The Second Person of the Trinity

Jesus Christ

      Matthew 16:13-16 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He began asking His disciples, saying, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And the said, “Some say John the Baptist; and other, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Simon Peter answered and said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

     We have learned that God is one God in three persons. The oneness is His nature and the three Persons are God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Remember, a little bit like an egg. An egg is one egg but it has three parts: the shell, the white, and the yolk. We are now going to talk about the second Person of the Trinity, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are going to talk about His deity. It is easy for us to think about Him as being human, but it is more difficult to understand that He is also God. The Lord Jesus Christ is 100% man and 100% God. How fantastic is that????

God's Divine Nature

     1 Corinthians 2:14 But a natural man [one not filled with the Holy Spirit] does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised [taught to us by the Holy Spirit].

     Once again, faith in God’s Word saves the day! However, many in the world don’t believe the truth of the divinely inspired Word of God. They don’t believe that Jesus Christ is God. Their minds are closed to God’s Word and they rely on man’s word. Can you imagine that? They don’t rely on God Who made all creation, but they rely on man who was created! Absurd when you think about it! We are going to see scriptures from the Word of God that prove that Jesus Christ is God.

      John 6:38 “For I [God the Son] have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him [God the Father] Who sent Me.”

     The humanity of Jesus Christ started at His birth. His deity is eternal, always was and always will be. At His birth, His humanity and deity were united in what we call the hypostatic union. This means the His two natures were united without mixing with each other or losing any identity. Jesus Christ’s human nature was very human, and His divine nature was very God! In His humanity, He did the will of the Father by the power of the Holy Spirit. He had to learn God’s Word and grow in God’s knowledge and grace just as we do. He showed us the way! As God, He did perform miracles. Humanity can’t do that. God the Son came down from heaven..

      John 6:41-42 The Jews therefore were grumbling about Him, because He said, “I am the bread that came down out of heaven.” And they were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, ‘I have come down out of heaven’?”

     Jesus Christ was trying to get the Jews to see that He was the Messiah so that they would believe in Him for eternal life. He was also telling about His preexistence as God. But the Jews did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah even though He had all the qualifications of the Messiah. Their own thinking got in the way of God’s thinking in their souls! Sometimes our thinking gets in the way of God’s thinking in our souls! We use human viewpoint instead of divine viewpoint. We need to learn more about our Savior and Lord, the second Person of the Trinity.

     John 8:56-58 “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My [Jesus Christ’s] day, and he saw [it] and was glad.” The Jews therefore said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.”

     The Jews are again questioning the fact that Jesus Christ is God. Jesus is giving them more proof that He is God, the second Person of the Trinity.
 

      Luke 22:67-71 “If You are the Christ, tell, us.” But He said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe; and if I ask a question, you will not answer. But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” And they all said, “Are You the Son of God, then?” And He said to them, “Yes, I am.” And they said, “What further need do we have of testimony [proof]? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth.”

     Chief priests and teachers of the law were questioning Jesus after He was arrested. They wanted some reason to put Him to death. Since He claimed to be God, they thought that that was a good reason to put Him to death. They wanted to think that Jesus was lying. Many people today say that Christ did not claim to be the Son of God. This is a lie. He did not point out often that He is the Son of God. However, when others asked if He was God, He said yes. Jesus Christ is the second Person of the Trinity.

      Colossians 1:15-16 And He [Jesus Christ] keeps on being the exact image of the invisible God, the privileged first-born with reference to all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been created by Him and for Him.

      Jesus Christ is eternal God. As a member of the Trinity, He always existed. There never was a time when He did not exist! He created everything: stars, planets, the entire universe, angels, man, and animals.  

     He keeps the stars and planets moving just the way that they need to move! He gives us everything that we need! He has everything in control! Only God can do that! Jesus Christ is God, the second Person of the Trinity!
 

      Philippians 2:5-11 Keep on thinking this [doctrine] within yourselves which was also resident in Christ Jesus, Who [Jesus Christ], although He preexisted in the essence of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death [spiritual death] – even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name [rank] that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

     This scripture is absolutely awesome!! The second Person of the Trinity, God the Son, humbled Himself and came down from heaven and took on human nature. In hypostatic union He was 100% man and 100% God. He became our Savior! After His work on the cross for our benefit, He was resurrected into heaven! God the Father gave Jesus Christ the name that is above every name, Jesus. In everlasting life, even unbelievers and fallen angels will bow down to the name of Jesus and confess that He is Lord!  The second Person of the Trinity is God!!

The Second Person of the Trinity
                    Jesus Christ

References used:

                    Robert R.McLaughlin Bible Ministries   www.gbible.org 
                  
                    Terms Used by Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

                    Lessons:   1-24-07, 1-31-07, 2-6-07, 2-13-07