Jesus Christ ~ 20200427 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

04/27 Foundations: Who is Jesus Christ?; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20200427_jesus-christ.mp3

Jesus Christ

Welcome to our foundations study, looking at the basics of Christian belief.

We looked last time at the nature of God as a triune being; There is exactly one God (not three or more divine beings; that would be tri-theism or polytheism). And this one God eternally exists in three distinct persons who are each fully and equally God.

We were helped by the heretics to avoid errors in our thinking about God. Sabellius emphasized that there is only one God but he denied that the Father, Son and Spirit are distinct persons who relate with one another. Arius taught that the Father and Son are distinct persons, but that the Son is a subordinate created being. He denied that Jesus is the same substance or essence as his Father.

Historic Christianity affirms that the Son is a distinct person from his Father, but is fully God, equal and eternal with his Father.

The Identity of Jesus Matters Eternally

Tonight we are going to continue to be helped by the heretics as we think specifically about the Son. What does the Bible teach about Jesus? How are we to think about Jesus, and what are we to avoid in our thinking about Jesus? What we think about Jesus matters, because he demands that we come to him to have life. If we don’t listen to what he says about himself, are we really coming to him? It matters to Jesus what we think about him. When he asked his disciples what people were saying about him, and when Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’,

Matthew 16:17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

Peter was blessed, eternally happy because he was given insight into who Jesus truly was. It is on this foundation, this rock, the identity of Jesus that he would build his church. It matters what we think of Jesus. Jesus told the Jews who did not believe in him:

John 8:24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am [he] you will die in your sins.” ...58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”

So it matters eternally what we believe about Jesus.

The Incarnation

We’ve already looked at the Biblical teaching that Jesus is God, fully divine, yet a distinct person from the Father and the Spirit.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ...14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

But what do we do with the incarnation? What did it mean for God to become man? What happened when he took on flesh?

Heresies about the Incarnation

Docetism (from dokeo – to appear) taught that Jesus only appeared to be human and die; his humanity was merely an illusion.

2 John 1:7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.

Adoptionism teaches that Jesus was only a human until he was adopted by the Father either at his baptism, his resurrection, or his ascension, and became divine from that point on. Adoptionist teaching would deny the virgin birth of Jesus.

Apollinarius, (bishop of Laodicea c. 361 A.D.) taught that at the incarnation God took a human body but not a human mind or spirit; the mind and spirit of Jesus were replaced with the divine logos or mind. So according to Apollinarius, Jesus would have been part divine and part human, in which case he would be a strange hybrid; neither fully God nor fully man.

Eutyches (c. 378-454 A.D. - leader of a monastery in Constantinople) taught that Christ had only one nature – that the human nature of Christ was absorbed into the divine nature creating a third, different kind of nature. So again, Jesus would be no longer fully human. Neither would he be fully divine.

Nestorius (popular preacher at Antioch and bishop of Constantinople from 428 A.D.) taught that Jesus was fully man and fully God, and his divine and human natures were united in purpose, not in person; so Jesus was two separate persons; a human person and a divine person.

A Heretical Jesus Cannot Save

What is wrong with these understandings of Jesus? Why is this important? The Nicene creed (325) put it this way:

“We believe ...in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father the only-begotten; that is, of the essence of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance (ὁμοούσιον) with the Father; by whom all things were made both in heaven and on earth; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down and was incarnate and was made man; he suffered, and the third day he rose again, ascended into heaven; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.” (Nicea, 325)

It was for us and for our salvation that God became man. The sacrifice of a mere man would not be sufficient to save any; but something or someone not fully man could not legitimately take the place of mankind. In order for Jesus’ sacrifice to be of infinite value to save us, he must be fully God. In order for Jesus to legitimately be our substitute he must be fully human. ‘A savior not quite God is a bridge broken at the farther end; while a savior not quite man is a bridge broken at the nearer end’ (H.G.C.Moule, F.F.Bruce).

The Biblical Data

The Supernatural Conception

John's gospel tells us that the Word, who existed in the beginning with his Father, the Word who has eternally existed as God,

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The Word, the eternal I AM who had always existed became something he had never been before. He became flesh. The invisible God became physical, God who is spirit became embodied.

John tells us that the Word who became flesh is the only Son from the Father. We know Jesus as the Son of God, but that title is open to misinterpretation. The Jews expected a merely human messiah, and Greek mythology told of occasions where one of their many gods would come down and have relations with a mortal and produce superhuman offspring. John is careful to make it clear that Jesus does not fit into either of these categories. Jesus is not merely human, he is the self-existent God who created everything who became man. Neither is he some hybrid half-god half-man produced by an illicit relationship. He had always existed as God and now he has become also fully human. Jesus really and truly became flesh. He didn't just appear in the form of a human, as angels sometimes do, he really truly became genuinely and irreversibly human.

The angel Gabriel said it this way to Mary:

Luke 1:31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.

You will conceive in your womb. You will bear a son; not an alien, a real human baby boy.

Mary's question was one of biology and morality.

Luke 1:34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 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 will be called holy— the Son of God.

Mary's question is 'how will this be since I have not known a man? She understood what precedes conception, and for conception to take place, there has to be a father. This is the miracle. No human father would be involved. Her morality would remain intact. The Holy Spirit of God would supernaturally place the divine seed inside of her.

Matthew's gospel records it this way:

Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.

In Matthew's gospel, it is Joseph that has the questions. Mary is pregnant. He naturally assumes the worst.

Matthew 1:20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

He is assured that her purity is intact. The origin of this child is supernatural. The Word became flesh. But everything else about this child is as normal and natural as any other human child.

Natural Development

They had him circumcised on the eighth day (Lk.2:21), which tells us that he came with all the standard equipment that every other baby boy is born with.

Luke tells us that his growth and development was normal and natural human development.

Luke 2:40 And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.

He nursed. He had to be fed. He rolled over. He began to crawl. He stood up. He took his first step. He learned to eat. He learned to walk. He learned his aleph-bet. He was taught to be quiet in synagogue. He was taught to read the Torah. He learned how to relate to other people. He learned how to relate to God. He had to grow up just like every other boy had to grow up. There was only one unique difference with Jesus. He never once sinned. In everything he pleased his heavenly Father. He got left behind in Jerusalem when he was 12. He was submissive to his parents.

Luke 2:52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

Doctor Luke tells us that he developed intellectually, physically, spiritually and socially like every other human. The Quran and the non-biblical Infancy Gospel of Thomas have the boy Jesus doing mischievous miracles, cursing, healing, and breathing life into clay birds. But this clearly contradicts the historically reliable biblical accounts. When Jesus changed over 100 gallons of water into fine wine at the wedding in Cana, we are told this was the first of his signs (Jn.2:11). When he returned to his hometown of Nazareth claiming to be the fulfillment of Scripture, those who saw him grow up took offense at him.

Matthew 13:54 and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.”

Jesus was so normal, so ordinary, so familiar, so human, that his own townspeople refused to believe that he was anything more than a mere man.

Human Limitations

We see Jesus in the gospels as fully human. He thought, felt and acted in a fully human way. His human body was subject to the same limitations that we all have.

Jesus had an ordinary human mind. As we have seen, Jesus learned. He increased in wisdom. He asked questions in order to find out information he didn't know. When a woman touched him in the crowd, he asked “who touched my garments?”. In conversation with a demon-possessed boy's father, he asked “how long has this been happening to him?” In response to questions about the timing of the end of the age, Jesus said:

Mark 13:32 “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

Jesus had ordinary human emotions. In John 11, we are told:

John 11:5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

At the death of his friend, not only did Jesus ask “where have you laid him?” but it says:

John 11:33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. ... 35 Jesus wept.

When Jesus predicted that one of his own disciples would betray him, it says “Jesus was troubled in his spirit” (Jn.13:21). Looking toward the cross, he said “now is my soul very sorrowful, even to death” and he begged his Father to remove the cup from him (Mk.14:34-35). Luke tells us :

Luke 22:43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

From the cross, Jesus cried out:“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mt.27:46).

Jesus had an ordinary human body. At the beginning of Matthew, we are told

Matthew 4:2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.

And after the temptation, Jesus was so physically weak we are told:

Matthew 4:11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

When Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well and asked her for a drink, it describes his physical condition this way:

John 4:6 Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.

In Matthew 8, Jesus was so exhausted from a day of ministry that he was sleeping right through a great storm. After his scourging, Jesus was so weak that he fell under the weight of his cross, so the Roman soldiers compelled a man named Simon to carry it for him.

Jesus' body was real. And he really died a violent human death of public execution. John tells us after his death,

John 19:34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.

Real physical human blood. Real physical human death. In a real physical human body. Mark tells us:

Mark 15:44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. 45 And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. 46 And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.

A Roman centurion verified the real physical death of Jesus. His dead physical human body was taken down from the cross, wrapped in linen and laid in a tomb. The women came Sunday morning with spices to anoint the dead body of Jesus (Mk.16:1), because they fully expected that his body like any other dead body would begin to decompose and stink.

When Jesus presented himself alive to his followers, he made a point to demonstrate that he was really bodily physically there.

Luke 24:36 As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” 37 But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. 38 And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41 And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate before them.

Providentially, Thomas was absent from this first appearance of the risen Jesus to his disciples. Thomas refused to believe unless he could handle real evidence.

John 20:26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although 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, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”

Jesus ascended bodily, physically into heaven, where he is now bodily, physically seated at the right hand of the majesty on high. He promised that he would bodily, physically return to this earth.

The Importance of His True Humanity

Why is this so important? Why do the gospel writers give so much evidence to demonstrate that Jesus was really truly human? According to the Apostle John, the true humanity of Jesus is essential to Christianity.

2 John 1:7 ...deceivers ...those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.

Substitution

The author of Hebrews gives us several reasons.

Hebrews 2:9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

God the Son took on human flesh so that he could experience human death as a legitimate substitute for sinful humans. In order to die in the place of humans, he had to be himself human.

Hebrews 10:4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; 6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. 7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”

Animal sacrifices could never take away sin, because animals are not human, created in the image of God. Jesus took on a human body so that he could substitute himself for us.

Hebrews 2:14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham.

Jesus partook of flesh and blood so that he could destroy death, the consequence of sin, by dying. He did not become an angel to rescue angels. He became human to rescue humans.

Hebrews 2:17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

He had to (notice the language of necessity); he had to be made like his brothers in every respect (being sort of human or partially human would not be adequate; he had to be fully human); he had to be made like his brothers in every respect in order to carry out his role as our great high Priest making propitiation for sin. To bear the wrath of God against the sins of mankind, he had to be a man.

Sympathy

The next verse gives another reason he became a man.

Hebrews 2:18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Jesus really truly experienced temptation, so we can go to him for help when we are tempted.

Hebrews 4:15 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. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Because Jesus in every respect has been tempted as we are, we can confidently come to him to receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Sinless

He was tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sin. Sinfulness is not a necessary part of being human. Adam and Eve were fully human, created good and without sin. The Father attested both at his baptism at the beginning of his ministry (Mt.3:17) and at his transfiguration toward the end of his ministry (Mt.17:5) ‘this is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’ The Jewish leaders ‘were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death, but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward’ (Mt.26:59-60). Pilate three times attested to the innocence of Jesus (Lk. 23:4,14,22; Jn.18:38; 19:4,6)

Jesus had to be perfect,

1 Peter 1:19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

1 Peter 2:22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.

1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God,…

2 Corinthians 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

1 John 3:5 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.

Jesus came ‘in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin’ (Rom.8:3), but he had no sin of his own.

Obedience

Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 calls Christ the last Adam or the second man. Where Adam was placed in paradise with all of his needs met and he disobeyed, Jesus, driven into the wilderness and literally starving to death, fully obeyed. He lived his whole life in perfect obedience. He was even obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Paul says in Romans 5:

Romans 5:18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.

Because of Jesus' perfect obedience as a man to his Father, his perfect righteousness as our substitute now makes us righteous.

Mediator

1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

For Jesus to truly mediate and be the spokesman both for God and for men, he must be both fully God and fully man.

The God-Man Now in Heaven

The eternal Word who was God became fully human to save us, and he remains fully human forever. In all his post-resurrection appearances, he made a point to demonstrate that he was real flesh and bone, no mere ghost or apparition. He allowed his disciples to touch him to see that he was real. He ate food with them, and he promised his disciples that he would drink wind again with them in his Father’s kingdom (Mt.26:29). In Acts 7, Stephen saw the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God in heaven. Hebrews contrasts him with the priests who died.

Hebrews 7:24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

Hebrews 9:24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.

Romans 8:34 ...Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised— who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

1 John 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

The Hypostatic Union

How do we put this all together? The council of Chalcedon in 451 met to discuss what we call the hypostatic union [from ὑπόστασις hypóstasis, "sediment, foundation, substance, subsistence"], that the eternal Word became flesh, two natures united in one person forever.

The Chalcedonian Definition: A.D. 451:

We, then, following the holy Fathers, all with one consent, teach men to confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood; truly God and truly man, of a reasonable [rational] soul and body; consubstantial [co-essential] with the Father according to the Godhead, and consubstantial with us according to the Manhood; in all things like unto us, without sin; begotten before all ages of the Father according to the Godhead, and in these latter days, for us and for our salvation, born of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, according to the Manhood; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, only begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably;

the distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved, and concurring in one Person and one Subsistence, not parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son, and only begotten, God the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ;

as the prophets from the beginning [have declared] concerning Him, and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself has taught us, and the Creed of the holy Fathers has handed down to us.

Hilary of Poitiers c.360 Trinity, III.16;

“But what is this glory with the Father, for which He looks? It is that, of course, which He had with Him before the world was. He had the fulness of the Godhead; He has it still, for He is God’s Son. But He Who was the Son of God had become the Son of man also, for The Word was made flesh. He had not lost His former being, but He had become what He was not before; He had not abdicated His own position, yet He had taken ours; He prays that the nature which He had assumed may be promoted to the glory which He had never renounced.”

Gregory of Naziansen (Nazianzus) (329-389); 379 Orat.XXIX.19:

“He Who is now Man was once the Uncompounded. What He was He continued to be; what He was not He took to Himself. In the beginning He was, uncaused; for what is the Cause of God? But afterwards for a cause He was born. And that came was that you might be saved,”

Leo the Great (c.400-461) Serm.XXI.2

“with the purpose of delivering man from eternal death, became man: so bending Himself to take on Him our humility without decrease in His own majesty, that remaining what He was and assuming what He was not, He might unite the true form of a slave to that form in which He is equal to God the Father, and join both natures together by such a compact that the lower should not be swallowed up in its exaltation nor the higher impaired by its new associate. Without detriment therefore to the properties of either substance which then came together in one person, majesty took on humility, strength weakness, eternity mortality: and for the paying off of the debt, belonging to our condition, inviolable nature was united with passible nature, and true God and true man were combined to form one Lord, so that, as suited the needs of our case, one and the same Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, could both die with the one and rise again with the other.”

Here’s a phrase to remember; ‘remaining what he was, he became what he was not.’ Continuing in undiminished deity, he took an additional nature and became human. Remaining what he was, he became what he was not.

Kenosis?

Philippians 2:5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus, being equal with God, did not cling to his divine privileges, but emptied himself. What is this emptying? In the mid 19^th century, some German theologians taught that Jesus laid aside some of his divine attributes during his time on earth. They taught that to become truly human, he could no longer be omnipresent (everywhere present), omniscient (knowing everything), or omnipotent (all powerful). But in saying this, they are saying that Jesus ceased to be fully God. Remember, ‘remaining what he was, he became what he was not.’ Philippians 2 does not say that he emptied himself of himself, or emptied himself of any characteristics of himself; but rather he ‘emptied himself by taking.’ This is parallel to ‘he humbled himself.’ The text does say how he emptied and humbled himself; he ‘emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, being found in human form.’ His emptying was not by subtraction, but by addition. Remaining what he was, he became what he was not. Remaining fully God, he humbled himself by being born as a human. Jesus in his divine nature continued to possess all the attributes of Deity, while his human nature had all the weakness and limitations of humanity. And this should cause us to wonder and worship.

Worship

The helpless babe in the manger (Luke 2:7) was at the same time upholding the universe by the word of his power (Hebrews 1:3; Colossians 1:17)

Jesus learned and grew (Luke 2:52) and he knew all things (John 16:30)

Jesus, sleeping because of exhaustion (Matthew 8:24) could rise and exercise sovereign authority over nature (Matthew 8:26-27)

The one who turned water into wine (John 2:6-11) and fed thousands with a boy's lunch (John 6:9-14) was hungry (Matthew 4:2) and thirsty (John 19:28)

Jesus went to the Father and was no longer in the world (John 16:28; 17:11) but promised his followers that he would always be present with them (Matthew 28:20)

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Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org