Matthew chapter 1. We call this
a Bible study. And that's what we're going to
do this morning. We're going to study the Bible. For a minute. On this particular subject, if
you look at Matthew 1 verse 21 says. And she shall bring forth a son. And now shall call his name Jesus. for he shall save his people
from their sins. Now all this was done that it
might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet
saying, behold, a virgin shall be with child and shall bring
forth a son and they shall call his name Emmanuel. which being interpreted is God
with us. God with us. I would like to tell the whole
world this. So I'm gonna treat you like you're
the whole world. Everyone needs to know this.
Everyone needs to know this. I brought a message to South
Africa while we were there. on the words that our Lord spoke
to the multitudes that he preached to. The text was John 17, which
opens by saying, these words speak Jesus. Meaning these are
the words that the Lord preached to the people. This is what he
told them. And we went back to John chapter
one and we skimmed and skipped through the book of John looking
at some of the major points and the things that he told men and
women. These words speak Jesus. He said,
marvel not that I say unto you, you must be born again. Wouldn't
you love it if men and women would get a hold of that? Everybody's
born into this world thinking they're saved. That's what everybody
thinks. Everybody thinks you're born
saved and the goal of life is don't mess it up. That's what
people think. Our Lord said, marvel not that
I say unto you, you're a sinner. You're a sinner. You are a fallen,
dead in sins creature. Marvel not that I say unto you,
you must be born again. You're dead. And he told them,
you will not come to me that you might have life. He said, that's the state you're
in. He said, no man can come to me except the father which
hath sent me draw him. So he said, that's why I came. I came to do something about
that for my sheep, specifically for my sheep. I came to lay down
my life for my sheep. He said, as Moses lifted up the
serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted
up. He said, I'm going to die so
my people can live. That's the work my father sent
me to do. And in John 17, he said, father,
I finished it. I finished it. Good news, glorious
news. It is finished. That's the message
of Christ. Those were the words of the Lord
Jesus Christ. But before we looked at those
words in that service, we started by looking at the authority of
Christ's Word. We started by looking at who
exactly it was who was speaking those words. It was God Almighty. God with
us. It was God with us. That's the
authority that Christ's word was coming in. It was coming
in the authority of God Almighty because that's who he is. God
Almighty. And that is such an important
thing for all men and women to realize. So I want us to look
at that specifically for this Bible study. I want us to see
and acknowledge the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. And what
that means is Jesus Christ is God. Jesus Christ is God. That's who the Lord Jesus Christ
is. God with us. We're gonna prove that by the
word. That's how we started that service in South Africa. Proving it by the word. That's
what we're gonna do for this Bible study. From the scripture,
we're gonna prove that Jesus Christ is not who mankind naturally
thinks he is. He is not just the one who can
get you to God. He is God. He is in the beginning. Eternal. He is the everlasting
God. He is the fullness of God. And this is what I want us to
get a hold of. All right, here's the point of the whole study.
Turn with me to 1 John chapter 5. First John five, verse six. This is he that came by water
and blood, even Jesus Christ, not by water only, but by water
and blood. And it is the spirit that beareth
witness because the spirit is truth. For there are three that
bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and that's Christ,
and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one. God is three equal persons, Father,
Son, and Spirit. These three are one. There is one God. Now, I'm going
to make this statement and you're going to, you're going to say,
well, of course, everybody knows that everybody does not know
this. See if you can really get ahold of this. Okay. There are
not three gods. There are not three gods. There
is one God made up of three equal persons. And I know we can't
get our minds around that, but if God will give us faith, we'll
believe it. If he will give us faith, we will believe this.
Three different persons make up the entity of God. They all collectively are God. Most people see them on different
planes, and I've told you this many times before, but this is
the best way I know to expose the error, okay? Most people
see them on three different planes. A vertical line, the Father being
at the top, and then the Son just below Him, and then the
Spirit being at the bottom. That's not how it is. That's
not how it is. The Father of God, The Son of
God, the Spirit of God are all one entity. One is not above another. One is not older or wiser or
holier or more God than another. And it's because all three of
them are one. They are one. Even though they are three members,
you say, well, wait a minute. Is there a father? Yes. Is there
a son? Yes. Is there a spirit? Yes,
there is. There are three members. But here's the thing about it.
They cannot be separated. They cannot be separated. That's
what I want us to get a hold of. They cannot be separated. These three are one. There is one God made up of three
persons. Now, this is, we're gonna prove
it by the word, but I don't know of a better scripture than this.
Turn to Genesis 1. Genesis chapter one. Verse 26 says, and God said, let us make man
in our image, after our likeness. Us, our, who said that? God said it. The one and only
God that there is. The one and only God that there
is. Verse 26 says, God said, not the gods, but God said, let
us make man in our image after our likeness. These three are
one. They are one. Turn to Isaiah
chapter nine. Isaiah 9, verse 6. For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his
shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor,
The Mighty God. Who was it that came to us? Matthew
1 23 says it was God with us. It does not say it was God's
son with us. It does not say it was God's
son with us. It does not say it was a little
bit lesser than God with us. It says the mighty God came to
us. The begotten, the bodily image
of God came to us. The only image of God that there
is came to us. That's why I have said this before. I'll say it again. I'll try to
make it more clear than I did last time. That was not God's son. That was not God's Son. That was the Son of God. That was the Son of God. You say, Gabe, why are you so
hung up on this? Here's why. He that honoreth not the Son
honoreth not the Father. He that honoreth not the Son
honoreth not God. And the soul that honoreth not
God Condemnation awaits that soul. Honestly, the soul that
does not know the true and living God hath not life, hath not eternal
life. Condemnation awaits that soul.
When we see this one who came as being just Jesus, which is
how people see Him, When we think of him and refer
to him as just Jesus. God's son, not God. But God's son. Jared, he's teaching the class
back there. Jared just had a son. OK. That little baby is not Jared. You can say, well, he looks like
Jared. He came from Jared, but he's not Jared. That's Jared's
son. Cody just had a little, had a son, okay? That's not Cody,
that's Cody's son. Their sons are less than them. Their sons are not as old as
they are. They're just not. Their sons
are not as wise as they are. There's a difference. Their sons
are not as strong as they are. Their sons are not as able as
they are. Their sons need to be taught
by them and instructed by them for all of their days together.
Jared and Cody will have more experience. I don't care if we're
talking 20 years from now. They're going to have more experience.
They're going to be seen as being worthy of more respect and honor
than their sons. My father, okay? because of all
the experiences that he has had throughout this life. Experiences
that I have not had. He has gone through major things
in life that I have not experienced. I don't want to experience some
of the things that he has experienced. But because he has gone through
those things, and I haven't, he is worthy of more respect
and honor than I am. I believe you would say the same
thing about that man. I believe you would say the same
thing about that man. You can't help but naturally
see a son as being a little bit less than his father. You just can't. A little less
experienced. A little less wise. A little
less worthy of honor. A little less whatever. Just
less. But that cannot be said about
the Lord Jesus Christ. Because He is not God's Son. He's God Almighty. He's God Almighty. He is not God's less experienced. He is not God's less wise. He is not God's less worthy of
honor. He did not come after the Father. He is the Father. You say, wait a minute, that's
starting to sound like blasphemy. That's exactly what they accused
Christ of. Speaking blasphemy. They said,
this man is making himself to be God. That's not blasphemy,
that's truth. Verse 6, Isaiah 9, verse 6. Call His name Wonderful, Counselor,
the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Call that baby the Father? Yes. Why? He is the Father. He and his
Father are one. So much so they can't be separated. This is the point I'm trying
to make. Okay, Jared and his son, Cody and his son, my father
and me, it's possible for all of us to be separated. Not God. It's not possible. Not the father
of God, the son of God, the spirit of God. If you see one, you see
all three. Go with me to John 14. John 14, look at verse six, it
says, Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the father
but by me. If you had known me, you should
have known my father also. And from henceforth, you know
him and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord,
show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, have
I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me,
Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen
the Father. What he's saying is, you're looking
at him. That's what he's saying, you're looking at him. And he
went on to say, why do you keep saying, show us the Father? To see Jesus Christ is to see
God, the only God there is. The only God that is worthy to
be worshiped. The only God that is worthy to
be honored and praised and glorified. Jesus of Nazareth is not God's
ambassador. He's not just God's representative. He's not just the one who can
show you the way. And get you to God, he is God
himself manifest in the flesh. First Timothy 316, listen to
this verse, OK? Listen to it, I'm going to read
it in this way. It says great is the mystery of godliness.
God. And then it lists a bunch of
different things. And God is attached to all of these things.
God was manifest in the flesh. God was justified in the Spirit. When the Spirit landed on him
and said, everything he has done for 30 years has been perfect.
That was God being justified of the Spirit. God was seen of angels. They saw God. God was preached
unto the Gentiles. God was believed on in the world,
and God was received up into glory. God Himself was. That was God Himself. Go with
me to Colossians 1. Colossians 1, this is speaking
of Christ. Verse 14 says, in whom we have
redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins,
who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. For by him were all things created. Genesis 1.1, in the beginning
God created, that was Jesus Christ, by him were all things created. John 1 verse 3 says, all things
were made by him. Without him was not anything
made that was made. All things created that are in
heaven, that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be
thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created
by him and for him. And He is before all things,
and by Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body,
the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things He might have the preeminence." That means
He is on top. He is number one. Verse 19 says,
"'For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell.'"
All fullness. What fullness is he talking about?
Look at chapter 2 verse 9. It says, For in him dwelleth
all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. All the fullness of the
Godhead. All of it. The Lord Jesus Christ
deserves all of our respect and reverence and honor and praise
and worship for who He truly is. Oh, that men and women would
know Him for who He truly is. He's worthy of everything. He's worthy of it all. He's Lord
of all, God of all. To Him the Father said, Thy throne,
O God, is forever and ever. Why? Why did the Father say that?
It's because He by Himself purged our sins. on the cross of Calvary. That was God Almighty hanging
on that cross. You talk about bring a whole
new amazement to the cross. That was God hanging on that
cross. If there's any component of this
that I cannot explain, it's that component. I cannot explain that. I can't understand that. I believe
God has given me faith to believe that. But you talk about a whole new
amazement for the cross. That was God. Who died on that cross for us?
God did. How can God die? I don't know. But he's bigger and wiser, stronger,
more able than me. We're just sons of God. That's
all we are. We're just sons of God. Just
amazing. I'll close with this scripture.
Go with me to 1 John 5. 1 John 5 verse 20. And we know that the Son of God
is come. The Son of God is come and hath
given us an understanding that we may know Him that is true
and we are in Him that is true. Our Lord said in John 14, I am
the truth. What is truth? He is the truth.
He is true. We may know Him that is true.
We are in Him that is true, even in His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal
life. Our Lord said, I am the life.
Christ is eternal life. He is the truth. He is the way.
He is the life. He is the true God and eternal
life. I pray, God, In the person of
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will reveal himself to us. Amen.