Many people
believe that Jesus was just a man or just a prophet. Some say he’s just a crutch for the weak and faint of heart and
many refuse to follow him. It was the same in the days in which he walked upon the earth, many in his day only knew him as
the son of Joseph and Mary, but he was and is much more than these things. In this chapter we talk about who Jesus really
is and why it is important to confess and believe who he is and what makes him different than any other person that ever lived
and walked amongst us.
Jesus is more than a man, more than the son of man, more than a prophet, Jesus is God incarnate.
Let’s take
a look at the who, what, where, when, and why as we investigate God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.
The when-was in the beginning and
the when was the time of man’s need for salvation.
The where-was with
God and with man.
The who-was Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and God the Father.
The what-is the creation of all things and the redemption of all humanity.
The why-is salvation
of all mankind for eternal life.
John 1:1-34
1. “In the beginning
was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.
2. The same was in the beginning with God
3. All
things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.
4. In him was life; and the
life was the light of men.
5. And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
6. There
was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the light, that all men through him
might believe.
8. He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light.
9. That was the true Light,
which lighteth every man which cometh into the world.
10. He was in the world, and the world was made by him,
and the world knew him not.
11. He came unto his own and his own received him not.
12. But as many as received
him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.
13. Which were born, not
of his blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
14. And the word was made
flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
15. John
bare witness of him and cried saying, this was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he
was before me.
16. And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace.
17. For the law was given
by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
18. No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten
son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
19. And this is the record of John, when the Jews
sent Priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?
20. And he confessed, and denied not, but confessed,
I am not the Christ.
21. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elijah? And he saith, I am not. Art thou
that prophet, and he answered, No.
22. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? That we may give an answer to them that sent
us. What sayest thou of
thyself?
23. He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of
the Lord, as said the prophet Isaiah.
24. And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.
25. And they asked him,
and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elijah, neither that prophet?
26. John
answered them saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;
27. He it is, who coming
after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose.
28. These things were
done in Bathabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.
29. The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him,
and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
30. This is he of whom I said,
After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.
31. And I knew him not: but that
he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.
32. And john bare record saying, I
saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
33. And I knew him not: but he
that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on
him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
34. And I saw, and bare record, that this is the
Son of God.”
Many people throughout history have been confused about who Jesus is, they thought that John might have
been the one or at least that John might have been the prophet Elijah, but to just believe without proving things has never
been a common character that man has held to. We have always needed our questions answered to our satisfaction and have always
struggled with explanations from others who are without evidence. There are some though that suddenly recognizes Jesus. How
was it that John knew who he was? John was alone with God. Some will never come to know who Jesus is and accept him for who
he is until they are alone with God in a desert place, yet many need only to hear this truth from a believer and the word
of it is caught up in their heart. God uses us to testify of his word and of who Jesus is so that others may recognize him
as Lord.
After reading these verses what questions do you have?
Answer the following questions:
In the beginning
where was Jesus and what was he?
What was the testimony of John?
What did John’s two disciples do when John announced who Jesus was?
After they heard Jesus speak?
What makes Jesus
different than any other man? Mohammad, Buddha, Nostradamas? Etc?
Genesis 1:1-2
1 “In
the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
2. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness
was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”
The Spirit of God has always been,
was never created, and is the active force that engages and brings to life God’s will. It is the one-third equal part
of God that stands ready to work out God’s intents. When we recognize Jesus it is because the Spirit of God reveals
him to us. Jesus is God as well, thus explains the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, they act together making one God and they
never act apart from the other. John the Baptist was informed of who Jesus is through the actions of the Holy Spirit, the
same Holy Spirit that moved about the face of the waters in the beginning before the earth was fully developed. Just as the
earth was without form and the Holy Spirit moved at God’s commands to develop the earth, so are we without knowledge
about Jesus until the Holy Spirit reveals the deep hidden mysteries about how Jesus is the Son of God and how he was and is
and forever will be God, the word of God, and the life of men. So when we are recognizing the Lamb of God, Jesus, we must
acknowledge how we can know this. It is revealed to us through the power of the Holy Spirit combining with God’s words
of truth.
After reading these verses what questions do you have?
Answer the following questions:
Who is present in the beginning
according to this scripture?
John 1:1, 14, 32
John 1:1
“In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.”
14. “And the word
was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth.”
32. “And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it
abode upon him.”
The idea of recognizing someone is not often something that we make a big deal of because unless they
are reported to be someone famous, beautiful, or someone that has been in the news it doesn’t really spark an interest,
but if that someone has changed the world for generations, has the ability to alter and change our life, and has been doing
this for people since the beginning of time, then we might be, and should be very interested in knowing who this is. Here
we see that not only was Jesus a man, but he is the Son of God who does God‘s will, and he works together with God’s
Holy Spirit to change lives. God sent his Son with his word to connect with the Spirit and change the world for as many as
believe.
After reading these verses what questions do you have?
Answer the following questions:
Was God in the beginning?
Was the word?
Was the spirit?
What happened to
the word of God?
1John 5:7 and
Revelation 19:13
1John 5:7 “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy
Spirit, and these three are one.”
A common tragedy of today’s time is a powerless people. In Ecclesiastes it tells us
“Woe to the man who stands alone.” and “A threefold chord is not easily broken.” The idea that Jesus
is not God or not a part of God is false and the idea that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are separate is false! These three
are one, so when we hear of Jesus we must think God and we must think God’s Spirit because they all work together and
they all are one together. There is one God! Jesus is God! Jesus is the Word! Many stumble over this issue, but this issue
is vital to recognizing who Jesus is and to understanding the power of God.
Revelation 19:13
“And
he was clothed in a vesture, dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God.”
Jesus was the only one that
was sent by God from heaven to be crucified (dipped in blood) for bringing to man the Word of God, Jesus is the Word that
became flesh, dwelt among us, and was crucified, and his name is the only name that is called the Word of God!
After reading these verses what questions do you have?
Answer the following questions:
Is there three gods
or One God?
Who are the three that make up One God?
Isaiah 61:1
1 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the
meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to
them that are bound.”
How can we recognize Jesus? We can recognize him by God’s Words, his activities, and
the fruit that his deeds bring. Jesus has been producing fruit since the beginning of time, some would argue that Jesus wasn’t
there in the beginning; this argument is false, as it is written, “Let us make man in our image and likeness.”
Genesis 1:26 The “us” that we read here is the Father, the Word (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. The “us”
was in heaven creating all that exists since the beginning, never have they ever been separated, they are one!
And here we see again
that they are not separated, “the Spirit of the Lord God was upon Jesus” All those that argue that this is not
true are merely trying to build an argument that Jesus is not God and thereby fail to recognize Jesus for who he truly is!
“Who do you say that I am?” Jesus asked Peter and he is asking you today!
Answer the following questions:
In the beginning
the spirit of God moved where?
Can the spirit of God also be upon man?
Hebrews 1:1-3, 8-14
1 “God, who in sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the
Fathers by the prophets.
2. Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of
all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 3. Who being the brightness of his glory, and
the express image of his
person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the
right hand of the majesty on high.”
It’s amazing to me that after reading this there are still those who question who Jesus
is, however to me this seems to be more than clear. Who is Jesus? Jesus is God, God’s Son, God’s express image,
the heir of all creation, the brightness of his glory, the word of God, the creator of the worlds, and the one who sits in
majesty at the throne of God.
After reading these verses what questions do you have?
Answer the following questions:
Where is Jesus seated?
He is the heir to all of what?
1John1: 1-4
1 “That which was from the beginning, which
we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
2. (For
the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father,
and was manifested unto us.)
3. That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship
with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
4. And these things write
we unto you that your joy may be full.”
We have talked about how Jesus has always been even from the beginning, when the worlds were
created. We have looked upon Jesus in order to do so, because when you look at the Word you are looking at Jesus, our hands
have handled Jesus and the words of life today, now we are in fellowship with God, Jesus (the Word), the Holy Spirit, and
we are one. Our joy may now be full with the understanding that we can recognize Jesus as God, as the Word of life, and as
having the Spirit of God upon this word with the intent of bringing to every person eternal salvation and release from captivity.
Are you in Bondage? When you recognize Jesus his truth will set you free!
After
reading these verses what questions do you have?
Answer the following questions:
Who
is our fellowship with?
Who do you say Jesus is?
What was his purpose?
What is your purpose as a child of God and a disciple
of Christ?
The following message was given at The
Warren Family Mission. The message was given to bring clarity to who Jesus is and how much He means to
us.
