For my Systematic Theology II class, we had to write a sermon...not preach it in front of the class thankfully! Although I think it would have been fun to present it, it was so much easier to just write it! Now, this is my first doctrinal sermon I've written. I've spoke various times and taught on different subjects, but this sermon was heavier for me. Maybe it's because it had to be doctrinal and it was going to be handed in to a brilliant theologian. Can you say 'pressure'?!
So, I decided to write my sermon on the incarnation; one of my favorite topics in theology. I told my friends I would share my sermon if I got a good mark (and it wasn't heretical!) so I wouldn't be sharing something of low quality to you. We were supposed to extract the material mostly from our main textbook: The Christian Theology Reader by Alister McGrath. The specific excerpts from McGrath's book which I used for this sermon are:
- Athanasius on the Two Natures of Christ
- Athanasius’ on the Relation of Christology and Soteriology
- Anselm of Canterbury on the Atonement
- Thomas Aquinas on the Satisfaction of Christ
- F.D.E. Schleiermacher on Christology and Soteriology
- James Denney on Atonement and Incarnation
And hey- be easy on me...I'm not a pastor nor a preacher. Here goes:
Who Do You Say I Am?
Introduction
Christmas
has just passed. We saw many images of baby Jesus in a manger. In the church,
we learn that that baby Jesus was God. We learn that God came to earth and
became human. We call it the incarnation. The incarnation brings about tons of
questions like “how does the incarnation work; God being divine and human?” and
“What was the point of the incarnation?” We take our questions about the incarnation
further because as humans we can be selfish, so we always want to know how
things will directly affect us. Therefore, we may ask “is the incarnation
important to me? If so, how?”
There
are two main reasons why the incarnation is important to us which we’ll talk
about today. First reason: The incarnation is important because it helps us to
understand Jesus’ identity. Second reason: The incarnation is important for us
to understand the work of salvation. You see, understanding the incarnation
brings about implications for our faith. This is why it is important to ask
all the questions about the incarnation and seek its answers.
Let
us pray to ask the Holy Spirit to lead our time of learning and lead me as I
teach: God, who are we that You are mindful of us? We are blessed that God
almighty wants anything to do with us. Thank You for being a loving God, who is
interested in Your creation. Even when your creation has failed You, You have
remained faithful and have continued to pursue a relationship with us. It is
only through Your Son that we can have that relationship. So, today, we pray
that You may help us to understand more of Your Son, Jesus. Allow the Holy
Spirit to teach us and enlighten us with the truth of the incarnation. And when
we come to understand, that we may believe, treasure and apply Your truth. In
Jesus’ name, Amen.
Who
do you say I am?
Let us begin discussing the
first reason of the incarnation: to understanding Jesus’ indentity. Let’s start
this time with a question that Jesus asked the disciples. Turn to Matthew 16:13-17.
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 Messiah,
the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you,
Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in
heaven (New International Version).
If Jesus were to ask us the first
question today: Who do people say I am? We could answer for the religious
people: The Jehovah Witnesses say that He was an angel. Mohammed said that He
was just a prophet. Buddhists believe He was just a good man. Hinduism believes
that Jesus is one of many other gods. We could also answer for some celebrities:
Alanis Morset implied that Jesus was just one of us; “a slob… stranger on the
bus…just trying to make his way home”. John Lennon said the Beatles were more
popular than Jesus. Malcom X said Jesus was black. And Pamela Anderson said
Jesus was her “homeboy”.
Almost
everyone has something to say about who Jesus is. People will live according to
who Jesus is. If you think that Jesus was just a good man, what’s it to you? It
would just make him an exemplary human and it would not affect you in any way.
But if Jesus is God in the flesh, then the way He lived His life, the miracles
He did, His death and resurrection affect you because they were all done for
you! John MacArthur says that the way you answer the question of who Jesus is
determines your eternal destiny.
So,
the same question that was asked to Peter on that day is extended to you: Who
do you say I am? [Pause for a brief
moment of silence]
We have heard the answer of a few
religions and celebrities as to who Jesus is. Now, let us turn to God’s very
own word to find out who He is: Jesus asked the disciples: Who do you say I am?
Being the hasty, impulsive guy that Peter was, He answered for everyone and said “You are
the Messiah, the Son of the living God”. This passage takes place before the
crucifixion of Jesus. The disciples have now spent a few years with Jesus, seeing
Him preach and do miracles that verified or authenticated that He was God. By
now, Peter could confess that Jesus was the One the scriptures had prophesied
about for thousands of years. By now, Peter was able to confess that Jesus was
the Son of God and therefore God Himself. You see, the disciples did not just
see Jesus eat, get tired, sleep, and go to the washroom- but they also saw
Jesus read the minds of people, heal people and forgive sin. Even after Peter’s
confession, they saw Jesus die, resurrect, and ascend back to the Father. The
disciples were eye witnesses of seeing Jesus be 100% God and 100% man.
The
God-Man
Now,
you and I have one nature; we are 100% human. God the Father and God the Holy
Spirit have one nature: 100% God. But Jesus had two natures: 100% man and 100%
God. Anselm of Canterbury had a great title for Jesus to describe his two
natures: “The God-man”.
For
some reason, every time I refer Jesus as the God-man, a guy in his early 20’s
says “that sounds like a super-hero!”. Let’s get something straight: Jesus was
not like a super hero. Super heroes are humans with supernatural powers…super
heroes are also not real! Jesus was not a human with divine powers.
When
I was younger, I tried to understand the two natures of Christ. Consequently, I
reasoned that Jesus was like Hercules: half man and half god. But this is also
wrong! Let me preface by saying that it can be difficult and mysterious to
understand the two natures of Jesus- but there is hope for understanding it
through the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit and studying of the Scriptures.
Jesus
was fully God and fully human. Because Jesus was God, this means He existed
before he became human. John 1 says that Jesus existed in the beginning and
that He is God! Jesus did not cease being divine when He became human. There
were some things that Jesus could not do as God because of His human body, like
be omnipresent. However, He was still fully God who was conceived by the Holy
Spirit, born of a virgin, tempted but did not sin, did miracles and
resurrected. Jesus was FULLY divine.
Jesus
was also fully human. Some believe that Jesus only appeared to be human, but this is untrue. Jesus was fully human.
The Bible says that He grew up in stature, wisdom and grace before God and man.
The Bible says He had to learn
obedience. Jesus also got hungry, tired and sleepy. Jesus had human needs.
Jesus felt pain! This means He felt
the anxiety of incoming death in the garden
of Gethsemane
Now
you may be thinking: wow. This sounds great. Jesus was fully God and fully man-
but what does that mean to me and my Christian faith? My friend, the incarnation
FULLY affects you. God is wise and brilliant. Thus, the way He works is
complex, yet intentional.
We have just discussed the first
reason of why it is important to understand the incarnation; that is so we
understand Jesus’ identity. Jesus was not only a man. He was also God.
The
purpose for Jesus’ Two Natures
Jesus was not fully God and fully man so that we could
try to figure out how his two natures work together, although it is important to understand. But,
there is a beautiful and significant intention that exists behind Jesus’ two
natures! The fact that Jesus was fully God and fully man relates to our
salvation; this is the second reason why the incarnation is important!
In
the beginning, Adam and his wife, Eve, experienced the perfect state of
creation and perfect communion with God. As you know, their disobedience
brought corruption to everything. Perfect communion with God was ruined. There
was nothing that sinful humanity could do to restore that communion. As
humanity, we deserved eternal punishment and separation from God. But God being
loving wanted His creation back to what He originally intended it to be; with
Him in perfect communion. But how was that perfect communion going to be
established again if humanity was now in a corrupt state? How was the wrath of
God for our disobedience going to be satisfied?
Anselm
says that in God’s kingdom, mercy cannot be simply given out; the wrong must be
corrected because God is just. God’s wrath must be satisfied with payment for
the wrongdoing. Therefore “Satisfaction cannot be made unless there is someone
who is able to pay to God for the sin of humanity. This payment must be
something greater than all that is beside God […] Now nothing is greater than
all that is not God, except God…then it is necessary that someone must make
[satisfaction] who is both God and a human being”.[1]
“…[W]ho
is both God and a human being”… both God and a human being. [Pause for a brief moment of silence]
Does this sound familiar? Jesus,
the God-man was the only one who
could satisfy the wrath of God. Jesus, who is God and existed before He was
clothed in flesh, was the only one
who could satisfy the wrath of God and thus redeem our perfect communion with
God. Only GOD could make the
atonement last forever. If it wasn’t for Jesus’ divinity, we would have had to
continue making atonement year after year like they did in the Old Testament.
But because Jesus is God, He is eternal and can make the atonement ONCE and FOR
ALL and make it LAST FOREVER. It was only Jesus who was able to do the powerful
work that would restore the fallen because He is God. Only Jesus could abolish
death that came to us through sin, by dying and resurrecting.
Because
Jesus was God, He was able to be conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin,
be tempted and not sin, heal, control the weather, forgive sin, resurrect,
appear to more than 500 men at the same time and ascend! We know God can do all
these things because He is God! So,
then what was the point of the Son becoming human?
The
point of becoming human was so that He could represent us, like Adam did in the
beginning. Adam, the first representative of humanity, failed to obey- but
Jesus, the second representative of humanity obeyed even until death. Jesus did
what Adam could not do; obey. Jesus did what all of us humanity could not do;
that is, pay for our sin and satisfy God’s wrath. It was OUR obligation to pay
God back for our sin! But when Jesus became human, he took on our obligation upon himself. Thus, the
punishment that brought us peace was on Him, the sinless One.
Allister
McGrath puts it this way: “A “God-man” [Jesus Christ] would possess both the
ability (as God) and the obligation (as a human being) to pay the required
satisfaction. Therefore the incarnation takes place, in order that the required
satisfaction may be made, and humanity redeemed.”[2]
That’s
why Jesus had to have the two natures: so that He could make eternal atonement
as God, and represent humanity as a man.
Conclusion
and Application
Let’s
go back to that question that Jesus asked the disciples: Who do they say I am?
Some say Jesus was just a moral man and a good teacher. Others say He was only
God and not man; His body was only an appearance. But at the end of the day,
what matters between you and God is
what your answer is- not what others
answer is.
Jesus
then asked the disciples “But who do you say I am?” Peter answered correctly.
Peter was looking at God in the flesh at that moment. Peter could have just
seen Jesus’ weather-beaten face, His tired-prone body and the rest of His
humanity…but instead Peter saw Jesus as God. Peter answered “You are the
Messiah, Son of the Living God”. Peter saw Jesus as a man, but also as God. Who
do you say Jesus is? [Pause for a silent
moment]. Your answer determines your eternal destiny.
After
Peter answered, Jesus said that his answer was actually revealed to Him by God.
You see, when you confess that Jesus was not only a mere man, but also God-
that means something. When you confess it and
believe it- that means something! If you already have a relationship with
Jesus today but this truth of the incarnation is making you see Jesus
differently…good! The more we know Jesus, the more we love Him, obey Him and
become like Him! If you do not have a relationship with God today, and you believe
this truth of the incarnation and it is stirring you up inside- it is because
God is drawing you to Him. Fall into God’s pursuit for you! He loves you and
wants a relationship with you. Your answer as to who Jesus is must go beyond
head knowledge; it must penetrate your heart. You will treat God according what
your answer is. So, who is Jesus to you?
I
will conclude with the words of the apologist, Ronald Nash:
…if Jesus Christ is God, we have
more than a revelation from God in human language. God has revealed himself- his person, his nature, his
character- in a living way. To know Jesus’ teaching is to know God’s teaching;
to know Jesus’ character is to know God’s character; to believe in Jesus is to
believe in God; to know Jesus is to know God.[3]
Bibliography
McGrath, Alister. Christian Theology Reader. 4th
ed. Oxford
Nash, Ronald. Worldviews
in Conflict. Grand Rapids :
Zondervan, 1992.
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