Absolute #14 Atonement

Absolute #13 Son of God, Son of Man

Son of God, Son of Man

Absolute Curriculum

Year 1, Lesson 13

Introduction:

A couple of sessions ago we discussed the nature of sin, that man is stuck in it, and that this comes to us both by birth and by choice. We then spent our last session examining but a very few of the Old Testament promises concerning the coming salvation, the coming Redeemer that God would send unto His people.

What I would like to do today is primarily to read a number of passages which show us the way in which Jesus entered into our world and identified Himself with us. Or stated another way, I want to discuss the amazing reality that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14) as one of us. One of the main things I want us to notice as we walk through these passages is the dual realities of Jesus divine nature and His human nature. Jesus is truly God and truly man. The fact that He is truly God makes the way in which He became a man and lived as a man all the more remarkable.

The Birth of Christ:

Predicted: Luke 1:26-38

Human: Coming to a young mother, most likely 12-16 years old

Divine: verses 31-33 Jesus very name (Jesus=Joshua=Yeshua) means “Yahweh saves” of “The Lord saves”, indicating His mission. Further, though his mother is human, this birth is of divine origin (v 35).

Song: Luke 1:46-55

Human: Again, we see the humble nature of Mary. She is not someone of royal descent or nobility, rather, she is a woman of lowliness. God's choosing her to mother Christ was not based of earthly logic.

Divine: Mary celebrates the salvation which God is bringing to His people through this child who is to be born.

Birth: Luke 2:4-20

Human: Jesus was laid in a manger, his birth was announced first of all to shepherds (the lowest of the low) and witnessed by them rather than high class or “reliable” people. There was not even room for Mary and Joseph in the inn!

Divine: The birth of Christ was announced first of all by a choir of angels; “angels from the realms of glory” as it were.

The Life of Christ:

Early life: Almost 30 years of obscurity, between the visit of the magi (when he was less than 2) and the beginning of of his ministry (at age 30) the only thing we hear about His life is a short scene Luke gives us from the temple in Luke 2:41-52. Even that passage, while pointing to the unusual nature, wisdom, and calling of Jesus (see especially verses 47 and 49), also point toward the ordinariness of His earthly life. “And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.”¹

Baptism: Matthew 3:13-17

Jesus earthly ministry is initiated with his baptism by John in the Jordan river. Though John's baptism was a baptism of repentance and Jesus never sinned, what we see here is Jesus identifying himself with sinful humanity. Though He is unlike us, He is one of us. Here at the Jordan we also see the stark reality of Jesus unlikeness to us, His oneness with God. When He comes us from the water the heavens are opened (or as Mark says, ripped open) and the Holy Spirit descends upon Him like a dove, and the Father proclaims that “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Temptation: Hebrews 4:15

While we see longer sections regarding Jesus' temptation in the wilderness in Matthew, Mark, and Luke (called the synoptic Gospels because the cover a lot of the same material), there are many other places where Jesus is tempted. Indeed, because of His humanity it is true that throughout His entire life Jesus would have faced the same kind of temptations daily, even hourly that we do to sin. Yet, He did not sin.

Ministry:

Jesus spends his ministry teaching, healing, showing compassion toward and feeling empathy for the people He encountered. 

Death: 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Peter 2:24

Of course the place where we see Jesus most radically identify with us is on the cross. He not only takes on our sin, but becomes our sin, that in Him we might die to sin, that in Him we might become God's righteousness.

Resurrection: 1 Corinthians 15:1-6, 12-19

In this passage we see that our eternal hope as believers is tied to that fact that not only can we be identified with Christ in His death, but that His resurrection is the guarantee that we ourselves might one day be resurrected.

1The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2001). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society. All Scripture quoted, unless otherwise noted, will be from the ESV.

Absolute #12 Promises

Genesis 3:15

Genesis 12:1-3

2 Samuel 7:12-16

Jeremiah 31:31-34

Luke 3:1-5

Absolute #11 Sin Part 2

Sin Part 2

Absolute Curriculum

Year 1, Lesson 11

Into:

We spent our last session discussing the question, “what is sin?” If you will remember, we relied on a definition from Wayne Grudem,

“Sin is any failure to conform to the moral law of God in act, attitude, or nature.”¹

We looked at the account of the Fall in Genesis three and evaluated it in light of this definition, seeing that in man's fall, a failure to comply with God's law in both attitude and action were at play. Today we will see how this affects our nature.

The effects of sin:

If you recall our discussion of image, we looked at three specific areas where we are to reflect God; namely, our relationships with creation, with other humans, and with God Himself.

creation: Genesis 3:17-18, Romans 8:19-22

relationships: Genesis 3:16b, Genesis 4

The implications of Philippians 2, Ephesians 2 & 4, John 17, 1 John 3-4

God: Genesis 3:7-10, 19, 22-24 Paradise Lost

2:17, this was not immediate, demonstrating God's mercy, but it is certain (cf 3:19)

Life as it was meant to be is shattered by the effects of sin.

Where are we now?

We are now under the curse of sin and the wrath of God—by our very nature as human beings. Our identity is as children of wrath. Ephesians 2:1-3

This is true for every single one of us. Romans 3:9-18

We have inherited this nature from our first father, our original representative, Adam. Romans 5:12-20

“Surely corruption is ingrained in our hearts, interwoven with our very natures, has sunk deep into our souls, and will never be cured but by a miracle of grace.”² Thomas Boston

So here we are. Dead in our sins, desperate for a Savior. we need grace, for apart from the intervention of God, we are damned in our sins. But there is hope, a hope which we will begin to see unfolding over our next several sessions. We see it opened up for us initially in Genesis 3:15.

1Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (1994, Grand Rapids: Zondervan) 490

2 Ritzema, E., & Vince, E. (Eds.). (2013). 300 Quotations for Preachers from the Puritans. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.