God The Son

Reading Text:

Revelation 5:1-5 “Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.””

Introduction:

Today we will continue our brief overview into the Trinity.. The person we will focus on is God the Son: Jesus!

Let’s use a hypothetical scenario:

I’m driving ( I mean a person) is driving over the speed limit on a highway in Florida and a Florida highway patrol officer pulls them over. They scramble because they know they deserve a ticket, they see the patrol officer walking to the car. (Paint the rest of the picture). Then all of the sudden the person remembers a name of his fellow officer, so I asked (I mean the person) asked how he is doing? You know using the authoritative name in an attempt or effort to be let off.

?Why would the name matter and what power is in a name?

The name sets a standard for authority and power! There is a name above every other name! No higher authority or power: His name is Jesus! Everything pertaining to our faith is built upon the name of Jesus!

He is the 2nd person of the Trinity.

Transition:

Where would be a good place to start with expressing the person of Christ? I think the beginning would be His:

I. His Incarnation.

The incarnation: God’s becoming human; the union of divinity and humanity in Jesus of Nazareth.

Just from the definition alone reveals how important this doctrine is.

If this doctrine were to be false everything about faith is…false with it.

-It is awesome that this doctrine could never be revealed as false. All that set out to “disprove” it come to the conclusion: Jesus is God!

I guess that when you search for truth and God He will reveal it and Himself to them.

Transition:

He has the red carpet rolled out to present Himself to the World. He even has all throughout history prophecies that spoke of God coming to humanity in flesh and why.

- The first prophecy concerning Christ can be found in:

Genesis 3:15 “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.””

Humanity anticipated the birth of the one who would bring freedom!

Finally the bible records:

A. His Birth.

His birth must begin with the prophecy concerning His birth:

Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

It is fulfilled and we have it recorded in:

Luke 1:26-38 “In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 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…”

Jesus was a baby in the womb of a faithful servant.

Important side note here: Mary is no different than any other person who has faith in Jesus.

We all have been chosen to be used by Christs in amazing ways, she submitted and followed through. (Sometimes we don’t)

Her faith was recognized by God just as yours is as well. Hebrews speaks a lot about this in chapter 11.

Point:

Jesus’ birth being prophesied allowed an opportunity for people to believe and trust (have faith).

Transition:

Is your faith strengthened by knowing Christs’ birth was prophesied for the building of your faith?

It should be.

How was Jesus “different” than any other human? It is:

B. His “Substance”.

His substance can be described as divinity,

The:

Concise Theology: A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs Incarnation: God Sent His Son, to Save Us

The moment of truth regarding the doctrine of the Trinity came at the Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325), when the church countered the Arian idea that Jesus was God’s first and noblest creature by affirming that he was of the same “substance” or “essence” (i.e., the same existing entity) as the Father. Thus there is one God, not two; the distinction between Father and Son is within the divine unity, and the Son is God in the same sense as the Father is. In saying that Son and Father are “of one substance,” and that the Son is “begotten” (echoing “only-begotten,” John 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18, and NIV text notes) but “not made,” the Nicene Creed unequivocally recognized the deity of the man from Galilee.

The book of John records many claims by Christ about Himself and His nature.

He claimed to be God on many occasions.

He makes 7 famous “I Am” statements:

The Bread of Life John 6:35 “Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

The light of the world John 8:12 “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.””

The Door John 10:9 “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”

The good shepherd John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

The resurrection and the life John 11:25 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,”

The way the truth and the life John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

The vine John 15:1 ““I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.”

John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

Illustration:

Have you ever come across anyone who actually had a reputation that wasn’t a reputation, it was more of a description?

Point:

Jesus’ fame was heard throughout all the land and in every town He had a reputation that characterized Him.

Only his reputation was accurate. He is God and who He claimed to be!

Transition:

The council of Nicea concluded that Christ is of the same “substance” that God the Father is.

Enter: the importance of being:

C. The “Begotten” one.

Jesus made claims of Himself; but to cover any and all skeptical bases He is presented by the Father, to all.

Mark 1:11 “And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.””

The Voice was well pleased with Jesus!

Then in:

Mark 9:7-9 “And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only. And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.”

The Father testified that Jesus is God Himself!

Point:

The substance of Jesus is God in the Flesh!

He is the begotten one.

John 1:14 “14 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.”

Transition:

Barnes Notes says: “The term “Only Begotten” is never applied by John to any but Jesus Christ. It literally means an only child.

We may be called the children of God since we are born of His spirit; but the only Child Jesus is far above and deserves to be called “the only begotten one”.

Even though Jesus was human He is set apart from all humanity and one of those areas were:

II. His Wisdom.

Transition:

Jesus is recorded in the New Testament living and teaching wisdom for all to learn, and we can follow:

A. His Example.

? How did He react when He was tested by “smart” people?

Matthew 19:3 “And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?””

Jesus’ response was the example:

Think first

Speak truthfully and firmly!

on another occasion Jesus showed preference for us!

Mark 15:1-5 “And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate. And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” And the chief priests accused him of many things. And Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.” But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.”

Jesus sat silent!

? Have you ever wondered why Jesus said nothing in defense of Himself during His illegal trials?

I have, and the conclusion I have come up with is that Jesus only spoke truth.

If He were to respond it would’ve been truthful and He would have to be set free.

? Why would He want to stay in chains; knowing that He would be sentenced to death?

Because He thought of You and Me!

Illustration:

Lets say the family sheep was brought to the slaughter for the years sins, then the goat ran away and you now are left without a worthy sacrifice for your sins?

You would still bear your own sins and not have them covered before God.

Point:

Jesus was the only sufficient sacrifice for your sins forever! He gave Himself willingly for us!

Transition:

His example of preferring others more than self is important. Especially when it comes to giving preference to God. But we also have:

B. His Teaching.

Jesus left us a lot of teaching. He left us:

Commands

Parables

Illustrations

Life lessons

Warnings for

Choices

The enemy and his schemes

The future

A offensive weapon, etc…

Illustration:

We could read Jesus’ sermon on the mount for a lot of our life of faith.

Point:

Jesus in His wisdom knew all the ways we need to learn something and it was complete lacking nothing!

John 20:30-31 “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

Transition:

Believe His words and have life (every moment of every day) in His name.

He revealed Himself and proclaimed Himself to the World and the biggest Impact He made was through:

III. His Work.

Transition:

Jesus came to accomplish the extension of grace and mercy; but since He is eternal and outside of time what was He doing:

A. Before His Incarnation.

John 1:1-3 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

Colossians 1:15-16 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 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.”

Illustration:

Jesus was present with the Father and the Spirit at creation; but when it was time He stepped into flesh and blood for the forgiveness of sins.

Point:

Jesus was always plan “A” and He didn’t fail or not follow through.

Transition:

He had to live in:

B. In Human Form.

Hebrews 4:14-15 “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

Illustration:

Have you ever went through something difficult and from a caring place people attempted to help.

You knew their intentions and were appreciative; but they really had no idea what it was like because it didn’t happen to them?

Point:

Sometimes we need to speak with someone that understands because they have been there. It is their wisdom we value over those who are working from love and theories.

Transition:

Jesus understands every aspect of your struggles and mine. Not just because He loves you and is God; but because He has been there.

Disclaimer: this excludes self-inflicted problems . That’s on you! But in His wisdom provides a way of reconciliation and repentance.

After His work was finished and headed back to heaven He sits:

C. On His Throne.

We are told He is our mediator:

1 Timothy 2:5-6 “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”

Illustration:

When I was a kid there was this boy who treated people any way he wanted. ?How could he get away with that?

it was because he knew that if there were any problems his older brother would take care of it for him.

He was emboldened to act that way!

Point:

When we know that Jesus (God) is on our side fighting our battles, nothing in this world should scare us.

We can boldly go forward with the Fathers will (using our talents and the gifts given at our new birth)!

Transition:

A lot of times we might accidentally boil Jesus down to the Savior and the sacrifice for our sins, neglecting His equality in the Trinity.

Conclusion:

-Jesus existed before His incarnation; but for you and for me He left His throne.

He became Emmanuel.

- Since God was here He allowed us to learn some of:

His Wisdom.

- By His example and teaching. Yet that was not the main point He fulfilled:

His Work.

- He was worthy to extend Grace and Mercy to all who believe then is fighting on their behalf.

Jesus, God living with man, as He did in the Garden but living out His agenda, for who?

* For us! Wow that’s amazing!

- Pray!

Dismissal - be reminded that Jesus is God and has the same attributes as the Father, receive His gift and learn His wisdom (The Bible)!