So you can promise to the ears of everyone who's here, and all those that will hear this message on sermon audio, that you lift up JT and Betty and Sister Felicity and pray that she will Amen. Yes. Amen. Alright, who can tell me what Matthew 1.21 says? Amen. Jesus. I said last night, after the services, that we would be looking today and thinking on the doctrine of Jesus. I don't know whether that sounds exactly right or not, but it is a doctrine, isn't it? It is the teaching of the Son of God, who came and gave himself, who humbled himself, made himself of no reputation, the one that spoke to the universe, into existence. The one by indeed by whom all things were made and do consist. That's the one we're talking about. Again, we've been talking about it all morning, haven't we? Brother Johnny said last night that any preaching of the Bible, no matter whether it's directly concerning Jesus or not, it ought to point to Him. And it should. Because as we're going to see in just a moment, the Lord willing, He is the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Now, we believe in the Trinity, right? But we also believe that that Trinity is one person. How many of you have ever heard somebody try to explain the Trinity? I've heard all kinds of different things. One of the most popular ones, of course, that I've ever heard was, of course, about the egg. Got the shell and the white and the yolk. That's supposed to be a description of God in his Trinity? No, we don't even really try, do we? Because we can't understand it, but we know that it's so. We know that there is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. We have talked considerably, I guess, about the Father in this series of messages and certainly God the Father is the head, right? And we'll get into that again a little bit. But our concentration now is upon the Son, whom God has given the preeminence. Isn't that wonderful? Because, again, He has been obedient to the Father. So we've talked about the name of Jesus. The name, Jesus. Where did it come from? It came from the Father, didn't it? God, the Father, the Heavenly Father. And how many times do we note that in the Bible? The Heavenly Father. Or, my Father, as Christ spoke to the disciples concerning when they asked Him, Lord, teach us to pray. And here's what He said. Say, My Father, which art in heaven. But hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And that was what was spoken about Jesus, wasn't it? A body Thou hast given Him. And what was it for? To do the Father's will. The name, Jesus. Named by the Father? Yes, it was a common practice back in those days that the Father named the child. And we spoke about how Zacharias named John But of course, again, God named John, didn't he? He told Zacharias, this will be his name is John. You know, I'm not real sure why God named him John, except that the name John does mean love. And of course, John was a great lover of Christ, wasn't he? He was the forerunner of Christ. But we do know why God named Jesus, Jesus. And why was it? Yes, because he will save his people. He shall save his people from their sins. This is a declaration of God that is going to be accomplished through Jesus Christ. I believe, you know, really it's blasphemy to doubt that anything that God says he's going to do, I'm talking about denying, not so much doubting, but denying that God will and must do whatever it is that he says he's going to do. But it's especially so with this declaration that He will save His people from their sins. For He shall save His people from their sins. God sent forth Jesus to do that and when He cried out on that cross, it is finished Was it finished? It was. It was complete. There was nothing left to do, really, to secure the salvation of God's people. And people might say, well, there's a lot that happened after that. And there is a lot happens in your life that happens in my life, but The point is that whatever it is that happens in the life of one of God's people, it is for the purpose of salvation. It is to fulfill that declaration and that promise that God made in Jesus Christ. And again, all the promises of God in Christ are what? Yeah, it's yay and amen. Paul said, I didn't come here to you preaching yay and nay, but I came preaching yay and in Jesus Christ, amen. So be it. It's a declaration of God who cannot lie. And to make sure that we understand that, what did he do? He swore by Himself, because He could swear by no greater. So we know that He cannot lie. So here it is, Christ. A specific name. In fact, it is a name according to the Apostle Paul in Can't think of my name now, my own name. Now, in, in, uh, well, I'll declare, I'm getting, not Glazer's, Philippians, the second chapter of Philippians. It's a name above every name that at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord. And it's all to the glory of God the Father, right? That's what it's all about. So it's a specific name. It sets him apart from every other name, that's every name, both in heaven and in earth. It's all there. It's a distinction to set him apart and it's for a distinct purpose. Christ came into the world to do what? To save sinners. As the apostle said, then of whom I am chief. Again, I've said this many times, and I'll say it again, and if I live very much longer, I'll probably say it again, but if there's anything in the world that God's people ought to fight over, it's that of who is the chief of centers. Every man ought to really think of others above himself, right? We are told that, but I think every child of God, in true humility, if he truly is humble, he considers himself to be the chief of sinners. Now, the hypocrite, what does he do? He's got it made and I'm glad I'm not like that publican over there. But all right, for a distinct purpose, backing up then, he is, Jesus is the second person of the Godhead. Now again, there's nowhere in the Bible that it distinctly says second person, at least not that I know of. But he is under the Father, isn't he? Not in power, not in distinction, not in glory, not in majesty, He's under the Father in the sense that He was sent by the Father and He was obedient to the Father. In fact, He learned obedience. How did He learn obedience? By suffering. But isn't that amazing? When you think about it. Here He is. He thought it not Robbery to be what? Equal with God. He is God. He is man, yes, but he is God. Always has been and always will be God. Boy, these are mysteries, aren't they? How do you know that? I mean, how do you know that he's God? His word says He is. Yeah, His word says He is, but many people don't believe this is His word, first of all. But you believe it because you have been taught of God. The very Spirit of Jesus, the Holy Ghost sent from the Father, right? has taught you that He is God and His specific and distinct purpose that came into as he came into this world was to save his people from their sins. Does that make you happy? Are you thankful that he saved you, that he can, that he does, that he will, that he cannot fail but obtain the purpose for which he has sent? Again, the passage of Scripture that sealed, and I hope I'm not bragging here, except that my confidence is in God and in His eternal purpose through Jesus Christ. But the passage of Scripture that sealed, I believe forever, My faith in the sovereignty of God is in that 53rd chapter of Isaiah. But look how it starts out. Lord, who hath believed our report? And unto whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? But it goes on, it doesn't stop there, does it? There are some, you see, that believe these things and the blessedness of it is kind of summed up when he says, and he shall see the travail of his soul and be satisfied. What a poor thing it is for so many people to believe that somehow Jesus cannot and will not carry through with that salvation which he has bought with his own blood. But Isaiah had something to say about that. God inspired Isaiah in Isaiah chapter 66 in verse 9. He asked a question here. It's a rhetorical question because the answer is so obvious. But Isaiah 66 and 9, he says, shall I bring to the birth and not calls to bring forth, saith the Lord. And then shall I cause to bring forth and shut the wound, saith thy God. There is never, not ever, a chance that God is going to lose one of his elect. Everyone is going to come forth in birth. Because Jesus has lived and suffered and died and rose again. And so, all that the Father giveth me, what's the next word? Again, shall. They shall come unto me, and he that cometh unto me, I shall in no wise cast out. If that won't give you peace, I don't think anything will. But it does give us peace, doesn't it? It brings forth peace. And the thing about that is, you can turn over there to John chapter 6 if you want to. Verse 37 was what we were looking at or thinking about. But verse 38, he says, For I came down from heaven not to do mine own will, but whose? But the will of Him that sent me. And this is the Father's will. What is the Father's will? He says, which has sent me that of all that he has given me, I should lose nothing. But what is he going to do? He is going to raise it up at the last day. Now he says that again in verse 40. And this is the will of him that sent me that everyone which seeth the Son and believeth on him may have everlasting life. And then look at that statement again. And I will raise him up at the last day. And then again in verse 44, three times is the charm, right? No man can come to me except that the Father which has sent me draw him and I will raise him up at the last day. How sure is our salvation in Jesus? It's never going to fail. Never, ever going to fail. Now he again is the second person of the Godhead. In 1 Corinthians chapter 11, It talks about there how that God is the head of Christ, right? So what he says, God is the head of Christ. Christ is the head of the man and man is the head of the woman. That's the order. So, but there is a God head and Christ is that Godhead. But what do we mean by Godhead? Scripture uses that word three times. Yeah. But by that we mean the eternal and the complete being of God. Yeah. It's all that God is. I prefer that term actually to Trinity. Yeah, I can see that. It's biblical. It is biblical. And I can't remember exactly how it's used in all three cases, but it does signify that God did. Right. And you know, as I have thought about this and meditated upon it, I think I would not be sacrilegious in saying that God is one person, but he The three beings that are described are personalities. Sometimes we would refer to them as offices. But really, God is just one. Way back over in Deuteronomy, When he's talking about this, he says to the Israelites, Behold, the Lord your God is what? One Lord. Now, there are three different functions that God has as the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. But as we read again in Isaiah, His name shall be called what? Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting what? Father, and the Prince of Peace. This is talking about Jesus. In Colossians chapter 2, in verse 9, is where it says, for in Him dwelleth all the fullness, all the fullness. It's absolutely complete. In Jesus, in Him, in Jesus, dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. There's three terms that are used there to emphasize the fact that Christ is all in all. Now, again, these things are mysterious as far as the natural man is concerned. And really, again, the only way that we know these things to be true is because that God has taught them to us. He has put it in our hearts. He's put it in our souls. He's put it in our spirit. He's put it in our minds so that it cannot be shaken. But those three words that He uses here is the fullness, the Godhead, bodily. You can't get much more descriptive than that, can you? But he's talking about Jesus. Now, back up in verse 8, he warned us, beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit. And boy, do they ever try. And the longer that we live on this earth, the more fierce... Brother Jerry was reading for us there and talking to us about in Habakkuk and he's talking about violence, wasn't he? And what was it back in Noah's day? Violence. is violent in our day. The attacks upon God and upon His Word are violent. But you know the word violent can also be used in a good sense too, can't it? God talks about His people taking the kingdom by violence. In other words, we're determined to be in that kingdom because God is in us. And He puts it in our mind to be that way. But He is the whole being of God. In Hebrews chapter 1, how beautiful are these words. Verse 1, God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds, who being the brightness of his glory, now this is a description of God, of Jesus in his Godhead, who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person. In other words, Jesus is the personification of God. Again, I know, Brother Bruce, you've mentioned this how many times, the marvel that God in Christ walked on this earth, walked among men, But isn't that all the more remarkable then, that He came unto His own, and His own received Him not? They did not recognize Him. That's what Isaiah said. The Lord, He hath believed our report. Then unto whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? Why? Because He will come up as a what? A dry root? And he'll have no comeliness that we should desire him? No, the people there were looking for an earthly king. And their idea of the king was someone that was, oh, stately and decked out in purple royalty, you know? But here's Jesus, born in a manger unto very poor parents. who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by, what's the next word? Himself. And we could put the word alone in that, couldn't we? But it's not really necessary. who by himself purged, what? Our sins. Now, wait a minute. That's talking about, that's past tense, isn't it? But God often talks in past tense, doesn't he? I mean about things that's technically is yet to come. How can he do that? Because he's God. Because he knows all things. Why? How does he know all things? Because he is ordained and predestined all things. Period. Not anything left out. And especially not the salvation of his people. who had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high, being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent what? Name, a more excellent name than they. For unto whom or which of the angels said he, at any time, thou art my son. You know, I believe that there's some people today that teach that Satan is the son of God. Is that? I hate to even say that. Much less try to teach it. For unto which of the angels said he at any time, thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. And again, I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. This is my beloved son, in whom I am well Please, don't think you can put it any better or more succinctly than that. This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Do you understand that because Christ has come and purged, isn't that an important word? What does that mean? It's removed it away from the host or the parent object. Because he has come and purged our sins. What a blessing. It was going to happen. It had to happen. Again, his work was finished from what point? From the beginning, after six days, it was complete. But what I was going to say... He says that of Jesus, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. But you see, every saint that enters into heaven are going to hear basically the same words, well done. Thou good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of thy Lord." Well, who is their Lord? It's Jesus. And what was his joy again? I'm sorry? Yeah, that's salvation. He is our salvation, isn't he? And that's why we can believe these things. And that's why we keep on going. And as we grow in the grace and knowledge of who? Jesus. Who can know the Father except the Son and to whomsoever He reveals Him. But if He reveals Him to you, it is an absolute thing that is eternal. There's no going back from it. Right? There's no going back from it. Why? Because we are kept Peter says, by the power of God unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. What a blessing then this is. The Godhead The whole thing consists of, of course, again, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Isaiah chapter 48, now this is one of the things, again, that many that contend against the Scripture They claim, well, the Trinity is never mentioned in the Old Testament. Well, here's one place I believe that we will all agree that it is. The Trinity is mentioned. Isaiah chapter 48 and verse 16. Says, come ye near unto me, hear ye this. I've not spoken in secret from the beginning. From the time that was, there am I. And now the Lord God, and who else? His Spirit has sent me. Who is that me? Thou, thus said the Lord, Thou redeemed of the Holy One of Israel, I am the Lord thy God, which teaches thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. It's the Lord Jesus, isn't it? There's no doubt it's the Lord Jesus. Now some people might say, well, that's talking about Isaiah. No, it's not talking about Isaiah. It's talking about Jesus. And so the Father is named, right? The Lord God and His Spirit, the Holy Ghost, has sent Jesus, has sent me. And what did He send him to do? Chapter 61, verse 1. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me. Who is that me? It's Jesus. Because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek, he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all that mourn, to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for what? Ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called trees, of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. You see, anything less than Jesus saving his people from their sins not only would not glorify God, but it would be a mark of shame. 1 John chapter 5 and verse 7, now this is one that I think nearly every, I hate to even qualify it, but every new translation, I hate to even give it that dignity. Chapter five in verse seven, for there are three, right? That bear record where? In heaven. Well, let's see, it must be Moses and Elijah and who else? No, it's not them. It's not any of the three. It is the Father, it is the Son, and it is the Holy Ghost. But again, at least the vast majority of modern translations, so-called, deny that. They absolutely, vehemently deny that. Because they're at enmity with God. For there are three that bear record in heaven. Every word is to be established by what? The mouth of Two or three what? Witnesses. Witnesses. Well, how can God be a witness to himself? Well, because he cannot lie, for one thing. Second thing is because he has created everything. And because most of all, he is God. Holy, holy, holy. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word. Well, we know who the Word was, don't we? And the beginning was who? The Word. And the Word was with God and the Word was God? I don't know how many of you saw that thing. I don't know if it was going around on, I think it was Facebook a while back. Somebody was arguing that Jesus never proclaimed himself to be God. Isn't that amazing? It just astounds you. And these three are one. But there's three that bear witness in there too, isn't there? The spirit, the water, and the blood. It's always a Trinity in there. And of course, Matthew 28, 19, what does that say? Well, it's a great part of the great commission, isn't it? Go ye into all the world, make disciples of all nations and baptize them in the name of who? Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Well, we'll stop there. We'll take it up hopefully this afternoon. But again, all three are shown to be God. All three of them. And they're not co-equals. They're just one.