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1. The Ministry of Jesus The Son of God
2. Three Modes of Existence 1. Pre-Incarnate Existence 2.
Incarnate Existence 3. Ascended Incarnate Existence 2
3. 1. Pre-Incarnate Existence The Christian God is Triune in
nature OT & NT are unanimous that there is only one God
(monotheism, not polytheism) Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the
Lord is one (Deuteronomy 6:4) Thus says the LORD, the King of
Israel: "I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no
god. (Isaiah 44:6) We know that an idol has no real existence, and
that there is no God but one. (1 Corinthians 8:4) 3
4. The Triune God Father SonHoly Spirit 4 Jesus said, Go
therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew
28:19) When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son,
born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under
the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you
are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,
crying, "Abba! Father!" (Galatians 4:4-6)
5. Why a Triune God? Scripture does not fully describe how God
can be three and one, but simply asserts God as being this waybut
why? If God is love (1 John 4:8), love must have another to love
Prior to creation the Father loves the Son who loves the Father who
love the Spirit, etc. After creation, the persons of the Trinity
love one another and all creation A loving God will be complex not
unitary, for God is not self-love (narcissism), but true love
5
6. Trinity Irrational? The Trinity teaching challenges human
reason Is it irrational to think of a relational God? Perhaps the
category of supra-rational is useful: the Triune God is above and
beyond human reason It is rational to expect that an infinite God
would exceed the capacities of human reason 6
7. 2. Incarnate Existence Incarnation: the Second Person of the
Trinity, the Son of God, assumes human nature of flesh and blood,
body and soul The Gospels teach: The Holy Spirit miraculously
worked a conception in Marys womb apart from intercourse (a
virginal conception), so that Jesus is born without inheriting sin
(Luke 2:26-38) Jesus is a unique person, bearing two natures: fully
divine and fully human (but without sin) 7
8. Fully Divine Scripture reports Jesus as: Omniscient: Jesus
knew all people and needed no one to testify about anyone; for he
himself knew what was in everyone (John 2:25). Omnipotent: Jesus
came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has
been given to me (Matthew 28:18). Omnipresent: Jesus said, Behold,
I am with you always to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). On
earth Jesus does not always use these divine attributes; he
specifically declines to call upon them so that he can suffer and
die in humanitys stead 8
9. Fully Human Scripture reports Jesus as experiencing: Growth:
Jesus increased in wisdom and years, and in divine and human favor
(Luke 2:52). Hunger: He fasted forty days and forty nights, and
afterwards he was famished (Matt. 4:2). Sleep: But he was in the
stern, asleep on the cushion (Mark 4:38). Anger: Jesus entered the
temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling
there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the
benches of those selling doves (Mark 11:15) Grief: Jesus wept (John
11:35). Compassion: Jesus had compassion on them, for they were
like sheep without a shepherd (Mark 6:34) Death: When Jesus had
received the wine, he said, It is finished. Then he bowed his head
and gave up his spirit (John 19:30). 9
10. Incarnation Affirms Humanity Jesus incarnation reveals Gods
commitment to humanity: To be human and possess a body is a noble
state that Jesus honors by becoming flesh To view the Christian
faith as being primarily about saving souls limits the significance
of Jesus incarnation 10
11. Incarnation Invites Trust Jesus understands humanitys
deepest issues since he has experienced them: Since 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 of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so
that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the
service of God, to make propitiation [= a sacrifice that
reconciles] for the sins of the people. For because he himself has
suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being
tested. (Hebrews 2:14-18) 11
12. Incarnation Enables Atonement An atoning sacrifice is
required to remove the offense sin creates between fallen humans
and the holy God To atone for a wrong is to do what is necessary to
remove the offense, to make right what was wrong Since death is the
just punishment for sin, a death is required to remove the offense
In the OT God accepted animal offerings as provisional atoning
sacrifices All OT sacrifices pointed forward to the perfect atoning
sacrifice Jesus would offer 12
13. Incarnation Enables Atonement As the sinless Son of God,
Jesus one offering was sufficient to make right with God all the
sins of all humanity [Jesus] is the atoning sacrifice for our sins,
and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. (1
John 2:2) Jesus could not have offered himself as the atoning
sacrifice without first becoming incarnate, revealing the
importance of his embodied state 13
14. Incarnation Enables Resurrection In physically rising from
the dead on Easter, Jesus shows that he has conquered death since
Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no
longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once
for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. (Rom. 6:9-10)
14
15. The Resurrected Body of Jesus A real body, not a ghost
Jesus is seen, recognized, and touched (John 20:1-27) Jesus eats
(Luke 24:36-43) A glorified body Never again to die (Romans 6:9-10)
15
16. 3. Ascended Incarnate Existence Jesus ascended to his
Fathers side in glory 40 days after his resurrection, still
possessing his glorified resurrected body Jesus governs all things
until he returns: God raised Jesus from the dead and seated him at
his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and
authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is
named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. He put all
things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the
church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in
all. (Ephesians 1:20-23) Jesus must reign until he has put all his
enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. (1
Corinthians 15:26) 16
17. Jesus Return at the End Jesus second coming to earth will
occur at the end of the age No one knows when Jesus will return:
Jesus said, About that day and hour [the end, when Jesus returns]
no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only
the Father. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day
your Lord is coming. (Matthew 24:36-44) Many people have claimed to
have discovered hidden clues in the Bible about the time of Jesus
return, but the above words of Jesus have always proved true
17
18. Jesus Return at the End There will be a final judgment:
Those who have received forgiveness through faith in Jesus will be
welcomed into paradise Those who have rejected Jesus in unbelief
will be excluded from Gods presence. We who are alive, who are left
until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who
have died. For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the
archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend
from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who
are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together
with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the
Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words. (1
Thessalonians 4:15-18) 18
19. Incarnation, Resurrection, Hope Jesus resurrected body is a
model of the body believers in Christ will receive at the end of
time Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior
from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables
him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly
bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. (Philippians
3:20-21) From incarnation to resurrection to ascension to second
coming, Jesus reveals his goal to redeem all that was fallen in
body and soul Thus, for any person to serve others in body and soul
is fully congruent with the Christian faith 19