Who is Jesus? Part 8

The one-and-only God-man: Fully God (According to the Apostles)

In this lesson, we will see The Apostles John and Paul affirm the Deity of Jesus Christ, and consider how Christ’s Deity guarantees our salvation.

Key Takeaway: Because Jesus Christ is the one-and-only God-man, our salvation is secure.

Discussion

Read John 1:1-4

The Apostle John wrote his Gospel, “…that [we] may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20:31). He begins Chapter One by affirming the deity of Christ, referring to the pre-incarnate Son of God as the “Word” (Greek: “Logos”). “Logos,” carried profound meaning for ancient Jews and Greeks. For the Jews, “Logos” would have brought to mind the creative power of God’s spoken word (Genesis 1). For the Greeks, “Logos,” referred to the rational or unifying principle underlying the cosmos. Here, by personifying the Logos, the Apostle John attributes God’s creative, sustaining power to the pre-incarnate Son of God.

What do verses 1-4 tell us about the nature of The Logos (Pre-incarnate Son of God)?

In this awe-inspiring passage, the Apostle John says the pre-incarnate Logos (Son of God) is God by nature, even though He is distinct from God the Father. Verses 1-2 make it clear that The Logos shares the eternal nature of God the Father since, at the beginning of all things, the Logos was (present tense) continuing to exist through the beginning of all (created) things. Which is to say, the Word didn’t begin to exist but always existed, just as God the Father always existed.

Thus, John says in verse 1, The Word was with God (the one commonly referred to as God the Father) and was, in fact, God by nature. The end of verse one in the Greek text literally reads, “God was the Word,” making it clear the eternal Son of God shares the eternal nature of God, since He was (verse 2) in the beginning with God (The Father). Then, in verse 3, just in case we missed his point, John says The Word created all (created) things, and life itself is found in Him.

Read Isaiah 44:24

The Apostle John, a devout Jew, was well aware that God alone created all things. What, then, is John declaring in verse 3 about the pre-incarnate Son of God by claiming He is the creator of all things?

Read John 1:14

What did the eternal Word (Son of God) do to make us his?

Read Philippians 2:5-7

For Paul to say Christ was, “in the form of God,” is to say Christ was and is God by nature, since nothing less than God can take God’s form. Paul goes on to say, though the pre-incarnate Christ was and is God by nature, He did not cling to His rights as God, but laid them aside to fulfill the will of the Father. Specifically, He become a man — our servant, Savior-King to redeem us from sin.

Did the eternal Son of God remain God when he became a man? See Colossians 2:9.

Why was it necessary for Christ to be God in order to secure our salvation?

Read Isaiah 43:10-11; Philippians 1:6

Who alone can Save?

Salvation is from God alone, not from God plus a special man. “The Father planned salvation before creation…the Son accomplished it in the first century,” 5 and the Holy Spirit applies salvation to us by uniting us to Christ. If Jesus Christ is not God, then our salvation depends on someone other than God. The Deity of Christ ensures our salvation is all of God and, therefore, certain. Let’s consider more specifically how Christ’s deity guarantees He can and will fulfill His promises to us.

5 https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/deity-christ-church/

Read John 6:35-44

According to verse 38, what did the Son of God say he came to do?

According to verses 39-40, what was the will of the Father for his Son?

Is it possible the Son of God might fail to fulfill the will of his Father? Why or why not?

Re-read John 6:37, John 6:40, John 6:44; Ephesians 1:4-5

Who initiated your salvation?

According to John 6:37 and John 6:40, who secured your salvation?

According to John 6:39, is it possible God could lose a Christian? Why or why not?

Read John 10:27-30; Philippians 1:6

Who guarantees our salvation is sure?

Read John 3:3-8; Ephesians 1:13-14

Alongside God the Father and God the Son, what does God the Holy Spirit do to make and keep us His?

Who can break God’s seal of ownership over us? (See Romans 8:38-39)

Why does it matter to you, personally, that your salvation is secure, all and only because God the Father, God the Son, and God Holy Spirit guarantee it?

Additional Study

For more on why the Deity of Christ matters for our salvation, see:

Scripture is clear that through His sovereign, electing grace, God places us into Christ, keeps us in Christ, continually conforms us to the image of Christ, and guarantees we will one day stand perfectly glorified with Christ. Romans 8:29-30 puts it this way,

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Theologians refer to this as the “Golden Chain of Salvation:” The one-way, unbreakable chain of God’s saving grace that makes us His, keeps us His, and guarantees we will one day stand with Him in glory. To think more about the golden chain of salvation and our eternal security in Christ, see:

The fact that God cannot lose a Christian is called, “eternal security,” a deeply encouraging doctrine that reminds us to rest in God alone. Alongside eternal security, God invites us to enjoy the deep assurance we are His and, therefore, cannot be lost. The Bible offers three ways we can know we are His:

  1. The testimony of Scripture that all who lay hold of Christ by faith become God’s children who enjoy eternal life forever (John 1:12; 1 John 5:11-13)
  2. The testimony of a changing life that shows God’s Spirit is in us (1 John 2:3; Philippians 1:6; 2:12-13)
  3. The testimony of God’s Spirit within us that we belong to Him (Romans 8:14-17)
Karin Aiello