Last week we looked at three foundational truths: There is one God. There are three persons of the one true God (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit). Each person is fully God (co-equal, co-eternal). We talked about knowing God the Father. Today, we’ll look at Knowing God the Son. Who is Jesus? Jesus was both fully God and fully man. Isaiah 9:7 says, “Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end.” Jesus was not voted in and can’t be voted out!
His Deity
John 1:1-4 tells us that from the Northern Lights to lightning bugs, there is no light apart from Jesus. Jesus is the Light of the World! This passage also points out that the Son was part of creating in Genesis 1. “The Word was with God, and the Word was God” (v. 1). Titus 2:13 says Jesus is both our great God and Savior. He knows all things, has all power, and created all things. Jesus forgave sins. Only God can forgive sins. He turned water to wine, walked on water, and the wind and waves obeyed Him. He multiplied food and fed multitudes, healed the blind, the lame, and the sick. He raised people from the dead, and Himself rose from the dead. He is omniscient (Jn. 21:17). He is omnipresent (Mt. 18:20). He is omnipotent (Mt. 26:53). Jesus said in Revelation 22:13, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
His Humanity
In Matthew 1 we read the story of Jesus’ birth. The humanity of Jesus is just as important as the deity of Jesus. Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 3:16, “And most certainly, the mystery of godliness is great: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.” Dr. John Phillips said, “The great mystery of the manger is that God should be able to translate deity into humanity without either discarding the deity or distorting the humanity.” Second Corinthians 2:9 says, “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” Isaiah spoke of the virgin birth (Is. 7:14) and Matthew 1 confirms it. The virgin birth is critical. Jesus was born like all other babies, but was without the sin of Adam. Only one person entered the womb like Jesus did. Jesus had a human body and human emotions. He ate, drank, slept, laughed, was hungry, felt pain. He had a human mind (Mk. 13:32) and a human will (Mt. 26:39). Jesus is not part God and part man. Jesus is 100% God and He is 100% man. “The Son of God became the Son of Man, so that the sons of men might become sons of God.”
The Witness of Jesus
What did Jesus say about Himself? “I and the Father are one” (Jn. 10:30). In John 8:58, “Jesus answered, ‘before Abraham was born, I am!’” Jesus’ human nature did not exist before Abraham, but His divine nature eternally existed before Abraham. The Son has always been. He also said, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn. 14:9).
The Work of Jesus
There is no Christianity apart from Christ. Unlike the other world religions, you cannot take Christ out of Christianity and still have Christianity. Jesus did not come as a political reformer to overthrow Rome. He did not come as a teacher to give us a moral code to live by. God already gave us that in the 10 Commandments. His primary work was redemptive. He paid the penalty of sin to restore a right relationship with God. His ultimate work is called the Atonement. The sin of Adam was imputed to us. The sin of Adam was placed on Jesus and Jesus’ righteousness was imputed to us in return. “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Is. 53:5-6). He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
The Worship of Jesus
Worship means “worth” ship. The Bible gives us 4 worship scenes in Heaven: Jesus as Creator (Rev. 4:11), Jesus as Redeemer (Rev. 5:12), Jesus as King (Rev. 11:15), and Jesus as Bridegroom (Rev. 19:6). Heaven is unable to remain silent. They keep crying out “Hallelujah!”, “Glory!”, “Amen!”
The Way of Jesus
Jesus shows us what it means to be human. He is the 2nd Adam. He came to redeem what the 1st Adam lost. He shows us the way to live. Life does not make sense apart from Jesus. If you want to be who God made you to be, the only way is through Jesus. He shows us how to live, how to love, how to be humble. Every virtue known to man Jesus has done in the flesh. Jesus changes us.
These are all things we must know about Jesus, but now, what do we do? The way to Heaven is not a principle, precept, philosophy, or golden rule. It is not the 10 Commandments, religion, or morality. In John 14:6, Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus is not a good way, a better way, or even the best way. He is the only way. You and I must decide what we do with Jesus. Will you confess Him as Lord and surrender your life to Him? Or will you deny Him and choose your own way?
