I ask that as we go through these lessons,
that you get a Bible, read it, pray, study, and ask the Holy Spirit of the
Living God, to help guide you into truth.
Comparing scripture with scripture, and comparing spiritual
things with spiritual things, is the only correct way for Christians to discern
truth from error.
In this lesson we will look at how rightly
dividing the word of truth helps us to answer the questions in the title of
this week’s lesson. If you fail to understand, or fail to learn how to rightly
divide the word of truth, you can never come to the knowledge of the truth and
sound doctrine.
We are continuing to study the
doctrine of Jesus being God manifest in the flesh. There is probably no greater
misunderstood doctrine in the Bible than who Jesus the Christ is.
Once again we will not be going to
scholars for an answer to this question, as you can never know who Jesus is
through intellect, but only by the Holy Spirit of the living God, thus we will
go to no other place than the Holy Scriptures, the Bible (KJV) to find out who
Jesus is and claimed to be.
In this lesson we will continue to look
at Old Testament verses fulfilled in the New Testament by the Lord Jesus, which
reveal that Jesus was in fact the Lord God of Heaven and Earth indwelling a
human body.
Exodus 3 [10] Come
now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring
forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. [13] And Moses said unto God, Behold,
when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of
your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his
name? what shall I say unto them?
[14] And God said unto
Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the
children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. [15]
And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of
Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever,
and this is my memorial unto all generations.
One of our fellow saints asked about
me using some of the I AM verses in these lessons on the deity of our Lord and Savior
Jesus, so I am including them in this lesson.
So first up, when the Lord God told
Moses in Exodus Chp. 3 that he was sending him to get the Children
of Israel out of Egypt, Moses got real
concerned, and asked God, who am I that I should go up to Pharaoh, and bring
the children of Israel out of Egypt.
Moses realized this was a big
assignment, and so he had some questions just like any normal person would
have. Moses first concern was, when I tell the children of Israel “the God of
your fathers hath sent me”, they are going to ask what’s his name? Well what do
I tell them, God said unto Moses; I AM THAT I AM, so tell them I AM hath sent
you!
So here the God of
the Old Testament declares one of his names to be ‘I AM.’ Think about this for a minute. How profound! What else could the Living God, who was
eternally existent, say to a created
being that could be any simpler to understand?
“I AM THAT I AM.” The Lord God
is, was, and always will be. What better
way could Moses have explained to his people as to who sent him but the great
‘I AM.’
Now that we have established one of
the names for God in the Old Testament to be I AM, let’s see if we can tie this
name to the Lord Jesus.
John.6 [35] “And Jesus said
unto them, I am the
bread of life”:
John.8 [12] “Then spake
Jesus again unto them, saying, I am
the light of the world”:
John.10 [9] “I am the door”:
John.10 [11] “I am the good shepherd”:
John.14 [6] Jesus saith unto
him, I am the way,
the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by
me.
John.15 [5] “I am the vine,”
As we look at these verses, I do so
with the attitude these are the actual words that Jesus spoke and the Holy
Spirit of the Living God had men record them. I also believe that my Bible
(KJV) is accurate as written, with no errors, and that we don’t have to go to
some intellectual giant with lots of education to understand what it says.
In fact, if these are the words of
Jesus, then we can arrive at a simple conclusion that when he uses the term I
am in these statements that he is claiming to be the great I AM. In this lesson
we will see that the Jews knew full well that Jesus was claiming to be God!
I know of no mortal being, living or
dead, that can make the statements that Jesus made with any real authority, for
example in John 14 when he said he is “the way, the
truth and the life” that is a big statement and claim. Again I know of
no other being who it has been recorded to make the claims that Jesus makes in
these “I am” statements. How about “I am the Light of
the World”, today if someone made these claims he would be declared
insane or off his rocker. Jesus had to be “the LORD”
to be able to make these I am statements. It’s that simple we just need to read
it, and believe it.
John 8 [51] Verily,
verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.
[52] Then said the Jews
unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead,
and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall
never taste of death. [53]
Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets
are dead: whom makest thou thyself? [54] Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it
is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: [55] Yet ye have not known him; but I
know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like
unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying. [56] Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he
saw it, and was glad. [57]
Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast
thou seen Abraham? [58] Jesus
said unto them, Verily,verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I
am. [59] Then took they
up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the
temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
In the above verses we see that the
Jews now accuse Jesus of being devil possessed as a result of his statements
and claims. Jesus makes the statement that if a man keeps his saying “he shall never taste of death”. Here again that is a
really big statement, and claim for just a flesh and blood man to make! The
conversation goes on and Jesus now tells the Jews that their father Abraham
rejoiced to see his day. (I believe that Jesus was not talking times past but
present when he said my day and was talking of his arrival on planet earth as
the Son of God, but in any case he was certainly talking about his relationship
with Abraham.) The Jews immediately pickup on what he is claiming, and make the
statement to Jesus you’re not even fifty years old and you’re telling us that
you have seen Abraham. Pay attention to what Jesus tells them, “Before Abraham was, I am”, this is
simple stuff to understand when Jesus makes that statement to the Jews he is
claiming that he was around before Abraham existed, and that he was the “I AM” of the Old Testament! What happens next,
the Jews take up stones again to kill him!
This is so simple that a child can
understand it with the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Look at verse 59, Jesus hides
himself, but he is not hiding behind some concrete column, or structure, he is
right in the middle of them, and walks out of the temple in plain view, and yet
they couldn’t see him. Jesus had no trouble doing this, as he exercised his
control of what they could see, just like when he controlled the wind and sea,
this is not a big deal for the creator of the heaven and the earth.
Isaiah 43 [10] Ye are
my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may
know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there
was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
In the above verse we see in Isaiah,
the Lord make a statement telling the Jews that they are his witnesses, and
that they may know and believe him, and then includes the words “understand that I am he”, no God was formed
before him. I want us to focus on those
three words “I am he” and see if we can tie
them to Jesus.
John.8 [24] I said
therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your
sins.
John.8 [28]
Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye
know that I am he, and
that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these
things.
John.13 [18]
I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may
be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me. [19] Now I tell you before it come,
that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.
John.18 [1] When Jesus had
spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron,
where was a garden, into the which he entered, and his disciples. [2] And Judas also, which betrayed him,
knew the place: for Jesus ofttimes resorted thither with his disciples. [3] Judas then, having received a band
of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with
lanterns and torches and weapons. [4]
Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went
forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? [5] They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith
unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.
[6] As soon then as he
had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the
ground. [7] Then asked he
them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. [8] Jesus answered, I have told
you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way: [9] That the saying might be fulfilled,
which he spake, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none.
For sake of context I have included all of the first 9
verses of John Chp. 18 to so as to make
this point so no one reading this or sharing this can mistake the implications
of the “I am he” statement that Jesus makes in this passage of God’s Holy Word.
The story begins with Judas leading a band of men and
officers out to a place where Judas knew Jesus would be. Judas had more than
likely been there with Jesus and the other disciples many times in the past.
When we get to verse 4 we read a statement that informs us that Jesus knew
Judas and the gang were on their way. This was just one of the advantages of being God
in a flesh and blood body is he still knows all things: past, present, and future.
Well when Judas and his gang show up Jesus does not break
and run away but goes forth to meet them! Then ask this simple question of
course he knows the answer before he asks the question, whom seek ye? They
respond with Jesus of Nazareth. Here again pay close attention “Jesus saith unto them, I
am he” and what happens “As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they
went backward, and fell to the ground.” Don’t miss this as it is
a fulfillment of a prophetic statement Jesus made earlier in the book of John
Chp. 10, “[17] Therefore doth my
Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it
again. [18] No man taketh
it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it
down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I
received of my Father.” Jesus knocks them all to the ground to let them
know even though they had weapons he didn’t have to go with them! In fact he
could have killed every one of them in same amount of time that it took him to
speak the words “I am he” lucky for them that
was not his reaction, his eyes were set on the cross to save sinners not
destroy them!
What’s amazing is that some people
can read their Bible and walk away with the attitude that Jesus somehow was
just a good teacher or a good person, but to not recognize him as God manifest
in the flesh is to not know him!
Hate to sound like a broken record
but once again the evidence of the Fact that Jesus was God manifest in the
flesh is so overwhelming that to deny it, is to deny the very words of the
Living God as recorded in the Bible.
The Bible is an easy book to
understand when you just read, and believe it, not try and make it say things
it doesn’t say.
As far as spiritual discernment, when you
know where to get your doctrine from, you will no longer be a confused
Christian, or an easy target by the sleight of men to deceive you.
Romans 10 [8] But what saith it? The word is nigh
thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we
preach; [9] That if thou shalt confess
with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God
hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. [10] For with the heart man
believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation.
The words of our Apostle Paul, the Apostle
to the Gentiles!
2Tim.2 [15] Study to shew thyself
approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing
the word of truth.
Come join with us as we study God’s Holy Word!
Remember most unsound Bible Doctrine, is
sound Bible Doctrine misapplied to the wrong time period, or
wrong group of people.
Lesson 25 is in work, and will be posted when done!
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