1 00:00:02,280 --> 00:00:04,880 Take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, that 2 00:00:04,880 --> 00:00:09,080 we might be able to equip you to understand how you might be the 3 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:14,240 offensive one in your battle against those forces that are 4 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:17,240 unseen. It's important to understand 5 00:00:17,240 --> 00:00:19,920 what the Bible says about Jesus Christ. 6 00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:23,720 I mean he after all, he is the the author of the Scriptures. 7 00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:25,520 That he is a theme of the scriptures. 8 00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:27,640 He's the subject of the scriptures. 9 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:34,520 We must understand who He truly is and we are studying John's 10 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:38,000 gospel. And John's gospel is all about 11 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:43,880 declaring and describing the deity of Christ our Lord. 12 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:50,400 John has taken one verse, one phrase from one verse in the Old 13 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:54,320 Testament and expanded on that phrase. 14 00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:58,920 That verse is found in Isaiah chapter 35. 15 00:01:00,440 --> 00:01:08,800 Isaiah chapter 35, the prophet is giving hope to Israel, and he 16 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:14,120 tells them in verse #2 of chapter 35 that one day they 17 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:19,320 will see the glory of the Lord. They will see His Majesty on 18 00:01:19,320 --> 00:01:24,360 display. And then in verse #3 he says, 19 00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:27,800 when you do, you'll be encouraged. 20 00:01:29,960 --> 00:01:32,480 Those who are exhausted will be encouraged, and those who are 21 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:37,000 feeble will be strengthened. So when you see the glory of the 22 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:43,800 Lord, encouragement comes to those who are exhausted, to 23 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:48,080 those who need strength. It comes because you see the 24 00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:52,640 glory of the Lord. And then he says this in verse 25 00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:58,160 #4 say to those with anxious hearts, do you have an anxious 26 00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:02,800 heart this morning, a troublesome heart, one that's 27 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:10,039 always worried and uncertain. Say to those with anxious heart, 28 00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:20,320 take courage, fear not. Behold your God will come. 29 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:24,400 And that's the phrase that John has taken. 30 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:33,400 Behold your God in order to describe and declare to us the 31 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:38,040 deity of Jesus Christ. He says, behold, your God will 32 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:41,640 come with vengeance. The recompense of God will come, 33 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:51,360 but he will save you. Our God is a Savior. 34 00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:56,600 That's who He is. He is the only Savior. 35 00:02:57,760 --> 00:03:01,480 There is no other one. It's so it's imperative that you 36 00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:08,760 know who He is. And the first 5 verses of John's 37 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:22,440 gospel equip you to defend, to declare, and to describe the 38 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:29,360 deity of Jesus Christ our Lord unlike any other portion of 39 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:35,480 Scripture in the Bible. So we are taking our time in 40 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:40,680 going through the 1st 5 verses. In fact, we're taking one verse 41 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:44,400 a week. And I kind of calculated that 42 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:46,360 out. If we continue doing one verse a 43 00:03:46,360 --> 00:03:51,120 week through 21 chapters, which contains 879 verses, it will 44 00:03:51,120 --> 00:03:54,720 take us 17 years to get through John's gospel. 45 00:03:57,720 --> 00:04:02,800 That is if we preach on it every single day or every single week 46 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:06,360 of the year. 52 * a year without ever taking a break. 47 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:12,480 Well, you know as well as I know it's we're not going to take one 48 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:15,600 verse every single week, but the first five are very important. 49 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:18,959 If you were with us in our study of the book of Genesis, we spent 50 00:04:18,959 --> 00:04:25,680 four weeks on in the beginning, in the beginning, God, four 51 00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:29,760 weeks because it sets the tone for everything in the 52 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:33,280 Scriptures. You needed to understand that 53 00:04:33,280 --> 00:04:37,040 one phrase. Well, here we are breaking apart 54 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:40,680 first John, or excuse me, John 1 verses one to five that you 55 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:44,680 might come to grips with the the understanding of the true 56 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:47,920 identity of the Christ. Because you see, that's, that's 57 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:52,320 the ultimate question, right? Who, who is Jesus? 58 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:56,520 That's the only question that ever matters. 59 00:04:56,520 --> 00:05:02,480 That's why two weeks ago we took you to the first day of the 60 00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:07,520 Passion Week of Christ, that triumphal entry day on Monday, 61 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:13,400 where the Greeks came and asked a question, Sir, we wish to see 62 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:16,880 Jesus because that's what matters. 63 00:05:18,920 --> 00:05:23,000 And then on Wednesday of that week, that Passion Week, we took 64 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:27,080 you there last week, after Christ had been asked all kinds 65 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:29,840 of questions, he then turns the table on the religious 66 00:05:29,840 --> 00:05:32,360 establishment and asked them a question. 67 00:05:32,840 --> 00:05:40,000 Whose son is the Christ? Is he son of man? 68 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:43,440 Is he son of God? Is he son of David? 69 00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:50,000 He asked them that question. Well, this morning, by by way of 70 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:57,880 introduction, I want to take you to Friday of Passion Week in the 71 00:05:57,880 --> 00:06:03,880 wee hours of the morning, sometime between 12:00 AM and 72 00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:08,880 3:00 AM. It happens at that time because 73 00:06:08,880 --> 00:06:14,560 the cock would crow at 3:00 AM in the morning, and Peter's 74 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:19,000 going to have to deny the Lord three times before that happens. 75 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:26,600 So sometime in the wee early hours of what we commonly call 76 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:32,440 Good Friday, Christ has been taken captive. 77 00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:37,040 They came and took him from the Garden of Gethsemane and they 78 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:44,200 took him to go through 4 trials. The first one was it was with 79 00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:47,120 Annas. Annas was the father-in-law of 80 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:50,400 Caiaphas. They took him there first 81 00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:55,000 because Caiaphas had to gather all of the Sanhedrin around in 82 00:06:55,080 --> 00:07:00,360 his house. After he left Anna's Anna's 83 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:08,160 house, he went to the House of Caiaphas and he was there that 84 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:14,040 he might be put on trial. And of course was an illegal 85 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:17,240 trial because they were not to try anyone at night. 86 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:20,680 And the whole purpose of the Sanhedrin was not to take a 87 00:07:20,680 --> 00:07:26,840 life, but to save a life. But they weren't interested in 88 00:07:26,840 --> 00:07:32,840 saving the life of Jesus. They wanted to get rid of Jesus. 89 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:42,480 So in Matthew's gospel, the 26th chapter, we see in verse #58 90 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:47,480 that Peter follows from a distance. 91 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:51,160 That that's a sermon in and of itself. 92 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:55,320 Because you never to follow Jesus from a distance. 93 00:07:55,760 --> 00:07:59,760 You're to follow him up close and be as near to him as 94 00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:03,320 possible. But Peter follows from a 95 00:08:03,320 --> 00:08:07,040 distance and that is the beginning of his downfall in his 96 00:08:07,040 --> 00:08:12,320 denial of the Lord Jesus. He's, he's in the courtyard of 97 00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:14,600 the House of Caiaphas. And those of you who have been 98 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:17,560 to Israel with me, you, you understand the setting and you 99 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:20,560 understand where the house is. And in conjunction with the 100 00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:24,200 Kidron Valley and the, the, the Garden of Gethsemane and you 101 00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:26,240 understand the courthouse set up. 102 00:08:26,240 --> 00:08:30,560 And Peter was able to see the trial happening within the House 103 00:08:30,560 --> 00:08:36,159 of Caiaphas. And so they bring in some 104 00:08:36,159 --> 00:08:40,760 witnesses that they might bring a charge against the Christ. 105 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:44,000 But the witnesses are inconsistent. 106 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:50,080 The witnesses misunderstand all that that Jesus had done and all 107 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:53,800 that Jesus had said. But in in the midst of all of 108 00:08:53,800 --> 00:09:00,120 the false accusation, Jesus sits there majestically, completely 109 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:05,400 silent. He, he stands there in all of 110 00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:10,480 his integrity, all of his veracity, all of his dignity, 111 00:09:10,720 --> 00:09:17,000 all of his humility, and never says a word. 112 00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:20,720 Because you see, when you're innocent, you have nothing to 113 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:24,240 defend. And he was completely innocent 114 00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:32,560 of all charges. So Caiaphas will speak, and 115 00:09:32,560 --> 00:09:39,240 Caiaphas says in verse #62 The high priest stood up and it said 116 00:09:39,240 --> 00:09:44,040 to him, Do you not answer? What is it that these men are 117 00:09:44,160 --> 00:09:52,560 testifying against you? But Jesus kept silence, and all 118 00:09:52,560 --> 00:10:00,000 that did was goad Caiaphas. All that did was infuriate 119 00:10:01,880 --> 00:10:05,240 Caiaphas, you see, because when you don't defend yourself, 120 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:10,880 people are furious. They, they, they are looking for 121 00:10:10,880 --> 00:10:13,920 all kinds of ways to accuse you of wrongdoing. 122 00:10:13,920 --> 00:10:21,360 But Peter tells us that when he was reviled, he said nothing. 123 00:10:23,640 --> 00:10:25,240 He could say that because he was there. 124 00:10:25,240 --> 00:10:31,120 He watched it, He knew exactly how his Lord would respond, and 125 00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:38,560 that's how he did. But Jesus kept silent. 126 00:10:40,240 --> 00:10:47,360 By this time Caiaphas is so infuriated that these are the 127 00:10:47,360 --> 00:11:00,640 words he speaks in verse #63 He says, I adjure you, I charge you 128 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:09,000 underoath by the living God, that you tell us whether you are 129 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:16,440 the Christ, the Son of God. Now that statement right there 130 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:20,520 tells you something. It tells you that the Jewish 131 00:11:20,520 --> 00:11:28,760 nation believed that the Messiah would actually be the Son of 132 00:11:28,760 --> 00:11:37,440 God, that the Messiah would be equal in position to the God of 133 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:41,040 the universe. People always ask to Does a 134 00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:43,760 Jewish nation believe in the divinity of the Messiah? 135 00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:48,880 Caiaphas did. Are you the Christ? 136 00:11:50,680 --> 00:11:59,880 Are you the Son of God to which Jesus said to him you have said 137 00:11:59,880 --> 00:12:03,600 it? I like Mark's account. 138 00:12:04,600 --> 00:12:14,160 Mark says all Jesus said was I. Am those two Greek words a go a 139 00:12:14,160 --> 00:12:21,680 me that John uses 8 different times in his gospel to prove 140 00:12:21,680 --> 00:12:27,040 that Jesus Christ is the God who spoke to Moses from the burning 141 00:12:27,040 --> 00:12:32,520 Bush in Exodus chapter 3. Jesus says I am. 142 00:12:34,360 --> 00:12:41,360 Nevertheless, Jesus says, I tell you hereafter you will see 143 00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:48,560 Caiaphas, you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand 144 00:12:48,560 --> 00:12:55,400 of power and coming on the clouds of heaven. 145 00:12:56,920 --> 00:13:03,280 Jesus takes 2 messianic passages from the Old Testament, one from 146 00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:09,160 Psalm 10 verse #1 the one he used just two days earlier on 147 00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:11,920 Wednesday of that week with the religious establishment. 148 00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:15,120 A lot of them were there in the House of Caiaphas. 149 00:13:16,440 --> 00:13:21,560 So he uses Psalm 110 verse #1 and Daniel Chapter 7 verse #13 150 00:13:21,560 --> 00:13:24,120 both. Every Jew understood to be 151 00:13:24,120 --> 00:13:29,280 Messianic, that the Son of man would come in clouds of great 152 00:13:29,280 --> 00:13:34,080 glory, because Daniel and his vision saw saw one like a son of 153 00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:37,840 man. And yet it was God who was 154 00:13:37,840 --> 00:13:43,720 coming in great glory, and He will sit at the right hand of 155 00:13:43,720 --> 00:13:48,200 power, the right-handed judgement from Psalm 110, a 156 00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:53,880 position of equality with the true and living God. 157 00:13:55,520 --> 00:14:00,040 You asked me if I am the Christ. You asked me if I'm the Messiah. 158 00:14:01,280 --> 00:14:03,760 You asked me if I am the Son of God. 159 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:11,480 I got news for you, Caiaphas. One day you will see me judging 160 00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:20,400 you, not you judging me. Incredible statement. 161 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:27,560 To which verse 65 the high priest tore his robes and said 162 00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:32,080 he has blasphemed. What further need do we have a 163 00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:35,760 witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the 164 00:14:35,760 --> 00:14:41,120 blasphemy. What do you think the answer he 165 00:14:41,680 --> 00:14:47,560 deserves death. Then they spat in his face and 166 00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:51,400 beat him with their fists, and others slapped him and said 167 00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:57,280 prophecy to us, you Messiah, who is the one who hits you. 168 00:14:57,280 --> 00:15:09,120 Do you know that all those who reject Christ as Messiah, the 169 00:15:09,120 --> 00:15:15,120 Son of God, actually spit in the face of Jesus? 170 00:15:16,920 --> 00:15:23,280 They slap him, they mock him because they refuse to believe 171 00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:28,400 the obvious. You see, they were in a quandary 172 00:15:28,400 --> 00:15:31,200 because they had already attributed everything that Jesus 173 00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:35,800 did to Satan. They they had already attributed 174 00:15:35,800 --> 00:15:42,520 all of his miraculous work to Him being of Beelzebull. 175 00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:47,640 They were copying a rock and a hard place. 176 00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:54,920 And so here Jesus comes to them and tells them exactly who he is 177 00:15:56,200 --> 00:16:07,920 and exactly what he will do. So John says in his gospel, many 178 00:16:07,920 --> 00:16:10,960 other signs did Jesus do, but these are written that you might 179 00:16:10,960 --> 00:16:19,320 believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of 180 00:16:19,320 --> 00:16:23,000 God. This is why John writes his 181 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:26,920 gospel. Behold your God, stand in awe. 182 00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:33,560 This is your God. You must see him as he is 183 00:16:33,560 --> 00:16:42,680 accurately described, as he is accurately seen in the gospel. 184 00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:52,760 And so John shows to us and says, behold #1 his eternality. 185 00:16:53,240 --> 00:17:00,480 Behold #2 his personality, behold #3 his deity, behold #4 186 00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:05,720 his vitality, and behold #5 his invincibility. 187 00:17:07,599 --> 00:17:11,920 And that's the outline, the five point outline of the 1st 5 188 00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:16,880 verses of John's Gospel. John chapter 1. 189 00:17:18,599 --> 00:17:21,920 So as we go through this and open up to what the word of God 190 00:17:21,920 --> 00:17:27,680 says and I, I, I will do all I can with all of my power and 191 00:17:27,680 --> 00:17:32,400 with all the ways I can say it to describe to you and declare 192 00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:35,720 to you the deity of Jesus Christ our Lord. 193 00:17:35,920 --> 00:17:40,120 But in all of that, I will never ever be able to convince you. 194 00:17:41,840 --> 00:17:48,560 I cannot do that. Only only the God of heaven can 195 00:17:48,560 --> 00:17:51,840 do that. I can't. 196 00:17:53,400 --> 00:17:55,760 I'm good. I'm just not that good. 197 00:17:57,800 --> 00:18:01,720 You see, only God can do that. That's why when Peter describes 198 00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:07,280 Christ as the Messiah, the Son of the living God, Jesus said 199 00:18:08,520 --> 00:18:13,640 flesh and blood man did not reveal that to you, but my 200 00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:15,320 Father in heaven, he revealed it to you. 201 00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:21,200 See, Peter understood the identity of the Messiah because 202 00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:26,400 the Father revealed it to him. And the only way you're going to 203 00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:33,360 believe what John says is that the Father reveals it to you. 204 00:18:35,360 --> 00:18:39,960 Now the reason I preach it is because faith cometh by hearing 205 00:18:39,960 --> 00:18:41,720 and hearing by a word about the Christ. 206 00:18:42,280 --> 00:18:49,040 Romans 10/17 right and God works in conjunction with the word of 207 00:18:49,040 --> 00:18:52,000 God. How shall they hear without a 208 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:55,720 preacher, right? So Paul says in Romans chapter 209 00:18:55,880 --> 00:18:58,920 chapter 10. And how beautiful are the feet 210 00:18:58,920 --> 00:19:01,960 of those who who bring the good news. 211 00:19:02,640 --> 00:19:04,400 And so we have to preach the truth. 212 00:19:04,520 --> 00:19:07,880 We have to put it out there so people can hear it. 213 00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:17,080 But I cannot convince you that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of 214 00:19:17,080 --> 00:19:21,640 God. But these things were written so 215 00:19:21,640 --> 00:19:28,080 that you might believe, and God will use his word to impact your 216 00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:29,480 life. That's why Paul would say I am 217 00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:33,840 not ashamed of the gospel, for the gospel is the power of God 218 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:37,200 unto salvation. To the Jew 1st, and also to the 219 00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:40,520 Greek, the power of salvation is the gospel. 220 00:19:40,640 --> 00:19:44,760 It's, it's not my ingenuity, it's not my illustrations, it's 221 00:19:44,760 --> 00:19:48,480 not my alliteration, it's none of those kind kinds of things. 222 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:54,120 It is the word of the living God working in conjunction with God 223 00:19:54,120 --> 00:19:57,240 Himself to bring conviction to your soul. 224 00:19:59,920 --> 00:20:05,600 So my job is just simply to take you to the Scriptures, open the 225 00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:08,840 sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, and show you 226 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:14,800 how your senses can be sharpened and how they can be tuned to 227 00:20:14,800 --> 00:20:20,240 know the truth about Jesus Christ our Lord. 228 00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:29,160 So John says, behold your God. John, chapter one verse #1. 229 00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:35,640 In the beginning was continuously the word, the 230 00:20:35,680 --> 00:20:44,960 eternality of the sun and the word was continuously with God 231 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:50,560 or face to face with God. So the eternal word was face to 232 00:20:50,560 --> 00:20:55,120 face with the eternal God, helping you understand the try 233 00:20:55,120 --> 00:20:57,960 you nature of God. I mean the word Trinity. 234 00:20:57,960 --> 00:21:00,640 I know it's not in the Bible. We probably shouldn't even use 235 00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:03,280 that word. The best word to use is try 236 00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:06,200 unity. It's better than Trinity. 237 00:21:07,480 --> 00:21:11,480 Try unity. One God manifested himself in 238 00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:16,120 three distinct persons, and here John introduces us to two of 239 00:21:16,120 --> 00:21:20,520 them. Because the word, that which is 240 00:21:20,520 --> 00:21:25,680 eternal, was face to face with the eternal God. 241 00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:34,120 And then he says, and the Word was God. 242 00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:44,680 So you move from his eternality to his personality to his deity. 243 00:21:46,400 --> 00:21:50,600 Notice what it doesn't say. It doesn't say the Word was a 244 00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:52,880 God. Although the New World 245 00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:56,920 translation, the Jehovah's Witness translation, inserts the 246 00:21:56,920 --> 00:22:01,200 indefinite article there, there is no indefinite article in the 247 00:22:01,200 --> 00:22:05,280 original language. So it's just something says the 248 00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:09,640 word was God. Notice it doesn't say that the 249 00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:17,800 word was the God. Now that would be true, but 250 00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:22,160 that's not what John says, which is so important to understand 251 00:22:22,160 --> 00:22:27,160 the word was God. When the definite article is not 252 00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:33,360 used before the noun, it describes the essence, the 253 00:22:33,360 --> 00:22:36,960 substance, the quality and nature. 254 00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:43,200 In other words, the word in essence, the word by nature. 255 00:22:43,800 --> 00:22:52,080 The word in substance is God. In fact, the original language 256 00:22:52,080 --> 00:22:57,240 says God was the Word. So we read it. 257 00:22:57,240 --> 00:23:00,840 The word was God, but the original says God was the word. 258 00:23:02,880 --> 00:23:08,080 Explain to us the fact that this word verse 14 would become flesh 259 00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:12,640 and dwell among us. The in fleshman of the word, the 260 00:23:12,640 --> 00:23:17,920 incarnation of the word, Christ becoming man. 261 00:23:20,960 --> 00:23:27,680 The Word was God, very God of very God. 262 00:23:29,120 --> 00:23:36,280 Not a God, not the God, simply God. 263 00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:44,480 Jesus was not simply the revealer of God, but God himself 264 00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:49,680 revealed. Did you get that Jesus didn't 265 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:55,240 come just to reveal God, but he actually was God revealed in the 266 00:23:55,240 --> 00:24:03,720 flesh, the deity of Christ and full equality of Christ with the 267 00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:12,440 Father is the one non negotiable element of Christian faith. 268 00:24:14,360 --> 00:24:18,520 This is non negotiable. This is not up for debate. 269 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:27,120 This is absolute truth. The word was God. 270 00:24:28,720 --> 00:24:34,240 And John of course will go into great detail explaining to us to 271 00:24:34,360 --> 00:24:40,720 those IM statements to hearing the words of Thomas when he says 272 00:24:40,720 --> 00:24:48,040 in John chapter 20, my Lord and my God in Christ never said, oh, 273 00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:52,600 she got it wrong. No, because He was right. 274 00:24:54,080 --> 00:24:58,400 Absolutely right. In fact, just let me arm you 275 00:24:58,400 --> 00:25:01,560 with some verses that will help you understand, because when you 276 00:25:01,560 --> 00:25:05,200 talk about the deity of Christ, you must understand it in four 277 00:25:05,200 --> 00:25:10,080 ways, OK? The deity of Christ is revealed 278 00:25:10,080 --> 00:25:15,080 in His name, reaffirmed in His attributes, reinforced by His 279 00:25:15,080 --> 00:25:18,240 works, and ratified when He is worshipped. 280 00:25:19,400 --> 00:25:22,800 You must understand that it's a very simple way of understanding 281 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:26,800 how to explain the deity of Christ, that Christ is actually 282 00:25:26,800 --> 00:25:30,800 God in the flesh. Why is this important? 283 00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:35,760 Isaiah told you. For the feeble you will be 284 00:25:35,760 --> 00:25:39,040 encouraged. For the weak you will be 285 00:25:39,040 --> 00:25:41,560 strengthened. Why? 286 00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:45,280 Because you will see the majestic glory of the Lord. 287 00:25:45,360 --> 00:25:50,280 So behold your God for when you see Him for who He is, 288 00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:54,120 everything changes. Everything does. 289 00:25:55,600 --> 00:26:00,240 Because everything about your life is related to one person, 290 00:26:01,120 --> 00:26:05,040 the Lord Jesus Christ. Once you know Him, once you 291 00:26:05,040 --> 00:26:08,920 understand Him, once you come to believe in Him, everything else 292 00:26:08,920 --> 00:26:14,440 changes. Any other change outside of that 293 00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:19,960 knowledge, outside of that encounter, is a superficial kind 294 00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:24,240 of change and will not last. Maybe a week or two or three or 295 00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:30,040 4, but it will not last. True change happens when you are 296 00:26:30,040 --> 00:26:33,280 in Christ. For if any man be in Christ, he 297 00:26:33,280 --> 00:26:36,680 is a brand new creation. Old things are passed away. 298 00:26:36,840 --> 00:26:39,200 Behold, all things have become new. 299 00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:43,760 Everything is about the identity of Christ. 300 00:26:44,600 --> 00:26:51,360 That's why John is so so keen on these first 5 verses by way of 301 00:26:51,360 --> 00:26:56,040 introduction that you might understand the true nature of 302 00:26:56,040 --> 00:27:01,520 the Messiah. Notice the Bible says these 303 00:27:01,520 --> 00:27:05,960 words in Philippians 2, that Jesus existed in the form of God 304 00:27:08,360 --> 00:27:12,000 equal with God. Colossians 2. 305 00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:19,920 Verse #9 Paul says, for in him all the fullness of deity dwells 306 00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:26,240 in bodily form. In Romans 95 Paul refers to 307 00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:32,320 Christ as God blessed forever, and he was one. 308 00:27:32,320 --> 00:27:41,200 Verse #8 The Father says to the Son, your throne, O God, is 309 00:27:41,200 --> 00:27:45,920 forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter 310 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:56,680 of His Kingdom. Peter in second Peter chapter 1 311 00:27:58,520 --> 00:28:01,480 says this. And mark this down. 312 00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:07,240 Simon Peter, a bond servant and the apostle of Jesus Christ to 313 00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:12,800 those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours by the 314 00:28:12,800 --> 00:28:21,960 righteousness of the God and Savior Jesus Christ. 315 00:28:23,560 --> 00:28:30,720 That same phrase is used in Titus chapter 2 verse #13 and 316 00:28:30,720 --> 00:28:36,920 there is a rule in Greek grammar that's used over 250 times in 317 00:28:36,920 --> 00:28:40,280 the New Testament and it's always the same. 318 00:28:40,440 --> 00:28:46,200 It never varies and here is the rule when the definite article 319 00:28:46,200 --> 00:28:54,880 the precedes the first noun and not the second noun, and they 320 00:28:54,880 --> 00:28:59,640 are separated with the conjunction and the two are 321 00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:05,160 always equal without exception in the New Testament. 322 00:29:06,760 --> 00:29:14,680 So whoever God is the God, that God is the Savior, and that 323 00:29:14,680 --> 00:29:22,840 Savior is Jesus Christ. It's irrefutable in the New 324 00:29:22,840 --> 00:29:26,280 Testament. And so you can go through 325 00:29:26,280 --> 00:29:28,800 different passages of the Old Testament. 326 00:29:30,560 --> 00:29:33,240 I won't take you to all of them, I'll take you to one of them. 327 00:29:33,240 --> 00:29:39,040 But in First Corinthians 2 verses 78, Paul's First 328 00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:43,360 Corinthians 278, Paul says you crucified the Lord of glory. 329 00:29:44,920 --> 00:29:50,280 Well who's the Lord of glory? Psalm 24/7 and 10 tells us that 330 00:29:50,280 --> 00:29:54,720 the Lord of glory is the Lord of hosts who is the King of glory. 331 00:29:55,800 --> 00:29:58,040 And Psalm 24 is a messianic Psalm. 332 00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:01,720 So when Paul is speaking to those in Corinth, he is saying 333 00:30:01,720 --> 00:30:04,800 that the Jews crucified the Lord of glory. 334 00:30:06,960 --> 00:30:14,600 The Bible says in in Acts 3 verse 14 and 15 Peter says, but 335 00:30:14,600 --> 00:30:19,720 you denied the Holy One and the just and asked for a murderer to 336 00:30:19,720 --> 00:30:24,640 be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life whom God 337 00:30:24,640 --> 00:30:28,640 raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. 338 00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:32,640 So Peter calls Jesus the Holy One. 339 00:30:33,960 --> 00:30:39,760 Isaiah chapter 48 verse #17 says thus says the Lord your 340 00:30:39,760 --> 00:30:43,080 Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. 341 00:30:43,560 --> 00:30:49,320 I am the Lord your God. So you see the deity of Christ 342 00:30:49,520 --> 00:30:55,280 is revealed in His name in Zechariah chapter. 343 00:30:55,280 --> 00:31:00,760 I'm sorry, Jeremiah 23 verse #6 Jeremiah prophesied that the 344 00:31:00,760 --> 00:31:07,360 Messiah would be called the Lord Yahweh of righteousness. 345 00:31:08,360 --> 00:31:15,320 So whoever the Messiah is, he is the Lord of righteousness. 346 00:31:16,800 --> 00:31:20,880 But, but there's one verse in the Old Testament that I love to 347 00:31:20,880 --> 00:31:23,400 hang my hat on because it's so powerful. 348 00:31:24,560 --> 00:31:36,280 It's found in Isaiah chapter 44. Isaiah 44 verse #6 And if you're 349 00:31:36,280 --> 00:31:40,560 talking to a Jew, if you're talking to a a Jehovah's 350 00:31:40,560 --> 00:31:44,880 Witness, if you're talking to a Mormon, if you're talking to a 351 00:31:44,880 --> 00:31:49,400 Muslim, if you're talking to a Hindu, I don't care who you're 352 00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:56,320 talking to, take him to Isaiah 44 verse #6 because the Bible 353 00:31:56,320 --> 00:32:01,280 says thus says the Lord. Remember when Lord is all in 354 00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:06,880 caps it's it's yave over 6000 times. 355 00:32:06,880 --> 00:32:10,400 It's used in the Old Testament. It speaks of the Lord who spoke 356 00:32:10,400 --> 00:32:13,880 to Moses from the burning Bush. It's the name of God that the 357 00:32:13,880 --> 00:32:19,520 Jews refuse to pronounce. So he says. 358 00:32:19,520 --> 00:32:26,000 Thus says the Lord Yahweh, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, 359 00:32:26,280 --> 00:32:32,360 the Lord of hosts. If you're talking to a Mormon, 360 00:32:32,360 --> 00:32:36,480 they will tell you that the first Lord is Yava and the 361 00:32:36,480 --> 00:32:40,800 second Lord is Adonai because it refers to an earthly Lord. 362 00:32:40,800 --> 00:32:47,760 And it is true that Adonai can refer to an earthly Lord, but it 363 00:32:47,760 --> 00:32:50,080 doesn't mean it only refers to earthly Lord. 364 00:32:51,720 --> 00:33:00,160 But the problem is the second Lord is not Adonai, it's Yava. 365 00:33:02,120 --> 00:33:06,440 So you have two Yava's, you have two Lords. 366 00:33:07,800 --> 00:33:11,640 How can you have two Lords? How can you have a Lord who is 367 00:33:11,640 --> 00:33:21,360 the king, A king of of glory or the king of Israel, and another 368 00:33:21,360 --> 00:33:27,840 Lord who is Yabe Savio? Well, the Jews got around that 369 00:33:29,440 --> 00:33:31,320 after the death of Christ, of course. 370 00:33:33,040 --> 00:33:36,640 So in the Jewish Old Testament they translate it this way. 371 00:33:38,120 --> 00:33:45,880 Thus says the Lord Yahweh, the King of Israel, and their 372 00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:52,520 Redeemer, the Lord of hosts. But you see, grammatically you 373 00:33:52,520 --> 00:33:57,440 cannot do that. They should know that because 374 00:33:57,440 --> 00:34:02,680 you can't take a third person singular pronoun, and it's 375 00:34:02,680 --> 00:34:12,080 translated there. It's his, it's irrevocable, it's 376 00:34:12,080 --> 00:34:16,120 irreplaceable. It's very clear. 377 00:34:17,480 --> 00:34:23,560 The Lord is the King of Israel and He has the Redeemer, and 378 00:34:23,560 --> 00:34:29,120 that Redeemer is Yahweh Sabiath, the Lord of hosts. 379 00:34:29,719 --> 00:34:36,360 That's who He is. If you turn over to Isaiah 47, 380 00:34:37,040 --> 00:34:41,719 it says this in verse #4 our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts. 381 00:34:42,800 --> 00:34:45,600 That's true. The Lord of armies, Yabe 382 00:34:45,600 --> 00:34:51,400 Sabeoth, is the Redeemer. Our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts, 383 00:34:51,400 --> 00:34:55,760 is His name, the Holy One of Israel. 384 00:34:57,080 --> 00:35:02,840 So whoever the Redeemer is, he's the Lord of hosts, and the Lord 385 00:35:02,840 --> 00:35:04,560 of hosts is the Holy One of Israel. 386 00:35:05,720 --> 00:35:09,560 And we read to you earlier in the book of Isaiah that the Holy 387 00:35:09,560 --> 00:35:11,280 One of Israel is the Lord God of Israel. 388 00:35:12,640 --> 00:35:21,440 And then over in Isaiah 54 verse #5 it says these words for your 389 00:35:21,440 --> 00:35:23,920 husband, Isaiah, speaking to Israel. 390 00:35:24,280 --> 00:35:32,400 Your husband is your maker, your fashioner, whose name is Yabe 391 00:35:32,400 --> 00:35:37,240 Sabaya, the Lord of hosts, and your Redeemer is the Holy One of 392 00:35:37,240 --> 00:35:42,800 Israel, who is called the God of all the earth. 393 00:35:44,320 --> 00:35:48,480 So the Redeemer is the Lord of hosts. 394 00:35:48,960 --> 00:35:52,400 The Lord of hosts is the Holy One of Israel. 395 00:35:53,640 --> 00:35:55,600 The Holy One of Israel is your God. 396 00:35:57,400 --> 00:36:02,400 Again exemplifying and explaining the deity of Christ, 397 00:36:03,400 --> 00:36:09,920 that the Redeemer, the Savior, the Lord Jesus, the Messiah. 398 00:36:10,480 --> 00:36:16,080 God's Messiah is the Lord of armies. 399 00:36:17,120 --> 00:36:27,400 He is your Savior. There are so many verses, but 400 00:36:27,400 --> 00:36:31,040 when you want to explain the deity of Christ, you must 401 00:36:31,040 --> 00:36:35,200 explain the fact that His deity is revealed in His name. 402 00:36:35,800 --> 00:36:37,520 His name is His character, His nature. 403 00:36:39,040 --> 00:36:41,080 It's reaffirmed in His attributes. 404 00:36:41,080 --> 00:36:42,920 As. God is on the present, Jesus is 405 00:36:42,920 --> 00:36:46,840 on the present. As God was omnipotent, Jesus is 406 00:36:46,840 --> 00:36:50,840 omnipotent. As God is omniscient, so Jesus 407 00:36:50,840 --> 00:36:58,440 is omniscient. As the God of Israel is called 408 00:36:58,520 --> 00:37:05,120 Yabe Sabeoth, so his his his Redeemer called Yabe Sabeoth, 409 00:37:05,840 --> 00:37:10,600 the Lord of hosts. So the deity of Christ is not 410 00:37:10,600 --> 00:37:14,120 just revealed in his name, it's reaffirmed in his attributes. 411 00:37:15,360 --> 00:37:17,160 It's ratified when he is worshipped. 412 00:37:17,160 --> 00:37:19,120 And he made it very clear Jesus did that. 413 00:37:19,120 --> 00:37:23,920 No one should worship God, but no one should worship him but 414 00:37:24,040 --> 00:37:28,960 but God alone I should be. In Matthew chapter 4 he talks 415 00:37:28,960 --> 00:37:31,360 about the fact that you should only worship God alone. 416 00:37:31,360 --> 00:37:37,120 And yet Jesus received worship indicating that he is God in the 417 00:37:37,120 --> 00:37:39,920 flesh. But but #4 the deity of Christ 418 00:37:39,920 --> 00:37:44,840 is is reinforced by his his works. 419 00:37:46,120 --> 00:37:47,960 And that leads us to the next point. 420 00:37:49,480 --> 00:37:56,720 Not only is He seen in His eternality, and not only is He 421 00:37:56,880 --> 00:38:06,000 seen in His personality, His deity, but His activity or His 422 00:38:06,000 --> 00:38:12,560 creativity. What's the next verse say All 423 00:38:12,560 --> 00:38:20,560 things came into being through Him, the Father. 424 00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:25,400 Listen carefully. Was the architect of creation. 425 00:38:27,880 --> 00:38:39,200 Jesus was the agent of creation. You must understand that verse 426 00:38:39,200 --> 00:38:48,840 10 of John One says he was in the world and the world was made 427 00:38:48,840 --> 00:38:52,640 through him and the world did not know him. 428 00:38:54,760 --> 00:38:57,120 So Jesus is the agent of creation. 429 00:38:59,080 --> 00:39:04,800 If he brings all things into existence, that means he existed 430 00:39:04,800 --> 00:39:10,480 before all things came into existence, declaring his 431 00:39:10,520 --> 00:39:16,160 eternality that he existed before all things. 432 00:39:16,440 --> 00:39:20,240 That's why Colossus 115 It says he is the image of the invisible 433 00:39:20,240 --> 00:39:23,600 God, the first born or the preeminent one of all creation. 434 00:39:24,160 --> 00:39:29,480 For by him all things were created both in the heavens and 435 00:39:29,480 --> 00:39:32,640 on earth, visible and invisible, whether Thrones or dominions or 436 00:39:32,640 --> 00:39:36,080 rulers or authorities, all things have been created through 437 00:39:36,080 --> 00:39:40,160 him and for Him. So in order to create all 438 00:39:40,160 --> 00:39:46,440 things, to bring all things into existence, you had to exist 439 00:39:46,600 --> 00:39:48,720 before all those things came into existence. 440 00:39:49,440 --> 00:39:58,040 Speaking of His eternality and He created all things, the Bible 441 00:39:58,440 --> 00:40:03,400 also says in First Corinthians chapter 8 verse #6. 442 00:40:05,240 --> 00:40:10,080 There is but one God the Father, from whom are all things, and we 443 00:40:10,080 --> 00:40:16,280 exist for Him, and 1 Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, 444 00:40:16,280 --> 00:40:19,440 and we exist through Him. Same thing. 445 00:40:21,920 --> 00:40:27,280 The Father was the architect behind creation, and Jesus was 446 00:40:27,280 --> 00:40:30,040 the agent by which creation came into existence. 447 00:40:32,520 --> 00:40:38,360 All things came into being through Him. 448 00:40:39,520 --> 00:40:43,840 This speaks of His activity, his creativity. 449 00:40:44,720 --> 00:40:47,720 In other words, He is the Creator. 450 00:40:49,000 --> 00:40:53,680 Now, why is that important? Because that is the first 451 00:40:53,680 --> 00:40:57,600 doctrine of the Bible. In the beginning. 452 00:40:58,640 --> 00:41:04,120 God, what's the next word? Created. 453 00:41:06,440 --> 00:41:10,920 That's how God introduces himself to the world in the 454 00:41:10,920 --> 00:41:16,080 beginning. God not loved in the beginning, 455 00:41:16,080 --> 00:41:22,040 God not mercy, although he's all that in the beginning. 456 00:41:22,440 --> 00:41:30,000 God and His grace. Although he is graceful, the 457 00:41:30,000 --> 00:41:35,200 very first way that God introduces Himself is as 458 00:41:35,200 --> 00:41:41,000 Creator, designer, the fashioner of everything. 459 00:41:44,800 --> 00:41:53,800 So the Bible says in Psalm 19 verse #1 The heavens are telling 460 00:41:55,240 --> 00:42:01,560 of the glory of God. The heavens, when the sun rises, 461 00:42:02,840 --> 00:42:10,760 when the sun shines, when the sun sets, it is declaring to you 462 00:42:10,800 --> 00:42:15,920 the glory of God. It is showing you the presence 463 00:42:15,920 --> 00:42:19,520 of God. If there is a design, there is a 464 00:42:19,520 --> 00:42:21,800 designer. If there's a creation, there is 465 00:42:21,880 --> 00:42:32,000 a Creator, and their expanses, declaring the work of His hands. 466 00:42:34,320 --> 00:42:44,640 day-to-day pours forth speech. day-to-day, from sunrise to 467 00:42:44,640 --> 00:42:50,800 sunset, day after day after day, the heavens continue to pour 468 00:42:51,000 --> 00:42:59,960 forth speech. They continue to speak and night 469 00:42:59,960 --> 00:43:14,120 to night reveals knowledge. This is why the world hates God. 470 00:43:16,560 --> 00:43:24,920 This is why the world is so against God, because the Bible 471 00:43:24,920 --> 00:43:31,600 says very clearly that which is known about God is evident 472 00:43:31,600 --> 00:43:37,400 within them, Romans 119 because God made it evident to them. 473 00:43:39,040 --> 00:43:43,600 In other words, the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against 474 00:43:43,600 --> 00:43:48,240 all unrighteousness, because men suppress the truth. 475 00:43:49,040 --> 00:43:54,080 What's the truth? There is a Creator and you see 476 00:43:54,080 --> 00:43:57,920 what you see because the Lord who's the Creator allowed you to 477 00:43:57,920 --> 00:44:01,920 see his creation. And day-to-day there is a speech 478 00:44:01,920 --> 00:44:06,880 that is taking place in the ears of everybody whoever existed 479 00:44:08,120 --> 00:44:14,120 that screams. There is a God screams it. 480 00:44:16,280 --> 00:44:19,480 For since the creation of the world, verse 20 of Romans one, 481 00:44:19,640 --> 00:44:22,360 his invisible attributes, his eternal power and divine nature 482 00:44:22,480 --> 00:44:28,680 have been clearly seen. Not vaguely seen, not partially 483 00:44:28,680 --> 00:44:33,920 seen, clearly seen being understood. 484 00:44:33,920 --> 00:44:37,080 That or excuse me, being understood through what has been 485 00:44:37,080 --> 00:44:39,200 made so that they are without excuse. 486 00:44:39,400 --> 00:44:43,680 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or 487 00:44:43,680 --> 00:44:46,160 give thanks. But they became feudal in their 488 00:44:46,160 --> 00:44:48,480 speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 489 00:44:49,800 --> 00:44:55,440 Professing to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the 490 00:44:55,440 --> 00:44:58,600 glory of the incorruptible God for an image of the in the form 491 00:44:58,600 --> 00:45:02,320 of corruptible man and the birds, and the four footed 492 00:45:02,320 --> 00:45:04,440 animals and the crawling creatures. 493 00:45:06,560 --> 00:45:15,720 The world hates the Creator, but This is why God introduced 494 00:45:15,720 --> 00:45:19,160 himself this way. Why is there an evolution 495 00:45:21,000 --> 00:45:24,200 creation debate? It's really not a debate, it's a 496 00:45:24,200 --> 00:45:26,800 closed deal. But they debated anyway, right? 497 00:45:28,800 --> 00:45:31,280 Because they refused to believe in a creator. 498 00:45:34,000 --> 00:45:36,840 Why do you think abortion is as bad as it is? 499 00:45:39,120 --> 00:45:44,080 Because those people who kill their babies deny the Creator. 500 00:45:45,120 --> 00:45:49,840 That's why. See that which is born in you, 501 00:45:51,400 --> 00:45:55,200 That's what conception is. We think the birth of the baby 502 00:45:55,200 --> 00:45:58,440 is when the baby comes out. Oh no, that's wrong. 503 00:45:59,600 --> 00:46:03,040 For the Bible says in Matthew chapter one that which is born 504 00:46:03,040 --> 00:46:12,680 in you is the Son of God. At conception was the birth of 505 00:46:12,680 --> 00:46:19,840 the child or this the child that was that was born at conception. 506 00:46:21,160 --> 00:46:25,120 That's why the Bible says that which is born in you when you 507 00:46:25,120 --> 00:46:28,680 conceive, that is the birth. You just happen to see the 508 00:46:28,680 --> 00:46:31,160 results of the birth nine months later. 509 00:46:32,360 --> 00:46:35,320 But the birth happens at conception. 510 00:46:37,440 --> 00:46:43,560 But you see, they refuse to acknowledge God as God and so 511 00:46:43,560 --> 00:46:49,840 they feel like they can kill their unborn babies because they 512 00:46:49,840 --> 00:46:53,880 don't recognize that they are truly born babies and that God 513 00:46:53,880 --> 00:46:58,720 had fashioned them in the womb. Psalm 139 and all their days 514 00:46:58,720 --> 00:47:00,840 were ordained before there was even yet one of them. 515 00:47:01,680 --> 00:47:04,280 Because God is the Creator, the Maker, the fashioner of 516 00:47:04,280 --> 00:47:06,840 everything. He is fashioning that child in 517 00:47:06,840 --> 00:47:11,000 the womb and that abortion is the way it is because of Romans 518 00:47:11,000 --> 00:47:13,320 chapter one. They suppress the truth. 519 00:47:13,440 --> 00:47:16,320 They know there's a Creator and they know. 520 00:47:16,320 --> 00:47:20,040 Don't you think for one one minute that a woman who aborts 521 00:47:20,040 --> 00:47:25,520 her child does not know that God created that child in her womb? 522 00:47:26,840 --> 00:47:32,400 Because Romans one says that she suppresses the truth, she knows 523 00:47:32,400 --> 00:47:37,040 the truth and she will not subject herself to that truth. 524 00:47:39,280 --> 00:47:41,600 Why do you think there's a transgender issue? 525 00:47:43,960 --> 00:47:47,400 Male and female created he then have you not read that? 526 00:47:47,880 --> 00:47:52,560 So Jesus says, have you not read male and female created he? 527 00:47:52,560 --> 00:47:57,280 Then there's no debate about transgenderism. 528 00:47:58,360 --> 00:48:04,480 But because all those people who claim that know the truth, they 529 00:48:04,480 --> 00:48:10,000 suppress the truth. They deny the truth because they 530 00:48:10,000 --> 00:48:15,560 do not want to be held accountable to the creator of 531 00:48:15,560 --> 00:48:21,680 the world. But don't ever think that all 532 00:48:21,680 --> 00:48:26,480 those unbelieving pagans out there who do not want to submit 533 00:48:26,480 --> 00:48:29,000 to Christ do not know what they are doing. 534 00:48:29,000 --> 00:48:34,480 They know exactly what they are doing because Romans one tells 535 00:48:34,480 --> 00:48:43,680 us, Psalm 19 tells us. And that's why John says because 536 00:48:43,680 --> 00:48:46,280 of him, all things came into existence. 537 00:48:46,920 --> 00:48:50,160 He's the creator. This is his creativity, this is 538 00:48:50,160 --> 00:48:52,920 his activity. This is who the Son of God is. 539 00:48:53,040 --> 00:49:00,360 Behold your God. He says in the beginning God 540 00:49:01,360 --> 00:49:06,960 created the heavens and the earth. 541 00:49:09,720 --> 00:49:11,680 Why? Why is this important? 542 00:49:14,360 --> 00:49:19,960 Because once you understand God as the Creator and Maker and 543 00:49:19,960 --> 00:49:26,280 fashioner of your life, you will submit to Him as Lord and King 544 00:49:27,760 --> 00:49:34,280 and follow Him. The Bible is so clear on all 545 00:49:34,280 --> 00:49:42,560 these issues and John says, behold your God, understand his 546 00:49:43,680 --> 00:49:50,480 eternality, understand he's a person, his personality. 547 00:49:53,000 --> 00:49:59,920 Understand that that that he his deity, his God in the flesh, 548 00:50:02,080 --> 00:50:06,760 understand his creativity, his activity, that he is the creator 549 00:50:06,760 --> 00:50:14,960 of all things. And then he says these words in 550 00:50:14,960 --> 00:50:19,520 John 1, which are so very, very important. 551 00:50:21,480 --> 00:50:30,280 In him was the life and the life was the light of men. 552 00:50:31,600 --> 00:50:37,480 And by the way, which he will ultimately say that this light 553 00:50:38,840 --> 00:50:46,880 enlightens every man who comes into the world, every unbeliever 554 00:50:46,880 --> 00:50:55,840 has been enlightened by this light who is life. 555 00:50:57,480 --> 00:50:58,760 And we'll pick that up next week. 556 00:50:58,800 --> 00:51:01,800 Let's pray. Father, we thank you, Lord, for 557 00:51:01,800 --> 00:51:05,800 today. It is so important that we 558 00:51:05,800 --> 00:51:13,320 understand who you are. You've allowed us to spend time 559 00:51:13,320 --> 00:51:19,840 in the Word of God, stretching our minds, taking us through 560 00:51:19,840 --> 00:51:24,480 various scriptures to understand the true identity of the 561 00:51:24,480 --> 00:51:30,160 Messiah. We, we are a blessed people. 562 00:51:32,240 --> 00:51:35,080 My my prayer, Father, is that you would open the hearts and 563 00:51:35,080 --> 00:51:40,640 minds of all who are here, and they would, they would see you 564 00:51:40,640 --> 00:51:45,040 for who you are, and they would follow you and serve you and 565 00:51:45,040 --> 00:51:50,600 understand you. They would embrace the Messiah, 566 00:51:51,280 --> 00:51:58,280 the Christ, the Son of God. So, Lord, we thank you for our 567 00:51:58,280 --> 00:52:01,360 time. There's one here who does not 568 00:52:01,360 --> 00:52:03,160 know you. May today be the day of their 569 00:52:03,160 --> 00:52:06,600 salvation. They may walk with Christ, the 570 00:52:06,600 --> 00:52:11,400 true life, the true light, the true Lord, the true Lion, the 571 00:52:11,400 --> 00:52:15,320 true Lamb, the true Liberator of life. 572 00:52:18,800 --> 00:52:20,960 Until you come again. Lord, we thank you in Jesus 573 00:52:20,960 --> 00:52:22,440 name, Amen.