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What Every Christian Should Know About Jesus Christ – Part 1

Pathway to Victory / Dr. Robert Jeffress
The Truth Network Radio
February 9, 2024 3:00 am

What Every Christian Should Know About Jesus Christ – Part 1

Pathway to Victory / Dr. Robert Jeffress

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February 9, 2024 3:00 am

When you think of Jesus, you likely picture a bearded man in his early 30s, wearing a flowing garment, perhaps teaching on a hillside. But Jesus and His ministry extends far beyond His time on Earth. Dr. Robert Jeffress helps us gain a holistic view of the Second Member of the Godhead.

 

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Hey, podcast listeners! Thanks for streaming today's podcast, From Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory is a nonprofit ministry featuring the Bible teaching of Dr. Robert Jeffress. Our mission is to pierce the darkness with the light of God's word through the most effective media available, like this podcast. To support Pathway to Victory, go to ptv.org slash podcast and click the donate button, or follow the link in our show notes.

Now, here's today's podcast, From Pathway to Victory. And notice in this one verse three things John tells us about Jesus. First of all, He was in the beginning. He didn't come into existence at Bethlehem.

He is eternal. And secondly, Jesus was with God, meaning He's distinct from God the Father. He was with God. And yet, the third thing was He was God.

That's the mystery of the Trinity. Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress. When you think about Jesus, you likely picture a bearded man, maybe early 30s, wearing a flowing garment, perhaps teaching on a hillside.

But Jesus and His ministry extend far beyond his time on earth. Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress helps us gain a holistic view of the second member of the Godhead. Now, here's our Bible teacher to introduce today's message.

Dr. Jeffress. Thanks, David, and welcome to the Friday edition of Pathway to Victory. Most of us love taking vacations, but getaway adventures are even better when there's a spiritual component to them. Well, did you know that Pathway to Victory is preparing an unforgettable Christian vacation for you? I'm referring to the once-in-a-lifetime adventure on the Pathway to Victory Cruise to Alaska.

The dates are June 15th through 22nd this summer. As your eyes take in the majestic views, you'll feel as though you've stepped into a masterpiece painting. The forested hillsides, the snow-packed mountains, the marine life, the quaint ports of call. All of these gorgeous scenes provide the ideal backdrop to reconnect with your Creator. Along the way, we'll enjoy the Christian music of Rebecca St. James and Michael O'Brien. We'll laugh at the comedy of Dennis Swanberg, and we'll study God's Word together.

So, take a look at all the details and make plans to join us by going to ptv.org. February is set aside for a practical teaching series called What Every Christian Should Know, and with it, I'm thrilled to provide my best-selling book that inspired this study. If you're the type who likes to ask the why questions about your faith, and if you're tired of the Christian cliches that are unsatisfying, then you'll truly appreciate this rational approach to 10 essential doctrines of our Christian faith. I'm going to send you a hardbound copy of my book, What Every Christian Should Know, when you give a generous gift to support the growing ministry of Pathway to Victory. David and I will say more about my book later, but right now, let's start message number three in this series. It's called What Every Christian Should Know About Jesus Christ. One of the quirks in our culture is that we tend to measure somebody's importance by their time in the limelight.

Social media celebrities have their 15 minutes of fame. People we honor sometimes are called the man or woman of the hour. Every year at the end of the year, Time Magazine has their person of the year, and there are few people who have whole eras named after them, the Elizabethan era or the Roosevelt era, but there's only one person in history whose entrance into the world has divided all of history into two halves. It doesn't matter whether the halves are called B.C. before Christ or A.D. and A.D., Anno Domini, the year of our Lord.

You can divide it B.C.E. before the common era and C.E., the common era, but it's the same person whose life has become the measure by which we calibrate our own existence. His name is Jesus Christ.

He is without doubt the most important person in history. And today as we continue our study, what every Christian should know about the 10 core beliefs of historic Christianity, we've come to that third pillar that supports the Christian faith, the truth about Jesus Christ. And that's what we're going to talk about for a few minutes today, what every Christian should know about Jesus Christ. Now, in keeping with this idea of time, we're going to divide Jesus' time into three parts.

First of all, we're going to talk about Jesus B.C. That's before Christmas. Now, I don't know about your family, but in our family, we have some Christmas traditions.

We go over to Ryan and Julia's house, and Ryan makes some stew for us. We watch the Christmas movie Elf. But the most important thing we do on Christmas is we come to church and we celebrate Jesus Christ. But a lot of people in celebrating Christmas make the mistake of thinking that's when Jesus came into existence at Bethlehem. That's what we're celebrating.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus had an existence before Christmas. And the controlling passage in the Bible about that is actually John 1, verse 1. John begins his gospel a little differently than the other three gospels. John says, in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.

The word word, logos, means expression of. Jesus is the full expression of God himself. And notice in this one verse three things John tells us about Jesus. First of all, he was in the beginning. He didn't come into existence at Bethlehem. He was at the very beginning. He is eternal.

In the beginning was the word. And secondly, Jesus was with God, meaning he's distinct from God the Father. He was with God. And yet the third thing was he was God. While being distinct from God, he was God.

That's the mystery of the Trinity. Well, what was it that Jesus has been doing before Christmas? What was he in heaven doing? Well, he was the focus of all the Old Testament prophecies. You know, God the Father did a lot of prep work to get the world ready for the coming of Jesus Christ. One thing he did was to institute a system of sacrifices for men that they would follow for thousands of years. They would sin, and they would offer a sacrifice. There's nothing about those sacrifices that could wash away sins, but it was teaching man that there had to be a sacrifice for sins. The sacrificial system was a picture of Christ. But also, God for thousands of years before the coming of Christ made prophecies about Jesus. There are about 60 major prophecies that would be like a neon arrow in heaven pointing out who the Messiah was when he finally came. For example, when I'm traveling to a city, and somebody's to pick me up, and they may not know me, I text them some information. I'll be standing out in front of door number three, a baggage claim. I'll be wearing a white shirt and a red tie.

I'm giving them some things they can look for to know that it is me. Well, God the Father did the same thing so we could know when Jesus came. For example, one of the prophecies of the 60 made about Jesus was in Micah 5, 2, when he described the exact village, the city in which Christ would be born, Bethlehem. He predicted that Jesus, the Messiah, would be crucified.

You say, well, what's the big deal about that? Lots of people were crucified. Well, it was prophesied about Jesus that he would be crucified a thousand years before crucifixion was even invented.

Again, 60 of those prophecies made before Jesus came to earth. Galatians 4 says, in the fullness of time, God sent forth his son. I like the way the Living Bible says that at just the right time, God sent forth his son. And now that leads us to what happened when God came to earth, when he became flesh and dwelt among us. Let's look at Galatians 4. Let's look at Jesus on earth. John 1.14 says, and the word became flesh and dwelt among us.

You know, C.S. Lewis said, the greatest miracle of all time is not the atonement. It's not even the resurrection. The greatest miracle of all time is the incarnation. Think about it. The great God who created this universe poured himself, all of himself, into that tiny embryo implanted in the womb of a Jewish teenage peasant girl.

That is a miraculous thought when you think about it. The controlling passage in the New Testament that explains the significance of that is Philippians 2, verses 5 through 8. Have this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although he existed in the form of God, did not regard his equality with God a thing to be grasped, to be held onto. But he emptied himself, taking the form of a bondservant and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in the appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Again, to quote C.S.

Lewis, C.S. Lewis in his book Mere Christianity, if you want to get the hang of incarnation, just imagine what it would be like for you to voluntarily become a slug or a crab. Can you imagine such a thing? Yet Jesus did that, and he did it willingly. Now, a lot of people have a false idea of the incarnation. They think that means Jesus was half God and half man. No, we have a term in theology, the hypostatic union, and that literally means that Jesus Christ was 100% God, and he was 100% man without any mixture of sin.

Now, make no mistake about it. Jesus was God. He was 100% God.

In Colossians 2, 9, Paul says, for in him, Jesus, all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form. And by the way, don't let anybody sell you on this idea that, oh, well, Jesus never claimed to be God. That's just something his followers tagged him with hundreds of years afterwards to make a good story a better story. No, from the beginning, Jesus claimed to be God, which means, as C.S. Lewis again said, given the fact that he claimed to be God, it means either he was a liar because he knew he wasn't God but claimed to be. He was a lunatic. He actually thought he was God when he wasn't.

If you don't think Jesus is a liar or a lunatic, the only other alternative is he is Lord. He's exactly who he said he was. He is fully God, but secondly, he is fully man. The Bible says in Philippians 2, 7, he emptied himself when he came to earth. Now, what did he empty himself of? Did he empty himself of being God?

No. God is who he was. You cannot empty yourself of your essence. I cannot empty myself of having brown eyes and being five foot nine. That is who I am. I can't change that. I can't give that up.

That is me. And it's the same way with God. He can't give up his essence. Jesus is God. So what did he empty himself of?

I want you to write this down. Two things. First of all, he emptied himself of his rights.

He did not hold on to his rights as God, Philippians 2 says. You know, if you ever go to the airport, one of the biggest ordeals you go through is the security check. And sometimes you're in a long line to be checked out for security.

But I've got this nifty little thing that some of you have. It's a TSA pre-check, which means you can walk through a faster line. You don't have to take off your coat. You don't have to get rid of your laptop.

You can go through very quickly. Now, I've got TSA pre-check. Amy doesn't have the TSA pre-check. So when we get to the airport, I look at that very short line with the pre-check, and then I see the line Amy's going to stand in and have to handle her luggage herself, the normal line. And I think, which line do I want to go in? Now, I have every right to go through the quicker line. But if I don't want to be the first divorced pastor of First Baptist Church Dallas in history, I know I don't need to go through that line. I give up my right to go through that line, and I go through the other line to help my wife.

And I do it because I want to help her. It's the same thing with God. Jesus Christ had all the rights of God himself, but he willingly gave up his rights as God to meet our needs.

May I just add a word today? There's a lot of talk today about rights. We have our rights. We have our rights. You would think that is the foundation of the Christian gospel, holding onto your rights. No, the foundation of the Christian faith is giving up your rights.

Philippians 2 5 says, have this same attitude in you that was in Christ Jesus. He had rights. He gave them up for the benefit of others.

That's what Jesus emptied himself of. He gave up his rights. And then secondly, he gave up the exercise of some of his attributes. Now, he was omniscient. He was omnipotent.

He couldn't give that up, but he could give up the exercise of those rights. For example, when he was being crucified, he could have exercised his omnipotence, and he could have called thousands of angels to come and vindicate him and rescue him, but he chose not to exercise that attribute of omnipotence. He was omniscient.

He knew all things. And yet in Matthew 24 36, when his disciples said, Lord, when are you coming back again? He said, nobody knows the day or hour, not the angels in heaven, not even the Son of God, only the Father knows. Have you ever wondered how that could be? How could Jesus be God and yet not know when he's coming back again?

He voluntarily chose, while he was on earth, not to exercise aspects of his omniscience, but he was fully God. I was trying to think of a good way to illustrate that to you. Think about a light bulb for a moment. When you turn on a light bulb, it generates a certain amount of light, and we measure that in lumens. That's the measurement of how bright a light is. Now, you can turn that light bulb on, but then you can put a lampshade over it. Now, what does the lampshade do? Does it decrease the amount of light the bulb is generating?

No. It's still generating the same number of lumens, but what the lampshade does is it diminishes what you're able to see of the brightness of the light. In the same way, Jesus' humanity, his flesh, it didn't decrease his deity, but it bailed some of his deities so that we could not see him in all of his glory. One day, we'll see him in all of his glory when he returns again. Jesus was fully God, and he was fully man. That is what the incarnation means.

What does it mean to us? What is the result of Jesus taking on human flesh? Let me just mention three things Jesus did in his humanity during his brief 33 years here on earth.

Number one, he defied expectations. We saw this in our study on the Sermon on the Mount. The Jewish leaders measured godliness in terms of how many rules you could keep. For example, the Mosaic law said in Exodus 28, remember the Sabbath, keep it holy.

The Jews added dozens of laws to help you do that, telling you how many steps you could take and how much you could lift and just all kind of ridiculous things. They thought the more rules you kept, the holier you were, and Jesus said, no, holiness is a matter of the heart. And in fact, when he taught that Sermon on the Mount, remember when he finished, it says in Matthew 7 28, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one having authority and not as their scribes. Jesus defied their expectations about what the Messiah would do. They were looking for a conquering warrior who would finally free them from the oppression of Rome. Instead, they got a suffering servant. That's why they missed Jesus. They didn't understand that, as he said, he came not to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many. Secondly, Jesus during his 33 years suffered. He suffered the betrayal of his friends, the insults of his enemies, the misunderstanding of even his own family. But most importantly, Jesus suffered the agony of the cross. Again, Isaiah writing hundreds of years before the fact, prophesied this about the Messiah.

Isaiah 53 verses five and six. He, Jesus, was pierced through for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The chastening of our wellbeing fell upon him. By his scourging, we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray. We have strayed everyone into our own way, but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall upon him. What did the death of Christ accomplish for us? Again, there was nothing unique about crucifixion.

It's estimated that 30,000 people were crucified during Christ's life here on earth by the Romans. But what made his death unique is what it accomplished. Second Corinthians 5 21 says, God made him Jesus who knew no sin to become sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. In some inexplicable way, God took all of our sin and he wrapped it around Jesus. And he took all of the righteousness, the perfection of Jesus, and wraps it around those of us who trust in him. And the result was we have eternal life. When God looks at you as a Christian, he no longer sees your sin.

He sees the righteousness of his son. How do we know that Jesus' sacrifice actually accomplished what it was meant to do? Some of Jesus' final words on the cross, it is finished.

Teitelestai in Greek, literally paid in full. And by the way, you can't separate the crucifixion from the resurrection. The resurrection is proof that Jesus' gift was acceptable to God. If Jesus had remained in that grave, then it meant like every other person, he died for his own sins. But Romans 4 25 says, he was raised for our justification.

His resurrection proves that God accepted his offer for us. Jesus suffered. Grief counselors will tell you that if you're trying to help somebody who's going through a difficult time, whatever you do, don't ever say, I know what you're going through. Because more often than not, you and I don't know what they're going through.

There's only one person who's qualified to say, I know what you're going through. And that's Jesus Christ. The fact is he has suffered and experienced everything we've experienced. I heard one commentator say this week, when Jesus took on human flesh, he wasn't putting on a Halloween costume.

He wasn't pretending to be something he wasn't. No, he actually became flesh and he experienced every heartache we experience. Dorothy Sayer describes it beautifully when she writes, for whatever reason, God chose to make man as he is, limited suffering and subject to sorrows and death. God had the honesty and the courage to take his own medicine.

Whatever game God is playing with his creation, he has kept his own rules and played fair. He cannot exact anything for man that he's not exacted from himself. He himself has gone through the whole of human experience, from the trivial irritations of family life and the cramping restrictions of hard work and lack of money, to the worst horrors of pain, humiliation, defeat, despair, and even death. When Jesus was a man, he played the man.

He was born in poverty and died in disgrace and thought it all worthwhile. What does that mean to us? It means when we talk to Jesus, we're not talking to some distant deity who doesn't understand what we're going through.

In Hebrews 4, 14 through 16, the writer says, for we don't have a high priest who can't sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who was tested in all points as we are, and yet without sin. Let us come boldly with confidence to the throne of grace, that we might receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Friends, God wants to know you and to be known by you. He's not in the heavens behind a barrier of mystery.

He's longing to be in a relationship with you. My prayer is that you'll begin to take your first steps in getting better acquainted with the God you love and the God who loves you. I've written a best-selling book to guide you. It's called What Every Christian Should Know. In my book, I provide 10 core beliefs about God.

These are theological truths or doctrines that give us non-negotiable exposure to God's glory. You can get in touch with Pathway to Victory today to request your copy. Again, my book is called What Every Christian Should Know, and a hard-down copy is yours when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory. Not long ago, I received an amazing note from Susan who thanked Pathway to Victory for sharing the gospel truth with her husband.

She said her birthday was coming up, and she told her husband, please don't get me anything for my birthday, not even a card. I just want you to promise me that you'll listen to Dr. Jeffress on Pathway to Victory. Well, in that TV program, I described the truth about salvation. I said, with God, you're either in or out. And after hearing those words, Susan's husband committed his life to Jesus Christ.

He decided he wanted to be in with God, not out. Isn't that great? I thought her story might encourage you. You see, when you support Pathway to Victory with your prayers and generous gifts, you're playing a significant role in these sacred moments of transformation. Thank you so much for your faithful giving.

David? Thanks, Dr. Jeffress. Today, when you invest in the ministry of Pathway to Victory by giving a generous gift, we'll say thanks by sending you the best-selling book by Dr. Jeffress called What Every Christian Should Know. Call us at 866-999-2965 or visit our website at ptv.org. And when your investment is $75 or more, we'll also send you the complete unabridged collection of audio and video discs for the What Every Christian Should Know teaching series.

Plus, we'll send along a study guide to use on your own or with a small group. One more time, call 866-999-2965 or go to ptv.org. You could write to us if you'd like. Here's that mailing address, PO Box 223609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. Again, that's PO Box 223609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. I'm David J. Mullins.

Wishing you a great weekend? Then join us Monday for part two of the message called What Every Christian Should Know About Jesus Christ right here on Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. You made it to the end of today's podcast from Pathway to Victory, and we're so glad you're here. Pathway to Victory relies on the generosity of loyal listeners like you to make this podcast possible. One of the most impactful ways you can give is by becoming a Pathway partner. Your monthly gift will empower Pathway to Victory to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and help others become rooted more firmly in his word. To become a Pathway partner, go to ptv.org slash podcast and click on the donate button or follow the link in our show notes. We hope you've been blessed by today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.
Whisper: medium.en / 2024-07-26 15:47:38 / 2024-07-26 15:57:35 / 10

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