I. Who is Jesus Christ? (John 1: 29; Galatians 4: 4)
A. The pre-incarnate person of Jesus Christ. (If He is God then He was eternal deity before He came to earth.)
Here are some witnesses to Christ's deity and pre-existence:
1. The witness of the Old Testament. (Isaiah 9:6; Micah 5:2)
2. The witness of the New Testament. (John 8:58; John 1: 1)
3. The witness of the work of creation. (Colossians 1: 16; Hebrews 1: 2)
4. The witness of His names. (Hebrews 1: 8; John 1: 1; John 8: 58)
B. The incarnate Christ. (Philippians 2: 6 - 8; John 1: 14; Matthew 1:23)
1. The miracle of the Virgin Birth. (Christ was not of earthly origin, but came to earth in an earthly fashion.) Isaiah 7: 14, Luke 1: 26- 31, Galatians 4: 4
2. He emptied Himself. (Philippians 2:7) His pre-incarnate glory was veiled. Matthew 16:22. He did not lay aside His deity. Christ was fully God and fully man. Two distinct natures, united in one person.
3. He was God.
a. He possessed and displayed incommunicable attributes. (Matt 28: 18, John 1: 48, Matthew 18:20, Matthew 8: 27, Luke 6: 8)
b. Christ demonstrated the power of deity. (Luke 7:48, John 11: 43)
c. Jesus claimed equality with the Father. (John 10: 30)
d. The New Testament writers claimed He was God. (Hebrews 1: 3)
e. God the Father claimed His equality .(Hebrews 1: 8)
4. He was man. (Romans 8:3)
a. He had a human body. (Galatians 4:4, Luke 2: 52, Matt. 26: 12)
b. He was subject to human limitations. (Matthew 4: 2, John 19: 28, John11: 35, Hebrews 4: 15)
c. He died. (I Peter 3: 18, Luke 23: 46)
5. He was impeccable (without sin). II Corinthians 5: 21; Hebrews 4: 15
Compare the temptation of Adam with the temptation of Jesus Christ.
II. Why did He Come?
A. To reveal God to men. (John 1: 18, John 14: 8 - 11)B. To provide sacrifice for sin. (Hebrews 9: 26, I John 3: 5, I Peter 3: 18)
C. To destroy the works of the devil. (I John 3: 8, Hebrews 2: 14)
D. To give us and example for living. (I Peter 2: 21 - 23, I John 2: 6)
E. To become a merciful High Priest. (Hebrews 4: 15, Hebrews 7: 24 - 28)
F. To fulfill God's promises. (Genesis 3: 15, Luke 1: 32 - 33, Luke 4: 17 - 21)
III. The work of Jesus Christ.
A. The suffering and death of Jesus Christ – the substitutionary atonement. This is the second great imputation - our sin is imputed to Jesus. (Romans 6: 6 - 8, II Corinthians 5: 21, I Peter 2: 24, Acts 20: 28) Jesus was the only innocent man ever to be punished by God. Jesus willingly took upon Himself the sin of the world. He volunteered to become the Lamb of God, laden with our sin. God made Christ accursed for the sin he bore. He took the punishment justice demanded form us.
What does this mean to us?
B. The resurrection of Jesus - proof that Christ's sacrifice was acceptable to the Father. John 20, I Corinthians 15: 15 - 20, 32
What does this mean to us?
C. The ascension of Jesus Christ. (Luke 24: 46 - 53, Acts 1: 1 - 11, John 3: 13)
Ascend can refer to the elevation of a king to his royal office. The ascension of Jesus was the one of the greatest events in world history. Jesus Christ left the place of His humiliation and suffering to enter His glory. He went from being a despised Rabbi (teacher) to being enthroned as King of the universe. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. At this moment Jesus reigns in power. He possesses all authority in heaven and earth. His kingdom is invisible but is no less real.
One of the first acts of Jesus after He ascended was to endow His church with power from on high.
In His ascension Jesus entered the sanctuary as High Priest. He has entered the Holy of Holies to intercede for His people. We are a people whose King prays for us.
What does this mean to us?
IV. The Offices of Jesus Christ.
A. Prophet - Luke 7: 16, John 7: 40
B. Priest - Hebrew 7: 21 - 28, Hebrews 8: 1 - 6
C. King - Genesis 49: 10, Numbers 24:
15 - 17, Isaiah 9: 6 - 7, Matthew 27: 11
Permission is granted to use this Bible Study outline for personal study and small groups only.
Study written by Bob Krepps © 1994 all rights reserved
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