05-03-20 Who is Jesus?

Scripture  1 John 1:1-3

WHO AM I?

Who am I, that the eyes that see my sin  /  Would look on me with love
And watch me rise again?  /  Who am I, that the voice that calmed the sea
Would call out through the rain  /  And calm the storm in me?

Not because of who I am  /  But because of what you've done
Not because of what I've done  /  But because of who you are

I am a flower quickly fading  /  Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean  /  A vapor in the wind
Still you hear me when I'm calling  /  Lord, you catch me when I'm falling
And you've told me who I am  /  I am yours

Gen 1:1-5

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning — the first day.

Gen 1:26-27

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

John 1:1-5

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

John 1:10-14

He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

          14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

1 John 1:1-3

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched — this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

Who is Jesus? What I heard is that the Word – who is God – was made flesh – and eyewitnesses saw him – and he is Jesus. Jesus is God!

1)    Creator (the word was with God in the beginning / the world was made through him)

2)    Life – word of life

3)    Light of men

4)    God in the flesh

5)    Eternal life

6)    One and only from God the Father – full of grace and truth.

If Jesus is God, we must ask what? WHO IS GOD?

Genesis 1:1

OT:430 'elohiym (el-o-heem'); plural of OT:433; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God.

OT:433  'elowahh (el-o'-ah); from OT:410; a deity or the Deity:

OT:410  'el (ale); shortened from OT:352; strength; as adjective, mighty; especially the Almighty.

OT:352  'ayil (ah'-yil); from the same as OT:193; properly, strength; anything strong; specifically a chief (politically); also a ram (from his strength); a pilaster (as a strong support); an oak or other strong tree:

OT:193  'uwl (ool); from an unused root meaning to twist, i.e. (by implication) be strong; the body (as being rolled together); also powerful.

Jesus is God who is ultimate power!

Power over food (turned water to wine) Power over creation (walked on water – calmed the raging sea) Power of our bodies (made the lame walk, the deaf hear and the blind see) Power over death (raised from the dead Jairus daughter, Widow of Nain’s son and his friend Lazarus) Power over our sin nature (Paralytic – your sins are forgiven, get up and walk!) Power over eternity (from everlasting to everlasting.)

Matt 16:13-18  When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.”

You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.

John 17:1-3

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

John 3:16-17

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.

John 5:24-25

I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.

As I was pastoring the rural church attended by farmers and coal miners—people accustomed to hard lives—I heard a story that taught me more about the nature and foundation of true faith than I had gained in much of my seminary education. The story tells of a miner who, though a stalwart believer, was injured at a young age. He became an invalid. Over the years he watched through a window near his bed as life passed him by. He watched fellow workers marry, raise families, and have grandchildren. He watched the company he had served thrive without attempting to make adequate provision for his loss. He watched as his body withered, his house crumbled, and hope for better things in this life died.

Then, one day when the bedridden miner was quite old, a younger man came to visit him. “I hear that you believe in God and claim that he loves you,” said the young man. “How can you believe such things after all that has happened to you?”

The old man hesitated and then smiled. He said, “Yes, there are days of doubt. Sometimes Satan comes calling on me in this fallen-down old house of mine. He sits right there by my bed, where you are sitting now. He points out my window to the men I once worked with whose bodies are still strong, and Satan asks, ‘Does Jesus love you?’ Then, Satan makes me look at my tattered room as he points to the fine homes of my friends and asks again, ‘Does Jesus love you?’ Finally, Satan points to the grandchild of a friend of mine—a man who has everything I do not—and Satan waits for the tear in my eye before he whispers in my ear, ‘Does Jesus really love you?’”

Startled by the candor of the old man’s responses, the younger man asked, “And what do you say when Satan speaks to you that way?”

Said the old miner, “I take Satan by the hand, and I lead him to a hill far away called Calvary. There I point to the nail-pierced hands, the thorn-torn brow, and the spear-pierced side. Then I say to Satan, ‘Doesn’t Jesus love me!’”

That story brings us to the conclusion of today’s message. We first asked, Who am I? Then we spend 96 % of our time asking, “Who is Jesus?” In light of what we have learned about who Jesus is, we can now right answer the original question, “Who am I?”

Who am I, that the lord of all the earth  /  Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt?  /

Who am I, that the bright and morning star  /  Would choose to light the way  /  For my ever wandering heart?

Not because of who I am  /  But because of what you've done
Not because of what I've done  /  But because of who you are

I am a flower quickly fading  /  Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean  /  A vapor in the wind
Still you hear me when I'm calling  /  Lord, you catch me when I'm falling
And you've told me who I am  /  I am yours

I AM YOURS: 1 Peter 2:9-10

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

I AM YOURS: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20a

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20a you were bought at a price.

Here are a list of 100 names for Jesus contained in Scripture:

·         Advocate (1 John 2:1)

·         Almighty (Rev. 1:8; Mt. 28:18)

·         Alpha and Omega (Rev. 1:8; 22:13)

·         Amen (Rev. 3:14)

·         Apostle of our Profession (Heb. 3:1)

·         Atoning Sacrifice for our Sins (1 John 2:2)

·         Author of Life (Acts 3:15)

·         Author and Perfecter of our Faith (Heb. 12:2)

·         Author of Salvation (Heb. 2:10)

·         Beginning and End (Rev. 22:13)

·         Blessed and only Ruler (1 Tim. 6:15)

·         Bread of God (John 6:33)

·         Bread of Life (John 6:35; 6:48)

·         Capstone (Acts 4:11; 1 Pet. 2:7)

·         Chief Cornerstone (Eph. 2:20)

·         Chief Shepherd (1 Pet. 5:4)

·         Christ (1 John 2:22)

·         Creator (John 1:3)

·         Deliverer (Rom. 11:26)

·         Eternal Life (1 John 1:2; 5:20)

·         Everlasting Father (Isa. 9:6)

·         Gate (John 10:9)

·         Faithful and True (Rev. 19:11)

·         Faithful Witness (Rev. 1:5)

·         Faith and True Witness (Rev. 3:14)

·         First and Last (Rev. 1:17; 2:8; 22:13)

·         Firstborn From the Dead (Rev. 1:5)

·         God (John 1:1; 20:28; Heb. 1:8; Rom. 9:5; 2 Pet. 1:1;1 John 5:20; etc.)

·         Good Shepherd (John 10:11,14)

·         Great Shepherd (Heb. 13:20)

·         Great High Priest (Heb. 4:14)

·         Head of the Church (Eph. 1:22; 4:15; 5:23)

·         Heir of all things (Heb. 1:2)

·         High Priest (Heb. 2:17)

·         Holy and True (Rev. 3:7)

·         Holy One (Acts 3:14)

·         Hope (1 Tim. 1:1)

·         Hope of Glory (Col. 1:27)

·         Horn of Salvation (Luke 1:69)

·         I Am (John 8:58)

·         Image of God (2 Cor. 4:4)

·         King Eternal (1 Tim. 1:17)

·         King of Israel (John 1:49)

·         King of the Jews (Mt. 27:11)

·         King of kings (1 Tim 6:15; Rev. 19:16)

·         King of the Ages (Rev. 15:3)

·         Lamb (Rev. 13:8)

·         Lamb of God (John 1:29)

·         Lamb Without Blemish (1 Pet. 1:19)

·         Last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45)

·         Life (John 14:6; Col. 3:4)

·         Light of the World (John 8:12)

·         Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Rev. 5:5)

·         Living One (Rev. 1:18)

·         Living Stone (1 Pet. 2:4)

·         Lord (2 Pet. 2:20)

·         Lord of All (Acts 10:36)

·         Lord of Glory (1 Cor. 2:8)

·         Lord of lords (Rev. 19:16)

·         LORD [YHWH] our Righteousness (Jer. 23:6)

·         Man from Heaven (1 Cor. 15:48)

·         Mediator of the New Covenant (Heb. 9:15)

·         Mighty God (Isa. 9:6)

·         Morning Star (Rev. 22:16)

·         Offspring of David (Rev. 22:16)

·         Only Begotten Son of God (John 1:18; 1 John 4:9)

·         Our Great God and Savior (Titus 2:13)

·         Our Holiness (1 Cor. 1:30)

·         Our Husband (2 Cor. 11:2)

·         Our Protection (2 Thess. 3:3)

·         Our Redemption (1 Cor. 1:30)

·         Our Righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30)

·         Our Sacrificed Passover Lamb (1 Cor. 5:7)

·         Power of God (1 Cor. 1:24)

·         Precious Cornerstone (1 Pet. 2:6)

·         Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6)

·         Prophet (Acts 3:22)

·         Resurrection and Life (John 11:25)

·         Righteous Branch (Jer. 23:5)

·         Righteous One (Acts 7:52; 1 John 2:1)

·         Rock (1 Cor. 10:4)

·         Root of David (Rev. 5:5; 22:16)

·         Ruler of God’s Creation (Rev. 3:14)

·         Ruler of the Kings of the Earth (Rev. 1:5)

·         Savior (Eph. 5:23; Titus 1:4; 3:6; 2 Pet. 2:20)

·         Son of David (Lk. 18:39)

·         Son of God (John 1:49; Heb. 4:14)

·         Son of Man (Mt. 8:20)

·         Son of the Most High God (Lk. 1:32)

·         Source of Eternal Salvation for all who obey him (Heb. 5:9)

·         The One Mediator (1 Tim. 2:5)

·         The Stone the builders rejected (Acts 4:11)

·         True Bread (John 6:32)

·         True Light (John 1:9)

·         True Vine (John 15:1)

·         Truth (John 1:14; 14:6)

·         Way (John 14:6)

·         Wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:24)

·         Wonderful Counselor (Isa. 9:6)

·         Word (John 1:1)

·         Word of God (Rev. 19:13)