“Celebrate the Deity of Jesus”
Series: Celebrate the Joy of Jesus! [on screen]
Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD
First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida
December 8, 2019
Introductory Comments:
Christmas in the air! Can you feel it? Christmas is just seventeen days away.
Christmas is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate Jesus and that is exactly what we are going to do.
Today, we are starting a new series called “Celebrate the Joy of Jesus!” Over the next several Sundays we will be celebrating a different aspect of Jesus as we remember and celebrate Him this Christmas.
This week, we are celebrating the deity of Jesus.
When we speak of the deity of Jesus, we mean that Jesus is divine; He is God.
As we prepare to celebrate the deity of Jesus, let’s go to God in prayer.
(prayer)
There has been debate throughout history as to whether or not Jesus was really divine. In fact, one debate involved a man that is very famous this time of year.
St. Nicholas, the man on whom the legend of Santa Clause is based was a bishop in modern-day Turkey in the third and fourth century. At the Council of Nicea, when he faced a heretic named Arius who taught that Jesus was not divine, Nicholas eventually got so fed up with Arius’ heresy that he walked across the room and punched Arius in the face. So, be careful if you’re a heretic. You might get more than a lump of coal from Santa Clause; he may punch you in the face.
Nicholas was so infuriated because he knew that Jesus was, in fact, divine; He is God!
That’s what we’re going to celebrate today in this sermon.
As we do so, we will celebrate three aspects of Jesus’ deity.
First, . . .
I. Celebrate that Jesus is eternal. [on screen]
When we say that Jesus is eternal we mean that He has always existed and He always will exist.
Before a single thing was created on this earth, Jesus preexisted.
John 1:1-5 says, “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.” [on screen]
John refers to Jesus here using the term “The Word.”
The Word was with God and the Word was God before the beginning of all things.
Jesus is eternal!
One of the most famous prophecies concerning Christmas is the prophecy of Isaiah in Isaiah 9:6. Isaiah says, “For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” [on screen]
Isaiah is clearly speaking about the child who would be born, who would become the Messiah.
Of this child, Isaiah says He’s more than just Messiah; He is Mighty God and He is Eternal Father. Jesus the Messiah is eternal! Only God is eternal and Jesus is eternal. Therefore, Jesus is divine; He is God!
Jesus Himself spoke of His eternality. Speaking to the Jewish leaders, He compared Himself to Moses and said that Moses looked forward to seeing Him. This confused the Jewish leaders so they questioned Him. Listen to the interaction. Look at John 8:57-59: 57 The Jews replied, “You aren’t fifty years old yet, and you’ve seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden and went out of the temple. [on screen]
Jesus said that He was around way before Abraham. Not only that, He didn’t say, “Before Abraham was, I was.” He said, “I am.” Well, that sounds kind of funny grammatically, but Jesus is ascribing to Himself the same name that God revealed to Moses at the burning bush when Moses asked, “What is your name?” God said to Abraham, “I am that I am.” Jesus said to the religious rulers, “I am.”
Jesus is speaking both to His eternal and His divine nature.
The Jewish leaders realized this and they picked up stones to kill Him because they knew that Jesus was claiming to be eternal God.
Further, Jesus speaks of Himself in Revelation 22. He says in verse 13, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” [on screen]
That’s pretty clear, is it not?
Jesus Himself says that He is the beginning and the end. He is eternal.
We can celebrate the deity of Jesus by celebrating that He is eternal.
Second, . . .
II. Celebrate that Jesus is supernatural. [on screen]
Jesus is not just eternal, He is supernatural. Jesus has powers, abilities, and knowledge that go beyond natural humanity. His supernatural nature highlights His deity.
Let’s talk specifically about three supernatural abilities that Jesus has.
First, Jesus is omniscient, meaning He is all-knowing.
For instance, notice that Jesus knew people’s thoughts. We see this all throughout the book of Matthew as Jesus is interacting with the Pharisees.
We see this in Mark as well. In Mark 2:8 we read, “Right away Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were thinking like this within themselves and said to them, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?” [on screen]
Jesus knew the thoughts of peoples’ hearts. That is not natural, that is supernatural!
Jesus’ omniscience went beyond that. Jesus was even able to see things that weren’t where He was located.
This was the case when He called the apostle Nathanael. Listen to this in John 1:47-49:
47 Then Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said about him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” 48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you,” Jesus answered. 49 “Rabbi,” Nathanael replied, “You are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel!” [on screen]
Jesus could see Nathanael when He wasn’t even there. It freaked-out Nathanael because He knew that a mere man couldn’t do this. Indeed, Jesus is not merely a man. He is God!
Second, we can celebrate that Jesus is supernatural by recognizing that He is omnipotent. That is, He is all-powerful.
We see this demonstrated countless times throughout the Bible.
Jesus had the power to multiply bread and fish. We’ve read a lot about that lately.
Jesus had the power to transform water into wine.
Jesus had the power to calm a raging storm on the Sea of Galilee, so much so that it caused His followers to question what kind of man He was. Listen to this encounter. Look at Matthew 8:25-27
25 So the disciples came and woke him up, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to die!” 26 He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey him!” [on screen]
The disciples recognized that Jesus was no ordinary man, and so should we.
Third, we must recognize that Jesus is omnipresent. That is, He is able to be present anywhere and everywhere.
While Jesus took on some of the limitations of humanity while on the earth before His resurrection, He shed those limitations after His resurrection and ascension back into heaven.
In fact, Jesus said this to His followers before He ascended back into heaven. Listen to Mathew 28:20, “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” [on screen]
Jesus says that He is with every one of His followers. Indeed, we often say that we ask Jesus to come into our hearts, and rightly so. Jesus says He will be with us. He is present in multiple places at one time!
He is ever-present. He is God.
Celebrate that Jesus is supernaturally divine.
Finally, . . .
III. Celebrate that Jesus is worshipful. [on screen]
In theology, we use the term incarnation to describe the event of God coming to earth as a man. God incarnate came to the earth. That very act should swell up within us a heart full of worship that bursts forth from our hearts, our minds, our lips, and our everyday lives.
Jesus is God and He has come to the earth. Upon recognizing that He is divine, we must respond with worship!
As the disciples recognized on the Sea of Galilee, we must also recognize that there’s something special about this man.
Remember the apostle Thomas? Upon expressing HIs doubts about the risen Jesus, he said that he would not believe that Jesus was raised from the dead unless he saw Him personally. Check out this encounter in John 20:27-28.
27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Don’t be faithless, but believe.” 28 Thomas responded to him, “My Lord and my God!” [on screen]
Upon recognizing that Jesus was really alive, Thomas acknowledged that Jesus was Lord and God. He worshiped Him with an acknowledgment of His deity.
John the Baptizer understood who He was even before He was crucified and resurrected. John said the following, before Jesus’ ministry even began, in Matthew 3:3, “For he is the one spoken of through the prophet Isaiah, who said: A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord; make his paths straight!” [on screen]
We also see that at the end of the earth as we know it, all followers of Jesus will worship Him. Behold the words of Revelation 5:12 describing this scene, “They said with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing!’” [on screen]
Thomas knew who He was, John the Baptizer knew who He was, all Christians will say, “Worthy is the Lamb,” but also, all people will one day worship Him.
Indeed, the apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 2:9-11:
9 For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow—in heaven and on earth and under the earth—11 and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. [on screen]
Jesus is God and He is worthy of our worship! We must celebrate Jesus by worshiping Him!
Concluding Thoughts:
This Christmas, let us celebrate that Jesus is divine!
That takes us to our simple, yet profound bottom line:
Bottom Line: Celebrate that Jesus is God! [on screen]
(repeat)
He was a man, but He is not merely a man! He is divine! He is eternal! He is supernatural! He is worshipful! Celebrate that!
Challenge yourself to live in celebration this week in the following ways:
Weekly Challenge: [on screen]
- Discover more of Jesus’ deity. [on screen]
Dive deeply into the richness of God’s Word and discover more about Jesus’ deity.
Ask Him, through prayer, to teach you more about Him.
Discover more about Jesus.
- Worship Jesus as God. [on screen]
He was a baby in a manger, but He was not merely a baby in a manger. He was and is God.
This Christmas, worship Him as God.
- Share that Jesus is God. [on screen]
Christmas is a fantastic time to share with others that Jesus is God and that God the Son laid down His life for sinners.
That is the greatest joy of Christmas.
Share that with others.
Closing:
As we close, remember the deity of Jesus. Be encouraged that He is God. Be challenged by His deity.
Be saved by the sacrifice of God the Son for your sins!
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
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