My notes for Wednesday night, Nov 1st. Remember, these are my personal study notes and not a manuscript of the sermon. They are provided as an outline each week for our Tabernacle Church family. Our study over the next few months will be “The Roots of the Faith.” This study will focus on key biblical truths that will transform our thinking and allow us to faithfully live out the Christian life. You can find Sermon Notes, Family Devotional Guides, Prayer List, and other resources at our Church Website.
Resources for this Study
50 Core Truths of the Christian Faith – Gregg R. Allision
Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine – Wayne Grudem
Biblical Doctrine: A Systematic Summary of Bible Truth – John MacArthur & Richard Mayhue
Basic Christian Doctrines – Curt Daniel
The Humanity of Christ
The Son of God is the Second Person of the Trinity, equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit. In the incarnation, he took on human nature and became the God-man, one person with two natures.
• The Son of God is the Second Person of the Trinity, sharing in the one divine nature.
• Being fully God, the Son is equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit in nature, power, and glory, but he is distinct from them in terms of his eternal relation and roles.
• Two thousand years ago, the eternal Son of God became incarnate, taking on a full human nature, and became the God-man, Jesus Christ.
• By the hypostatic union, he is both fully God and fully man, two natures united in one person.
Jesus was born like any other human being.
- Luke 2:1–7
- Born of a virgin
- The uniting of His full deity and full humanity
- Sinless Matthew 1:18
He grew and matured like others.
- Luke 2:40, 51–52
He had normal physical needs.
- John 4:6; John 19:28; Matthew 4:2
- Hunger, thirsty, tired
He expressed common human emotions.
- John 12:27; 13:21
He enjoyed the kind of relationships that are characteristic of human beings.
- John was “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 21:7, 20), one of Jesus’s three closest friends (Peter, James, and John; Mark 5:37; 9:2; 14:33).
- Jesus spent three years of ministry with the Twelve (Matt. 10:1–4), and had close friendships with women (Luke 8:1–2), including Mary and Martha (John 11:1–41).
- And Jesus was “a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Matt. 11:19; cf. 9:10–11).
He physically suffered and died.
- John 19:34
Because the Son of God is the fully divine Second Person of the Trinity, he is worshiped together with the Father and the Holy Spirit. As they are, so the Son is worthy of honor, thanksgiving, obedience, trust, and service.
What’s at stake in this doctrine? Our salvation! The God-man, sent by the Father to accomplish salvation, is the unique mediator between God and his fallen image-bearers. Only he as the fully divine Son could pay the infinite penalty for sin. Only he as the fully human Son incarnate could be the perfect substitute for sinful human beings. He and he alone is the Savior in whom God’s people trust for their salvation. And through the Son we enjoy a personal relationship with the living God![1]
[1] Gregg R. Allison, 50 Core Truths of the Christian Faith: A Guide to Understanding and Teaching Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books: A Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2018), 147–153.