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Good evening and welcome to Sunday Night Bible Study with Pastor Joe Sias Shipley of Witton Baptist Church. I'm excited to be here with you again. Today we're kind of in a transition week. We kind of finished up some of the life of the apostles the past few weeks.
Starting next week we're going to start talking about the canon of scripture, why we have these books in the Bible, why we don't have others, and showing you kind of how we got the Bible over a few weeks, which I'm really excited about that.
Today we're going to speak on something we've talked about before, the Deity of Christ, or how we know Jesus is God. And this has been a struggle for some. We had an open mic night last week during a Sunday morning service, which was really fun.
You may have noticed that watching on the video this morning. And one of our members, who comes from a Jehovah's Witness background, asked about how Jesus is God. Does the Bible show that Jesus is God?
And the answer is yes it does. And I want to give you some passages in the Bible to help you see this, to maybe edify you, to give you some tools to help defend the Deity of Christ, and maybe to help some of you who have been struggling with this, well how can Jesus be God?
I want to help you see that in the Bible. Remember, when we say God, we believe God is triune. And we prefer that term over trinity. The term trinity is fine. That means three working as one. We prefer triune, three in one, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, all co-eternal and co-equal.
We're saying that God is one being in three persons, that's what we're saying. We're saying that while Jesus was on earth, we call it the hypostatic union, that's a Jesus was both 100 God and 100 man, and we call that the hypostatic union.
So he was two beings, divine being and human being, in one person, Jesus. So we're going to go through quite a few scriptures today, showing you that the Bible teaches the Deity of Jesus, that Jesus is God.
So buckle up, have a pen ready or whatever, write these down, because I'm mostly going to give them to you, just do a little bit of explanation, and let you study these on your own. Remember, I'm just a dude.
I'm just a dude obeying God, and God's calling my life to teach the word. So as I tell you these passages, write them down, put them, I'll tell you what was really helpful on the last question and answer session on Saturdays at 2 o 'clock, which have really been awesome by the way.
I want to promote those, not for me, but those question and answer sessions on Saturday afternoons have been really helpful for a lot of people, because you can ask whatever you want. At any rate, one of the members was typing out the references to the verses I was saying.
If someone would do that here, that would be awesome. When I say a verse, type it in the comment section, so when people go back and watch it, they can follow along. Anyway, we're going to go over a few passages that show Jesus presenting himself as God, the apostles seeing the deity of Christ, so on and so forth.
We're going to start in Mark chapter 2. Mark chapter 2. This is very early on in Jesus' ministry. Remember, he didn't start his ministry until he was in his early 30s. Luke says he was about 30. So we're going to start there.
Mark chapter 2. We're going to read verses 1 through 12. Verses 1 through 12. So follow along with me. And when he had returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. And many were gathered together so that there was no more room, not even at the door.
And he was preaching the word to them. And they came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him. And when they had made an opening, they let down the bed where the paralytic lay.
And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, Son, your sins are forgiven. Some of the scribes are sitting there questioning in their hearts, why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming.
Who can forgive sins but God alone? And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they had this question within themselves and said to them, why do you question these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, your sins are forgiven, or to say, rise up, take your bed and walk?
But that you may know the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins, he said to the paralytic, I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and walk. He rose immediately, picked up his bed, and went out before him, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, We never saw anything like this.
Okay. So, long story short, look at this here. In the Old Testament, only God has the authority to forgive sin. So when Jesus tells the paralytic, your sins are forgiven, the question is, the Pharisees in their hearts question, that's blasphemy.
Only God can forgive sins. Little did they know they were proving Jesus' own point. Jesus is saying, I have the authority to forgive sins because I am God. How cool is that? And he said, which is easier, just to say your sins are forgiven, or to say, get up and walk?
But that you can know that I really have that authority, get up and walk. Jesus has the authority to forgive sins that only God has the authority to do, because Jesus is God. Keep on moving. Again, we're going to go fast-paced here.
Romans 10 .13, Romans 10 .13. So that was Jesus showing himself to be God. Romans 10 .13, this is Paul. For whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Now what's so amazing about that is that is a quote from Joel 2 .32.
Joel 2 .32, which says, whoever calls on the name of Yahweh, of I Am, shall be saved. So Paul takes a quote from the Old Testament, speaking of God, speaking of Yahweh, and attributes it to Jesus. Continuing with Paul, and I know this is fast-paced, that's the point, though, to give you as much ammo as you can, Titus 2 .13, Titus 2 .13, I'll just quote it.
Paul speaking to Titus, the pastor, telling Christians how they should act until Jesus is returned, and he says this, we should do all these things while we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 10 .9, 1 Corinthians 10 .9, Paul says, we must not put Christ to the test as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents. This one's amazing. That's a quote, a reference, an allusion to Numbers 21 .6.
Numbers 21 .6, which says that the Israelites tested Yahweh, tested the Lord, and tested God, and He sent serpents to destroy them. Paul again takes that passage from Numbers 21 .6 and attributes it to Jesus, because Jesus is God.
There's a million of these, just to fire off some more. 2 Peter 1 .1, Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Romans 9 .5, to them belong the patriarchs, from their race, according to their flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all. Blessed forever, amen. 1 John 5, verse 20, 1 John 5 .20, and we know the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so we may know Him who is true, and are in Him who is true, in His Son, Jesus Christ.
He is the true God and eternal life. Let's do a couple more, let me slow it down a little bit after that blaze. John chapter 8, this one was mentioned last week, Sunday morning. In John chapter 8, Jesus tells the Jews, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
He later on says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. And they're arguing with Him, and Jesus is saying, in John 8 .42, if God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here.
I came not of my own, but He sent me. He said to them, who had memorized five books of the Old Testament, if you really believe God, you would love me. He said in verse 56, your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day.
He saw it and was glad. The Jews said to him, you're not even 50 years old and you see Abraham, who was alive, you know, 4 ,000 years ago? You've seen Abraham, you're not even 50. And Jesus said this in verse 58, truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.
Now, that is the name, the sacred name, Yahweh, I am, that God gave to Moses in the burning bush in Exodus chapter 3. And the Jews had memorized that and knew exactly what He was saying. When Jesus said, I am, He just referred to Himself as God.
The same God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in Exodus 3. And to prove that, look at the immediate context. What did the Jews do in the next verse? Verse 59, so they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.
Later on, you keep reading, they get mad at Him because they say He has made Himself God, by what He has said. You can go on and on. And this is throughout the New Testament. John 20, 28, after Jesus has risen, Thomas, after seeing the resurrected Jesus, says, my Lord and my God, and worships Him.
Again, my Lord and my God, John 20, 28. John 1, 1, let's go to John chapter 1. And this is one, we mentioned Jehovah's Witness earlier, that is changed in their Bible. In fact, I will show it to you right here.
Here is a New World Translation. This is a paraphrase, this is Jehovah's Witness Bible, is not the Word of God. I don't mean to offend anybody, it's just a known fact. Any genuine Greek scholar who has access to Greek manuscripts, of which we have 5 ,500 surviving Greek manuscripts in the New Testament, knows that this is not an accurate translation, that there is a tradition behind it.
John 1, verses 1 through 5 in the Bible, I'm going to read out of the ESV. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were made through Him, and without Him not anything was made that was made.
In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines upon darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There's a lot there. But notice again, verse 1, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
So our only question should be, who is the Word? Well John tells us in verse 14, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we have seen His glory, the glory of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth, the only Son of the Father, became flesh.
That's Jesus. So the Word is Jesus. So go back, in the beginning was Jesus, the Word, and Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were made through Jesus. Go back to Genesis 1, verse 1, it says God created the world.
John 1, verse 1 says Jesus created the world. Yes, because Jesus is God. Continuing that, and what's ironic is if you read John 1, verse 1 in Jehovah's Witness Bible, and again, I don't mean to be mean, I'm just meaning to tell you the truth.
It says, in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was a God. That's not what the original Greek manuscript says, it doesn't. We can talk about that more later, but that's the tradition behind that.
So, they ignore the plain teaching of Scripture that Jesus is God. Genesis chapter 1, again, Genesis chapter 1, verse 26, then God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Who's he talking to, the angels?
No, angels can't create the triune God, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. You see it in chapter 1, verse 2, the Spirit of God hovered over the waters of the deep. The triune God created the world, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.
So there is a blaze, and it's all throughout the Bible, you can't ignore it. Once you see that this is who Jesus is, you see it throughout the Old Testament, you see it through the New Testament. Let me give you a couple more.
Philippians chapter 2, Philippians chapter 2. And some of you who watch this regularly may say, well haven't we covered this before? And the answer is yes, but I always want to make sure to reiterate certain key doctrinal points that are vital.
Remember, theology is the study of God. We can agree to disagree and be wrong about that. Doctrinal issues we have to hammer home. Those are of first importance, that's 1 Corinthians 15 says the gospel is.
Philippians 2, 5 -11, Philippians 2, 5 -11. Have this in mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus. Who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God as a thing to be grasped, but he emptied himself by taking on the form of a servant and being born in the likeness of men.
And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason God highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord through the glory of God the Father.
What's amazing about this is a few things. It literally says in Philippians 2, 6, though he was in the form of God, not a God, God, he didn't consider that something to be grasped or used for his own advantage, but he emptied himself by assuming the form of a slave.
Remember, before the incarnation, before Jesus became flesh, God had never experienced the laws of the universe he created. In other words, he never felt gravity before that moment. He never got tired or hungry, but he did for 33 years.
Now, your Bible should indicate in a footnote, by indention, by bold, by all caps, somehow some way, that verses 9 through 11, it's a reference to the Old Testament. I'll go there now. It's Isaiah 45, which I was reading earlier, Isaiah 45, 23.
So let me read Philippians again, chapter 2, 9 through 11. God is highly exalted and gave him the name that's above every name, so that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Well, listen to what Paul is referencing in Isaiah 45, 23. This is God talking. This is Yahweh talking. By myself I have sworn, from my mouth that gone out in righteousness a word that will not return.
To me, every knee will bow, and every tongue will swear allegiance, or every tongue will confess. So will every knee bow and every tongue confess to God, or will every knee bow and every tongue confess to Jesus?
Yes, because Jesus is God. If that was said of anyone else, that would be blasphemy, but because Jesus is the incarnate God, this can be said of him. I mean, what does the name Emmanuel mean? It means God with us.
Not God sent somebody to us, God with us. And this is throughout the Old Testament prophecies. This is in the New Testament. It's throughout the Bible. Once you see it, you see that this is a fundamental teaching in the Bible that all the apostles, the prophets, and the disciples agreed on.
Continuing on, we could go on and on and on. In Corinthians and all this stuff, whenever we see an Old Testament passage being attributed to Jesus, and we see an Old Testament passage being attributed to Jesus in the way it was attributed to God, that should tell us something.
A couple more here. Give me one second here. You know, every now and then, phones can be useful for helping you find references in the Bible. Sometimes you can just Google a keyword, and then you can go to your actual Bible and read it.
Sometimes it's very helpful if you forget where it was. I forgot this prophecy, if it was in Isaiah or whatever it was, but it's Isaiah 9 .6. A familiar prophecy. You probably hear it a lot around Christmas time.
Isaiah 9 .6. For to us a child is born, a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulder, and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Now here's what's amazing about that.
He'll be called Wonderful Counselor. The Holy Spirit is called Counselor. Mighty God, not a Mighty God, not a Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Well, Jesus is the Prince of Peace, but the Father is the Father, but the Counselor is the Holy Spirit.
Exactly. That's the Triune God. Isaiah 9 .6 is prophesying about Jesus being born and showing that's the Triune God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in one verse right there. At what some people call the Great Commission in Matthew 28, it says, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name, a singular name, the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
How can it be one name if he names three people? Because those three persons are one being, God, the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Okay, guys, that's about all I have, and I hope this has been beneficial.
I know it's been a blaze of verses. Go back and read them, because the point of this is to show you the universal teaching of the Bible that Jesus is God. And that's important, guys, because he had to be a perfect sacrifice for our sins.
If Jesus was just a man, his blood won't do anything for me. Every other religion is a story of man trying to climb the ladder to get to the divine, to get to God. Christianity is the story of the divine coming down to man.
He emptied himself by assuming the form of a slave and taking on the likeness of men. And remember, Christianity is the story where the hero dies for the villain. We are the bad guy. Satan's one of the adversaries, but Satan's our father.
Look, John chapter 8, Jesus told those Jews that we talked about earlier, your father is either the devil or God. There's no middle ground. All that to say this, understanding more and more who God is, who Jesus is, is the most important thing you can ever know.
All right, I'll shut up now. That was a lot. Hopefully, that will be somewhat beneficial to you guys. This might be one you want to go back and watch twice. I'm trying to keep it shorter since we did so much.
But I love you guys very much. I hope this is beneficial and edifying to you. If you have questions, I promise you, I go through and I read the comments. Please ask them here. We'll go back and read them.
Share these videos. Tune in on Saturdays for question and answer, Sunday mornings, wow moments with Vicki and Mercedes, so on and so forth. Pastor Ben's timeouts on Mondays, Brother Jeff's Bible studies Tuesday nights, which Pastor Ben has filled in a few times, hymn histories with Brother Andrew, all that kind of fun stuff.
I love you guys very much. Please let me know how I can help in any way. Talk to you all later.