COMMON CONFESSION: THE BAPTIST FAITH & MESSAGE 2000 Article II.B: God-the-Son Select Passages I. Introduction a. Opener Titanic Everything he knows is wrong. b. Transition statement. Who do you say that I am? You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. c. Main Point of the Text(s) God-the-Son became man so that as the God-Man, Jesus Christ, he might reconcile to Himself through redemption those sinners who believe. d. Main Point of the Sermon What you believe about Jesus changes everything. Not only will it determine your eternal destiny and the quality of life you live in the here and now but it will affect the future of this church and how we engage the lost around us. e. Purpose My prayer for you this morning is i. That you would see and savor Jesus in all of His glory as God, Man, as Redeemer and as King ii. That by the Spirit of God working in you Christ would dwell in your hearts through faith and 1. Perhaps for the first time if you aren t a believer 2. And more fully if you are iii. That you might be able to comprehend the breadth and length and height and depth of God s love for you in Christ. f. Comment. My primary texts will be Colossians 1:15-17, Philippians 2:5-11, and II Timothy 1:8-10, but you ve been provided a Scripture guide to follow along elsewhere. Also, you ll need your Baptist Faith and Message 2000 pamphlet as we will be reciting from that as well. If anyone does not have a copy
BFM2000 would you please just raise your hand now, and an usher will bring you one. Or you may pull it up on your smart phone or tablet. g. READ h. ARTICLE II.B i. PRAY j. Transition statement. I want to cover the material today in two ways. First, I want to prove to you from the Bible that Jesus is God, that He is Man, that He is the God-Man come to redeem us from the curse of sin. Second, I want to show you from the Bible how all of that plays out in the life of the believer and in the life of the local body. II. THE FUNDAMENTAL FACTS a. Jesus is God. i. Texts 1. Colossians 2:9 2. Colossians 1:15-17 ii. Explanation 1. He is fully and truly God a. Eternal b. Creator c. Sovereign ruler d. Unchanging e. All-powerful f. All-knowing g. Everywhere-present h. All-loving (all good) i. All-wise 2. He is one in essence with God-the Father & God-the-Spirit, coequal in power, authority and glory. a. John 10:30 3. He is God-the-Son by virtue of His relationship to God-the- Father and God-the-Spirit, not due to any natural or essential division within the Godhead. a. He reveals the Father to us. i. John 14:9 b. He accesses the Father for us.
i. I John 5:11-12 And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 4. He is eternally begotten. a. I John 4:9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten into the world so that we might live through Him. 5. His divinity came with convincing proofs, all prophesied in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the life of Jesus. a. Virgin Birth b. Miraculous life c. Crucifixion/Death d. Burial/Resurrection e. Ascension b. Jesus is Man. i. Text 1. Hebrews 2:14-18 ii. Explanation He is fully and truly man. 1. He was like us physically. a. Conception b. Birth c. Life d. Death 2. He was like us mentally and emotionally. a. Compassion b. Anger c. Joy d. Sorry e. Distress 3. He was like us spiritually. a. Temptation 4. He was like us socially a. By recognition. b. By heritage c. By development i. Growth ii. Subjection to authority 5. Yet, he was distinct a. He was without sin Hebrews 4:15
c. Jesus it the God-Man. i. Texts 1. John 1:1-5, 14 2. Philippians 2:5-11 3. II Corinthians 4:6 ii. Explanation 1. He has reconciled us to God II Co. 5:18-19 a. Active obedience Romans 5:6-21 b. Passive obedience Hebrews 9:26-27 d. Jesus is King i. Text 1. Hebrews 1:3 ii. Explanation 1. Exalted to the right hand of God 2. Mediating and interceding for us Hebrews 7:25 3. Soon to return again a. To judge the world for sin I Timothy 4:1 b. To provide final salvation for us Hebrews 9:28 e. ILLUSTRATION Anselm of Canterbury, Cur Deus Homo If we are to be saved, only God, who has both the will and power to save, must save us. Men and women could not achieve it, for we are the ones who have gotten ourselves into trouble in the first place. Salvation must also be achieved by man. Man is the one who wronged God and must therefore make the wrong right. Granted this state of affairs, salvation can be achieved only by one who is both God and man, namely, by Christ. f. STORED APPLICATION i. If Jesus isn t both God and Man, full and true in each respect, He cannot save you. If he s just God, He cannot bear the wrath for sin in your place. If He s just a man, He cannot be the perfect sinless sacrifice and He has no power to reconcile you to God. III.THE FAITHFUL OBEDIENCE a. Text: This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in Him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. b. What you believe about Jesus determines your eternal destiny.
i. You must know Jesus to be saved. 1. I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me (John 14:6, NASB). 2. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father (I John 2:23). 3. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son (I John 5:11, ESV). ii. You must know Jesus rightly to be saved. 1. Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophecy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from Me you who practice lawlessness (Matthew 7:21-22, NASB) 2. He is the eternally God who became man that He might bear His own wrath for your sins and offer forgiveness. a. Repentance & believe in the gospel (Mark 1:15, NASB). iii. ILLUSTRATION Richard B. Gaffin Jr. There is no partial union with Christ; if believers do not have the whole Christ, they have no Christ. c. What you believe about Jesus determines the quality and character of your life. i. To know Christ is to be changed by Him 1. Obedience a. Passive Obedience No love for the things of the world i. Desires of the flesh ii. Desires of the eyes iii. Boastful Pride b. Active Obedience i. Desire/Pursuit of holiness ii. Marked obedience 2. Love a. Love for brothers and sisters in Christ i. Patience ii. Kindness iii. Humility sacrifice of self (Christ)
iv. Service meeting needs ii. ILLUSTRATION David Moser Gospel-fueled obedience doesn t say God was gracious so obey because you owe him. Or God was gracious so obey to show Him thanksgiving. It says, God made you a new creation. It s in your new nature to glorify Him through obedience. He made himself your Father, delight to follow Him. d. What you believe about Jesus determines the destiny, quality and character of our church. i. Revelation 2:2-5 IV. SUMMATION & RESPONSE I Kings 18:21