JESUS CHRIST THE SON OF GOD

Christianity differs from all religion because it is more than a religion—it is the life of the Son of God made living in man. Christ is Christianity and Christianity is Christ. He is the supreme subject of each book of the New Testament, and   all the promises of God in the Old Testament, from His incarnation to “His Second Coming as “Lord of Lords” and King of Kings(Rev. 17:14) He is the God-man Christ Jesus in glory exalted above all creatures, having “all power in heaven and in earth (Mtt.28:18)

During His earthly ministry He claimed to be God incarnate (in human flesh). He is all that He claimed to be, or He is less than the least  (Rev/ 1:8) Before His claim can be denied there are some things that must be accounted for:

His virgin birth

His holy, sinless life

His many miracles

His vicarious death and His bodily resurrection.

I.THE DEITY OF JESUS CHRIST

Read John 1:1

The deity of Jesus Christ or His God nature, is well established in the New Testament some of the facts are:

• He is called God by the Apostle John (above verse 1)
• He is called God by the Apostle Thomas (John 20:28)
• He is called God by God the Father (Heb. 1:8)
• He claimed to be God in that He was with the Father before creation (John 17:5)
• He claimed to be God in that He was before Abraham. “Abraham rejoice to see my day …John 8: 51-58.
• He received worship, and only God is to be worshiped (Matt. 14:33) Angels refused worship. (Rev. 22:8,9) Man refused worship (Acts 10:25,26)
• He forgives sin. (Mark 2:5-11) Only God can forgive sin
• He is creator and maker of all things (Col. 1:16)
• He is sustainer of all things(Heb. 1:3). Only God can control the universe/
• He claimed to have “all power in and in earth”(Matt. 28:18).Only God has all power
• He walked upon the blue waters of Galilee.The winds and the waves obeyed His command. He healed the sick and raised the dead. He gave sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf. He cast out demons and made the lame to walk. He turned water into wine, and fed five thousand with the lunch of a lad.

 

II.THE HUMANITY OF JESUS CHRIST

Read Romans 1:3,4

 

The humanity of Jesus Christ is seen in His human parentage. (Matt. 2:11)

• He developed as normal human being (Luke 2:52)
• He was subject to all the sinless infirmities of the human nature:

He hungered (Matt.4:2)

He was thirsty (John 19:28)

He was weary (John 4:6)

He wept (John 11:35)

He was tempted (Hebrew 4:15)

(He is God in human flesh. His two natures are bound together in such a way that the two become one, having a consciousness and will.

 

III. THE VIRGIN BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST

Read Luke 1:26-35

 

The virgin birth of Jesus Christ is without parallel in human history. It was by the virgin birth that God became man, one perfect person but two natures: one nature being that of Almighty God, the other being that of man—man without sin (Heb.4:15). The union of the two natures became the God-man Christ Jesus.

• The first hint of the virgin birth is found in Gen. 3:15. The One is to defeat Satan was to be born of “the seed of the woman.” This is a biological miracle: there is no “seed of the woman.” From this, we are to understand the One was to be born of a woman without a human father (above verse 34,35)
• Isaiah prophesied that a “virgin would conceive, and bear a son and shall call His name Immanuel (God with us)”—(Isaiah 7:14)
• Again Isaiah prophesied saying, “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given”(Isaiah 9: 6,7)This means that God gave His only begotten Son who was with Him from eternity, and the Child Jesus was born of a virgin. God gave His Son “unto us.”
• According to prophecy, He was to be born in Bethlehem (Mic.5:2). Joseph with Mary went up to Bethlehem to be taxed and to fulfill prophecy (Luke 2:1-7).

 

1. THE DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST

Read Phil. 2:8

 

The death of Jesus Christ  is mentioned more than one hundred twenty times in the New Testament and spoken of many times by the Prophets in the Old Testament.

• The death of Jesus Christ was vicarious (Matt.20:28). He was God’s substitute for sinners (II Cor.5:21). On the cross Christ was made sin for the sinner. By faith in Him, the sinner is made righteous with the righteousness of God.
• The death of Jesus Christ was natural (John 19:31-37). By a natural death, we mean that His spirit and soul was separated from his body.
• The death of Jesus Christ was unnatural (Romans 6:23). By unnatural death, we mean that since He was, in that He “Did no sin” (1 Peter 2:22)—Had no sin.(1 John 3:5) –“knew no sin” (II Cor. 5:21) –before He could die, He had to be “made sin for us.” Therefore, His death was unnatural.
• The death of Jesus Christ was preternatural (Rev. 13:8). By this we mean that the death of Jesus Christ was not an afterthought with God: it was the forethought of God.

The death of Jesus Christ was supernatural (John 10:17-18). Jesus said, “no man take life from me.” Then He said, “I lay it down to myself” (supernaturally). “I have power to take it up again” (supernaturally). This He did on the cross, and three days and three nights later, He took life up again when He rose from the dead. Only God in the form of man could die a vicarious, natural, unnatural, preternatural and supernatural death.

 

1. THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST

Read  Matt. 28:1-20

 

Jesus said: “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25) The resurrection of Jesus Christ was the doctrine of every disciple, the faith of every true believer,  the courage of every martyr, the theme of every sermon, and the power of every Evangelist.

Luke tells us that we have “many infallible proofs’ of His resurrection (Acts 1:3).

Let us look at some of these “infallible proofs” according to eye witnesses:

1) After His resurrection He appeared first to Mary Magdalene (John 20:11-18)

2) He appeared to the women returning from the sepulcher (Matt. 28:5-10)

3) Then He appeared to Peter (Luke 24:34)

4) To the Emmaus disciple (Luke 24:13-31)

5) To the Apostles, Thomas not present (Luke 24:36-43)

6) To the Apostles, Thomas present (John 20:24-29)

7) To the seven by the Sea of Tiberias (John 21:1-23)

8) To over five hundred brethren (1 Cor.15:6)

9) He was seen of James (1 Cor. 15:7)

10) He was seen again by the eleven apostles (Matt. 28:16:20; also (Acts 1”3-12)

11) He was seen of Stephen, the first martyr (Acts 7:55)

12) He was seen of Paul on His way to Damascus (Acts 9:3-6) Also (1 Cor15:8)

Many of these Eye witnesses died martyrs deaths because they preached the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

They were glad to die for a living Christ they had the “infallible proofs”.

When Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Getshemane, all of His disciples, “forsook Him and fled” (Matt. 26”56).From this time until His resurrection,

The disciples lived in fear. They did not believe that He would rise from the dead.

(John 20:9). Had Jesus not come from the dead, the cross would have been the end of Christianity. After the death of Jesus, we see His disciples dejected, discouraged and defeated. The death of Jesus meant but one thing to them: the end. How do we account for the great change that came to their lives three days and three nights later? The only logical explanation is that they had the “infallible proofs” that He had risen from the dead, and was alive forevermore. They saw Him, talked with Him, touched Him and ate with Him.

Now look at some “infallible proofs” according to circumstantial evidence:

• The change that came into the lives of the disciples, after the resurrection—from fear to unlimited courage. They rejoiced in persecution (Acts 5:40-42). They chose death, with faith in the resurrected Christ, rather than to deny that faith and be delivered (Heb. 11:35)
• The early church began to worship on the first day of the week, the day of the resurrection, it was not a law—it was spontaneous (Acts 20:7) For almost two thousand years, the church has worshiped on the first day. For the Christian every Sunday is Easter.
• The early Christians went everywhere with the word of the resurrection (Acts 8:1-4)..
• The empty tomb—for if Jesus is not alive, what happened to His body? The Roman guards was paid to say “His disciples came by night, and stole Him away while we slept” (above verses 12 and 13)Firs, the disciples lacked the courage. Had the disciples stolen His body, then how do we account for the fact that they all suffered, and most of them died a martyr’s death?  In the face of death , one of them would have revealed the hiding place of the “stolen body” to save his own life. Second, no one was ever arrested or tried for stealing the body of Jesus. It is evident that the governing officials did not believe the story of the guards, Third, the guard could been put to death for sleeping while on watch. Fourth, if they were asleep how could they have known that it was the disciples who “stole” the body? Fifth, had the enemies of Jesus moved the body, they could have produced it and brought a quick end to Christianity, and they would have!
• The grave clothes found in the empty tomb are proof of the resurrection (John 20:1-10) Had friend or foe stolen the body, they would not have removed the grave clothes, since He have been dead three days and nights. When John saw the grave clothes and recognized that they were folded the same as they were wrapped about the body, he knew that a miracle taken place. Jesus came out of the clothes, and they collapsed without disturbing the folds. They were left in the empty tomb as “infallible proof,” and when John saw and understood, he believed that Jesus had come from the dead.

 

1. THE ASCENSION AND SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST

Read Acts 1: 9 – 11.

 

After forty days of instructing His disciples, the risen Christ ascended up on high, and is seated on the right hand of the Father (Heb. 10:12). Two men brought the message of His second Coming to the apostles: “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner.”

The message of the Second Coming of Jesus is so important, that it is mentioned over three hundred times in the New Testament.

• He is coming to take His church to be with Him (1 Thess.4:16,17) also (John 14:1-6).
• He is coming to judge the nations (Matt.25:31-46).
• He is coming to save Israel (Romans 11:25,26)
• He is coming to sit upon the throne of David (Luke 1:31-33 also Isa.9:6,7)
• He is coming to bring righteous government to this earth (Heb. 1:8)

Jesus Chris is coming back to this earth again. “Even so, come Lord Jesus” (Rev.22:20)