The Person and Work of Jesus Christ

Q: What does the Bible say about the person and work of Jesus Christ?

The Bible reveals Jesus Christ as the God-man, a mystery of godliness, central to the Gospel. The Scriptures present the person and work of Jesus Christ as one of the greatest mysteries and most significant foundational truths of the Christian faith. As prophesied in Isaiah 9:6-7, Jesus is described with titles that elevate His status as both human and divine: Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. This duality emphasizes His unique role in redemption as God incarnate, who was born of a virgin and yet possesses divine authority as sovereign over all creation (Matthew 1:23). The apostle Paul highlights this mystery by affirming in 1 Timothy 3:16 that God was manifest in the flesh, revealing how His work on earth fulfills the redemptive purpose established in eternity.

Q: How do we know Jesus is both God and man?

The Bible attests that Jesus is both God and man, uniquely fulfilling the requirements for our salvation. The dual nature of Jesus Christ as fully God and fully man is confirmed through multiple scriptural affirmations. Isaiah's prophecy in Isaiah 9:6 states that a child is born, emphasizing His humanity, while simultaneously declaring Him as Mighty God, indicating His divinity. John 1:14 explains that the Word became flesh, illustrating the profound mystery of the incarnation where God took on human form. Additionally, Romans 5:12-21 explains how through one man sin entered the world, necessitating that our Redeemer must be fully human in order to represent humanity and fully divine to adequately serve as the effective sacrifice for our sins. This theological understanding reassures believers of the significance of Christ's atoning work on behalf of His people.

Q: Why is the title 'Prince of Peace' important for Christians?

The title 'Prince of Peace' signifies Jesus' role in reconciling believers to God and providing inner peace. Jesus is referred to as the 'Prince of Peace' in Isaiah 9:6, highlighting His central role in establishing peace between God and humanity. Through His life, death, and resurrection, He accomplished an unparalleled reconciliation, as described in Romans 5:1, 'Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.' This peace is not merely the absence of conflict but a profound, abiding sense of wholeness and well-being provided by a personal relationship with Him. Furthermore, Jesus encourages His followers not to be troubled, asserting that His peace transcends all understanding, thus equipping Christians to face life's trials with steadfastness and assurance. Recognizing Him as the Prince of Peace transforms our understanding of suffering and conflict, grounding our faith in His ultimate sovereignty and goodness.

Isaiah 9, verses 6 and 7. Now here's the subject. The person
and work of Jesus Christ. I have before me today the greatest
subject on which a man can attempt to preach. There's no greater
subject. This is the Gospel. This is the
foundation. This is the testimony of God. The person and work of our Lord
Jesus Christ. And it's not only the greatest
subject. I'll tell you this, it's the
most difficult subject. The most difficult. For who can
tell the unsearchable riches of His person? Who can describe
the glory and greatness of His work? What a mystery. God incarnate. What a mystery,
God in human flesh. You know, that's what Paul wrote
in 1 Timothy 3. He said, without a doubt, without
controversy, without debate, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh,
seen of the angels, justified in the Spirit, preached to the
Gentiles, believed on in the world. received up into glory. Years before that, Job wrote
these words, can you by searching find out God? Can you find out
the Almighty to perfection? So what an awesome task I have
today. What a difficult, difficult task.
A great subject. An important subject. A vital
subject. But a difficult subject. Paul
wrote these words too, Romans 11. Oh, the depths of the riches,
both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable. And you expect me to speak on
it? How unsearchable are His judgments. His ways past finding
out. Unspeakable. Unsearchable. Well, here's the text. Let's
try it. The person and work of Christ. I'll preach if I can by God's
Spirit. You listen if you are enabled
and hear. It says here in Isaiah 9, verse
6, For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the
government shall be on his shoulders. And his name shall be called
Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father,
the Prince of Peace. And of the increase of his government
and peace, there'll be no end. Everlasting life, everlasting
rule and reign, and everlasting glory, and everlasting Now here in the same breath that
the prophet calls this person a child, he calls him a counselor. Unto us a child is born, his
name counselor. In the same breath that he calls
him the son, the son is given, he calls him the father, the
everlasting father. You figure that one out. He says
in his writings, his garments are rolled in blood, and yet
he's the prince of peace. How can he be both? He says he's
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, a man of sorrows,
and yet he's the mighty God. He says he is despised and rejected
of men, and yet the government is on his shoulders, he shall
not fail, the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hands,
and he'll bring in everlasting rule and everlasting peace. There's no contradiction here.
There's a contradiction to the natural mind, but not to the
regenerate heart. It's all true of Christ our Lord.
He's talking with the same person, the child, the counselor, the
son, the father, The warrior, the prince of peace, the man
of sorrows, the mighty God, the rejected one, the exalted one,
all the same person. But I tell you, this is a mystery
that is not learned by reason, it's not learned by research,
it's learned by revelation. Eye hath not seen, ear hath not
heard, neither hath it entered the heart of man. The things
God's prepared in Christ for them that love Him. But God hath
revealed them unto us by His Spirit. For the Spirit searches
the deep things of God. Yay! The deep things of God. There's no seeing Christ except
in His own light. See, this is the problem that
folks have. They're trying to compare Christ
with thus and thus and thus. His only way to know Christ is
to see Him in His own light, in His own glory, in His own
revelation. See, Scripture is interpreted
by Scripture. He's the object of faith and
He's the light by which you see the object. He's the lesson and
He's the teacher. He's the sacrifice and He's the
priest who offers it. Am I confusing you? I hope not.
He's the atonement of God, and He's the God to whom the atonement
is offered. Our Lord said to the disciples,
whom do men say that I, the Son of Man am? And they began to
give Him all these answers, what people were saying about Him.
But He said, whom do you say that I am? And Peter said, you're
the Christ. The Christ. This carpenter's
the Christ? This child's the counselor? This
man is God. You're the Christ. You're the
Son of the living God. And he said, blessed are you,
Simon. Flesh and blood didn't reveal
that to you. You didn't learn that by reason
and research. But my Father, which is in heaven,
blessed are your eyes, they see, and your ears, they hear. That's
what I'm saying. He's the lesson and He's the
teacher. He's the sacrifice and He's the priest that offers it.
There's no seeing Christ except in seeing Christ. by his own
light. He's the object of faith and
the light by which he's seen. Look at this text. Let's look
at it. It starts out this way. Under us a child is born, a son
is given. Now there's no repetition here.
This is not saying the same thing. Over in the book of Romans where
it says all things work together for good to them who love God,
to them who are called according to his purpose, that's the same
person. Those who are called love God, and those who love
God are called. But this is not saying the same
thing. There's no repetition here, and the careful student
will discover that the Holy Spirit doesn't waste words. A child
is born unto us, unto us, a gift to us, coming for us and to us. A child is born, born, naturally
born, born of a woman, not of a man, because he's the Son of
God. conceived by the Holy Ghost,
but He's a human, He's a man of flesh. In the fullness of
time, God sent His Son into this world, made of a woman, made
under the law. Call His name Jesus. He'll save
His people from their sins. Call His name Jesus, Emmanuel,
God with us. A child is born, a child in every
sense of the word, a tender branch, a root out of a dry ground, a
child. But wait a minute. A son is given,
not born. given. You see, this Son is given. He came down from heaven. He
occupied the body of this child. That's what he said in Hebrews,
a body hast thou prepared me. In John chapter 1, verse 1, it
says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. And verse 14 said, And the Word
was made flesh. In the beginning was the Word,
And the Word was made flesh. And the Word was with God, and
He dwelt among us. And the Word was God, and we
beheld His glory. The glory as of the only begotten,
full of grace and truth. He was in the world. He made
the world. And the world knew Him not. But
I know Him, and some of you know Him. He's a child born. He's a son given. This baby,
this body, this flesh had never existed before. He came and occupied
this body God prepared. But the Son, from all eternity,
the Son of God, the only begotten, well-beloved Son of the Almighty
Father, came down and occupied this body. I have three questions.
Is this true? Did God come to earth? as a man,
did God come to earth to redeem sinners in the human body? The prophet said He did. Behold,
the Lord Himself shall give you a sign. A virgin shall be with
child, and thou shalt call His name Immanuel, God with us. God
the Father said He did. This is my beloved Son in whom
I am well pleased. The angel said he did. They stood
on the Judean hillside and said, unto you is born this day in
the city of David a Savior, Christ the Lord. It's true. Well, if it is true, what does
it mean? It means that we have a mediator, my friend. We have
someone to plead our cause. We have a mediator with the Father.
We have a righteousness produced, performed, accomplished. By this God-man. We have an atonement. We have a ransom. Turn him loose,
I found a ransom. We have a resurrection hope because
He lives, we'll live. He came that we might have life.
That's good news. What if it's not true? What if it's not true? Is it
true God came to earth as a man? Yeah, I believe it. Do you? What
if it's not true? Well, if it's not true, I don't
have a mediator. I stand alone before God. I don't
have a ransom. I've got to go to the judgment
and face that which I deserve. I don't have a righteousness.
I'll stand naked. I don't have a hope. Of all men,
I'm most miserable. If this is not true, this is
my only hope. These buildings they call churches
can't save my soul. All of these demonstrations and
all of these celebrations and all of these whoopee services,
they can't put away my sin. I need a substitute. I need a
mediator. I need a Savior. I need one to
die in my place and to live for me before the holy perfect law
of God. I've got to have this God-man.
Unto you is born a Savior. Unto us a child is born, and
that Son is given. All right? And the government
shall be on his shoulders. Our Lord is no rejected reformer. When did this happen? You know,
I hear preachers preach, and I read these these articles and
see all these motion picture shows and television shows about
this poor rejected Reformer named Jesus, this poor impotent idol,
this poor defeated idealist. Where'd that come from? He's
the King of kings and Lord of lords, never been anything less. He rules the Kingdom of God.
The Scripture says, the Father loveth the Son and hath given
all things into His hands. He has all authority in heaven
and earth. That's what he said. All authority
in heaven and earth. The Son quickens whom he will. He has all power over all flesh. That's what he prayed in John
17. He's the head of the church. He has all preeminence. God Almighty
has highly exalted him. He thought it not robbery to
be equal with God. Oh, he made himself of no reputation. He took upon Himself the form
of a servant. He was made in the likeness of
men. He suffered death, yea, even
the death of the cross, but God has highly exalted Him and given
Him a name which is above every name that is the name of Jesus.
Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess He's Lord.
By design, by decree, and by death, He's Lord. Don't you feel
sorry for Jesus Christ? When He's on His way to the Calvary,
carrying His cross, the women wept and lamented, and He turned
and said, don't you weep for Me. If you've got any tears to
shed, weep them for yourselves and for your children. Our Lord's
a King. He has the keys of hell and death. You don't do anything for Him.
There's a whole lot He can do for you and me. You don't accept
Him. He's not up for your acceptance
or rejection. He'd been rejected once and nailed
to a cross. God put Him in the hands of sinful
men one time and they spit on Him and nailed Him to a cross
and accomplished the determinate counsel and poor knowledge of
God and crucified Him and slew Him and buried Him and after
that had no more that they can do. Now, this whole shooting
match is in His hands and He'll give eternal life to whom He
wills. That's right. That's right. I hear preachers
tell people, let Jesus save you. You won't let Jesus do anything.
Not a thing in this world. You'll come to Him like the leper
of old who said, Lord, if you will, it's not your will or my
will or free will or anybody else's will, it's God's will.
Lord, if you will, you can make me whole. That's the way you
better come. Like the thief on the cross. I preached on that
last week. He said, Lord, remember me. You
see, we don't accept Him. God the Father accepts us in
the Beloved. The government's on His shoulders.
It always has been. It is now. It is now. I wish I could get that across
to folks. We seem to be trying to play
on the pity of people. Get him to feel sorry for Jesus
and let him do something or have something or go somewhere. But
he reigns. He's on the throne. Here, watch
this next line. His name shall be called Wonderful. Now, we carelessly call a whole
lot of things wonderful, but that's his name, Wonderful. He's
wonderful in his eternality. Glorify me with the glory which
I had with thee before the world was. He's wonderful in His person,
I and my Father are one. He's wonderful in His love, greater
love hath no man than this. He's wonderful in His life, He
knew no sin. He's wonderful in His death,
He died just for the unjust to bring us to God. He's wonderful
in His resurrection, why seek ye the living among the dead?
He's wonderful in His power, He's able to save and able to
keep and able to present you faultless before His throne of
glory with exceeding joy. One preacher I heard years ago
when I was a boy, I never will forget it. He said, you know,
since I found out who Wonderful is, I've never called anybody
else Wonderful. His name is Wonderful. Wonderful. Look at the next line. His name
is Counselor. Would you know God? Would you
really? A lot of people think they do. No man has seen God. No man has seen God. Don't you
believe anybody that tells you that they saw God at the foot
of their bed. They're lying. And they know it, what's more.
No man has seen God. Save the Son, and He to whom
the Son will reveal. No man knoweth the Father. No
man knows God except the Son, and the Son declares Him. Isn't
that what He said? They said, show us the Father. These are
the apostles. Show us the Father. He said,
you've seen Me, you've seen the Father. I'm the revelation of
the Father. Would you know God? Would you
look into the mysteries of God's purpose? Would you know God's
wisdom? Christ is the wisdom of God.
All the way through the Proverbs, even, it says Christ is the wisdom
of God. He said, I've manifested Your
name. and your purpose. He's our counselor. Would you know God? Would you
have the wisdom of God? Would you come to God? Christ
is the counselor. I get so unhappy when I see all
these people on these television programs playing play-like counselors
with telephones up at their ear, you know, and poor, sinful men
and women calling these human counselors. to get some spiritual
wisdom about the mystery of the grace and glory of God. What
a waste of time. Every religious person thinks
he's a counselor. What foolishness. Christ is the
counselor. If you want to know God, you
come to Christ. He said, you take my yoke upon
you and learn of me. Learn of me. Go to His Word. Go to His truth. Let Christ be
your counselor. Learn of Christ. You see what
I'm saying? He's the counselor. I can give
you all the wisdom I've got and you'll still be just like me.
You want His wisdom. Of God are you in Christ Jesus,
who has made unto us wisdom. You see, He's the key that opens
the Old Testament. He's the key that opens the patterns
and pictures. He's the key that opens the Levitical
Law. He's the key that opens all of
the promises of God. He is. He's the key of knowledge.
Christ is our wisdom. And then it says, He's the mighty
God. The mighty God. Who is Jesus Christ? The mighty
God. Every attribute of God is revealed
in Him. Only God is good, and yet they
said we find no fault in Him. Only God can give life, and yet
He stood before the grave of Lazarus and said, come forth.
And the dead, four days dead, came forth. Only God can forgive
sin, and yet He said without hesitation, Thy sins be forgiven
thee. Today, you'll be with me in paradise. Only God can still the winds.
The wind bloweth where it listeth. Christ can stop it. And Christ
can send it. And Christ can stand on the bow
of a ship and say, be still. And the wind, the boisterous
wind, will lie down at his feet like a shepherd dog at the feet
of his master. Only God knows which fish has
the coin. Remember? Only God knows men's
hearts and thoughts. Christ knew their thoughts. Only
God knows the future. He said, destroy this temple.
In three days, I'll raise it up. Thomas made the right declaration. My Lord and my God. I'm not making any apologies,
my friend. Jesus Christ is not a son of
God. There's a sense in which He's
the Son of God, but Jesus Christ is the mighty God. He is the
mighty God. He's God Almighty. And He's the
only revelation of God you'll ever see. He's the everlasting Father.
What name did He give to Moses at the burning bush? Who spoke
to Moses at the burning bush? Moses said, when I go down to
Egypt and tell them to let the people go, and people ask me,
well, who sent you? What's your name? What's your
name? As the bush burned and was not
consumed, and God spoke to Moses, and Moses said, what's your name?
God spoke. I am that I am. They came to Jesus Christ, and
He said, before Abraham was, that same voice, I am. He said, I am the bread, the
water, the door, the good shepherd, the way, the truth, the life. I am. He said, if you believe
not that I am, you'll die in your sins. When they came to
the garden with their swords and spears, He said, Whom seek
ye? They said, Jesus of Nazareth.
That voice spake again and said, I am. And they all fell backward. He that has seen me has seen
the Father. You see how awesome this is?
I don't profess to be able to explain this. I'm waiting. I
know in part, prophesy in part, I see through a glass dimly.
I'm waiting for a full revelation of His glory only in a new body
so I can stand it. only with a new body so I can
stand it. But this much I know. I do know
some things. The God-man has the government.
His name's wonderful. He's the counselor. He's the
mighty God. He's the everlasting Father.
And he's the Prince of Peace. Peace. Everybody's talking about
peace. There's not going to be peace
on this earth. I know we're all getting excited
because Russia's disarming breaking up, but I tell you the enemy
of enemies, the arch enemy, the great Antichrist, is Satan. And they'll be bound and cast
into the bottomless pit. There's not going to be any peace
among men, natural men, upon this earth. There'll be wars
and rumors of wars, Christ said, to the end of time. But I tell
you, there's peace in Christ. There's peace for believers.
There's peace with God. Therefore, being justified by
faith, we have peace with God. There's peace of heart. My peace
I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled.
There's peace with one another. We have peace among ourselves
because we're in Christ Jesus. He is the Prince of Peace. And
if there's any peace to be found with God, in the heart, with
one another, it's going to be found. through a living relationship
with the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Person and Work of Jesus Christ

What does the Bible say about the person and work of Jesus Christ?

How do we know Jesus is both God and man?

Why is the title 'Prince of Peace' important for Christians?

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The Person and Work of Jesus Christ

What does the Bible say about the person and work of Jesus Christ?

How do we know Jesus is both God and man?

Why is the title 'Prince of Peace' important for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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