Blessed is the man who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at my doorposts. “For he who finds me finds life And obtains favor from the Lord. “But he who sins against me injures himself; All those who hate me love death.”

Proverbs 8:32–36 NASB95

Introduction:

Who are you? What is your identity? How would you answer if someone asked you that question? To better understand that question, we need to look at the definition of identity. Look with me at how the Webster’s dictionary defines “identity.”

Definition of identity

1a : the distinguishing character or personality of an individual : individuality b : the relation established by psychological identification 2 : the condition of being the same with something described or asserted establish the identity of stolen goods 3a : sameness of essential or generic character in different instances b : sameness in all that constitutes the objective reality of a thing : oneness 4 : an equation that is satisfied for all values of the symbols 5 : identity element

Now think for a moment what your answer might be if someone asked you this question.

Identity-see pictures Think a moment what your answer might be.

A movie came out this past year that addressed this question. Watch with me their discussion on the subject.

Who am I?, part 1 video clip (2:54)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgqaGu9KlDwC

If God is Lord of our life, He is number one in our life. He is what defines us. That should be our number one identity and it should

If Jesus is Lord of your life, He is to be number one in your life. That should be your first identification and that identification should influence all other identifications. But if we are to identify with Christ, we have to have some perspective of who He is.

We have just come through the seasons of Advent and Christmas. Tomorrow is the Day of Epiphany and it begins the season of Epiphany. So look with me at the definition of “epiphany” a moment.

Definition of epiphany

1 capitalized : January 6 observed as a church festival in commemoration of the coming of the Magi as the first manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles or in the Eastern Church in commemoration of the baptism of Christ 2 : an appearance or manifestation especially of a divine being 3a(1) : a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something (2) : an intuitive grasp of reality through something (such as an event) usually simple and striking (3) : an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure b : a revealing scene or moment

What are the stories of the Magi’s coming and the Baptism of Jesus epiphanal moments? Because they were events that suddenly made clear who Jesus was; God’s Son. However, He is even more than that as we will see today.

January 6 begins the season of Epiphany. The season continues until Ash Wednesday at which point we begin the season of Lent.

the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi (). the festival commemorating the Epiphany on January 6.a manifestation of a divine or supernatural being.a moment of sudden revelation or insight.

noun noun: Epiphany; noun: epiphany; plural noun: epiphanies the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi (). the festival commemorating the Epiphany on January 6.a manifestation of a divine or supernatural being.

We have just come through Christmas where we have celebrated the birth of Jesus and we have seen the uproar it caused; some rejoiced, some ignored and some reacted violently to it. So who was this king baby born in such a humble way. It seems fitting to spend the season of epiphany exploring that subject.

Although all the gospel writers declared who Jesus is, the one who was most graphic was John. They each wrote with a different group of people in mind and a different focus. Matthew wrote for the Jews and focused on Jesus fulfillment of prophecy showing He was the foretold Messiah and King. Mark wrote for the benefit of the Romans giving emphasis to the servant Jesus. Luke wrote for the Greeks placing his emphasis on the sympathetic Son of Man. However, John wrote to Jews and Gentiles presenting Jesus as the Son of God. Throughout John’s gospel he focuses on seven “I Am” statements that Jesus made and those will be what will explore of the next seven weeks. However, today we will look at John’s introduction which is a beautiful thesis declaring Jesus deity.

John 1:1–18 NASB95

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 came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. 6 There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. 9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 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 saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ ” 16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

John 1:1-18

Pray

I. Who is Jesus?

John knows it is essentially for everyone to understand who Jesus is. John declares his purpose in his writings in .

John 20:31 NASB95

but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

If we are to be saved; if we are to have life in Jesus name, we have to know who Jesus is. So John boldly declares it first thing in his gospel...

John boldly declares it first thing in his gospel...

A. Jesus is eternal God (vv 1-2, 14)

John 1:1–2 NASB95

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.

John 1:14 NASB95

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

This is one of the most profound references to the relationship of the Trinity. If you have never heard the teachings of the Trinity before, I will do my best to describe it for you, though no one fully understand it. By very nature it is alien to us, but the truth is that the concept of God is foreign to us. We have no idea really, of who exactly God is. The idea of the Trinity is best understood through tradition of those who interacted the most with God. People like Moses and the disciples who spent time at the feet of Jesus listening to His teachings. It is the idea that God is one, yet presents in three unique beings; God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

Often an illustration is used of an egg. You have one egg, but three parts; shell, whites, and yoke. But we do not describe an egg as three, but as one. Now this is not a perfect illustration as it is an item, not a person. But as we look into these first few verses of John we see this unity and association between Jesus Christ and God the Father.

First, John points to Jesus as...

1. Jesus is pre-existent, eternal God (v 1)

John begins with “In the beginning...” taking our mind back to . He says “In the beginning was the Word.” Word is capitalized designating it a name. The word used here is “Logos” and it is a brilliant beginning. The word “logos” was familiar to both the Jews and the Greeks. For the Jews, it reflected their wisdom and prophetic writings. For the Greeks, it was an important word as they were very philosophic in their thinking. They were always seeking the meaning of life, and the word “logos” meant “speaking, a message, or words.” It is the word for which we get our word “logic.” For the Greeks, they were on a quest for logic, or “the purpose of life.” They loved to read, discuss and philosophize on the subject. So this word “logos” would instantly grab their attention. And John does so as he declares that “the Logos” is a person, but even more than that, pre-existent and eternal God.

The beginning John is talking about is so easily understood by his wording to be the creation of all things. We have no concept of that and what we often think is very wrong. I am going to demonstrate it as best I can with our ppt. We have this idea that God is an entity that was floating alone in space. However, that is incorrect. There was no space. There was no atmosphere. There was no time. There was God as demonstrated by the 2nd slide.

But next we see that God was not alone because

2. Jesus is eternally in community with God (v 1)

Eternally in community with God

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.”

There is this continual sense of community between Jesus and God and in other places we see that the Holy Spirit is also part of this Holy union. There are all kinds of the books in this world about how we were made to be in community. Why? Because we were made in God’s image and God is a being of community.

But if that isn’t even, John says that...

3. Jesus is God

Jesus is God

John 1:1 NASB95

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

John 1:2 NASB95

He was in the beginning with God.

Jesus was not some being that God decided to suddenly create. Jesus always was. Not only did Jesus always exist, but Jesus is God. Jesus as the Logos is our revealer of God Himself. God revealing Himself to us in a form we can relate to and understand. Isn’t that what words are all about? Communication. We use words to teach, to describe to communicate. And Jesus is the living Word of God to us.

In Jesus says,

John 10:30 NASB95

“I and the Father are one.”

Let me ask you this. Why was Jesus crucified? For something He had done? No, there was nothing He had done wrong. That is why they had such a hard time persuading Pilot and Herod to crucify. Jesus was innocent of all wrong doing. Jesus was not crucified for things He had done. He was crucified on the charge of “blaspheme” because they denied His claim to be God.

Oh, and by the way, He was exonerated from the charge of blaspheme the moment He was resurrected from the dead. God does not bring back from the dead someone who is claiming to be Him, unless it is Him. :-) No other religion has grown so fast or made such a huge impact on our world like Christ. His birth changed how the calendar is viewed (B.C. and A.C.)

There are many who have claimed to be Christ, but their claims never outlived them…except Jesus. Those who have said they were Christ lived to glorify themselves and mislead and abused their followers. Not Christ. Christ died for His followers and His teachings are declared to be wise and promote healthy living even by those who deny He is the Son of God.

But lets move on. The next thing we see in conjunction with verses 1 & 2 is that...

Jesus is maker of all things (v. 3)

4. Jesus is maker of all things (v. 3)

John 1:3 NASB95

All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

John 1:3

How was the world created? By the spoken word. Who is the Word of God. Jesus is the Logos, the Word of God.

Genesis 1:1–3 NASB95

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

Genesis 1:1–2 NASB95

Genesis 1:1-

If nothing can be made apart from Jesus and God created the heavens and the earth, then Jesus is God. Pre-existent, eternal, one with the Father and the son.

In God says...

Isaiah 44:6 NASB95

“Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me.

In the Children of Israel declared.

1 Chronicles 17:20 NASB95

“O Lord, there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

Where did they hear it with their own ears? From Mount Sinai. God spoke to the Children of Israel from the mountain until their fear demanded that Moses go and talk to God alone upon the mountain. God revealed Himself as One, yet also reveals Himself in various places as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We may not understand it, but then we aren’t God. How can we expect to understand what we have never seen with our own eyes aside from one small part. It is like the illustration of the three blind man feeling a different part of an elephant and not fully understanding the whole. They can believe or argue all they want, it does not change what is.

In verse 14, we find one more incredible aspect of Jesus.

5. Jesus is the incarnate Word (v. 14)

John 1:14 NASB95

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

God took on flesh and walked among us. Living as we live. Experiencing all we experience. Jesus taught verbally about God and when He left, His teachings lived on in written word. Thankfully we have a book that provides for us the teachings about God from God for ourselves. We could not all live in those same 33 years, but His words live on and is the most read book of all times.

Next we see John says...

B. Jesus is Life & Light (vv. 4 - 5)

John 1:4–5 NASB95

In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

Look with me first at the concept to “life.”

1. Life

There are two words used for life in the New Testament.

a. Bios - “physical life” I don’t think that needs explaining. However, the other word is the one used here.

b. Zoe - “spiritual life” The meaning being that in Jesus we gain our spiritual life.

John states in 10:10

John 10:10 NASB95

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

Here again we see “zoe” being used. He is talking about our spiritual life, our eternal life. Only through Jesus death and resurrection can we gain this life. He had died for all, but the only way we can receive it is to believe He is who He said and did what He did for us. Then we must chose to follow Him.

John 3:16 NASB95

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

But not only is Jesus “life”, but He is our Light.

2. Light

The word light here is the same word for which we get our word “enlighten” or “enlightenment.” It has to do with revelation and hope. Jesus is our hope! He brings revelation of truth and how we can find true “zoe/life”.

The seasons of advent, Christmas, and Epiphany are considered the “Cycle of Light.” It is the time of Emmanuel, God with us. The Light has entered our world.

Starting with Lent we enter enter the “Cycle of Life.” During this time we see “God for us” not just “with us.” We focus on all that Christ suffered on our behalf so we can appreciate what He has done for us.

I had a parent ask me one time, “Surely you do not teach the children about the crucifixion. It is too sad!” To which I responded, “The crucifixion is the very foundation of all we believe. It is not sad as it is the event that procures our freedom and life!” If Jesus had not come to die, we would still be living with animal sacrifices and no means to obtain heaven. The animal sacrifices did not get us entry into heaven, Jesus sacrifice did. The animal sacrifices were imperfect and temporary. They helped us to understand the need for what would happen when Jesus came.

But when Jesus came, they did not understand at first. Look at .

John 1:5 NASB95

The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

Much of what Jesus taught was not fully understood until after His resurrection. I believe Jesus remained for those 40 more days as He could better help them understand now that they had their preconceived notions out of the way.

At this point, John shifts gears to clarify something. It is important that we...

a. Don’t confuse the messenger with the message. ()

John 1:6–9 NASB95

There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.

It is easy to put spiritual leaders up on a pedestal. It had been a lot of years since Israel had a really good prophet. Then came John the Baptist. John’s ministry began before Jesus. So John clarifies that John the Baptist was not the Light only a witness to the Light. It was John’s place to point the people to the real light. In fact, John follows today’s passage with John’s testimony.

John 1:19–20 NASB95

This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”

John 1:

John 1:29–31 NASB95

The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! “This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ “I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.”

John 1:

Notice John’s insight into the truth here. John is older and yet he declares, “He existed before me.” Here again we see this declaration that Jesus is pre-existent God.

However, no matter how good or righteous a person may appear, they are not the “Light.” They can only give testimony to “the Light.”

But even with John’s testimony we find varied responses from people.

1. Many reject Him. ()

John 1:10–11 NASB95

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.

Can you imagine how hard it must have been for Him. He created these people. He created them out of love and a desire to have a relationship with them. He had chosen these Jews to be a special people. He had done incredible things for them throughout the years. Now He stands among them and they reject Him. However, that was not always the case because...

2. Some received Him. ()

John 1:12–13 NASB95

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

For those who receive Him, they experience the blessing of understanding just why they had been created. To be the Children of God. In our world there are three situation into which children are born. They are created out of love and loved, they are chosen out of love and adopted, and their are those who were created without love or desire and rejected. Adopted children can sometimes understand that it is special to be chosen and loved, but it never replaces the ache of the parent who had them and gave them away unless they learn that the birth parent did it to provide for their welfare. However, with God, He is our creator. We were created in and out of love. But then He adopts us out of that love to be His children. There is nothing that can replace that. What is our purpose? To love God and be loved by God. There is nothing more perfect than to be able to love and know you are loved!

Finally, we see in this passage...

C. Jesus is full of grace and truth (v 14)

John 1:14 LEB

And the Word became flesh and took up residence among us, and we saw his glory, glory as of the one and only from the Father, full of grace and truth.

This God in the flesh, came and “dwelt (tabernacled) among us.

“But will God indeed dwell on the earth?” asked Solomon as he dedicated the temple (). A good question, indeed! God’s glory had dwelt in the tabernacle (), and in the temple (), but that glory had departed from disobedient Israel (; , ; ). Then a marvelous thing happened: the glory of God came to His people again, in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ.

And He is full of “grace” and “truth”.

1. Grace = “unearned love of God.”

Jesus was the picture of love. He walked among the lonely, the lowly, the down-trodden. He poured out God’s love upon all He came upon and the only time we see Him angry is when He sees His priests taking advantage of His people in the temple.

John the Baptist says,

John 1:15–16 NASB95

John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ ” For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.

John 1:

Grace upon grace…makes you think of the ocean waves as they continue to roll onto the beach. It never ends. It is consistent in its duration. Unlike our grace which runs out. We at times extend grace, but if it is being taken advantage of or we feel we are not getting anything in return we get impatient and give up. Or sometimes we just get tired and our grace runs out, however, God’s grace is constant.

2. Truth = “The body of real things, events and facts: Actuality.”

Jesus was always direct. He had nothing to prove. As God, He knows all truth and tells all truth.

John 1:17 NASB95

For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.

John 1:

The Law provided us guidelines, but the truth of it all was found in Jesus Christ. Because the basis of all truth comes from God and Jesus is God in the flesh.

John 1:18 NRSV

No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

You can not make someone known you have never met. And if you have met someone, you can only describe what you know personally. No person fully knows another person. Even after many years of marriage I have heard people declare that their spouse did something that surprised them. We can never fully know anyone. However, Jesus, as God, can make the Father known to us. They know each other fully, intimately beyond anything we can ever understand.

John 14:6 NASB95

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

Conclusion:

The world today wants to declare truth relative. Each person is to be given the right to make their own truth, but by its very nature that is not truth. It is through the Logos we find truth. The incarnate Logos and the written Logos provide us truth. However, we each must make a choice whether or not to receive it. We cannot just receive part of it. If we say, “I accept this part, but not that part” well then we have just rejected it all. Jesus provides us truth and tells us what we are suppose to do with it. When we do, it changes our life which just bears witness to the truth of it.

Some declared Jesus a liar, but could the lies of one man so profoundly change the course of history as the story of Jesus does? Others declare Jesus a lunatic, yet no one will deny the wisdom of His teachings. They profess to live us a life leads to living a good life. Could a lunatic or the teachings of a lunatic have such an effect on the lives of people even after these 2,000 years?

If you have made your choice and you choose to believe, then I hope you are following through be being obedient to His Logos in the Bible. If you have not made that choice yet, but you wish to do so today. It is as easy as A B C.

Admit you have Sinned. (Romans 3:23)

Romans 3:23 NASB95

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Believe On Jesus Christ. (John 5:24)

John 5:24 NASB95

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

Confess Christ Publicly. (Romans 10:9)

Romans 10:9 NASB95

that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

I began this sermon with a video clip. Allow me to end with another clip with another persons response from the movie.

All evidence points to Jesus being the Son of God. This demands a response from us.

Who am I, part 2 video clip (1.06)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax3p-m4Z78U

Pray & Dismiss

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Who is Jesus? I AM!

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Definition of epiphany

I. Who is Jesus?

A. Jesus is eternal God (vv 1-2, 14)

1. Jesus is pre-existent, eternal God (v 1)

2. Jesus is eternally in community with God (v 1)

3. Jesus is God

4. Jesus is maker of all things (v. 3)

5. Jesus is the incarnate Word (v. 14)

B. Jesus is Life & Light (vv. 4 - 5)

1. Life

2. Light

a. Don’t confuse the messenger with the message. ()

1. Many reject Him. ()

2. Some received Him. ()

C. Jesus is full of grace and truth (v 14)

1. Grace = “unearned love of God.”

2. Truth = “The body of real things, events and facts: Actuality.”

Admit you have Sinned. (Romans 3:23)

Believe On Jesus Christ. (John 5:24)

Confess Christ Publicly. (Romans 10:9)