WEBVTT 00:00:01.200 --> 00:00:04.560 Now let's turn in our Bibles to Hebrews chapter one please. 00:00:04.560 --> 00:00:06.000 Hebrews chapter one. 00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:09.200 We'll take time, to read the chapter. 00:00:09.200 --> 00:00:11.760 Hebrews, chapter one. 00:00:15.865 --> 00:00:32.080 Hebrews chapter one Long ago at many times and in many ways God spoke to our fathers by the prophets but in these last days he has spoken to us by his son whom he appointed the heir of all things through whom also he created the world. 00:00:32.720 --> 00:00:41.120 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. 00:00:41.975 --> 00:00:56.135 After making purification for sins he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. 00:00:57.070 --> 00:01:08.430 For to which of the angels did God ever say, you are my son, today I have begotten you or again I will be to him a father and he shall be to me a son. 00:01:08.915 --> 00:01:15.475 And again when he brings the firstborn into the world he says, let all God's angels worship him. 00:01:15.795 --> 00:01:33.010 Of the angels he says he makes the angels winds and his ministers a flame of fire but of the sun he says your throne O God is forever and ever the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. 00:01:33.730 --> 00:01:45.315 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness therefore God your God has anointed you with oil of gladness beyond your companions. 00:01:45.475 --> 00:01:52.430 And you Lord laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning and the heavens are the work of your hands. 00:01:52.430 --> 00:01:54.270 They will perish, but you remain. 00:01:54.430 --> 00:01:56.750 They will all wear out like a garment. 00:01:56.750 --> 00:01:58.830 Like a robe, you will roll them up. 00:01:58.830 --> 00:02:01.070 Like a garment, they will be changed. 00:02:01.230 --> 00:02:04.270 But you are the same and your years will have no end. 00:02:04.915 --> 00:02:13.795 And to which of the angels has he ever said, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for my feet? 00:02:14.195 --> 00:02:22.570 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? 00:02:24.250 --> 00:02:24.810 Amen. 00:02:24.810 --> 00:02:27.210 And we know God will bless his word to your hearts. 00:02:27.210 --> 00:02:33.345 Now at the heart of the Christian faith, we find of course the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:02:33.345 --> 00:02:40.625 The gospel that we are sent to proclaim centers on what Christ has done to save sinners. 00:02:40.945 --> 00:02:43.585 And it's about the God ordained way of salvation. 00:02:43.985 --> 00:02:48.270 And to lose sight of that is really to lose sight of the gospel. 00:02:48.270 --> 00:03:00.270 Christ is the center of the gospel in his person and work, and it's crucial for Christians that we understand as fully as possible the salvation that God has provided for us. 00:03:00.815 --> 00:03:03.535 And there are different reasons why that's the case. 00:03:04.095 --> 00:03:11.775 But of course we can't communicate clearly to anyone the message we haven't really grasped ourselves. 00:03:11.855 --> 00:03:28.930 It's like someone trying to teach a class and they're not too well grounded in the subject themselves and occasionally you might have come across this and the communication is very obscure and everybody's lost in the process but in our witness for the gospel of course that's the last thing that we really want. 00:03:29.625 --> 00:03:41.945 And it's also important for Christians themselves for their own spiritual health because the better you understand, what the Lord has done for you then the stronger your faith will be and the deeper your spiritual life will be. 00:03:42.240 --> 00:03:48.640 So it's wise and it's profitable for Christians to keep going back to the fundamentals of the gospel. 00:03:49.040 --> 00:03:55.440 Sometimes the temptation is to think well I know these things and I've grown beyond these things and I want something else. 00:03:56.715 --> 00:04:07.755 But we always need to remind ourselves that the fundamentals of the gospel leave a secure grasp of God's truth as they're applied by the aid of the Holy Spirit. 00:04:08.650 --> 00:04:15.930 Now here in Hebrews chapter two and verse three the writer poses a very searching question, a question that you've heard before. 00:04:16.090 --> 00:04:19.450 How shall we escape if we neglect such a salvation? 00:04:19.850 --> 00:04:21.450 And he knows the answer of course. 00:04:22.145 --> 00:04:23.345 We won't escape. 00:04:23.505 --> 00:04:27.825 No one will escape if they ignore the salvation that God has provided. 00:04:27.825 --> 00:04:44.550 So over the next number of Lord's Day mornings I want us to focus on this question posed in Hebrews chapter two in verse three and to reflect together on this great salvation as we begin a series this morning entitled exploring a great salvation. 00:04:45.110 --> 00:04:48.870 And what I intend to do is to look at different aspects of salvation. 00:04:49.030 --> 00:04:57.995 How it's provided, what it provides for us, an answer to our spiritual plight, and of course to deepen our understanding of the gospel. 00:04:57.995 --> 00:05:05.595 When thinking about salvation, it's imperative that we commence by answering the question, who is the savior? 00:05:06.820 --> 00:05:13.780 And we want to think about the identity of the Lord Jesus Christ who is who is the one that God has provided to save us. 00:05:14.020 --> 00:05:19.300 So we're thinking first of the person of Christ and then we're gonna think about the work of Christ. 00:05:19.565 --> 00:05:22.205 The two are really inseparable. 00:05:22.205 --> 00:05:24.285 Not two different subjects. 00:05:24.285 --> 00:05:31.565 They're one of the same subject and what Christ does is is possible because of who He actually is. 00:05:32.540 --> 00:05:41.100 So we start with who He is and then we'll go on to think of what He's done and what He continues to do on at other services. 00:05:41.100 --> 00:05:49.385 So we begin thinking about exploring this great salvation and we come this morning to thinking about our savior, the true God. 00:05:49.625 --> 00:05:50.985 Our savior, the true God. 00:05:50.985 --> 00:05:55.225 And this is fundamental in a sense of we get this issue wrong. 00:05:55.385 --> 00:06:06.350 If we get the issue of who Jesus Christ is wrong, well then everything else concerning the gospel and everything else concerning salvation will be wrong. 00:06:06.350 --> 00:06:09.870 So we're coming to think about our Savior, the true God. 00:06:10.110 --> 00:06:12.510 And there are two things that we want to think about this morning. 00:06:13.295 --> 00:06:21.535 First of all we want to think about the Savior's divine names and then secondly we want to think about the Savior's divine perfections. 00:06:22.095 --> 00:06:24.815 Both these explain who the Savior is. 00:06:25.550 --> 00:06:29.310 So first of all let's think about the Saviour's divine names. 00:06:29.310 --> 00:06:35.150 The Saviour's divine names and we have often said that the Bible names are very important. 00:06:35.310 --> 00:06:37.230 Names in the Bible are very significant. 00:06:37.230 --> 00:06:41.525 It's part of the culture that names were given for a particular reason. 00:06:42.245 --> 00:06:53.205 And you think of different characters in Scripture and the names that they were given speak about the purpose for which God had called them and the experience that they had of God in their lives. 00:06:53.620 --> 00:06:58.260 We think for example of Abraham's name change. 00:06:58.740 --> 00:07:14.815 In the biblical account primarily found in Genesis 17, God renames Abram which means exalted father to Abraham which means father of a multitude, father of many nations as part of establishing His everlasting covenant. 00:07:14.975 --> 00:07:27.780 And the text explicitly ties the new name to the promise that God has made with Him the father of a multitude of nations with descendants with kings and a lasting relationship. 00:07:28.740 --> 00:07:33.380 So the names that God uses are of great significance. 00:07:33.380 --> 00:07:34.260 They're not random. 00:07:34.825 --> 00:07:36.665 They all have a lesson for us. 00:07:36.665 --> 00:07:46.345 So when we think of the Lord Jesus Christ, it's profoundly important to see that He is referred to very specifically in Scripture. 00:07:46.905 --> 00:07:49.865 Those names are given to Him, the very names of God. 00:07:51.180 --> 00:07:55.980 And as we think of the names given to the savior, there are two things that we need to think about. 00:07:55.980 --> 00:07:58.780 First note, he is actually called God. 00:07:59.180 --> 00:08:05.820 It's as simple in one sense as that usually when you read in the scriptures about God, it's it's referring to the father. 00:08:06.105 --> 00:08:09.465 And that's a reasonable safeguard throughout scripture. 00:08:09.705 --> 00:08:12.985 And when there's a reference to God, usually the father's in view. 00:08:13.385 --> 00:08:22.630 And then when we come across particularly on occasion, the name of God being applied to the Lord Jesus Christ, our ears should prick up. 00:08:23.190 --> 00:08:31.110 It stands out when we find those instances, references in the scriptures to the Lord Jesus Christ being the creator of the universe. 00:08:31.510 --> 00:08:37.225 He's seen as the sovereign Lord over all things and there are many examples of these found throughout scripture. 00:08:37.225 --> 00:08:39.785 And it's a number of these that I want to look at. 00:08:40.345 --> 00:08:53.500 In John chapter one, that great chapter, which of course echoes Genesis chapter one, very clearly Genesis chapter one is in the mind of the Apostle John as he writes the first chapter of his gospel. 00:08:53.580 --> 00:08:59.260 And remember how he starts, In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. 00:08:59.900 --> 00:09:03.580 It's very similar to the creation narrative in Genesis one. 00:09:03.935 --> 00:09:06.575 But note what we're told about the Word. 00:09:06.895 --> 00:09:10.815 The Word existed before the first act of creation. 00:09:10.895 --> 00:09:12.495 He's not part of creation. 00:09:12.495 --> 00:09:17.855 He existed before there was any creation, before God said, Let there be light. 00:09:19.290 --> 00:09:20.570 The Word existed. 00:09:21.050 --> 00:09:27.050 And the Word of course is a person and indeed John tells us there that the Word was responsible for the creation. 00:09:27.050 --> 00:09:31.850 And John tells us nothing that was made without Him that has been made. 00:09:32.695 --> 00:09:36.375 Nothing was made without him that has been made. 00:09:36.375 --> 00:09:41.175 And there in verse one, as clearly as it could be stated, the word was God. 00:09:41.175 --> 00:09:43.255 And this isn't a is a description. 00:09:43.255 --> 00:09:51.810 It's an ascription of the deity given to the Lord Jesus Christ or ascribed to Him as the Son of God. 00:09:51.810 --> 00:09:53.250 He is God. 00:09:53.890 --> 00:09:58.370 Now you might say, well, okay, so what? 00:09:59.935 --> 00:10:03.375 The cults of course will try to wriggle out of that. 00:10:04.015 --> 00:10:13.055 If you open the Bible translation that the Jehovah's Witness use for example you'll find in John chapter one it says, The Word was a God. 00:10:14.310 --> 00:10:18.150 And there's a small g at the word God. 00:10:18.630 --> 00:10:24.870 The argument that they try to present is that He's less than the Father that He's not fully God in that sense. 00:10:24.870 --> 00:10:36.695 He doesn't deserve a capital G and this is simply a deliberate mistranslation to serve their own denigration of Christ because they don't believe that He is the Son of God. 00:10:36.695 --> 00:10:38.615 They don't believe He is fully God. 00:10:38.855 --> 00:10:48.650 So in order to spread their heresy, they have to somehow escape the meaning of John chapter one verse one by a mistranslation. 00:10:49.530 --> 00:11:00.145 Let me be clear here the way John puts it in Greek is the only correct way the Greek language can really describe Jesus as the Word. 00:11:00.305 --> 00:11:01.505 The Word was God. 00:11:01.505 --> 00:11:16.040 There's no other way for John to say it in the original language than the way that he actually describes it time and again all through John chapter one we see Jesus affirmed as fully God and he can't be stated any other way. 00:11:16.040 --> 00:11:27.645 There's no room for debate as far as this language is concerned and yet, the Jehovah's Witnesses and others would have us believe that in this single case it somehow means something different. 00:11:27.645 --> 00:11:32.845 And not only the Jehovah's Witness, the non subscribing Presbyterian church are exactly the same. 00:11:34.765 --> 00:11:44.200 And you can go right through history where people have taught this idea that the Lord Jesus Christ is a great example, the greatest human being who ever lived. 00:11:45.880 --> 00:11:49.880 Right away back to the second century when there was a man called Arius. 00:11:50.120 --> 00:11:51.560 There's nothing new under the sun. 00:11:52.295 --> 00:11:55.095 And John couldn't have said it any other way. 00:11:55.175 --> 00:11:57.655 The language left him no other option. 00:11:57.655 --> 00:12:02.295 In John chapter one, over and over again, Jesus is shown to be fully God. 00:12:02.295 --> 00:12:04.455 You can't read it any other way. 00:12:04.455 --> 00:12:06.535 There is no debate. 00:12:07.450 --> 00:12:12.810 But they want us to believe that in this one place it doesn't mean what it says. 00:12:12.810 --> 00:12:18.970 And this is the worst possible interpreting of Scripture throughout John chapter one verse after verse. 00:12:18.970 --> 00:12:23.965 The original word theos refers to the one who is fully God. 00:12:23.965 --> 00:12:33.405 No matter how you write it the message is the same when it speaks of the word the Son of God it declares that He is fully God just like the Father. 00:12:33.725 --> 00:12:37.880 John chapter one is a crucial passage but it's not the only one. 00:12:38.200 --> 00:12:41.480 It's fascinating to go to the end of John's gospel. 00:12:41.480 --> 00:12:44.360 John's gospel chapter 20 and verse 28. 00:12:44.360 --> 00:12:49.320 And in a sense, you would say that the whole of John's gospel is building up to this. 00:12:49.575 --> 00:12:57.095 It's leading up to this incident when Thomas meets the risen Christ and the other disciples met him. 00:12:57.095 --> 00:12:59.575 Thomas hadn't been there in the upper room. 00:12:59.655 --> 00:13:11.850 Remember he said, Oh unless I feel the spear print in his side and I feel the nail marks in his hands I won't believe that it's him. 00:13:12.730 --> 00:13:25.735 And of course he meets the risen Christ and Jesus so lovingly and graciously lets him feel the print of the nails and the spear print in the side and Thomas realizes it's Christ and He's truly risen. 00:13:25.735 --> 00:13:30.775 And Thomas' confession is found there in John chapter 20 and verse 28. 00:13:30.980 --> 00:13:31.940 It's profound. 00:13:31.940 --> 00:13:33.540 My Lord and my God. 00:13:33.860 --> 00:13:35.460 My Lord and my God. 00:13:36.340 --> 00:13:38.980 And there's no avoiding the significance of the title. 00:13:38.980 --> 00:13:41.460 Thomas is referring to Jesus as God. 00:13:42.580 --> 00:13:44.340 And Jesus accepts that title. 00:13:45.655 --> 00:13:59.015 And that's important to to look at because you remember, for example, there at the beginning of the book of Revelation written by the apostle John, John falls down before one of the angels to worship him, and the angel says to him, don't do that. 00:13:59.015 --> 00:13:59.575 Don't do that. 00:14:00.200 --> 00:14:01.400 Worship God. 00:14:02.200 --> 00:14:08.360 And yet here Jesus accepts Thomas' ascription of deity, my Lord and my God. 00:14:08.360 --> 00:14:12.440 Thomas has come to a full understanding of the deity of Christ. 00:14:13.175 --> 00:14:20.935 And again the cults try to get out of the force of this particular verse and they suggest for example that Thomas was so shocked. 00:14:21.895 --> 00:14:26.775 He was so shocked that these words came out of him like a swear comment. 00:14:28.480 --> 00:14:29.760 That he was swearing. 00:14:29.840 --> 00:14:31.440 Can you really believe that? 00:14:32.160 --> 00:14:34.080 My Lord and my God. 00:14:34.080 --> 00:14:38.400 And this is Thomas they're saying just swearing because he's so surprised. 00:14:38.960 --> 00:14:41.120 This is absolute blasphemy. 00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:46.215 My Lord and my God is exactly who Jesus is risen in triumph. 00:14:46.935 --> 00:14:50.295 And then we can go to Colossians chapter two in verse nine. 00:14:51.255 --> 00:14:55.015 And again another wonderful testimony to the deity of Jesus Christ. 00:14:55.255 --> 00:14:59.415 In Christ all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form. 00:14:59.860 --> 00:15:05.140 He has the same divine nature as the Father, all the fullness of deity. 00:15:05.220 --> 00:15:09.300 It couldn't be more clear than that made there by the Apostle Paul. 00:15:09.460 --> 00:15:12.020 Jesus wasn't a wee bit of deity. 00:15:12.665 --> 00:15:14.825 He wasn't a big bit of deity. 00:15:14.985 --> 00:15:17.225 He was full deity. 00:15:17.465 --> 00:15:19.865 Jesus wasn't part of deity. 00:15:20.345 --> 00:15:22.185 He was fully God. 00:15:22.425 --> 00:15:24.985 And then we think of the amazing truth of the incarnation. 00:15:25.730 --> 00:15:27.970 Jesus Christ coming in bodily form. 00:15:27.970 --> 00:15:32.370 Jesus of Nazareth as He walked and He's healed and died on the cross. 00:15:32.530 --> 00:15:35.250 He is the fullness of dead in bodily form. 00:15:35.250 --> 00:15:37.890 Another mighty testimony to the deity of Christ. 00:15:38.415 --> 00:15:42.175 And then we come to Hebrews chapter one which we read together. 00:15:42.495 --> 00:15:43.935 We read it for a reason. 00:15:43.935 --> 00:15:47.855 In Hebrews chapter one we have several quotations from the Psalms. 00:15:48.175 --> 00:15:56.660 References made by the writer to the Hebrews of Psalm a 102 and Psalm a 110 about God being creator. 00:15:57.220 --> 00:16:00.340 And these are applied to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 00:16:00.340 --> 00:16:01.540 He is the Lord. 00:16:01.620 --> 00:16:13.295 And it's interesting if you open up Psalm 102 in your Bible and you look at the title, you'll see at the very beginning of the Psalm that it's addressed to the Lord, the covenant name, God Himself. 00:16:13.455 --> 00:16:19.055 And then you turn to Hebrews chapter one, and Christ is given exactly the same designations. 00:16:20.240 --> 00:16:26.240 Indeed in a sense we don't need anything more other than Hebrews chapter one to answer the cults. 00:16:26.400 --> 00:16:35.615 On occasion when they come to your door and they start arguing that Christ isn't fully God and they bring up of course different arguments and questions and issues. 00:16:36.415 --> 00:16:42.095 Take them to Hebrews chapter one and they have no answer because the only answer is Jesus is fully God. 00:16:42.095 --> 00:16:45.295 Of course their tactic is to take you off in another direction. 00:16:46.600 --> 00:16:48.600 And you may be encountered that with them. 00:16:48.600 --> 00:16:55.560 However, there's no escaping the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God is fully God. 00:16:55.560 --> 00:16:59.880 He shares the Father's nature in every respect, so He is called God. 00:17:00.515 --> 00:17:05.555 But not only is He called God, secondly, He is called Lord. 00:17:05.795 --> 00:17:16.600 Now often in the New Testament, especially as you read the Gospels, there are some folk who speak of other people being Lord and Jesus being Lord. 00:17:17.080 --> 00:17:19.720 And they're doing this out of being polite. 00:17:20.520 --> 00:17:25.880 It's like our addressing someone as sir, maybe it's not really used as much nowadays. 00:17:27.005 --> 00:17:34.125 And they're polite and they say, Lord this and Lord that, and they're not suggesting there's anything particularly special about Jesus. 00:17:34.445 --> 00:17:41.485 They would talk to anybody they felt was superior to them in such a language. 00:17:41.485 --> 00:17:43.750 They would address them as Lord. 00:17:44.230 --> 00:17:45.990 They would address them with that word. 00:17:46.070 --> 00:17:57.215 And so we have to be careful when we handle the gospel and make sure that we're understanding them properly and that we're not thinking that people are saying more about Jesus than they really are. 00:17:57.215 --> 00:17:59.055 They were being polite at times. 00:17:59.135 --> 00:18:10.030 But there are verses that make it very very clear that Jesus Christ is being addressed as God, as Lord. 00:18:10.190 --> 00:18:22.830 You only have to go to Luke two eleven the annunciation of Jesus that will be reaching at some stage soon for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour who is Christ the Lord. 00:18:24.405 --> 00:18:30.885 Luke's whole narrative is full of references to the Lord and it's clear over and over again. 00:18:30.965 --> 00:18:33.285 It's God that He's talking about. 00:18:33.285 --> 00:18:38.165 It's true in the opening chapters of the gospel we hear again and again, God is the Lord. 00:18:38.165 --> 00:18:39.045 God is the Lord. 00:18:39.320 --> 00:18:44.600 14 times in chapter one, we come across the the free is concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:18:44.600 --> 00:18:45.640 The Lord is God. 00:18:45.640 --> 00:18:50.680 And so here the angels proclaim the savior is Christ the Lord. 00:18:51.605 --> 00:18:57.685 So in the context of Luke chapter one and chapter two, this is a reference to Christ being fully God. 00:18:57.685 --> 00:18:59.045 He is the savior. 00:18:59.045 --> 00:19:03.205 And to any Jewish mind, the savior is God. 00:19:03.910 --> 00:19:13.510 All through their Bible, our Old Testament, only God can save and the shepherds are being told Christ is the Savior. 00:19:13.510 --> 00:19:16.070 And immediately they conclude it's God. 00:19:16.695 --> 00:19:23.175 That's what the angels are talking about, the Lord, the divine Lordship of Christ, Christ the Savior. 00:19:23.575 --> 00:19:28.695 All of that tells us that He, Jesus Christ is fully God. 00:19:28.935 --> 00:19:31.895 You can go to Matthew chapter 22 and verse 44. 00:19:33.020 --> 00:19:34.860 It's another important text. 00:19:35.340 --> 00:19:50.255 Jesus debating with the Pharisees as He often did and you know that they debated particular passages of Scripture because the scribes and the Pharisees they were concerned in asking Jesus questions from various passages of Scripture so that they might catch him out. 00:19:50.735 --> 00:19:53.695 They might make him look unwise and foolish. 00:19:54.335 --> 00:20:00.255 But Jesus quotes Psalm a 110 to them, The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand. 00:20:00.815 --> 00:20:05.370 And Jesus challenges the Pharisees and says, Okay, you know the passage. 00:20:05.930 --> 00:20:08.810 Who is David really talking about here? 00:20:08.810 --> 00:20:10.170 Is it the Messiah? 00:20:10.410 --> 00:20:11.690 And they say, Yes. 00:20:12.730 --> 00:20:25.695 But David refers to the Messiah as my Lord and that tells us that David recognized that Jesus Christ of Nazareth who would be born centuries later was actually the Lord, was God. 00:20:26.095 --> 00:20:28.335 So Jesus challenges the Pharisees. 00:20:28.335 --> 00:20:30.175 Do you understand what this means? 00:20:30.175 --> 00:20:33.535 Are you willing to admit the implications of David's words? 00:20:34.090 --> 00:20:35.930 And of course the Pharisees weren't. 00:20:36.010 --> 00:20:38.250 They tried to pull down the shutters. 00:20:38.250 --> 00:20:40.010 They tried to end the argument. 00:20:40.570 --> 00:20:49.530 And they were being cornered because Jesus was forcing the issue upon them from Psalm 110 and the testimony is clear there in Psalm 110. 00:20:49.695 --> 00:20:54.895 The Messiah's identity as David's Lord is God himself and it's Jesus Christ. 00:20:55.695 --> 00:21:02.655 And many times in the New Testament and in the book of Acts for example, the title Lord is applied to Jesus. 00:21:02.655 --> 00:21:07.470 In fact of course the title really has become part of how we refer to him. 00:21:07.550 --> 00:21:10.350 We refer to him as the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:21:10.910 --> 00:21:13.470 And note the title Lord, it's not a name. 00:21:14.110 --> 00:21:15.150 It's a title. 00:21:15.790 --> 00:21:18.525 And that's the way the church thought of him. 00:21:18.525 --> 00:21:29.245 He is the Lord and in their scriptures and in their Bible are old their Old Testament again and again Jesus Christ is seen as fully God. 00:21:29.660 --> 00:21:42.940 So the New Testament church very clearly understands the message the Savior is bringing, the message that the Scripture sets before us that the Messiah the Savior is fully God so we have the Savior's names. 00:21:43.625 --> 00:21:46.985 That's a proof that He is God. 00:21:47.385 --> 00:21:54.585 He's called God and He's called Lord and there's no availing the force of those verses in any way. 00:21:54.585 --> 00:21:56.265 The Savior's divine names. 00:21:57.840 --> 00:22:01.760 But in the second place let's think about the Savior's divine perfections. 00:22:02.000 --> 00:22:05.840 The Savior's divine perfections we have thought about His divine names. 00:22:05.840 --> 00:22:19.915 Now let's think of these perfections because all through the scriptures the Messiah is described as having perfections or we might put it attributes or we might put it characteristics that only God possesses. 00:22:21.355 --> 00:22:26.075 They say this is what the Messiah is like and you think well only God can be like that. 00:22:27.050 --> 00:22:31.690 They say this is what the Messiah does and you say okay, only God can do that. 00:22:31.930 --> 00:22:33.450 And there are many examples. 00:22:33.610 --> 00:22:35.690 I'm just going to mention a few to you. 00:22:35.770 --> 00:22:39.290 First of all, the Messiah Jesus Christ is eternal. 00:22:39.905 --> 00:22:41.025 He's eternal. 00:22:41.505 --> 00:22:50.385 And there's a wonderful passage on the eternalness of Christ found in John's gospel chapter eight and verses 56 through to 59. 00:22:50.385 --> 00:22:55.360 And the Jews are questioning, is Jesus greater than our father Abraham? 00:22:55.440 --> 00:23:01.360 And by embarking upon this line of questioning, what they're really trying to do is denigrate Jesus. 00:23:01.360 --> 00:23:05.760 They're trying to say basically, who does he think he is saying that he's God? 00:23:06.395 --> 00:23:10.075 Who does he think he is putting himself above Abraham? 00:23:10.795 --> 00:23:13.595 Do you think there's anybody greater than our father Abraham? 00:23:13.595 --> 00:23:17.435 And of course they don't think Jesus is greater than Abraham. 00:23:17.915 --> 00:23:22.390 But Jesus comes and he gives them an answer that really shocks them. 00:23:22.630 --> 00:23:29.910 It really rocks them back on their heels because Jesus said to them, Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. 00:23:30.710 --> 00:23:33.830 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. 00:23:34.495 --> 00:23:35.295 Wow. 00:23:37.855 --> 00:23:39.375 Jesus isn't 40. 00:23:39.615 --> 00:23:43.215 Abraham rejoiced to see his day and how strange how could that be? 00:23:43.455 --> 00:23:47.295 And then even more amazing Jesus says, Before Abraham was I am. 00:23:47.820 --> 00:23:55.740 Before Abraham was I am and he's claiming that before Abraham was born into the world centuries before Jesus existed. 00:23:55.820 --> 00:23:58.060 And note the title of God I am. 00:23:58.060 --> 00:24:01.375 He uses God's great covenant name. 00:24:01.535 --> 00:24:04.975 And the Pharisees understood exactly exactly what he was saying. 00:24:04.975 --> 00:24:13.135 He's claiming to be God and this is the God who at the burning bush told Moses, My name is I am that I am. 00:24:13.660 --> 00:24:18.620 And so here very clearly Jesus is saying He as the Son of God is eternal. 00:24:18.620 --> 00:24:21.580 Before Abraham even existed He was there. 00:24:21.580 --> 00:24:22.380 He is God. 00:24:22.380 --> 00:24:23.340 He is eternal. 00:24:24.380 --> 00:24:28.220 But then secondly note the Messiah Jesus Christ is all powerful. 00:24:28.585 --> 00:24:29.625 He's all powerful. 00:24:29.625 --> 00:24:32.505 Look at the works that the Bible says Jesus does. 00:24:32.505 --> 00:24:33.945 We know about His miracles. 00:24:34.105 --> 00:24:37.225 We remember His changing the water and the wine. 00:24:37.225 --> 00:24:38.265 He calmed the storm. 00:24:38.265 --> 00:24:41.065 He fed 5,000 with a few loaves and fishes. 00:24:41.065 --> 00:24:42.105 These were mighty works. 00:24:42.230 --> 00:24:45.670 The power to perform these miracles was in Jesus Himself. 00:24:45.670 --> 00:24:54.790 And we read when He changed the water into wine, for example, mentioned in John chapter two, this we're told manifested His glory and His disciples believed Him. 00:24:55.345 --> 00:24:57.265 And the focus is on Christ. 00:24:57.425 --> 00:25:04.625 It's His glory that's revealed when He changed the water into wine and it demonstrates His power over nature. 00:25:05.345 --> 00:25:08.705 And could there be any greater miracle of course than the raising of the dead? 00:25:08.705 --> 00:25:09.985 His power over death. 00:25:10.640 --> 00:25:14.640 We go to John chapter 11 and we read the story of Lazarus. 00:25:15.040 --> 00:25:17.280 He simply spoke the word of command. 00:25:17.520 --> 00:25:19.040 Jesus spoke those words. 00:25:19.040 --> 00:25:29.195 Lazarus come out and Lazarus received life and he came out and he's the son of God and he's all powerful and he he does works that only God can do. 00:25:29.675 --> 00:25:30.875 He is eternal. 00:25:30.875 --> 00:25:32.635 He is all powerful. 00:25:32.635 --> 00:25:36.395 But then thirdly, the Messiah Jesus Christ is all knowing. 00:25:36.795 --> 00:25:45.780 He's all knowing and again that's a characteristic of God alone and you think of some of the things we're told in the gospels that Jesus actually knew. 00:25:46.100 --> 00:25:50.980 We're told that He knew the thoughts of the scribes and Pharisees in Mark chapter two. 00:25:51.355 --> 00:25:59.195 He knew what was going on in their heads and he didn't speak it aloud but Jesus Christ understood and Jesus Christ knew. 00:25:59.595 --> 00:26:04.155 We're told that he had seen Nathaniel at a distance in John chapter one. 00:26:04.155 --> 00:26:10.270 This was so amazing that Nathaniel was convinced that this is the Messiah and he submitted to him. 00:26:10.910 --> 00:26:18.990 Now Jesus' knowledge is not like the knowledge the prophets had for example where God would tell them about things that would happen perhaps in the future. 00:26:19.785 --> 00:26:27.545 God was telling them, but when you read the gospels, you see Jesus had this knowledge from within. 00:26:27.545 --> 00:26:30.025 This is the very knowledge of God. 00:26:30.185 --> 00:26:38.350 For example, in John chapter six, we're told Jesus had known from the beginning which of the disciples didn't believe and which would betray him. 00:26:38.430 --> 00:26:39.070 Amazing. 00:26:39.070 --> 00:26:42.030 And then, of course, he knew the heart of each disciple. 00:26:42.030 --> 00:26:43.950 He knew that Judas would betray him. 00:26:44.270 --> 00:26:49.755 And in his divine nature, Jesus could read the hearts of every person. 00:26:49.995 --> 00:26:52.155 He could read the hearts of every person. 00:26:52.315 --> 00:26:56.475 Only God is all knowing, and Jesus is all knowing. 00:26:56.475 --> 00:27:02.155 He is truly God, eternal, all powerful, and there are so many perfections we could mention. 00:27:02.860 --> 00:27:10.060 And the last perfection that I want to mention is the Messiah Jesus Christ is present everywhere. 00:27:10.300 --> 00:27:14.540 He's present everywhere, and that's a characteristic of God, isn't it? 00:27:14.540 --> 00:27:15.100 Who? 00:27:15.100 --> 00:27:27.265 But God is present everywhere in his human nature, And Jesus could only be in one place at any one time when he was here on earth, but in his divine nature, he is everywhere throughout the whole of creation. 00:27:27.985 --> 00:27:34.990 And we mentioned the quote from Psalm 102 and a reading from Hebrews chapter one and it describes him as the creator. 00:27:34.990 --> 00:27:40.190 The creator is everywhere in his creation and the son of God is everywhere. 00:27:40.350 --> 00:27:46.430 And he leaves that great promise where two or three are gathered together, there I am in the midst. 00:27:47.435 --> 00:27:49.835 It's not saying I am with you in spirit. 00:27:50.155 --> 00:27:55.355 And you know what it is when some people can't make it to a meeting and say, Don't worry, I'll be with you in spirit. 00:27:55.355 --> 00:27:56.955 But that's not what Jesus means. 00:27:56.955 --> 00:27:59.195 He's telling them He is really there. 00:27:59.195 --> 00:28:03.410 Where two or three are gathered together at the ends of the earth, He is there. 00:28:03.410 --> 00:28:04.210 He's present. 00:28:04.210 --> 00:28:06.530 I am in the midst, not just in spirit. 00:28:06.610 --> 00:28:08.450 I am actually there. 00:28:09.490 --> 00:28:14.210 And it's reminding us of the wonderful truth that the Son of God indwells every Christian. 00:28:15.315 --> 00:28:19.555 Every believer in the Lord is indwelt by Christ. 00:28:20.195 --> 00:28:24.915 So wherever there is a believer, Christ is there. 00:28:25.235 --> 00:28:28.755 And whenever believers gather together, Christ is there. 00:28:29.030 --> 00:28:34.790 He is everywhere in the entire creation and only God is everywhere in creation. 00:28:34.870 --> 00:28:38.070 The Savior's divine perfection. 00:28:39.350 --> 00:28:40.950 Now let's draw this all to a close. 00:28:40.950 --> 00:28:42.870 What an amazing Savior we have. 00:28:43.645 --> 00:28:53.645 And we will go on God willing to think of how He's truly man in later message but this is surely the place to begin. 00:28:54.125 --> 00:29:00.140 Beginning at the beginning the fundamental truth, the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior is truly God. 00:29:00.140 --> 00:29:02.300 If He's not God, He's not a Savior. 00:29:03.100 --> 00:29:12.055 He is is God because the Word says He is called God and He is called Lord. 00:29:12.055 --> 00:29:14.375 He exercises divine perfections. 00:29:14.455 --> 00:29:20.615 He is eternal before Abraham indeed before Adam and Eve even existed, the Son of Man was. 00:29:21.015 --> 00:29:22.135 He's all powerful. 00:29:22.135 --> 00:29:24.855 He can do anything that doesn't contradict His holiness. 00:29:24.950 --> 00:29:25.910 He's all knowing. 00:29:25.910 --> 00:29:28.150 He knows every corner of every heart. 00:29:28.150 --> 00:29:31.030 He knows every part of the universe that He has made. 00:29:31.030 --> 00:29:32.630 He knows it exhaustively. 00:29:34.150 --> 00:29:36.950 And He's present everywhere. 00:29:37.110 --> 00:29:39.910 Being present everywhere is such a comfort, isn't it? 00:29:40.625 --> 00:29:41.985 Where can I go nowhere? 00:29:41.985 --> 00:29:43.105 And that's not frightening. 00:29:43.105 --> 00:29:47.265 It's it's a precious thing, a wonderful thing to think that our Savior is everywhere. 00:29:47.265 --> 00:29:54.570 Wherever you are, he's there and you never wonder beyond his sight, beyond his care or beyond his love. 00:29:55.130 --> 00:30:04.330 And of course, that love is a love that brought him from glory to be our savior, to provide everything that we need so that we can spend eternity with him. 00:30:04.330 --> 00:30:07.130 He is the great savior who offers a great salvation. 00:30:07.365 --> 00:30:12.565 It's a great salvation because we have a great Savior. 00:30:13.765 --> 00:30:17.125 And the work he does is the very work of God. 00:30:17.125 --> 00:30:19.525 He is fully God in every respect. 00:30:20.160 --> 00:30:38.775 And how sad we listen to the cults and the liberal theologians, and they'll talk about Jesus, and they'll they the and they talk about him very respectfully, but the Jesus that they're talking about is not fully God and he's not the Jesus of the Bible and he can't save anybody. 00:30:38.855 --> 00:30:43.255 A Jesus who is not truly God is no use to any of us. 00:30:43.975 --> 00:30:55.590 He can't he can't save us And to believe only in Jesus who is purely human is to believe somebody who can't save you from sin and really is of absolutely no use whatsoever. 00:30:55.590 --> 00:31:00.550 But praise God, we have a savior who is truly God and he's able to save. 00:31:00.965 --> 00:31:06.405 And he's able to save you this morning if you're not saved. 00:31:06.645 --> 00:31:08.325 Why is he able to save you? 00:31:08.405 --> 00:31:15.045 Because he is Lord and he is God and God has died on the cross for your sin. 00:31:15.205 --> 00:31:37.395 He is your substitute and by dying for your sin He has bridged the gap between God and us and we can come to Him if we come in repentance and faith, seeing that we're sinners and crying out to Him to save us. 00:31:39.181 --> 00:31:46.141 Our Saviour truly God and He can truly save you. 00:31:46.701 --> 00:31:48.701 May God bless these words to our hearts.