"God The Son"
Part 1 The Incarnation
The wilderness had become a nightmare
of vipers. Snakes slithered under cooking pots, coiled around tent pegs. They lurked among
children’s toys, lay in wait in the sleeping pallets. Their fangs sank deep,
injecting deadly poison.
The wilderness, which once had been
Israel’s refuge, became its graveyard. Hundreds lay dying. Realizing their
predicament, terrorized parents hurried to Moses’ tent, pleading for help. “Moses
prayed for the people.”
God’s answer? Mold a serpent out
of bronze and lift it high – and all who looked on it would live. “So Moses made
a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and … if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he
looked at the bronze serpent, he lived” (Numbers 21.9).
âWhy does God use a serpent as a symbol
of the Messiah?
The serpent has always been Satan’s
symbol (Genesis 3; Revelation 12), representing sin. The camp had been plunged into Satan’s
hands. God’s remedy? Not looking at a lamb on the sanctuary altar, but beholding a
bronze serpent. âWhy?
It is a strange symbol of Christ. Just
as the likeness of the serpents that stung was lifted up on a pole, Jesus, made “in
the likeness of sinful flesh” (Romans 8.3), was to be lifted up on the shameful cross
(John 3.14,15). He became sin, taking upon Himself all the sins of everyone who has lived
or will live. (See 2 Corinthians 5.21). By looking to Christ hopeless humanity can find
life.
âHow could the incarnation bring
salvation to humanity? èWhat effect did it have on the Son? âHow could God become a human being and
why was it necessary?
The Incarnation – Predicted and
fulfilled…
Genesis 3.15
John 3.16
1 John 4.9
1 Peter 1.19-21
From the moment of God’s promise
in Garden of Eden (Genesis 3.15), mankind looked for the Promised One. The Old Testament
unfolds that search. Prophecies foretold that when the Promised One arrived, the world
would have evidence to confirm His identity.
A Prophetic Dramatization of Salvation…
Exodus 25.8,9,40…Build Me a
pattern of the true sanctuary in heaven
Hebrews 8.1-5…The true Sanctuary
in Heaven – with Jesus as our High Priest
John 1.29…Behold the Lamb of God
1 Peter 1.19…God’s lamb
without spot or blemish
Messiah (Hebrew) Christ (Greek) –
both mean “the anointed one” (Luke 3.21,22; Acts 10.38; John 1.41)
Part 2
The Blending of two Natures
âWhy did God have to become a man?
John 1.14…a profound truth. The
incarnation of God the Son is a mystery. Scripture calls it “the mystery of
godliness.” (1 Timothy 3.16).
The Creator of worlds, He in whom was
the fullness of the Godhead, became the helpless babe in a manger. Far superior to any of
the angels, equal with the Father in dignity and glory, and yet He condescended to wear
the garb of humanity!
I can barely grasp the meaning of this
sacred mystery, and then only through the enlightenment of the HS. In trying to comprehend
the incarnation it is well to remember that “the secret things belong to the Lord our
God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children.”
(Dueteronomy. 29.29)
Jesus
is truly God (Matthew 1.23; John 1.14) People needed a perfect revelation of God’s
character in order to develop a personal relationship with Him. Christ filled this need by
displaying God’s glory. (John 1.18; 17.6). Jesus testified, “He who has seen Me
has seen the Father” (John 14.9). He is one in nature, in character, in purpose with
God the Father.
Jesus
is truly man (1 John 4.2,3). His human birth, development, characteristics, and personal
testimony provide evidence of His humanity.
…in the likeness of sinful man
(Romans 8.3)
…born of a woman…Galatians
4.4
…in the likeness of a man…Philippians
2.6,7
…the second Adam (1 Corinthians
15.45,47)
Christ’s
humanity was not the Adamic humanity, that is, the humanity of Adam before the fall; not
fallen humanity, that is, in every respect the humanity of Adam after the fall. It was not
the Adamic, because it had the innocent infirmities of the fallen. It was not the fallen,
because it had never descended into moral impurity. It was, therefore, most literally our
humanity, but without sin.
Titles:
“Son of God” focuses the attention on His relationship within the Godhead.
“Son of Man” emphasizes His solidarity with the human race through the
incarnation. This was Jesus’ favorite self-designation, one He used 77 times (see
Matthew 8.20; 26.2)
Even
in His resurrected condition, it is made very clear that He had a body (Luke 24.36-43).
âHow did temptation affect Christ? Was
it easy or difficult for Him to resist them?
Heb 4.15…the basic issue
underlying all temptations is the question of whether to surrender the will to God. In His
encounter with temptation Jesus always maintained His allegiance to God. Through continual
dependence on divine power He successfully resisted the fiercest temptations even thought
He was human.
Christ’s victory over temptation
qualified Him to sympathize with human weaknesses. Our victory over temptation comes by
maintaining dependence upon Him. (1 Corinthians 10.13). It must be recognized that in the
end it is a mystery that is left unexplained to mortals that Christ could be tempted in
all points as we are, and yet be without sin.
âCould Christ have sinned? What would
have happened if He had?
If
He could NOT sin, His temptations would NOT be temptations, but entertaining drama. He was
“tempted in all points as we are (Hebrews 4:15), but He did NOT give in. He stayed
faithful to His Father. He overcame Satan, sin, and temptation through faith in His
Father.
âHow much did Christ suffer? Hebrews
2.10, 18…more than we can know
The blending of the two natures…various
texts speak of His divine and human nature, yet speak of only one person.
Why? What is the necessity of the union
of the two natures?
1.
to reconcile humanity with God
2.
to veil divinity with humanity
3.
to live victoriously.
Christ’s
humanity alone could never have endured the powerful deceptions of Satan – nor can we
alone. He was able to overcome sin because He relied completely on His Father (Jn 5.19,
30; 8.28). God’s divine power combined with humanity gained in behalf of man an
infinite victory.
Christ’s experience in victorious
living is not His exclusive privilege. He exercised no power that humanity cannot
exercise. We may also “be filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph 3.19).
Through Christ’s divine power we can have access to “all things that pertain to
life and godliness.”
The key to this experience is faith in
the “exceeding great and precious promises” through which we “may be
partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through
lust” (2 Peter 1.3,4). He offers the same power by which He overcame so that all may
faithfully obey and have a victorious life.
Christ’s comforting promise in
Revelation 3.21 is one of victory.
Part 3 Our High Priest
âAt God’s right hand – Why?
What does it mean for us today?
Psalm 110 – the Messiah
Matthew 26.64 – a promise to
Pilate
Mark 14.62 – a promise to Caiaphas
Revelation 1.7 – a special
resurrection of the crucifiers at the 2nd Coming.
(Mark 16.19…statement of truth
– He is Messiah)
Luke 22.69…religious leaders
Acts 7.55,56…Stephen sees Jesus
there
Colossians 3.1…
Hebrews 1.3…
Hebrews 4.14-16
Hebrews 8.1…
Hebrews 10.12-14, 22-25…
Hebrews 12.2-3…
Christ began his intercessory work
immediately following His ascension. His intercessory work is built on the merits of His
accepted sacrifice in the place of all who put their faith in Him..
Christ’s intercession offers
encouragement to His people:
Heb 7.25…He always intercedes for
us
Rom 8.34…the Holy Spirit helps us
also in our prayers
John 16.23…ask in My name …
you will receive
Part 4
Christ as King
âWhat kind of a kingdom does He rule?
At His Second Coming Jesus will come as
King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16). We’ll spend several sessions on
His Second Coming.
Summary…
Jesus is fully God and fully man. This is a mystery. (1 Timothy 3.16), but it is the hope and cornerstone of the Christian faith.