Introduction to The Godhead: Who Is Jesus | Steve Benson

This morning we're going to look at the

de the deity of Christ,

but it's much more than that. You know,

that's such an important doctrine, such

an important part of the word of God and

you know what we stand on and what we

stand for.

And we've been covering the Trinity,

Godhead, God the Father, God the Son,

and God the Holy Spirit. We spent quite

a few messages on the father and and

even more on the Holy Spirit and now we

have come to God the son

and I suspect there'll be more messages

on him maybe than the rest of the

godhead simply because of his great work

of redemption on our behalf.

So as we went through the word of God um

you know the word of God has shown us

this is this is our you know all

sufficient word that

uh helps us and guides us into into all

truth and Jesus said he would do that.

So from the word of God we have learned

these things that you know that God is a

triune God yet he's one God.

That's not a contradiction. That's what

the Bible says.

And you know, therefore, we believe

these things.

Um, God exists in in three persons.

And when I say persons, I don't mean,

you know, God's not a human like us, but

yet we associate persons with

personality.

So, the Father has a personality, the

Holy Spirit has a personality, and God

the Son has a personality. And we'll

greatly benefit from looking at him and

and and literally studying him, who he

is, and what he said. He's the greatest

example there ever was.

So as we look at him uh and begin this

morning and look upon the deity of

Christ, remember in the Old Testament in

Isaiah 6 how the prophet cried, "Holy,

holy, holy."

So all three of these members of the

Godhead are holy. Father, the Son, and

the Holy Spirit. One is not more holy

than the other or less holy than the

other. You know, they're all holy

together. They're all united uh as one

God

and yet you know the Godhead appears in

in three persons in three personalities

and you know this is forever now you

know God the son left heaven and come to

earth you know that's the virgin birth

the incarnation you know those things

that we looked at about the son of god

um coming from from heaven that

procession he came from the father on a

mission to do his father's will and

those things we have looked at and you

know we saw that one message we spent on

the sinlessness of Christ

and you know there's no sin in him in

thought word or deed uh so we can see

what it's like

to not sin um and you know we certainly

struggle with those things but Jesus did

not

and Hebrews said he's the same

yesterday, today, and forever.

So, you know, Jesus is a member of the

Godhead

um 100%. He's not less than the other

two. He's not more than the other two.

They're united in uh you know, in the

Godhead. That's so important that Bible

says that over and over. You know, how

the Godhead is united, the Father, the

Son, and the Holy Spirit. Yet there is

one true God, one true living God. You

know, and Paul never lost sight of that

in the New Testament. You know, the the

New Testament writers continue to say

there's one God. Yet he exists in three

persons. The Father, the Son, and the

Holy Spirit. And God is light and in him

is no darkness at all. So you know that

means the father and the holy spirit

obviously but as well it means god the

son

and you know heaven is filled with glory

you know someday we're going to go there

someday we're going to be there

going to get to see what that is like

and we're going to need a change right

uh in order to see these things and and

you know the great thing about Jesus

coming to earth you know was him telling

us about heaven. You know, we've never

been there. And I know there are some

people that think they've been there,

but no man has has been to heaven

outside of of Paul the Apostle and John

the Apostle,

you know, and and Paul was not allowed

to talk about it, you know, and John did

talk about it in the book of Revelation,

but you know, there's a glory that we

can't see. There's a there's a heaven

that we cannot see. There's a eternal

place um where Jesus talked about when

he come to earth.

It's filled with glory. That's what he

told us. He was going to go back to the

father and and and enjoy that glory and

be with the father.

So all these things are wonderful.

God the father, God the son, and God the

holy spirit. They're willing to share

with us glory and and heaven and this

this place where there is no darkness,

the place where there is no sin, this

place that's eternal.

That's where God is. You know, the Old

Testament had some things to say about

God. You know, before Jesus come to

earth, you know, God spoke to the

Israelites in many different ways.

That's what Hebrews said, you know,

chapter one, God spoke in diverse ways

to the fathers.

So, you can see God speaking in the Old

Testament. God God revealing himself in

the Old Testament.

And some of the ways that God revealed

himself in the Old Testament was a as a

as a fire.

You know, that's what the the t the uh

tabernacle was for. That's what the

priesthood was for. And you know, God

took his nation and and he set up a

priesthood. He set up the system

that, you know, he could show man who he

was. And in Leviticus is where we find

all those things.

And let's turn back to First Kings. I'm

going to start the Old Testament this

morning in First Kings.

1 Kings 18 · chapter mention

chapter 18.

You know where I'm going.

But you know, God was uh revealing

himself to the nation of Israel in the

in the burnt offering.

You know, it was on the bronze altar by

the priest.

It was a sign of

just total surrender to God.

in the in the priest, his whole life was

dedicated to God.

And you know, that's what Jesus did. He

dedicated his whole life to his father.

And there were the grain offerings. Um

they were burnt on the offer on the

altar by the priest and some of the food

was saved for himself. We had the peace

offering, the sin offering, the trespass

offering. It's where they they took the

fat of the animal and they burned it

on the altar and they saved the meat

for the priest. And we have the the

pleasing aroma offer, you know, that was

to please the Lord, the aroma of

sacrifice and and you know, it it God

was satisfied

and and letting them know that, you

know, he was in their presence.

But many times God appears in the Old

Testament as fire

and you remember the burning bush. You

know, it it burned continually and yet

it was not consumed.

You know, sort of like our son does.

But, you know, as well God does. He's uh

you know, he's a flame of fire.

So, the priest, you know, daily they

tended the fire in the tabernacle. That

was a part of their duty to take care of

the fire, you know, and get the fire

going and keep the fire going. That was

a part of their ministry as well. And

several times, you know, God ignited the

fire from heaven. You know, if they

didn't have one or there wasn't one,

they, you know, just boom, a fire would

appear

from heaven. And and God is telling his

people that he's a flaming fire. He's

holy. He's just, he's good, and all

those great things. And you know, it it

as well as causing them to fear and and

obviously you know what an impact that

must have made on them to see those

things.

But, you know, it was God's presence to

them. It was God's approval

to them. So they were learning, you

know, those things by what God was doing

through the priesthood that God is good.

You know, God is, you know, receiving

our sacrifice

and and it was acceptable and, you know,

that it caused them to worship. You

know, that's what it was for,

you know, to realize God's presence and

and uh you know, and pleasing God. You

know, those things were a part of it.

And you know God spoke you know this way

and you know that things were acceptable

to him.

In Leviticus 9 we have the dedication of

the tabernacle and there's one of those

instances where God you know appeared as

a flame in um 2 Chronicles chapter 7 at

2 Chronicles 7 · chapter mention

the dedication of the temple. Again, you

know, God appears as a flame at the

dedication of the temple. So, the

Israelites were learning that, you know,

God is a consuming fire.

So, as they have learned these things

through the scripture and we have

learned these things through the

scripture, you know, God is holy, God is

just, God is sinless, he's not like us.

And you know he was revealing himself in

that way.

So you know the father has no humanity,

the spirit has no humanity but Jesus

does.

So God has come to earth as a man as his

son. And as we look at him, we can

learn, you know, many many things.

And uh his his virgin birth, his

incarnation,

and you know, he has two natures, divine

and human.

And this morning, we're going to look at

his divine side,

knowing that God is a consuming fire.

And in First Kings chapter 18,

1 Kings 18 · chapter mention

you guys know the story here in verse

20.

This is where God appears on Mount

Carmel

to the Israelites and to the uh to the

prophets of Baal. And how does God

display himself here? He does it as a

fire as a as a flame of fire like he

did, you know, with the Old Testament

priesthood in Leviticus.

You know, that's how God showed himself

to Israel. And here um with these failed

prophets, God does a similar thing

again. Verse 21.

And Elijah came unto the people and

said, "How long are you going to be

between two opinions?

If the Lord God follow him, if it be

Baal, then follow him." And the people

answered him, "Not a word." I mean,

that's where it's at for us, too. It's

God's either a liar or God is no liar,

you know. So, all the other people and

all the other religions and all the

other things out there are false.

The real God of the scripture, the Lord

God here, he's the one that we should be

listening to.

And the prophet El Elijah says in verse

22 unto the people, I even I only remain

a prophet of the Lord.

Baal's prophets are 450 men. So a lot of

times we're outnumbered greatly

and so was Elijah here.

And call you the name of the of your

God, and I will call on the name of the

Lord. you know, their their gods don't

have names, but our God does. He's the

Lord. He's the God who answers by fire.

You know, Israel learned these things

through the priesthood, you know, and

the things that went on back there with

the priesthood and with God, God's

presence and God's approval and those

things they learned through these uh

appearances of God in a flame. Then

Elijah said to the prophets of Baal,

"Choose you one bulock for yourselves

and prepare it first, for you are many,

and call upon the name of your God, but

put no fire under it." You know, so

here's what Elijah caused them to do.

Let's see if your God can appear as a

fire. You know the story. They took the

bulock they given them and they prepared

it. They called on the name of Baal from

morning until noon saying, "Oh Ba, hear

us." There uh was noon.

Elijah mocked them. Cry aloud for your

God. Either he is te maybe talking or

pursuing or on a journey perhaps

sleeping sleeping that he might be

awaken you know there's humor in the

Bible isn't there and here it is what's

what's going on guys where's your god

and we can say the same thing with all

the other gods out there you know they

just don't exist

they can't do anything

but Elijah's god

is real. They cried aloud. They cut

themselves with swords and lances till

the blood gushed out upon them. Pretty

gruesome.

Now come to pass at midday they

prophesied until the time of the

offering of the evening sacrifice. And

there was neither voice nor any answer

nor any that regarded

embarrassment.

And Elijah says, it turns now here in

verse 30, "Come near to me."

All the people came near to him and he

repaired the altar of the Lord that was

broken down.

And Elijah took 12 stones according to

the numbers of the tribes of the son of

Jacob. And God is, you know, he's not

just a god, just a single god for for

Elijah, you know, he's a he's a God for

multiple people.

Even the Jews, all 12 tribes, God had

made promise to.

They put the wood in order. He cut the

bulock into pieces. He laid it on the

wood. And he said, "Fill four barrels

with water. Pour it on the burnt

sacrifice in the wood." Again, there's

there's humor in the Bible.

And he said, "Do it the second time."

They did it the second time. And he

said, "Do it the third time." They did

it the third time. And the water ran

down about the altar, and it filled the

trenches also

with water.

And it came to pass at the time of the

evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet

came near and said, "Lord God of

Abraham,

that's who God is. That's who our God

is." You know, he's not some unknown god

like the Athens thought, the Athenians

thought with Paul in Acts 17. No, we

know our God. Our God knows us. You

know, that's what we can tell the Jews

when we meet him. We got the same God.

We

uh believe in the God of Abraham.

That's who we believe in.

And the God of Israel, Isaac and Israel,

that's what Elijah says. Let it be known

this day that our God in Israel and that

I am his servant.

You know, God has servant.

And here Elijah is one of them. And I

have done all these things according to

God's word. So there's where we got that

separates us from everybody else. We had

the correct God. We listen to the right

God. We listen to the God of Abraham, of

Isaac, and Jacob and David.

and you know, right on into Paul and

Peter and these these fellows. So, you

know, Israel is where God has revealed

himself to this great nation to these

great people. And now God has grafted us

Gentiles in by faith. So, we're saved

like Abraham was saved. We're saved by

faith. We want to hear the Lord. What

does he say? He said from his word, you

know, you're the Lord God. You know, you

have uh you turned their hearts back

again. And then the fire of the Lord

fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice,

the wood and the stone and the dust. And

here's some more humor. Licked up the

water that was in the trench.

When all the people saw it, they fell on

their face and said, "The Lord, he is

God. The Lord is God." You know, so here

God is, you know, this is the God that

we worship. This is the God that we

serve. You know, the one that's been

revealing himself all the way through

the Old Testament and the nation of

Israel and the people of Israel. And

now, you know, this same God has a has a

church made up of us Gentiles.

So, you know, we serve this God.

And uh Elijah talks about these things

here and you guys know the rest of of

the story. Now turn to the New Testament

to the Gospel of John chapter 5.

John 5 · chapter mention

So God, he revealed himself to Moses in

a burning bush and yet the bush was not

consumed as a fire.

And God is holy. God is just. God is

good. All these great things. And here

in John

John 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5,

you know, God did not become a, you

know, a a bush on the earth. You know,

yeah, that was a temporary thing with

Moses so Moses could learn, you know,

all the Old Testament things, the

Levites, the priesthood, the tabernacle,

the temple, all these great things. God

was showing the nation of Israel who he

is.

And then when Jesus come to earth, it it

uh

he did he did a very similar thing. And

he says here in John chapter 5

John 5 · chapter mention

and in verse 23

that all men,

this is Jesus speaking,

not just Jews.

Jesus says all men,

he uses that all all in the at the end

of the gospel of Matthew, go to all the

world and preach the gospel.

And here we see him again saying,

"Oh, that all men

should honor the Son even as they have

honored the Father. And he that honors

not the Son honors not the Father whom

he has sent." There's that procession

where the father sent the son, you know.

So all the way back there in Isaiah

Isaiah 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6 when when uh we heard holy

holy holy

you know from the trinity. One of those

was the holy son of god the sinless son

of god. And now Jesus in a greater way

than what the old testament prophets

pointed to god. Jesus is doing in a far

greater superior way.

And you know Jesus volunteered to come

to this earth.

He was not forced by God the father

through God the holy spirit. That's what

Isaiah 6 says. Jesus said here am I send

me volunteered

to come. So here he is to represent the

father, represent the trinity, represent

the godhead. You know this is um you

know this is more than the burning bush.

This is more than the temple. This is

more than the tabernacle. This is more

than Elijah uh before the the prophets

of Baal on uh Mount Carmel.

So now we have a person. Now we have a

man and that man is Jesus Christ

and he's come to reveal to us and to

talk to us and to tell us about his

father.

So we have just incredible evidence in

the word of God for these things.

You know this the deity of Christ is I

mean it's no it's a no-brainer

because we've been studying the Godhead

God the Father, God the Spirit, and God

the Son. And now God the Son is upon the

earth here

to do the Father's will. So we have a

great evidence here in him and he he

brings revelation to us,

you know, as greater than the Old

Testament. That's what the book of

Hebrews says. So we have God the Son

here and and all of his divine

attributes.

You know, Jesus started out way back

there, didn't he? He was with the

father. He's eternal like the father.

He's eternal like the spirit.

and and um he talked about that glory in

John and his 17 with his great high

priestly prayer. He talked about that

glory and he was there at Mount

at the

Mount Carmel when Elijah

and the fire came forth

and how but how do we know we've got the

right one?

You know, there have been many people

say they were a messiah. There have been

many people say they were a good

prophet, a good teacher. There have been

many come and go. So, how do we know

that we've got the right one?

Well, that was settled by John the

Baptist. Remember,

he said, "Are you the prophet or are you

the one the prophet spoke of? Are you

the son of God? Are you the one that was

supposed to come?" And John's in prison.

You know, it's not looking like a

kingdom.

But Jesus said, "Yeah, I'm the one. You

You guys haven't missed me." And and

that's what John chapter 5, the rest of

John 5 · chapter mention

John chapter 5 is all about is just the

John 5 · chapter mention

witness to Jesus.

So we don't have the wrong one. You

know, we're not following the wrong

redeemer. We're not following the wrong

savior. We're not following the wrong

person.

We're following the right one.

In fact, we have it from Jesus lips own

lips here. You want to honor the father,

honor me,

then my father will honor you. So, it's

narrowed down to this one person. We

don't have to look for others. We don't

have to look for multiple,

you know, saviors or redeemers. One for

Israel and one for the Gentiles or or

one for the last century and now we need

a new one.

No, Jesus died for the sins of the whole

world. We have the right one.

He talks about that his his baptism

there at the end of of John chapter 5.

John 5 · chapter mention

We already read these verses. We're

we're familiar with them. We have the

witness of John the Baptist there in

verse 33. We have the witness of Jesus

work here in verse 36. That's what we're

talking about now.

You know, he came and he said, "I am the

son of God and he proved it through

everything that he did." He says, "Here,

I have a greater witness than that that

of John." John's a pretty good one, but

you know, Jesus the life for the works

which I do, you know, are the father has

given me to finish.

And you know, there was a there was a

dedication of Jesus. You know, the

priests were dedicated. They didn't do

anything else. You know, they they

served God 24/7, 365.

Jesus did that. You know, you look at

him and you know, he's sometimes said

things that were rather short and to the

point, but you couldn't divert him from

his father's will. When it come to his

father's will, he was a he was a

workaholic.

And he said, "The same work that I do."

So we see him doing this work that the

father gave him to do. They bear witness

of me that the father has sent me. So

John the Baptist said it's him. Jesus

own life said it's him. And then he has

the father's witness here in verse 37

that came from heaven.

You know why did Jesus get water

baptized? To please his father. That's

what he said.

And he references that here. And then he

gives us the fourth one.

Search the scriptures.

For in them you think you have life.

They testify of me. So every verse in

the Bible talks about Jesus. Testifies

to us that he's the right one. He's the

real one. You know, we don't have the

wrong Messiah. We don't have the wrong

redeemer. We don't have the wrong

religion.

Everybody else does, but not us. And

it's not anything we've done or figured

out on our own. We're not smarter than

other people. We just

study the word of God. And here where

God reveals himself

to us.

And Jesus is indeed the way, the truth,

and the life. No man is going to come to

the father but by him. He said that, not

me.

So that's the only way to the father.

This holy god who's we see consuming a

consuming fire in the old testament and

a consuming fire in the new testament as

well. You know god is a consuming fire.

He's holy. He's just but he is good.

He's kind. He's longsuffering.

He's full of love and grace and mercy.

And that's what John says. Turn back to

chapter one

here. John talks about his witness, you

know, and that's what these men did.

They walked with Jesus for three and a

half years and they said, "Yeah, I can

tell you all about him. He's God."

And John the Baptist, you know, he

experienced that the I'm the sinner.

You're the sinless one. you come to me

to be baptized.

Jesus said, "Yeah, let it happen."

And Jesus came and he the fullness uh in

verse 16,

"And of his fullness have we received

grace for grace."

So, it's just incredible what this verse

says.

God has grace for every person that was

ever born because of his son.

That didn't happen with the law. People

got stoned for breaking the law. We had

to offer the the Jews had to offer

sacrifice, sin, and trespass offerings

because they broke the law of God.

Problem is not the law. Paul said the

problem is with us and that's our sin.

The law came by Moses.

Boy, did the Jews hang on to that. You

know, they they wanted to judge

everybody with their own little rule

book. Jesus didn't come with a rule

book. He come filled with grace and

truth.

Grace and truth.

He's full of them. He's full of grace up

there in verse 16. And then he says

this, "No man has seen God at any time."

Wait a minute. I thought we saw God in

the Old Testament in the burning bush in

the in the priesthood in the in the

tabernacle in the and then and then the

temple.

But those were just glimpses. Those were

just, you know, God was saying, you

know, here my presence is holy and my

presence is like a fire.

But here comes Jesus to the earth full

of grace and truth. And no man has seen

God at only time at any time. The only

begotten son who is in the bosom of the

father has declared him. So Jesus comes

to declare God

to us.

And not only declare who God is, but

he's filled with grace and truth. What a

what a package.

God gave us his son.

And John says it's him. Little lowly

Jesus. He was born in Bethlehem. He grew

up in Nazareth.

He's one about being doing good and

being kind to sinners and become the

friend of sinners. And you know this is

what the Old Testament told us was going

to happen. And John said, "I'm not

Jesus. Don't follow me.

Follow him." And they said, "What then?

Are you Elijah?"

Remember Mount Carmel? Elijah was a very

good prophet. No.

No. Neither is he or am I Elijah.

And then they said, well then who are

you? And they answered and said,

uh, what you say to yourself?

You know, people want to talk about

everything but Jesus.

You know, oh, you you know, you go to

church, don't you? You're a good person,

aren't you?

Yeah. Yeah. But let's get down to who

Jesus is. That's the important part.

We need a savior. We need a redeemer.

And he's the one. And John didn't get

sidetracked with these things. He just

said, "I'm the voice of one cry in the

wilderness. Make straight the way of the

Lord as a prophet Isaiah said." And the

Lord is here. John says he's here to

um to teach us

and tell us about his father. In fact,

from Genesis to Revelation, this whole

book, Hebrews says it's written about

him.

And as amazing as it it is, you know,

God became a man. He pulled us off. A

sinless, holy, just man.

And you know, this is the good news. You

know, we're not under the law. Thank God

we're not under the law. We can't keep

it. We We'd all die and perish. But God

has sent a greater way, a better way.

That's his son.

He talks about in verse 29,

the next day John seeth Jesus coming to

him. John knows who he is. He's not

mixed up.

He says, "Behold,

you know, there's all these of gods in

the Bible." You know, I it really helped

me with my Bible study when I started

seeing all these of God. When something

is of God, it came from God. It came

from the lap of God.

And that's what this says. Behold, the

lamb of God takes away the sin of the

world. From the lap of God comes the

lamb, the spotless, holy, sinless lamb

of God.

For what purpose, you know, they've yet

to see. You know, that's what the

apostles struggled with. Wait a minute.

You're not going to the cross,

you know, and and Jesus said, "Get

behind me, Satan."

But

Jesus eventually went, didn't he? And he

volunteered.

So

this is what the apostles taught us. You

know, we have John the Baptist with

incredible testimony and pointing at

Jesus. We have the Apostle John,

incredible witness and testimony,

pointing us to Jesus. And that's what

these men did after they lived with him

for three and a half years. Mary Mary

lived with him much longer.

But these men and then look at verse 34.

Now I saw and bore witness.

This

is there's that word son of God. He's of

God. He's the son of God. He's the only

begotten son of God. The only son.

And you know, he he is God. You know, he

proves it. And as we look at his life,

we're going to see him prove it. You

know, he he proved it in so many ways.

That's what he says in John five. You

got my life. You know, point to my life

where I didn't witness of the father.

Point to my life where I I made a

mistake. Where I had a fault.

you know the workaholic Jesus fulfilled

everything his father gave him to do. So

he's truly God. You know Jesus said

verily you know many times

and you know the apostles some of them

used that word but it meant truly you

know truly truly you know it's like our

amen you know you can't say something

better and many times Jesus said truly

truly and many times Jesus said truly

truly I am the son of God

there is no other it's

So he is truly God. He is truly man

and he is truly the God man and he has

upon him the flesh of Adam

that he got from Mary

that he got from Adam. So he's not a a

just a spirit being. He said that in

Luke. I'm you know I'm real spirit you

can't see. The spirit you can't touch.

Touch me and see. I'm flesh.

So the God man is 100% God. 100% man.

You say that's 200%. Well, only God can

accomplish these things.

And he is the one we follow. He is the

one who died for our sins. As John says

here, behold the lamb of God who takes

away the sin of the world.

So the perfect Jesus

has people who were around him and with

him and saw him live who as well said

there's no sin in him nowhere.

So don't be like doubting Thomas and say

unless I see his hands I'm not going to

believe. Now, be be like the believing

Thomas and say, "My Lord and my God."

Turn over to Philippians chapter 2.

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

You know, this this didn't go away.

People not believing in Jesus.

You know, it continues today.

And you know, everyone is in unbelief.

and they're in unbelief because they

won't listen to the word of God,

you know, that God might shine unto

them, you know, they might be born again

because, you know, Jesus is the light of

the world. The word of God is the light

that he gave us, you know, and men loves

darkness rather than light. But those

who love light, we're here because we

love the light. We want to we want to

know him, know him better.

And here's the only way is through his

written word.

So, you know,

I'm willing to put it all on him.

You know,

guys at work say, "Well, don't you know,

don't put all your eggs in one basket."

That's what a lot my guys will tell me,

customers will tell me a lot of times.

I'm trying to get more of their

business. I can't put all of my eggs in

one basket. Well, finally I come up with

a line for him. And I said, 'You can if

it's the right basket.

And so it is with Jesus.

You know, we can forget all the others.

He's the one. We can put all our eggs in

one basket, you know. So, I'm ready to

die. You guys can have my funeral

tomorrow. I'm going to heaven. I've got

everything staked on him and what he's

done and who he is. Like Paul did, like

Peter did, like Moses did, like David

did, like all these men in the word of

God. This God of Israel

has revealed himself to us.

And it's him in whom we believe.

And here in Philippians chapter 2,

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

you're familiar with this.

Who being in the form of God

thought it not robbery to be equal with

God? Well, that if Jesus wasn't God,

that that would be blasphemy to say

that.

And that's what the Jews crucified him

for. Oh, you said you're God. Yeah, I

did. Jesus said, I did. I did numerous

times.

And that was why the Jews arrested him.

But here, Philippians says he's equal to

God. He is God.

There can't be anything less in in in

the Father and the Son and the Holy

Spirit than there are God. That all

three of them are God and the Godhead.

So Jesus has come to earth

as a man.

And and Paul tells us here what he did

sounds like what Jesus said in John

John 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5. You got my life. You know I

look what you find any fault in me and

what I said what I did what I told you

zero crickets.

And the man himself of no reputation

took upon him the form of of a servant

and was made in the likeness of men. You

know, that's what people missed

was he, oh, servant. We thought he was

going to be a king. We thought he was

going to be royalty. We thought he was

going to rule and reign on the earth.

No, the earth belongs to the devil

and to unsaved men. God lets them run

that. Jesus said, "I've got nothing to

do with this world. My kingdom is not of

this world."

He has a greater kingdom.

and he was made in the likeness of men.

So this this is just an incredible depth

of theology here that the holy, just

perfect God become a man without sinning

and being found and fashioned as a man,

he humbled himself, became obedient unto

death. There's a he he was a workaholic

in this one to to do the father's will

in three and a half years he did that

and then he died on the cross.

Oh, you know that that's that's a

shame to a lot of people. That's a

scandal to a lot of people. That's what

the you know the word scandalon means.

God died for my sins. That's a scandal.

Well, it's a true one.

And God has highly exalted him. God was

well pleased. He had to look past the

grave. You have to look past his life.

You have to look past the cross to to

where he is now and who he is now. He's

taken back over the universe.

It belongs to him and every name.

Buddha, Muhammad,

uh, Confucious,

everyone you can think of, they're going

to bow the knee to this one man,

Jesus Christ. And every tongue will

confess that he is Lord to the glory of

the father, his his wonderful, wonderful

father.

Mr. Warfield said about this section.

He is declared in the most expressed

manner possible to be all that God is

and to possess the whole fullness of God

and all the attributes that make God God

are in Jesus and it's one person.

You know, that's why Paul says in 1

Timothy, go to 1 Timothy chapter 3,

1 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

1 Timothy

1 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3

and verse 16. You know, this is from the

men who knew him best. This isn't

hearsay.

This is from the men who listened to

him, were taught by him.

They heard his voice.

And Paul says here,

that's what the church is for. That's

why we're here.

There's only one place God reveals

himself, and it's through his word and

through his church, through his

servants, like Elijah

and like Paul.

And without controversy,

great is the mystery of godliness. This

is the greatest thing ever. This is the

the best mystery ever. God was manifest

in the flesh,

justified in the spirit,

seen of angels,

and preached unto the nations who

believed on in the world, received up

the glory. This is where we come in

2,000 years later.

The apostles were the ones that that you

know started these things. Turn over to

Ephesians chapter 3.

Ephesians 3 · chapter mention

Ephesians 3. You know, Paul says there

about talks about the foundation and the

apostles are the guys that saw Jesus.

You know, yeah, he's the right one.

Follow him.

And Jesus said he's going to go to

heaven and greater works these men were

going to do and and we were going to do.

That's what we're doing. These are

greater works here.

And in chapter 3 and verse 6,

this is a gentile church,

you know, and I guess that would be the

argument.

Oh, I'm not interested in your Jewish

God.

Oh, yes, you can be.

You've been grafted in.

There's one savior, one redeemer, one

lord

of the Jew and the Gentile.

Now we're fellow hes. We've been grafted

in. I'm I'm way ahead of the Jews now

who have not believed. They're going to

a different place. But the Gentiles who

believe, we've been made royalty

by the God man, Jesus Christ. Now we're

a part of his glory.

You know, we're going to be with him in

heaven.

And you know, the angels are going to

worship him because of us. We're going

to worship him because of us. He did it

all.

Partakers of the promises.

Not the law, not our efforts, not our

merit,

but the promise in Christ

by the gospel. The only way to come to

Christ is through his promises of the

gospel. And Paul says, "I was made a

minister, a servant,

you know, just like Jesus. Jesus is a

servant. You think we're better than

him?"

Paul says, "That's that's what I am. I'm

a servant to him, to God." Jesus called

me

according to the gift of the grace of

God. That's what this is all about. not

not merit, not not you know any good in

us. This is all about the gift of God

and the grace of God that's given to us

uh because of what Jesus has done.

Now that consuming fire in heaven, it

will consume us no more.

Now we have a way and it's through the

obedience that Jesus had

to his father.

Now it says unto me I'm least least of

all the saints. Then it just keeps

going. God God picks people that nobody

else will pick. You know just so

everyone will have to say God must be

doing something.

And so it was with Paul and Peter and

those fishermen. Remember those old

snobby Pharisees?

Peter, you those men have been with

Jesus.

That's the greatest thing we can do.

and to make all men see what is the

fellowship of this mystery. This that's

this mystery Paul's talking about. God

became a man. God paid for our sins. God

is our redeemer. God is our savior.

He's the one we rest in.

And these things are hidden in God who

created all things by Jesus Christ. He

was way back there. The eternal son of

God.

and then to the intent. Now, that's

Paul's point. You know, now what's going

on? Is this still a part of God's plan?

Yes, the church is, you know, the

Gentiles coming in through the gospel of

Christ and being grafted in us Gentiles

and and God has poured out his mercy and

grace upon us Gentiles, you know, who

the Jews would pass on the street and go

on the other side.

unclean unclean

don't call anything unclean that God has

made holy

to the intent now principalities and

powers let the devils know let the

fallen angels know the grace of God is

upon the earth and he's pouring out his

mercy and his grace upon Gentiles

through his word and through his church

which we power and we can have boldness

and come.

And then Paul says down in verse 15, the

whole family in heaven and earth his

name one group. God wants us to be one

like he is one

and

that Christ may dwell in your hearts by

faith. But now we have Christ indwelling

us through faith because of these

things. Being rooted and grounded in

love. It's not just theology.

You know, we need to have the correct

theology, but we as well need love.

Being rooted and grounded in love may be

able to comprehend with all saints will

the breadth, the height

that we may know the love of Christ with

passes knowledge. That's how we get it.

that we might be filled with all the

fullness of God. We We're missing out on

nothing

because of what Christ has done. It's

all in him. So, we can surrender to him

and follow him. And we have the right

person. He's made himself known to us

through his word. He's made himself

known to us through the Holy Spirit.

That's the spirit's ministry to come and

to show us Christ out of these pages

from his word.

Let's close in a word of prayer.

Father, we thank you this morning for

your son.

And Father, we see in the Old Testament

the holiness of God, the fire of God,

and our sinfulness. And we thank you

that as the psalms say that mercy and

truth have kissed one another

and you kissed one another in your son

and we thank you for him

for what he said what he has done what

he has told us the promises he gave.

Come unto me all ye that labor and are

heavy laden and I will give you rest

and you will find rest unto your souls.

We come to you Lord Jesus. There is no

other savior. There is no other

redeemer. There is no other god but you.

Every knee will bow. Every tongue will

confess.

And we thank you for the light that you

have shown into our own lives. And we

pray it in your name. Amen.

Lord, as we go from this place,

loving you more,

trusting you more.

May the power of your love and the light

of your word shine to a sin darkened

world. As we go from this place,