College Study #20: "God the Son"

‘Behold, the Lamb of God’s

ide o amnos tou theou

College Study

20^th teaching

1.14.2013

 

 

The Persons of the Trinity:

“God the Son”

 

          So tonight’s study is entitled: “The Persons of the Trinity: God the Son”. This is the second part in our series on the Persons of the Trinity, so of course we’re going to examine the second Person of the Trinity.

          But tonight’s study aims to answer a question on the minds of millions: Who is Jesus Christ?

          Because, let’s face it, if the world is confused about God, it is doubly-confused about His Son. Jesus Christ throughout the years and throughout societies has been defamed, slandered, misrepresented and misunderstood. Even when Jesus walked this earth, people were confused about His identity. He is the Desire of Nations, but there is such confusion concerning Him.

          In Matthew 16:13-18, Jesus brings up this very question.

          There was tremendous confusion even in the earthly days of Christ. People were like “He’s Elijah” and others said “He’s Jeremiah”. But Jesus, you can imagine Him looking right into the eyes of His disciples, asked them “But who do you say that I am?”

          And so to the followers of Christ in our day, some two-thousand years later, who do we show Christ to be? How do we exemplify or represent Him to others? What is the picture we give of Christ? Who do you say Jesus is?

          And this is imperative that we know the right answer, that we see the right Jesus.

          Let’s consider a few of the major theories out there concerning who Jesus Christ really is. How do these theories measure up?

1.   The Homeboy Jesus

          Probably the most popular American view of Jesus, which depicts Him as this sort of happy-go-lucky bro, the kind of guy who would help you move if you asked Him. This Jesus doesn’t really seem to be worthy of life-long devotion and deep adoration and worship, or of reverence. He doesn’t seem to belong to titles like the King of Glory and the Lord of Hosts. This Jesus just seems like a super-friendly guy. So… is this who Jesus is?

2.   The Prophet Jesus

          Today I came across this startling image. This billboard says “Jesus a prophet of Islam”. In the Islamic religion, Jesus is known as Isa, who was a messenger or prophet of God. Surprisingly, belief in Jesus as a prophet is required to be a Muslim. However, the Qur’an emphasizes the Jesus, though chosen by God, was not God but simply a mortal human being. Islam also denies that Jesus was ever crucified or that He died for the sins of the world. So… is this who Jesus is?

3.   The Human Jesus

          I once had a co-worker who said her favorite Jesus was Baby Jesus. What a bizarre thing to say? In all seriousness, there are many people today who believe that Jesus was a historical figure but that He was purely ordinary, that He was just a man. This view is probably one of the most widespread views in the world. Even the hardcore atheist Richard Dawkins has said he believes that Christ actually existed, but only as a man. Coupled with this idea is the concept that Jesus was a good moral teacher, though certainly not God. Thus Jesus is on par with many other human philosophers and teachers through the years. So… is this who Jesus is?

4.   The Created Jesus

          The good old Jehovah’s Witnesses are one of the groups responsible for this view, wherein Jesus is held to be supernatural, yet in fact a Being who was created by God. Adherents latch onto verses in the Bible which call Jesus “the firstborn” and say then that Jesus was created by God, and therefore separate from God. So… is this who Jesus is?

5.   The Mythical Jesus

          The Christ-myth theory, a theory which states that Jesus was a mythical figure invented by Christian, was a theory invented by David Strauss in 1835. This theory may not totally deny that Christ existed, but it postulates that we know and can know very little about who He actually was, and that most of what we claim to know is mythical. Others have compared the story of Christ’s life with older pagan religions that have similar death-rebirth figures, in an attempt to make the claim that Christians “borrowed” the idea for Jesus from other faiths. More recently, the film Zeitgeist claims that Jesus was mythical, a compilation of religious and traditional ideas. So… is this who Jesus is?

6.   The Uncaring Jesus

          Just look at this picture! Holy frown, Batman! The view of Jesus as uncaring is really a view that religious people seem to have. Take for example the Catholics, who believe that Jesus’ mother Mary is a mediator between you and Jesus, who then is a mediator between you and God, as if Jesus is unapproachable, frightening even. This is exactly the opposite of the Homeboy Jesus view. A fisherman may clean his fish after he catches them, but Jesus wants you cleaned up before you stain his carpets! Some people think that Jesus is cold and distant, clouded in religiosity. Is this who Jesus is?

7.   The Biblical Jesus

          With all the views the world has about Jesus, we must realize that the only true view of Christ is the one which He Himself presents us with in His own words. The biblical view of Jesus holds that He is a Friend of Sinners, but also worthy of adoration; that He was more than a prophet; that He was fully God and fully man; that He was not created by God but that He is God; that He was not a myth but the truth; that He was certainly not uncaring but loving enough to suffer the extreme torment and death of crucifixion.

          The Bible says He is the Son of God. The Bible says He is greater than the angels. The Bible claims that He is risen from the dead.

          This is the real Jesus. This is who everyone needs to know. This is He upon whom the world must believe. This is the Jesus that the world is so confused about, and which we have the privilege of accurately presenting to them. Like Thomas, the world has its doubts, saying “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails… and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” We have the pleasure of saying to the lost “Look! Here is the evidence! Here is the truth! See the print of the nails. Put your hand into His heart. Here it is.”

 

          *The branch of Systematic Theology which forms the study of Jesus Christ is known as Christology. Hey, pretty easy huh?

          Once we complete this three-part series on the Persons of the Trinity, Lord willing, we’ll return to Theology Proper and our study of God’s attributes. After that, we’ll go into Christology, the study of Jesus Himself. But as that’s most likely a long ways away, let’s return to our topic at hand.

          Tonight we’re just barely scratching the surface of Christology. We’ve already looked at several views about Christ and considered that the only true view is the biblical view. Next we’ll further consider the characteristics of the Son that differentiate Him from the Father and the Spirit, just as we looked at the Father’s characteristics last week. At the end of the study, we’ll consider the Deity of Christ, that is the God-hood of Christ.

          First off, the characteristics of Jesus. Remember the world is confused. Who is this God person anyway? God the Father is three things: the Source, the Sender and the Planner. Let’s notice that God the Son is three things: the Means, the Sent and the Achiever.

a.    God the Son is the Means. John 1:1-3, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” This is exactly what the Genesis account of Creation reveals. Genesis 1:3, “Then God said, “Let there be light” God spoke and all things were made through the Word. The Father was the Source but the Son was the Means, the agent through which all things were made. I Corinthians 8:6, “…yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.”

b.   God the Son is the Sent. John 3:16. You know it well. Galatians 4:4-5, “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” God sent His Son. The Son was He that was Sent. He went. It’s not the Father that was sent into the world, it was the Son. In this respect too, Jesus was the Means of salvation. Through faith in Jesus Christ we have salvation.

c.    God the Son is the Achiever. It is heretical to say that God the Father suffered and died on the cross. He did not. The Son did. Neither can we say that the Holy Spirit suffered and died. Only the Son did. Only the Son took on flesh and took up the cross. II Corinthians 5:21, “For God made im who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” The Father planned it and the Son executed it. He achieved salvation and therefore salvation is found in Him. I Corinthians 15:22, “…even so in Christ all shall be made alive.” Romans 6:23, “…the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

          So the Father is the Source, the Sender and the Planner, while the Son is the Means, the Sent and the Achiever.

 

          *Now lastly I mentioned that we would consider the Deity of Christ, which is the doctrine of Jesus Christ being fully God.

          Of all of the teachings concerning Christ, the doctrine of His Deity is one of the most denied and most contested. Christianity is the only religion which claims that Jesus is fully God. The other religions and cults of the world, major or minor, all either limit or deny the Deity of Christ. This is true of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Muslims, Mormons, Hindus, Buddhists and Christian Scientists. Whether they believe that Jesus became God or is partially God or is not God at all, the argument rests against the Deity of Jesus.

          Therefore, in the battleground of defending and proclaiming biblical truth, the Deity of Christ is a hotspot for fighting. And if it is the area where the fighting is thickest, it is where you and I, O Christian soldier, must be the most prepared.

          Given the time, let’s consider one aspect of the great question of Jesus’ Deity. Again, we’re just scratching the surface. Christology is for another time. But let’s consider this about the Deity of Christ: did He claim it? Did Jesus even claim to be God? It’s a question on a lot of minds out there.

          We’re not asking whether Christians made it all up or if the Bible or the apostles made Jesus out to be God, we’re asking if Christ’s own words identify Him as God.

          Now for certain, Jesus never said the exact words: “I am God”. But let me show you three places in which Jesus made His claim of Deity. Keep in mind, again, that these are the claims of Christ Himself in the gospel accounts (the reliability of which we may consider another time).

          So three places in which Jesus claimed Deity:

1.   Mark 2:1-12

Looking at this brief story, we see that the Jews clearly believed that all sin could only be forgive by God, yet Jesus says that He forgave the paralytic of his sins and to prove it, He commands the paralytic to walk. Jesus knew the religious beliefs of the Jews in His day and challenged their thinking. He used their pre-disposed beliefs to show His claim of Deity.

2.   John 10:22-39
Jesus in fact made two claims of Deity in this passage, and the Jews of course recognized what He meant by each claim. He first said “I and My Father are one”. Knowing full well the audacity and blasphemy of a man claiming to be God (unless of course He was telling the truth), they took up stones to punish Him then and there. Then, He gets their attention again and concludes by saying “the Father is in Me, and I in Him.” Once more, the immediate audience that heard those words recognized that Jesus was claiming equality with God. So again the Jews attempted to seize Him.

3.   John 8:48-59
This is one of the best Deity claims Christ ever made.
Getting into it with the argumentative Jews, Jesus throws down the statement “before Abraham was, I AM.” Boy, the Jews surely knew what He meant by that. Remember Exodus 3? In it, Moses at the burning bush asks the LORD God for His Name, to which God replies “I AM WHO I AM”, emphasizing His Pure Actuality, His unending existence and life. Jesus adopts that title and applies it to Himself, and with that adoption, takes on all that this title implies: the Pure Existence of the Eternal God. This is a claim not only of God-hood but also of specific God-nature: namely, the Pure Actuality of God.

          Well, this makes me look forward to going through Christology. I really feel like we’ve only just barely scratched the surface. There’s so much more to learn, even about the Deity of Christ.

          Again, memorize it, learn it, keep it with you for ammunition in the great spiritual war. Next week, the third Person of the Trinity: God the Holy Ghost.