Living Way Church Adult Sunday School Program Introduction to Systematic Theology Lesson Three I. Introduction to the Doctrine of Christ A. In the first week, we discussed both the doctrine of the Word and the doctrine of God, ending with the creation, which culimnated in the creation of man in the very image of God B. Last week, we discussed the doctrine of man that men and women were created to glorify God; that Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, which distorted God s good creation and separated men and women from God and one another; that Adam s sin left us with inherited corruption and inherited guilt; that all people totally lack spiritual good before God; that all people are sinful before God; and that sin requires punishment because of God s righteousness C. We ended last week with a discussion of man in the covenant of grace, which is the only way we could be saved, which found its ultimate expression in Jesus Christ D. Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man in one person. He will be this way forever E. This lesson will be divided into the following sections: 1. The Humanity and Deity of Christ 2. The Resurrection 3. The Offices of Christ (Prophet, Priest, and King) Hebrews 1:1 4 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. 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. II. The Humanity and Deity of Christ A. The Virgin Birth 1. The importance of the virgin birth cannot be minimized. This is an essential doctrine of the Christian faith. 2. The virgin birth is affirmed in scripture in multiple places. In Luke 1:35, the angel Gabriel told Mary, 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. Page 1 of 5
3. What important truths does the virgin birth communicate to us? a) Salvation belongs to the Lord (Psalm 3:8). Our salvation could not have been achieved by merely human means or desire. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons (Galatians 4:4 5). b) The virgin birth was the way in which God sent His Son into the world, uniting full deity and full humanity in one person. c) The virgin birth was the way in which Christ could be fully human without inheriting the sin nature from Adam. Jesus did not have a human father the way every other descendent of Adam has had, and thus Jesus was not born with the moral corruption present in the rest of humanity. Also, the Holy Spirit must have prevented the transmission of sin from Mary. B. The Humanity of Christ 1. Jesus had a human body, a human mind, a human soul, and human emotions. Therefore, He experienced the very things we experience. He knew what it meant to be tired, He grew, He learned things, He suffered, He felt troubled, He wept, and He grew in maturity as a person. 2. Yet Jesus was without sin and never sinned. 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 (Heb. 4:15). Also Paul writes, For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinth. 5:21). C. The Deity of Christ 1. Scripture clearly testifies to the deity of Christ (John 1:1, 1:18, 20:28; Romans 9:5; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 1:8; 2 Peter 1:1; Isaiah 9:6, among others). 2. Jesus displayed attributes of deity in his lifetime, such as omnipotence (He calmed the storm), eternity ( Before Abraham was, I am ), omniscience (He knew the hearts of people), and divine sovereignty (He forgave sins). 3. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell (Col. 1:19) and For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily (Col. 2:9). D. Why did Jesus need to be both fully God and fully man? 1. The full humanity of Jesus Christ was necessary so He could be our new representative head before God. Where Adam failed, Jesus obeyed and succeeded: Page 2 of 5
Romans 5:18 21 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 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. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 2. The full humanity of Jesus Christ was necessary so He could be a substitute sacrifice for us. Hebrews 2:16 17 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 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. 3. The full deity of Jesus Christ was necessary for salvation to be possible. a) Only God could bear the penalty of the sin b) Only God Himself could save men c) Only God could reveal God to us fully III. The Resurrection A. Scripture references to the resurrection: Matt. 28:1 20; Mark 16:1 8; Luke 24:1 53; John 20:1 21:25). B. When Christ was raised from the dead, He was not merely resuscitated. He was raised in the power of God and is the first of a new kind of human life. His body was made perfect. He would never die again, and He will exist eternally in this body. C. The resurrection is unendingly significant for the Christian. The resurrection insures our salvation and justification, it gives us resurrection life and power to live the Christian life, and it displays God s approval of Christ (and subsequently His approval of us in Christ). Ephesians 2:4 10 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. D. As Christians we will also receive this kind of resurrection body. Page 3 of 5
IV. The Offices of Christ: Prophet, Priest, and King A. In Old Testament Israel, there were three primary offices: Prophet, Priest, and King. B. The prophet spoke God s words to the people, the priest offered sacrifices on behalf of the people, and the king ruled as God s representative over the people. C. Christ fulfills all three of these offices D. Christ as Prophet 1. Moses prophesied: The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers it is to him you shall listen (Deut. 18:15) 2. Peter identified Jesus as this prophet in Acts 3:22. 3. Yet Jesus is greater than the Old Testament prophets because He is the one to whom the Old Testament prophets looked forward and because He is the source of revelation, not just a messenger of revelation. Instead of saying, Thus says the Lord, Jesus would begin with But I say to you. He spoke on His own authority E. Christ as Priest 1. Jesus offered the perfect sacrifice for sin. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself (Hebrews 9:26). 2. Jesus has given us access to God so that we approach the throne of grace with confidence. We no longer have to rely on an earthly priest from time to time. The veil was torn that closed of the holy of holies (Luke 23:45). 3. Jesus always intercedes for us. Priests in the Old Testament prayed on behalf of the people, but now Jesus does this for us. 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 7:25) F. Christ as King 1. Jesus refused an earthly kingship during His time here 2. He is the king of God s people, and did accept this title during His triumphal entry into Jerusalem 3. After the resurrection, Jesus was given authority over the church and the universe. And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me (Matt. 28:18). Philippians 2:9 11 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. V. The following confessions concisely state these teachings: Page 4 of 5
We believe that God has redeemed His people unto Himself through Jesus Christ our Lord; who, though He was and ever continues to be the eternal Son of God, yet was born of a woman, born under the law, that He might redeem them that are under the law: we believe that He bore the penalty due to our sins in His own body on the tree, and fulfilled in His own person the obedience we owe to the righteousness of God, and now presents us to His Father as His purchased possession, to the praise of the glory of grace forever: wherefore renouncing all merit of our own, we put all our trust only in the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ my Redeemer. We believe that Jesus Christ our Redeemer, who died for our offenses was raised again for our justification, and ascended into the heavens, where He sits at the right hand of the Father Almighty, continually making intercession for His people, and governing the whole world as head over all things for His church: so that we need fear no evil and may surely know that nothing can snatch us out of His hands and nothing can separate us from His love. We believe that the redemption wrought by the Lord Jesus Christ is effectually applied to all His people by the Holy Spirit, who works faith in us and thereby unites us to Christ, renews us in the whole man after the image of God, and enables us more and more to die unto sin and to live unto righteousness; until, this gracious work having been completed in us, we shall be received into glory: in which great hope abiding, we must ever strive to perfect holiness in the fear of God. Page 5 of 5