1 00:00:09,860 --> 00:00:12,860 Welcome to the podcast of the White Church in Adelaide, South 2 00:00:12,860 --> 00:00:16,860 Australia. Well, let's carry our enthusiasm 3 00:00:16,860 --> 00:00:19,740 for the Word of God that Justin will bring in a moment. 4 00:00:21,420 --> 00:00:25,700 I just want to share a scripture that I read this morning just 5 00:00:25,700 --> 00:00:28,580 out of Ezekiel here. It says that, you know, the 6 00:00:28,580 --> 00:00:33,200 Scripture is talking about that God will multiply and be, you'll 7 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:36,520 be fruitful and I'll repeat, rebuild the ruins and this sort 8 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:39,080 of thing. But then God says this. 9 00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:43,320 He says, I do not do this for your sake, O House of Israel, 10 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:49,680 but for my holy name's sake. Jesus is building his church and 11 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:52,600 we get to be a part of that and we get to experience all the 12 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:55,680 benefits of knowing him and being a part of what he's 13 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:56,560 building. Amen. 14 00:00:56,880 --> 00:01:01,200 That's pretty good, but he's doing it for his name's sake. 15 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:06,480 So Justin's going to come and share around this mighty name 16 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:09,360 that we've been praising and worshipping the name of Jesus. 17 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:13,080 And so let's be expecting that when you know, the, the 18 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:16,800 scripture says that when, when I am lifted up, I will draw all 19 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:19,240 men to myself. So we're believing that you 20 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:22,440 know, Justin, he's going to lift up the name of Jesus Christ our 21 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:27,120 King and and the Lord is going to draw us all close to him and 22 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:29,840 we're going to be experience the goodness of God. 23 00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:33,440 So Lord, we thank you for this word that Justin has prepared 24 00:01:33,880 --> 00:01:36,680 the word that you've given him, Lord, the word that you've put 25 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:39,080 in his heart. And I pray for all of us that 26 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:42,920 are in this place, Lord, that we would be open and good soil to 27 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:46,000 receive the word that that you were going to sow this morning. 28 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:49,520 And Lord, we pray as as much as we want to grow and become like 29 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:52,880 you, Lord, we pray that it would be pleasing to you and it would 30 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:55,000 lift up the name of Jesus in this place. 31 00:01:55,960 --> 00:01:57,040 Amen. Thank you, Lord. 32 00:01:58,360 --> 00:01:59,680 Awesome. Thank you, Dave. 33 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:02,160 Good morning, everyone. For those who haven't said good 34 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:06,840 morning in person to it's good to see you guys this morning as 35 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:09,120 Zai's kind of intro. We're going to be talking about 36 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:12,000 Jesus this morning, which is, you know, quite a novel topic 37 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:14,760 when you're in church should be talking about Jesus. 38 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:18,120 Thank you, Pete. All those songs were incredibly 39 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:20,120 Jesus centered. We're singing about a beautiful 40 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:23,640 name, a wonderful name, a powerful name that there is no 41 00:02:23,640 --> 00:02:27,000 other name by which men must be saved, but this wonderful, 42 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:32,680 glorious name of Jesus. And as I've been thinking about 43 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:35,040 preaching this week and planning, just the thing that 44 00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:40,040 came to mind is that our when we see Jesus rightly, everything 45 00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:43,160 else makes sense. It's when we have a, a 46 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:47,040 misaligned view of Jesus that things start to go a little kind 47 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:51,680 of off kilter. We heard about a month ago or so 48 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:54,520 when Leo Nicotra was here and he spoke about Jesus being our 49 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:57,040 cornerstone. And that was basically the first 50 00:02:57,040 --> 00:03:00,120 stone you would put down where everything else would be built 51 00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:03,040 from it. And see if our view, that's our 52 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:06,360 view of Jesus. If our view of Jesus is slightly 53 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:08,520 off, the entire building is crooked. 54 00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:13,880 And so it's important in, in US and in in our thinking to 55 00:03:13,920 --> 00:03:17,480 actually make sure that we have a right view of who Jesus is 56 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:22,840 because everything comes from it, everything, everything. 57 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:29,440 In Isaiah 2816, it says this, this is what the sovereign Lord 58 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:32,960 says. I lay a stone in Zion, a tested 59 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:37,240 stone, a precious cornerstone for a shore foundation. 60 00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:40,920 This is quoted by Peter. In one Peter, he's saying this 61 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:43,200 is Jesus. He directly says this is Jesus 62 00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:47,920 the cornerstone. And again in Ephesians 219 to 20 63 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:50,880 it says you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but 64 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:54,200 fellow citizens with God's people, members of God's 65 00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:57,760 household built on the foundation of the apostles and 66 00:03:57,760 --> 00:04:02,960 prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief 67 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:08,040 cornerstone. Everything we do comes from who 68 00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:10,200 Jesus is. It's the, the centre of 69 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:13,760 everything and, and our view of Jesus. 70 00:04:13,760 --> 00:04:17,519 When we have a right view of Jesus, we have a right view of 71 00:04:17,519 --> 00:04:23,680 everything else, right. So in, in we're going to do a 72 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:26,160 bit of a probably more of a teaching this morning. 73 00:04:26,920 --> 00:04:30,120 So we're going to use some a fancy word called Christology. 74 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:34,360 Everyone say Christology. Christology, if you're if you're 75 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:39,120 into Bible theology like I am, Christology simply means the 76 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:43,120 study of who Jesus is. That's Christology. 77 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:46,520 So it's what we're fundamentally talking about this morning is 78 00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:49,880 our Christology, your Christology, my Christology. 79 00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:53,320 How do I view Jesus? What do I view him? 80 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:57,240 How do I view him? And I did some study in this and 81 00:04:57,240 --> 00:05:00,400 I looked up a book called Systematic Theology by Wayne 82 00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:03,440 Grudem and he says this of Christology. 83 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:05,720 He says we can summarize the biblical teaching about the 84 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:11,320 person of Jesus Christ as this Jesus Christ was most fully God 85 00:05:11,840 --> 00:05:16,240 and fully man in one person and will be so forever. 86 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:20,800 And I, I was a little honestly, when I first read that I said, 87 00:05:20,800 --> 00:05:23,680 no, that doesn't like there's so much more to Jesus than that. 88 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:27,560 Like isn't Jesus my Lord and my Saviour right? 89 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:31,360 That's but when I fundamentally break that down, the only reason 90 00:05:31,360 --> 00:05:34,440 he can be Lord is because he is fully God. 91 00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:37,480 There is no higher name, as we sang this morning. 92 00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:40,400 There is no higher name than him which makes him Lord. 93 00:05:40,960 --> 00:05:44,120 The only reason he can be my Saviour is because he was fully 94 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:47,680 man and is fully qualified to represent me as my Saviour and 95 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:51,160 take my place on the cross. Fundamentally it comes down to 96 00:05:51,160 --> 00:05:53,160 this. How can he be the King of kings 97 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:55,120 and Lord of Lords if he is not fully God? 98 00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:58,560 And how can he be the suffering servant, the Messiah that comes 99 00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:01,080 and dies in my place without being fully man? 100 00:06:02,120 --> 00:06:06,120 Everything we do when we talk about Jesus has to come from 101 00:06:06,120 --> 00:06:09,680 this. And when you think about other, 102 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:13,560 other religions and stuff and other views of Jesus and, and 103 00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:18,680 even within splinter, splinter groups or things like Mormonism 104 00:06:18,680 --> 00:06:22,400 and Catholicism and stuff like that, it actually fundamentally 105 00:06:22,400 --> 00:06:25,240 comes to a view of Jesus that is slightly out. 106 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:30,040 So in in some religions, they they teach that Jesus as a wise 107 00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:34,840 teacher, maybe even a messenger of God, a prophet, but they deny 108 00:06:34,840 --> 00:06:37,400 his, his God, his godhead, his deity. 109 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:41,280 Now, the problem with that is that if Jesus is a good teacher, 110 00:06:41,280 --> 00:06:44,800 he made some pretty bold claims. He said I'm I'm the way, the 111 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:47,120 truth and the life. If he's a good teacher and that 112 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:48,920 statement his fault, he's actually a bad teacher. 113 00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:53,200 He's a terrible prophet. If he's saying I'm the I'm the 114 00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:55,600 way and I'm dying for the sins of the world and he didn't 115 00:06:55,840 --> 00:06:58,440 because he's not God, well, then he's actually a pretty poor 116 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:00,760 teacher. So it's it's pretty impossible 117 00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:03,000 to hold that view without actually concerning yourself 118 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:06,400 with who God is. But the other side is that some 119 00:07:06,840 --> 00:07:12,040 some things kind of go, well, God Jesus is a God, one of many 120 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:14,560 gods. Like he's not, he's not the top, 121 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:17,920 top dog. He's, you know, a sub sub God to 122 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:22,200 he's a lesser God. The problem with that is that 123 00:07:22,320 --> 00:07:24,720 then he can't be King of kings and Lord of Lords because 124 00:07:24,960 --> 00:07:26,240 there's obviously somebody above him. 125 00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:28,880 Some people say, well, maybe he's like a demigod like 126 00:07:28,880 --> 00:07:32,960 Hercules in Greek mythology. Or maybe they might even say, 127 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:36,200 well, Jesus wasn't actually a real person at all, He's 128 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:39,240 actually just a myth. The problem with that, there's 129 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:43,080 countless historical evidence that proves that Jesus Christ 130 00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:46,160 walked on this earth. So he's not a myth, but he made 131 00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:49,080 very bold claims that he himself was God. 132 00:07:50,280 --> 00:07:53,640 And so we must hold this view that says at the same time as as 133 00:07:53,640 --> 00:07:56,680 him being fully God, he must also be fully man. 134 00:07:56,680 --> 00:08:00,880 And in that is where we stand as Christians and we say we hold 135 00:08:00,880 --> 00:08:03,840 these two intention every time we see Jesus. 136 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:06,680 These two are at work. I have in my pocket, let's see 137 00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:11,640 if I can get it out. An Australian 50 Cent piece just 138 00:08:11,640 --> 00:08:15,120 to illustrate how this is even possible because I think in our 139 00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:17,480 human minds sometimes we think about things like this. 140 00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:19,840 And Mcconney, well, how did the two actually exist? 141 00:08:20,840 --> 00:08:23,160 And it's not a perfect example, but it is an example, so 142 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:26,840 hopefully it helps. On one side of my coin is a 143 00:08:26,840 --> 00:08:28,600 picture of the late Queen Elizabeth the 2nd. 144 00:08:28,600 --> 00:08:32,720 And if I asked you what was on this coin, your answer would be 145 00:08:33,039 --> 00:08:36,280 Queen Elizabeth the Second. However, if I turned this coin 146 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:38,960 around and said now what's on the coin, you're going to tell 147 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:40,600 me it's the Australian coat of arms. 148 00:08:41,960 --> 00:08:45,200 Both the true at the same time and always true. 149 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:48,840 This coin both has Queen Elizabeth the 2nd and has the 150 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:51,440 Australian coat of arms on it. No matter which way I look at 151 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:57,120 it, it will always be that way. And that is how we can 152 00:08:57,120 --> 00:09:00,760 understand that Jesus somehow, even though our brains can't get 153 00:09:00,760 --> 00:09:05,480 around it, somehow every time he did something, he was both fully 154 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:08,080 man and fully God at the same time. 155 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:14,160 It's phenomenal, right? And, and that we need, we must 156 00:09:14,160 --> 00:09:18,920 hold this true because as I say, there's so many other religions 157 00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:22,000 like put Jesus into one of these two camps and then it goes off 158 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:25,360 kilter. But it has significant 159 00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:28,600 implications for us to understand he is both all the 160 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:32,520 time. So we're going to look at each 161 00:09:32,520 --> 00:09:35,080 separately and actually just unpack why is this actually so 162 00:09:35,080 --> 00:09:36,560 important? Why is it even important that I 163 00:09:36,560 --> 00:09:39,840 care about this? As I said, it's where everything 164 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:41,440 comes from. It's all about definitions of 165 00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:43,080 Jesus. Boil down to this. 166 00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:50,000 We're going to look at Jesus the man first in Acts 222, Peter's 167 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:52,280 standing up, the very first sermon we see in the early 168 00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:54,880 church. He says, men of Israel hear 169 00:09:54,880 --> 00:09:59,360 these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man 170 00:10:00,160 --> 00:10:05,280 attested to you by God with works and wonders and signs that 171 00:10:05,280 --> 00:10:10,640 God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know 172 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:15,360 this Jesus to live it up according to the definite plan 173 00:10:15,360 --> 00:10:18,920 and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the 174 00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:20,960 hands of lawless men. He's pretty bold towards these 175 00:10:20,960 --> 00:10:26,000 people who are listening, right? God raised him up, moosing the 176 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:29,240 pains of death because it was not possible for him to be held 177 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:36,400 by it. This Jesus God raised up and of 178 00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:41,520 that we are all witnesses. Peter stands up, he says this 179 00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:46,560 Jesus a man, he's not saying this Jesus a God, this Jesus, 180 00:10:46,560 --> 00:10:50,160 this deity is going, this Jesus, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the 181 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:53,360 man you crucified and he died in your place. 182 00:10:54,480 --> 00:10:57,040 This is just kind of, you know, bringing some evidence to why 183 00:10:57,080 --> 00:11:01,680 Jesus is fully man. Philippians 26 to 8 says though 184 00:11:01,680 --> 00:11:05,280 he was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God 185 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:10,360 as a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the 186 00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:14,320 form of a servant. Being born in the likeness of 187 00:11:14,320 --> 00:11:18,960 men and being found in human form, he humbled himself and 188 00:11:18,960 --> 00:11:22,040 became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 189 00:11:22,760 --> 00:11:27,960 So we see Jesus is this man one. Timothy 2 five and six, it talks 190 00:11:27,960 --> 00:11:31,040 about Jesus being the mediator between God and men, the man 191 00:11:31,160 --> 00:11:39,320 Jesus Christ and our final one in one John 42 says by this, you 192 00:11:39,320 --> 00:11:41,280 know, the Spirit of God because there was this, there was this 193 00:11:41,280 --> 00:11:44,440 teaching even in the early church that Jesus was not 194 00:11:44,440 --> 00:11:46,360 actually, he didn't actually come in the flesh. 195 00:11:46,360 --> 00:11:50,280 He came as a came as kind of God, kind of a God being, but he 196 00:11:50,280 --> 00:11:53,440 wasn't actually man. And this was John's correction 197 00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:55,800 to the church. It says this is how you know the 198 00:11:55,800 --> 00:11:59,800 Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses 199 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:02,680 Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. 200 00:12:02,920 --> 00:12:06,280 Even in the early church, they started to go off off way and 201 00:12:06,280 --> 00:12:08,960 kind of started to believe that, well, maybe Jesus wasn't quite 202 00:12:08,960 --> 00:12:11,920 fully man. And John's writing to the early 203 00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:14,920 church ago, hey, the Spirit of God will actually confirm is a 204 00:12:14,920 --> 00:12:19,520 Jesus Christ was fully man. So, so why, why is this 205 00:12:19,520 --> 00:12:21,720 important? Why does it even matter that 206 00:12:21,720 --> 00:12:23,880 Jesus is fully man? Now I'm going to give you 3 207 00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:27,240 three reasons that I think it's important that we need to know 208 00:12:27,240 --> 00:12:30,360 that Jesus is fully man. And the first one is this. 209 00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:33,040 He sympathizes with our weakness. 210 00:12:34,960 --> 00:12:37,880 It is important that Jesus is fully man because we can know 211 00:12:37,880 --> 00:12:40,560 that he sympathises with our weakness. 212 00:12:41,160 --> 00:12:47,440 Let me give you some examples in Hebrews 415. 213 00:12:47,440 --> 00:12:48,320 I don't think we've got this one. 214 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:51,360 Pete says we do not have a high priest who is unable to 215 00:12:51,360 --> 00:12:53,080 sympathise and understand our weaknesses. 216 00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:54,680 This is in the amplified version. 217 00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:58,200 It says one who is, but we have one who has been tempted, 218 00:12:58,400 --> 00:13:03,880 knowing exactly how it feels to be human in every respect as we 219 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:09,440 are, yet without committing any sin, knows exactly how it feels 220 00:13:09,440 --> 00:13:11,800 to be human. Here's here's, here's some of 221 00:13:11,800 --> 00:13:13,560 the stuff that Jesus went through as a man. 222 00:13:14,360 --> 00:13:16,760 He grew up. We think that's very basic, but 223 00:13:16,760 --> 00:13:20,880 he came as a baby and grew up. His dad owned a from what we can 224 00:13:20,880 --> 00:13:22,800 understand in the Bible, his dad was a Carpenter. 225 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:26,240 He knew business. He knew how to be a Carpenter. 226 00:13:26,240 --> 00:13:30,800 He was left alone by his parents at the age of 12. 227 00:13:31,920 --> 00:13:34,720 He knew what it was like to go on big family holidays and trips 228 00:13:35,120 --> 00:13:36,560 and make the journey to Jerusalem. 229 00:13:38,240 --> 00:13:41,120 He knew how to have fun and he'd go to weddings and festivals. 230 00:13:41,720 --> 00:13:44,400 Jesus first miracle was turning water into wine and a great 231 00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:47,080 wedding. Jesus had friends and he knew 232 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:50,120 what it was like to celebrate the good things in life, the 233 00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:52,640 weddings and it says and he went to the festivals that they had 234 00:13:52,640 --> 00:13:54,960 and the traditions that they had in the Jewish culture. 235 00:13:54,960 --> 00:13:59,600 He knew how to have fun. He also knew what it was to be 236 00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:03,840 tempted by glory and riches and the quick get rich quick 237 00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:05,640 schemes. When the devil comes and says, 238 00:14:05,640 --> 00:14:08,280 hey, I can give you everything if you just bow down to me. 239 00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:11,360 But more importantly, he knew how to stay true to God in that 240 00:14:11,360 --> 00:14:15,320 moment. He knew what it was to be loved 241 00:14:15,320 --> 00:14:18,560 by the crowds and the next minute, hated by the crowds. 242 00:14:18,560 --> 00:14:22,120 We celebrated Easter last week and Palm Sunday the week before. 243 00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:23,680 Palm Sunday. Everyone's crying out. 244 00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:27,680 Hosanna, Hosanna, you know, praise the Lord, praise the Lord 245 00:14:27,720 --> 00:14:29,920 Jesus coming in. Everyone's celebrating their 246 00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:32,480 throwing palm branches and laying things on the floor. 247 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:35,440 It's awesome. And the very next week, the same 248 00:14:35,440 --> 00:14:38,120 group of people crucify him, crucify him. 249 00:14:39,280 --> 00:14:42,560 Wonder if you've been in that place where somebody said 250 00:14:42,560 --> 00:14:45,480 something to your face one week and then the next week it seems 251 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:47,160 like a completely different point of view. 252 00:14:49,120 --> 00:14:52,480 Jesus went through that. Jesus knew what it was like to 253 00:14:52,480 --> 00:14:55,240 have people try and bring him down and trap him in his words. 254 00:14:57,160 --> 00:14:59,880 Jesus knew what it was like to have his close friend full sick 255 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:03,360 and ultimately die. In fact, the shortest verse in 256 00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:06,800 the Bible is that Jesus wept with his friends mourning the 257 00:15:06,800 --> 00:15:11,400 loss of his friend Lazarus. And they they actually said the 258 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:15,840 one whom you love is ill. Then ultimately he passed away. 259 00:15:16,400 --> 00:15:19,360 Jesus raised him from the dead, but not before he took time to 260 00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:24,160 actually mourn his loss. Jesus knew what it was like to 261 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:26,000 have somebody betray him for a better deal. 262 00:15:27,040 --> 00:15:29,720 Judas Iscariot selling Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. 263 00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:31,600 He walked with Jesus three years. 264 00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:36,840 Have you ever had a friend or a colleague or somebody he knew? 265 00:15:37,600 --> 00:15:39,920 He knew so close. You thought you were so close. 266 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:42,920 Then all of a sudden they turn for a better deal. 267 00:15:44,160 --> 00:15:47,040 Jesus knows. Jesus sympathizes. 268 00:15:47,040 --> 00:15:51,880 He knows. He knows in his darkest moment, 269 00:15:52,840 --> 00:15:56,320 he knows what it feels like to be abandoned by not just his 270 00:15:56,320 --> 00:15:57,800 friends. They couldn't even stay awake 271 00:15:57,800 --> 00:16:00,360 with him. But ultimately they run away. 272 00:16:01,280 --> 00:16:05,000 And on that cross, Jesus cries out, My God, my God, why have 273 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:07,160 you forsaken me? He knows what it feels like to 274 00:16:07,160 --> 00:16:10,720 be abandoned by God, to feel like you've been abandoned by 275 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:11,760 God. Have you ever been in that 276 00:16:11,760 --> 00:16:14,720 place? We're going, God, where are you? 277 00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:21,000 Jesus knows that feeling because he was fully man and because he 278 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:25,080 is fully man, we know that Jesus can sympathize with our 279 00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:28,240 weakness. If he is not fully man, then he, 280 00:16:28,280 --> 00:16:30,240 he's got a different perspective on all of this. 281 00:16:32,080 --> 00:16:34,400 But because he is fully man, he goes, I get it. 282 00:16:35,360 --> 00:16:39,400 I know he, he was emotional. I know, I get it. 283 00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:41,400 I know the hard times, I know the good times. 284 00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:42,920 I get it. I can sympathize with your 285 00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:45,560 humanity because I became human, fully human. 286 00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:49,200 He sympathizes with our weakness. 287 00:16:50,040 --> 00:16:53,360 The second reason it's important we understand he's fully man is 288 00:16:53,360 --> 00:16:55,640 because he also sets us as an example. 289 00:16:57,480 --> 00:17:00,600 If he is not fully man, I don't have a true example because I 290 00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:04,440 can never attain to being God. If he is not. 291 00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:07,880 If he's not in that camp, fully human and he's part God, then 292 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:09,280 I'm like, well, I'm never going to be God. 293 00:17:09,880 --> 00:17:13,599 And so there's no point in even trying to be like Jesus. 294 00:17:14,400 --> 00:17:17,119 But Jesus said I was. I was fully human, which means I 295 00:17:17,119 --> 00:17:19,200 give you a true example to actually follow. 296 00:17:20,319 --> 00:17:24,560 I set you an example, Paul writes to the Romans. 297 00:17:25,160 --> 00:17:29,120 It says this in Romans 829. For those whom God foreknew, he 298 00:17:29,120 --> 00:17:34,600 also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in 299 00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:38,720 order that he might be the first born among many brothers and 300 00:17:38,720 --> 00:17:41,960 Philippians 310 to 11. Paul writes. 301 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:45,320 He says that I may know him, that I may know Jesus and the 302 00:17:45,320 --> 00:17:48,960 power of his resurrection and share in his sufferings, 303 00:17:49,040 --> 00:17:54,760 becoming like Him in his death, that by any means, apostle, I 304 00:17:54,760 --> 00:17:56,680 might obtain the resurrection from the dead. 305 00:17:59,320 --> 00:18:04,560 And then in one Peter 221 again, Peter the apostle writes this. 306 00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:06,800 Just in case you thought it was just Paul telling us to be an 307 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:08,600 example. Peter writes this. 308 00:18:08,600 --> 00:18:12,920 He says for to this you have been called, to this you have 309 00:18:12,920 --> 00:18:16,840 been called, I have been called because Christ also suffered for 310 00:18:16,840 --> 00:18:21,720 you, leaving you an example so that you might follow in his 311 00:18:21,720 --> 00:18:28,280 steps. And then in one John 2/5 to six, 312 00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:32,240 which is really kind of clinches at home by the apostle John. 313 00:18:32,960 --> 00:18:35,120 By this we may know that we are in him. 314 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:37,000 This is how you know you're in Christ. 315 00:18:37,520 --> 00:18:43,760 Whoever says he abides in Christ ought to walk in the same way in 316 00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:46,760 which he walked. That is impossible if he is not 317 00:18:46,760 --> 00:18:50,480 fully man. Yet because he is fully man, 318 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:54,360 John can say with absolute conviction says, if you profess 319 00:18:54,360 --> 00:18:57,920 your faith in Jesus, you can walk in the same way that Jesus 320 00:18:57,920 --> 00:19:01,960 said because he set you an example as a full human being. 321 00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:06,080 And therefore when I look at Jesus, I go, that is an example 322 00:19:06,080 --> 00:19:11,840 I can actually follow as a Jesus being fully man. 323 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:16,240 He doesn't just sympathize with my weakness and get what I'm 324 00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:17,960 going through, gets the struggle. 325 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:19,760 He's there comforting me in my struggle. 326 00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:22,920 But he also gives me an example that I can actually follow as a 327 00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:27,040 man, as a human being, and that he knows how I can actually move 328 00:19:27,040 --> 00:19:31,040 through those as a human being, not just as God, but actually as 329 00:19:31,040 --> 00:19:36,280 a human. And the third thing, he doesn't 330 00:19:36,280 --> 00:19:38,520 just sympathize. He doesn't just set us an 331 00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:41,280 example because he is fully human. 332 00:19:42,080 --> 00:19:46,760 He can substitute for us. By being fully human. 333 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:50,920 He is fully qualified to fully represent us. 334 00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:56,240 I'll say that again. By being fully human, he is 335 00:19:56,240 --> 00:19:59,680 fully qualified to fully represent us. 336 00:20:01,520 --> 00:20:08,000 He is able to take my place. 1 John. 337 00:20:08,760 --> 00:20:11,280 John writes and he says if anyone does sin, we have an 338 00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:16,000 advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 339 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:18,920 He can represent me because he is human. 340 00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:26,320 Romans 518 to 19 As one trespass led to the condemnation for all 341 00:20:26,320 --> 00:20:30,360 men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life 342 00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:34,160 for all men. For as by the one man's 343 00:20:34,160 --> 00:20:36,960 disobedience, it's Speaking of the first man to ever live, 344 00:20:36,960 --> 00:20:40,720 Adam, who disobeyed God. For by one man's disobedience 345 00:20:41,280 --> 00:20:47,000 many were made sinners. So by the one man's obedience, 346 00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:51,120 the many will be made righteous. How can he substitute for 347 00:20:51,120 --> 00:20:55,440 humanity? Because He was human, He can 348 00:20:55,440 --> 00:21:00,320 take our place. Because He was human, Hebrews 349 00:21:00,320 --> 00:21:05,360 217 He therefore he had to be made like his brothers. 350 00:21:05,360 --> 00:21:09,960 Speaking of human beings, He had to be made like them in every 351 00:21:09,960 --> 00:21:15,120 respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high 352 00:21:15,120 --> 00:21:18,560 priest in the service of God. To make propitiation, which is a 353 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:22,040 fancy word to say to make payment for our sins. 354 00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:28,560 The only way he can do it is by being fully human. 2 Corinthians 355 00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:30,960 521 We don't have this one either, Pete. 356 00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:37,560 It says he, God made him, Jesus, who knew no sin, to be sin on 357 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:41,920 our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God. 358 00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:45,760 It is so important that we understand that Jesus is fully 359 00:21:45,760 --> 00:21:48,200 human because if he is not fully human, he could not take my 360 00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:54,120 place. But because he is human, he can 361 00:21:54,120 --> 00:21:58,520 substitute for me, and because he is human, He takes my place 362 00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:03,040 on the cross. That is one of the most profound 363 00:22:03,040 --> 00:22:05,800 things we will ever understand about the power of the gospel is 364 00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:10,040 that he took my place not as just not as God taking my place, 365 00:22:10,200 --> 00:22:13,880 but as a human standing in the gap for all humanity. 366 00:22:15,440 --> 00:22:17,280 He says I will take their place. Why? 367 00:22:17,280 --> 00:22:21,840 Because I am exactly like them without. 368 00:22:21,840 --> 00:22:24,360 But I am without sin. I'm fully human. 369 00:22:24,360 --> 00:22:26,960 I've been through the emotions. I've I've kept the true path. 370 00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:32,880 I've obeyed God fully as a human, as a man, and therefore 371 00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:36,600 now I am fully qualified to fully represent them before God 372 00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:40,200 the Father. Isn't that powerful? 373 00:22:40,560 --> 00:22:44,520 This is the power of the gospel, the fact that Jesus was fully 374 00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:47,400 man and fully substituted for us. 375 00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:51,680 That is why it is so important that we understand that Jesus is 376 00:22:51,680 --> 00:22:55,960 fully man because not only does he know how I feel, not only 377 00:22:55,960 --> 00:22:59,880 does he set me an example, but he substitutes for me in every 378 00:22:59,880 --> 00:23:06,320 single way and by his act of obedience I am made righteous 379 00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:09,040 before God. I can be put into a right 380 00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:13,880 relationship before God because of his substitution on my 381 00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:16,120 behalf. It actually talks in the Old 382 00:23:16,120 --> 00:23:20,280 Testament that they used to sacrifice sheep and goats to try 383 00:23:20,280 --> 00:23:22,720 and cover cover the sins of the people. 384 00:23:22,800 --> 00:23:25,640 And the basically this is just isn't going to cut it because 385 00:23:25,640 --> 00:23:28,560 the people still deserve to die because the sheep and the goat's 386 00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:31,920 blood doesn't quite qualify. But it wasn't till a man said, 387 00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:34,320 I'm going to take their place. I'm going to bleed. 388 00:23:34,320 --> 00:23:37,400 He's human, which means his blood can actually be spilled. 389 00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:41,800 And so now he fully substitutes for all of humankind on the 390 00:23:41,800 --> 00:23:48,560 cross and redeems us all. He substitutes for us the man 391 00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:53,600 Jesus Christ. So why is it important that we 392 00:23:53,600 --> 00:23:55,360 understand that he is also fully God? 393 00:23:55,960 --> 00:23:59,800 Is it just a man a good enough that he's in this camp, that 394 00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:02,360 he's a wise teacher and he died on behalf of all the people? 395 00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:09,400 Isn't that just good enough? No, we must hold that he is also 396 00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:11,800 fully God. Let's look at some scriptures 397 00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:16,080 that actually back this claim in Colossians, a book that's 398 00:24:16,080 --> 00:24:18,960 actually really got it's titled, there's a passage in there 399 00:24:18,960 --> 00:24:23,160 titled The Great Christology Colossians 119. 400 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:26,880 It says in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. 401 00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:33,200 And then the next chapter over for in Christ all the fullness 402 00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:35,160 of the deity lives in bodily form. 403 00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:37,920 So he's kind of defending this case. 404 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:42,920 Jesus was fully God. John one verse one, it says in 405 00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:46,760 the beginning was the word Speaking of Jesus and the word 406 00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:49,360 was God and the word was with God. 407 00:24:49,360 --> 00:24:54,280 It says, yeah, this is God. And in case we're just arguing 408 00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:58,000 from the New Testament, if we look back at the prophet Isaiah 409 00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:02,960 thousands of years before Jesus came, we claim these scriptures 410 00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:04,640 and quote them often at Christmas time. 411 00:25:05,240 --> 00:25:10,280 Isaiah 9/6 For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, 412 00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:13,640 and the government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name, 413 00:25:13,640 --> 00:25:17,640 what's his name? Wonderful counsellor, mighty 414 00:25:17,640 --> 00:25:22,680 God, mighty God. How can he be called mighty God 415 00:25:22,680 --> 00:25:25,600 if he is not mighty God, but he is fully God? 416 00:25:26,440 --> 00:25:28,520 And then the prophet Isaiah a couple of chapters earlier, we 417 00:25:28,520 --> 00:25:30,160 loved this one at Christmas time as well. 418 00:25:30,720 --> 00:25:33,360 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. 419 00:25:33,800 --> 00:25:37,840 Behold, the Virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and you 420 00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:43,360 shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God with us. 421 00:25:44,560 --> 00:25:46,960 How can you give him that name if he is not fully God? 422 00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:51,320 How can he hold that name in trueness if he is not actually 423 00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:54,600 God with us? If he is just a man, then anyone 424 00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:58,160 can make that claim. But because he is fully God, he 425 00:25:58,160 --> 00:26:01,920 can hold true to that name and say, I am God with you. 426 00:26:02,480 --> 00:26:05,440 And if that's not enough, these are all the people writing Jesus 427 00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:09,240 himself when he's speaking in front of Pharisees and 428 00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:12,840 Sadducees. He says this in John 858. 429 00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:17,640 Jesus said to them truly, truly, you know he means business when 430 00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:20,040 he's saying truly, truly, he said it twice just to make sure 431 00:26:20,040 --> 00:26:22,040 you get it. Truly, truly. 432 00:26:22,400 --> 00:26:26,960 I say to you before Abraham was Abraham the forefather of our 433 00:26:26,960 --> 00:26:31,360 faith? I am now to anyone if you read 434 00:26:31,360 --> 00:26:34,920 that out of context doesn't make a lot of sense, but I am was how 435 00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:40,280 God introduced himself to Moses thousands and thousands and 436 00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:44,280 thousands of years beforehand when Moses said who are you? 437 00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:49,000 And God says I am that I am this word Yahweh and here Jesus 438 00:26:49,360 --> 00:26:53,200 directly to the religious leaders of the day said before 439 00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:59,040 Abraham was Yahweh. I am in other words, I'm the 440 00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:01,720 same God that was there thousands of years ago. 441 00:27:01,960 --> 00:27:06,360 I'm here fully God. So for us to deny that Jesus is 442 00:27:06,360 --> 00:27:09,560 fully God would be deny the very words of Jesus himself. 443 00:27:11,280 --> 00:27:17,200 Jesus said I'm I am fully God. So why does this even matter 444 00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:23,760 that Jesus is fully God? Well, the first thing is that we 445 00:27:23,760 --> 00:27:32,040 can know that God cares because Jesus, God himself, he didn't 446 00:27:32,040 --> 00:27:35,480 send an Angel. He didn't send just another 447 00:27:35,480 --> 00:27:37,360 prophet. He'd sent a whole bunch of 448 00:27:37,360 --> 00:27:39,720 prophets and judges through all the Old Testament. 449 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:42,480 He just sent them and he's just kind of, hey, you go give a 450 00:27:42,480 --> 00:27:44,280 message. But eventually it gets to the 451 00:27:44,280 --> 00:27:47,480 point because there's only one person who can sort that out. 452 00:27:48,320 --> 00:27:53,160 Me. We know that God cares so much 453 00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:55,680 that he came himself to sort it out. 454 00:27:57,560 --> 00:28:00,600 Doesn't that like, blow your mind? 455 00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:06,080 This God who created everything in six days, This God who holds 456 00:28:06,080 --> 00:28:10,760 the entire universe in the palm of his hand, cares so much about 457 00:28:10,760 --> 00:28:14,360 the beings that he created that it wasn't enough just to send 458 00:28:14,360 --> 00:28:17,640 another Angel, just to send another messenger, just to send 459 00:28:17,640 --> 00:28:20,880 another representative. He cares that much that he would 460 00:28:20,880 --> 00:28:26,840 come himself to fix the problem of sin and everything that we've 461 00:28:26,840 --> 00:28:30,400 ever done wrong. God himself cares that much that 462 00:28:30,400 --> 00:28:36,600 he came to do it himself. John 316 which is the the verse, 463 00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:38,840 probably the most quoted verse of the whole New Testament. 464 00:28:38,840 --> 00:28:45,440 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that 465 00:28:45,440 --> 00:28:47,840 whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal 466 00:28:47,840 --> 00:28:52,520 life. For God so loved the world in 467 00:28:52,520 --> 00:28:55,480 Jonah which we don't have Jonah 2 verse 9. 468 00:28:56,040 --> 00:29:01,440 God says to Jonah, Salvation is from the Lord because no one 469 00:29:01,440 --> 00:29:04,200 else can save you. God himself can. 470 00:29:04,960 --> 00:29:12,600 God saves Isaiah 41, the prophet says fear not for I am with you. 471 00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:14,880 This is what God says, I am with you. 472 00:29:15,600 --> 00:29:17,920 Be not dismayed, for I am your God. 473 00:29:18,280 --> 00:29:20,880 I will strengthen you, I will help you. 474 00:29:21,200 --> 00:29:23,400 I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 475 00:29:24,200 --> 00:29:25,840 Who's going to do this? God? 476 00:29:27,320 --> 00:29:29,040 How does he do this? Because he cares. 477 00:29:29,080 --> 00:29:31,080 Why does he do this? Because he cares and he's not a 478 00:29:31,160 --> 00:29:34,160 distant God. Sometimes we can view that God 479 00:29:34,160 --> 00:29:36,520 is all the way over here because he's God and we're not. 480 00:29:37,280 --> 00:29:40,560 But the point of Jesus being fully God demonstrates to us 481 00:29:40,560 --> 00:29:45,400 that God cares that much to bridge the whole divide and meet 482 00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:52,640 us where we're at. We know for certain that God 483 00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:55,880 cares. When we look at the person of 484 00:29:55,920 --> 00:29:59,360 Jesus Christ, we go, God cares. God cares so much. 485 00:30:01,320 --> 00:30:04,720 So the second thing reason why it matters that Jesus is fully 486 00:30:04,720 --> 00:30:10,120 God is because we can have certainty in God's character. 487 00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:16,000 If we didn't have the person of Jesus, or if Jesus was not fully 488 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:18,960 God and he was only part God, there'd still be questions in 489 00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:23,480 our mind of what is God like, What is God truly like? 490 00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:28,160 But the fact that Jesus was fully God, we can know exactly 491 00:30:28,160 --> 00:30:32,600 what God is like because Jesus said this to his disciples when 492 00:30:32,600 --> 00:30:34,320 they said, well, show us the way to the Father. 493 00:30:35,440 --> 00:30:39,440 And Jesus said to them, have I been with you so long and you 494 00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:43,960 still don't know me? Philip, Whoever has seen me has 495 00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:47,040 seen the Father, because if you look at me you can see him. 496 00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:51,520 You can only make that claim if you are fully God. 497 00:30:53,920 --> 00:30:57,720 We can have certainty of what God is like because of the 498 00:30:57,720 --> 00:31:03,440 person of Jesus Christ. We can know for sure the 499 00:31:03,440 --> 00:31:09,640 character and nature of God. When we look to Jesus there is 500 00:31:09,640 --> 00:31:13,880 no question on his character because we can see it in the in 501 00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:16,040 the the fullness of who Jesus is. 502 00:31:19,680 --> 00:31:25,440 Hebrews one verse 3 the writer to the Jewish people. 503 00:31:25,440 --> 00:31:30,760 He says Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God, the exact 504 00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:37,760 imprint of his nature. And he, Jesus upholds the 505 00:31:37,760 --> 00:31:39,360 universe by the word of his power. 506 00:31:40,360 --> 00:31:43,120 And after making purification for sins, he sat down at the 507 00:31:43,120 --> 00:31:44,840 right hand of the majesty on high. 508 00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:49,520 He is the exact imprint of the nature of God. 509 00:31:49,960 --> 00:31:52,000 Exact. There's no wiggle room when it's 510 00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:55,640 exact, right? Like, like we're not just 511 00:31:55,640 --> 00:31:58,080 rounding up here or rounding down as we would do with 512 00:31:58,080 --> 00:32:00,440 numbers. No, no, there's no difference. 513 00:32:00,440 --> 00:32:03,720 Jesus is God, and so when you look at Jesus, you go, that is 514 00:32:03,720 --> 00:32:05,200 what God is like. There's no debate. 515 00:32:05,760 --> 00:32:09,600 That is what God is like because he is the exact imprint of God's 516 00:32:09,600 --> 00:32:13,920 nature. And we can have certainty. 517 00:32:13,920 --> 00:32:17,320 I can have certainty on who God is and what God is like. 518 00:32:17,560 --> 00:32:21,760 When I know that Jesus is fully God, I can look to the person of 519 00:32:21,760 --> 00:32:24,040 Jesus and go, that is what God is like without guessing, 520 00:32:24,040 --> 00:32:27,360 without questioning, and go, I know that God is compassionate. 521 00:32:27,360 --> 00:32:28,880 Why? Because Jesus was compassionate. 522 00:32:30,040 --> 00:32:32,480 I know that God cares about his Kingdom. 523 00:32:32,480 --> 00:32:33,880 Why? Because Jesus cared about the 524 00:32:33,880 --> 00:32:37,840 Kingdom of God. I can know that God cares for 525 00:32:37,840 --> 00:32:39,600 the poor and those who don't have enough. 526 00:32:39,600 --> 00:32:41,080 Why? Because Jesus cared for the poor 527 00:32:41,080 --> 00:32:42,200 and those who didn't have enough. 528 00:32:45,680 --> 00:32:48,280 I can know the character of God when I look at Jesus. 529 00:32:49,880 --> 00:32:56,360 And the final one. We can have confidence in the 530 00:32:56,400 --> 00:33:01,960 completeness of his sacrifice. If you can remember when we were 531 00:33:01,960 --> 00:33:04,440 talking about God, Jesus as fully man, we said he can 532 00:33:04,440 --> 00:33:07,200 substitute for us. But in a book that I have at 533 00:33:07,200 --> 00:33:10,840 home on world religions and cults and just discusses that, 534 00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:15,840 it says this Only the infinite God in the person of Jesus 535 00:33:15,840 --> 00:33:21,040 Christ can take the punishment from an infinite God to mark 536 00:33:21,040 --> 00:33:27,800 salvation even possible. Who else could fully satisfy the 537 00:33:27,800 --> 00:33:33,280 full wrath of an eternal infinite God to against sin? 538 00:33:33,840 --> 00:33:36,040 Who else could fully pay that price? 539 00:33:36,600 --> 00:33:40,880 No man could. It is impossible for any human 540 00:33:40,880 --> 00:33:43,360 being to live up to the perfect standard of God. 541 00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:46,720 Who else could do it but God Himself? 542 00:33:48,040 --> 00:33:52,640 Who else could pay such a price? Who else could completely and 543 00:33:52,640 --> 00:33:57,080 fully pay the debt that we owed but God Himself? 544 00:33:58,320 --> 00:34:03,680 Because God is so perfect, He is so sovereign, He is so good, 545 00:34:03,840 --> 00:34:07,240 that there is not a single human being on this planet who has 546 00:34:07,280 --> 00:34:10,639 ever lived, who will ever live, that could ever meet the 547 00:34:10,639 --> 00:34:14,800 standard of a perfect and holy God, except for one. 548 00:34:15,880 --> 00:34:22,080 And that one was fully God and fully man at the same time. 549 00:34:23,760 --> 00:34:28,800 Hebrews 10 says it like this, when Christ had offered for all 550 00:34:28,800 --> 00:34:33,719 time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right 551 00:34:33,719 --> 00:34:38,920 hand of God. For by a single offering he is 552 00:34:38,920 --> 00:34:43,440 perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. 553 00:34:43,920 --> 00:34:47,080 And this is the wonderful thing about Hebrews 10 is it says goes 554 00:34:47,080 --> 00:34:52,080 on and it says, therefore, brothers, since we have 555 00:34:52,440 --> 00:34:56,040 confidence, how does where does our confidence come from? 556 00:34:56,480 --> 00:35:01,440 It's because we know that Jesus is able to fully pay the price 557 00:35:01,440 --> 00:35:04,600 for our sin because he is fully God. 558 00:35:06,160 --> 00:35:10,400 He knows the exact dollar figure it was going to take to cover 559 00:35:10,400 --> 00:35:14,240 our sin. Not only can he stand in the gap 560 00:35:14,240 --> 00:35:16,640 for all of humankind, but he knows the exact price. 561 00:35:16,760 --> 00:35:20,200 He knows the exact life it needed to take, and that life 562 00:35:20,200 --> 00:35:27,640 was his own God himself. Fully God was able to fully pay 563 00:35:27,640 --> 00:35:31,920 the price for our sin and for the sins of the entire world. 564 00:35:34,080 --> 00:35:38,160 We can have confidence in the completeness of His sacrifice. 565 00:35:38,160 --> 00:35:40,040 There isn't anything else we have to do. 566 00:35:40,600 --> 00:35:42,920 It's not like He could kind of make most of the way and it's 567 00:35:44,160 --> 00:35:46,240 kind of going now there's a little bit left for you to do. 568 00:35:46,240 --> 00:35:49,000 He goes, no, no, because I was fully God, I was able to fully 569 00:35:49,000 --> 00:35:52,920 pay the debt because I knew what it was going to take. 570 00:35:56,200 --> 00:35:58,160 There's only one who could live up to a holy, imperfect 571 00:35:58,160 --> 00:36:00,640 benchmark, and that was God himself. 572 00:36:02,120 --> 00:36:06,600 And so it matters when we say that God, that Jesus is fully 573 00:36:06,600 --> 00:36:09,040 man. It matters because he can 574 00:36:09,040 --> 00:36:12,440 sympathize and feel what we feel and he knows our human 575 00:36:12,440 --> 00:36:15,520 experience when we come to him. We say, I don't know how to get 576 00:36:15,520 --> 00:36:19,600 through this because I know because I've been there and I 577 00:36:19,600 --> 00:36:22,480 can help you. And we know and it's important 578 00:36:22,480 --> 00:36:24,960 that he's fully man because we've got an example of what it 579 00:36:24,960 --> 00:36:28,720 means to walk this life in reverence and obedience to God. 580 00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:33,600 And it's also important because we know that we have a 581 00:36:33,680 --> 00:36:38,240 substitute, an advocate who can represent us, who knows our 582 00:36:38,240 --> 00:36:41,920 experience, who stands in the gap for us as a man. 583 00:36:43,880 --> 00:36:47,040 And we know also that it is important that he is fully God, 584 00:36:48,800 --> 00:36:55,960 because we know that God then cares deeply for us, that we can 585 00:36:55,960 --> 00:36:58,440 have certainty of God's character when we approach him. 586 00:37:01,040 --> 00:37:05,760 And then we can be fully assured that every part of the debt that 587 00:37:05,760 --> 00:37:12,040 we owed, every benchmark that we needed to meet to stand before a 588 00:37:12,080 --> 00:37:20,600 holy God has been met in Jesus. That is why it is important that 589 00:37:20,600 --> 00:37:24,560 we understand that Jesus is both fully God and fully man. 590 00:37:25,640 --> 00:37:31,920 The the theologian John Stott in his book Basic Christianity love 591 00:37:31,920 --> 00:37:33,600 it when somebody calls something basic. 592 00:37:34,320 --> 00:37:36,800 This is what he says. The distinctively Christian 593 00:37:36,800 --> 00:37:43,040 claim about God is that He has spoken and acted fully and 594 00:37:43,040 --> 00:37:46,560 finally in Jesus Christ. There is no one else. 595 00:37:46,720 --> 00:37:48,080 Other religions will teach you that. 596 00:37:48,080 --> 00:37:50,120 There is other teachers that come after Jesus. 597 00:37:51,040 --> 00:37:54,560 Their claim about Christianity is that Jesus Christ was it. 598 00:37:55,800 --> 00:38:01,120 Christianity is Christ. Who Christ is and what He has 599 00:38:01,120 --> 00:38:06,360 done are the rock upon which the Christian religion is built. 600 00:38:07,680 --> 00:38:13,440 If He was not who he said he was, and if he did not do what 601 00:38:13,440 --> 00:38:18,440 he said he came to do, then the foundation is undermined and 602 00:38:18,440 --> 00:38:23,480 this whole thing will collapse. Take Christ from Christianity 603 00:38:24,040 --> 00:38:25,800 and you remove the very heart from it. 604 00:38:26,880 --> 00:38:32,560 Christ is the center. Everything else is peripheral. 605 00:38:33,600 --> 00:38:39,160 It is so important when we start with a right view of who Jesus 606 00:38:39,160 --> 00:38:41,120 is. He's our cornerstone. 607 00:38:42,520 --> 00:38:46,040 And when Peter stands up, another sermon in the early 608 00:38:46,040 --> 00:38:49,120 church have walked in, somebody's got miraculously 609 00:38:49,120 --> 00:38:50,920 saved. And he says this in Acts chapter 610 00:38:50,920 --> 00:38:57,440 4, again talking of Jesus, this Jesus, this one who claimed to 611 00:38:57,440 --> 00:39:03,280 be both fully man and fully God, this Jesus Christ of Nazareth is 612 00:39:03,280 --> 00:39:06,160 the stone that you rejected for whatever reason, you didn't 613 00:39:06,160 --> 00:39:08,360 believe he was actually God. You didn't believe he was 614 00:39:08,360 --> 00:39:13,840 actually man. This stone that you rejected has 615 00:39:13,840 --> 00:39:18,640 become the cornerstone, the one on which everything else is 616 00:39:18,640 --> 00:39:23,120 built from. And there is salvation in no one 617 00:39:23,120 --> 00:39:28,640 else. For there is no other name under 618 00:39:28,640 --> 00:39:33,320 heaven given among men by which we must be saved. 619 00:39:34,080 --> 00:39:39,520 There is no other name than the person of Jesus Christ. 620 00:39:39,960 --> 00:39:41,440 Would you stand with me this morning? 621 00:39:43,920 --> 00:39:45,600 Father? We thank you this morning for 622 00:39:45,600 --> 00:39:51,640 the person of Jesus Christ, the one who is able to substitute in 623 00:39:51,640 --> 00:39:55,960 our place, the one who knows exactly what we are going 624 00:39:55,960 --> 00:40:01,600 through in every area, our highs, our lows, and everything 625 00:40:01,600 --> 00:40:03,800 in between. We thank you for this one that 626 00:40:04,040 --> 00:40:07,520 is able to sympathize with us and stand in the gap. 627 00:40:10,200 --> 00:40:14,320 And Father, we thank you that this penalty that we owed, this 628 00:40:14,320 --> 00:40:19,640 price that we had to pay, is fully met in the man Jesus 629 00:40:19,640 --> 00:40:22,880 Christ. For there is no other name, 630 00:40:23,440 --> 00:40:27,920 There is no other name by which we must be saved. 631 00:40:29,960 --> 00:40:32,280 We thank you. And we just asked this morning 632 00:40:32,280 --> 00:40:37,840 that you would realign our view of Jesus, that this 633 00:40:37,840 --> 00:40:41,640 understanding of who Jesus is would become the absolute 634 00:40:41,640 --> 00:40:48,040 cornerstone of our lives and of this church, that everything 635 00:40:48,360 --> 00:40:52,240 would move out from here. Lord, realign our hearts by the 636 00:40:52,240 --> 00:40:57,120 power of Your Holy Spirit. Set this in place as a rock 637 00:40:57,120 --> 00:41:01,880 solid foundation that we can be certain that we know that we 638 00:41:01,880 --> 00:41:06,040 know that we know. There is no other name by which 639 00:41:06,040 --> 00:41:08,960 men must be saved. There is nothing we could do. 640 00:41:10,520 --> 00:41:13,800 There is no act we could do, we could perform. 641 00:41:14,120 --> 00:41:20,120 There is no price we could pay but for the man Jesus Christ, 642 00:41:20,520 --> 00:41:23,360 who is both fully God and fully man. 643 00:41:24,800 --> 00:41:29,360 We thank you for him, and in his mighty, powerful, wonderful 644 00:41:29,360 --> 00:41:34,520 name, together we say Amen. Amen. 645 00:41:35,360 --> 00:41:37,200 Thank you for joining us for today's message. 646 00:41:37,560 --> 00:41:40,080 For more information about The Way Church, please visit 647 00:41:40,080 --> 00:41:43,200 ourwebsite@thewaychurch.com dot AU. 648 00:41:43,560 --> 00:41:44,360 Have a blessed day.