Study 4
JESUS CHRIST IS OUR LORD AND GOD
In preparation for this study, let us now quiet our hearts and pray.
Dear Father God,
In the name of Jesus Christ, we come before You and ask You to please give us a spirit of wisdom and understanding so we can truly come to know who Jesus Christ really is. In addition, please remove our doubts and fill us with belief, faith and trust in Him.
Amen
INTRODUCTION
Before we begin our study it will be extremely helpful for us to review the topic of,
THE HOLY TRINITY
First of all the Old Testament of the Bible clearly teaches us that there is only one God and Savior. To verify this let us read what God told the prophet Isaiah as it is recorded in,
Isaiah 43:10-11
[10] “You are My witnesses,” says the Lord, And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me. [11] I, even I, am the Lord, And besides Me there is no savior.
It is noted that what separates Biblical Christianity from all other religions is what God revealed to us in the New Testament. Specifically, in the New Testament we discover that God reveals to us that He is triune. This means that God manifests Himself in the following three persons: (1) Father, (2) Son and (3) Holy Spirit. This is clearly illustrated by the name in which a person is to be baptized. To see this let us read Jesus’ command to His apostles and disciples as recorded in,
Matthew 28:19-20
[19] Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
This raises the question of; “How can there be three persons and yet one God?” To address this question God gave us a beautiful example from our everyday life. His example is water. As we know, a molecule of water is composed of 2 atoms of Hydrogen with 1 atom of Oxygen. The chemical expression for this is H2O.
What is very interesting is that water or H2O manifests it’s self in three different forms: liquid (water), solid (ice) and gas (water vapor or steam). However, in these three different forms it is still H2O. It is the same with God as He manifests Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. How God does this is a mystery. However, this does not invalidate the truth of it.
To expand upon this a bit let us first see that,
The Father is God
To see this let us go to the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians and read his closing words of praise. To do this we go to,
Philippians 4:20
[20] Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Let us now see that,
The Holy Spirit is also God
To see this we go to Apostle Paul’s letter to the Christians in Ephesus and read from,
Ephesians 2:22
[22] in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Now the questions that arise are; “What about Jesus Christ?” and “Could it be that He is the second person in the Holy Trinity?”
To answer these questions it will be helpful for us to recognize that the term “Christ” means “Messiah” or “Anointed One” or “The Lord’s Anointed One”. Thus, when we say the Name Jesus Christ what we are saying is: “Jesus, the Anointed One.”
To find out exactly what this means and exactly who Jesus Christ really is we will:
1. Review Jesus’ birth.
2. Find that Jesus was not an ordinary man.
3. Discover that Jesus is the Son of God.
4. See that Jesus Christ is also our Lord and our God.
5. Briefly review the Sign of Jonah.
Let us begin by reviewing,
THE BIRTH of JESUS CHRIST
The Old Testament of the Bible teaches us that the Messiah would be born of a woman and be a man. In addition, it teaches us that His birth will be miraculous, for the woman will be a virgin. This was foretold, in approximately 734BC1, through the prophet Isaiah and is recorded in,
Isaiah 7:14
"[14] Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel."
Each year at Christmas when we celebrate the time when Jesus Christ was born into this world, we celebrate the fulfillment of this prophecy. To remind ourselves of this, let us read about His birth from,
Matthew 1:18-25
"[18] This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. [19] Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. [20] But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. [21] She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." [22] All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: [23] "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" --which means, "God with us." [24] When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. [25] But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus."
Let us notice the following verses,
18 … Mary was with child before she and Joseph came together, that is consummated or finalized their marriage.
20 … An angel told Joseph that what is conceived in Mary was from God the Holy Spirit. In other words, the angel told Joseph that the Father of this child was God the Holy Spirit.
21 … Note that Jesus’ purpose was to save His people from their sins.
22-23 … The birth of Jesus Christ fulfilled the above prophecy recorded in Isaiah 7:14. In addition, Jesus would also be called, Immanuel, which means “God with us.”
24-25 … Joseph and Mary had no union till after she gave birth to Jesus. Consequently, there can be no legitimate argument that Jesus’ birth was not a miraculous conception by God the Holy Spirit.
In addition to being miraculous, the significance of the virgin birth is that Jesus did not inherit the nature of Adam. Thus, His birth came outside of the natural course of things. Specifically, Jesus’ father was God not man!
Consequently,
JESUS WAS NO ORDINARY MAN
This realization becomes clearer when we read about all the miraculous things He did. To get a flavor of these works and Jesus’ authority and power, let us read a sample of the things He did. We begin by seeing that
Jesus had Authority and Power over Sickness and Disease
As we read the Gospels we cannot help but notice all the times Jesus healed the sick and afflicted. A good summary of these works is provided for us in the account of what Jesus did while traveling throughout Galilee.
Matthew 4:23-25
"[23] Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. [24] News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. [25] Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him."
In addition to having authority and power over sickness and disease, we also find from the above account that He cast out demons. In other words,
Jesus had Authority and Power over the Demons
To expand upon this a bit, let us read about the time when He healed two demon possessed men. To do this we got to,
Matthew 8:28-33
"[28] When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. [29] "What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?" [30] Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. [31] The demons begged Jesus, "If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs." [32] He said to them, "Go!" So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. [33] Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men.”
Let us notice the following verse,
29 … The demons called Jesus the Son of God.
The bible also teaches us that,
Jesus had Authority and Power over the Physical Elements
We see this authority when, on His way to the region of the Gadarenes, He calmed a severe storm.
Matthew 8:23-27
"[23] Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. [24] Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. [25] The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" [26] He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. [27] The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!""
In verse 27 we read that His disciples came to realize that Jesus was no ordinary man. However, more was to come.
In addition to having authority and power over sickness, disease, the demons and the physical elements/forces of the earth, we find that,
Jesus had the Authority and Power to Raise the Dead
This is revealed to us when He restored to life a widow’s son,
Luke 7:11-17
"[11] Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. [12] As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out--the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. [13] When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, "Don't cry." [14] Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!" [15] The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. [16] They were all filled with awe and praised God. "A great prophet has appeared among us," they said. "God has come to help his people." [17] This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country."
In addition to all the signs and wonders Jesus performed, the most glorious thing Jesus Christ did was to clearly demonstrate that,
He, Jesus, had the Authority to Forgive Sin
To see this, let us read the account of when He forgave the paralytic of his sins. To do this let us go to,
Matthew 9:1-8
"[1] Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. [2] Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven." [3] At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, "This fellow is blaspheming!" [4] Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? [5] Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? [6] But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. . . ." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home." [7] And the man got up and went home. [8] When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men."
With the above observations in mind, Jesus Christ was clearly sent by God and is someone very, very special. “Was He a great prophet as some said?” (Or) “Was Jesus Christ much greater?”
As we study the New Testament we discover that,
JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD
Previously, we read that the demons acknowledged Jesus to be the Son of God (Matthew 8:29)! The question is; “Were they right?” To find out, let us read about the time when Jesus asked His disciples the question of; “Who do people say that I am?” Jesus’ question is recorded in,
Matthew 16:13-15
"[13] When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" [14] They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." [15] "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?""
Let us notice the following verses,
13 … Jesus asked His disciples; “Who do the people think He is?”
14 … The disciples responded and told Jesus the various beliefs the people had.
15 … Jesus now made the question more personal and asked them, “Who do you say I am?”
So it is with us. We too must come to grips with this question. As it was with His disciples, Jesus is not only concerned about what others think of Him but is very concerned about what you and I think and believe on who He is.
Let us now move on and read Peter’s response to Jesus’ question in,
Matthew 16:16-17
"[16] Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." [17] Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven."
Let us notice the following verses,
16 … Simon Peter recognized who Jesus Christ really is … “The Son of the living God.”
17 … Jesus told Peter he did not learn this from man but from God the Father.
In other words, what Jesus told Peter and is telling us now, is that it is God the Father who reveals Jesus Christ to us. This saving knowledge of Jesus Christ does not come from the wisdom of man or his intellect but from God Himself. It is a miraculous gift from God!
If you have not recognized who Jesus is, please prayerfully ask God the Father to give you this same revelation.
In addition to the Apostle Peter, we find that John the Baptist also bore witness to Jesus’ true identity. To read what he said, let us go to,
John 1:29-34
"[29] The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! [30] This is the one I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' [31] I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel." [32] Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. [33] I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' [34] I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.""
Finally and most important of all we find that God the Father bore witness to His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. To read what the Father said about Him, let us read what happened when John baptized Jesus.
To do this let us read from,
Matthew 3:13-17
"[13] Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. [14] But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" [15] Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented. [16] As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. [17] And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.""
Let us notice the following verse,
16-17 … God the Father proclaimed Jesus to be His Son. In addition God the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus. Also notice that at this time the Holy Trinity of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit was also revealed.
This was not the only time the Father bore witness to Jesus Christ. He also bore witness to Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. This is recorded in,
Mark 9:2-8
"[2] After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. [3] His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. [4] And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. [5] Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters--one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." [6] (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.) [7] Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: "This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!" [8] Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus."
Let us notice the following verses,
3 … Jesus became dazzling white. In other words Jesus’ true perfect, pure and holy nature was revealed.
7 … God the Father told Peter, James and John that Jesus is His Son.
So we see that Jesus is indeed much greater than a prophet or a great teacher. What we have found is that Jesus is the Son of God!
Now this raises the following question: “What does it mean that Jesus is the Son of God?” Actually we were provided a glimpse of what it means when, on the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus became dazzling white. As we continue to read the Scriptures, we find that Jesus Christ is really God come in the flesh. Specifically, as we will see in Study 5, He is the literal fulfillment of all the promises God gave us about His coming to save us from our sins and restore us to His Kingdom. As we saw earlier, this is the significance of the virgin birth and is why Jesus was called Immanuel or “God with us.”
In other words,
JESUS CHRIST IS OUR LORD AND OUR GOD
To see this a bit more clearly, let us read about the birth of Jesus Christ as given through the Apostle John in,
John 1:1-4
"[1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] He was with God in the beginning. [3] Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. [4] In him was life, and that life was the light of men."
Let us notice the following verses,
1 … The Word was God.
3 … Through Him all things were made.
4 … In Him was life.
It is noted that the name “Word” is also a name that refers to Jesus Christ.
To verify this let us read an excerpt from the vision God gave the Apostle John of when Jesus will come to defeat Satan. To do this we go to,
Revelation 19:11-13
[11] Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. [12] His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. [13] He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
Let us now continue our reading from the Gospel of John and read from,
John 1:14
"[14] The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
Now some skeptics have said that Jesus never claimed to be God. It turns out Jesus made it very clear to the Jews that He was God. To see this, let us read what happened, between Jesus and the Jews, during one of the feasts of Dedication. We find this conversation in,
John 10:22-30
"[22] Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, [23] and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon's Colonnade. [24] The Jews gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." [25] Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, [26] but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. [27] My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. [28] I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. [29] My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. [30] I and the Father are one.""
Let us notice the following verses,
24-25 … Jesus told the skeptics that His words and all the miracles He did in the Father’s name made it clear that He was the Christ.
30 … Jesus also made it clear that He was equal to God the Father. More specifically, He was and is the second person within the Holy Trinity.
Given the above discourse, the following question comes to mind: “Did the Jews really understand what Jesus told them?” To find out, let us continue our reading from,
John 10:31-33
"[31] Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, [32] but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?" [33] "We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.""
In other words, the Jews knew exactly what Jesus had said. Notice the reason they went to stone Him was because He claimed to be God. Unfortunately, they actually believed that Jesus was only a man who claimed to be God. This was considered to be blasphemy. According to the Old Testament Law of Moses anyone who commits the sin of blasphemy against God was to be stoned.
This brings us to one of the most important and significant sign Jesus gave to prove that He was what He claimed to be. This was,
THE SIGN OF JONAH
While Jesus was preaching and performing various miracles, some of the skeptics asked Jesus to perform a sign to prove that He was who He claimed to be. Let us read Jesus response to their requests as it is written in,
Matthew 12:38-40
[38] Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” [39] But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. [40] For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
In other words, Jesus told them that as the prophet Jonah was swallowed up by a large fish for three days and nights and then coughed up alive on the beach near Nineveh, He would die and be buried for three days and then will rise up alive from the grave. Thus, the most significant proof that Jesus is the Son of God or the second person of the Holy Trinity was and is His resurrection.
To confirm this let us read the Apostle Paul’s introduction of his letter to the people of Rome.
Romans 1:1-4
[1] Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God [2] which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, [3] concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, [4] and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.
Let us notice the following verses,
3 … Since Mary’s lineage is from King David (Luke 3:31), so it is with Jesus’ human ancestry, that is His human body … the flesh.
4 … Jesus’ resurrection from the dead declared Him to be the Son of God.
Before we close, let us read one more testimony. This one was given when Jesus, after His resurrection, appeared to Thomas for the specific purpose of showing him that He, Jesus, was not dead but alive! We find it in,
John 20:24-28
"[24] Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. [25] So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." [26] A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" [27] Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." [28] Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!""
Blessed be the Lord forever!
AMEN and AMEN
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