Introduction
Jesus Christ is the virgin born Son of God, all God yet all man. He is from eternity to eternity, the same yesterday, today and forever.
All things were made by Him: and without Him was not anything made that was made.
We believe that He is risen from the dead after His substitutionary death on the cross and that He is mankind’s only access to the Father.
Luke 1:27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
John 10:30 I and my Father are one.
Hebrews 7:17 For he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
The Lord Jesus Christ’s Virgin Birth
Christ’s Heavenly Origin
The heavenly origin of Jesus Christ should not be a disputed fact, and yet, there are many who reject the idea that the Lord Jesus Christ existed in heaven prior to his incarnation. But what does the Bible say?
John 3:13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
John 6:38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
John 6:62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?
John 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
Jesus Christ has existed from eternity past and will continue to exist into eternity future.
The Lord Jesus Christ existed in heaven in eternity past, in total unity and harmony with the Father in both divine nature and divine will.
John 1:1–2 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.
John 10:30 I and my Father are One.
John 14:9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Phillip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
The Lord Jesus is eternal because he is God. The fact of the deity of Jesus Christ has been disputed by many, down through the centuries, and is still rejected today by ones like the WatchTower group and Islam.
The Lord Jesus Christ is known as the living Word, and in John 1:1 we are told that “the Word was God.”
Hebrews 1:8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, if for ever.
The disciples recognized Jesus as God, and He never rebuked them for it.
John 20:28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
Jesus Christ himself declared that he was God, and the Jews used that as justification for crucifying Him.
Matthew 26:63–65 But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto them, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death.
Christ’s Earthly Existence
The Meaning of Christ’s Incarnation
1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
“The incarnation of Christ means that he was manifest in the flesh.”¹
The eternal Lord Jesus Christ came to dwell in human flesh. Matthew 1:23 tells us that his name, Emmanuel, means “God with us”.
John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
The Importance of Christ’s Incarnation
Jesus had to be fully God in order for His sacrifice to be sufficient to atone for all sin past, present, and future. But he also had to be fully man so that He could take upon Himself the penalty for sin.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death…
1 Peter 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
Reasons for Christ’s Incarnation
By the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, we have been redeemed from sins penalty and, by the broken body of Jesus Christ, the curse of sin upon creation has been broken.
If Jesus Christ had not died a physical death, and risen again bodily then there would be no bodily resurrection for the saved (Rom 6:8–9) and, in fact, there would be no justification for the sinner (Rom 4:25).
By Christ’s death we can enter into an abundant new life. (John 10:10–11)
Jesus was manifested in the flesh to destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8)
1 John 4:2–3 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
Christ’s Immaculate Birth
Jesus Christ Was Born of a Virgin
Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Matthew 1:22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
The truth of the virgin birth of Jesus Christ is very clearly outlined in scripture. There would be no human interference in the birth of Jesus.
Jesus could not be born of the seed of an earthly father, since the sin nature is passed down through the seed of Adam. (1 Cor 15:22)
Jesus Christ Was Born of the Holy Ghost
Matthew 1:18–20 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
The immaculate conception in the virgin Mary was accomplished by the Spirit of God. At no point was there a physical union between Mary and God, Mary and Joseph, or Mary and any other person.
The Lord Jesus Christ’s Attributes and Works
Christ’s Character
Omniscience
The Lord Jesus Christ knows everything there is to know, about everything there is, was, or will be.
John 6:64b …For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.
Jesus is not and never was subject to limitation on his knowledge and understanding. Jesus is equal to the Father and the Holy Spirit in wisdom, knowledge, and understanding and, as an equal, he participates in the divine consultation of the God head. (Gen 1:26)
Omnipotence
The Lord Jesus Christ is the Almighty God.
Revelation 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the Lord over life and death.
John 10:18a No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.
Revelation 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
Romans 14:9 For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.
The Lord Jesus Christ if the Creator and Sustainer of the universe.
Colossians 1:15–17 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Hebrews 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Omnipresence
“By the omnipresence of God is meant that God is everywhere present. This attribute is closely connected with the omniscience and omnipotence of God, for if God is everywhere present He is everywhere active and possesses full knowledge of all that transpires in every place.”²
Indwelling the saints
Matthew 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
John 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
Seated on the right hand of the Majesty on high
Hebrews 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Jesus dwells in the hearts of all believers, while also interceding for us before the throne of God in heaven. As God, He is always present everywhere in all of heaven and earth.
Eternality
Jesus Christ is eternal, having existed in eternity past and existing into eternity future.
Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
John 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
John 17:5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
Immutability
The Lord Jesus Christ is unchanging in nature. Since God does not change over time, and Jesus Christ is God, so He is unchanging and unchangeable.
This does not mean that He cannot be moved to act on our behalf. In the infinite wisdom and sovereignty of God He has allowed himself to be moved to action by the means of prayer.
In scripture we often see God change His course of action in response to man’s heart toward Him. (eg… He refrained from destroying Nineveh because the Assyrians repented.) I believe that in a similar way God can be moved to take action on our behalf by the heartfelt prayer of faith.
Not that we have changed God’s mind, but that God’s actions are always in line with his character, and when we bring our prayers in line with His will, He moves in fulfilment of His promises to bring us blessing.
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.
Morality
Holiness
The Lord Jesus Christ is in every way pure and perfect, without any mark of sin upon his life and character.
Hebrews 4:15 …but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Hebrews 7:26 For such and high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.
Love
The Lord Jesus Christ is the perfect example of the pure love of God.
John 13:34, 15:9, 15:13; Galatians 2:20
Grace and Truth
The Lord Jesus Christ came as the prefect expression of, and the perfect balance between grace and truth. These are not opposed to each other, but rather, work in harmony with each other.
John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
John 1:17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus Christ’s Sacrifice
The Substitutionary Atonement
The Fall of Man (Genesis 3)
The human race began in the garden of Eden with one man, Adam, and one woman, Eve. These two were created perfect and without sin, so that they could enjoy fellowship with their Creator God, and bring glory to Him.
God placed Adam and Eve in Eden, a perfect environment for them to live in, and God gave them freedom to enjoy all the garden except one tree, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
This was man’s probationary period, to see if he would choose to love God, or if he would rebel against God and choose to love himself.
Adam and Eve chose to put themselves first and to rebel against God by eating the fruit of the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Romans 5:12a Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, …
Although sin began with Adam, sin has reigned over the human race since that time, because all of us have sinned.
Romans 5:12c for that all have sinned:
The Penalty of Sin
Death is the penalty of sin.
Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
The death penalty is two-fold.
Physical death
As a result of sin, the body of man (and the whole of creation) is now subject to decay and death. God never intended man to suffer death, but mans sin brought death upon himself, “for that all have sinned.”
Spiritual death
Spiritual death refers to separation from God. Before Adam sinned against God, he had wonderful fellowship with God in the garden of Eden. God was able to meet personally with Adam in the garden.
But after Adam sinned, there was separation between God and man, since God is too holy for sin to exist in his presence.
Exodus 33:20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
The Sacrifice of Jesus Christ
The Lord Jesus Christ shed his blood on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins.
Hebrews 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
Hebrews 9:26 …but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
The Lord Jesus Christ paid sins price, and thereby ransomed unto himself all those who, had and would, look to him in repentance and faith for salvation and reconciliation to God.
The Lord Jesus Christ became our substitute.
1 Peter 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
Isaiah 53:6 LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
The Lord Jesus Christ was made to be sin for us.
2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
By his death, and shed blood on the cross, The Lord Jesus Christ is able to offer us forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Bodily Resurrection (1 Corinthians 15)
The Certainty of the Bodily Resurrection
The bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is not a fairy tale story, or the result of an overactive imagination on the part of the early disciples.
The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ was preached by the Apostles and early Christians.
1 Corinthians 15:12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ was witnessed by many disciple, to whom Jesus shewed himself alive, by many infallible proofs.
Acts 1:3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
The Blessings of the Bodily Resurrection
We have been made partakers of his resurrection unto new life in Him.
Romans 6:8–9 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
We have been justified by his resurrection.
Romans 4:25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
The Lord Jesus Christ’s Priesthood
The Heavenly Priesthood
The Order of Melchizedek
The Lord Jesus Christ is not part of the Aaronic priesthood. Although it was God himself who established the Aaronic priesthood, this was meant to be a type or figure of the true temple and priesthood in heaven.
The Lord Jesus Christ is a priest after the order of Melchizedek.
Psalm 110:4 The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
The order of Melchizedek is an eternal priesthood, and as such, the only individual who could ever meet the criteria to be the high priest of this order is the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
The Heavenly Temple
The earthly temple, which functioned under the Old Testament Law and by the service of the Aaronic priesthood, was given as a temporary type, or picture of the ultimate reality of the heavenly priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
While we don’t fully know or understand the heavenly priesthood, we know that in Christ, we have been made kings and priest unto God, and as such, we are commanded to enter into the holiest of all in heaven and perform the intercessory ministry of a priest in the very presence of God.
Hebrews 4:14–16 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
The Better Priesthood
A Better High Priest
He is a better high priest than Aaron because He is seated in Majesty in the heavens.
Hebrews 8:1 We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;
The position of the Lord Jesus Christ, seated in heaven, indicates that His priestly work in making atonement for sins is complete.
Aaron had to enter into the holy of holies once a year to sprinkle blood on the mercy seat and make atonement for the sins of the people (Heb 10:1), but after Jesus Christ made one offering for sin, He sat down on the right hand of the Father. (Heb 10:1–12)
He is a better high priest than Aaron because He abides as our everlasting intercessor.
If the blood of Jesus Christ could ever be removed from the altar, or if the atonement of Jesus Christ could ever run out, then we would be instantly cast out of the presence of God.
But the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ is eternal in its effect and all-encompassing in its reach so that we may never need fear the wrath of God.
1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
A Better Sanctuary
The Lord Jesus Christ, as our high priest, performs this ministry in the sanctuary of heaven and not in an earthly building made by human hands.
Hebrews 8:2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.
The word ‘tabernacle’ refers to a habitation, and it is in this heavenly habitation that the presence of God truly abides in all His fulness.
The Shekinah glory of God abode in the Jewish temple on a temporary basis, but it abides eternally in the temple of heaven, within the holiest of all.
A Better Sacrifice
The Lord Jesus Christ made a better sacrifice in that He became the perfect sacrifice.
Hebrews 9:26b …but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
The Lord Jesus Christ made a better sacrifice in that He made a “once for all” sacrifice. (Hebrews 10:10)
His blood is the propitiation, or covering, for our sins.
1 John 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
A Better Covenant
The new covenant, established by the Lord Jesus Christ, was far better than the old covenant because it offered victory over sin.
“The Law, although good and holy, could only say, Do this, and thou shalt live! The essential advantage of the New covenant, on the other hand, was its internal nature. It in effect could say, Live, and thou shalt do this!”³
The new covenant was also established upon better promises.
Better Promises
Hebrews 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
The promises include:
- The law written in the heart and mind (Heb 8:10a).
- The possession of God and possessed by God (Heb 8:10b).
- The full forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 8:12).
Conclusion
Jesus is no less God because He is man, and He is no less man because He is God.
He doesn’t divinize His humanity nor does he humanize His deity. His two whole, perfect, and distinct natures co-inhabiting one Person, and yet without mixture. PART 4 – THE PERSON OF JESUS CH…
Sources
- NBC College – Doctrine, Christology, p. 6.
- William Evans, The Great Doctrines of the Bible, Moody Publishers, 1974, “The Doctrine of God,” p. 33.
- Pastor Ian Western, Notes on Hebrews, p. 130.