LESSON 1 
 

Knowing Jesus Christ, Son of God

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Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, as the ONLY way, the ONLY truth. 

Who is this man? 

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We NEED to know Jesus, not just intellectual and for understanding Christ. 

It's for us to know Jesus personally, to love Jesus more

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1) We need a Mediator to reconcile our relationship with God 

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- sin from choosing for ourselves what we think is right and wrong, rejecting the morality of God (Romans 1:18) 

- wickedness (what we do, what we think), Godlessness (when we choose to step apart from God and do what we deem right (Ephe 2:1-3)

- we need to recognise sin to understand our need for a Mediator. (who He is and what He does as a mediator) 

- God loves humanity and seeks to restore us to our intended condition, so He sent the Mediator.  (Ephe 2:4-5) 

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We must decide for ourselves personally, who He is to us. 

 

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2) God's Revelation through Jesus

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- God wants to reveal Himself. (like adults playing hide and seek with children) . God chose to reveal Himself through Jesus Christ

- God is invisible but Jesus is the full representation of God and He is visible

- God didn't send Jesus to eradicate sin, He sent Jesus to reconcile our relationship. 

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1) Do I think of myself more as a sinner or a victim of sin? 

2) Who is Jesus to me? Is God just a healer, a purpose giver? (a vitamin or an antidote?) How well do you know this Jesus that you follow?

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The Historical Jesus

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Is Jesus really someone who existed and walked on earth? 

Are we able to believe the account that the Bible says about Jesus? 

The faith is not blindness. 

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Reliability of the 4 Gospels

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- no surviving originals of the gospels but just copies of copies

- there are 24000 manuscripts of NT in different languages, 5000 manuscript in Greek (allowing us to cross check and trace the earliest manuscript)

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Reliability of the Authors 

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- Close associates of the eyewitnesses or are eyewitnesses of Jesus' life

- Written within the first century - the lifetime of those who have witnessed the life of Jesus

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Matthew: The disciple of Jesus, is an eyewitness of Jesus’s life.

Mark: The close associate of Peter, the disciple of Jesus who is an eyewitness of Jesus’s life.

Luke: The close associate of Paul, the disciple of Jesus. Luke used the accounts of the eyewitness of Jesus

life as reference in writing the Gospel (Luke 1:1-4).

John: The disciple of Jesus, is an eyewitness of Jesus’s life.

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-  Consist of embarrassing accounts of disciples and Jesus. (eg. Peter get scolded by Jesus, Peter denies Jesus. Jesus not able to perform miracles in his hometown, executed like a criminal) Add strength to the accuracy of reporting history and affirms the authenticity of stories. (no reason for them to include these accounts of themselves especially when they are leading the church at that time) 

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Jesus in the Trinity

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Understanding the Trinity

- Jesus is the second person in the Trinity. God is ONE but three persons. 

- Trinity is unique to Christianity.

- One triangle, 3 sides. Each side has a different role to play.

God the judge sends the Son to pay the price. The Son sends the Spirit to be with the church till He returns. 

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1) The Trinity is easily ignored in our everyday because of its incomprehensibility. Yet, each person is God and we relate to each of them. Do we tend to weigh heavier in one aspect of our relationship with God?

(we think of God the Father as a creator, magnificent, we are all children of God and equal before God. When we face troubles that are out of control, we pray for the Father's protection etc. When we think of job interviews, conversations with prebelievers, we pray for HS to empower us.)

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Because of Jesus, we have access to both God the Father and the Holy Spirit. 

In Jesus, we see identification because He came to experience pain, He came to be a friend of sinners. We can have intimacy with Jesus. 

Because He was here and He is here, we can describe Him, relate to Him. 

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All our experiences are different, but the fact that Jesus came to be with us is common to all of us. 

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LESSON 2 
 

The Deity of Jesus Christ

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1 Tim 4:16
Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. 

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Scriptural Claims of Jesus's Deity (Jesus is fully God) 

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1) Jesus' Self-Consciousness 

- it's true Jesus did not make an explicit claim to be God, He did not say "I am God"

- but He made claims that would be inappropriate if made by someone who is less than God

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• Matthew 5:21 -22, 27-28     (have power in himself to lay down teaching as authoritative. Not here to give an edict, not a messenger.)
• Matthew 13:41, Luke 12:8-9     (claimed to command angels) 

• Matthew 25:31-46     (spoke of judging the world)

• Mark 2:5-7     (claim to forgive sins)

• John 5:21     (claim power over life and death)

• John 19:7     (claim to be Son of God) 

• Revelation 22:13     (claim to be same as God) 

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2) The word "God" used of Jesus

• John 1:1, 1:18     (

• John 20:28-31     (Thomas called Jesus "my God". Jesus never correct Thomas)

• Titus 2:13     (refers to 'our great God and saviour Jesus Christ"

• Heb 1:3-8     (Christ is the exact representation of the name God) 

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3) The word "Lord" used of Jesus

- "Lord" is just to address a superior, like "Sir" or "master" 

- but this word is used in Septuagint, translated as "Yahweh", God.

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• Matt 22:44     (Jesus identified himself as the sovereign Lord of OT)

• Heb 1:10-12     (work of Lord in creation) 

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Scriptural  Evidence of Jesus's deity attributes

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1) Omnipotence

- Jesus showed His omnipotence, He is not just a moral teacher.  

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• Matthew 8:26-27 (still storm)

• Matthew 14:19     (multiply loaves and fish)

• John 2:1-11     (change water into wine) 

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2) Omniscience

- God will hold us accountable for the thoughts we have

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• Mark 2:8     (he knows people's thoughts)

• John 1:48     (seeing Nathaniel under fig tree from far away)

• John 6:64     (knowing who would betray Him) 

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3) Omnipresence 

- Matt 28:20     (not directly affirmed to Jesus during his earthly ministry, but before he left the earth he told his disciples) 

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The Necessity of Jesus's Deity

- only someone who is infinite God can bear the full penalty of sins - finite creature will not be able to bear the penalty

- Salvation is from the Lord (Jonah 2:9). No human being, no creature can save man - only God himself could.

- only someone who is fully God can mediate between God and man (1 Tim 2:5). to bring us back to God and to reveal God to us (John 14:9)

 

 

Implication of Jesus' Deity

- We can have knowledge of God (John 14:9) - look to Christ

- Redemption is available to us

- God and humanity reunited, God crossed the chasm created by sin

- Worship of Christ is appropriate 

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1) Do I live in a way where I believe in Jesus' omnipotence? Or do i tend to turn to human wisdom to solve my problems? 

2) How does knowing that Jesus is omniscience affect the way I live my life? Learn to submit our thoughts to God as well. Keep our thoughts in captive. 2 Cor 10:5 

3) If Jesus were not fully God, would I be willing to trust Him with my all? How will the understanding of the deity of Jesus, as equal with God, influence our prayers and worship? 

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The Humanity of Jesus Christ

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Jesus' earth origin: The Virgin Birth

- The virgin birth reminds us that salvation is the work of God Himself. (truly the work of the HS)
Gal 4:4-5 

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- Makes possible the unity of full deity and full humanity of Christ in one person. 

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Scriptural Evidence of Jesus' Humanity

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1) Human body with its limitations

• became tired (John 4:6)
• physically weak at times (Matt 4:11) 

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2) Human Mind

• went through learning process as other children do (Luke 2:52) 

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3) Human Emotions

• compassion (Matt 9:36, 14:14, 15:32, 20:34)
• Wept for Lazarus
• Joy (John 15:11, 17:13; Heb 12:2)
• Anger (Mark 3:5, 10:14) 

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4) Intellectual qualities (limitations) 

• second coming (mark 13:32)

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The Sinlessness of Jesus

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1) Jesus did not sin thought he faced temptations

• Satan unable to tempt Jesus (Luke 4:13)
• No one could convict Jesus of sins (John 8:46)

• Peter describes Jesus as 'lamb without blemish or spot" (1 Pet 1:19 & 1 Peter 2:22) 

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2) Jesus experienced temptation

• Through His temptations, He did not sin 

• As a result, He can understand and help us in our temptations (Heb 2:18) & (Heb 4:15-16) 

• Transformed in the renewal of our minds - it's a growth process

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Analogy: Athelete trained 3 months, take performance enhancing drugs. VS the one for was offered and chose not do, trained 3 more months. Who faced greater temptation? 

- the one who chose not to gave up, went through the full force of experiencing the temptation. Because day after day he will be tempted to walk away from the cross. 

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Why did He need to be Human

• God is invisible, He has to take initiative to reveal Himself to humanity

• Jesus' sacrifice on the cross only applies to us if He is human (Heb 2:14-17)
• To mediate for us. Represent us to God and represent God to us. ( 1 Tim 2:5)

• To be our pattern and example in life (1 John 2:6, 2 Cor 3:18, Heb 12:1-2) 

• His ministry as a high priest depends on his humanity

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The Implications of Jesus' Humanity

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1) Jesus' atoning death is truly available for us

2) Shows true nature of humanity andd be our example (we see in our lives what sin does to humanity and in Jesus what he tries to undo in humanity) 

3) God is Near

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1) Isit possible to be sinless? Do we think that "to err is human"? As we see the full humanity of Jesus together with his sinlessness, how does it change the way we view our own sin? 
2) We need to be specific in our sins. If we are sick we wouldnt want a general drug, we want something that will work for that specific sickness. 

3) Who is our role model and example? (From heroes to business leaders to political dignitaries etc. Are they Christ like that's why we respect them?  What do we affirm in people? Their creativity, their talents or their Christ-like attributes?  

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The Unity of Jesus' Deity and Humanity 

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1) Incarnation was more of an addition of human attributes than a loss of divine attritubes

- Phil 2:6-8

- Jesus emptied himself of his equality with God, not the form of God. Look past his status and laid aside his rights. 

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2) Union of the two natures meant they did not function independently 

- he set aside divine attibutes, not lose divine attributes

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3) Both natures are fully known in Christ

- John 1:18

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1) How central is the Person of Christ in your faith? What do we really mean by "being Christ centred". How does this practically express itself in my daily life, decisions, worship or ministry? Looking past rights, past ourselves, giving up our rights. The extent to which God did that is to die on the cross. We are not afraid to lose out now, we can serve even at personal cost. Use our position to give and not to get. 

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Q&A

1) Freewill? Since God knows everything from top to end.

- Freewill is a very modern concept cause of our 'rights'. 

- We have limitations because of who we are. Free will is the freedom to do anything we want? Free will is the ability to choose within the parameter of what we are. 

- God is infinite in knowledge but it doesn't take away our ability to make choices. God knew Adam and Eve would make that choice, but it doesn't mean that He didn't give them that choice. Knowledge doesn't take away agency. 

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2) Can the Protestant Church claim to know absolute truth even when our doctrines are not the sme?

- In major doctrines we are the same. Only some doctrines we differ.

- Sparring of thoughts between denominations lead us to unravel more about Jesus.

- We cannot tell people that our denomination has the absolute truth, this shows our arrogance

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3) How can people who are not as adept intellectually worship God intellectually?
- thats why we must teach. because if people don't understand they will just worship what they think out. teach in a way where people understand (when we teach ppl from different culture, diff language etc) 

- theology is not just about booksmart but about knowing a person

- we all understand enough to know and follow God already. it places a greater emphasis on those who understand already, to actually life it out. even people who we think they can't understand in a way we understand, they know enough in a way for God to hold them accountable. 

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4)Are things we experience truly unique to our religion? Cause all other religions also got such claims

- does miracles define religion? Does all religion make similar claims?

- Jesus makes exclusive claims that He is the only way. 

- Religions make similar actions points like 'do good' but there are exclusive claims to each religions. 

- Fundamentally Jesus came to go to the cross, not to do miracles. 

- Experiences alone cannot help someone stand in the faith. Experiences alone are not truth. 

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5) There are alot of inconclusive evidence of Jesus' resurrection, how do we reconcile this?
- What evidence will be considered conclusive? Must all the history books have the same conclusion? 

-  We have the most manuscripts of New T, we have eye witnesses who ultimately died for their faith. We find these to be inconclusive to us because it feels very far. But when we put themselves in their mind, they too had reasoning behind how they responded.

- We need to examine texts and worldviews. Every religion needs to address suffering, evil, good will not always prosper etc. 

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6) What makes Jesus unique among various faiths? 

- an act initiated by God

- God coming as man to redeem man

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7) 

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Everyone come and know God in different ways. We all need to come to a place where we recognise that without Jesus we will die and not that we need God to give us a purpose. Not everybody needs a sense of purpose. Purpose is usually for what we do now. But everybody needs salvation. Grapple with how we will spend eternity. 

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LESSON 3
 

The Humiliation of Jesus

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Humiliation: stripped of our worth and identity

- usually we don't choose it, it just happens to us

- Humiliation of Christ is not done to Him. He took it up.  

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1) Incarnation

-  God coming as a man, subjected to the law. (CEO say all must wash toilet, and He himself come and wash) 

- The Revelator (we know the most about Christ's death, contrary to other great man where we would know more about their lives) 

- Jesus points to the intent of the law, the heavenly truths. Not just the letters of the law
( do not murder vs anger. do not commit adultery vs lust. love your neighhbours vs love your enemies) 

- 1 Cor 1:18-19. It doesnt make sense what Jesus did for us. 

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Do we take Jesus for granted? Really take time to examine, linger that GOD came as a man for me. 

God signals to us, particular things, not just generic things. Don't just be content with knowing the teachings of Jesus. 

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The Work of Atonement of Jesus Christ

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Atonement: Christ's death on the cross

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1) Cause of Atonement

- love and justice. 

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2) Necessity of Atonement

- Courtroom Analogy
 

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3) Nature of Atonement

- Jesus became righteousness for us (Philippians 3:9) 

    if Jesus is my righetousness, am I taking my sin lightly? Using my works to compare with their works? It's not my righteousness but Christ's. 

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- Jesus suffering for us

    a) Suffering for his whole life (both in body and soul. Hebrews 5:8)

     b) Pain of the cross (physical pain) 

     c) Pain of bearing the sin of man

     d) Pain of abandonment (

     e) Pain of bearing God's wrath (the wrath of someone who really loves you. like someone you love misunderstood you and keep scolding you) 

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4) Christ role in Atonment

- Reconciler (2 Cor 5:18-19) (Romans 5:9-11) 

- Redeemer (Hebrews 10:4)  (Ephesians 1:7) (Romans 3:24-25)

(Gal 3:10-13 - redeemed us from consequences of breaking God's law) 
(Gal 5:13 - redeemed from our wickedness) 

(Romans 8:22-23 - final redemption from groaning and pain of this present age) 

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 The Exaltation of Christ

    

Resurrection

if Jesus had remained dead, he would be a sinner cursed by God.

but BECAUSE he resurrected, we know He is truly who he said He was.

death and sin had no power over Him.

 

The Resurrection is the basis of our Faith. 

1 Cor 15: 55 - 57

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The Ascension to the Father's Right Hand

- Jesus prepare for us for our coming. (Luke 14:2-3) 

- Luke's account is most extended (Luke 24:50-51, Acts 1:6-11) 

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1) Jesus as Ruler 

2) Christ lives in me. And Christ continues revealing himself to the world, THROUGH us. 

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Second Coming

- Phil 2:9-11 

- Rev 7:15-17

- Rev 7:14b - 17

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- When Christ comes again, there will be no lack. 

- When Christ comes again, He will call us to an account for our lives. 
Every worldview in the world must account to the King...

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"The Greatness of our God"
(Romans 8:35-39) 

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Q&A

1) If Jesus came from Adam, is Jesus sinful though He did not commit sin? "Adam sin and therefore we sin"

Are we sinful by nature? Did Adam pass on the sinful nature to us?(Original sin)

- Scripture did not mention original sin. (Romans 5 - was not intended to talk about how sin came about. Because Adam sinned, death came. Jesus did not sin, therefore life can come) 

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