OUR GREAT SAVIOR The Doctrine of Christ

Transcription

1 OUR GREAT SAVIOR The Doctrine of Christ 64 Days of Truth Days Heritage Bible Church

2 64 Days of Truth is designed to help Christians understand the great doctrines of the Bible. As you spend the rest of your life feasting on the word of God (the Bible), you should forever expand and deepen your knowledge of these things. During the 64 Days, listen to the Wednesday messages with an open heart and an open Bible... Spend a few minutes each day to study on your own, using the devotional guides in this booklet... Spend an hour or so each week with a discussion group, talking about the importance of what you learn. Most of all, "Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen" (2 Peter 3:18). Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Bible.

3 DAY 15: Wednesday Message, "Our Great Savior" If you can, take notes, and pay special attention to these key points. (When you get to your discussion group, compare notes to help each other get it all.) How do we know Jesus is human? How do we know Jesus is God? Define "Kenosis" Define"Hypostatic Union" Memory Item for this week: Philippians 2:10-11:... that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

4 DAY 16: Thursday. More About Jesus Look up these verses and write down your observations about Christ: John 1:1-3: Who is He? What name is used for Him here? What did He do? John 1:9-13: What must you do in order to be a "child of God?" Explain what that means. Have you done it? When? John 1: How is Jesus described? (i.e., what is He "full" of?). How does this "explain" God? Fill in the blanks:... every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

5 DAY 17: Friday. Still More About Jesus Read Hebrews 1:1-5, and observe what it says about Jesus: What is His relationship to God (the Father)? To what is He heir? How was the world made? What holds it together? What did He do about your sins? How does He compare to angels? What does Hebrews 2:1 say, in light of all this? Fill in the blanks:..., of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

6 DAY 18: Saturday. Emptied for what? Jesus existed in the form of God in eternity past, but He chose to "empty Himself" and become a man for a very specific purpose. Look carefully at Philippians 2:5-11. What is the command (verse 5)? What kind of things can you do in order to obey this command? After "emptying Himself," what did Jesus do (verse 8)? How might you follow His example? What did God the Father do to Christ, following His death and resurrection (verse 10)? How many people will confess that Jesus is Lord? Have you? Fill in the blanks:...,,,, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

7 DAY 19: Sunday. The God-Man These famous words from A.D. 451 describe Jesus Christ: "Following the holy fathers, we confess with one voice that the one and only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, is perfect in Godhead and perfect in humanity, truly God and truly man, that He has a rational soul and a body. He is of one substance with the Father as God, He is also of one substance with us as man, He is like us in all things except sin... This one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten is made known in two natures without confusion, without change, without separation. The distinction of the natures is in no way taken away by their union, but rather the distinctive properties of each nature are preserved. Both natures unite into one person and one hypostasis. They are not separated or divided into two persons, but form one and the same Son,..." How much is He God? How does Matthew 1:23 describe Him? How much is He man? How do 1 Timothy 2:5 and Romans 1:3 describe Him? Fill in the blanks:...,,,,, to the glory of God the Father.

8 DAY 20: Monday. Do You Believe? Are You Sure? Look up these verses about Christ, and see what you learn. John 20: Why was the gospel of John (and the other gospels) written down? What must you believe about Him? What must you do in order to have life? Have you done it? 1 John 5:13, 20. Why did John write 1 John? Do you "know" that you have eternal life? How? If you aren't sure you have eternal life, what do you need to do? Do you know someone else who needs to do the same things? Write out Philippians 2:10-11 from memory:

9 DAY 21: Tuesday. Review/Prepare 1. Write out Philippians 2:10-11 (as many times as you need to, until you know it by heart). 2. Tomorrow's message is "Walk By The Spirit" the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit, or Pneumatology. Look up these passages and make a few notes about Him: John 3:3-5 Romans 8:6-9 Ephesians 5:18 Galatians 5: What does is mean that a person or a church or a doctrine is "charismatic?" Write your idea, and listen carefully tomorrow.

10 DOCTRINE OF CHRIST THINGS TO REMEMBER The hypostatic union: Jesus Christ is the God-man, fully divine and fully human. Read over this from the Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451) carefully three times: "Following the holy fathers, we confess with one voice that the one and only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, is perfect in Godhead and perfect in humanity, truly God and truly man, that He has a rational soul and a body. He is of one substance with the Father as God, He is also of one substance with us as man, He is like us in all things except sin... This one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten is made known in two natures without confusion, without change, without separation. The distinction of the natures is in no way taken away by their union, but rather the distinctive properties of each nature are preserved. Both natures unite into one person and one hypostasis. They are not separated or divided into two persons, but form one and the same Son, Only-begotten, God, Word, Lord Jesus Christ, just as the prophets of old have spoken concerning Him and as the Lord Jesus Christ Himself has taught us and as the creed of the fathers has delivered to us." The kenosis: In becoming a man, Jesus Christ gave up the independent exercise of His divine attributes and veiled His glory in order to fulfill the plan of God to redeem men by dying in their place on the cross. He did not cease to be God, but He voluntarily subjected Himself to the Father. Philippians 2:10-11

11 Pastor Jim Harris Heritage Bible Church 7071 W. Emerald St. Boise, ID hbc-boise.org

12 Our Great Savior 64 Days of Truth, Days 15-21: Christology Discussion Guide If a person doesn't believe the correct doctrine of Jesus Christ, he or she cannot be saved! See 1 John 5:10-12, 2 John 7-11, Galatians 1:6-9. There are many important details concerning the doctrine of Christ, but don't let the details scare you. Most important is that you understand that Jesus is fully human and fully divine. 1. Give at least three evidences that Jesus is human. 2. Give at least three evidences that Jesus is God. 3. What is the hypostatic union? 4. What passage best describes the concept of kenosis? Define kenosis.

13 5. According to Romans 10:9-10, Luke 6:46, Matthew 7:21-23 and Philippians 2:10-11, what is the most important evidence that a person is a Christian? 6. How would someone who watched everything you did and heard everything you said for a week be able to tell if Jesus is your Lord? Memory Item for this week: Philippians 2:10-11:... that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

14 Our Father 64 Days of Truth, Days 8-14: Theology Proper Discussion Guide 1. What might be real-life results if you don't believe: God is a Spirit: Pantheism (Everything is God); worshiping idols; Mormonism; improper worship in general (John 4:24); not believing in the Trinity. Others? God is infinite: Polytheism (many gods); Cults (JW's Christ was the archangel Michael; Mormonism God is an exalted man); God is not all-powerful; He cannot be creator of everything. Others? God is eternal: All mythological gods; God cannot know the future; He cannot be sovereign if He is bounded by time; "Eternal life" (Romans 6:23) has no meaning. Others? God is unchangeable: There can be contradictions in the Bible; His promises are meaningless; Discuss Malachi 3:6... Israel would have been destroyed if God were not unchangeable you also would be destroyed if God's promise of eternal life was changeable; You have no basis for overcoming anxiety if God is not unchangeable. 2. A. W. Tozer wrote "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us" and "We tend, by a secret law of the soul, to move toward our mental image of God." Long before Tozer, the Apostle John came up with a three-part "test" of true Christian living. Discover it in 1 John: Assign three teams to look at each part for about 5 minutes. Tell them to find the theme in the verses: What "test" does John have in mind in each case? Spend about 10 minutes on each team's part of the test. Part One: 1 John 2:18-27, 4:1-6, 4: Describe this part of the test: Proper doctrine, with special emphasis on the doctrine of Jesus Christ: He is God, who came in the flesh. He did not "become" God; He did not "become" Christ (Messiah). The one who was born as Jesus is the Christ; To deny the Father and the Son (i.e., the Trinity, even though the Holy Spirit is not mentioned by name, only as "an anointing from God") means you are not a Christian. Many who "go out from us" prove by their departure that they do not believe in the true Christ. (You don't have to know about and understand the Trinity in order to become a Christian; but no one who is a true Christian will learn about the Trinity, and reject it.) Part Two: 1 John 2:3-6, 2:28-3:10. Describe this part of the test: Obedience to proper doctrine. 1 John does not teach sinless perfection (See 1:8-2:2 if there's any doubt), but it does teach that true believers love the Lord and hate their sin. True believers seek to "walk as He walked" and to "practice righteousness." True believers do not "practice sin." For a true Christian, sin is an interruption of the pattern of obedience; an unbeliever is a slave to sin.

15 Part Three: 1 John 2:7-11, 3:11-18, 4:7-12. Describe this part of the test: Showing you believe and obey the right doctrine by loving others. People who understand the forgiveness of God become forgiving people; people who understand the love of God become loving people. Living righteously will bring hatred from the world, but Christians should love one another. Love is sacrificing for the good of another person. See also what John wrote (the words of Jesus) in John 13:34-35). Summary of John's "tests:" Believe the right things, obey God, love fellow Christians. If your concept of God does not bolster those three things in balance with each other you are probably not a true believer. Belief without obedience is lawlessness; Without love, belief and obedience are harsh and judgmental; "Obedience" without proper belief is legalism; Love without obedience and proper belief is sentimentalism. On which part of John's test are you the strongest? What is your weak point? What do you need to do? Talk about these from both a personal application perspective, and in light of how each one of us contributes to the spiritual life of Heritage Bible Church. The answers might be different personally and corporately. Memory Item for this week: God is a spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth.