CHRIST!
Exploring the Glory and Beauty of Christ Jesus
Pre-Existence
Hebrews 2:10
10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings
I. THE TRINITY
John 8:58
58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”
1. Elohim
Genesis 1:1
In the beginning, God (Elohim) created the heavens and the earth.
2. United yet Separate
The Trinity denotes that Three persons share one nature.
The three Whos (Persons) each share the same What (Essence). So God is a unity of essence with a plurality of persons. Each person is different, yet they share a common nature. God is one in his substance. The unity is in his essence (What God is), and the plurality is in Gods persons (How he relates with himself). Norman Giesler
Ephesians 4:4-6
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
2 Thessalonians 2:13-14
13 But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, 14 to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 1:1-2
To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:
Jude 1:20-21
20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
II. THEOPHANIES (THE ANGEL OF THE LORD)
God continually appeared to the Old Testament Patriarchs in the form of a man…these appearances are known as theophanies. This individual is always called “The Angel of God” or “The Angel of the Lord.” Not an Angel “The Angel…” This distinction sets Him apart as an Angel of Yahweh Himself.
Here’s a description from Fausset’s Bible Dictionary
The “Angel of God” often means the divine Word, “the image of the invisible God,” God Himself manifested (Col 1:15; Gen 22:11-12; 16:7,13;31:11, 13; 48:15-16; 33:14; compare Acts 23:11; Num 22:22, 32, 35); accepting as His due the worship which angels reject as mere creatures (Rev 19:10;22:9); this manifestation was as a man, an anticipation of the incarnation…”
1. A Help to the Helpless (Hagar)
Genesis 16:9-11
9 The Angel of the Lord said to her (Hagar), “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.” 10 Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.” 11 And the Angel of the Lord said to her: “Behold, you are with child, And you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael Because the Lord has heard your affliction.
Genesis 21:17
17 And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the Angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, “What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is.
2. The Judge
Genesis 18:1-3, 16- 21
Then the Lord appeared to him (Abraham) by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, 3 and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. 16 Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way. 17 And the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, 18 since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? …20 And the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, 21 I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.”
3. The Great Provider
Genesis 22:11-14
11 And The Angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. 12 And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” 13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
4. The God who wrestles with us
Genesis 32:24,30
24 Then Jacob was left alone, and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. 25 Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. 26 And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” 27 So He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.” 28 And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.” And He said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He blessed him there. 30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”
5. The God who Guides you into Destiny
Exodus 3:2-4
2 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. 3 Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.” 4 So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
6. The God who Corrects
Numbers 22:22-23
22 Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the Lord took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 Now the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. So Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road.
7. The Solution to Impossible Problems
Judges 13:2-24
2 Now there was a certain man from Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had no children. 3 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son… 24 So the woman bore a son and called his name Samson, and the child grew, and the Lord blessed him.
8. The Advocate
Zechariah 3:1-2
Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”
III. JESUS WAS SENT FROM HEAVEN
John 3:13
13 No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.
John 6:51
51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”
John 6:61-62
61 When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?
John 8:42
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.
John 17:3
3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
John 17:8
8 For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You, and they have believed that You sent Me.
John 17:18
18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.
Romans 8:3
3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh.
Galatians 4:4
4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law.
No comments:
Post a Comment