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Mystery Journey
Mystery Journey
Life’s journey is a mystery. We meet a stranger. He opens the Scriptures to our understanding. He can be a mystery until we break bread. Who’s the stranger? What’s the mystery? Let’s find out in Luke 24:13-35.
Luke 24:13 says, “Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem.”
A road led west from Jerusalem through trees and fields to a warm spring and a town called Emmaus. Its ruins are still there inside a national park. The resurrected Jesus met two disciples on that ancient road. Do we recognize Jesus on our travels? They did not, at first.
Luke 24:15b-16 “Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.”
They thought Jesus was a stranger. Is He a stranger to us? Do we not recognize Him? Sometimes, those closest to Jesus do not recognize Him, distracted by things of this world. Yet, in the midst of all the paths life takes us, Jesus is there gently walking with us.
Luke 24:25-27 Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?” Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
Are we also foolish and slow of heart? Jesus expounded to them the Scriptures about Himself. Yet, they failed to recognize Him until later. He also talks with our hearts as the Holy Scriptures are read aloud, through creation, and through our consciences. Yet, how often do we recognize Him?
Luke 24:28-32 By this time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus acted as if he were going on, but they begged him, “Stay the night with us, since it is getting late.” So he went home with them. As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared! They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?”
The guest became the host. Jesus blessed and broke the bread, then their eyes were opened and they knew Him. Does this picture our lives? Does Jesus journey with us? Does He open the Scriptures to us? Do our hearts burn? Are our eyes opened as the bread is broken?
Luke 24:33-35 And within the hour they were on their way back to Jerusalem. There they found the eleven disciples and the others who had gathered with them, who said, “The Lord has really risen! He appeared to Peter.” Then the two from Emmaus told their story of how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along the road, and how they had recognized him as he was breaking the bread.
An original definition of the word sacrament was simple. It meant “a visible sign of an invisible grace” according to Augustine of Hippo, or as many still teach today, “all of life is a sacrament.” The Eastern Orthodox call these sacraments mysteries because we see one thing and believe another.
Let’s pray to see God’s invisible grace in the world around us. For instance, communion bread is far more than a mere symbol. It is a sacrament, a mysterious invisible grace. In it Jesus is revealed to us. In it, the mystery is revealed that the Lord is risen indeed?
Our lives are a journey to Emmaus. Along the way we meet a stranger who walks with us and opens the Scriptures to our understanding. As we partake of the communion bread do we begin to appreciate who that stranger is and the Good News that He brings?
Readings:
Acts 2:14a, 36-41 Are repentance, baptism and the gift of the Holy Spirit a promise for us alone, or our children too?
Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19 What is this cup of salvation? What does it represent? Why is the death of God’s faithful servants so precious?
1 Peter 1:17-23 Why do we live out our lives as foreigners? Were we redeemed by silver or gold? If not then what? Of what seed are we born again?
Luke 24:13-35 in Rhyme
Two were going to Emmaus
And Jesus drew near to discuss
But they didn’t recognize Him
And asked why they sounded so grim
Cleopas asked, haven’t you heard
And He asked them what was the word
So they said, a Prophet is dead
We hoped for redemption instead
Crucified, yet our women say
That He’s alive again today
Then Jesus said, Don’t be so slow
The prophets spoke, and you should know!
Then He expounded their writings
And all about the Good Tidings
And they invited Him to stay
Breaking of bread did Him betray
And they said, “Didn’t our hearts burn
When to the Scriptures He did turn
So they went to Jerusalem
Found the eleven and told them
Life’s journey is a mystery. We meet a stranger. He opens the Scriptures to our understanding. He can be a mystery until we break bread. Who’s the stranger? What’s the mystery? Let’s find out in Luke 24:13-35.
Luke 24:13 says, “Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem.”
A road led west from Jerusalem through trees and fields to a warm spring and a town called Emmaus. Its ruins are still there inside a national park. The resurrected Jesus met two disciples on that ancient road. Do we recognize Jesus on our travels? They did not, at first.
Luke 24:15b-16 “Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.”
They thought Jesus was a stranger. Is He a stranger to us? Do we not recognize Him? Sometimes, those closest to Jesus do not recognize Him, distracted by things of this world. Yet, in the midst of all the paths life takes us, Jesus is there gently walking with us.
Luke 24:25-27 Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?” Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
Are we also foolish and slow of heart? Jesus expounded to them the Scriptures about Himself. Yet, they failed to recognize Him until later. He also talks with our hearts as the Holy Scriptures are read aloud, through creation, and through our consciences. Yet, how often do we recognize Him?
Luke 24:28-32 By this time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus acted as if he were going on, but they begged him, “Stay the night with us, since it is getting late.” So he went home with them. As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared! They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?”
The guest became the host. Jesus blessed and broke the bread, then their eyes were opened and they knew Him. Does this picture our lives? Does Jesus journey with us? Does He open the Scriptures to us? Do our hearts burn? Are our eyes opened as the bread is broken?
Luke 24:33-35 And within the hour they were on their way back to Jerusalem. There they found the eleven disciples and the others who had gathered with them, who said, “The Lord has really risen! He appeared to Peter.” Then the two from Emmaus told their story of how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along the road, and how they had recognized him as he was breaking the bread.
An original definition of the word sacrament was simple. It meant “a visible sign of an invisible grace” according to Augustine of Hippo, or as many still teach today, “all of life is a sacrament.” The Eastern Orthodox call these sacraments mysteries because we see one thing and believe another.
Let’s pray to see God’s invisible grace in the world around us. For instance, communion bread is far more than a mere symbol. It is a sacrament, a mysterious invisible grace. In it Jesus is revealed to us. In it, the mystery is revealed that the Lord is risen indeed?
Our lives are a journey to Emmaus. Along the way we meet a stranger who walks with us and opens the Scriptures to our understanding. As we partake of the communion bread do we begin to appreciate who that stranger is and the Good News that He brings?
Readings:
Acts 2:14a, 36-41 Are repentance, baptism and the gift of the Holy Spirit a promise for us alone, or our children too?
Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19 What is this cup of salvation? What does it represent? Why is the death of God’s faithful servants so precious?
1 Peter 1:17-23 Why do we live out our lives as foreigners? Were we redeemed by silver or gold? If not then what? Of what seed are we born again?
Luke 24:13-35 in Rhyme
Two were going to Emmaus
And Jesus drew near to discuss
But they didn’t recognize Him
And asked why they sounded so grim
Cleopas asked, haven’t you heard
And He asked them what was the word
So they said, a Prophet is dead
We hoped for redemption instead
Crucified, yet our women say
That He’s alive again today
Then Jesus said, Don’t be so slow
The prophets spoke, and you should know!
Then He expounded their writings
And all about the Good Tidings
And they invited Him to stay
Breaking of bread did Him betray
And they said, “Didn’t our hearts burn
When to the Scriptures He did turn
So they went to Jerusalem
Found the eleven and told them
Who is Christ?
Let’s look at a number of common questions about Jesus Christ. Is He real history? Can we have faith in Him? What is Christ’s Work? Who was He really? Was He really God in the flesh?
Christ is from Greek, meaning the same as Messiah from Hebrew, the Savior of all humanity. Studying Christ is called Christology.
Part 1
Is Jesus Historical?
Clement of Rome, Ignatius and Polycarp wrote close to 100 AD quoting from Paul’s epistles so often that even skeptics agree that Paul wrote them, and that he and the other apostles preached the same thing.
So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach, for we all preach the same message you have already believed. (1 Corinthians 15:11 NLT)
Other passages also show that Paul taught the same Gospel as the other apostles (Acts 2:22-32; 3:15; 4:2; 5:29-32; 10:38-43; 13:30-31; Romans 1:3-4; 10:9; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Philippians 2:6-11).
After fourteen years, Paul again met with the apostles in Jerusalem to consult. He concluded that they did not add any missing ingredients to his message, but rather that Paul’s mission was to the gentiles, while Peter’s was to the Jews.
Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also… As for those who were held in high esteem—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—they added nothing to my message. On the contrary, they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised. (Galatians 2:1-7 NIV)
Medical experts who have examined Roman crucifixion accounts, testify that nobody could have survived the ordeal. With over 24,000 copies of early new testament manuscripts available, the historical evidence for Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection is more conclusive than for most other ancient historic events. With over 500 witnesses of his resurrection, we are reminded that most were still alive to corroborate the facts.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. (1 Corinthians 15:3-8 NASB)
When we look at belief in Jesus, there are three views of that faith that we could consider.
From Above
When we look at the history of Jesus there are those who reason that we ought to believe in him through faith alone. This is the so-called view from above, from heaven, put forward by such people as Søren Kirkegaard, who believed that James had the answer to this.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. (James 1:17 ESV)
Faith is one of those gifts from above and it is a good and perfect gift.
From Below
A modern tendency is to ignore what people sarcastically call “blind” faith in search of a “reasoned” faith.
There are a couple of disadvantages to this approach. One is that it can lead us to doubt and search for historic evidence alone, evidence from here below on earth. Another disadvantage is that the historic evidence for Jesus was right in front the noses of the Pharisees and Judas, but it did not help them.
One advantage of searching for the historical Jesus “from below” is to discover his human side. If however, in making such an inquiry we ignore God’s revelation we don’t have a right balance. Thomas Aquinas concluded that “Some truths about God exceed all the ability of human reason.”
From Above and Below
Augustine put it well when he suggested that discovering Jesus starts with faith. Peter would agree.
He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 16:15-17 KJV)
So, a more balanced approach to discovering Jesus, includes BOTH faith and reason regarding physical evidence.
… calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’” In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. (Luke 7:19-22 ESV)
As with many issues where there are two camps divided over issues, the real truth includes both views.
Is Jesus God?
What did Jesus say?
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? (John 14:9 ESV)
Jesus described the angels as His angels.
The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness (Matthew 13:41 NKJV)
Yet, in other places they are understood as being God’s angels.
I tell you the truth, everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, the Son of Man will also acknowledge in the presence of God’s angels. But anyone who denies me here on earth will be denied before God’s angels. (Luke 12:8-9 NLT)
In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents. (Luke 15:10 NLT)
Jesus also judges the world.
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. (Matthew 25:31-33 NIV)
To know Jesus is to know the Father.
If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!” Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? (John 14:7-9 NLT)
The Pharisees accused him of saying he was the Son of God. He spoke of his future power and did not correct them.
… And the high priest said to Him, “I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy; what do you think?” They answered, “He deserves death!” (Matthew 26:63-66 NASB)
Jesus also said that He is the resurrection and the life.
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. (John 11:25 NKJV)
Jesus was accused of making himself equal with God.
For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. (John 5:18 NIV).
What did John say?
The Apostle John said that Jesus, the Word, was God.
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. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made… 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. (John 1:1-3, 14 KJV)
What did the author of Hebrews say?
The author of the book of Hebrews described the Son as an exact representation of God’s nature, and he names Jesus the Son as God.
… but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven… But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. (Hebrews 1:2-3, 8 NIV)
What did Paul say?
Paul the Apostle wrote to the Colossians that Jesus is the image of the invisible God and that in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross… For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 1:15-20; 2:9 NKJV)
Paul also said that Jesus is the judge.
I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom (2 Timothy 4:1 KJV)
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:10 KJV)
To the Christians in Philippi Paul wrote that Jesus had the form or nature of God before his birth.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11 NIV)
Why is Jesus Lord?
When we think of the word Lord, we tend to think of the lords and ladies of merry old England, but that is not the use of the word in the Bible. The Greek Old Testament that was used at the time of Jesus was the Septuagint. It used the Greek word kyrios for the Hebrew word YHWH (or its substitute Adonai). That is the word which the Apostles used for Jesus. It is translated as Lord in English today. It means that Jesus was recognized as the Lord God of the Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament.
We also know that is the case because, often the New Testament uses “Lord” when quoting an Old Testament reference to God.
‘The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood, Before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come. ‘And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ (Acts 2:20-21 NASB)
… for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13 NASB)
… but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence (1 Peter 3:15 NASB)
Thus the New Testament uses the word Lord alternately for both the Father and Jesus.
So What if Jesus is God?
Because Jesus is God, we can now know the Father through him. It also means that God suffered on a cross for us and not just a mere man. It also means that in Jesus, God and humanity are reunited. We can worship Jesus, because He is God the Son.
Part 2
Is Jesus Human?
Born like any other human
Jesus had a normal gestation and a normal birth.
So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. (John 1:14 NLT)
Jesus faced the same temptations, ate the same food and eventually died, like all humans do. Jesus had the same normal human emotions that we all experience like sorrow, anger and joy.
Remarkable knowledge
Jesus also had knowledge that was beyond normal. He knew things about the past, present and future that most people do not know. For instance, he often knew the thoughts of others. However, he did not know everything.
But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. (Mark 13:32 NKJV)
So What if Jesus was also Human?
It means that a real man died for us, who can sympathize with us. Yet, he revealed perfect humanity, the way a man was meant to be when the first one was created. He is also our example.
He revealed that human nature as originally created is good. Jesus also revealed that God is not so totally transcendent, so far above us that we cannot have a relationship with him. God incarnate came down to our level to save the world.
Is Jesus Fully God and Fully Human?
Christians generally agree that the incarnation, Jesus being born of a woman, was not simply the adding of humanity to God. Rather, for a time he voluntarily gave up some divine attributes.
Christ was truly God. But he did not try to remain equal with God. Instead he gave up everything and became a slave, when he became like one of us. (Philippians 2:6-7 CEV)
His nature was one of divinity-humanity or as some say so well, both divinity and humanity are most fully known in Jesus. We did not ascend to divinity, but God condescended to take on a human frame.
A Virgin Birth?
All Christianity teaches that Jesus was born of a virgin.
“A virgin will have a baby boy, and he will be called Immanuel,” which means “God is with us.” (Matthew 1:18-25 CEV)
Mary asked the angel, “How can this happen? I am not married!” (Luke 1:26-38 CEV)
The early church father Ignatius confessed to it and it is the confession of all Christians.
So What if Jesus was Born of a Virgin?
Because Jesus was born of a virgin then God and humanity are unified. Yet, Jesus was sinless. Salvation is a supernatural intervention from heaven above, a gift of grace. Jesus is unique in all history. His birth was possible because God is sovereign over nature.
What is Christ’s Work?
Jesus was a prophet.
And the crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee." (Matthew 21:11 NASB)
He revealed the Father and revealed the truth. He is also a King now and forever. Jesus is our high priest presiding over the atonement.
Jesus first humbled himself to become human via the incarnation. Then he died and descended to Hades, was resurrected, ascended back to heaven from where he first came and will come again in the Second Coming.
How Jesus Atoned for Sin
Jesus’ great contribution was to reconcile humanity and God, atoning for our collective faults. In English, the word comes from being “at-one-ment” or in harmony with God. However, the meaning goes deeper than that.
Among several possibilities, the atonement is seen as a sacrifice.
Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. (Isaiah 53 NIV)
… so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:28 NIV)
Jesus is seen by some as a propitiation or peace offering to conciliate or appease God.
Then he must remove all the sheep’s fat, just as he does with the fat of a sheep presented as a peace offering. He will burn the fat on the altar on top of the special gifts presented to the LORD. Through this process, the priest will purify the people from their sin, making them right with the LORD, and they will be forgiven. (Leviticus 4:35 NLT)
Jesus is also a substitution for us.
… and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. (1 Peter 2:24 NASB)
The atonement is also seen as a means of reconciliation with God.
For since their rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world, their acceptance will be even more wonderful. It will be life for those who were dead! (Romans 11:15 NLT)
In the original Hebrew, the Day of Atonement is called Yom Kippur. Yom means day and kippur means atonement. Kippur comes from a root meaning to cover. It pictures God covering our sins and thus making peace between us.
The New Testament was written in Greek where various words are used for atonement. It carries with it meanings like reconciled, appeased, redeemed, cleansing and mercy.
Jesus’ act of atonement on the cross makes salvation possible, makes the church possible and makes eternity possible for us. Unless we have atonement nothing else matters.
Background to the Atonement
God is perfect. The law expresses God’s perfect mind on earthly matters. Humankind is unable to obey that law and to save itself. Jesus atoned for our sins. In the Old Testament, atonement symbolized the covering of sins. In the New Testament, it symbolizes a ransom, substitute and sacrifice.
Facets of the Atonement
No single concept explains the atonement completely. So, it is good to examine a variety of different views and scriptures which help us to understand a more complete picture of the Lord’s atonement for us.
1. A moral Influence
Jesus suffered for us, leaving us an example of the kind of self-sacrificial life we are to live. So, the atonement on the cross influences our morality. As the only perfect human to have ever lived, Jesus came to demonstrate the height of human love.
To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. (1 Peter 2:21 NIV)
2. Redemption of the Lost
For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10 KJV)
Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:28 KJV)
For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45 KJV)
The Son of Man did not come to be a slave master, but a slave who will give his life to rescue many people. (Matthew 20:28 CEV)
As mediator of a new covenant between God and humanity, he redeemed us from the sins committed under the first covenant.
For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. (Hebrews 9:15 NASB)
He also redeemed us from the empty traditions that we inherited from our ancestors.
Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers (1 Peter 1:18 KJV)
This is powerful, as it emcompasses empty man-made Christian traditions as well as things like empty national pride, empty materialism and empty sins as other translations make clear.
For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. (1 Peter 1:18 NLT)
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors (1 Peter 1:18 NIV)
With his blood, Jesus paid the purchase price to free all humanity from slavery to sin.
And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation …” (Revelation 5:9 ESV)
3. A Sacrifice for Us
The Law of the Old Testament was the basis of God’s government in Ancient Israel.
The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable. (Isaiah 42:21 KJV)
The Old Testament law hung upon the higher law of love for God and love for neighbor as Jesus so clearly expounded.
“‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:34-40 NLT)
Sin is the breaking of God’s law. All of us have sinned. Jesus’ death satisfied the penalty for breaking God’s law, a penalty that we should have paid.
Discussion
Who is Jesus? How is Jesus God? Why do we call Jesus Lord? How is Jesus also human? What does it mean for us that Jesus is both God and human? What is the work that Jesus did for us? What does the word atonement mean?
New King James Version (NKJV) Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Contemporary English Version (CEV) Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society
King James Version (KJV) Public Domain
Christ is from Greek, meaning the same as Messiah from Hebrew, the Savior of all humanity. Studying Christ is called Christology.
Part 1
Is Jesus Historical?
Clement of Rome, Ignatius and Polycarp wrote close to 100 AD quoting from Paul’s epistles so often that even skeptics agree that Paul wrote them, and that he and the other apostles preached the same thing.
So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach, for we all preach the same message you have already believed. (1 Corinthians 15:11 NLT)
Other passages also show that Paul taught the same Gospel as the other apostles (Acts 2:22-32; 3:15; 4:2; 5:29-32; 10:38-43; 13:30-31; Romans 1:3-4; 10:9; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Philippians 2:6-11).
After fourteen years, Paul again met with the apostles in Jerusalem to consult. He concluded that they did not add any missing ingredients to his message, but rather that Paul’s mission was to the gentiles, while Peter’s was to the Jews.
Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also… As for those who were held in high esteem—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—they added nothing to my message. On the contrary, they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised. (Galatians 2:1-7 NIV)
Medical experts who have examined Roman crucifixion accounts, testify that nobody could have survived the ordeal. With over 24,000 copies of early new testament manuscripts available, the historical evidence for Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection is more conclusive than for most other ancient historic events. With over 500 witnesses of his resurrection, we are reminded that most were still alive to corroborate the facts.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. (1 Corinthians 15:3-8 NASB)
When we look at belief in Jesus, there are three views of that faith that we could consider.
From Above
When we look at the history of Jesus there are those who reason that we ought to believe in him through faith alone. This is the so-called view from above, from heaven, put forward by such people as Søren Kirkegaard, who believed that James had the answer to this.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. (James 1:17 ESV)
Faith is one of those gifts from above and it is a good and perfect gift.
From Below
A modern tendency is to ignore what people sarcastically call “blind” faith in search of a “reasoned” faith.
There are a couple of disadvantages to this approach. One is that it can lead us to doubt and search for historic evidence alone, evidence from here below on earth. Another disadvantage is that the historic evidence for Jesus was right in front the noses of the Pharisees and Judas, but it did not help them.
One advantage of searching for the historical Jesus “from below” is to discover his human side. If however, in making such an inquiry we ignore God’s revelation we don’t have a right balance. Thomas Aquinas concluded that “Some truths about God exceed all the ability of human reason.”
From Above and Below
Augustine put it well when he suggested that discovering Jesus starts with faith. Peter would agree.
He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 16:15-17 KJV)
So, a more balanced approach to discovering Jesus, includes BOTH faith and reason regarding physical evidence.
… calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’” In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. (Luke 7:19-22 ESV)
As with many issues where there are two camps divided over issues, the real truth includes both views.
Is Jesus God?
What did Jesus say?
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? (John 14:9 ESV)
Jesus described the angels as His angels.
The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness (Matthew 13:41 NKJV)
Yet, in other places they are understood as being God’s angels.
I tell you the truth, everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, the Son of Man will also acknowledge in the presence of God’s angels. But anyone who denies me here on earth will be denied before God’s angels. (Luke 12:8-9 NLT)
In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents. (Luke 15:10 NLT)
Jesus also judges the world.
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. (Matthew 25:31-33 NIV)
To know Jesus is to know the Father.
If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!” Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? (John 14:7-9 NLT)
The Pharisees accused him of saying he was the Son of God. He spoke of his future power and did not correct them.
… And the high priest said to Him, “I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy; what do you think?” They answered, “He deserves death!” (Matthew 26:63-66 NASB)
Jesus also said that He is the resurrection and the life.
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. (John 11:25 NKJV)
Jesus was accused of making himself equal with God.
For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. (John 5:18 NIV).
What did John say?
The Apostle John said that Jesus, the Word, was God.
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. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made… 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. (John 1:1-3, 14 KJV)
What did the author of Hebrews say?
The author of the book of Hebrews described the Son as an exact representation of God’s nature, and he names Jesus the Son as God.
… but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven… But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. (Hebrews 1:2-3, 8 NIV)
What did Paul say?
Paul the Apostle wrote to the Colossians that Jesus is the image of the invisible God and that in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross… For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 1:15-20; 2:9 NKJV)
Paul also said that Jesus is the judge.
I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom (2 Timothy 4:1 KJV)
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:10 KJV)
To the Christians in Philippi Paul wrote that Jesus had the form or nature of God before his birth.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11 NIV)
Why is Jesus Lord?
When we think of the word Lord, we tend to think of the lords and ladies of merry old England, but that is not the use of the word in the Bible. The Greek Old Testament that was used at the time of Jesus was the Septuagint. It used the Greek word kyrios for the Hebrew word YHWH (or its substitute Adonai). That is the word which the Apostles used for Jesus. It is translated as Lord in English today. It means that Jesus was recognized as the Lord God of the Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament.
We also know that is the case because, often the New Testament uses “Lord” when quoting an Old Testament reference to God.
‘The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood, Before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come. ‘And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ (Acts 2:20-21 NASB)
… for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13 NASB)
… but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence (1 Peter 3:15 NASB)
Thus the New Testament uses the word Lord alternately for both the Father and Jesus.
So What if Jesus is God?
Because Jesus is God, we can now know the Father through him. It also means that God suffered on a cross for us and not just a mere man. It also means that in Jesus, God and humanity are reunited. We can worship Jesus, because He is God the Son.
Part 2
Is Jesus Human?
Born like any other human
Jesus had a normal gestation and a normal birth.
So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. (John 1:14 NLT)
Jesus faced the same temptations, ate the same food and eventually died, like all humans do. Jesus had the same normal human emotions that we all experience like sorrow, anger and joy.
Remarkable knowledge
Jesus also had knowledge that was beyond normal. He knew things about the past, present and future that most people do not know. For instance, he often knew the thoughts of others. However, he did not know everything.
But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. (Mark 13:32 NKJV)
So What if Jesus was also Human?
It means that a real man died for us, who can sympathize with us. Yet, he revealed perfect humanity, the way a man was meant to be when the first one was created. He is also our example.
He revealed that human nature as originally created is good. Jesus also revealed that God is not so totally transcendent, so far above us that we cannot have a relationship with him. God incarnate came down to our level to save the world.
Is Jesus Fully God and Fully Human?
Christians generally agree that the incarnation, Jesus being born of a woman, was not simply the adding of humanity to God. Rather, for a time he voluntarily gave up some divine attributes.
Christ was truly God. But he did not try to remain equal with God. Instead he gave up everything and became a slave, when he became like one of us. (Philippians 2:6-7 CEV)
His nature was one of divinity-humanity or as some say so well, both divinity and humanity are most fully known in Jesus. We did not ascend to divinity, but God condescended to take on a human frame.
A Virgin Birth?
All Christianity teaches that Jesus was born of a virgin.
“A virgin will have a baby boy, and he will be called Immanuel,” which means “God is with us.” (Matthew 1:18-25 CEV)
Mary asked the angel, “How can this happen? I am not married!” (Luke 1:26-38 CEV)
The early church father Ignatius confessed to it and it is the confession of all Christians.
So What if Jesus was Born of a Virgin?
Because Jesus was born of a virgin then God and humanity are unified. Yet, Jesus was sinless. Salvation is a supernatural intervention from heaven above, a gift of grace. Jesus is unique in all history. His birth was possible because God is sovereign over nature.
What is Christ’s Work?
Jesus was a prophet.
And the crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee." (Matthew 21:11 NASB)
He revealed the Father and revealed the truth. He is also a King now and forever. Jesus is our high priest presiding over the atonement.
Jesus first humbled himself to become human via the incarnation. Then he died and descended to Hades, was resurrected, ascended back to heaven from where he first came and will come again in the Second Coming.
How Jesus Atoned for Sin
Jesus’ great contribution was to reconcile humanity and God, atoning for our collective faults. In English, the word comes from being “at-one-ment” or in harmony with God. However, the meaning goes deeper than that.
Among several possibilities, the atonement is seen as a sacrifice.
Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. (Isaiah 53 NIV)
… so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:28 NIV)
Jesus is seen by some as a propitiation or peace offering to conciliate or appease God.
Then he must remove all the sheep’s fat, just as he does with the fat of a sheep presented as a peace offering. He will burn the fat on the altar on top of the special gifts presented to the LORD. Through this process, the priest will purify the people from their sin, making them right with the LORD, and they will be forgiven. (Leviticus 4:35 NLT)
Jesus is also a substitution for us.
… and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. (1 Peter 2:24 NASB)
The atonement is also seen as a means of reconciliation with God.
For since their rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world, their acceptance will be even more wonderful. It will be life for those who were dead! (Romans 11:15 NLT)
In the original Hebrew, the Day of Atonement is called Yom Kippur. Yom means day and kippur means atonement. Kippur comes from a root meaning to cover. It pictures God covering our sins and thus making peace between us.
The New Testament was written in Greek where various words are used for atonement. It carries with it meanings like reconciled, appeased, redeemed, cleansing and mercy.
Jesus’ act of atonement on the cross makes salvation possible, makes the church possible and makes eternity possible for us. Unless we have atonement nothing else matters.
Background to the Atonement
God is perfect. The law expresses God’s perfect mind on earthly matters. Humankind is unable to obey that law and to save itself. Jesus atoned for our sins. In the Old Testament, atonement symbolized the covering of sins. In the New Testament, it symbolizes a ransom, substitute and sacrifice.
Facets of the Atonement
No single concept explains the atonement completely. So, it is good to examine a variety of different views and scriptures which help us to understand a more complete picture of the Lord’s atonement for us.
1. A moral Influence
Jesus suffered for us, leaving us an example of the kind of self-sacrificial life we are to live. So, the atonement on the cross influences our morality. As the only perfect human to have ever lived, Jesus came to demonstrate the height of human love.
To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. (1 Peter 2:21 NIV)
2. Redemption of the Lost
For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10 KJV)
Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:28 KJV)
For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45 KJV)
The Son of Man did not come to be a slave master, but a slave who will give his life to rescue many people. (Matthew 20:28 CEV)
As mediator of a new covenant between God and humanity, he redeemed us from the sins committed under the first covenant.
For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. (Hebrews 9:15 NASB)
He also redeemed us from the empty traditions that we inherited from our ancestors.
Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers (1 Peter 1:18 KJV)
This is powerful, as it emcompasses empty man-made Christian traditions as well as things like empty national pride, empty materialism and empty sins as other translations make clear.
For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. (1 Peter 1:18 NLT)
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors (1 Peter 1:18 NIV)
With his blood, Jesus paid the purchase price to free all humanity from slavery to sin.
And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation …” (Revelation 5:9 ESV)
3. A Sacrifice for Us
The Law of the Old Testament was the basis of God’s government in Ancient Israel.
The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable. (Isaiah 42:21 KJV)
The Old Testament law hung upon the higher law of love for God and love for neighbor as Jesus so clearly expounded.
“‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:34-40 NLT)
Sin is the breaking of God’s law. All of us have sinned. Jesus’ death satisfied the penalty for breaking God’s law, a penalty that we should have paid.
Discussion
Who is Jesus? How is Jesus God? Why do we call Jesus Lord? How is Jesus also human? What does it mean for us that Jesus is both God and human? What is the work that Jesus did for us? What does the word atonement mean?
New King James Version (NKJV) Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Contemporary English Version (CEV) Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society
King James Version (KJV) Public Domain
Two Confessions
What do Christians confess? Two things! Let’s find out what they are in the context of what Jesus said when He appeared after His resurrection in John 20:19-31.
1. We Confess Sin
John 20:23 “If you [plural, not singular] forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you [plural] retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”
The disciples could only confirm heaven’s decision — “their sins have [already] been forgiven.” The Gospel message includes repentance, confession of sins and forgiveness. Those refusing, remain unforgiven. We openly confess we are sinners, leaving the details to private prayer. Confessing to a priest was not popular until the 7th-11th centuries.
John 20:24-25 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
Before confessing Christ, Thomas first confessed his lack of faith to the disciples. To whom do we confess?
I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah. (Psalm 32:5).
Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. (James 5:16)
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9).
2. We Confess Jesus
The second thing Christians confess is Jesus. Thomas’ faith was initially quite weak (Hebrews 11:1). But, then he confessed something remarkable, and Jesus answered something also remarkable.
John 20:28-29 Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”
All the disciples abandoned Jesus, but He offered His peace. Thomas confessed personally, “My Lord and my God!” Not “our” but “my” God. This legitimizes having a “personal relationship” with God. We, who believe though we have not seen, receive a special blessing. We confess though we have not seen.
Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 10:32)
if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9)
Jesus stands ready as He stood among them, to grant us the peace which surpasses all understanding. Let’s openly confess that we have all sinned and let’s openly confess our faith in our risen Lord, Jesus.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
References: Thayer’s Greek Lexicon; The Early Church Fathers on Confession; The Early Church Fathers on Confession/Reconciliation
Readings
Acts 2:14a, 22-32 Peter confesses Christ
Psalm 16 David confesses the one true God
1 Peter 1:3-9 the outcome of our faith is the salvation of our souls
John 20:19-31 in Rhyme
Sunday evening the doors were locked
Fearing what the Jews might concoct
Jesus came and stood in their midst
Saying, May peace with you exist
Then He showed them His hands and side
And then they rejoiced with delight
And Jesus said, “Peace be with you
The Father sent Me. I send you.
And when He had said this He breathed
The Holy Spirit they received
And any sins that you remit
Forgiveness was already writ
And any sins that you retain
Their unforgiveness will remain
Thomas was away, they record
And so they said, “We’ve seen the Lord!”
But Thomas must touch to perceive
Or he said, “I will not believe.”
Eight days later behind locked doors
Jesus came saying, “Peace!” once more
Touch, see, believe, this is no fraud
Thomas said, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said, “You saw then trusted?
Trust before seeing is blessed.”
Believe in Jesus Christ God’s Son
Have life in His name everyone
John 20:19 So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
Why did Jesus say, “peace be with you,” on resurrection Sunday and the following Sunday. Thayer’s Greek Lexicon defines it as "the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is."
The apostles began their letters with peace. Christians offer peace to friend and foe. Some churches offer peace before communion. Jesus came to the disciples in their fears and brought them peace from heaven. They were then sent with the message of peace, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Why did Jesus say, “peace be with you,” on resurrection Sunday and the following Sunday. Thayer’s Greek Lexicon defines it as "the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is."
The apostles began their letters with peace. Christians offer peace to friend and foe. Some churches offer peace before communion. Jesus came to the disciples in their fears and brought them peace from heaven. They were then sent with the message of peace, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
1. We Confess Sin
John 20:23 “If you [plural, not singular] forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you [plural] retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”
The disciples could only confirm heaven’s decision — “their sins have [already] been forgiven.” The Gospel message includes repentance, confession of sins and forgiveness. Those refusing, remain unforgiven. We openly confess we are sinners, leaving the details to private prayer. Confessing to a priest was not popular until the 7th-11th centuries.
John 20:24-25 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
Before confessing Christ, Thomas first confessed his lack of faith to the disciples. To whom do we confess?
I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah. (Psalm 32:5).
Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. (James 5:16)
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9).
2. We Confess Jesus
The second thing Christians confess is Jesus. Thomas’ faith was initially quite weak (Hebrews 11:1). But, then he confessed something remarkable, and Jesus answered something also remarkable.
John 20:28-29 Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”
All the disciples abandoned Jesus, but He offered His peace. Thomas confessed personally, “My Lord and my God!” Not “our” but “my” God. This legitimizes having a “personal relationship” with God. We, who believe though we have not seen, receive a special blessing. We confess though we have not seen.
Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 10:32)
if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9)
Jesus stands ready as He stood among them, to grant us the peace which surpasses all understanding. Let’s openly confess that we have all sinned and let’s openly confess our faith in our risen Lord, Jesus.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
References: Thayer’s Greek Lexicon; The Early Church Fathers on Confession; The Early Church Fathers on Confession/Reconciliation
Readings
Acts 2:14a, 22-32 Peter confesses Christ
Psalm 16 David confesses the one true God
1 Peter 1:3-9 the outcome of our faith is the salvation of our souls
John 20:19-31 in Rhyme
Sunday evening the doors were locked
Fearing what the Jews might concoct
Jesus came and stood in their midst
Saying, May peace with you exist
Then He showed them His hands and side
And then they rejoiced with delight
And Jesus said, “Peace be with you
The Father sent Me. I send you.
And when He had said this He breathed
The Holy Spirit they received
And any sins that you remit
Forgiveness was already writ
And any sins that you retain
Their unforgiveness will remain
Thomas was away, they record
And so they said, “We’ve seen the Lord!”
But Thomas must touch to perceive
Or he said, “I will not believe.”
Eight days later behind locked doors
Jesus came saying, “Peace!” once more
Touch, see, believe, this is no fraud
Thomas said, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said, “You saw then trusted?
Trust before seeing is blessed.”
Believe in Jesus Christ God’s Son
Have life in His name everyone
Who is God? Part 2
How Near or Far is God?
Transcendence — God’s Supremacy
God declared through the prophet Isaiah that His thoughts and ours are far apart.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. (Isaiah 55:8 NIV)
God is high and lifted up, exalted above us, as Isaiah described what he saw in a vision.
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” ... (Isaiah 6:1-5 ESV)
The Psalmist asks the rhetorical question, who is like the Lord.
Who can be compared with the Lord our God, who is enthroned on high? He stoops to look down on heaven and on earth. (Psalm 113:5-6 NLT)
The obvious answer to the question, who is like the Lord our God, is “Nobody!” Yet, does not all creation reveal enough about Him to make those guilty who ignore the obvious forensic evidence for His existence?
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. (Romans 1:18-20 NASB)
Is God Really Three and One?
Oneness
There is only one God. His oneness is accepted by Jews and Christians alike. His oneness is described in two very important passages. The very beginning of the Ten Commandments includes the words:
“You shall have no other gods before me”. (Exodus 20:3 NIV)
The central prayer of Jewish prayer life is called the Shema Yisrael (שְׁמַ֖ע יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל) after the first words in Hebrew, “Hear, O Israel.”
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9 NIV)
If God is one God, how do we get the Trinity? A clue might be in the word describing the union of Adam and Eve, two created to become one flesh in marriage.
Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. (Genesis 2:24 ESV)
That is the same word in Hebrew as is used of God being one.
God as Father
The study of the masculine imagery for God is called both patriology and paterology. What purpose could God have in calling Himself a Father? Is it Old Testament patriarchalism, a term used to evoke unthinking negative reactions from moderns? If so, why is it mentioned far more often in the New Testament? God is referred to as a Father maybe only 15 times in the Hebrew Scriptures, but about 256 times in the New Testament.
Let’s look at a few examples and see what we can learn. We begin with David, not the favorite son of his earthly father, but very much beloved of his heavenly Father.
I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. (2 Samuel 7:14-15 KJV)
Even if we were to be disowned by family back to our ancestors, God is still our Father.
Surely you are still our Father! Even if Abraham and Jacob would disown us, Lord, you would still be our Father. You are our Redeemer from ages past. (Isaiah 63:16 NLT)
Some have had abusive fathers or mothers, yet God is pictured as a different kind of father, a father to orphans and a defender or protector of widows.
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. (Psalm 68:5 NIV)
In ancient times a high rock was seen as a place of escape, a refuge from danger. In that sense then God, our Father is pictured as a rock for David.
He shall cry to Me, ‘You are my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation.’ (Psalm 89:26 NKJV)
For those who have had abusive parents, images of a heavenly Father may be difficult. Know that God understands, and intends that we get to know our compassionate Father in heaven.
Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. (Psalm 103:13 NASB)
God does not want to treat us as criminals or debtors paying off our debt to society or to a creditor, as slaves or indentured servants, but wants to adopt us as children, whereby we cry Abba Father, a tender term of great love to Him as Father.
So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” (Romans 8:15 NLT)
The feminine side is also widely used metaphorically in Scriptures. God uses femininity to describe such wonderful things as wisdom, comfort and Jerusalem above.
But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother. (Galatians 4:26 NASB)
God the Son
Jesus did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, and God has again given him a name which is above every name.
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself… (Philippians 2:5-11 ESV)
God made the world through his Son, the express image of his Person.
But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom." (Hebrews 1:8 NIV)
Thomas recognized who Jesus was.
Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28 NIV)
We will discuss this in more detail in a study of Jesus, God the Son.
God the Holy Spirit
Most Christians recognize the Holy Spirit as God as a simply logical deduction from the many passages which describe the Holy Spirit’s personality. We will discuss that later, and offer only the briefest sketch here.
When Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit, he lied to God.
Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit … You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” (Acts 5:3-4 NIV)
The Holy Spirit is mentioned as an equal with God the Father and God the Son.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. (2 Corinthians 13:14 KJV)
Three in One
One of the most important passages regarding God’s triune nature is at the end of the Gospel of Matthew.
Go [having gone] therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20 NASB)
Christians are baptized in the ONE name of the three: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This gives us the Trinitarian formula of three in one.
This helps us to begin to understand other passages.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1-2 KJV)
As a footnote to this discussion, we need to take a look at one text which all experts agree is of doubtful origin.
For there are three that bear record [in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth,] the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. (1 John 5:7-8 KJV)
This contains some words, in square brackets, that were added sometime around the 14th to 16th centuries. The earliest manuscripts read as follows:
For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. (1 John 5:7-8 NASB)
Trinity Theories
The church began with a simple view of the Trinity which was just as described in isolated Scriptures. As the church grew in grace and knowledge, so too did its understanding of the Holy Trinity.
One historical discussion of the Trinity asked the question if God could be one person with three names or modes of being. This “modalism” was soon rejected by most Christians because we see things such as Jesus praying to the Father. He would not have been praying to himself. It also seemed to give God a split personality, which would require him to be mentally ill, a wrong conclusion.
Another discussion centered on the idea of God being three gods, but this is “tritheism” and was also rejected because we know that the Bible clearly states that God is one.
Both modalism and tritheism are rejected by most Christians as heresy, meaning just plain bad logic, though a very small minority still persists in those ideas even to this day. In this two thousand year long discussion, the most logical conclusion is that the truth lies somewhere between the two extremes.
That right teaching is known as orthodoxy. In biblical Greek terms we could say that God is one ousia in three hypostases. Perhaps the best we can come up with in English is the very imperfect translation of one Godhead indivisible and yet three “Persons”.
Was God Creator?
Christians broadly agree that God created everything, all things. The Hebrew phrase “the heavens and the earth” is an idiom for everything.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1 NKJV)
While there are many, many theories as to how God did it, the fact of divine creation is universally accepted by Christians. Christians do not believe in a dualism in creation, whereby a devil created a parallel evil universe or kingdom. That idea comes from outside of Christianity.
Why was the universe created? One reason was simply as a testimony for us to God’s indescribable glory. The heavens are like an unlimited billboard advertising God’s greatness to puny humanity.
The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. (Psalm 19:1 NASB)
God also created the Angels.
Praise ye him, all his angels… for he commanded, and they were created. (Psalm 148:2-5 KJV)
Everything that is not God comes from him. The act of creation was unique. There is no description of God having another creation. When God created things originally, nothing was made evil.
How do Christians and science relate to each other? Historically, the conflict between faith and science was not as great as today. Theology was once called the queen of the sciences. Today, that has all changed and yet there is movement of the two camps coming closer together again.
There are no easy answers. Few people are experts in both biology and theology. Most Christians believe that there is no conflict between true science and true faith.
Theories of creation range between old earth creationism, young earth creationism, micro-evolution, macro-evolution, gap creationism, flood theory of geology, literal days theories, age-day theories, pictorial-day theories, polemic theories, progressive creationism, intelligent design and a host of other variations.
No matter the theories and discussions as to how God created everything, Christians are unified in believing that God is Creator.
Does God Provide?
All Christians believe that God preserves the creation and governs the universe in wisdom so that his purposes can come to pass. This is called God’s providence.
In his wisdom sin is not always prevented but it is limited so as not to destroy everything. God lovingly provides life even to people who hate him. We plant crops, but without God’s provision our efforts are useless.
We may ask for his special help. We call it prayer. When we ask, like any loving parent God may choose to provide, yet always what is best.
God also provides special interventions beyond his everyday provision. We call such special times miracles, intervention out of the ordinary divine providence.
Does God Have a Plan?
Many of the Psalms were songs of God’s provision, in delivering, covering, protecting, and answering the prayers of those who trust in him.
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. (Psalm 91:1 NIV)
While many people look to answers in this world’s institutions, the believer knows that the best help comes from God. He keeps and preserves us.
My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth! (Psalm 121:2 NLT)
Unlike the weak promises of this world, God’s word is sure. God declares the end and beginning, His counsel will stand, and what He has purposed, He will also accomplish.
I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’ From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that I will bring about; what I have planned, that I will do. (Isaiah 46:10-11 NIV)
God made everything for a divine purpose.
The Lord has made everything for his own purposes, even the wicked for a day of disaster. (Proverbs 16:4 NLT)
Unlike human plans, God’s purpose will stand.
Many plans are in a man's heart, But the counsel of the LORD will stand. (Proverbs 19:21 NASB)
One of God’s purposes is the announcement of good news from heaven known as the Gospel, which will be preached to all nations.
And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic… For the Good News must first be preached to all nations. (Mark 13:7-10 NLT)
Even the death of Christ on the cross was within God’s plan.
This man was handed over to you by God's deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. (Acts 2:23 NIV)
All things that happen will be worked out according to God’s purposes.
Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan. God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. (Ephesians 1:11-12 NLT)
We trust that God will eventually work all things out for our good.
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28 NASB)
Discussion
How can we understand how great God is? How good is God? How near is God to us right now? How high above us is God? How is God one? Why does God use the imagery of a Father when that offends so many today? How is Jesus also God? How is the Holy Spirit God? What is modalism and why is it illogical? Why is tritheism illogical? How does the mainstream view of the Trinity help us understand God? What are God’s past and present roles in creation?
Immanence — God’s nearness
The Bible quotes God as saying that He fills heaven and earth or as other translations put it, he is everywhere.
"Can a man hide himself in hiding places So I do not see him?" declares the LORD. "Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?" declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 23:24 NASB)
In Hebrew that phrase refers to filling everything. This is called God’s omnipresence, and is not the same as panentheism, which tends to blur the distinction between the creation and God. Luke expressed this idea another way, saying that he is not far from every one of us.
His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ (Acts 17:27-28 NLT)
We live in God. We only exist, and move in God. He is as near as a heartbeat. God can also make himself known to human beings through a special appearance, called a theophany. Moses saw the burning bush.
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. (Exodus 3:1-2 NKJV)
The people of the Exodus saw God’s presence in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. (Exodus 13:21-22 NIV)
On Mount Sinai God’s immanence was evident in thunder and lightning.
… All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord had descended on it in the form of fire. The smoke billowed into the sky like smoke from a brick kiln, and the whole mountain shook violently… (Exodus 19:16-25 NLT)
Jesus was called Immanuel.
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. (Matthew 1:23 KJV)
Emmanuel (from the Greek Ἐμμανουήλ) or Immanuel (from the Hebrew עִמָּנוּאֵל) means “God with us.” One of the most important ways that humanity experiences the immanence of God is in Jesus Christ. We also experience the immanence of God in the Holy Spirit.
While everyone else was being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. Then as he prayed, the sky opened up, and the Holy Spirit came down upon him in the form of a dove. A voice from heaven said, “You are my own dear Son, and I am pleased with you.” (Luke 3:21-22 CEV)
The Bible quotes God as saying that He fills heaven and earth or as other translations put it, he is everywhere.
"Can a man hide himself in hiding places So I do not see him?" declares the LORD. "Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?" declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 23:24 NASB)
In Hebrew that phrase refers to filling everything. This is called God’s omnipresence, and is not the same as panentheism, which tends to blur the distinction between the creation and God. Luke expressed this idea another way, saying that he is not far from every one of us.
His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ (Acts 17:27-28 NLT)
We live in God. We only exist, and move in God. He is as near as a heartbeat. God can also make himself known to human beings through a special appearance, called a theophany. Moses saw the burning bush.
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. (Exodus 3:1-2 NKJV)
The people of the Exodus saw God’s presence in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. (Exodus 13:21-22 NIV)
On Mount Sinai God’s immanence was evident in thunder and lightning.
… All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord had descended on it in the form of fire. The smoke billowed into the sky like smoke from a brick kiln, and the whole mountain shook violently… (Exodus 19:16-25 NLT)
Jesus was called Immanuel.
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. (Matthew 1:23 KJV)
Emmanuel (from the Greek Ἐμμανουήλ) or Immanuel (from the Hebrew עִמָּנוּאֵל) means “God with us.” One of the most important ways that humanity experiences the immanence of God is in Jesus Christ. We also experience the immanence of God in the Holy Spirit.
While everyone else was being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. Then as he prayed, the sky opened up, and the Holy Spirit came down upon him in the form of a dove. A voice from heaven said, “You are my own dear Son, and I am pleased with you.” (Luke 3:21-22 CEV)
Transcendence — God’s Supremacy
God declared through the prophet Isaiah that His thoughts and ours are far apart.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. (Isaiah 55:8 NIV)
God is high and lifted up, exalted above us, as Isaiah described what he saw in a vision.
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” ... (Isaiah 6:1-5 ESV)
The Psalmist asks the rhetorical question, who is like the Lord.
Who can be compared with the Lord our God, who is enthroned on high? He stoops to look down on heaven and on earth. (Psalm 113:5-6 NLT)
The obvious answer to the question, who is like the Lord our God, is “Nobody!” Yet, does not all creation reveal enough about Him to make those guilty who ignore the obvious forensic evidence for His existence?
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. (Romans 1:18-20 NASB)
Is God Really Three and One?
Oneness
There is only one God. His oneness is accepted by Jews and Christians alike. His oneness is described in two very important passages. The very beginning of the Ten Commandments includes the words:
“You shall have no other gods before me”. (Exodus 20:3 NIV)
The central prayer of Jewish prayer life is called the Shema Yisrael (שְׁמַ֖ע יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל) after the first words in Hebrew, “Hear, O Israel.”
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9 NIV)
If God is one God, how do we get the Trinity? A clue might be in the word describing the union of Adam and Eve, two created to become one flesh in marriage.
Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. (Genesis 2:24 ESV)
That is the same word in Hebrew as is used of God being one.
God as Father
The study of the masculine imagery for God is called both patriology and paterology. What purpose could God have in calling Himself a Father? Is it Old Testament patriarchalism, a term used to evoke unthinking negative reactions from moderns? If so, why is it mentioned far more often in the New Testament? God is referred to as a Father maybe only 15 times in the Hebrew Scriptures, but about 256 times in the New Testament.
Let’s look at a few examples and see what we can learn. We begin with David, not the favorite son of his earthly father, but very much beloved of his heavenly Father.
I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. (2 Samuel 7:14-15 KJV)
Even if we were to be disowned by family back to our ancestors, God is still our Father.
Surely you are still our Father! Even if Abraham and Jacob would disown us, Lord, you would still be our Father. You are our Redeemer from ages past. (Isaiah 63:16 NLT)
Some have had abusive fathers or mothers, yet God is pictured as a different kind of father, a father to orphans and a defender or protector of widows.
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. (Psalm 68:5 NIV)
In ancient times a high rock was seen as a place of escape, a refuge from danger. In that sense then God, our Father is pictured as a rock for David.
He shall cry to Me, ‘You are my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation.’ (Psalm 89:26 NKJV)
For those who have had abusive parents, images of a heavenly Father may be difficult. Know that God understands, and intends that we get to know our compassionate Father in heaven.
Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. (Psalm 103:13 NASB)
God does not want to treat us as criminals or debtors paying off our debt to society or to a creditor, as slaves or indentured servants, but wants to adopt us as children, whereby we cry Abba Father, a tender term of great love to Him as Father.
So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” (Romans 8:15 NLT)
The feminine side is also widely used metaphorically in Scriptures. God uses femininity to describe such wonderful things as wisdom, comfort and Jerusalem above.
But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother. (Galatians 4:26 NASB)
God the Son
Jesus did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, and God has again given him a name which is above every name.
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself… (Philippians 2:5-11 ESV)
God made the world through his Son, the express image of his Person.
But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom." (Hebrews 1:8 NIV)
Thomas recognized who Jesus was.
Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28 NIV)
We will discuss this in more detail in a study of Jesus, God the Son.
God the Holy Spirit
Most Christians recognize the Holy Spirit as God as a simply logical deduction from the many passages which describe the Holy Spirit’s personality. We will discuss that later, and offer only the briefest sketch here.
When Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit, he lied to God.
Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit … You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” (Acts 5:3-4 NIV)
The Holy Spirit is mentioned as an equal with God the Father and God the Son.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. (2 Corinthians 13:14 KJV)
Three in One
One of the most important passages regarding God’s triune nature is at the end of the Gospel of Matthew.
Go [having gone] therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20 NASB)
Christians are baptized in the ONE name of the three: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This gives us the Trinitarian formula of three in one.
This helps us to begin to understand other passages.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1-2 KJV)
As a footnote to this discussion, we need to take a look at one text which all experts agree is of doubtful origin.
For there are three that bear record [in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth,] the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. (1 John 5:7-8 KJV)
This contains some words, in square brackets, that were added sometime around the 14th to 16th centuries. The earliest manuscripts read as follows:
For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. (1 John 5:7-8 NASB)
Trinity Theories
The church began with a simple view of the Trinity which was just as described in isolated Scriptures. As the church grew in grace and knowledge, so too did its understanding of the Holy Trinity.
One historical discussion of the Trinity asked the question if God could be one person with three names or modes of being. This “modalism” was soon rejected by most Christians because we see things such as Jesus praying to the Father. He would not have been praying to himself. It also seemed to give God a split personality, which would require him to be mentally ill, a wrong conclusion.
Another discussion centered on the idea of God being three gods, but this is “tritheism” and was also rejected because we know that the Bible clearly states that God is one.
Both modalism and tritheism are rejected by most Christians as heresy, meaning just plain bad logic, though a very small minority still persists in those ideas even to this day. In this two thousand year long discussion, the most logical conclusion is that the truth lies somewhere between the two extremes.
That right teaching is known as orthodoxy. In biblical Greek terms we could say that God is one ousia in three hypostases. Perhaps the best we can come up with in English is the very imperfect translation of one Godhead indivisible and yet three “Persons”.
Was God Creator?
Christians broadly agree that God created everything, all things. The Hebrew phrase “the heavens and the earth” is an idiom for everything.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1 NKJV)
While there are many, many theories as to how God did it, the fact of divine creation is universally accepted by Christians. Christians do not believe in a dualism in creation, whereby a devil created a parallel evil universe or kingdom. That idea comes from outside of Christianity.
Why was the universe created? One reason was simply as a testimony for us to God’s indescribable glory. The heavens are like an unlimited billboard advertising God’s greatness to puny humanity.
The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. (Psalm 19:1 NASB)
God also created the Angels.
Praise ye him, all his angels… for he commanded, and they were created. (Psalm 148:2-5 KJV)
Everything that is not God comes from him. The act of creation was unique. There is no description of God having another creation. When God created things originally, nothing was made evil.
How do Christians and science relate to each other? Historically, the conflict between faith and science was not as great as today. Theology was once called the queen of the sciences. Today, that has all changed and yet there is movement of the two camps coming closer together again.
There are no easy answers. Few people are experts in both biology and theology. Most Christians believe that there is no conflict between true science and true faith.
Theories of creation range between old earth creationism, young earth creationism, micro-evolution, macro-evolution, gap creationism, flood theory of geology, literal days theories, age-day theories, pictorial-day theories, polemic theories, progressive creationism, intelligent design and a host of other variations.
No matter the theories and discussions as to how God created everything, Christians are unified in believing that God is Creator.
Does God Provide?
All Christians believe that God preserves the creation and governs the universe in wisdom so that his purposes can come to pass. This is called God’s providence.
In his wisdom sin is not always prevented but it is limited so as not to destroy everything. God lovingly provides life even to people who hate him. We plant crops, but without God’s provision our efforts are useless.
We may ask for his special help. We call it prayer. When we ask, like any loving parent God may choose to provide, yet always what is best.
God also provides special interventions beyond his everyday provision. We call such special times miracles, intervention out of the ordinary divine providence.
Does God Have a Plan?
Many of the Psalms were songs of God’s provision, in delivering, covering, protecting, and answering the prayers of those who trust in him.
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. (Psalm 91:1 NIV)
While many people look to answers in this world’s institutions, the believer knows that the best help comes from God. He keeps and preserves us.
My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth! (Psalm 121:2 NLT)
Unlike the weak promises of this world, God’s word is sure. God declares the end and beginning, His counsel will stand, and what He has purposed, He will also accomplish.
I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’ From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that I will bring about; what I have planned, that I will do. (Isaiah 46:10-11 NIV)
God made everything for a divine purpose.
The Lord has made everything for his own purposes, even the wicked for a day of disaster. (Proverbs 16:4 NLT)
Unlike human plans, God’s purpose will stand.
Many plans are in a man's heart, But the counsel of the LORD will stand. (Proverbs 19:21 NASB)
One of God’s purposes is the announcement of good news from heaven known as the Gospel, which will be preached to all nations.
And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic… For the Good News must first be preached to all nations. (Mark 13:7-10 NLT)
Even the death of Christ on the cross was within God’s plan.
This man was handed over to you by God's deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. (Acts 2:23 NIV)
All things that happen will be worked out according to God’s purposes.
Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan. God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. (Ephesians 1:11-12 NLT)
We trust that God will eventually work all things out for our good.
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28 NASB)
Discussion
How can we understand how great God is? How good is God? How near is God to us right now? How high above us is God? How is God one? Why does God use the imagery of a Father when that offends so many today? How is Jesus also God? How is the Holy Spirit God? What is modalism and why is it illogical? Why is tritheism illogical? How does the mainstream view of the Trinity help us understand God? What are God’s past and present roles in creation?
New King James Version (NKJV) Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Contemporary English Version (CEV) Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society
King James Version (KJV) Public Domain
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