Video Transcript: Lesson 4 Exploring Further

Welcome to this session of Christian basics exploring further in lesson four what the Bible  teaches about Jesus Christ. I'm David Feddes presenting material written by Dr. Ed Roels  along with some additional comments. As we think about this, we turn to our first question,  

what did God promise in Genesis 3:15? Did Adam and Eve understand what God promised  them? Well, God promised that he would put enmity between the woman Eve and her  offspring and the serpent Satan and his offspring. There would be continual strife between  Satan and his allies, and all the descendants of Eve throughout human history. However,  each descendants would not live forever and separation from God and His blessing, and  Satan would not be victorious forever. And so one specific person, a descendant of Eve would someday crushed the head of the serpent destroying his power. This person was Jesus  Christ, God's eternal Son. Jesus would someday make provision for Adam and Eve's  descendants to again live happily and joyfully with the God whom they have disobeyed.  However, though Satan would be crushed, defeated, destroyed, he would also cause much  harm to the woman's descendants and would bring pain and suffering and even death to  Jesus himself. The heel of the woman's seed would be struck by Satan, but Jesus and his  followers would be eternally victorious. Now, Adam and Eve would not have understood all of  this, the full meaning and significance of the promise of Genesis 3:15, would not be  understood at any time before the coming of Jesus Himself. However, the promise was there  to give hope, to everyone who trusted the Word of God, in spite of all kinds of trials and fears  and uncertainties in their lives. Other passages in the Bible teach some of the same truths  that are found in Genesis 3:15. Revelation 12, gives a special picture of the birth of Jesus,  and of the tremendous conflict that followed. There's a picture of a woman straining give birth  to a child and an enormous Red Dragon, wanting to devour that child, but the child is  snatched up to God in heaven. And that's a picture of the triumph of the Child Jesus over that  Satan. That sate Satan, the dragon who wants to destroy verse 17 reads, then the dragon  became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on  those who keep the commandments of God, and hold the testimony of Jesus. The following  chapters in the book of Revelation clearly indicate that Jesus and those who believe in Him  will be eternally victorious. Romans 16:20, says, The God of peace will soon crush Satan,  under your feet, definitely an echo of Genesis 3:15. Hebrews 2:14 says, Since therefore, the  children, human beings shared in flesh and blood, he himself that is Jesus likewise partook of  the same things, that through death, he might destroy the one who has the power of death,  that is the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death, were subjected to lifelong  slavery. So you see if he's come to destroy the devil, and then I John 3:8 says something  similar. The devil has been sinning from the beginning, the reason the Son of God appeared,  was to destroy the works of the devil. Question two, what do John 1:1-3 three and Colossians, 1:16-17 teach us about Jesus. Well, these passages clearly teach us that Jesus Christ was  truly God in the flesh. Jesus is called The Word of God, who was with God, and was God. And Jesus was also the creator of our world. Nothing was made without him. All things were made for him, as well as made by him. He's before all things and he's the one in whom the entire  world holds together. So we should think of Jesus not just in his human nature as he came to  Earth, but also remember his great divine nature by which the entire universe was made, and  by which the whole universe is still upheld and directed. These verses are among the  strongest and clearest statements in the Bible that Jesus was and is truly God. Although  Jesus himself was visible with a human body, he's called the end of it. He is called the image  of the invisible God, the firstborn overall creation that is the one with authority and prestige  and honor. As some cults teach that John 1:1 teaches that Jesus was a god, rather than God  in the flesh. Oh, come on. However, the original Greek Because this passage doesn't support  this heresy and besides, the Bible teaches there's one God and you don't get to call 

somebody else, a god. Moreover, if Jesus was simply a God, who's to be worshipped and  honored alongside of the one true God, then the Bible would repeatedly contradict itself, when it teaches us in many places, that there is only one true God who is worthy of worship and  praise. John 1:14, teaches, The Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen  his glory, glory as the only Son from the Father, full of grace, and truth. And in John 1:18, we  read, no one has ever seen God, the only God who has at the father's side he has made him  known, see out describes Jesus, the only God who's at the father's side, he's made Him  known. Other passages confirm the same truth about the deity of Christ, right, for example,  Titus 2:13, we read of our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and  Savior, Jesus Christ. II Peter 1:1 speaks of the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus  Christ. And Paul teaches in Philippians 2:6, that before coming to earth as a human, Jesus  was in the form of God. Revelation 1:17, describes Jesus as the first and the last. And  Revelation 21:6 and 22,:13, refer to Jesus as the Alpha and the Omega. And these titles are  applied to God. In Revelation 1:8. Isaiah 9:6 refers to the coming Messiah, Jesus as mighty  God. These exact same words are used in Isaiah 10:21, to refer to the only true God. So in  Isaiah nine, it speaks of the coming Savior as mighty God. And chapter 10. It speaking of  Yahveh, the Lord of Israel, as the Mighty God, the only true God, what did Thomas the  doubting person say when he saw the risen Jesus and it was invited to touch him? He said,  My Lord, and my God, he saw the man Jesus, the human in front of him, he knew that this  was his dear friend, that he was truly human, but he also knew that He is God. And Lord.  Question three, what does the Bible tell us about the birth of Jesus and the family of Jesus?  But Jesus was born to a young virgin named Mary in the city of Bethlehem in the land of  Israel. God sent an angel to Mary and told her that she although A virgin would give birth to a  baby boy, the angel told Mary that the child would be conceived by the Holy Spirit of God  without any involvement on the part of any man. After the angel came to Mary and told her  about the coming birth of her child, the angel went to a man named Joseph who was engaged to marry. Joseph was a humble and God fearing carpenter in the city of Nazareth, where both  he and Mary lived, the angel told Joseph that Mary had become pregnant through the work of  the Holy Spirit. Joseph was shocked by the announcement, and had been planning to break  off his relationship with Mary quietly to protect both Mary and the baby. However, the angel  told Joseph that he should marry Mary but they should not live together as husband and wife  until after the baby was born. Joseph and Mary accepted the message of the angel and did  what he told them. Because Joseph and Mary, were in the line of King David, they had to go  to the city of David called Bethlehem to enroll and pay taxes. Bethlem was about 70 miles  away from Nazareth, Joseph and pregnant Mary made the long journey together. When the  young couple came to Bethlehem, they found there were so many visitors in town, that there  was no place for them to stay. And innkeeper offered a stable for a resting place for them. And it was here in this very humble place that Jesus was born. Mary and Joseph later had to flee  to the land of Egypt with their baby boy to escape the wrath of King Herod, who tried to kill  Jesus. Herod was very jealous of Jesus and saw him as a potential threat to his throne. After  King Herod died, Mary and Joseph and Jesus returned to Israel, and went to the city of  Nazareth where Jesus lived until he was about 30 years old. You can read Matthew 1 and 2  and Luke 1-3, for additional information about the birth and the family and the ancestry of  Jesus. Sometime after Jesus was born, Mary gave birth to a number of sons and daughters  with whom Jesus grew up. That's mentioned in Matthew 13:55-56. Bible clearly talks about  Jesus brothers and sisters. Roman Catholics, however, believe that Jesus that Mary stayed a  virgin for her entire life. So they teach that the persons referred to as Jesus brothers and  sisters. Were really his cousins or possibly children of Joseph by an earlier marriage, but the  Bible does not say this, or teach this. The book of Jude in the Bible is written by someone 

who was a brother of Jesus. And the book of James is written by another person who was a  brother of Jesus. The birth of Jesus was clearly foretold in various passages of the Old  Testament. Isaiah 7:14 foretells that the coming Messiah would be born to a virgin. Micah 5:2  foretells that the Messiah or Christ will be born in Bethlehem. And both Matthew and Luke tell  us that Jesus was born in the family line of King David. Matthew 1 focuses on the family  history of Joseph, who was regarded as the legal father of Jesus, while Luke gives us what  many believed to be the family history of Mary. Question four, what does Philippians 2:5-7  teach us about Jesus? Well, this passage teaches that the person we know in history as  Jesus of Nazareth, actually lived in heaven, as the Son of God before he came to Earth.  That's the passage that says, who being in very nature God did not consider equality with  God something to be grasped, that made himself nothing taking the very nature of a servant,  and being found in human likeness, he became obedient to death, even death on a cross.  That's the passage that's being talked about here. Jesus voluntarily gave up His glory and  many of his privileges, and appeared on this earth in the form of a human baby. He came to  earth as a servant so that he might redeem men from punishment, and enable all those who  believed in him to inherit eternal life. When Jesus was on earth, therefore, he was truly a  human person, just like all other humans, except for the important fact that he was completely without sin of any kind. At the same time, Jesus was also the eternal Son of God, who  frequently exhibited divine knowledge, wisdom and power. Sometimes his life clearly  demonstrated his humanity. For example, he became tired and hungry and thirsty and  experienced suffering and pain, rejection, sorrow and misunderstanding. At other times,  though, Jesus demonstrated that he was also divine. As he healed the sick, raised the dead,  multiplied food for the multitudes, knew what people were thinking, foretold the future and  forgave sinners. Only God can forgive sinners. Only God knows the future. The Bible speaks  of the Lord is my shepherd in Psalm 23. In the New Testament, Jesus says, I am the good  shepherd, and Psalm 27, the Lord says, it says, The Word is my light and my salvation, the  New Testament, Jesus says, I am the light of the world. So Jesus goes around talking, like  he's God, at the same time, many times living a very human life. And the Gospel accounts  therefore we find passages which clearly show that Jesus did empty Himself of some of his  divine prerogatives, as it's taught in Philippians 2:5-7. But in reading other stories in the  gospels, however, we recognize that Jesus, though human was also divine, we should never  forget either Jesus humanity or his divinity. And when we read that Jesus emptied Himself,  that doesn't mean that he gave up his divinity, completely. It means that he sometimes gave  up his right to use certain of his divine powers, but he always had those powers at his  disposal, should he choose to use them, so always fully divine, always fully human? Question five, what does Philippians 2:10-11, teach about Jesus. That verse says, Therefore, God  exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that's above every name, that at the  name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and in earth, and under the earth and  every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father, what's that  teach us? Well, it teaches us that someday Jesus will be glorified, but all people who have  ever lived, they will bow down before Him and recognize and acknowledge who he is and  what he did. Everyone will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  This will be a fantastic time. When all those who ignored Jesus or opposed him or doubted  him or denied him or defamed him will openly and publicly acknowledge that Jesus is truly the Lord of lords, and the King of kings. This does not mean that everyone will be saved, many  will not be saved. However, Jesus will finally receive the recognition and honor due him as the Son of God and the Son of Man, true God and true man, who's worthy of glory and honor and praise forever. Question six, what does Isaiah 7:14 teach about the coming Savior? I say I  lived about 700 years before the birth of Christ. He foretold that the Savior would come to be 

born of a virgin and would be called Emmanuel and that's a word Word that simply means  God with us. Emmanuel means with us and El is God and Manuel means God with us.  Though many people living in Isaias time may not have understood the full significance of  Isaiah is prediction. Matthew 1:22-23 clearly states that Jesus birth fulfilled Isaiah as prophecy since Matthew wrote, first of all, to the Jewish people. Now if you emphasize how the birth of  Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of one of their best known prophets, Isaiah, Luke also indicates  that Mary was a virgin when she became pregnant with her child. In Luke's account, we have  the clear statement that he would be called the Son of the Most High, and the virgin birth of  Jesus, the fulfillment of prophecy. And the fact that he was born of a virgin means that he did  not inherit our sinful human nature, it is also a sign that he was specially born as the son of  God. And so the virgin birth is one of those great truths about Jesus, that Christians must  believe and must never give up on. Question seven, when Jesus was on earth, he did many  mighty and wonderful miracles. Why did so many people oppose him and reject him when he  did so many good things? Well, the ones who were strongest in opposing Jesus were usually  people with some kind of religious authority, a group called Sadducees. Oppose Jesus, since  Jesus accepted the entire Old Testament as the word of God. And they didn't. They only  accepted a few books of the Old Testament, and they also did not believe in angels or spirits,  and they did not believe in the resurrection. So this particular group who happened to have  control of the priest offices, opposed Jesus, they may also have seen Jesus as someone who was upsetting the Roman authorities which whom they the wealthy Sadducees of and had a  pretty tight and lucrative a money making relationship, and they didn't want anything to  jeopardize that. The Pharisees, that's another group of people often opposed Jesus, because  many of them were self righteous and felt that they did not need Jesus for anything that Jesus would tell stories about them. One is Luke 18, where they pray and boast about themselves.  These Pharisees also saw Jesus as someone who frequently broke God's law as they  understood it. And in their minds, he was there for leading the people astray. He would heal  people on the Sabbath. And they said, You can't do that you can't help people been crippled  all these years, heal them on the Sabbath supposed to heal them a different day, they  wouldn't recognize the tremendous blessing and power of God and Jesus because they had  their own notion of how things were supposed to be. The Pharisees were also alarmed and  jealous that Jesus was becoming increasingly popular. Hey, that's sometimes the dangerous  preachers, they don't like it when the guy down the block is doing better when people are  flocking to him. And when they saw how many crowds were following Jesus and talking about  him and amazed by him, they thought, ooh, we might be losing our following, and they got  jealous. They felt that Jesus was standing in the way of their own personal goals for power  and authority. They were also disturbed because of the things Jesus taught about money.  Since the Pharisees were lovers of money. Luke 16:14 points that out. Jesus therefore  strongly warns the people against the teaching of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, he  compared it to yeast that works its way through a whole loaf. He said, Beware of the yeast of  the Pharisees and the Sadducees. And he warned them in various ways against that false  teaching. Because of their hypocrisy, and self righteousness. Jesus frequently spoke against  them and thus he arouse them to even greater anger and hatred. For example, see what  Jesus had to say in Matthew 23:1-36, Woe to you. And he says, You're like a grave full of  dead men's bones. You're like a dirty dish full of crud, of you bunch of snakes, a brood of  vipers. You can see when people when somebody calls you that you're not gonna like him  very much, unless you repent, you either take to heart what he says, and you change, or else  you hate his guts. And when Jesus confronted the Pharisees and the Sadducees, with all their errors, and the way they were misrepresenting God, instead of changing their minds, most of  them hated Jesus instead. Some of the common people also disbelieved in Jesus, partly 

because of the influence of the religious leaders, but many others eagerly follow Jesus and  believed in Him. They listened to what he taught, rejoiced in his miracles and follow them from one place to another. The people didn't always follow Jesus for the right reasons, but many of  them were deeply impressed with what he said and did. And they followed them wherever he  went. Eventually, it was the Jewish religious leaders who convinced the Roman authorities  that Jesus should be put to death. Now remember what I said in the main lesson on Jesus  and what the Bible teaches about him. Jesus himself was Jewish, His apostles were Jewish.  All of his early followers were Jewish. So we should not conclude from the fact that some  Jewish religious leaders were his enemies that they're for all Jewish people are forever bad.  So don't make that mistake, but it was certain key Jewish religious leaders and then in  cooperation with Roman authorities that put Jesus to death. Question Eight. Why do many  people reject or oppose Jesus today? Well, there are many different reasons why so many  people oppose or reject Jesus. Some people know very little about him, and what they claim  to know is often not true. Other people think that Jesus claims for Himself as the son of God,  the Savior of the world, the only way to God are far too strong. Others believe that the  teachings of Jesus are not as good and helpful as the things they've been taught all their lives by their parents and teachers. Some believe that the Bible is not trustworthy or true. Still,  others don't like or don't agree with Jesus teachings about sin. And everybody's need to  repent and confess their sins, to a holy and righteous God. We all want to think we're  basically good people. And we don't want to hear that stuff about sin. Many others teach that  Jesus was far too strict, and are very displeased with his condemnation and many of the vices they enjoy. Jesus says, if you just want to ditch your wife and divorce her and get a piece of  paper, you've committed adultery. Jesus says, if you look at a woman lustly you've committed  adultery in your heart. Jesus says, If you love money, then you can't love God. If you serve  money, you can't serve God. He said, a lot of stuff like that. And we don't like to hear that if  we're in love with money, or if we're bound by our own lusts. Jesus also stressed that no one  can come to the Father except through himself. And that seems to some people to be very  arrogant, and self centered, and far too restrictive. And they happen to be true. But they think  Jesus is arrogant for saying so. Now, what I think is really arrogant is to think you know better  than the Son of God. But some people are turned off by Jesus because he said, I'm the only  way. Many people feel just absolutely no need for a Savior, since they consider their own lives to be good enough to earn for themselves, a place in heaven. And many people have never  read most of the Bible and look on it as something of an antique which has little relevance for  people who live in the 21st century. They don't like the Bible's teaching about creation, or its  emphasis on man's selfishness and basic sinfulness. So since they don't have a sense of  need, they don't look for or long for a way out of their need. They hear that Jesus is the  answer. And they say, Well, if Jesus is the answer. What's the question? If Jesus is the savior, well, so I don't need saving. And the Bible, well, that's an old book, and Jesus lived a long  time ago, and they just aren't interested or they have no need. If there really is a God, such  people are quite sure they don't have any reason to fear him or his judgment. They're quite  confident that they can do all the might be necessary without the help of anyone else. Well,  these are just some of the reasons some of the more common reasons why so many people  today don't believe in Jesus as the only way to salvation, or why they do not believe that they  even need salvation. Maybe at the very core of it is that old enemy, pride. Thinking we know  better, and we don't need anybody else. But Jesus comes to those who are willing to forsake  their pride and cry out to Him for help. Question Nine, why did a perfect Savior have to die  even though he was totally sinless? Jesus did not die because of anything he had done or  failed to do. He lived a perfect life with absolutely no sin or failure of any kind. Precisely  because He was sinless himself. He did not have to atone for any of his own sins, and he was

able to die in our place as a perfect substitute for us. Hebrews 4:15 reads, We do not have a  high priest, who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who in every respect  has been tempted, as we are yet without sin. Later on. In the book of Hebrews. It says that  ordinary priests always had to offer a sacrifice for their own sins, as well as the sins of the  people. But Jesus as the perfect type is offered himself once for all to cover sins. He didn't  have any of his own sins to pay for, and he could pay for everyone else's. II Corinthians 5:21,  teaches for our sake, God made Him who had to be sin, who knew no sin, so that in him  Jesus, we might become the righteousness of God. That's the great exchange. God makes  the one who has no sin to be sin, and then He takes his perfect righteousness and credits it to us. And in Hebrews 2:14-17, we read, since therefore the children, that's us human beings  share in flesh and blood, he himself Jesus likewise partook of the same things, that through  death, he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver all  those who through fear of death, were subjected to lifelong slavery. He had to be made like  his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. Just a quick word about that  word propitiation, it means a sacrifice that absorbs God's wrath and punishment against sin,  so that God can instead show his favor to us. And Jesus had to be one of us and a perfect  representative of us, so that he could absorb God's wrath against human sin, and bring God's favor upon the human race and make propitiation for our sins. Question 10. If you had only 20 minutes to talk to someone about Jesus, what are the some of the things that you tell them?  Well, that's one of the purposes of this course is to help you to understand in very brief form,  what are some of the most important things about Jesus to believe yourself and to  communicate to others, and different Christians might emphasize different things, some of  them will emphasize those truths about Jesus, which were especially significant in their own  conversion, and others might emphasize some important truths, which they feel are  sometimes neglected. And still others might emphasize truths about Jesus, which are often  misunderstood, or misrepresented. So the answer to this question depends somewhat on  who you are, and who you're telling about Jesus, you might emphasize things about Jesus  that they don't quite get, or they're commonly misunderstood. Or you might emphasize things  that are especially dear to your heart. So if you had 20 minutes that might vary depending on  who you are, and depending on who you're talking to. But in general, it's important to include  most of the following teachings as of the time and circumstances might permit. Jesus is the  eternal and uncreated Son of God. He came to earth as a Jewish baby born to a Jewish virgin named Mary, who became pregnant through a special act of the Holy Spirit. Jesus had no  earthly father and adopted father, but he was brought up in the home of a carpenter named  Joseph, who married Mary after she became pregnant. Jesus lived for about 33 years in the  land of Israel, where he taught large numbers of people, performed many wonderful miracles,  lived a perfect sinless life, and eventually died on a cross at the hands of Roman soldiers.  Though Jesus was declared to be perfectly innocent by a Roman official, the jealous religious  leaders of the Jewish people persuaded the Roman governor to hand Jesus over to the  soldiers to be crucified. After three days, Jesus rose again from the dead, remain on earth for  40 more days, demonstrating that he had conquered death, and teaching about God's  kingship. Then he returned in glory to His Father in heaven, where he reigns over the entire  world. Because Jesus was perfectly sinless, he willingly and voluntarily died on the cross as a substitute, to pay the penalty for the sins of all those who put their faith and trust in Him.  Someday, Jesus will come back to earth again, to judge all people, and to reign forever in  glory with all those who loved and trusted and served him. If you have just a few minutes to  talk about Jesus, decide what it will be. Decide for yourself what's most important in the Bible  of these main truths that we've been emphasizing certainly, but then also be ready. The Bible 

says, always be ready to give account of the hope that's in you know what you'd say if  somebody said, Who is Jesus? Why did he come? Who is he? Think about that? Get it clear  in your mind. Take a few minutes even to write it down a page or two of what are the most  important things I would want to say to somebody about Jesus and then be ready anytime to  talk about this wonderful, marvelous savior.