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Some One Chapter Blessings – Jude

Focus Text: Jude 1.25

Yesterday’s message included the following statement in the opening paragraph: "While engaged in His earthly ministry, Jesus possessed all the attributes of Deity. He possessed these same attributes prior to His earthly ministry and He possessed all of these same attributes after His ministry. Jesus, our Savior, was, is, and always shall be fully God." Concerning Jesus, the Samaritan woman asked THE crucial question when she asked, "Could this be the Christ?" (John 4.29). Today, we continue to discuss the matter of Jesus, Our Savior, is God.

The doctrine that Jesus became God is not a new doctrine. It is a doctrine officially held by a few denominations today, but it has been around for hundreds of years. From the fourth century AD, two primary yet opposing proponents are recognized as being involved in this great controversy. Arius preached that Jesus, though uniquely holy, is less than God, and Athanasius argued that Jesus is God himself in human form. Though not always containing the defining terms in their denominational names, the two doctrinal camps which hold these opposing views today are the Unitarians and the Trinitarians. To explain further, Trinitarians generally believe the affirmations in the opening paragraph of today’s message while Unitarians generally hold that Jesus became God at some specific point in time. While this scribe tries to do so without specific bias in presentation, it is absolutely beyond comprehension that anything or anybody could become God! God, by definition, is eternal and unchanging in essence and therefore, by definition, the doctrine of the Unitarian is excluded from the arena of truth. Nonetheless, this miniseries will present biblical evidences regarding the fact that Jesus, Our Savior, is God.

Truth is often determined by combining a plurality of reports (e.g., the gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. By combining the accounts of Matthew and Luke and comparing them with some Old Testament prophecies, the conclusion is inescapable: Jesus, Our Savior, is God! An angel announced to the shepherds in the fields, "There is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2.11). Note that the baby which had been born in Bethlehem was Christ and He was Lord. To this same point, an angel spoke to Joseph saying, "‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.’ So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us.’" (Matthew 1.20-23).

The child born to the virgin was Jesus, He was Christ, He was Savior, and He was Immanuel (God with us). If no other passage could be presented, these sustain the proposition that Jesus, Our Savior, Is God. However, there are scores of other passages which teach the same truth. The sum of God’s word is truth (Psalm 119.160 ASV) and our job is to add it up correctly. Jesus, Our Savior, Is God!

Questions:

1. What was the difference in the positions of Arius and Athanasius?

2. What is the position of the Trinitarian relative to the Deity of Jesus? The Unitarian?

3. Why was the baby born of a virgin to be called Jesus? Other than God, who can forgive sins?

What was implied by the fact that this child was to "…save His people from their sins?"

4. What does Immanuel mean? What does that imply about the nature of the child?

"The Way" from Kevin Pauley

A World of One