Just as there is no good nights sleep without a comfortable pillow, so also, there is no rest for person who chooses to live in the kingdom of our savior Jesus Christ and yet live by the laws of the kingdom of this earth, who's ruler is Satan. If you are not worshiping the Christ of Scripture, living by the kingdom laws, then you will spend most of your time twisting and turning. Some folks worship the church, or the pastor, some folks, deceive by the prince of this world worship a different Jesus than the Jesus of the Bible. The pastor is only a sheep herder, herding the sheep back to the true shepherd. John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. There is no truth outside of Christ. The truth sets you free, error is the opposite of truth.
I. WHO DID JESUS CHRIST CLAIM TO BE?
a. A. JESUS CHRIST CLAIMED TO BE GOD:
Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." John 6:35
(1) Jesus claims to be the _____________________________.
John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
(1) Who does Jesus claim to be?_________________________.
John 10:9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.
(1) Jesus claims to be the ______________.
John 10:11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
(1) Jesus says that He is the _________ __________.
John 10:30 I and the Father are one."
(1) What does He mean when He says that He is one with the
father? _____________________________________________.
John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
(1) Jesus claims to be the ______________ and the ________.
(2) What will happen to a person who believes in Jesus? ____________________________________________________
John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and
the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
(1) Jesus says that He is the ______ and the ________ and the _________.
2) How many ways into the presence of God are there? _____
B. Christ is truth, anything else is error.
John 15:5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; part from me you can do nothing. We love to pass blame. Today's psychology is to blame our past. "Oh! I can't help my self, I come from a dysfunctional family." Of course you do. A dysfunctional family is the result of two dysfunctional people. That's past error. The true question is, are you abiding in the vine. To abide in the vine, as a branch, is to totally abandon yourself to the life of the vine. Depending on the vine for everything, abandoning your past burdens under the vine. If Jesus were just good man, or even a prophet of God, could you trust Him for everything in your life? You can, really only trust your mortal soul to an eternally existent God.
Exodus 3:14 God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'"
(1) Who does God say that He is? ______________________.
John 8:58 "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!"
(1) What is Jesus claiming when He appropriates the title "I am"?________________________________________________.
(2) Abraham lived several thousand years before the time of Christ. Could a mortal man claim to have lived before Abraham? _____________________.
(3) If Jesus made that claim then He is either very deceived or He is _________.
John 14:9 Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?
(1) What claim is Jesus making here? ________________.
II. THE PHARISEE'S RESPONSE TO CHRIST'S CLAIMS?
The Pharisee's were the religious leaders of that day. Did they understand the claim of Jesus to be God.
John 5:17-18 Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working." For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
(1) What did Jesus claim in this passage? ___________________.
John 10:31-33 Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?" "We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God."
(1) Did the Jews (Pharisees) understand that Jesus claimed to be God? _________.
John 11:48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.";
(1) Why did the Pharisees reject the claim of Jesus to be God? _____________________________________________________.
III. WHAT OTHERS SAID ABOUT CHRIST:
men that knew him!
A. THE APOSTLE JOHN who was exhiled for his faith in Christ.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
(1) Did John the apostle believe that Jesus was God?_______.
B. THE APOSTLE PETER who was put to death for his faith in Jesus. Peter was probably martyred during the reign of Nero along with myriads of other believers.
2 Peter 1:1 Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:
(1) How did Peter refer to Jesus in this passage? ____________.
Matthew 16:16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
(1) Did Peter believe that Jesus was a special kind of person?_____________________________________________.
(2) How strong would that belief have to be to be willing to die for it?_______________________________________________.
C. THE APOSTLE THOMAS, also known as doubting Thomas.
John 20:27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." John 20:28 Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
(1) Thomas was a skeptic, what happened when he examined the side of Jesus and saw where the Roman guard had speared Him? ________________________________________________.
D. THE APOSTLE PAUL, a converted pharisee and persecutor of the early Christians.
Titus 2:13 while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,
(1) Did Paul believe that Jesus and God were one and the same? __________________________________________________.
Phil 2:5-6 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
(1) Who did Paul say that Jesus was? _________.
Col 1:15-17 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
(1) According to Paul's statement in this epistle, Jesus is the _____________________________________________.
E. THE WRITER TO THE HEBREWS . Probably because this book spells out the New Covenant, we are not permitted to know the human author.
Hebrews 1:3 The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
(1) This passage says that Jesus is the ________ representation of God.
(2) The radiance of God's glory is pictured in the person of the _____________________________________________________.
(3) How are the three persons of the Trinity clearly defined here? ________________________________________________.
IV. THERE ARE ONLY THREE OPTIONS: EITHER JESUS IS A LIAR, LUNATIC OR GOD
A: CONCERNING CHRIST'S CLAIMS
A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things
Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would
either be a lunatic - on the level with the man who says
he is a poached egg - or else he would be the Devil of
Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was,
and is the Son of God: or else a madman or something
worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit on
Him and kill Him as a demon, or you can fall at His feet
and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any
patronizing nonsense about His being a great human
teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not
intend to. C.S. Lewis
B: CONCERNING THE APOSTLES CLAIMS
Matthew 16:15-17 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.
(1) Did Jesus claim to be God?____________________________.
( 2) Did the apostles think Him a liar or a lunatic? ___________.
C: CONCERNING YOUR OWN CLAIMS
Matthew 16:13-16 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
(1) Many , who knew Jesus personally, died horrible deaths for their faith, not just the 12 apostles, but many disciples. Would a person die willingly for a lie?_____________________________.
V. APART FROM CHRIST MEN ARE WITHOUT HOPE.
If Jesus isn't God, then Christianity is a cruel hoax and we are still dead in our sins and trespasses.
Matthew 11:28 - 30 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
(1) If we will accept Jesus as God, who loves us and took away the penalty for our sins, what does He say that we will find? _____________________. There is no rest apart from Christ. He is our Sabbath rest.
Hebrews 4:9-11 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.
(1) What does God say that there is for the people of God? _____________.
(2) What are the benefits of entering that rest? ________________________.
(3) Who can go into that rest? _____________________________________. Hebrews 4:3a We who believe can enter God's rest . . .
Lazarus is our example of what Christ wants to do for each
of us. John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
(1) What will belief in Jesus do for you? _____________________________.
(2) Will belief in any other religious leader or prophet accomplish this for you? _____________________
CONCLUSION: THE GOSPEL OF GRACE SHOULD BE RECEIVED BY THE "CHURCH" WITH OPEN ARMS.
DID THE RELIGIOUS FOLKS OF JESUS DAY RECEIVE HIM WITH OPEN ARMS? _______________________________________________.
WHY NOT? ___________________________________________________. John 11:48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation."
According to 2 Corinthians 5:19 So great is the love of our God, that He was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, paying our sin debt. That leaves us nothing to add except our acceptance of His gift and and submission to His indwelling Holy Spirit.
THE WHOLE OF THE GOSPEL IS" CHRIST DIED THEN TO LIVE IN US NOW.."
Man alone is the only creature on planet earth created to be indwelt by his Creator. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions please write me, Greg at deans@interpath.com
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