The Presence and Presented Work of Christ

The Unmistakable Deity of Christ

Introduction

Two weeks ago we discussed the promise of the coming Christ. We saw how detailed the progressive revelation of the coming Christ was shown throughout the Old Testament. We saw the proto-evangelium, or foremost Gospel in Genesis 3:15. We saw the future blessing to the world through Abraham in Genesis 12, 18, and 22. Isaiah 53 fleshed out the future sacrifice of the Messiah. And finally, Daniel 7:13-14 described the future reigning of the Son of Man. All of these were written long before Jesus came to each. How wonderful and sovereign is our God!

Today we are going to move on to discuss the time in which Jesus was on earth as well as some eternal understandings of who Christ is. We are going to go through what the Scriptures really say about His deity. Did He really claim to be God? If so, where is it found in Scripture? Did He really do miracles or have supernatural powers? If so, what did He actually do?

I pray as we go through these Scriptures today that we can have a more thorough view of how wonderful Jesus is.

Prayer

We are going to be all over the place in Scripture but the theme will be consistent. We are going to discuss the Presence and Presented Work of Christ. Don’t feel rushed to turn back and forth in your Bibles as I will have the Scriptures in your outline to refer back to after we are done. I will also be sure to post the manuscript of this on our website so you can review it as well. Take this time listen and digest the truths of the Scripture about Jesus’ unmistakable deity.

And remember as we move forward why we are doing this short series. We want to know and understand the Jesus that we are telling people about. A better understanding of who Jesus is will help us love Him more and give us more desire to tell others about Him!

There will be two overarching points in this message. We are going to discuss the Presence of the Incarnate Christ and the Presented Work of Christ. Let’s dive into the first point here:

I. The Presence of the Incarnate Christ

A) The Virgin Birth (Luke 1:35)

Luke 1:35 ESV

35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.

i. Why is the virgin birth so important?

1. It is pivotal to understand that Christ is fully God and fully man. As we discussed last week, Christ had to be fully man in order to die and be a sacrifice. God cannot die. Yet Christ must also be fully God in order to be the true Messiah and God incarnate.

2. Many liberal theologians try to explain away the importance of the virgin birth. However, we must stand firm on the truth of the Word of God as this is a hinge in which the Gospel hangs.

3. The virgin birth is also important because it points to the sinless nature of Christ. Each of us is born with a sin nature that we inherit from Adam. Christ was not born with this because his earthly body was created directly by the Holy Spirit. He was the new and better Adam (Romans 5:12-21)! Adam was created sinless, but took on sin through his disobedience. Christ has always existed sinless and had his body created sinless by the Holy Spirit and never did subject His given body to sin until He bore our sin on the cross as the perfect sacrificial lamb!

4. Finally, the virgin birth is important because it prophesied in the Old Testament – Isaiah 7:14.

Isaiah 7:14 ESV

14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

ii. Transition: Scripture clearly shows that Christ was born of the Virgin Mary and miraculously conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. John goes a step further in showing the deity of Christ:

B) The Logos (John 1:1-3)

John 1:1 ESV

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

i. Jesus is called the Logos here. This word means word. In the beginning was the Word (John 1:1). What does that starting verse remind you of? Genesis 1:1.

Genesis 1:1 ESV

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

John 1:2–3 ESV

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.

This allusion to creation is clarified even further as John articulates that Jesus made everything and everything was made through Him. John wants his readers to understand that Jesus has always been and that Jesus is God. He clearly illustrates this by saying Jesus was in the beginning with God, that the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:2-3).

ii. Transition: Thus far we have seen that Jesus was born miraculously and that he is God in the flesh. Let’s move on to two more Scriptures that illustrate this concept further:

C) a. The Exact Imprint (Heb 1:3) (Col 2:9)

Hebrews 1:3 ESV

3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

i. The reference to exact imprint given here came from the idea of engraving. It was also used when discussing an exact impression of a seal. It was to show that this is a legitimate document or letter. He is not like God. He is not a type of God. He is the real deal. He is the exact imprint of God. He is God in the flesh.

Colossians 2:9 ESV

9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,

i. Colossians 2:9 states that in him (Christ) the fullness of deity dwells bodily.

ii. Paul takes this concept a step further and shows us that Christ is fully complete and sufficient in Himself. The fullness of the Godhead, or Trinity, dwells in the body of Christ! How much more clearly can it be explained that Jesus is God! The Greek word given here for ‘lives’ or ‘dwells’ is a verb that suggests permanent residence. Christ is God and always will be God.

iii. Transition: Moving to the next Scripture in this same book of Colossians we see the:

D) The Pre-eminence (Col 1:15-20)

Colossians 1:15–17 ESV

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Colossians 1:18–20 ESV

18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

i. Christ is over all. The word pre-eminent literally means surpassing all others. We discussed the erroneous interpretation of firstborn of creation that is seen in the teachings of Arianism and the Jehovah’s Witnesses last week. This firstborn statement instead refers to Christ’s pre-eminence.

i. We see here that Christ is before all things and that He created all things. Don’t miss that everything was created by Christ. We see here visible and invisible things were all created by Christ! It is clear that Christ is not a created being!

ii. Jesus is above all.

ii. Transition: And finally, we get to the pivotal statement of Jesus’ claim to be God:

E) The “I Am” (John 8:56-59, Exodus 3:14)

Exodus 3:14 ESV

14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”

i. Exodus 3:14 – Here we see Moses meeting with God at the burning bush. Moses realizes that he carries no real power or weight and asks God who to say sent him. God responds by telling Moses to tell the people of Israel that “I Am Who I Am” has sent him. This was an amazing name to given. The verb root is “to be” and God repeats it for emphasis here. It is all-encompassing. It shows God’s transcendence. He is not limited by time. There is no God was or God will be. God only is. He is over all. As we further understand this amazing name for God we see why the Jews shuttered when Jesus referred to Himself in this way:

John 8:56–59 ESV

56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

i. John 8:56-59 – The context of this passage shows the Jews have just accused Jesus of being a Samaritan and having a demon. Jesus answers them and explains more about who He is. At the end of this section of Scripture he states that their father Abraham rejoiced in the coming of Jesus (remember the prophesies about the Messiah in Genesis 12, 18, and 22 through the nations and families of earth being blessed through the line of Abraham). The Jews balk at His claim. So Jesus ends this with a finale stating, “Truly, truly (note the repetition as we saw in Exodus 3:14), I say to you, before Abraham was, I Am.”

i. Some may lie and say that Jesus didn’t claim to be God. It is very apparent that the Jews understood what Jesus was saying here. They picked up stones to throw at Him. That was the punishment for blasphemy. They knew what He just said.

Transition: Jesus is the “I Am.” He is the transcendent God and Creator of the Heavens and the earth. We have seen the unmistakable deity of Christ in His Presence. Now we will briefly discuss this in:

Other Scripture References: Romans 5:12-21, Isaiah 7:14 , Genesis 12, 18, 22

II. The Presented Work of Christ

A) Healing and Forgiving of Sins (Luke 5:20-26)

Luke 5:20–23 ESV

20 And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” 21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 22 When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, “Why do you question in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?

Luke 5:24–26 ESV

24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.” 25 And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. 26 And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”

i. We see multiple times in Scripture the power of Christ over infirmities. He heals time and time again. This is a unique section because He not only heals the paralytic; He states that the man’s sins are forgiven. Only God can do such a thing. Verse 21 points out that the Pharisees and Scribes point out that this is blasphemy. Yet once they see the power of Christ in His healing, they are unable to really do anything about what He just said! His work has spoken for itself. His deity has clearly been made manifest.

ii. Transition: Next we see Jesus’ deity presented through His power in three different ways.

B) The Power of Christ Displayed

1) The Power of Christ Over Provision

The Feeding of the 5,000 (Matthew 14:13-21, Luke 9:10-17, Mark 6:30-44, John 6:1-13).

a. Jesus shows His deity by providing for an enormous amount of people. I’m sure many of us have been informed that the 5,000 mentioned here were just the males. There were also many others along with these men – wives and children. Yet Jesus takes five loaves of bread and two fish and feeds an entire crowd. He shows that He the Creator and Provider. He is the God who can speak matter into existence.

2. Transition: We then move on and see his:

2) The Power of Christ Over Nature

The Calming of the Storm (Matthew 8:23-27, Mark 4:35-41, Luke 8:22-25)

a. Just when you didn’t think you could be any more impressed with Jesus, He goes one step further. A storm is ravaging the ship that Jesus is asleep on. These experienced fishermen have lost all hope of living. Yet they awaken Jesus and the winds die down and the storm ceases at the word of His mouth (Mark 4:39 – Peace! Be Still!).

2. Transition: Finally we come to the our final point in proving of the deity of Christ in relation to his works by seeing His:

3) The Power of Christ Over Life and Death

1. Lazarus (John 11:38-44)

2. Jairus’ daughter (Matthew 9:18-26, Mark 5:21-43, Luke 8:40-56)

3. Widow’s Son at Nain (Luke 7:11-17)

a. Each one of these miraculous events would give a wonderful sermon. However, we are just going to briefly mention them as we see the power of Christ on display here.

Lazarus is resurrected after four days. Jairus’ daughter is pronounced dead far before Jesus arrives. And the widow’s son at Nain is resurrected while the bearers carry him for burial!

b. Who, but God has the power over life and dead?

Conclusion:

Today has been a fun exposition of the deity of Christ through His Presence and His presented work. I hope that we all have an even more clear understanding of the deity of Christ – the unmistakable deity of Christ. As we close today, let’s spend some time reflecting on our own hearts and minds. Do you believe that Jesus is who He said he is? Do you understand Jesus Christ to be fully God and fully man – the sacrificial atonement for the sins of the world – the preeminent above all – the Creator God – the only name by which man may be saved? I pray that you not only know Christ as Lord and Savior, but that your love for Him continues to grow to the point that you can’t help to tell others.

Prayer

Let us pray.