A Look At Jesus Christ Religion Essay

Purpose and Theology: A ( HBH ) A The subject of John ‘s Gospel is that Knowing GODA had taken human signifier in the individual of Jesus Christ. John ‘s accent on the nature of Christ – as opposed to the more chronological, historical histories of Jesus life in Matthew, Mark, and Luke as “ Synoptic ” Evangels.

The Pre-existence of Jesus

John begins with the preexistence of Jesus: “ In the beginning was the Word ” ( 1:1 ) . Jesus is godly ( “ the Word was GOD ” , 1:1 ) , but He is besides human “ the Word became flesh ” , 1:14 ) . Merely as such is He the revealer of the Father.

From the point of position from which we now approach it, the prologue to the Gospel of John may be said to fall into three parts. In the first of these, the nature of the Being who became incarnate in the individual we know as Jesus Christ is described ; in the 2nd, the general nature of the act we call the embodiment ; and in the 3rd, the nature of the incarnated individual.

The pre-existence of Christ can be found in the Gospel of John. We encounter in the Prologue in John 1: 1 “ In the beginning was the Word. ” He merely was. John uses the imperfect tense to bespeak non so much the ceaselessness as the open-endedness of this province of being. John stresses that, ” in the beginning, when everything created came into being, the Word ( Logos ) did non come into being. He already was in being. Page 45, 46. James I. Packer puts it “ aˆ¦ the Logos ( the Word ) and present the idea of personal plurality within the deity by stating that the Logos was with God in family and was God in individual. ” ( The Glory of Christ, General Editor John H. Armstrong, Wheaton, Illinois, Crossway Books 2002 ) page 43.

The pre-existence of Christ is clearly affirmed in the Nicene Creed: he was ‘begotten of the Father before all universes ‘ . The philosophy clearly implies that originally Christ was non like us ; that he came to be like us merely by voluntarily sharing our life ; that, as the peculiar person he was, he existed before creative activity, and that his being as a adult male was uninterrupted with his earlier being as a heavenly being. Page 45, DM. ( The Person of Christ, Contours of Christian Theology, Donald Macleod, Gerald Bray General Editor. Downers Grove, Illinois- InterVarsity Press 1998

It is important that John who is the lone Gospel which provides a clear statement on embodiment ( 1:14 ) , contains several statements that asserts his preexistence prior to his coming to Earth. Jesus was “ before Abraham ” ( 8:58 ) , Robert Duncan page 439 He himself claimed, “ even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am traveling ( John 8:14 ) ; He rebuff to the Pharisees ‘ denying value to His testimony ( v. 13 ) ; He laid claim to the fact that Bethlehem was a measure down from old being when to Nicodemus He spoke of Himself as Him ‘who descended from heaven ‘ ( John 3:13 ) . Again the idea appears when He asked some noncompliant Jews, ‘what if you were to see the Son of Man go uping to where he was before? ( John 6:62 ) ; He was loved by Father “ before the foundation of the universe ” ( 17:24 ) , and that the Father will laud him with his glorification which he had before the foundation of the universe ( 17:5 ) , and from John 8:42 “ I proceeded Forth and came from God. ” The philosophy of Jesus ‘ pre-existence radiances through these words unequivocally. ( Notes from talk “ Christology and the informant of John ‘s Gospel page 3 )

Embodiment

John ‘s Gospel contains no mention to the virgin birth. He includes a prologue which focuses on the embodiment of the Logos who existed before the universe. D.G. , 369.

The word embodiment Begin in the Gospel harmonizing to John “ The Word became flesh ” ( 1:14 ) . Rodman William says “ The Word became flesh, is the enigma of the Incarnation, viz. , that the Word who was “ with God, andaˆ¦ was God ” ( 1:1 ) , took upon Himself flesh: He became adult male. Page 305.

To detect, in what sense the Word, or Son of God, was “ made flesh ” , became a sharer “ of flesh and blood, came in the flesh ” , and was “ manifest in the flesh ” : all which phrases are made usage of to show his embodiment ( John 1:14 ) ; and mean, that he who is genuinely God truly became adult male, or assumed the whole human nature, as will be seen soon, into brotherhood with his Godhead individual.

The traveling cause of the embodiment of Christ, is the love of the Father, and of the Son, to mankind. God so loved the universe, that he gave his lone begotten Son to go adult male, obey, suffer, and dice for evildoers ; herein is love, and this love manifested, that God sent his Son in human nature to be the placation for the wickednesss of his people, and salvage them from decease ( John 3:16 ) .

A.H. Strong quoted “ In the one individual, Jesus Christ, there are two natures, a human nature and a godly nature, each in its completeness and unity, and these two natures are organically and indissolubly united, yet so that no 3rd nature is formed thereby. ” ( A. H. Strong, A SystematicA Theology, A p. 673 )

Based on John, there are few grounds for the embodiment. God ne’er does anything without a good ground.

1. To uncover the unseeable God.

“ No adult male hath seen God at any clip ; the lone begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long clip with you, and yet hast 1000 non known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father ; and how sayest 1000 so, Shew us the Father? ” ( Jn. 1:18 ; 14:9 ) .

13. To give life-abundant life.

“ He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth non the Son shall non see life ; but the wrath of God abideth on him ” ( Jn. 3:36 ) .

“ The stealer cometh non, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destruct: I am come that they might hold life, and that they might hold it more copiously ” ( Jn. 10:10 ) .

14. To laud the Father ( Jn. 13:31 ; 14:13 ; 17:4 ) .

“ Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of adult male glorified, and God is glorified in him ” ( Jn. 13:31 ) .

“ And whatsoever ye shall inquire in my name, that will I make, that the Father may be glorified in the Son ” ( Jn. 14:13 ) .

“ I have glorified thee on the Earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to make ” ( Jn. 17:4 ) .

Taken from: Willmington ‘s Guide to the BibleA A© 1981, 1984 by H. L. Willmington.

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The Humanity of Christ

The statement in John 1:14 that ‘the word became flesh and dwelt among us aˆ¦ and we beheld his glorification ‘ , the emphasizing the sonship manifested in the embodiment, however suggests a humanity similar to ours which could be seen. John the Baptist ‘s two followings and Nicodemus and ohers regarded him as rabbi ( John 1:38 ; 3:2 ; 9:2 ; 11:18 ) . He was wearied with his journey to Sychar ( 4:6 ) and besides experienced thirst ( 4:7 ; 19:28 ) . He several times aroused the hate of the Jews ( cf 7:44 ; 10:31ff ; 11:57 ) At the grave of Lazarus he was profoundly disturbed and wept ( 11:33-35 ) . From this poetry we can see more clearly that Jesus was merely as human. Twice John records that Jesus was profoundly moved ( John 11:33, 38 ) . Christ felt compassion upon those who mourned. He was once more troubled after his entry into Jerusalem ( 12:27ff ) . He washed his discipled ‘ pess ( 13:1ff ) . In history of one of the Resurrection visual aspects, he aprepares a repast on a wood coal fire ( 21:9 ) . ( Donald Guthrie, New Testament Theology ) page 223.

A similar statement is given in John 13:21 in respect to His human spirit where it is recorded: “ When Jesus had therefore said, he was troubled in the spirit. ” Harmonizing to these and other Bibles, it is hence apparent that Christ possessed a true humanity non merely in its stuff facets as indicated in His human organic structure, but in the immaterial facet specified in Scripture as being His psyche and spirit. It is hence non sufficient to acknowledge that Jesus Christ as the Son of God possessed a human organic structure, but it is necessary to specify the human facet of His individual as that of a complete human nature including organic structure, psyche, and spirit. The visual aspects of Jesus after His Resurrection besides substantiate the continuity of His true humanity. Mary Magdalene, harmonizing to John 20:17, really clung to Christ in her joy at seeing Him after His Resurrection. Further grounds is found in the other visual aspects in the station Resurrection ministry every bit good as in the fact of His bodily Ascension into Eden ( John 20:22, 27-28 ) .

Merely so with the Lord Jesus. His divinity and His humanity were absolutely proportioned and balanced. He was “ God manifest in flesh ” to such an extent that we can state neither where His divinity terminals and His humanity begins nor where His humanity terminals and His divinity begins. As we trace His life on Earth, as recorded in the four Gospels, we ne’er note him moving now as God and now as adult male. He ever acted as God and He ever acted as adult male. hypertext transfer protocol: //www.preaching.com/resources/articles/11549138/

The Son of Man

In John 3:13, “ No 1 has of all time gone into heaven except the 1 who came from heaven – the Son of Man. The Son of Man is present on Earth merely because he has come down from Eden and another Bible is John 6:62: “ What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! ” This means the Son of Man return to what the Lord had been familiar with earlier. Jesus is alone as He is the Father ‘s “ merely begotten Son ” ( 1:14, 3:16 ) . Page 703.

The divinity of Jesus

The grounds of Scripture is so complete that one who denies the divinity of Christ must needfully reject the truth of the Scriptures. Berkhof summarizes the grounds for the divinity of Christ in the Gospel of John: “ We find that Scripture ( 1 ) explicitly asserts the divinity of the Son in such transitions as John 1:1 ; 20:28 ( 2 ) ascribes to Him Godhead properties, such as ageless being, John 1:1, 2 ; ubiquity, ; John 3:13, omniscience, John 2:24, 25 ; 21:17 ; omnipotence, Isa 9:6 ; Phil 3:21 ; Rev 1:8, immutableness, Heb 1:10-12 ; 13:8, ( 4 ) speaks of Him as making Godhead plants, as creative activity, John 1:3, 10 ; Providence ; John 3:35 ; 17:2 ; the forgiveness of wickednesss, Matt 9:2-7 ; Mark 2:7-10 ; Col 3:13, Resurrection and judgement, John 5:19-29 ; and ( 5 ) agreements Him divine honor, John 5:22, 23 ; 14:1 ;

The divinity of Christ has existent value to the believe concerning cognition of God, new life, personal relationship with God, and the ability to idolize Christ for who He is.

The Son of God

Even though Jesus rarely spoke of himself as the Son of God, there are occasional mentions to Himself as “ the Son. ” The Son of God ” can besides be found in John 1:34, 49 ; 5:19, 20, 22, 23, 26 ; 6:40 ; 8:36 ; 10:36 ; 14:13 ; 17:1 ; 19:7 ; 20:28. In these mentions Jesus connote His Godhead Sonship, Jesus ‘ vocalization throughout His ministry conveys a weight and an authorization that is more than human. Roadman W. page 309.

Example in John 8:18, where Jesus said “ I am ” He who bears informant of myself. ” His Godhead beginning and nature is clearly shown here by Jesus and in John 8:58, “ Before Abraham was born, I was here ” and in John 14:9, 10 “ Have I been so longaˆ¦. ? Believe thou non that aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦.. I am in the Fatheraˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦.Leon Morris adds “ I am ” is infinity of being and non merely being which has lasted through several centuries that the look indicates. Page 474.

We besides found in John 19:7, Jesus ‘ is found in connexion with his test and disapprobation. The charge, harmonizing to John ‘s “ He claimed to be the Son of God. ” Besides in John 20:28.

In John 5:2-18, His ain alone individual and relationship to God. Jesus had a relationship to the Father distinct from that of any other human. Jesus understood himself as equal with the Father and as possessing the right to make things that merely God has the right to make. Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology 2nd edition Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books Jan 2001. pg 704

I BELIEVE IN THE VIRGIN BIRTH OF CHRIST BECAUSE THE SUPERNATURAL INCARNATION OF THE SON OF GOD DEMANDS HIS S The testimony of Christ Himself — A ” Because I said, I am the Son of God. ”

John 10:36 — A ” Say ye of Him, Whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the universe, Thou blasphemest ; because I said, I am the Son of God? ”

3.A The testimony of the Spirit of God — A ” This is the Son of God. ”

John 1:32-34 — A ” And John bare record, stating, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon Him. And I knew Him non: but He that sent me to baptise with H2O, the same said unto me, Upon Whom 1000 shalt see the Spirit descending, and staying on Him, the same is He which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God. ”

A The testimony of John the Baptist — A ” This is the Son of God. ”

John 1:34 — A ” Upon Whom 1000 shalt see the Spirit descending, and staying on Him, the same is He which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God. ”

6. The testimony of Nathaniel — A ” Thou art the Son of God. ”

John 1:49 — A ” Nathanael answered and saith unto Him, Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God ; Thou art the King of Israel. ”

Y Dr. Ian R. K. Paisley 9/8/2010, hypertext transfer protocol: //www.whatsaiththescripture.com/The.Holy.Bible/Reasons7.Virg.Birth.Christ.html

The Son of God

The nazarene is called the ‘Son of God. ‘ ( John 5:18 ; 10:33-36 ; 19:6,7 ) . Jesus is besides called ‘only begotten Son ‘ John 1:18 and John 3:16. For John, Jesus ‘ humanity implies basically a dual mission: 1 ) As the “ Lamb of GOD ” ( 1:29 ) , He procured the salvation of world ; 2 ) Through his life and ministry He revealed the Father. Christ invariably pointed out, beyond himself, the Father who had sent him and whom He sought to laud. In fact, the miracles that Jesus accomplished, and that John characterized as “ marks ” , offer testimony of the godly mission of the Son of GOD. While the Son glorified the Father in his ministry and Passion, the Father besides glorified the Son. But, as John shows it, the glory of the Son is produced with the crucifixion ( 12:32,33 ) , non merely with the ecstasy after the Resurrection. By believing that Jesus is the Christ, the readers of the Gospel of John become participants of the life that Jesus made arise from decease ( 20:31 ) .

The Messiah ( 1:41 ; 4:29, 11:11, 20, 31 )

The first facet to see about John is the footing of his religion in Jesus. John makes it clear throughout his Gospel history that he believes Jesus is the true Messiah. He gives grounds, quotes Bibles and uses Jesus ‘ ain claims to turn out his strong belief. John ‘s claim is of extreme importance, the branchings are rather literally ageless in nature.

There are eight major points in John ‘s Gospel that proves Jesus is the Messiah. We will be leaping about in the book of John for this survey in order to capture all of them. These points ( or claims ) are critical because they are precisely what make The nazarene, good, Jesus.

First, Jesus existed in the get downing – we see Jesus as the Creator in John 1:2-4. Following Jesus says He is God. He did n’t state he is equal to God, or about the same, he said decidedly “ The Father and I are one. ” ( John 10:30 ) Then, Jesus says he came from heaven – he was non mortal, born of a adult male and adult female and so subsequently redeemed to a new heavenly position. He came from Eden, “ Yes, I came from the Father into the worldaˆ¦ ” ( John 16:28 )

John ‘s Gospel states that Jesus is the perfect forfeit for wickednesss. John the Baptist, one twenty-four hours after being questioned by the Judaic leaders about his individuality, saw Jesus walking toward him and said, “ Look! The Lamb of God who takes off the wickedness of the universe! ” ( John 1:29 ) Jesus says he is the solution the one, apparently unsurmountable job – our wickednesss. “ I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have ageless life. They will ne’er be condemned for their sinsaˆ¦ ” ( John 5:24 ) The nazarene was the perfect wickedness forfeit. He had to be impeccant to carry through this. “ Which of you can truthfully impeach me of wickedness? ” ( John 8:46 )

John recounts many miracles that Jesus performed. But the miracle that matters most, the 1 that proves his individuality, is the miracle of the Resurrection. “ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and expression at my custodies. Put your manus into the lesion in my side. Do n’t be traitorous any longer. Believe! ‘ ” ( John 20:27 ) All this confirms that Jesus is the Savior as expressed in John 3:16. “ For God loved the universe so much that he gave his 1 and merely Son, so that everyone who believes in him will non die but have ageless life. ”

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accessed on 24th July 2010.

LORD ( Kurios )

The personal name of God of Israel in written Hebrew is YHWH page 448, 449 Duncan. In John 12: 37-41aˆ¦aˆ¦.fulfillment of Isaiah prognostication toilet 12:38. and in verse 41 the LORD ( Kurios, YHWH ) of Isaiah ‘s vision, before whom the the seraphim call ‘Holy, holu, sanctum ‘ is none other than Jesusaˆ¦aˆ¦ .

Part II. Christ Omnipotent – John 5:19 ; 2:20, 20: 10:18

In add-on to the above which teaches his divinity, it is besides grounds in the Bible that show his Godhead character. In John 2:1-11, Jesus demonstrated his omnipotence ; where He changed the H2O into vino. After Jesus turn the H2O into wine Johns tells us, “ This, is the first off his marvelous marks, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glorification ; and his adherents believed in him ” ( John 2:11 ) . Leon Morris says “ This peculiar miracle signifies that there is transforming power associated with Jesus. ” Page 176.

The nazarene asserts His infinity when he says, “ Before Abraham was, I am ( John 8:58 ) , or I

Christ Omni present – John 3:13, 36 ; John 2:19-22 ; John 10:17-18 ; John 11: 25 ; 14:20

Many theologist affirmed that the godly property of ubiquity is non straight to be true of Jesus during his earthly ministry.

And on the other manus, in his human nature he is called the Son of adult male ; and yet as such, is described by a belongings which belongs to the godly nature, which is to be ubiquitous, to be everyplace. So it is said ; “ No adult male hath ascended to heaven but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of adult male, which is in Eden ” ( John 3:13 ) , who was in Eden at the same clip he was here on Earth ; which was true of his Person, though denominated from his human nature ; and therefore what can non be said of Christ in the abstract, is true of him in the concrete, by virtuousness of this brotherhood ; it can non be said, that the Deity of Christ suffered ; or that the humanity of Christ is everyplace: but it may be said, that God, the Son of God suffered ; and that the Son of adult male was in Eden when on Earth, or everyplace. It can non be said, that the Deity is humanity ; nor the humanity Deity, nor equal to God: but it may be said, that God the Word is adult male, and the adult male Christ is God, Jehovah ‘s Fellow ; because these names respect the Person of Christ, which includes both natures. John 4:21aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦

Christ Omniscient – John 1: 28, 48 ; 2:24, 25: 4:16-19 ; 6:4, 64 ; 13:1 ; 16: 30 ; 21:6, 17

Another Godhead property of Jesus is omniscience, is demonstrated in knowing and visual perception. John says explicitly Jesus “ knew all work forces and needed no 1 to bear informant of work forces ” John 2:25. Further in John 16:30, the adherents said “ Now we know that you know all things. ” And in John 21:17 ; Peter said to Jesus that, “ Lord you know everything ; you know that I love you. ” Grudem says “ that Peter knowledges that Jesus has a comprehensive cognition of all things, and that Jesus has a comprehensive cognition of his ain bosom. Despite Peter ‘s failure at the cross he profoundly loved Jesus, and cognizing that Jesus had he ability to plumb the human bosom he knew Jesus discerned his bosom – that he genuinely loved his maestro.

Kenosis theory

The Gospel nowadayss Jesus as the only-begotten Son of GOD who is made flesh.

Decision

John, possibly, had in head the of all time closer familiarity he and the other adherents had enjoyed with the Lord during His earthly visit. John could retrieve the first clip he had heard Jesus speak, after John ‘s involvement in the coming Christ had been kindled by the sermon of John the Baptist. The first words that John of all time heard Jesus say, harmonizing to the New Testament record, were “ Come and see ” ( John 1:35-39 ) . So John came and heard and proverb. Over clip, he “ looked ” upon Jesus 1000s of times and was an eyewitness to all that He said and did. John tells us that he could, in fact, have filled libraries with the things he had heard, seen, and observed in respect to Christ during those astonishing old ages of long ago ( John 21:25 ) .

John had drawn really near to the Lord and had frequently touched Him. John, who was the closest to the Lord of all the adherents, really leaned upon Jesus ‘ chest during the Last Supper ( John 13:23 ) .