Who is Jesus?
So now we're almost halfway through December and quickly rushing toward Christmas. I wanted to jump right in this morning with a familiar passage about the birth of Jesus from Luke 2:1-7 (NIV)...
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (2) (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) (3) And everyone went to his own town to register. (4) So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.
(5) He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. (6) While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, (7) and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Now in the account of Jesus and His birth – we're told that Mary was a virgin and that Jesus was conceived through God's Holy Spirit. Jesus' Father was God, making Jesus The Son of God – but what does that mean exactly? How did He 'come into existence' and then start His life in the manger? As we continue ramping up to Christmas to celebrate Jesus' birth, I want to look at the question - the title, "Who is Jesus?"
You may have noticed that the outline this morning is a little 'fuller' than normal. Don't panic - the message is not extra long, but starting with such a complicated question requires a bit more Biblical detail than usual... Which is why I went back and reread one of my Dad's old messages to prepare this one.
Those of us who have been in the Church for some time should be able to give a halfway decent answer to that question. But I'm still surprised when I read scriptures over again and I get some insight that I somehow missed before. So, I want us to look at The Apostle Paul's words regarding Jesus in Colossians 1:15-20 (NIV)...
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. (16) For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. (17) He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (18) And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
(19) For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, (20) and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
We're going to come back to this passage later. But first, I want to look at that phrase, 'image of the invisible God'. - We can't physically see God - we're limited in our physical ability to do that. Paul understood that invisible quality of God, but also explained, in Romans 1:20 (NIV)...
For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
We believe in a lot of things that we can't see with our eyes – electricity, cell phone signals, the wind. We can't see them but we know they're there because we can see their effects - the light and power of electricity, the fact that our cell phones work and the sometimes devastating power of the wind.
The Bible tells us that both heaven and earth show God's handiwork. For those who are honestly seeking God, there's more evidence of God's presence, His power and His purpose than anyone can possibly fathom or take in. But despite all of the evidence, God still wanted to give His creation something more, this image of the invisible God. So God, through Jesus, made a way for His creation to be able to see Him face to face. Prophecy made hundreds of years before Jesus was born in the manger came true as referenced in Matthew 1:23 (NIV)...
"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" - which means, "God with us."
The best way for an invisible God to show us who He is, was to become a man. That phrase, 'image of the invisible God' – when we think of an image, we may think of a picture or a statue – something that looks like the original. Jesus wasn't just a picture of God. According to the Bible...
I. God and Jesus are One
In his Gospel, the Apostle John made this statement…
John 1:17-18 (NIV)
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (18) No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.
Here this verse is translated from the original Greek and rearranged a bit. - Have you ever read English instructions from a product that was made in China and it doesn't sound quite right? The words may be technically accurate, but the meaning isn't very clear? That's kind of what we have here. In order to make some sense to us the wording and phrasing was changed a bit, but I want us to look at the 'awkward to us' literal word for word translation from the Greek. This verse literally reads…
John 1:18
God no man has seen never; only begotten, God the being in the bosom of the Father, that one declared.
As I said, it doesn't read very smoothly, but the original text claims that the Father and the Son are God. That's an incredible statement about the identity of Jesus; about the eternal nature of Jesus! The only distinction made here between God and Jesus is that One is the Father and the Other is the "only begotten" – meaning…
A. God's only Son
Let's pull up that wording from the Greek again…
John 1:18
God no man has seen never; only begotten, God the being in the bosom of the Father, that one declared.
That which the Son declares is the Father's presence, and He does that simply by existing. Usually, when we see an image shaped out of clay, it's formed by external forces - the hands of an artist. But here - this image is formed from within and goes from the invisible to the visible.
And God revealed Himself in the person of Jesus for a purpose…
John 3:16-17 (NIV)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (17) For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Now how can Jesus be both God and God's Son? Short answer – because God can do the impossible! And not only is Jesus God's Son, He is also…
B. God's Word
Now generally when we talk about God's Word, we're referring to the Bible, God's written Word. However, and we've looked at this before…
John 1:1-3 (NIV)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (2) He was with God in the beginning. (3) Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
And then skip ahead to John 1:14 (NIV)...
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John is speaking of Jesus as God's Word in the flesh! He's speaking of One who is eternal and equal with God because 'the One' is God. God supernaturally took His Word, that which He desired to communicate to mankind, and wrapped it in flesh. God made Himself visible by being born in the person of Jesus!
Jesus - God's 'Word in the flesh' - brought mankind the message of God's love and His plan to save the world; His plan to make it possible for people like you and me to return to God our Creator blameless, without the stain of sin. Jesus came to earth as God in the flesh in order to die so that we might live forever in God's presence.
But His birth was not the beginning of Jesus... To think of Jesus only from the point of His birth misses the whole point of the first chapter of John. The Scriptures are clear - Jesus, the only begotten Son, is One with God and is eternal! He has always been and He will always be. He came to earth as the exact expression of God's love and grace. But there's something about Jesus that we may never really think about or, for many, perhaps even know…
II. Jesus is the Creator
Let's jump back to our earlier passage from Colossians and read that again…
Colossians 1:16-17 (NIV)
For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. (17) He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Since Jesus and God are One and as that One is eternal, Jesus was present and active at the time of creation! As God, Jesus is not merely a "part" of creation, but He brought all things into existence. Jesus is not a created being; He is the power by which everything was created! And this is consistent with what we read earlier from the book of John.
If you take Jesus out of the story, nothing exists. - And as we look further at Jesus as the creative force behind everything, we also see expressed that Jesus is…
A. In control
I'm not saying that Jesus somehow seized any power or authority from God – He is God. He has complete power and authority over all of creation. Things exist only because He called them into existence, but did you also catch that phrase, "in Him all things hold together"? Peter wrote this in 2 Peter 3:10 (NIV)...
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
When Jesus comes back to claim His bride, the church, He will 'let go' and everything will fly apart. When Jesus ceases to "hold all things together" - all physical creation will 'be laid bare'. Peter says that the heavens and even the elements will be destroyed! If it wasn't for the fact that that's the plan and that Jesus is in control - that would be pretty terrifying!
Nine times in the first chapter of Genesis it says that "God said" and things appeared – God literally "spoke" things into existence. That's exactly why John says that Jesus is "The Word" and that He created all things. Jesus is in charge of all creation! - Back again to our passage from Colossians 1:18 (NIV)...
And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
Jesus is the head of the Church. The Church belongs to Jesus - it is His body. It doesn't belong to you or to me or any other person. In everything, Jesus has supremacy! And then we also see, Jesus is…
B. God's 'fullness'
We find this concept in the last verses of our passage from Colossians, in Colossians 1:19-20 (NIV)...
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, (20) and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
We need to understand that Jesus is the exact, perfect representation of God and God's will – hence the phrase, "God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him". The word "fullness" means "fulfillment" indicating that Jesus is the full presentation of God's presence. There is nothing in Jesus that you won't see in God and nothing in God that you won't see in Jesus. Jesus told His disciples, "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father."
And as God's 'fullness' the Church belongs to Jesus, it is He who established the purpose and mission of the church, and He left the Church with one final charge...
Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (19) Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
The Church was established by God and intended for His purpose. When Jesus ascended and left this Great Commission - He didn't command us to simply fill a seat, sing our favorite songs, or only to talk about Him inside this building... This Church belongs to Jesus and He has called us to go out into the world with His message!
So What?
I'm sure you've heard people say something like 'all religions are basically the same'... Jesus is not like any other 'teacher' or 'prophet' - He is The Son of God and God in the Flesh! Jesus is far above all other leaders or manmade religions.
During this Christmas season many find it easy to worship a baby in a manger rather than following the Risen Lord. Jesus is both - because He is the Son of God and God in the flesh. And after His death on a cross, 'God in the flesh' didn't stay dead. And when we accept and follow Jesus – we won't stay dead either.
The best way to celebrate Christmas is this - invite someone to find Jesus this season! It will make an eternal difference in their life! You're here because someone cared enough to tell you about Jesus...