Jesus Christ, God’s Son, our Lord

Introduction

I explained last week that I was beginning a new series of sermons which will be loosely based on the Apostles’ Creed. At least, the Apostles’ Creed will provide an outline for what I hope to preach about over the coming weeks.

The Apostles’ Creed is one of the earliest and best known of the Christian creeds. Although it’s called the Apostles’ Creed, it was not written by them. Nevertheless it’s fitting to call it the Apostles’ Creed because it summarises what the Apostles believed about the Triune God who is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The first article of the Creed is, ‘I believe in God the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth’. And so, last week we spent our time thinking about the Creator and the creation, looking together at the opening of the book of Genesis. We thought about how Genesis 1:1 introduces us to the Creator-creature distinction. So, there’s God who is on one side of the distinction. And he’s infinite and eternal and unchangeable and independent. And then, on the other side of the distinction, there’s everything else which exists. And everything else is finite and temporal and changeable and dependent on God for its existence.

And the God we believe in is both transcendent and immanent. He is above and beyond the universe, because he alone is God. But he’s not distant and detached, but he’s intimately involved in his creation, because he lovingly sustains it and controls all of his creatures and all of their actions. And since he did not have to make us, then our existence is a gift. It’s a gift from God and it’s a mark of his kindness to us.

And we also thought about how the universe, when God first made it, was dark and formless and empty. But God took this dark, formless and empty universe and he made made the light to dispel the darkness; and he shaped it; and he filled it with living things. And he made the creation diverse, so that it’s filled with all kinds of plants and fish and birds and animals and people. And yet’s there’s a unity to all of it, because it all comes from him. And he made it functional and beautiful and orderly. And the universe God created is good and it remains his good creation despite our sin, which is not something God created.

And after God had finished creating the heavens and the earth, he rested. And the Tree of Life in the centre of the Garden of Eden held out to Adam and Eve the hope of eternal life in the presence of God where we shall enjoy God’s eternal rest. And though Adam forfeited the right to enter God’s eternal rest whenever he disobeyed God in the beginning, the Lord Jesus Christ has accomplished our salvation and he has won for us the right to enter God’s eternal rest in the new heavens and earth. And while we wait for that, he gives us his Spirit to renew us inwardly so that more and more we we will do what is good and right in his sight.

Today we come to the second line of the Creed, which is: ‘[I believe] in Jesus Christ, His Only-Begotten Son, our Lord’. And so, today we’re thinking about Jesus Christ, who is God’s only-begotten Son and our Lord.

Central

And perhaps the first point is make is that the doctrine of Christ is central to what we believe. This is evident even in the way the Apostles’ Creed is written, because it begins with God the Father and his work; and it ends with the Holy Spirit and his work; and the centre of the Creed is about Jesus Christ and his work. And what it says about the Lord Jesus takes up half of the Creed. So, the Creed is divided into twelve articles; and six of the twelve articles are about the Lord Jesus.

And the doctrine of Christ is central because it flows from what we believe about God the Father who made the heavens and the earth. God the Father was so committed to his creation that he sent his only-begotten Son to save his people from the condemnation we deserve for what we have done wrong; and to give us eternal life in the presence of God. And God not only makes us new, but he will make the heavens and the earth new as well. And so, he will not abandon his creation, despite the entrance of sin into the world, but he will do what is necessary to restore his creation to what he always intended it to be. In fact, since God’s will is eternal and unchangeable, then we can say that when God the Father made the heavens and earth, he already had it in mind to send his Son into the world to be our Saviour and to renew the heavens and the earth one day.

So, the doctrine of Christ flows from what we believe about God the Father who made the heavens and the earth. And it flows into what we believe about the Holy Spirit, because after the Lord Jesus died and was raised, he ascended to heaven where he received the Holy Spirit and poured him on his people here on earth to enable us to repent and believe the good news and to receive the hope of the resurrection and everlasting life in God’s presence.

And so, the doctrine of Christ is central: God the Father created the world with Christ’s coming in mind; and the work of the Spirit flows from what Christ has done for us.

And the fact that the doctrine of Jesus Christ is central to what we believe is itself significant, because while other religions have their special prophets and teachers and mediators and holy people to make known the will of their gods, those special prophets and mediators could be replaced by someone else. They are not essential to those religions. However, the Lord Jesus Christ and who he is and what he has done is essential to what we believe. He is the object of our faith, the one we are to trust and the one we are to serve. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, if Christ did not rise from the dead, our faith is futile. So, if there was no Christ who died and who was raised, then our religion would do us no good whatsoever.

Jesus

But let’s move on to consider the name Jesus. The name Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua which means ‘the Lord saves’. When the angel appeared to Mary to announce to her that she would conceive by the Holy Spirit and give birth to a child, the angel told her to give her child the name Jesus. And when Joseph discovered that Mary was pregnant, and was thinking of divorcing her, the angel appeared to him to explain that this was from God. Furthermore, the angel also commanded Joseph to give Mary’s child this name. And so, naming the child was not left up to Mary and Joseph, but it was God’s will for Mary’s child to receive this name and thereby to make clear to us who he was and why he had come. Every time we hear his name, we should remember and believe that this person is the Saviour, the one I am to trust for the forgiveness of my sins and for the hope of eternal life in the presence of God. As the angel said to Joseph in Matthew 1, he should be given the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.

And so, when we hear his name, we should remember and believe that he has saved us from the condemnation we deserve for our sins by his life and death and resurrection. He has saved us by his life, because throughout his life he obeyed God the Father perfectly and he did it on our behalf so that by believing in him we might share in his righteousness. And by sharing in his righteousness, God regards us as if we had done everything right even though we may have done everything wrong. And he has saved us by his death, because when he died, he gave up his life as the ransom to pay for our sins and to make up to God for all that we have done wrong. And he has saved us by his resurrection, because, after he was raised he entered heaven to present himself before the Father as the one who has paid for our sins in full. And so, he has saved us from the condemnation we deserve for our sins by his life and death and resurrection.

And when we hear his name, we should also remember and believe that he is saving us from the power of sin in our lives, because he gives us his Spirit to renew us in God’s image and to enable us more and more to know and to do God’s will here on earth.

And when we hear his name, we should also remember and believe that he will save us completely from sin and its effects when he comes again and renews us throughout and brings us into the new heavens and earth to live with him in body and soul forever.

And so, instead of relying on ourselves and on our own good deeds, which are always spoiled by sin, and instead of relying on someone else, we should rely on him and on him alone, because he alone is the Saviour of the world and his name Jesus reminds us of that.

Christ

Let’s think about the word Christ now. This is not a name, but a title. Jesus is the Christ. And the title means ‘Anointed One’.

In Old Testament times, prophets and priests and kings were anointed with oil to signify that God had chosen them and set them apart for this special work. God appointed prophets to reveal his will to his people. He appointed priests to offer sacrifices for the people and to pray for them. And he appointed kings to guide his people and to protect them from their enemies. And when the Son of God came into the world as one of us, to be our Mediator and to make peace for us with God, he was anointed in his humanity with the Holy Spirit to enable him to fulfil all three offices of prophet, priest and king. And so, when he went into the synagogue near the beginning of his ministry, he read from Isaiah 61:

The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me….

And after he had finished reading, he told the congregation that that Scripture has now been fulfilled in their hearing, because he is the Christ, God’s Anointed One.

And so, he began to preach and to announce that the kingdom of God is near. The kingdom of God is near because God’s Anointed King had arrived. And every time he cast out demons, he demonstrated his mighty power over Satan and how he had come to crush the Devil and to deliver his people from Satan’s tyranny and to bring them into his own kingdom of grace. And he has promised to keep us always and he has said that no one will be able to snatch us from his hand. And now that he has gone into heaven, he sits enthroned as king over all for the sake of his people; and he is extending his kingdom throughout the earth through the reading and preaching of his word.

Though his kingdom is powerful, it is not extended through the power of the sword and by means of military might or political power. It does not come by coercion, but it comes through the weakness of preaching the message of the cross, which seems foolish and weak to many, but for those who believe it is the power of God for salvation. And so, when the Lord Jesus rode into Jerusalem, and the crowds hailed him as their king, it became clear that he did not come to raise an army and to lead his people into battle. He came in weakness and in peace; and he came to die and to give up his life on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins.

And his kingdom is a priestly-kingdom. As we read in Revelation 1, he has made us to be a kingdom of priests — that is, a priestly-kingdom — to serve his God and Father. His kingdom is a priestly-kingdom, because God’s Anointed King is also God’s Anointed Priest. And just as the Old Testament priests sacrificed offerings to God, so the Lord Jesus had an offering to sacrifice. He sacrificed himself on the cross as the atonement for sins. And an atoning sacrifice is the sacrifice which Christ offered on the cross to turn away God’s wrath and curse from us and on to himself. And so, he took the blame and the punishment for all that you have done wrong, so that you could be pardoned by God. He gave up his life to pay for your sins and he shed his blood to cleanse you from your guilt. And having sacrificed himself as the perfect offering for sins, he has now gone into heaven to present his human body and soul before the Father as a continual reminder to the Father that your sins have been paid for in full and that you have peace with God forever. And so, in heaven we have one who speaks in our defence. And he speaks in our defence by referring the Father to what he has done to pay for our sins. And he intercedes for us, praying for us at the Father’s right hand side and seeking from the Father everything we need for our salvation. And since he is a priest forever, then we know that he will always represent us before the Father in heaven. Unlike those Old Testament priests, who lived and died and were replaced, the Lord Jesus Christ lives forever and he’s able to save completely those who come to God through him.

And so, his kingdom is a priestly-kingdom because our King is also our Priest. But then, he makes us priests as well by filling us with his Spirit and enabling us to give ourselves to God, as living sacrifices, wholly devoted to serving our God and bringing glory and honour to his name. And we’re able to offer to God a sacrifice of praise, giving thanks to him for his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. And just as Christ is a merciful high priest, so we’re able to show mercy to one another and help each other in our weaknesses, because we have been filled with his Spirit so that we might minister to one another.

So, Christ is the Anointed King and his kingdom is a priestly-kingdom, because not only is he our Anointed King, but he’s also our Anointed Priest. And he’s also our Anointed Prophet and Teacher, who came, full of grace and truth, to reveal to us God’s willingness to pardon our sins and to give us eternal life. He is the Promised One from Isaiah 11 on whom would rest the Spirit of the Lord, who is the Spirit of wisdom and understanding and of counsel and of knowledge. And he is the Promised One from Isaiah 61 anointed by God to preach good news to the poor and to proclaim freedom to the captives and release from darkness to the prisoners. And while in the past, God spoke through the prophets at many times and in various ways, in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son. And when the Lord Jesus was on his earth, the Father testified about him from heaven that he is his beloved Son and we ought to listen to him.

And so, he went about, preaching about the kingdom and declaring the will of his Father and speaking about sin and salvation and heaven and hell and the judgment to come when he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And even though he now is exalted to heaven, he continues to speak to us. He comes to us through the preaching of his word and he calls on sinners everywhere to repent and to believe the good news; and he warns those who do not believe that they will be condemned; and he promises life and peace to those who believe. His voice goes out into all the world through those he has sent to preach his word. And by the blessing of Christ and by the power of his Spirit, the reading and preaching of his word is made effective to convince and convert sinners to faith and to build up believers in holiness and comfort.

God the Son

And so, Jesus is the Christ. He is God’s Anointed King and Priest and Prophet. But he is also God’s Only Begotten Son. And knowing this assures us of the greatness of God’s love, because God does not only love us with words, but also with deeds. He did not just speak to us of his love, but he demonstrated it by doing something. He sent his Only-Begotten Son into the world to deliver us from our sin and misery. And his Only-Begotten Son, who is God, came into the world as one of us so that he could live for us and die for us before rising from the dead to give us life. This then is how God showed his love for us: he sent his Only-Begotten Son into the world that we might live through him. God does not love us with words only, but with deeds.

And to all who receive him, and believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. He is God’s Son by nature, having come from God eternally so that he shares the one divine essence with the Father and with the Spirit. And so, he is Light from Light and true God from true God. He is God the Son by nature. But all who believe in him receive the right to become God’s children. We become God’s children by adoption and he freely and graciously adds us to his family. And this too is evidence of his love, because how great the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God. As sons and daughters of Adam, we inherited Adam’s guilt and his sinful nature. We were by nature objects of God’s wrath and all our life we’ve disobeyed him and offended him by our sinful thoughts and words and desires and deeds. And so, what love he has lavished upon us that he should adopt us into his family and make us his children.

And since we are now his children, then we’re able to call him ‘Father’ and we can count on him for his help. And we become co-heirs with Christ of eternal life in the presence of God. And since God did not spare his Only-Begotten Son, but gave him up for us, then there’s no good thing that he will withhold from us. And so, we know we can go with confidence to our Heavenly Father in prayer and seek from him what we need, knowing that he loves us and cares for us and will not withhold his good gifts from us.

Lord

And so, Jesus is the Christ and he’s God’s Only-Begotten Son. And he’s also Lord. Being God, he was always Lord. But he is now Lord as one of us. And so, after his suffering and death on the cross, in obedience to his Father’s will, he was exalted to the highest place and given the name that is above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Being God, he is Lord from all eternity. But he was given the name Lord, because he’s been exalted now as one of us. And he himself declared to his disciples that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him. So, being God, he already possessed all authority in heaven and on earth. But he now has received all authority in heaven and on earth as one of us.

In the beginning, Adam and Eve were to fill the earth and subdue it. They were to rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground. They were to rule the earth on God’s behalf. And we were to rule with them. But then Adam disobeyed God’s command and sin came into the world. And now, instead of ruling over all, every human who was every born has been ruled over by sin and Satan and death. That is: every human who was every born with the exception of the Jesus Christ. He was filled with the Spirit from the moment of his conception and sanctified by the Spirit and kept from sin. And all his life he overcame Satan’s temptation. And then he overcame and conquered death. And now he rules and reigns in heaven as one of us.

And he helps his people by his Spirit to overcome sin by resisting it; and to overcome Satan by standing firm against his wicked schemes. And he has promised that even though we die, we will overcome death, when he raises from us the dead to live with him forever. And he promises that one day we will reign with him over the new heavens and earth.

And when that day comes, then God’s plan for the human race will be fulfilled at last, when we enter God’s eternal rest and reign forever over God’s renewed creation.

And until that day comes, and while we go on living on the earth, we should allow ourselves to be ruled by him. And so, we should obey his laws and believe his promises and seek to honour him in all we do and say. And by seeking to do good in obedience to him, we’ll be able to renew in a small way the world around us in our home and in our place of work and in whatever clubs and organisations we belong to and wherever else we find ourselves. With his help, and in obedience to him, we’ll renew these places in a small way while we wait for him to come and renew all things completely and forever.