Lesson 208 - Senior

Memory Verse

"And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world" (I John 4:3).

Cross References

I The Pre-existent Christ

1. Jesus, equal with God and one of the Trinity, is the eternal Son of God, [JHN:1:1-2], [JHN:1:15]; [JHN:8:58]; [JHN:17:5], [JHN:17:21], [JHN:17:24]; [ISA:9:6]; [REV:22:13]; [1JN:1:1-2].

2. Jesus, in perfect unity of action as well as of purpose with God the Father and the Holy Ghost, created the universe, [JHN:1:3], [JHN:1:10]; [COL:1:15-17]; [HEB:1:1-3]; [1CO:8:6]; [EPH:3:9].

3. His principal mission is to bring eternal life to all mankind, [JHN:1:4-5]; [JHN:10:10]; [JHN:11:25]; [JHN:14:6]; [ROM:5:21]; [2TM:1:10]; [1JN:1:6]; [1JN:5:12].

II Jesus Christ, the Light of the World

1. John the Baptist was sent as a forerunner of Christ, to announce the coming of the Messiah, [JHN:1:6-8], [JHN:1:15], [JHN:1:19-34]; [ISA:40:3]; [MAL:3:1]; [MAT:3:1-17]; [MAT:11:10].

2. Jesus is the Light of the world, [JHN:1:9]; [JHN:8:12]; [ISA:9:2]; [ISA:42:6]; [MAT:4:16]; [LUK:1:79]; [EPH:5:14]; [1JN:1:7]; [1JN:2:8]; [REV:21:23].

3. Jesus came to deliver sinners but was rejected by Jew and Gentile alike, [JHN:1:10-11]; [JHN:12:48]; [MAT:1:21-23]; [PS:2:2-4]; [ACT:4:27].

4. The glorious privilege of being sons of God is extended to all who receive Jesus as the Christ, [JHN:1:12-13], [JHN:1:16-17]; [ROM:8:14]; [GAL:4:7]; [PHL:2:15]; [1JN:3:1].

5. Jesus is the Incarnate Word of God, [JHN:1:14], [JHN:1:18]; [1TM:3:16]; [1JN:5:17]; [REV:19:13].

Notes

"Who is Jesus?"

Questions similar to that expressed in our subtitle have been asked over and over during the past two thousand years. Jesus asked also His own disciples, "Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?" This question is an important one to consider because our eternal state can be determined by the answer we give. The Bible has made it very clear to us that the Lord Jesus Christ was not merely a prophet, a godly teacher, or an individual gifted with certain miraculous powers. It has stated many times that He is the Son of God and that He always has been the Son of God. He did not have His beginning at the time of His birth in Bethlehem. He began His existence as the Son of man at Bethlehem, but He has existed as the Son of God from "the beginning."

Our Lord Jesus Christ is therefore known as God the Son. He was with God the Father and God the Holy Ghost before the world was created. He is one of the eternal Godhead, equal with and in absolute unity and perfect oneness with God the Father and God the Holy Ghost. All the natural and moral attributes that are present in God the Father and God the Holy Ghost are found in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in the eternal Godhead; for the Bible states, of Christ, that "in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Colossians 2:9).

Scores of titles, names, and descriptions applying to Christ are contained in the Word of God. But all these fail to describe fully the infinite, eternal character of the One "who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." The Holy Spirit has further spoken of Christ, in this regard, and said, "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow . . . and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:6-11).

Jesus is the Son of God! Jesus is the Christ -" the Anointed One, the Messiah! Jesus is the hope of everyone who is striving to be made holy, righteous, and acceptable to the Father; for He is our Advocate, our Substitute, the Firstfruits of our resurrection, and our coming King!

"What shall I do with Jesus?"

At this time of year our thoughts naturally go back to the simple and humble, yet glorious, first coming of Christ to this earth, when He was born in Bethlehem and was laid in a manger because there was no room for Him in the inn. There were many so-called worshipers of God in those days who knew that Christ was to come, who knew how He was to come, and who had the means of knowing that His coming was very near. But the great majority of these would not acknowledge Jesus as the Christ nor accept Him as the Saviour.

We can easily picture the few who did acknowledge and accept Him at His birth. We remember the story of the few shepherds who heard the angelic choir announce His birth, and who came to pay homage to the Saviour of mankind. We all know the stores of the wise men who came from the East, of Simeon, of Anna who served God in the Temple, and of the way the Spirit of God led them and helped them to recognise the tiny Babe's divine characteristics that thousands of men and women failed to see during His entire ministry on earth. These few saw the real identity of that holy Babe. They did not look upon Him as an ordinary child. They worshiped Him because they knew Him to be the Son of God, the long-looked-for hope of mankind.

How often this picture is repeated, in a certain sense, even today. There are many who come to His Temple nominally to worship Him, who are never found in the ranks of the actual disciples who follow Him to the cross! There are many who follow Him in a merely nominal sense who will not actually walk in His steps! There are many who fail to se Him as the Son of God, because He is to them only a teacher, a prophet, or a good example. But there are still the "shepherds," the "wise men," and the faithful servants who are led by the Spirit of God, who se Him as He is -" the Son of God, the Saviour of mankind.

"What did Jesus do?"

The Holy Spirit, through the Apostle, has told us that Jesus came to His own but that they did not receive Him. Jesus came to bring deliverance from sin. He came to heal the sick and raise the dead. He came to pay the price of our redemption and to open the way that we might be reconciled to God. He came to teach us how to live, to show us the full meaning of the law of God. And to those who receive Him, He gives power to become the sons of God and to be joint-heirs with Him of many eternal blessings.

Christ came to bring Light. He is called the "light of the world." The Light He brought gives eternal life and perfect peace with God. He placed no restrictions upon it, outside of our receiving Him as Saviour, Lord, and King through simple and appropriating faith in the promises of God. People of every nationality, colour, class, or time are entitled to that Light and its privileges. And God's mercy and justice have so arranged the Plan of Salvation so everyone is enlightened in a measures sufficient to guarantee his eternal salvation if he will receive that salvation, walking in the Light made manifest to him. But now, as in the time of His incarnation, Jesus comes and is not received; He speaks and is not heard; He pleads and is not answered; He invites and is continuously rejected.

"Why did He come?"

There is much about the Plan of Salvation that is not understood by the natural mind of man, for the things of the Spirit are only discerned through the Spirit. "Why did Christ come?" is a question that can be answered only by considering the infinite love, mercy, goodness, and long-suffering of the Almighty God. But it is not necessary that we be able to comprehend intellectually the answer to this question in order to be saved. We need only to sincerely believe that He did come and pay the price for our salvation.

Those who do not believe Him, who say He did not come in the flesh, and who discount His miracles or doubt His teachings, are in a class of people who will eventually be dominated by a diabolical ruler, during the Great Tribulation, who is known as the Antichrist. There is no middle ground. We cannot successfully declares ourselves to be neutral, for we must either receive Christ as our Lord and Saviour, walk in His Light, and obtain His gift of eternal life, or reject and refuse Him and be in open rebellion against Him

To those who receive Him He gives eternal life, power to become the sons of God, and the ability to be labourers in His vineyard here on earth. Those who reject Him have no alternative but to spend an entire eternity with all the other Christ-rejecters -" the filthy, the liars, the murderers, and the thieves -" as well as the devil and his angels.

How infinite the Plan! How complete and thorough its administrations! How all-inclusive its provisions! It reaches from the beginning to the very end of time, from the highest to the very lowest class of men, and from the most moral to the most degenerate! It was made possible because Jesus humbly came to earth to live, to suffer, to die, and to rise from the dead that He might ascend on High! "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift" -" the Christ, the Incarnate Word of God!

Questions

1. What phase of Christ's complete existence began when He was born?

2. Did Christ exist prior to His birth in Bethlehem? Quote some passages of Scripture to substantiate your answer.

3. Give some of the names applied to Christ, in the Bible.

4. Is the Godhead one Person or more than one?

5. What was the principal mission of Christ to this world?

6. Who was the forerunner of Christ?

7. Why is Jesus called the "light of the world"?

8. What glorious privilege is given to all who receive Christ?

9. To whom did Christ come? And did they receive Him?

10. What restrictions are placed upon the invitation to receive God's salvation?