Sunday, March 2, 2014 am
BACK TO BASICS 8
March Theme – The Godhead
Who is Jesus?
1) Who is Jesus? 2) Is Jesus
God? 3) Who is the Holy
Spirit? (Is He God?) 4) What is the work of the Holy Spirit?
We will also address next Sunday night, The virgin birth of
Jesus and His resurrection. It is crucial that we understand these 2
subjects as fact. Our faith
depends on it!
Today, we want to introduce Jesus.
In a theme such as the one we are engaging in this year, this
lesson is a challenge trying to give a fundamental introduction to Him.
Over the course of 3 years we studied the life of Jesus in detail
from His birth to His death, resurrection and ascension.
In our lesson today we want to introduce who Jesus is and why He
is fundamental to our faith.
In this lesson we will notice 5 points about His life.
a.
One of the key concerns
that we need to address is the problem of sin.
We are all sinners (Rom. 3:23).
God has defined what sin is (1 John 3:4, James 4:17, Rom.
14:22-23) and the consequences of sin (Rom. 6:23).
Because His is the standard we are to follow, His will is also
the way that we overcome sin.
b.
God sent Jesus into this
world so that we might be saved – John 3:16.
When Jesus was born, the angels announced, “For
there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is
Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11)
c.
Jesus even acknowledged
that He came for our salvation –
i.
“And Jesus said to him,
“Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of
Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was
lost.”” (Luke
19:9–10)
ii.
“The
thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have
come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
(John 10:10)
d.
Our salvation is a
continually emphasized message in scripture.
i.
Rom. 5:6-11 describes
how God demonstrated His love in sending Jesus.
ii.
1 John 4:14 says, “And
we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of
the world.”
iii.
1 John 2:2, “And He
Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also
for the whole world.”
iv.
Eph. 1:7 – in He we have
redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
v.
Philippians 3:20,
“For our citizenship is in
heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus
Christ,”
a.
Rest assured, Jesus was
sent to this earth so that we might be saved.
And a most remarkable thing about His coming to this earth is the
timing.
b.
Paul told the Galatians,
“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son,
born of a woman, born under the law,
to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive
the adoption as sons.” (Galatians 4:4-5)
Ephesians 1:7-10 says, “In Him we have redemption through His blood,
the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He
made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known
to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He
purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the
times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which
are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.”
c.
Prior to His coming
there was great anticipation.
There was a great need that transcended that of a single nation.
There were prophecies that validated His coming.
He came at a time when His purpose could be carried out.
Since that time, NO ONE has impacted history like He did.
d.
In 1926, James A.
Francis wrote an essay entitled:
One Solitary Life. His essay has had far reaching impact and has
been slightly modified. Later versions read like this:
He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman.
He grew up in still another village, where he worked in a carpenter shop
until he was thirty. Then for three years he was an itinerant preacher.
He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a
family or owned a house. He didn't go to college. He never visited a big
city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place where he was
born. He did none of the things one usually associates with greatness.
He had no credentials but himself. He was only thirty-three when the
tide of public opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. He was
turned over to his enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He
was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While he was dying, his
executioners gambled for his clothing, the only property he had on
earth. When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed grave through the
pity of a friend. Nineteen centuries have come and gone, and today he is
the central figure of the human race and the leader of mankind's
progress. All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever
sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever
reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man on this earth
as much as that One Solitary Life.
e.
It has been estimated
that in all the time of history there have been about 60 billion people
that have walked on this planet.
And in that time, only a handful of people have many any real,
lasting impression on the world.
And of that handful, NONE can compare to Jesus.
He never wrote a book, yet MORE attention has been given to His
teachings: More criticism, more opposition, more adoration and more
devotion. Every word He
spoke, that we have, has been studied, scrutinized, analyzed, debated
and preserved far above that of any other philosopher, historian, author
or scientist. Some 2000
years this side of His time on the earth – He is studied by millions
every hour of day. Books
about Him can be found freely in book stores and libraries, both public
and private.
He never painted a picture as far as we know, yet some of the greatest
art in the world is about Him (right or wrong) including paintings,
theatre and some of the greatest hymns.
He never raised an army, yet millions have died for Him throughout
history.
He never traveled far from home, yet his teachings have travelled around
and around and around the world.
He started with just a handful of disciples, but it didn’t take
long for that number to grow exponentially.
Even in the first century, Colossians 1:23 tells us his gospel
was preached “to every creature under heaven.”
Today, roughly 1/3 of this world’s population believes in Him
(more than 2 billion). His
birth divides history (BC & AD).
His teachings unite and divide nations and the world.
His impact is so great, that his enemies seek to discredit and
destroy His teachings.
Mankind may not accept Him, but He CANNOT be ignored![1]
a.
Because of our sins, we
need an advocate to intercede on our behalf.
Jesus is our advocate.
b.
Jesus came to this earth
to be our advocate.
1 John 2:1-2, “My
little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin.
And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ
the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not
for ours only but also for the whole world.”
The word “advocate” is a word that means to call to one’s side.
The idea is one who appears on behalf of another.
In legal terms, we would equate it to a lawyer or mediator.
The same word is translated “Helper” describing the Holy Spirit
in John 14:16, 26, etc.
c.
The Hebrew writer
explained how
Jesus came as a High
Priest. Hebrews 2:17–18
tells us, “Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His
brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things
pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For
in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those
who are tempted.”
One of the works of the
High Priest was to offer yearly the sacrifice of atonement for Israel’s
sins. Jesus came and offered
a sacrifice that is “once and for all” time.
As our eternal High Priest, Heb. 7:25 says, “Therefore He is also
able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since
He always lives to make intercession for them.”
d.
1 Tim. 2:5 says,
“For there is one God and one
Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,”
e.
While on this earth,
Jesus demonstrated how He was an advocate.
It is seen in the way He helped the poor and needy.
IT is seen in the instructions Jesus gave us on how to live.
And ultimately, it is seen in the price He paid for our sins on
the cross.
f.
Today, when we pray God
it is through Jesus – Eph. 2:18 tells us that it is through Jesus that
we have access to the Father.
g.
Because of this we can
put our trust in Him. Heb.
4:16 tells us “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace,
that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
a.
In 1 Cor. 11:1 Paul said
we are to imitate Christ (following his example)
b.
While on this earth,
Jesus lived His life without sin.
He resisted temptation, He cared about everyone and He firmly
taught the truth. But one
thing we must clearly understand is that He lives as a man and was
tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin (Phil. 2:5-7, Heb.
4:15-16).
c.
Eph. 5:1-2 tells us to
be imitators of God as dear children.
1 Pet. 2:21 tells us that Christ suffered for us leaving us an example.
1 John 2:6 says, “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to
walk just as He walked.”
d.
We will never find a
better example of how to live than our Lord Jesus Christ.
a.
Because Jesus came to
this earth, we have purpose beyond the boundaries of our flesh.
Jesus came to this earth no just to take care of our sins but
also to provide us something better.
b.
He told His Martha at
the death of Lazarus, “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and
the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And
whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?””
(John 11:25–26)
John 14:1-3 He told His apostles that He was going to prepare a place
for them. A place with
mansions, etc.
c.
Hebrews 11:13-16 speaks
of the great examples of Biblical faith dying not having received the
promise but they looked for something better and God has prepared a city
for them.
In Vs. 39-40 we read, “And all these, having obtained a good
testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having
provided something better for us, that they should not be made
perfect apart from us.” NOTICE how our hope is the same as theirs.
d.
And isn’t that why we
choose to live for Him? Heb.
6:19 – our hope is an anchor of the soul.
1 John 3:2-3, “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not
yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is
revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And
everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”
[1] Thoughts
based upon observations by John Blanchard.
http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/who-is-jesus-adrian-rogers-sermon-on-jesus-christ-155205.asp