The Apostle Paul's great passion, he mentions in the third chapter of Philippians, and it is this, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection. That should be our great desire in life. That should be our overarching passion, that we may come to know and to know more completely the person of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Now, brethren, I invite you this morning to open your Bibles with me to the first chapter of John's Gospel, John 1. I'm going to be reading verses 1 and verse 14 to set the stage for our study this morning. John 1, verse 1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Verse 14. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. One man has said, nothing in the Christian religion has been the subject of so much error as the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. Even a superficial acquaintance with the history of the church certainly confirms this sad fact. Serious errors have abounded in attempting to explain the relationship of the two natures in the one person of the God-man, which have troubled the faith and led many astray. Some deny Christ's divine nature, that He was fully God. Another denies his human nature that teaches that he was also fully man. Other errors wrongly conceive of the relationship of our Lord's divine and human natures. Of these, one denied the union of the two natures. Another denied the distinction of the two natures. Still another denied that Jesus had a true human spirit Some have actually dared to declare that Jesus Christ was a created God, as absurd as that would be. Gods are not created. There is but one true and living God. He is uncreated. You see, God creates, God is not created. Orthodox confessions of faith, which develop their doctrinal statements from a careful summary of the biblical teaching, all articulate the same truth about the two natures and the one person of our Lord Jesus Christ. Typical of these is our own London Baptist Confession of 1689. Its statement on the two natures in the one person of Jesus Christ is as succinct as it is scriptural. And I invite you to take your hymn books and turn to the back to page 674. We'll be looking at its chapter, Of Christ the Mediator, the second paragraph, That's not going to be the basis of our study this morning, but it helps us to set the context for our study. Of Christ the Mediator, paragraph 2. The Son of God, the second person in the Holy Trinity, being very and eternal God, the brightness of the Father's glory, of one substance and equal with Him who made the world, who upholds and governs all things He has made, did. when the fullness of time was come, take upon him man's nature, with all the essential properties and common infirmities thereof, yet without sin. being conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary, the Holy Spirit coming down upon her, and the power of the Most High overshadowing her, and so was made of a woman of the tribe of Judah, of the seed of Abraham and David, according to the Scriptures, so that two whole, perfect, distinct natures were inseparably joined together in one person without conversion, composition, or confusion, which person is very God and very man, yet one Christ, the only mediator between God and man." Now my purpose this morning. is not to give an exposition of this chapter in our confession of faith. My purpose this morning is simply to give us an overview of our Lord's deity in preparation to focus our attention upon His humanity. And behold the beauty of our incarnate God, whom the Bible presents with such language as, the word was made flesh and dwelt among us, in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to come to the support of those who are tempted, that we do not have a high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. In many other texts, I trust that we will be exploring the practical implications of those that reflect the humanity of Christ in sermons to come. You see, seated right now at the right hand of majesty on high is the man Christ Jesus, the only mediator between God and men, one who ever lives to make intercession for us. And brethren, how comforting it is to know that our humanity is represented in heaven. Our uncreated creator who became man is the firstborn among many brethren. He is not ashamed to call us brethren, even him who is seated at the right hand of the majesty in heaven, exalted far above all rule and power and authority and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the age to come. Brethren, this is our Lord Jesus Christ who rules in glory, who is ever united to our human nature. So let us ponder our divine Savior this morning. If you happen to have a handout, you'll see that we have just one main heading. and three points and a couple of words of concluding application. We're going to look this morning at Jesus, our Lord and Savior, that he has a divine nature, that is, that he is fully God. Now, my purpose this morning is not to give us a full-orbed picture and painting of our Savior. Really, it's nothing more than to give us a silhouette of the divine nature of our Savior. Jesus' deity is presented to us in the Old as well as the New Testaments by His divine titles, by His divine attributes, and by His divine activities. And all of these conspire together to present to us the glorious truth that Jesus is fully God. So let us look very briefly, first of all, at the fact that Jesus' divine titles identify Him as God. Jesus is truly God, and the scriptures make this abundantly plain to all who have eyes to see it. I mention but a few of His names that tell us so. He is expressly called God. He is called our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He is referred to as the Lord, their God. He is called the true God and eternal life. He is referred to as Immanuel, that is, God with us. He is called Jehovah or Yahweh. He's the Lord Almighty. He's the Lord of hosts. He's King of kings. He's the mighty God. He's the everlasting Father. He is the eternally blessed God. He's Jesus Christ, our Lord. He is the Word who is God. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. He's the Lord of heaven. He's the Holy One and the Just. He is one with the Father. And He is referred to as our Creator and our Supporter and the Preserver of all things. All of these names and titles ascribe to Him deity. So such are the prominent titles indicating Jesus' deity, which appear with such frequency in the Bible that we may easily overlook them. The scriptures, you see, savor of our divine Savior. Notice then, next, after looking at his divine titles that identify him as God, His divine attributes, His infinite perfections identify Him as God. Let us notice that Jesus possessed qualities that only belong to God. Notice, first of all, that Jesus, our incarnate God, is omnipresent. That means he is present everywhere at all times. You see, his divine nature knows no bounds. In fact, he is with his people, he's present wherever they gather together in his name for worship. You know the passage, Matthew 18 in verse 20. for where two or three have gathered together in my name, there I am in their midst." Now you say, well, how can this be? Well, Jesus is in heaven. He's not here with us. Well, that's partially true and partially not true. His humanity, his human nature is wherever he is at any place. And that place is in heaven. But his divine nature is everywhere present. And I would say especially present with his people when they gather together in his name on his day. Jesus is here, but we just can't see him. He is here by his divine spirit. Jesus, who is God incarnate in his divine nature, is both eternal, that means he has no beginning, and he has no end, and he is all-powerful. The word is usually used omnipotent, he has all power. Listen to what Jesus, the glorified one, said to the Apostle John when he was on the island of Patmos. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, says the Lord, who is and who was and who is to come. He has no beginning. He has no ending. He is always the Almighty. He is the Almighty One who is not bound by time. Furthermore, Jesus is the living word is omniscient. That is, he knows all men, he knows all things, and he knows them perfectly. Look at Hebrews 4, verses 12 and 13. This is a powerful statement about the omniscience, the all-knowingness of our God, especially his knowing of men. Hebrews 4, beginning at verse 12, for the word of God. is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit. We think, well, they're joined together. Well, Jesus knows where the division of soul and spirit are of both joints and marrow and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Things that we don't even know our own thoughts and intentions, the reasoning behind them. And notice verse 13. We ascribe verse 12, certainly, to the inscripturated Word. Ah, but who's being spoken of here ultimately? And there is no creature hidden from His sight that is the living Word of God. Indeed, through the inscripturated Word of God, He exposes all these things, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him. with whom we have to do." You see, Jesus, the living word of God, possesses all knowledge of all people. He's searching your heart, and he's searching my heart this morning. Revelation 2, in verse 23. Jesus said, I am he who searches the minds and the hearts. Psalm 139, your mind might be going to that. Even before we speak a word, the Lord knows it. He has searched our hearts. He has searched our minds. Even before we know what we're going to say, Jesus knows it fully. In fact, Jesus knows what is in every man. including what's in unbelievers. John 2, verses 24 and 25. Jesus was speaking, his disciples were there, speaking to unbelievers. But Jesus on his part was not entrusting himself to them. Why? For he knew all men. They claim to believe in him. Literally, he didn't believe in them. And because he did not need anyone to bear witness concerning man, for he himself knew what was in man. And many times in the Gospels, do we not read that Jesus is reading their thoughts? He knows their reasonings. He knows their plans. He knows they're trying to entrap him. He sees all of this because he reads our hearts. We can't hide anything from Jesus. He knows us down to the dark depths of our very being. We can't pull the wool over his eyes. And sometimes you children, you might think if I do something in the dark and my mom and my dad don't see it, ah, there is someone who sees it. Jesus sees it. The divine spirit of Jesus beholds all men and he beholds all believers. Notice what Jesus. Notice what we see in John chapter one, verses 45 through 51. I'll back up to verse 43. The next day he purposed to go forth into Galilee. He found Philip and Jesus said to him, follow me. Now Philip was from Bethsaida of the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, we have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said to him, can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip said to him, come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him and said of him, behold an Israelite indeed in whom is no guile. Nathanael said to him, how do you know me? Jesus answered and said, before Philip called you when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. Nathanael answered him, Rabbi, you are the son of God. You are the king of Israel. Jesus answered and said to him, because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? "'You shall see greater things than these.' And he said to him, "'Truly, truly, I say to you, "'you shall see the heavens opened "'and the angels of God ascending and descending "'on the Son of Man.'" Jesus knows our thoughts. He knows our character. He speaks of Nathaniel as being a man without guile. He read his heart. He knows his thoughts. All the Bible, reveals about the deity of the Father, furthermore, can be attributed to the incarnate Son of God. Everything that's said about God the Father can be said of God the Son. In fact, God the Father calls Jesus God, who possesses universal authority. Look at Hebrews chapter one and verse eight. What a powerful statement this is to the divinity of our Savior. But of the Son, and he's reaching back in to the Psalms, but of the Son, he, that is the God, the Father in the previous context, but of the Son, he says, and this is what the Father says of the Son, thy throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of his kingdom. Notice the Father is attributing deity to the Son. Brethren, this is a good passage to take the door-knocking Jehovah's Witness to, to show him that Jesus is indeed divine. He possesses all authority. He possesses the scepter of an unending kingdom. This is Jesus, our Savior. So Jesus' divine titles identify him as God. Jesus' divine attributes identify him as God. Notice thirdly, Jesus' divine activities identify him as God. Jesus' actions, his accomplishments prove that he is God. Only God can do the things that Jesus did. in His pre-incarnate state, that is, before Jesus, before the Son of God came into this world to become the Son of Man, in His pre-incarnate state, that is, before He was born, Jesus, the Son of God, created all things. Notice John 1, verse 3. All things came into being by him and apart from him, nothing came into being that has come into being. And the Apostle Paul says in other places, Colossians 1 and verse 16, for instance, for by him, speaking of Jesus, for by him, all things were created in the heavens and on earth, all things were created by him and for him. He created them and he created them for himself. That's an attribute of deity. Notice further that Jesus, the very image of his father, sustains all that he has created, and he does so by his powerful word. Verse three of Hebrews chapter one. And he, speaking of Jesus, is the radiance of his, that is his father's glory. Jesus is the radiance of his father's glory in the exact representation of his nature and upholds all things by the word of his power. Do you remember one of the disciples said to Jesus at one point, show us the father and it will suffice us. And Jesus says to him, how long have I been with you, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the father. Furthermore, Jesus possesses divine authority to build His church and to do so throughout the world. Matthew 28, verses 18 through 20, And Jesus came up and spoke to them, that is, His disciples, saying, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth, Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." He continues to be with his people, especially here, referring to his apostles immediately, but to be with those who continue the work begun by the apostles in extending the kingdom of God and building the church of Christ, against which the gates of Hades shall not prevail. Furthermore, Jesus' equality or equally with the Father sends the Holy Spirit to teach his disciples all things and to bear witness of him." Two marvelous passages. John 14 and verse 26, Jesus is speaking this to the comfort of his disciples. He says, but the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. Now there's a general application of this to Christians, but primarily this was given to the apostles. The Holy Spirit will remind them of all the things that Jesus taught so that they can write out the scriptures. Chapter 15 and verse 26, when the helper, comes spoken of before is the Holy Spirit. When the helper comes whom I will send to you from the father, that is the spirit of truth who proceeds from the father, he will bear witness of me. And notice both the father and the son send the Holy Spirit, but it's in the name of Christ. Well, when the helper of the Holy Spirit whom the father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, et cetera. When the Helper comes, whom I will send from the Father. See, Jesus is equal with the Father in divine dignity. Both send the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, the return of our Savior from heaven is our blessed hope. Our divine Savior is returning from glory. Notice how Paul puts it in Titus 2 in verse 13. looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus. Now your translation may not read that way. Yours might read the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ, but that does not get the Greek right. Because the great God and the Savior are the same person. the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus. Our great God and Savior is coming back. Notice further that Jesus, as God, will call all men from their graves at the resurrection. John 5, very startling words are these. John 5, verses 27 through 29. And he that is speaking of the Father, gave him authority to execute judgment because he is the son of man. And that's making reference clear back to Daniel chapter seven, where the son of man and the ancient of days are together, the father and the son. Jesus said, do not marvel at this for an hour is coming in which all those who were in the tombs shall hear his voice and shall come forth those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment. Jesus will call all men from their graves. Furthermore, as the resurrected returning son of God, he will judge all men on judgment day. Jesus said in John 5 in verse 22, for not even the father judges anyone, but he has given all judgment to the son. It will be before the Lord Jesus that we will stand on that great day. In fact, listen to the apostle Paul, Acts 17 in verse 31, because he has fixed a day. in which he will judge the world in righteousness. Speaking of the father here, he has fixed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness through a man whom he has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising him from the dead. Who is that? Well, that's Jesus Christ. Furthermore, Jesus possesses divine authority to grant eternal life. Remember, the judgment, the shadow of the judgment rests upon us. Are we ready for Jesus to return? Are we ready for judgment day? Well, Jesus possesses divine authority to grant eternal life to all who place their trust in God and thereby exempt them from divine judgment. John 5 and verse 24. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and does not come into judgment, but is passed out of death into life." Well, let me ask you this morning, is this true of you? Have you passed out of death into life by believing in the living God and his son, Jesus Christ? Remember what Jesus said in John chapter eight, unless you believe that I am He, what will happen? You will die in your sins. Well, our message this morning is intentionally shorter than usual, and my purpose today is not to attempt to paint a full portrait of our Lord's deity, but as I said, to present something of a suggestive silhouette of Jesus' incarnate Godhood. It is the backdrop to our Savior's glorious divinity that I wish to present in a few future messages and give a more detailed portrait of his marvelous manhood against the backdrop of his glorious deity. You see, if contemplation of the leading features of Jesus' deity inspires our wonder and our worship, no less will a consideration of his humanity excite our praise and adoration. You see, this is the God who became human, the uncreated, eternal Son of God, who was born the Son of Man. You see, it is the union of these two natures, the divine and the human, and the one person of the Lord Jesus Christ, who came to fulfill His gracious will, that we're going to contemplate, God willing, in days ahead. Indeed, it is he who took upon himself all of the features of our common humanity apart from sin. This is going to be the subject of our study. It is he who lived in constant contact with sinners like ourselves, who rubbed shoulders with those that he came to save with such grace and righteousness that we will ponder in our future meditations. Indeed, it's the one of whom the hymnist writes, In Thee all fullness dwelleth, all grace and power divine, the glory that excelleth, O Son of God is Thine. We worship Thee, we bless Thee, to Thee alone we sing. We praise Thee and confess Thee, our glorious Lord and King. Now this brings us to a couple of words of concluding application. Notice first that Jesus is divine should evoke our deep reverence and our humble worship. You'll remember that Thomas, after the death and resurrection of Christ, he didn't believe it. Well, Thomas' doubt turned to devotion and his wariness to worship at the sight of the resurrected Lord. And what did he say? My Lord and my God. John, whose head lay upon the bosom of Christ at the sacred supper, fell as if dead later on Patmos when he beheld his glorified Lord. Indeed, mighty angels bow and veil their eyes in the presence of this one with awesome majesty. And so we sing, crown Him with many crowns, the Lamb upon His throne. Hark how the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own. Awake, my soul, and sing of Him who died for thee. And hail Him as thy matchless King through all eternity. Well, let me I ask you this morning, does the contemplation of our Lord's divine titles, his divine attributes, and his divine activities, does that exert any kind of an impact upon the way you think, the way you speak, and the way you live? This is the glorious Savior with whom we have to do. How does the knowledge of Jesus' omnipresence, the fact that He's everywhere present, how does that practically impact your life, knowing that Jesus is with you at all times? Would that affect the way that you live, the way that I live, if we knew that He was right there with us? Does His presence impact how you speak of Him to others, knowing that He hears every word that you say, and not only hears the words, but the intent behind the language? How you speak to your spouse, how you speak to your children, How you speak to your parents, how you speak to your boss at work, how you speak to other Christians, how you speak to other people in the world, isn't impacted by the knowledge that Jesus Christ is right at your side. Jesus is with you not only as we gather for worship, He is with you at all times. He is with you in every place. There's no such thing as a God-forsaken place in Jesus' world. He's with you when you're alone. He's with you when you're with your friends. He is with you when you are viewing social media. He is with you when no one else is looking. He is with you in your quiet moments. There's no place where you can go where He is not. assurance of Jesus' omnipresence. It should not only check our thoughts and our speech and our behavior. This knowledge of Jesus for Christians, brothers and sisters, this ought to encourage us, not only chasten us, but encourage us. Do we have the same attitude of Asaph? The nearness of God is my good. Do we think of Jesus' omnipresence in this way? Furthermore, that Jesus' divine nature is eternal. That means that he will never leave you, he will never forsake you, he will ever and always be with you. He who was with, or he who was before Abraham, he was with Abraham. Indeed, he is with you, he was with you always. and that your eternal Lord possesses all power means that you should never fear. You children, do you ever fear when daddy is near? No, you don't. You go and you grab his arm and you trust in his strength and in his power and his faithfulness to you. Well, all the more should we be clinging to our Savior, Jesus Christ. Fear not was Jesus' word, remember, to his trembling disciples. Fear not is his word to you, dear troubled saint. That Jesus is the author of your faith and the object of your blessed hope, dear Christian, means that he is even right now preparing a place for you and he will return and receive you to himself, either in this life at your death or when he returns from heaven. And this means that he will enable you to finish your earthly race, however long or short it is before you, however many laps you have to go, or rather the line is right in front of you. He's waiting for you at the finish line. He will preserve you until you reach it by his grace. He that began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of your completion. He will resurrect and glorify your body and return, and He will unite your glorified spirit from heaven with your glorified body. And you will not come into judgment because you have passed from death to life. Indeed, you will not undergo judgment because Jesus underwent the Father's judgment for you, dear brother and sister. Because Jesus tasted death, you will never taste that death. Indeed, you will taste eternal life in all of its fullness in heaven. And you're experiencing something, a foretaste of that, even now, following Jesus with his eye upon you. Indeed, he who is your life here will be your life ever after. That Jesus is omniscient, that he knows all things means that he knows perfectly all about you and all about your situation. All the details of your life and of mine, Jesus knows them. And therefore he knows best how to take care of you. In fact, he has resources to move heaven and earth, to work all things together for your good, even the present trial that you may be facing. He who created you will sustain you, who you will provide for you. He will protect you. He sent the Spirit to give you life, to instruct you in the way of truth, to preserve you for the day of redemption. You see, if Jesus were not God, none of salvation's blessings you now enjoy, and none of His precious promises, the fulfillment of which you look forward to, would be possible. But Jesus is God, and God cannot lie. All God's promises are yea and amen in Him, and not one of them shall fall to the ground unfulfilled. They are all secured by the shedding of his precious blood, which shall never lose its power till all the ransomed church of God shall be saved to sin no more. Secondly, that Jesus is divine means unspeakable terror forever for those who refuse to trust him for the forgiveness of their sins. You see, all of Jesus' divine titles and his divine attributes and his divine activities will be marshaled against you if you do not trust him in this life. They must speak terror to you if you continue to spurn His salvation. You see, Jesus' perfect knowledge of your sins, now His wrathful presence after you die, and His almighty power will forever terrorize you in hell if you refuse to receive the mercy He freely offers you. You become your own. Your own killer, if you do not come to Christ. He says, come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. None that come to him will he turn away. He receives all that come in faith and repentance. You see, only he who created you can save you. Only he who sent his divine son can pardon your sin. Only he that died to save sinners can deliver you from hell. But perhaps you're sitting here and you entertain a rather high thought of yourself, but you are not the good person that you think you are. In fact, Jesus knows better. He takes note of your every sin, or it may be that you feel the terrible power and the evil of your sin, and you might think, well, I'm beyond hope. Not as long as Jesus sits in heaven, not as long as he has those glorified wounds that speak peace to the conscience of everyone who seeks his salvation. You see, there is hope for you if you go to him. Jesus came into this world, not to call the righteous, but to save sinners. That means as a sinner, there's hope for you if you trust in Jesus. Give up trying to hide your sins from Him. He knows everyone. Go to Him just as you are. Trust Jesus to take your sins away. But let me tell you, there's danger in delay. Don't wait. Don't put off coming to Him. Go to Him, even right now. The Bible warns us, if Jesus will not be your Savior today, He will be your judge. on judgment day. Just one final warning. And that is where you think, well, I just, I can make myself better. I'll just get more into my religion. Well, religion, ritualism is not the answer, nor are your supposed good works. Fact is, nothing that I can do or nothing that you can do can ever satisfy God. He requires perfection. All your good deeds, the old Puritans used to say, are only splendid sins. They stand between you and Christ. Some need to be saved from their sins. They know who they are. They know they deserve wrath. Some need to be saved from their righteousness. They think they're so good they can earn their way to heaven. Only Jesus saves. Only he has satisfied God's demand for perfect righteousness. Go to him right now and he will save you from your sin. One of my favorite hymns, one of the stanzas reads this way. Lo, the incarnate God ascended, pleads the merit of his blood. Venture on him, venture wholly, let no other trust intrude. None but Jesus, none but Jesus, none but Jesus can do helpless sinners good. See yourself as a helpless sinner and go to Jesus today. Indeed, what did Paul say to the Philippian jailer who was just about ready to off himself? Believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. Let's pray. Lord Father, this is a word for each one of us. We are sinners and we need to be saved. We cannot save ourselves by anything that we do. We have no righteousness. We have only sin. We have only that which is defilement, nothing which is good. But Lord, You have promised to save all defiled sinners who come to you through Jesus Christ. You sent him not to save the righteous, but the unrighteous. Therefore, show us our unrighteousness and our evil desert, and show us the beloved Savior who came into this world to deliver such from the wrath to come. So Lord, we pray that you would extend your gracious will. Indeed, you would tip your scepter toward us. Give us the grace to put our hand upon it, to look to Jesus Christ, and to be forever and gloriously saved, that for us to live is Christ, so that die will be gained. For we pray this in Jesus' name, amen.