Alright, so you don't need to turn there if you're not there, but we had Jason read
out 1 Timothy chapter 3, and really, like we said, a lot of it was about the qualifications
of a bishop, qualifications of a deacon. I'm not covering any of those topics. It's basically
verse 16 that I wanted to start with, which says,
And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh,
classified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in
the world, received up into glory.
So what is the mystery of godliness? Some people think it's the Trinity. That's mysterious,
and it is quite a mystery, you know. There's a lot of things that are mysterious, but the
mystery of godliness is God manifested in the flesh, right? God becoming a man. I mean,
we would never dream of any of us, right, referring to ourselves as God. We would never
dream. I mean, there are people out there that believe that, just lunatics, cult leaders,
you know. I mean, I would even go saying the Pope thinks of himself as Christ, you know,
as God, as God on this earth. But you know, none of us with common sense and a sound mind
would think of ourselves as God. None of us would look at a man and think, hey, we ought
to worship this man because he's God. And so that is the great mystery of godliness,
is that somehow God became flesh. God became a man, okay. And then he was justified in
the Spirit. I think that's referring to the Holy Spirit justifying, testifying of Jesus
Christ. We have the Bible, which testifies the works of Christ, and of course, who wrote
the Bible? Men of God that were moved by the Holy Ghost, right? Okay, and then we have
the Holy Spirit, when we get saved, testifies to our spirit that we're saved, testifies
to us that we've received salvation through Jesus Christ by faith. Then it says, scene
of angels. I believe that's got to do with his birth. Remember, it was the angels that
proclaimed the birth of Christ. They went to the shepherds, and you know, that he was
seen of angels. Of course, he was seen of angels in heaven, but he was seen of angels
as a man as well, and proclaimed that birth of Christ. Then he was preached unto the Gentiles,
okay, to the Jews first, we know that, but also to the Gentiles, to all the nations,
preached, then believed on in the world. Okay, so we go out, we preach the gospel with the
hope that people would believe, that people would believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. So
he was believed on in the world, and then received up into glory. He went back, was
resurrected from the dead after he died on the cross, then resurrected, went to the Father
afterwards, sat at his right hand, received up into glory, back to that glorious nature
of who he is, that is God. So today I want to talk about Jesus Christ. Yes, we spoke
about the Trinity last time, and there's going to be a little bit of overlap there, because
when I talk about the Trinity, I did talk about the deity of the Father, the deity of
the Son, the deity of the Holy Spirit. So today I want to talk about Jesus Christ as
God, and yet Jesus Christ the man. Okay, Jesus Christ God, and Jesus Christ the man. Turn
to Deuteronomy chapter 10 verse 17. Deuteronomy chapter 10. Deuteronomy chapter 10 verse 17.
I'll give you a minute to turn there. So we're looking at the Old Testament, right? Deuteronomy
very much a Hebrew book written by Moses. Deuteronomy chapter 10 verse 17 says, For
the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords. A great God, a mighty and a terrible,
which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward. So the God of Israel is the God of gods,
the Lord of lords, a great God, mighty and terrible the Bible says. Psalm 136 verse 2
to 3 says, O give thanks unto the God of gods for his mercy endureth forever. O give thanks
to the Lord of lords for his mercy endureth forever. Okay, so both references there talking
about the Lord of lords, the Lord, the God of Israel. Is there any doubt with these references
that we're talking about God? No, of course not, right? He's the God of gods, the Lord
of lords, the great God. His mercy endureth forever says Psalm. I'm glad his mercy endureth
forever, right? I'm glad that he can look at us and have mercy upon us. Mercy upon us
as sinners. He came to die for us, to be our Savior, but still have mercy upon us as his
children, right? You know, I'm glad he's slow to anger because how many times do we sin? How
many times do we break the commandments of God? How many times do we fall? And yet, you know,
we appeal to his mercy and say, Lord be merciful to me. Yes, we deserve chastisement as your
children on this earth, but please be merciful to me, right? Don't make that chastisement too hard
when we sin. Okay, so you know, don't forget, yes, God's a very great God, a very terrible,
mighty God, it says here. You know, he should bring terror to us, right? Terrible God. You know,
we ought to fear the Lord, but at the same time he has his mercy. You know, we have this balanced
God. We need to make sure we understand all his attributes and who he is, but he's the Lord of
lords, right? And who's Jesus? You know, is Jesus just a man? Is he just the Islamic prophet that
came after, well, came before Muhammad, right? That's what they think. Is he just another God,
like the Mormons teach, just another man, another God on his journey to become a God, to be, you
know, to be the saviour, but not the God of gods? Is that who Jesus is? You know, the Jehovah
Witnesses, what do they say? He's just a man, right? They don't even believe he has any deity
in him. Is he just a man? And of course we talk, we go door knocking, people are like,
how can you be sure that the Bible's true? How can you be sure that Jesus is God? You know,
just the other day or just yesterday they said, someone said to me, you know, how can you know if
the Bible's true? Have you ever met anybody that's come from heaven and gone back? I was like, yeah,
Jesus. Jesus is that person that's come from heaven and come back. So of course, yes, I know him
and I can be sure of heaven. But what does it say about Jesus in 1 Timothy chapter 6 verse 14?
It says, that thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebucable until the appearing of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Okay, so keep this commandment without spot, unrebucable until the appearing
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Okay, referring to Jesus as the Lord here, in verse 15,
which in his times he shall show, who is the blessed and the only potentate, the King of kings
and Lord of lords. Okay, Jesus Christ, this man, we've been referred to here as the King of kings
and the Lord of lords. The same Lord of lords. Guess what of the Old Testament? The same Lord
of lords, which is this great God, mighty and terrible. The God of gods as spoken about in the
Bible. Jesus Christ referred to as the Lord of lords. Revelation chapter 17 verse 14. I'll just,
actually you can turn there, actually turn to Revelation 19. Revelation 19, I'll read
Revelation 17. It says in Revelation 17, 14, these shall make war with the Lamb. Who's the Lamb? Who's
the Lamb of God? Jesus Christ. And the Lamb shall overcome them. Why? For he is Lord of lords and
King of kings and they that are with him are called and chosen and faithful. So we're talking
about the last book of the Bible. When Christ comes back to fight against the armies of the
Antichrist, the Armageddon, the battle of Armageddon, you guys might know of that.
He shall come, the Lamb of God shall come to overcome them. Why? For he is the Lord of lords.
So again, this earth will be blessed with the presence of God in a body. The Lord of lords.
You've got Revelation 19. Turn to verse 15. Verse 15. Talking about the coming of Christ
to fight this battle. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword. Okay. And with it he should smite the
nations and he shall rule them with a rod of iron. And he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness
and wrath of Almighty God. So he's coming here to do the work of Almighty God, isn't he?
The treading the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God. He's bringing judgment upon
these nations, bringing judgment upon the Antichrist, bringing judgment upon the armies
of the Antichrist. And then verse 16 says and he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written
King of kings and Lord of lords. Is yours in capitals? I'm glad it's in capitals. It deserves
to be, right? King of kings and Lord of lords. No doubt Jesus Christ is the God of gods and the
Lord of lords. Hey, the Jesus Christ, the lamb of God that died on the cross. He's our God.
You know, he deserves our worship. He deserves our praise. You know, when we were singing,
my Jesus, I love thee. We ought to love him. We ought to worship him with all our hearts. Okay.
The Lord of lords. There shouldn't be any doubt of who he is.
Now turn to Isaiah 44 verse six, Isaiah 44 verse six.
All I want to do this morning is reinforce the deity of Jesus Christ.
Give him the honor that he deserves. Give him the glory he deserves as our God.
Isaiah 44 verse six says, Thus saith the Lord, the King of Israel.
And remember Jesus Christ, the King of kings, right? Thus saith the Lord, the King of Israel
and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts. I am the first and I am the last and beside me there is no God.
Is there more than one God? No. Beside me there is no God. Okay. And who is this God? What does
he refer to himself? I am the first and I am the last. Okay. Time only exists because God is first
and God is last. The only reason we exist is because God is first and God is last. There's
nothing beyond those boundaries. Okay. Whatever exists is because of what God's allowed and
whatever who God is as his, the almighty God that he is. And then I'll get you guys,
go back to, maybe I should have kept you in Revelation. Go back to Revelation.
Revelation chapter one. Revelation chapter one.
So just to reinforce this God that's the first and the last as you turn there.
The first and the last, beside me there is no God, right? Revelation chapter one verse eight.
This is Jesus speaking. What does it say? I am Alpha and Omega. Alpha is the first letter of the
Greek alphabet and Omega is the last letter of the Greek alphabet. I am Alpha and Omega,
the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is and which was and which is to come,
the almighty, the almighty God. These are words of Jesus Christ. Look at verse number 10. John says,
I was in the spirit on the Lord's day and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet saying,
same person saying this, I am Alpha and Omega. What now? The first and the last. That's what
we read in Isaiah 44. Remember? The first and the last and what thou seest, write us in a book,
write in a book and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia unto Ephesus and unto
Smyrna and unto Pergamos and unto Thyatira and unto Silas and unto Philadelphia and unto Laodicea.
Hey, Jesus Christ wants all these churches and all the churches today to know that he is Alpha and
Omega, the first and the last. Look at verse 17. Now, if you're saying, well, hold on, Kevin. And
I've heard this before. I've heard people say, well, hold on. This is not Jesus speaking. This
is the Father speaking. This is the Father speaking. This is what the Jehovah's Witnesses
will tell you. If you show them these passages, they'll say, no, that's not Jesus speaking.
That's the Father speaking. But then look at verse 17. And when I saw him, so John's saying,
when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead and he laid his right hand upon me. I just want to,
it's amazing. He sees Jesus Christ in heaven, right? This spiritual vision that he's receiving
and he fell at his feet as dead. He couldn't contain who he was looking at. Why? Because
he's taking in God in his glory. Not God just in his human form that we can see on the earth,
but God in heaven in his full glory. John says, I fell at his feet as dead and he laid his right
hand. I love that. And he laid his right hand upon me. Just a comfort, John. Comfort, John. I'm your
God. I'm your savior. I'm Jesus Christ. We know each other. We've known each other for some three
years, you know, in the ministry. But what did he say? Say it unto me. Fear not. I am the first and
the last. Okay, so let's see. Is this Jesus Christ? Verse 18. I am he that liveth and was dead. Who
died but liveth? Jesus Christ, right, died on the cross, dead for three days, three nights,
rose again from the dead. And behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And have the keys of hell and
of death. So I believe the reason Jesus had to die and go to hell is because he had to take those
keys. He had to take those keys of authority of hell and of death. Okay, but there shouldn't be
any doubt, right? If you have a Jehovah's Witnesses that says, you know, this is not Jesus speaking,
just take him to verse 17 and 19. Again, the first and the last, the one that was dead and yet is
alive forevermore. Jesus Christ, right? Without a doubt. I'm pretty sure their Bibles retain
some of this truth unless they've changed it again. I don't know. All right.
Sorry, just bear with me. All right. The first and the last. Jesus Christ, the first and the last.
And actually, if you're still in Revelation, you can turn to chapter 22. Chapter 22 verse 12. Jesus
Christ at the end of the Bible says this, and behold, I come quickly and my reward is with me
to give every man according to his work shall be. I am Alfred Omega, the beginning and the end,
the first and the last. I'm glad he says that at the end, at the last book, the last chapter,
he is the first and the last, right? Because he's the Word of God. We're reading the Word of God.
It just seems fitting to me that he's saying that he's the first and the last.
And what's so great about that, even though he's done everything for us to get to heaven,
he wants to reward us. And my reward is with me to give every man according to his work.
Guys, please, children while you're young, set in your hearts to work for the Lord.
Okay, not for salvation, but for these rewards in heaven. Christ wants to give us rewards, right?
He was like, remember Michael, we were out talking to this pastor from a, what was it?
What was the church? Uniting church, right? And I spoke to him about, you know, rewards,
rewards in heaven. And he cringed and he didn't like the idea of some people having more than
others. Remember that? He's like, I don't like that. I don't like when some people are like,
what are you talking about? Jesus wants to give you rewards. Don't you want to give your children
rewards as well for good work that they do for, you know, doing the chores around the house or
being obedient. You know, of course we want to give children rewards. Christ, our, you know,
our God wants to do the same thing for the work we do for him. It's not for nothing. It's to give
us rewards. And you know, that should, that should push us to do as much as we can for the Lord.
I'm talking to the kids right now, because you've got your whole life. You can start earning those
rewards right now. Some of us got saved later in life, right? And they wish they could have
started earlier in life, right? So take advantage kids. If you're saved, start working for the Lord,
because Jesus Christ wants to reward you. Genesis 1, 1. You don't need to turn there. It says,
in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Who's the creator? God is the creator. He
created the heaven and the earth. Exodus 20, verse 11. I love Exodus 20, verse 11. The reason I love
this chapter is because, you know, you've got some Christians that want to put evolution into
Genesis chapter 1, right? They want to say, well, one chapter represents, you know, millions of
years, or one day represents millions of years, or something like that. And that's why I love
Exodus 20, verse 11, which says, for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all
that is in them. And rest of the seventh day, wherefore the Lord blessed the day and hallowed
it. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth. Just repeating that in Genesis, that it
wasn't some figurative language, but Exodus is reinforcing, yes, in six days. And also some of
you guys might be familiar with the gap theory. Some people believe there's a gap between Genesis
1 and Genesis 2. I don't know if it's millions of years or thousands of years. They still talk about
this gap. But what does it say? In six days the Lord made heaven and earth, right? There's no gap
within there, you know. It's six days. Isaiah 44, verse 24 says, Thus saith the Lord thy redeemer,
and he that formed thee from the womb. I am the Lord that maketh all things, and stretch
athorth the heavens alone, and spreadeth abroad the earth by myself. I am the Lord that maketh
all things. And what I love about that, he says, at the beginning, he says, and he that formed
thee from the womb. So even though God's done these amazing things, created this planet,
you know, the sun and the moon, the stars, you know, and all the nature that we see, the order,
the laws of the galaxy that we see, amazing, yet yet he's also creating that that baby in the
womb. That's why I hate abortion, okay, because they're destroying God. They're destroying our
life. They're making this baby suffer and die when it should be most protected in the womb.
God is working in that womb. They destroy the work of God. What a wicked nation we live in.
But I just want to show you God is the creator of all things. And yet what does John, chapter 1,
verse 3 say? John, chapter 1, verse 3. You can turn there if you want. John, chapter 1,
verse 3, talking of Jesus Christ, says, All things were made by him, and without him was not
anything made that was made. So we know God created all things. Yet who was that God that
created all things? It was Jesus Christ. Verse number 10 says, He was in the world,
and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. The world knew him not. Okay, so
this is why when Jesus Christ came, he was rejected by the world. He was rejected by the
nation of Israel by and large, because they didn't recognize him as the creator, the creator of all
things. Jesus Christ in Hebrews 1, verse 1 to 2. I've got a lot of passages, so I'll tell you which
passages you can turn to. Other ones I'll just read out. Hebrews 1, verse 1 to 2. It says, God,
who at sundry times in diverse manners spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
hath in these days spoken unto us by his son, whom he have appointed heir of all things,
by whom also he made the worlds. So who made the worlds? It was the son. It was the son of God,
right? And remember when we talked about the Trinity, remember we talked about this side,
the father, I was on this side, I talked about the father having authority, then the son,
then the Holy Spirit, and yet all of them are the one God. And then I said to you, well, you know,
how all the attributes of the Trinity are true as the attributes of the one God. So if Jesus Christ
was the one that created all things, then we know that's an attribute of Christ, but of course that's
an attribute of God. So we can say that God created all things, you understand? So there's
no contradiction there. God created all things, but as far as when we talk about the Trinity,
it was Jesus Christ. The father gave Jesus Christ that responsibility to create all things. And this
is why there's this other teaching out there that says that the son only existed when he was born
in a manger. You know, that was when Jesus Christ was created. But we know Jesus Christ created all
things, right? He was there from the beginning because he's God. Now the other thing is Exodus
34 verse 14, actually turn there, Exodus 34, 14, God is worthy of worship. God is worthy of worship.
Exodus 34 verse 14. It reads, For thou shall worship no other God, for the Lord,
whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. Okay? For thou shall not, for thou shall worship
no other God, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. Should we worship
any other God but the God of Israel? Should we worship any other God but the God of Jacob,
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? No. For thou shall worship no other God, no other little g god,
for the Lord, whose name is Jealous. Now we live in a society where the word jealous has a negative
connotation, right? You know, I might say, I'm jealous of your car. But we're not actually using
that word accurately. When you read your Bibles, every time you read the word jealous, and look,
it's the name of God, whose name is jealous, right? It's the name of God. Should that carry
a negative connotation or a positive one? It's a positive connotation, right? God is a jealous God.
And so in our language, if I look at someone's car, you know, it's wrong for me to say I'm
jealous. What I really should be saying is I'm envious. I'm envious that person has that car.
And that's a negative thing. That's a bad thing. All right? Desiring, coveting, being envious of
others' people's possession. But jealous, when you read your Bibles, I challenge you to read
every reference of the word jealous. It's always positive. And it's always in the sense of
something that belongs to someone. Okay? Now, my wife belongs to me, and I belong to her. Now,
if I'm going and being extra friendly with some woman out there, would it be right for my wife
to be jealous? Absolutely. Because I belong to her, right? If I see some man trying to give my
wife attention, I ought to get jealous. There'd be a problem with me if I was not getting jealous,
right? So we can be jealous about things that rightfully belong to us. My children rightfully
belong to me. So I ought to be a jealous parent and say, hey, I'll raise my kids. I'll train my
kids. I'll educate my kids. I don't want some other person taking that part that belongs to me. I ought
to be jealous of my children as well. I ought to be, as the bishop of this church, jealous of this
church, right? I ought to want this church to remain as a chaste virgin for the Lord Jesus Christ.
I don't want to see any false doctrine being preached here. I don't want to see any false
prophets coming in here and stirring, you know, bringing mischief upon the flock. You know,
it's right to be jealous for the things that you own. So you can't be jealous for things that don't
belong to you, because that's now a sin, right? That's envious. That's coveting. That's wrong.
It's right to be jealous. And so when God says, thou shalt not worship, thou shalt worship no
other god, because he's a jealous god, it's because the worship belongs to him. The worship
of God's people ought to belong to him and not to any other god. So it's right for him to be jealous,
right? He's deserving of worship, and it belongs to him. It ought to come from God's people. We
ought to worship God. We come to church, sing songs. We pray to him. We read the Bible. We take
in his word as an act of worship to our Lord, because we love him. Psalm 81 verse 8 says,
Here are my people, and I will testify unto thee, O Israel, if they will hearken unto me,
there shall no strange God be in thee, neither shall they worship any strange God. Right? Just
reinforcing that. Now there's an individual out there that wants worship. Matthew 4 verse 8 says,
Again the devil taketh him up to an exceeding high mountain. The devil takes Jesus Christ
when he was fastened to this high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world,
and the glory of them, and saith unto him, All these things I will give thee, if that will fall
down and worship me. There's two people that want your worship. Number one is God, and it's
rightfully his, and the other one is the devil, if that will fall down and worship me.
Verse 10, Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan, for it is written,
Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Right? So Jesus had the right
attitude. Right? Jesus says, No, I'm not going to worship you. Get out of here. We're going to only
worship God, the Lord thy God, and only and him only shalt thou serve. Right? Never, guys, please,
children especially, you're growing up in a Christian home, in a good church, worship God.
Never ever get involved in other religions, worship other gods, because that worship belongs
to God our Father. Okay? We should not worship man either. Acts chapter 10,
verse 25 to 26, And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet,
and worshiped him. Cornelius worshiping Peter. Now was Peter a great man? Yes, he was. You know,
Peter was doing amazing miracles. He was preaching the word. He was getting many people saved. You
know, he had been with Jesus Christ. I would say, yeah, Peter was a great Christian, one of the best.
But should we fall down and worship great Christians? No, verse 26,
But Peter took him up. You know, I can just imagine grabbing the man, just, what are you doing?
Peter took him up, saying, Stand up. I myself also am a man. So we ought to worship God,
not worship Satan, and not worship man. Worship belongs to God.
Turn with me to Matthew 28. Matthew 28, verse 8. Matthew 28, verse 8.
And so we're picking up where Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead, right? The grave is
empty. The sepulchre is empty. And it says this about the disciples, And they departed quickly,
sorry, verse 8, verse 8. Matthew 28, verse 8. And they departed quickly from the sepulchre
with fear and great joy and did run to bring the disciples word. And as they went to tell
his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet
and worshiped him. They worshiped Jesus. Now was Jesus just a man? I mean, should we worship man?
No, right? We should not worship man. But they came and worshiped him. They held him at his feet.
They got down low and grabbed the feet of Jesus and worshiped him. You're in Matthew,
turn to chapter 2. Matthew chapter 2, verse 11.
What I want to show you there, guys, is that Jesus Christ received worship. Did he take them
up and say, No, I'm just a man? No, he received worship. Why? Because worship is deserving
for the Lord God. That makes Jesus God. Matthew chapter 2, verse 11. I find this kind of funny,
Matthew chapter 2, verse 11. This is a story when Jesus Christ, after his birth, was a young boy.
He's no longer in the manger. They've got a house. So this might be a few months or a couple years.
Well, it's definitely less than two years later. So Jesus Christ is less than two years old here.
Matthew 2, verse 11. And remember the wise men. The wise men were looking for Jesus Christ, weren't
they? And when the wise men, or when they came into the house, they saw the young child with
Mary, his mother. And what did they do? And fell down and worshiped him. Wow. And when they had
opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.
We have these wise men, these rich men, these knowledgeable men, the wise men,
they were very intelligent. They knew the scriptures. They knew all kind of sciences.
And yet they came to this child less than two years old, fell down and worshiped him.
Only possible if this is God in the flesh, right? God manifest in the flesh. Absolutely,
Jesus Christ is God. He's deserving of worship. Hosea 13, verse 4 says,
Yet I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no God but me.
For there is no saviour beside me. There is no saviour beside me. Okay? There's no saviour
beside God. Isaiah 43, 11 says, I even I am the Lord, and beside me there is no saviour.
And yet what do we read about Jesus Christ in Luke chapter 2, verse 10? Luke 2, verse 10 says,
And the angel, so this angel proclaiming the birth of Christ to the shepherds, and the angel
said unto them, Fear not, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all
people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
Who's our saviour? Jesus Christ our Lord. But besides God there was no saviour, right?
So what does that make Jesus? It makes him God. Acts 5, verse 30,
And the God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom he slew and hanged on a tree.
Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a prince and a saviour, for to give repentance to
Israel and forgiveness of sins. Okay? So what is he saving us from? From our sins, right? Giving us
forgiveness for our sins. That's what he saves us from. Saves us from our sins and our eternal
judgment in the lake of fire so we can be with God in heaven. Titus 3, verse 4. I'll just read this.
I've got a lot of... Let me see. I'll speed up a little bit. Titus 3, verse 4 says,
And after that the kindness and... What I love about these references... I'll read it first.
And after that the kindness and love of God our saviour, right? God our saviour,
toward men appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy
he saved us. So according to God's mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration and
renewing of the Holy Ghost which is shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Right? So even within the same passages which refers to God our Saviour, it says there that
he's shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour. So is God our Saviour? Yes. Is Jesus
Christ our Saviour? Yes. Why? Because he is God. 2 Timothy, verse 1, verse 8.
So who saved us? God saved us.
Which he has given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, but is now made manifest by the
appearing... So God was made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour, Jesus Christ,
who have abolished death and had brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
So God who saved us was manifested by the appearing of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Any doubts that Jesus Christ is God? There shouldn't be, right?
And one of the ones that I love, you guys turn to John chapter 19.
While you're turning there I'll read to you from Zechariah chapter 12.
Zechariah 12, 10. So this is an Old Testament prophecy. Zechariah chapter 12, verse 10. You're
turning to John chapter 19. It says this, and I will pour upon the house of David,
and this is God speaking, and I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and all supplications, and they shall look upon me,
God speaking, and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced. Now remember the Trinity sermon?
They shall look upon me, singular, whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him.
Right? Now we're talking about a third party, right? They shall mourn for him. Why? Because
there's a Trinity. As one mourneth for his only son and shall be in bitterness for him,
as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. So the first thing I want you to notice is that
God says they shall look upon me whom they have pierced. Who was pierced on the cross
with the nails? Well we'll read about it in John 19, verse 35. John 19, verse 35. You should be
there. And he that saw it bear record, this is when Jesus Christ was on the cross,
and his record is true, and he knoweth that he saith that ye might believe, for these things
were done, that the scriptures should be fulfilled, a bone of him shall not be broken, and again
another scripture saith, so this is the scripture that I just read, that scripture saith they shall
look on him whom they pierced. They shall look on him whom they pierced, Jesus Christ. And what
did God say? They shall look on me whom they pierced. So who did they pierced on that cross?
It was God. God died for our sins, Jesus Christ. And of course we have the references where Jesus
Christ is called God. I'll go through these very quickly. Hebrews 1, verse 8. But unto the son he
saith, so the one that says these things, says it to his son, that's the father speaking to the son,
thy throne, oh God, is forever and ever, a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
So the father says to the son, thy throne, oh God. We have the father who is God,
referring to his son, oh God. That's amazing. The testimony of the father, testifying of the deity
of Jesus Christ, that he is God. Isaiah 9 6, for unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given,
and the government shall be upon his shoulder, talking about a prophecy of Christ, and his name
shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace,
the Mighty God, the Mighty God, Jesus Christ, the Mighty God. And we already read Revelation where
he says, I'm the Almighty, the Almighty. Matthew 1, verse 23. Behold, a virgin shall be with child,
and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel. So Immanuel is a name of Christ,
which being interpreted is God with us, God with us. All right, so Jesus Christ, when he was on this
earth, was God with us, okay? And of course, John 20, verse 27. Again, I'll just read this quickly.
After Jesus Christ was resurrected, he appeared to the disciples, and Thomas wasn't there the
first time. Do you remember that? And so Thomas doubted. They said, Thomas, we've seen the risen
Saviour. We've seen Jesus Christ. Thomas says, no, unless I see him, I won't believe. And so
Jesus Christ, good enough, comes back when Thomas is with the other 10 disciples.
In verse 27, then saith he to Thomas, reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands. So, you know,
Thomas, don't just look at me, but touch me. Behold my hands, and reach hither thy hand,
and thrust it into my side. Remember, there's the spear that was put on the side. And be not
faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, my Lord and my God, my Lord and my
God. Those were the words of Thomas, but he was not rebuked by Jesus. Why? Because he is the Lord,
and he is the God. And Colossians 2, verse 8. Again, I'll just read this to you. Beware lest
any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the
rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. Look, there are men that want to spoil you.
There are men that want to corrupt your minds, right, after their traditions,
after the ways of this world, not after Christ. Verse 9. For in him, for in Christ, dwelleth
all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. For in him, for in Jesus Christ, dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. Pay attention to those words. Now, some people think Godhead means
Trinity. Some people think maybe we can use the word Godhead to, you know, describe the Trinity.
Now, the Trinity is part of the Godhead, but what the Godhead means, okay, it's not so much
referring to the Trinity, but it's about God's divinity, okay. It's about God's nature. It's
about his glory. It's about his authority, his power. All that makes up God, you know,
the great God, the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings, his deity. That's what the Godhead
represents. His power, his authority, his divinity. And so when it says here,
for in Jesus, for in him, dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, it's saying
that in Christ was all the divinity, all the power, all the authority of God in a human body.
Amazing. All right, it's a great passage for the deity of Jesus Christ. Now, let's move on.
I'm preaching longer than I thought, but very quickly, John chapter 1, verse 1.
John chapter 1, verse 1. We know that God is our mighty God. Jesus Christ is our mighty God. We
know that now, but John chapter 1, verse 1 says, in the beginning was the word, okay. Who's this
word? And the word was with God. Why was he with God? Because it's a Trinity, okay. It's the Father,
the Word, and the Holy Ghost. And the Word was God. Why? Because there's one God.
The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not
anything made that was made. Now, who's this word? In verse 14, it says,
and the Word was made flesh, flesh, bodily. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us,
and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father.
Pay attention to these words, full of grace and truth. So this Word that became flesh was full
of grace and truth. Verse 17 says, for the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by
Jesus Christ, okay. So again, this is a passage that I talk to Muslims about when they want,
you know, proof of the deity of God, of deity of Christ, sorry. I take him, I actually work
backwards. I say, well, verse 17, you know, grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Do you see that?
Yes. Verse 14, and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth,
all right. And who's the Word? Verse number one. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God. You know, I kind of work that way when I talk to an Islamic person.
There's not many Islamic people here, though. I feel like I'm not using my skills that I gained
in Punchbowl. But God became a man. Does that mean that it was very easy for Jesus Christ on
this earth because he's God? Well, when he became a man, not only was he God, yes, we know that,
but he limited himself as a man, okay. He had the weaknesses of a man. This is amazing. This is the
mystery of godliness. You know, how can this great God have the struggles of life that we have?
I'll just read Psalm 8, verse 3. It says, when I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers,
the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained. So he's just praising God, just thinking about
how great he is. And then in verse 4, he says, what is man? What are we? What is man that thou art
mindful of him, and the son of man that thou visitest him? See, the psalmist here knew that
God was going to visit man, right? And how can you even consider us? We're nothing. We're dust.
All the creation, all the things that you've done, what is man that you are mindful of him?
You know, God is mindful of us. God wants to think about us. God looks at us. God wants us
to serve him and do his work. Verse 5 says, for thou hast made him, who? For God has made him
a little lower than the angels, and has crowned him with glory and honor.
Talking, this is a reference to Jesus Christ, by the way.
But I just want to show you how God thinks of man. He's come to visit him,
and he made him, Jesus Christ, a little lower than the angels. Okay. And then it says this,
I better move on a little bit. I've got a lot to do. I'll just go through a few things very
quickly. So not only was Jesus Christ the son of God, but Jesus Christ refers to himself as the
son of man. John 3 verse 13 says, and no man, this is Jesus speaking, and no man has ascended
up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the son of man, which is in heaven, referring
to himself, and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the son of man be
lifted up. So Christ had to become a man, a son of man, in order to be lifted up on the cross and
pay for our sins. But I just want you to notice that he says, he came down from heaven, referring
to himself, even the son of man, which is in heaven. So even though he's bodily on the earth,
he also says, I'm in heaven. Why? Because he's God, right? He's omnipresent. He's everywhere
at once, and yet in a bodily form, restricted himself as a man, which is those, you know,
that's the mystery of godliness. Fully man, yet fully God at the same time.
I'll just move on a little bit here. Okay, so what's the reason why Christ or God became a man?
Why? Hebrews 2 verse 9 says, but we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels,
there's that reference back to Psalm, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering
of death. Okay, because God cannot die, but a body can die, right? Jesus, God had to become a man
to die for us, for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that he by the grace of God
should taste death for every man, that he should taste death for every man. There goes Calvinism,
right? The limited atonement died for some men. No, he died for every man. Verse 14 in the same
chapter says, for as much then as the children are partakers, as the children are partakers of
flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same, that through death he might
destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil. So the devil has power. Before Christ
died, the devil had power of death. Remember when we read about Revelation, Jesus Christ had the keys
of death and of hell, and so it's like he had to go through that process, not just to die for our
sins, but to reclaim the power, the authority over death. Take that power away from the devil.
Hebrews, and then verse 15 says, and deliver them who through the fear of death were all
their lifetime subject to bondage, for verily he took not on him the nature of angels,
but he took on him the seed of Abraham, becoming, you know, becoming a man through the lineage of
Abraham, wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might
be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the
sins of the people. So he came to be this priest as well, okay, for us, so he can intercede for us
with God and bring reconciliation for the sins of the people. In verse 18, and this is what amazes
me, for in that he himself have suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are
tempted. That word succor means to be a help, to be an aid, for he himself suffered being tempted.
So another reason why Christ became a man is that he would go through the same temptations
that we would go through, so he can be a help for us, okay, he can be a help for us. So when we go
to Christ and say, hey, we're tempted with these things, God help me, Christ says, yes, I know what
you've gone through, I've gone through those things myself, and I can be a help to you.
Now Jesus Christ had the real flesh of man, 1 John 4 2 says, hereby know ye the spirit of God,
every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God, okay. There was
a problem in the early century, people were denying that God had become flesh, and there
was a lot of teaching in the Bible where the writers had to say, yes, he came in the flesh,
if you deny that, that's false, you're not of the spirit of God if you deny that Christ
came in, that God came in the flesh, okay. But just to show you a couple of things,
in the flesh of man, he had the same limitations, same problems as man. First of all, he had to be
born, right, Luke 2 verse 7, and she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling
clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. So she brought
forth that firstborn son, Jesus, God not only became a man, but he had to be born of a woman,
right, he had to go through the same process that we went through. Jesus Christ had to grow,
just like you kids are growing, you know, I'm growing this way, you guys are growing that way,
but Luke 2 verse 40 says, and the child grew, referring to Jesus, the child grew,
and waxed strong in the spirit, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him,
all right. And you might say, well of course he was filled with wisdom, Kevin, he was God.
Yes, but at the same time, he had to learn, he had to learn, Luke 2 verse 52 says, and Jesus
increased in wisdom and stature, he increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
I believe, yes, he's God, but in the limitations of a man, he still had to study the scriptures,
he still had to learn and grow and gain wisdom, that's the mystery of godliness,
he was still limited as a man, he still set the example for us, and still had to grow and learn.
What else? He grew tired, you know, I've been soul winning Thursday, Friday,
Saturday, I'm going to go later on, I feel tired actually, soul winning, even my voice is starting
to give way for all the talking we've been doing in the last few days, but Jesus Christ grew tired,
John 4 verse 6, now Jacob's world was there, Jesus therefore being wearied with his journey.
You might say, well why was he wearied, isn't he God? Yes, but he was man, he was man,
he suffered the same things we go through, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the world,
and it was about the sixth hour. He thirsted, John 19 verse 28, after this Jesus knowing that
all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith I thirst.
He's saying I'm thirsty, I need a drink, you know, he had the same limitations, he hungered,
Matthew 4 verse 2, and when he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, he was afterward hungered,
all right, so it wasn't easy for Jesus to fast, so it must have been easy because he's God, no,
he did it in a man, in the body of a man, and he hungered after that, well I'm sure he hungered
even before that, but he hungered throughout the whole fast, and of course he died, just like we're
going to die, you know, unless we make it to the rapture, make it to the resurrection, but you know,
if you're not, then you're going to pass away, we're all going to die, that's the truth.
Luke 23 verse 46, and when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said father into thy hands,
I commend my spirit, and having said thus, he gave up the ghost, so he had to die, he had to
die that physical death. Now I said to you, you know, Jesus Christ had to learn, right,
he had to grow and learn, and when I preached on the trinity, I said that God was, that Jesus
Christ was all-knowing, right, all-knowing, but I was talking to the aspect of his deity,
because even as a man, he had limitations. Mark 13 verse 32 says, talking about his return,
the return of Christ, but of that day and that hour, but of that day and that hour knoweth no man,
no not the angels which are in heaven, neither the son, he didn't know when he was returning,
but the father, the father knew when Jesus Christ was going to return. So even in, you know, we see
it's amazing, even though he knew all things, yet in his body, as a man, he, there were things that
he did not know, right, that's why he increased in wisdom and stature, but of course now that
he's with the father, again he knows, I'm sure he knows when he's coming.
The other thing that I find interesting is in Matthew 8 verse 8 to 10, remember the story,
the centurion, the centurion who had great faith, the centurion answered and said, Lord,
I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof, but speak the word only, and my servant
shall be healed. So this centurion trusted that if Jesus Christ just spoke, that his servant would
be healed from his illness. He says in verse 9, for I am a man under authority, having soldiers
under me, and I say to this man, go, and he goeth, and another come, and he cometh, and to my servant
do this, and he doeth it. And this is what's interesting in verse 10, when Jesus heard it,
he marveled. Now should, would God marvel at anything? Doesn't God know all things? Of course
he does, but Christ in his, in his manhood marveled and said unto them that followed,
verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. Marveled, wondering,
amazed. It kind of surprised Jesus, wow, this man has great faith. Why? Because he was a man,
right? He was a man as much as he was God. Now I am concluding now, sorry that I've gone a bit long,
but I was out, I was out soul winning yesterday. There was this lady that we were talking to for
a long time, you know, finally got her to, you know, she can, we convinced her for us to give
her the gospel. And I just, you know, I couldn't get past Romans 3 10, you know, for all have sinned.
I got to that bit, for all have sinned. She's like, yep, you know, we've all sinned, we're not perfect,
and come short of the glory of God. And so when I say we come short because God is without sin,
he's perfect. And she couldn't accept that. She couldn't accept, I've never come across this,
I think, in my life, that she couldn't accept that God was perfect. She was like, nah,
surely he's done wrong. Surely he's made mistakes like all of us, right? Now it's a bit, it's silly,
of course, because he's God and he's almighty. But I can see where she was coming from a little bit,
because she was like, yes, we're all sinners, we've all done wrong. And so she was thinking about this
God who's mighty, who's perfect, who's powerful, who has no darkness, who has no sin. And for her,
and by the way, I couldn't get past that, we had to move on. But for her,
it was an unrelatable God, right? She was looking at it, no, I've got problems in my life,
I can't relate to someone that's completely perfect, right? And that was a big roadblock
for her. I couldn't get through to the rest of the gospel to explain, you know, what God had
done for us. But turn to Hebrews chapter four, Hebrews four, sorry, I saw you guys putting away
your Bibles. Hebrews four verse 14. You know, not only did he become a man to die for us,
and to be that high priest for us, and to take charge of the, take power and authority of the
keys of hell and death, but Hebrews chapter four verse 14 says this, Seeing thou that we have a
great high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our
profession. For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our
infirmities. So we're saying, look, Jesus Christ is someone that is familiar with our infirmities,
he's familiar with our weaknesses, he's familiar with what the things we've gone through. It says
and then, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. So Christ has gone through
all the struggles, Christ has gone through all the infirmities, all the temptations that we can
go through in our life, yet without sin. That's what made him amazing, that's what made him
perfect. He did not sin, yet as a man he went through all the things we go through as human
beings. Why? Verse 16. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may
obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. One of the reasons guys that Jesus went
through this is so we can go boldly to God, right? That lady was struggling because she could not
relate to this God, you know, she could not come boldly to him, okay? She could not face this
perfect God, but yet we see that Christ knows the struggles we go through, he knows the sins that
we struggle with, he knows the temptations, yet he is without sin. He did not give in to those
temptations, but he knows our weaknesses and sometimes we can be so embarrassed and so ashamed
for our sins and think I can't take this to God, I can't ask for forgiveness. And yet the Bible says
come boldly to him, come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace
to help. God wants to help us, Christ wants to help us, he knows the struggles we go through,
he knows what it's like to be a man, okay? He knows the temptations as maybe as disgusting as
they might be to you and not want to face God. Jesus Christ says no, come boldly, right? Because
I've gone through that, I know what you're going through, I can be your help in times of struggle,
right? We serve an amazing God, the God-man Jesus Christ, amazing, the mystery of godliness.