Posted in BIBLE STUDY, MINISTRIES WE SUPPORT

Shared Bible Study: Jesus Christ – Who He Is

I recently completed this in-depth Bible study, from College of the Open Bible, and it blessed me so much, I’d like to share it with you.

It begins with the statement, “The most significant question in human history continues to be: What think ye of Christ?”

After “the day I’ve had today,” I really wanted to share what happened to me, personally, today, and how God “got me through it,” even singing by day’s end.

Well … I couldn’t have done that … without knowing Jesus … without knowing Who He is, and What He is … What He is to me, and what He can be to you … Regardless of the headlines, the news, “our day,” it is true …

Oh, my! It is true! Even seen the bumper sticker … yet, it’s still true … To know peace … you must know Jesus …
Know Jesus.
Know peace.

I know people who know Jesus.
I know people who don’t know Jesus.
Guess which group is at peace?

I don’t care if it’s a person … a family … a group … a city … a country … a nation … If you don’t know Jesus …
If you don’t know Jesus … well, there’s a lot things you won’t know … but, for sure … you won’t know peace …

So … instead of writing about the problems … let’s write about the solution …  Not solutions (plural), but solution (singular).
There will always be problems. Especially among people.
Especially among people.
There will always be a (singular) solution:
Jesus.

Of all the things I’ve written about life, one constant remains:
How can you have a relationship with someone you don’t know?

I will never, ever forget what my Brother-in Law said one time:
“Why are we so surprised that people who don’t know Jesus act like they don’t know Jesus?”

 Jesus Christ – Who He Is

The most significant question in human history continues to be: What think ye of Christ? Your answer to this significant question will not only determine your eternal destiny; but also reflects how you live now. One of the most powerful thoughts a Christian possesses is knowing Jesus Christ can never be less than who He is, HE IS LORD.

The Preexistence of Jesus Christ as God

  1. As taught by John the Baptist – John 1:15.
  2. As taught by the apostle John – John 1:1.
  3. As taught by the apostle Paul – 1 Timothy 3:16.
  4. As taught by Christ Himself – John 8:58

What was Christ Jesus the Savior doing before His Bethlehem appearance?

  1. He created the universe – John 1:3; Colossians 1:16. This creation included everything, from electrons to galaxies, and from angels to Adam.
  2. He was controlling this created universe – Hebrews 1:3; Colossians 1:17.
  3. He was communing with the Father – John 17:24.

The Incarnation.

That God the Son could take upon himself the full nature of man and yet retain the full nature of God. The Bible declares that Christ was as much God as if He had never been man, and as much man as if He had never been God. When God the Son joined himself to a body at Bethlehem, it was an eternal arrangement. He will continue to manifest Himself in this body (its resurrected state) throughout eternity. Amazingly, when Jesus Christ was born, He was older than his mother and the same age as His Father (heavenly Father).

The prophecies concerning the incarnation.

  1. Old Testament

* By Isaiah the prophet – Isaiah 7:14.

* By Micah the prophet – Micah 5:2.

  1. New Testament – Heavenly announcements were given to at least eight individuals or groups concerning the incarnation in the New Testament.

* To Zacharias – Luke 1:17,76.

* To Mary – Luke 1:31-35.

* To Joseph – Matthew 1:20,21.

* To the shepherds – Luke 2:10-12.

Why the virgin birth (incarnation)?

God never does anything without a good reason, and in this case, there are profound reasons for the incarnation.

  1. To reveal the invisible God – John 1:18; 14:9.
  2. To fulfill prophecy – Genesis 3:15.
  3. To guarantee the Davidic covenant – Luke 1:31-33.
  4. To make a sacrifice for our sins – 1 John 3:5.
  5. To reconcile man to God – 1 Timothy 2:5,6.
  6. To provide an example for believers – 1 Peter 2:21.
  7. To provide the believer with a high priest – Heb 2:17.
  8. To destroy the devil and his works – 1 John 3:8.
  9. To escape the historical curse – Romans 5:12.
  10. To heal the brokenhearted – Luke 4:18.
  11. To set a liberty the bruised – Luke 4:18.
  12. To give abundant life – John 3:36.
  13. To glorify the Father – John 13:31; 17:4.

The Humanity of Jesus Christ. He was a real man!

  1. He had a human parentage – Luke 1:31; Gal 4:4.
  2. He had a human body, soul, and spirit – Matthew 26:12; John 12:27; Matthew 2:8.
  3. He looked like a man – John 4:9; 20:15.
  4. He possessed flesh and blood – Hebrews 2:14.
  5. He grew – Luke 2:40.
  6. He asked questions – Luke 2:46.
  7. He prayed – John 17.
  8. He was tempted – Matthew 4:1.
  9. He hungered – Matthew 4:2.
  10. He thirsted – John 4:7.
  11. He was weary – John 4:6
  12. He slept – Matthew 8:24.
  13. He wept – John 11:35.
  14. He suffered – 1 Peter 4:1.
  15. He bled – John 19:34.
  16. He died – Matthew 27:50.

The Deity of Jesus Christ – Jesus Is God!

  1. Christ is omnipotent (all powerful).
  2. Over disease – Luke 4:39.
  3. Over demons – Matthew 8:16,17.
  4. Over men – Matthew 9:9; John 17:2.
  5. Over nature – Matthew 8:26.
  6. Over sin – Matthew 9:1-8.
  7. Over traditions – Matthew 9:10-17.
  8. Over death – Luke 7:14,15.
  9. Over all your problems – Romans 8:28.
  10. Christ is omniscient (all knowing) – John 2:24; 16:30.
  11. Christ is omnipresent – John 3:13; 14:20.
  12. Christ is worshipped as God:
  13. by the angels – Hebrews 1:6.
  14. by men – Luke 2:15; Matthew 2:2,11.
  15. Christ forgives sins – Mark 2:5,11; 1 John 1:9.
  16. Christ judges – John 5:22.
  17. Christ saves – John 10:28.

The death of Christ has the prominent place in the Word of God. Indeed, the death of Christ is the foundation in Christianity and is the subject of supreme interest in heaven and in the hearts of believers.

The Old Testament and Jesus Christ

The Old Testament reveals the plan of Christ crucified; while the New Testament reveals the man, Christ, crucified.

  1. The Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) foreshadow Christ crucified.
  2. The Prophets foretell of Christ crucified.
  3. The Psalms express the feelings of Christ crucified.
  4. The Gospels give the facts of Christ crucified.
  5. The Epistles give the fruit of Christ crucified.

The death of Jesus Christ is important for three significant reasons:

  1. Christ crucified satisfied our sin debt.
  2. Christ crucified satisfied the holiness of God.
  3. Christ crucified satisfied the human heart (those who receive Christ).

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ – The importance of the resurrection – 1 Cor. 15:12-19. If one denies the resurrection, he is forced to six horrible conclusions:

  1. All gospel preaching has been, is now, and always will be completely useless.
  2. All past, present, and future faith is futile.
  3. All preachers become notorious liars.
  4. All living Christians are still in their sins.
  5. All departed Christians are in hell.
  6. All reason and purpose for life itself is destroyed.

The order of the resurrection.

The resurrection of Christ is represented here (1 Corinthians 15:20-24) as being the first of its kind, thus indicating that previous miracles, such as the raising of Lazarus, were more on the order of restoring a dead mortal body to a living mortal body. True resurrection carries with it glorification.

There are three such resurrections:

  1. The resurrection of Christ – Matthew 28:5-8.
  2. The rapture / resurrection – 1 Thess 4:13,18
  3. The pre-millennial resurrection of Old Testament and tribulation saints. Rev 20:5,6.

The Ascension and Present ministry of Jesus Christ

  1. The fact of His ascension and ministry – Mark 16:9; Acts 1:9; Romans 8:34.
  2. The purpose of His ascension and ministry:
  3. To be our Forerunner – Hebrews 6:19,20.
  4. To prepare a place for us – John 14:2.
  5. To give spiritual gifts to His followers – Eph 4:10-14.
  6. To offer encouragement to His follower – Heb 4:14.
  7. To make high priestly prayers for us – Romans 8:34.

The theme of God’s Word is Jesus Christ Crucified, God Satisfied, The Believing Sinner Justified.
Dr. Arthur Belanger

https://www.collegeoftheopenbible.com/jesus-christ.html

 

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Posted in BIBLE STUDY

True Reflections: God Revealed

I can’t stress enough how important it is, to your Christian walk, to pray and to read your Bible-every day. The formula is still true:
Pray more
+ Study more
= Be More

It is amazing how much God reveals to you … if you will let Him.
It’s not just that He reveals a lot about me, as I read His Word, but He reveals Himself.

I always encourage those new to the faith to read the book of John. People still ask me which book in the Bible they should start reading. I always say to start with the book of John, as it is the one book which concentrates on the divinity of Jesus … reveals just Who Jesus is. It is so important to fully understand just Who Jesus is.
His Word and His Person.

It is interesting that the book of Genesis and the book of John open with the same three words:
“In the beginning.”
John wastes no time in establishing the divinity of Jesus, and the fact that Jesus is eternal: Always was … always will be …

A risen Jesus would later, in another book written by John, in the very first chapter of Revelation, say, “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.”
John’s writing revealing the divinity of Jesus? Keep in mind that “the book of Revelation” is actually “The Revelation of Jesus Christ,” or “The Revelation of Jesus Christ to John.” In case we still didn’t get it, in the last chapter of the book which we usually just refer to as “Revelation” or “Revelations,” Jesus would say again, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.”

You just can’t know Jesus without reading His Word. Why?
Because, as John wasted no time explaining, Jesus is the very Word of God made into flesh/made into a man, which John stated clearly in 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.”
This was John’s way of explaining verse 1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Both verses also explain how you cannot separate the Word of God from Jesus, as Jesus is the Word of God made flesh … “and the Word was God.”
This is why the more you read the Bible … any book in the Bible … the more Jesus is revealed …
The word “history” is just that … “His Story.”

Jesus had much to say about Himself in the book of John, perhaps none more telling than this statement, which Jesus said to Philip: “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9).

Another disciple, Thomas, when first confronting the risen Jesus, would simply look at Jesus and say, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28).

There are so many other things which Jesus said, and did, to confirm His true identity.

Allow me to put it simply, to explain:
Jesus, simply, was God revealed in the flesh. God revealed in the form of a man. We can’t see God, as He is a spirit. We also can’t “see” the Holy Spirit … which is also Jesus … which is another explanation for another time.
So, in order to “see” God “in the flesh,” He came in the flesh … in the person of Jesus.

And, now, here is the “revelation” of Jesus which God gave to me, while I was reading His Word a few days ago. I hope this helps, and this is the main reason that God wanted me to share this with you. I wasn’t even thinking about “who Jesus is” at the time … I was just reading His Word … in fact, I was reading the book of Proverbs … when God revealed this to me:

To fully understand Who Jesus is … How He can be God in the flesh … think about this:
Just imagine, for a moment, that you could see God … that He wasn’t a Spirit, but, for a moment, He could be seen … If He could be seen … then, He, if He stood in front of a mirror … would have a reflection, right?

If this was possible … and you looked at God’s reflection in the mirror …
What you would see would be …
Jesus.

That’s the best explanation I can give of just Who Jesus is … and, the best explanation which God has ever revealed to me.

Hope this helps!

Blessings,
Richard.Vincent. Rose.
Modern-Day Psalms