Christology

He Will Be With Us

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God is with you no matter where you are. That is the promise we need at this time of year and every other day in between.

He Will Save His People

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Jesus’ resolve to save His people started by becoming one of them. While we deserved condemnation for our sins, Jesus desired to invade human history at a pivotal time to save those who could not save themselves. 

A Child Will Be Born

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Jesus is our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, and Prince of Peace. Through these names, we realize that He provides us with wisdom, power, care, and stability.

God Is With Us

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For many, Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. In the busyness of all the celebrations, we are in danger of missing the most crucial part—Jesus. 

The Fulfillment We Need

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The coming of Christ was the fulfillment of the Old Testament expectations and the requirement for our own righteousness. Jesus came from heaven so we could go to heaven.

The Commission of the Christ

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As we finish up our Christology, we must take a good look at the commission of the Christ.

Matthew 28:16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them int the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

After Jesus rose from the dead, he appeared to hundreds of followers during a span of 40 days.  At the end of this time, the disciples saw him ascending into heaven.  His final words were words of sending the disciples out.  Matthew’s account is what is usually quoted.  Let’s look at some of the key things to note:

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The Crucifixion of the Christ

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At this point in our Christology, we have arrived at the point where wrath and grace became forever entwined.  The crucifixion of the Christ changed everything.

All 4 of the gospels report this event and yet each one has unique details.  When put together, the 4 combine to provide many details about what happened when Love laid down his life willingly.

Here are some things to note:

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The Dedication of the Christ

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In this week’s Christology study, we are focusing on Jesus’ dedication to the will of God.  Shown throughout his entire time on earth, it is visible very clearly at the Garden of Gethsemene.  Leaving the Last Supper, Jesus brought along the inner 3 to one of his favorite places to pray.

Here are some things to note from this section:

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The Exhortation of the Christ

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As we continue this Christology, we reached the section where we focus upon Jesus’ relationship with the Pharisees.  Volatile, to say the least.  Jesus was doing so much good, but these religious leaders were so upset that he wasn’t doing it on the right day or in the right way.  They were more concerned with their traditions than they were God’s Kingdom expanding right before their eyes.

Here are some things to remember about this group that couldn’t stand Jesus:

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The Invitation of the Christ

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As we continue our weekly installment of a Christology, we have arrived into section 9: the invitation of the Christ.  One of Jesus’ biggest criticisms was that he was a friend of sinners.

You have heard the phrase: “Hate the sin, but don’t hate the sinner.”  That’s a difficult line to walk.  How can we befriend sinners and not getting stuck in the sin that entangles them?  You might think it is impossible to do it, but it’s not.  Jesus hung around sinners but he never sinned.  Oftentimes, I see Christians hang around sinners but avoid being intentional about Kingdom living.  It’s almost an attempt to remain unscathed than it is to change lives.

How come most unchurched people avoid churched people because they are perceived as stuffy, judgmental, hypocritical goody-two-shoes, and yet sinners would invite Jesus to the party?

Here are some things to remember:

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The Manifestation of the Christ

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As we continue in the Christology, this week we are studying the miraculous deeds of Jesus.  These works served as a manifestation of the Christ and showed his omnipotence.  With Jesus, truly, all things are possible.

The deaf can hear.  The blind can see.  The lame are rising up to stand upon their feet.  He calmed the storm.  He quieted souls.  He mended the broken.  The empty were filled.  The sick made well.  The mute began to speak of his glory.  The dead were rising.  With Christ, all things are possible.

But, do we really believe that?  Do we honestly believe that Jesus can come in and fix that circumstance clouding our view?

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The Supplication of the Christ

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As we continue in our Christology, we have now come to the section focusing on the supplication of the Christ.  This is the prayer section of Jesus’ ministry and reminds us of God’s faithfulness.

Who taught you how to pray? How did they teach you?

When Jesus was on earth, the disciples saw unbelievable things happen before their eyes. When you encounter Jesus feed 5,000 men, heal every type of disease, walk on water, or be transfigured before your eyes, you probably would develop a list of things you would want Jesus to show you. We would all love a course on how to do the miraculous.

Interestingly enough, with all the disciples witnessed, they asked for Jesus to teach them one thing:

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The Revelation of the Christ

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As we continue our Christology, this week we are focusing on the teaching ministry of Jesus.  This is the Revelation of the Christ.  Through his preaching, he displayed the attribute of wisdom as he proclaimed words of life.

Nobody taught like Jesus.  No one will ever teach like Jesus.  He was able to communicate long messages to all types of people and his words survived in a mainly oral culture for us to read today.

Some things to remember about Jesus’ teaching ministry:

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The Selection of the Christ

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As we continue in our Christology series, we have now arrived at section 5 – the selection of the Christ.  This section deals with Christ calling his 12 disciples and thrusting them into ministry.

Jesus’ calling of the disciples displayed the attribute of grace.  When you look at this rag tag group of men he chose, there isn’t anything special about them.  In fact, if you were on a pastor search committee and drafted up a list of qualities you were looking for in a spiritual leader, you would probably list out things that none of these men possessed.  They weren’t obvious choices, and yet, they were Jesus’ choices, and for that, they would develop into who Christ had called them to be.  The old saying is true here: Jesus doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the called.

Here are some things to note during this time of ministry:

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The Temptation of the Christ

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Continuing on through our Christology, we arrive this week at the Temptation of the Christ.  This event reveals Christ’s holiness.  He was set apart, and while he was fully God, he was full man, and he never sinned.

In his 33 years of life, he never rolled his eyes behind his mother’s back.  He never kept more money than he should.  Never had one lustful thought concerning a woman.  Never used his words to demean another.

After his baptism by John, Scripture teaches that Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit to be tempted by the Devil himself.  It also seems a test like Job’s in that God is leading Christ to the wilderness to prove to Satan his undeniable holiness.  What’s interesting is that while Satan is a worthy adversary, his tricks have not really changed.  He’s not the most creative of sorts.  His temptation to Christ was the same as the temptation in the Garden of Eden: “Are you sure God’s Word says…”

He still uses it today, doesn’t he?

Here are some things to note:

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The Consecration of the Christ

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This week in Bible study, we focused on the consecration of the Christ.  This stage shows off Jesus’ immensity.  This period, spans age 2 to age 30.  This time period covers the largest section of Christ’s life with the least amount of information, but it mainly focuses upon Christ growing and John the Baptist pointing towards him.

Info to remember from this Christology section:

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The Anticipation of the Christ

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At North Side, we’re all about discipleship.  In addition to discipling our worship team on Wednesday nights, I am also discipling a great group of college students right now.  These guys come over to our house on Wednesday nights and we get into the Word.  This semester, I am teaching this group, and our worship team, through the gospels.

We are doing a Christology of sorts.  A study of the life of Christ is normally organized around speculations or disagreements instead of simply going to the text.  In this study, I am using 14 main events or categories of Jesus’ life to get a clearer picture of the historical figure and the world-changing Savior.

Last night, we discussed the Anticipation of the Christ.  We actually started in our previous session by teaching through the entire Old Testament in one night.  I told the big picture of God’s plan from the beginning.  The blank page in between the testaments reveal a 400-year period of silence where God said nothing to his people.  While Israel waited to see if God would speak again, God brought a word in the Word himself!

In John 1, the apostle teaches that Jesus was that Word in the beginning at creation, and not only was he with God, he was God.  Just like the light that God created with a simple word in Genesis, at the fullness of time, the Word appeared and was the light of man.  The darkness could not overcome the light, the Word, the God in flesh who dwelt among us.

During this study, we also looked at the reasoning and information concerning the difference of the 4 gospels.  Four gospels were written because 4 authors had 4 specific audiences that they were educating concerning Jesus:

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