The Person of Jesus Christ Part 2 By Pastor Dan Kennedy © January 29, 2017 www.pastorkennedy.com If you were going to tell your children or grandchildren (or others) who Jesus Christ is, what would you say about Him? What would you tell them? · What would you tell them Jesus looks like? o What did He look like when He came as our Savior? o What does He look like now? · What has Jesus done that makes Him so Special? · What Authority has God the Father given to His Son Jesus Christ? · Why is it so important that everyone understand who Jesus is? What would you tell your children Jesus looks like? What did Jesus Christ look like when He came as our Savior 2,000 years ago? Was He humble or proud?  Did He live as a rich person or somewhat poor?  How do we know Him so well today? Did He write any books, compose any songs, or establish an organization while He was alive?  Was He really handsome, and have a commanding personality?  · Was He a powerful leader? What did the Prophet Isaiah say about the Messiah, Jesus’ physical appearance in Isaiah 53:2, when He came as our Savior? Isaiah 53:2 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. Did Jesus look like the “everyday,” common people around Him, though He was God the Son in human form? What made Jesus different from everybody else back then?  “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” Jesus told His disciples (John 14:9 – see vs. 8-11). · He had no sin: He was God’s sinless, “Lamb of God.” (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 2:22; 1 John 5:3; Jn. 1:29; 1 Pet. 1:18-19) · Jesus taught people the Truth about God: God wants us to love Him and live honorably before Him and others (Matt. 5-7; Lk. 10:27). Thousands came to hear His words; and today, billions are said to confess Him to be their Savior and His teachings to be essential in their spiritual life. · Jesus revealed God’s Great Love for us: God sent His Son to be the Savior of the World, for those who believed in Him (Jn. 3:16). · Jesus had (and has) Supernatural Power: In Jesus’ ministry, He healed many sick and raised the dead, revealing His God-ordained power. o Jesus fed five thousand people with 5 loaves of bread and two small fish, as one example (Matt. 14:15-21). o He walked on water, calmed the storm and called Lazarus from the grave (Matt. 14:29; Jn. 6:19; Mk. 4:36-41; Jn. 11; etc., etc.) · Jesus was Crucified for our sin: He died an undeserved, cruel death on the cross as the Redeemer to cleanse us from our sins; to justify us and make us righteous before a Holy God (Is. 53:4-11; Rom. 3:23-24; Eph. 1:7; Heb. 9:27-28). · Jesus Conquered sin and death, affirming Eternal Life: Jesus rose again from the grave, conquering sin and death, to be both Savior and Lord of those who put their trust in Him; and, the Conquering Lord over all the Universe! Jesus’ Resurrection confirms to us the reality of Eternal Life! (1 Cor. 15; Phil. 2:8-11) What does Jesus look like now, in heaven, and in the Future? Jesus can retain His human visage: Mary Magdalene (John 20:11-18) and those Jesus met on the road to Emmaus, saw the resurrected Jesus as an ordinary man, whom they did not recognize at first until their eyes were opened to comprehend His Presence (Luke 24:13-35).  The Disciples: Jesus, as the One they had known, supernaturally appeared to His disciples during 40 days following His resurrection, before His ascension (Luke 24:36-53; Acts 1:1-3). Jesus also is a Dynamic Spiritual Being: In the first chapter of Revelation, the Apostle John gives a vivid symbolic and visionary description of the Resurrected Christ that he saw while exiled for his faith, on the Isle of Patmos. Revelation 1:12–18 12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was someone “like a son of man,” dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. Jesus is Symbolically seen as The Sacrificial Lamb: When John was caught up into heaven (Rev. 1:1-2), he saw Christ to be in the representative image of a Sacrificial Lamb (Rev. 5:5-6). Jesus Christ is Eternally The Conquering King: The Apostle John records a future vision of Christ’s Coming in Power and Glory as the Conquering King (Rev. 19:11-16).  Because God the Father is Spirit, whom no one has ever seen (John 1:18; 6:46), Jesus Christ God the Son, is identified as the exact representation of His Father’s Being – the visible Image of the Invisible God (Heb. 1:3; Col. 1:15; 2 Cor. 4:4; Phil. 2:6). Colossians 1:15-20 gives an amazing depiction of the Person of Jesus Christ that clearly directs us in the understanding of who He IS. Jesus Christ is the Visible Image of God Col. 1:15a He is the image of the invisible God, As the Visible Image of the Invisible God there are no restraints regarding how Jesus chooses to represent Himself visibly. The Firstborn Dynamic Col. 1:15b “the firstborn over all creation.” · Priority in Time[1]: He is Before All in Time. “In the Beginning was the Word.” (Jn. 1:1) · Supremacy in Rank[2]: He is Over All in Supremacy, following the Old Testament Principle of the Firstborn (Ex. 13; 34:20; Num. 3:13; Gen. 27:36, etc.) · “Incarnation”/ “Transformation” – God in mankind: Incarnation – Jesus was the Firstborn in whom God dwells to become a man (Phil. 2:5-11) – foreshadowing Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit where God’s Spirit indwells those who are “Born Again” (John 3:3) – transformed to become Children of God (1 Cor. 6:19; 2 Cor. 3:18; Rom. 8:29). Romans 8:29 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. What would you tell your children, your grandchildren, or others what Jesus looks like? o What did He look like when He came as our Savior? o What does He look like now? What has Jesus done that makes Him so Special?  · Jesus Christ Created the Universe Col. 1:16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities… o Jesus Created the Universe through His Powerful Word (Heb. 1:2-3) What aspects of the Universe that Jesus Created in heaven and on earth, seem to be the most important from the perspective of this passage?  · Jesus Christ Created the Domains of Authority What makes “Authority” so important? Authority is responsible for and oversees the establishment of laws and the initiation of specificity and detailed implementation of that which guides successful outcomes throughout the dominion on any level. In any government, for instance, those in each position of authority oversee and implement the detailed micro-management needed for their branch of government to succeed effectively…through those to whom they commission other levels of authority. There are two primary areas mentioned, in which the Domains of Authority exist. What are they? · Visible Domains · Invisible Domains Visible Authority and ** Invisible Authority Thrones – Locations of Authority ** Thrones – Designated seats of Spiritual Authority (i.e.: Rev. 2:13) Powers – Areas and Dominions ruled by the Authority ** Powers – Areas and Dominions over which Spiritual Authority is Given Rulers – Those Commissioned with the Positions of Authority to Rule ** Rulers – Those Spiritual Forces given power to exercise Authority Authorities – The Power and Right to exercise authority ** Authorities – The Power and Right to exercise the Authority given Jesus Christ Created the Domains of Authority What has Jesus done that makes Him so Special? · Jesus Christ Created the Universe · Jesus Christ Created the Domains of Authority through which everything functions as it should! What Other Authority has God the Father given to His Son Jesus Christ?  · Jesus Christ has been given the Authority to Create the Universe for Himself. Col. 1:16b “All things were created by Him and for Him.” Why is this so important? To have His Creation for Himself gives the universe reason and purpose. Ultimately then, its existence is for the Glory of God and the Majesty of His Son in the outworking of His Plan for His Eternal Kingdom – where, from generation to generation, He is gathering for Himself, His Bride, the Church, to rule and reign with Him forever! · And, Jesus Christ has the Authority to Sustain All the Universe Col. 1:17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. Jesus Christ IS the true “God-Particle” sought so carefully by the earth’s physicists… By which all things “hold together.” · Jesus Christ’s Authority is Supreme o Jesus is Head of the Church: Col. 1:18a And he is the head of the body, the church; o Jesus is the Resurrected Savior and Lord – in Everything Supreme: Col. 1:18b He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. o In Jesus, dwells All the Fullness of God the Father: Col. 1:19 For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him… · Jesus Christ Reconciled All Things to Himself, making Peace with God, through His Blood: Col. 1:20 and through him (Jesus) to reconcile to himself (God the Father) all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Why is it so important that everyone understands who Jesus is? Our hope of Redemption and Reconciliation with God, with Eternal Life is found only by the Grace of God, in our belief, New Birth and Salvation through Jesus Christ. John 3:3 3 In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” John 3:14–18 14 Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert (Num. 21:6-9), so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. 16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” John 3:35–36 35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him. 1 John 4:9–10 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Conclusion · What would you tell your children, grandchildren, or others about Jesus? · What would you tell them Jesus looks like? o What did He look like when He came as our Savior? o What does He look like now? · What has Jesus done that makes Him so special? · What Other Authority has God the Father given to His Son Jesus Christ? · Why is it so important that everyone understand who Jesus is? [1] Vaughan, C. (1981). Colossians. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Ephesians through Philemon (Vol. 11, pp. 181–184). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House. [2] Ibid.

The Person of Jesus Christ

Part 2

By Pastor Dan Kennedy

www.pastorkennedy.com

If you were going to tell your children or grandchildren (or others) who Jesus Christ is, what would you say about Him? What would you tell them?

· What would you tell them Jesus looks like?

o What did He look like when He came as our Savior?

o What does He look like now?

· What has Jesus done that makes Him so Special?

· What Authority has God the Father given to His Son Jesus Christ?

· Why is it so important that everyone understand who Jesus is?

What would you tell your children Jesus looks like?

What did Jesus Christ look like when He came as our Savior 2,000 years ago?

•Was He humble or proud?
•Did He live as a rich person or somewhat poor?
•How do we know Him so well today? Did He write any books, compose any songs, or establish an organization while He was alive?
• Was He really handsome, and have a commanding personality?

· Was He a powerful leader?

What did the Prophet Isaiah say about the Messiah, Jesus’ physical appearance in Isaiah 53:2, when He came as our Savior?

Isaiah 53:2

2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,

and like a root out of dry ground.

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,

nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

•Did Jesus look like the “everyday,” common people around Him, though He was God the Son in human form?

•What made Jesus different from everybody else back then?

“If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” Jesus told His disciples (John 14:9 – see vs. 8-11).

· He had no sin: He was God’s sinless, “Lamb of God.” (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 2:22; 1 John 5:3; Jn. 1:29; 1 Pet. 1:18-19)

· Jesus taught people the Truth about God: God wants us to love Him and live honorably before Him and others (Matt. 5-7; Lk. 10:27). Thousands came to hear His words; and today, billions are said to confess Him to be their Savior and His teachings to be essential in their spiritual life.

· Jesus revealed God’s Great Love for us: God sent His Son to be the Savior of the World, for those who believed in Him (Jn. 3:16).

· Jesus had (and has) Supernatural Power: In Jesus’ ministry, He healed many sick and raised the dead, revealing His God-ordained power.

o Jesus fed five thousand people with 5 loaves of bread and two small fish, as one example (Matt. 14:15-21).

o He walked on water, calmed the storm and called Lazarus from the grave (Matt. 14:29; Jn. 6:19; Mk. 4:36-41; Jn. 11; etc., etc.)

· Jesus was Crucified for our sin: He died an undeserved, cruel death on the cross as the Redeemer to cleanse us from our sins; to justify us and make us righteous before a Holy God (Is. 53:4-11; Rom. 3:23-24; Eph. 1:7; Heb. 9:27-28).

· Jesus Conquered sin and death, affirming Eternal Life: Jesus rose again from the grave, conquering sin and death, to be both Savior and Lord of those who put their trust in Him; and, the Conquering Lord over all the Universe! Jesus’ Resurrection confirms to us the reality of Eternal Life! (1 Cor. 15; Phil. 2:8-11)

What does Jesus look like now, in heaven, and in the Future?

• Jesus can retain His human visage: Mary Magdalene (John 20:11-18) and those Jesus met on the road to Emmaus, saw the resurrected Jesus as an ordinary man, whom they did not recognize at first until their eyes were opened to comprehend His Presence (Luke 24:13-35).

The Disciples: Jesus, as the One they had known, supernaturally appeared to His disciples during 40 days following His resurrection, before His ascension (Luke 24:36-53; Acts 1:1-3).

•Jesus also is a Dynamic Spiritual Being: In the first chapter of Revelation, the Apostle John gives a vivid symbolic and visionary description of the Resurrected Christ that he saw while exiled for his faith, on the Isle of Patmos.

Revelation 1:12–18

12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was someone “like a son of man,” dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

•Jesus is Symbolically seen as The Sacrificial Lamb: When John was caught up into heaven (Rev. 1:1-2), he saw Christ to be in the representative image of a Sacrificial Lamb (Rev. 5:5-6).

• Jesus Christ is Eternally The Conquering King: The Apostle John records a future vision of Christ’s Coming in Power and Glory as the Conquering King (Rev. 19:11-16).

Because God the Father is Spirit, whom no one has ever seen (John 1:18; 6:46), Jesus Christ God the Son, is identified as the exact representation of His Father’s Being – the visible Image of the Invisible God (Heb. 1:3; Col. 1:15; 2 Cor. 4:4; Phil. 2:6).

Colossians 1:15-20 gives an amazing depiction of the Person of Jesus Christ that clearly directs us in the understanding of who He IS.

•Jesus Christ is the Visible Image of God

Col. 1:15a He is the image of the invisible God,

As the Visible Image of the Invisible God there are no restraints regarding how Jesus chooses to represent Himself visibly.

•The Firstborn Dynamic

Col. 1:15b “the firstborn over all creation.”

· Priority in Time[1]: He is Before All in Time. “In the Beginning was the Word.” (Jn. 1:1)

· Supremacy in Rank[2]: He is Over All in Supremacy, following the Old Testament Principle of the Firstborn (Ex. 13; 34:20; Num. 3:13; Gen. 27:36, etc.)

· “Incarnation”/ “Transformation” – God in mankind: Incarnation – Jesus was the Firstborn in whom God dwells to become a man (Phil. 2:5-11) – foreshadowing Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit where God’s Spirit indwells those who are “Born Again” (John 3:3) – transformed to become Children of God (1 Cor. 6:19; 2 Cor. 3:18; Rom. 8:29).

Romans 8:29

29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

•What would you tell your children, your grandchildren, or others what Jesus looks like?

o What did He look like when He came as our Savior?

o What does He look like now?

•What has Jesus done that makes Him so Special?

· Jesus Christ Created the Universe

Col. 1:16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities…

o Jesus Created the Universe through His Powerful Word (Heb. 1:2-3)

•What aspects of the Universe that Jesus Created in heaven and on earth, seem to be the most important from the perspective of this passage?

· Jesus Christ Created the Domains of Authority

What makes “Authority” so important?

Authority is responsible for and oversees the establishment of laws and the initiation of specificity and detailed implementation of that which guides successful outcomes throughout the dominion on any level.

In any government, for instance, those in each position of authority oversee and implement the detailed micro-management needed for their branch of government to succeed effectively…through those to whom they commission other levels of authority.

There are two primary areas mentioned, in which the Domains of Authority exist.

What are they?

· Visible Domains

· Invisible Domains

Visible Authority

and

** Invisible Authority

Thrones – Locations of Authority

** Thrones – Designated seats of Spiritual Authority (i.e.: Rev. 2:13)

Powers – Areas and Dominions ruled by the Authority

** Powers – Areas and Dominions over which Spiritual Authority is Given

Rulers – Those Commissioned with the Positions of Authority to Rule

** Rulers – Those Spiritual Forces given power to exercise Authority

Authorities – The Power and Right to exercise authority

** Authorities – The Power and Right to exercise the Authority given

Jesus Christ Created the Domains of Authority

What has Jesus done that makes Him so Special?

· Jesus Christ Created the Universe

· Jesus Christ Created the Domains of Authority through which everything functions as it should!

•What Other Authority has God the Father given to His Son Jesus Christ?

· Jesus Christ has been given the Authority to Create the Universe for Himself.

Col. 1:16b “All things were created by Him and for Him.”

Why is this so important?

To have His Creation for Himself gives the universe reason and purpose. Ultimately then, its existence is for the Glory of God and the Majesty of His Son in the outworking of His Plan for His Eternal Kingdom – where, from generation to generation, He is gathering for Himself, His Bride, the Church, to rule and reign with Him forever!

· And, Jesus Christ has the Authority to Sustain All the Universe

Col. 1:17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

Jesus Christ IS the true “God-Particle” sought so carefully by the earth’s physicists…

By which all things “hold together.”

· Jesus Christ’s Authority is Supreme

o Jesus is Head of the Church:

Col. 1:18a And he is the head of the body, the church;

o Jesus is the Resurrected Savior and Lord – in Everything Supreme:

Col. 1:18b He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

o In Jesus, dwells All the Fullness of God the Father:

Col. 1:19 For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him…

· Jesus Christ Reconciled All Things to Himself, making Peace with God, through His Blood:

Col. 1:20 and through him (Jesus) to reconcile to himself (God the Father) all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

•Why is it so important that everyone understands who Jesus is?

Our hope of Redemption and Reconciliation with God, with Eternal Life is found only by the Grace of God, in our belief, New Birth and Salvation through Jesus Christ.

John 3:3

3 In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

John 3:14–18

14 Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert (Num. 21:6-9), so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

John 3:35–36

35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.

1 John 4:9–10

9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Conclusion

· What would you tell your children, grandchildren, or others about Jesus?

· What would you tell them Jesus looks like?

o What did He look like when He came as our Savior?

o What does He look like now?

· What has Jesus done that makes Him so special?

· What Other Authority has God the Father given to His Son Jesus Christ?

· Why is it so important that everyone understand who Jesus is?

[1] Vaughan, C. (1981). Colossians. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Ephesians through Philemon (Vol. 11, pp. 181–184). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

[2] Ibid.