To begin our study of the first letter of john, we look at how john deals with the idea that christ came in the flesh in other words the human nature of christ 1 christ was manifest in the flesh. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with god, and the word was god. 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. He had told them many times in the past that he proceeded from the father.
Meditations of a christian hedonist and most recently why i love the. All right, the gospel of john, what a wonderful place to be in the time of darkness to shine the light, right. Some claim that because jesus is the son of god, he must be a lesser god than god the father. The very nature of jesus was on more than one occasion the source of controversy. God indwelt a human body to show us his true nature and to tell us the way to know god and to have our sins forgiven. God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen by angels, preached among the gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory. Following are verses used to show that jesus is god in flesh. Apostle john even says that anyone denying jesus came in human flesh is the antichrist. So jesus came in corruptible flesh, but jesus resisted temptation, even as the epistle writer of hebrews says.
Jesus asked them which of his miracles caused them to want to kill him. To begin our study of the first letter of john, we look at how john deals with the idea that christ came in the flesh in other words the human nature of christ. At first glance, this central tenet of our faith might seem quite unrelated to many other important concerns, such as the. Take a few moments of private worship to picture the baby in the manger as god in the flesh. When tempted with the worlds kingdoms and glory, jesus responds, it is written, you shall worship the lord your god and. Because jesus was god in the flesh, he alone could pay the debt we owed to god.
Unfallen sarx is understood in a full theological sense, as in galatians 5. Write down your praise to god for his indescribable gift. The gospel of john, which is written in very symbolic language at the beginning, speaks about the word becoming flesh. These verses clearly indicate that jesus is god in the flesh. One fact is that jesus teaching and presence often was the source of division cp. We absolutely must believe that jesus christ is god manifest in the flesh as of the only begotten of the father john 1. For 33 years, he served as pastor of bethlehem baptist church, minneapolis, minnesota.
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness. Jesus points back to the living word and its ultimate, divine source. Jul 14, 2012 jesus is god as lord almighty called him god just as lord made moses a god. No god would deal with anything as degrading as human flesh. The word is jesus who was with god in the beginning and he became flesh this is what incarnate means to be made flesh. God does not mean that jesus christ is part god and part man, nor does it imply that he is the result of a confused mixture of the divine and the human. And if they were false, jesus could not be a great moral teacher. In becoming flesh, god accepted the limitations of humanity. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made and the word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. This was written by our author in confutation of certain heretics who denied the reality of christs flesh, or at least its identity with human flesh fearing that, if they admitted the reality of christs flesh, they must also admit his resurrection in the flesh. Either jesus was who he claimed to begod in the fleshor his claims were false. Now if the word was god, and the word became flesh, then surely god became flesh, and thats who jesus was god in the flesh, god in the world, god on earth, god in christ. After jesus resurrection, was his body flesh or spirit. When one believes jesus, it is as if they are figuratively eating his flesh and drinking his blood.
They replied, we are not stoning you for any of these but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be god. He is author of more than 50 books, including desiring god. God loved us so much he wants to spend forever with us. He entered human flesh, which stands for the whole person. Note that the context affirms both jesus deity and his humanity. One of johns strong points is that jesus was a real human being. However in the case of jesus, his many miracles, healings, prophecies, signs and wonders gave such credibility to jesus being god in the flesh that the leaders. But as we see in verse 14, the word jesus dwelt among us. If you believe jesus came in the flesh, you must have the holy spirit because the apostle john wrote that it is by this you know the spirit of god.
Whether its literal or symbolic, i believe that each of us have a spiritual womb. Therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear. Jesus is god as lord almighty called him god just as lord made moses a god. Among the ancients, however, an important meaning of son of is one who has the same nature as. The creator god never took on the human body, because god is a spirit john 4.
At first glance, this central tenet of our faith might seem quite unrelated to many other important concerns, such as the role of gender in the christian community. The word jesus was god and the word became flesh john 1. Jesus own words showed that he would not be resurrected with his fleshandblood body. Pauls contradictions of jesus jesus words only jesus. Jesus makes it clear that he does not mean that one must literally eat his flesh and drink his blood in v 63.
Dec 15, 2019 jesus came to reconcile us back to god or, as some scriptures say, give his life as a ransom for many mark 10. The divinity of jesus christ, the eternal word of god, was dealt with in summary no. He would either be lying intentionally or he would be a lunatic with a god complex. The word became flesh the incarnation of god john said the word became flesh and tabernacled among us. Christ in the flesh what 1st john says about christ 1. However, there has been no complete and structured description of jesus teachings that would discuss. Jesus is god in the flesh sermon by james ledbetter, john.
George washington carey and inez eudora perry authors of the wonders of the human body the chemistry of life the chemistry and wonders of the human body. Sep 19, 2011 jesus is god as lord almighty called him god just as lord made moses a god. Paul, the great apostle of the early church, proclaimed jesus as god come in the flesh. Christians around the world agree that jesus is fully god and fully human. Finally, john concludes his first letter by writing these words about jesus the son of god. Yes, he was fully man, but he was also fully god colossians 2. His victory over death and the grave won the victory for everyone who puts their trust in him john 1. As the scripture says, jesus is god in the flesh and the word existed before time and creation. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only son of the fatherjohn 1. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. It is important to identify jesus as god in the flesh for many reasons, but the two primary reasons are that 1 he claimed to be god in the flesh and 2 his death on the cross and resurrection mean something different if he is god in the flesh. Jesus, as the son of god, has the very nature of god john 5. The scriptures used here are from the new american standard bible. The gospel of john proclaims in chapter 1 that jesus was the word, eternally existent with the father.
The oneness of god is jesus in the godhead or is the. He said that he would give his flesh in behalf of the life of the world, as a ransom for mankind. It might be hard to understand how this could be true, but its important to. Most christians believe he is the incarnation of god the son and the awaited messiah the christ prophesied in the old testament virtually all modern scholars of antiquity agree that jesus existed.
What does the bible mean when it talks about the flesh. Even though jesus was sinless, he did come in human flesh sarx in greek. Jesus did declare himself to be god and it is even likely that a verbal declaration alone would not have even gotten the attention of the leaders. Some say jesus christ was just a man, or maybe a great teacher.
The flesh is the part of a believer that disagrees with the spirit. Christmas sermon on jesus becoming flesh wonder of. I embrace the transforming power of the body and blood of jesus i engage the record containing the light, sound and frequency of gods image for transfiguration. Most christians believe that jesus was both human and the son of god. Hence, it is claimed that jesus is god is a lesser sense, different from the father. In this way, he affirms the authority of scripture. There can be no doubt that jesus is god, clothed in human flesh, when we take the first verse with the fourteenth. Jesus is god in the flesh sermon by james ledbetter, john 1. A careful study of jesus as found in the gospels reveals many salient facts. The makeup of a believer is different from that of an unbeliever, in that an unbeliever does not have the spirit of god indwelling them. Here jesus makes the very simple, undisguised claim that he is no less than god. What paul asserts, then, when he says that christ jesus existed in the form of god, is that he had all those characterizing qualities which make god god, the presence of which constitutes god, and in the absence of which god does not exist. The flesh and the spirit are two opposing forces that exist within a believer.
Jesus is uniquely one with, but distinct from, the fathergod manifest in human flesh. Such writings are many, but not all of them were included in the new testament. Flesh, to them, was corruptible, temporary, and doomed to be destroyed and cast aside. He dwelt among us to teach us and to show us how to live.
Hodge, expounding the true doctrine on the basis of this verse, declares that socinians, arians and. All that had been prophesied about jesus became the spora, or the seed. He wasnt just some spiritual individual during his time on earth. The teachings brought by jesus christ from godthefather came to us in the form of jesus conversations. While there has been theological debate over his nature, trinitarian christians generally believe that jesus is the logos, god s incarnation and god the son, both fully divine. When we ask for and are led by god s spirit as we study, the bible springs to life in our minds in a new way. The doctrine of the trinity the equality of god the father, jesus the son and the holy spirit is not found in the bible.
Jesus humanity makes it possible for him to liberate us from the bonds of sin. The virgin birth of jesus was completely natural in every respect except one. Jesus was tempted in all ways as we are but did not sin. Ad 30 33, also referred to as jesus of nazareth or jesus christ, was a firstcentury jewish preacher and religious leader. The original teachings of jesus christ translated from russian by mikhail nikolenko 2008. Christians view jesus as a role model, whose god focused life believers are encouraged to imitate. We have been introduced to the lord jesus christ in this gospel.
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