Romans 1:3-4 – Who is Jesus Christ
Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
I. In Romans 1:1-2 we established:
a. The author, Saul of Tarsus transformed by Grace to Paul the Slave of Christ
b. The definition of the Christian life as “Called & Separated”
c. Introduction of the core teachings that save the soul “The Gospel of God”
d. Idea of “Progressive Revelation”
i. Progressive Revelation is the idea that the glorious riches of grace are so mind-blowing that God could not share it with man all at once
ii. The priests, the robes, the ephods, the manna, the cloud, the fire, the ram caught in the tickets, the oil, the wine, the water, the lambs, the gold, the sprinkling, it took it all to show what would be accomplished by one sacrifice, one lamb, who would offer Himself up once and for all for the sin of the whole world
II. His Son Jesus Christ Our Lord
a. Paul will now turn to have us explore the Person of Jesus Christ
i. No doubt the greatest question of all history that everyone must answer is “who do you believe Jesus Christ is?”
1. This question determines how you will live this life
2. This question has eternal consequence of heaven or hell
3. This question can only be truly known by revelation and faith
ii. Jesus directly asked his disciples this question in Matthew 16:13-18
1. When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
2. And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
3. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
4. And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
5. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
iii. Jesus Christ, the one who split history into BC & AD with His birth, a penniless carpenter, born under Roman oppression, with earthly parents of meager means, so shook history that even His enemies set their calendar by His birthday
iv. So this great question of “Who is Jesus Christ” is the foundation of all truth that Paul will begin as the cornerstone of the Gospel exposition
1. If you miss the mark on this truth, you will die in your sins
2. If you miss the mark on this question, your life is built upon the sands of uncertainty
a. 1 Corinthians 3:11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ
b. HIS SON
i. Paul’s description of Jesus Christ begins with an allusion to the mystery of the Godhead
1. 1 John 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
2. 1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
3. John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
ii. The Sonship of Jesus Christ points to the great mystery of the Trinity, while difficult to understand, is clearly shown throughout the scripture
c. JESUS CHRIST
i. Jesus – He shall save the people from their sins
ii. Christ – the Anointed One, the Messiah – “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel”
d. Our LORD
i. Statement of Christ’s Deity –
1. Matthew 22:44 The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit on my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool?
ii. Statement of Christ’s dominion
1. Philippians 2:9-11 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
2. Revelation 11:5 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
III. The Fleshly / Earthly Nature of Christ
a. Paul introduces the dual nature of Jesus Christ, that He is both God and man
i. Made of the seed of David
1. Matthew shows the genealogy of Joseph, the step father of Jesus comes through King David
2. Luke shows the genealogy of Mary, the mother of Jesus comes through King David
3. 1 Chronicles 17:11-14 “When your days are fulfilled that you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up one of your descendants after you, who will be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom. “He shall build for Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. “I will be his father and he shall be My son; and I will not take My loving kindness away from him, as I took it from him who was before you. “But I will settle him in My house and in My kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever.”
ii. This is important because it shows Jesus was truly man
1. Born through a promised family
2. With lineage that can be traced from the first man through the centuries to Christ
3. He did not appear from heaven as a theophany, but humbled Himself
a. Shrink-wrapped in the swaddling clothes of skin & bone
4. Subject to pain, temptation, suffering, grief, and sorrow
iii. Make no mistake to err from this clear truth – JESUS is fully human
b. It is difficult to grasp the human frailty wrapping the Almighty God, but He was both God and man
i. On Daddy’s Side On Momma’s Side
ii. Heavenly Father Earthly Mother
iii. Son of God Son of Man
iv. Before Abraham Seed of Abraham
v. Peace be still Sleeping in the bow of the boat
vi. Root of David Earthly Mother
vii. Eternal Temporal
viii. Was Word Preached Word
ix. Walked on Sea Walked by Sea
x. Ancient of Days 33 Years Old
xi. Father forgive them I thirst
xii. Fed 5000 Hungry
IV. Declared to be the Son of God
a. Utterances from heaven declared Jesus the Son of God
i. By the angels in Luke 2:11 “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
ii. By the Father at the Baptism in Matthew 3:17 “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
iii. By the Father at the Transfiguration in Matthew 17:5 “While he yet spoke, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear you him.”
b. With Power
i. Testified by the signs of miracles
1. Turning water into wine
2. Calming the storm
3. Delivering from demons
4. Healing all types of sickness
5. Forgiving sins
6. Raising from the dead
ii. Most powerful miracle – orchestrating His own resurrection
1. The three-day dead body of the Prince of Life could not be shackled by the chains of death, the grave clothes, or the stone in front of the tomb
2. He laid down His life when He was ready
3. He took His life back up when He was ready
4. John 10:17-18 “Therefore does my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.”
iii. This powerful self-resurrection was a declaration of JESUS, the SON OF GOD
V. According to the SPIRIT OF HOLINESS
a. The amazing miracle of Easter happened because of the HOLINESS of CHRIST
i. Genesis 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die.
ii. Acts 2:24 “Whom God has raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be held by it.
b. Death has been such an epidemic with mankind, that we can forget that the world was not created with the sting of death
i. Suddenly became a graveyard & the only hope for humanity was to return to the dust from whence he was dug
ii. See man, the apex of God’s creation, created in the likeness of God as he walks with head down, fettered with fear, mistrust, anger, anxiety, disease begins to attack his body. For the earth has turned into a barred cemetery
iii. No longer the happy, laughing, river of life, but a river of tears runs through this planet.
iv. Hear the funeral dirge as men bury their babies. Death has come.
v. Watch him walking through this planet, a cemetery of death, with bars, gates, chains, locks.
vi. See his feet fettered.
vii. See his back breaking, his brow sweating – toil, agony, misery, sickness, sorrow, hatred, envy, strife, rebellion run rampant through the ravaging minds of a hell-bound race on this cemeteried planet.
c. Sin was the chains by which death claimed its victims
d. And without sin, death could not hold the Prince of Life
VI. By the Resurrection from the Dead
a. The resurrection of Jesus is proof that He is the Son of God
i. Without the resurrection, our religion is empty
ii. 1 Corinthians 15:16-19 “For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; you are yet in your sins. Then they also who are fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied.”
b. If Jesus did not actually rise from the dead, why did the disciples go from frightened, timid followers of Jesus before his death, to bold evangelists willing to die preaching his resurrection
c. Unlike the other prophets and teachers and spiritual thinkers, JESUS RESURRECTED HIMSELF from the dead
