Truth and Jesus Christ #1

When you read about Christ in Matthew Mark Luke and John. Jesus Christ does not merely teach us about God, Jesus Christ himself is fully God, he bears the full essence of God without any diminishment whatsoever. This is the truth with gone green founding pastor of truth Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio by Bill right you know trying to comprehend how Jesus Christ is once fully God and fully man is kind of like an ant trying to master advanced trigonometry will today as Don continues teaching God's people.

God's word is going to do his best to shed some light on this mindbending topic which is summed up in the rather theological term hypostatic union but don't let that scare you. Let's join our teacher now for part one of a message titled truth in Jesus Christ from the truthful, what we find in this text from John chapter 114 to aspects of the significance of the coming of Christ to aspects of the significance of what this verse means there is the historical significance of what it signifies and then secondly there is the revelatory significance of what it signifies what happened in time and space history 2000 years ago in the land of Israel. We want to see that from this text and what does it mean about God and what does it mean about Christ.

The historical significance and the revelatory significance that's what were going to see as we go through this text so point number one the historical significance of what happened and what this text means the first half of this text makes two historical assertions look at it there with me. In verse 14. The first assertion is this the word became flesh, you see that there it's making a statement about what happened in the past in the past, the Word became flesh and then secondly you see alongside that. What happened after the word became flesh and that coordinating conjunction there. The word became flesh and dwelt among us, something happened. The word became flesh and then after he became flesh. There was something else that happened in time and space history.

He dwelt among us, so that's the historical significance of were about to look at the word became flesh will see what that means. And then he dwelt among us, and we'll see what that means as well so first of all, the word became flesh. That's the first aspect of this historical significance for today, we see that this was the word that was God go back to chapter 1 verse one. John's Gospel opens on the theme of the word in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.

Now, without getting into the depth of the Trinitarian significance of this passage, just notice a couple of things here. Notice that it says in the beginning was the word. The Greek construction and this means that at the time of the beginning going back to the very start of creation in Genesis 11 kind of way. Before that time, the word was continually existing before time began.

The word wall because the word existed and was existing back in eternity past, and so the word was someone who was preexistent and as you continue on their in verse one, you read that the word was with God, and that's that indicates that somehow, somehow, the word is separate from God. If you're going to be with someone you have to somehow be separate from him separate from her.

Not that God is or her just speaking in human language here if there's going if you're going to be with someone. There's there's a separate identity of some kind that is in place and yet you read on and you see that it says there in verse one that the Word was God. This word who was in the beginning this world who was with God, was himself God and therefore equal with God. God the father, God the son God the Spirit. Although is not in this text, God the son God the spirit fully equal in their essence, nothing about Christ is inferior to who God the father is look over at John 14 verse 941 aspect of what we need to say here Jesus said to Philip there at the end of the verse. He said he who has seen me has seen the father to look at Christ is to see what God the father is like God the father is infinite and unchanging, and perfectly holy no one, no one is like that except God himself. And yet, Christ says to Philip, when you see me you see God the father you see a perfect exact representation of what God the father is like when you observe me. And when you study me and so that's the opening verse thereof. John chapter 1 verse one. Now in verse 14. This word who was in the beginning, this word who was with God, this word that was God in the beginning that word we see in verse 14 that is the word that we see in verse 14 the Word became flesh and so taken together, these verses teach us that God became a man, Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man 100% deity 100% humanity in the one person of Jesus Christ you could say it this way, the invisible God say that again the invisible God added visible humanity to his person and what does that mean it means that God has revealed himself in a person, the person of Jesus Christ in Jesus Christ beloved.

Listen to these nouns carefully in Jesus Christ dwell the depth the substance and the very essence of God himself. Christ is more than a good teacher. Christ is more than a prophet. Christ is not simply a God as the Mormons like to say Christ was God himself in the grace of God and the truth of God come to man in and through the person of Jesus Christ and these principles of grace and truth abide evermore in him. He is the exact representation of God because he is God himself. That is the Christ in whom you must believe if you are to be delivered from your sins, you must know him for who he really is. Go back to the book of Hebrews with me to Hebrews chapter 1 Hebrews chapter 1 and here in this text you're going to see that Christ is the climactic revelation of God is the final word. You could say in Hebrews chapter 1 verse one we read this God, after he spoke long ago to the fathers and the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in his son. The original text says in son, it's even more clear and more emphatic. It's in sonnets in the sun that God has made himself known verse, to whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the world again. You see the preexistence of Christ that it was in Christ that the world was created before Genesis 11 Christ and then we see this in verse three as it reflects on the revelatory nature of Christ says in verse three and Christ is the radiance of his glory and the exact representation of his nature.

There is no diminishment of the revelation of God in Christ there is nothing missing because in Christ dwells all the fullness of deity in bodily form that is who the only Savior of mankind is he is God in human flesh and you go on and read in verse three, and he upholds all things by the word of his power, when he had made purification of sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

And so in Jesus Christ.

The fact that the word became flesh. That is the historical significance of what John is speaking of here in verse 14 in Christ God became a man, that is. That's what happened in real history when Jesus was conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary when he was born to her nine months later God had become a man.

God had entered into the fullness of humanity even humbling himself to the lowest and loneliest position of being formed in his mother's womb. It is not that Mary is the mother of God.

Mary is the mother of the human form of Jesus because God preexisted Mary and she could not in any way have given birth to God himself. She gave birth to the human form of Jesus. These are matters of great importance, and so beloved.

Here's what we need to to see when we come to the Lord Jesus Christ. When you read about Christ in Matthew Mark Luke and John, you need to understand this and have it very clear in your mind. Jesus Christ does not merely teach us about God.

He doesn't simply tell us principles by which we can learn about God, Jesus Christ himself reveals God he manifests God. God has appeared in the Lord Jesus Christ. Because Christ himself is fully God, he bears the full essence of God without any diminishment whatsoever. There was never a time where Jesus did not exist. There was never a time where the son of God did not exist.

Contrary to what Jehovah's Witnesses and other Aryans might try to tell you Christ is eternal in the same way that God the father is eternal. These are matters of great importance.

Charles Spurgeon said this speaking of Christ. He said he took on him the very nature and substance of manhood. He did not merely assume the name and notion and appearance of manhood. But the reality the weakness the suffering, the mortality of our manhood. He actually took into union with himself. Our Lord is as truly and as really man as he is God. Not only does God dwell in the body of a man, but our Lord Jesus is God and man in one person." So when the apostles and the other witnesses of the time saw Jesus in the flesh.

They were not seeing an appearance. They were not seeing a ghost. They were not seeing some spiritual apparition they were seeing a real man in real time, and Christ as a man suffered hunger. He suffered the thirst he had human emotions.

He lived in obedience to his parents and submitted to his parents as Luke chapter 2 tells us those and all other aspects of his humanity accepting the sin of it all.

He experience the fullness of humanity experience temptation and, thus, he is fully identified with men by becoming a man now stay with me here and understand something both aspects of the person of Christ are absolutely essential if any man is going to be saved. I said this in the past. If a bridge is going to successfully span across a body of water, it has to make contact with land on both sides of the body of water in the same way if a man is to be saved if the if the infinite chasm between God and man not only in essence, but in sin if that infinite chasm is going to be bridge. There has to be someone who has his foot both in deity, and his foot in humanity. Otherwise the bridge collapses. In Christ we have a Savior who is God himself, and therefore is fully identified with God in Christ we have a man who is fully identified with humanity and, therefore, having joined the two natures into one. He and he alone is available. He and he alone is able to be the Savior, someone who is not God cannot die for an extended number of people, someone who is not a man cannot die for man and take away their sins. There has to be a full identity with the essence of God and with the essence of humanity. And that's what Jesus Christ has done and so when we contemplate this we realize that there are there are great realities that are unveiled in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now and so we see this historical assertion that the word became flesh and John adds a second historical assertion go back to John chapter 1 verse 14 with me. John chapter 1 verse 14 we see the second aspect.

Not only that the word became flesh, but secondly he dwelt among us. The word dwelt among us. The word became flesh. The word dwelt among us, so 2000 years ago.

Jesus Christ literally lived with men on this earth. During the course of his earthly lifetime. He moved about men who who witnessed him who who felt his flesh who heard him speak, who witnessed his works and he lived among us. Now this word for dwelt among us.

It's from the Greek word sky not in a means to take up residence where he lived or he dwelt what is saying is, is that when the word became flesh when Jesus Christ became a man, he took up residence among men. He lived among men. What's fascinating about that verb is that the noun form of this verb in the original language refers to the tabernacle, the place where God manifested his presence and met with his people in the Old Testament God in the Old Testament manifested his presence in the tabernacle later manifested his presence in the temple and thus in a sense he he dwelt among us in the temple but not in bodily form with Christ.

What we have now is God has manifested his presence. God is took up residence and met with his people in the person of Jesus Christ and so Christ was manifesting the very presence of God to those who saw him as he lived among men, and so compared to the Old Testament in the shadows of the tabernacle in Christ in the New Testament era, God was now dwelling with his people in a far more personal way in the most intimate of ways. It's far exceeded what Israel knew in the shadows of ceremonies and at animal sacrifices. This is one of the reasons beloved why it is so important for you not to be drawn in, not to be tempted to go back to Old Testament rituals to Old Testament feasts and things like that. Those were shadows that were inferior to the greater coming of Christ.

And because Christ has come, the shadows go away when the fullness of light comes the shadows disappear. And in that way that in the same way the coming of Christ has done away with those ceremonies that look forward to Christ.

Now that we have the fulfillment. We do not dabble in the shadows and so as Christ lived among men. Men were able to see him, hear him feel him and touch him, they heard his authoritative teaching look over it. Look over Matthew chapter 7 with me they heard his authoritative teaching and it astonished them.

Matthew seven verse 28 after Jesus finished preaching the sermon on the Mount. The crowds were amazed at his teaching three was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes. Jesus's teaching was such that they knew that they had never heard anything like that. It was astonishing to them to see a man of such authority of such power and is speaking is such wisdom and insight and depth of understanding, never a man spoke like this. It was said of him elsewhere in Scripture. In addition to hearing his authoritative teaching as the word dwelt among them. They witnessed his supernatural miracles look over at Luke chapter 5 with me. Luke chapter 5 I want to spend just a moment looking at this. There's a lot to be said about from this text in Luke chapter 5 as we see the Lord dwelling among men Luke chapter 5 verse one. Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around him and listening to the word of God.

He was standing by the lake of Guinness Ehret and he saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake, but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets and got into one of the boats which was Simon's and asked him to put out a little way from the land and he sat down and began teaching the people from the boat see the emphasis on teaching while the Lord was on earth.

His ministry was one of teaching and proclaiming the word of God. Nothing is changed. Beloved in the ensuing 2000 years, the teaching of the word of God is central to true ministry.

It cannot be marginalized and still claim to be a biblical ministry that is essential and critical for us to understand Jesus was teaching there in verse three from the boat when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch all give you a preview of what's about to happen here. Jesus, having taught verbally the people is now going to do assigned to authenticate them and verify the veracity of his teaching is going to do something that no man could do in order to show that his teaching was the very word of God and so he tells Simon in verse four, put out into the water and let down your nets for a catch and Simon the fishermen, the professional fisherman answered and said master. We worked hard all night and caught nothing. In other words, Lord.

This is not a good idea.

I know that there are no fish here. We just worked all night were professional fisherman and so this is not going to prove anything, but verse five. I will do as you say, and let down the nets. This was hardly Peter at his highest moment of of trusting faith that all do you say to do it all. Do it but Lord, you're on your own on this one. Whatever happens, your response why warned you ahead of time.

This wasn't going to work. Verse six when they had done this.

They enclosed a great quantity of fish and their nets began to break so that they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them and they came and filled both of the boats so that they began to sink the Lord whom we saw earlier, through whom God created the world was continuing to exercise his sovereignty over creation and natural elements, so he supernaturally called together fish to to come into those nets and it was so massive and so so beyond human ability, so beyond human capacity that there was no other killed conclusion to draw. But the fact that this was God in human flesh.

He was speaking and who had just performed this miracle know what happened at that manifestation of the person of God. What was Peter's response when Peter saw that he fell down at Jesus feet, saying go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man. There's a lot to be said there in the context of John 114 what I want you to see is that God became a man and his disciples witnessed his supernatural miracles. They were direct eyewitnesses of it and saw it and verified it in the same way that you and I verify reality around us, with their five human since they sought it was real. That's nongreen, bringing our study for today to a close. You're on the truth pulpit friend if you'd like to find out more about Don green we'd like to hear this message again. We invite you to visit the truth. Pulpit.com when you get there you'll find all of God's teaching available to you 24 hours a day. That's the truth.

Pulpit.com. Thanks so much for taking the time to be with us for today's lesson.

I will write inviting you to join us again next time as nongreen continues teaching God's people. God's word here on this truthful