Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
"Son of God, Immanuel: The Identity of Jesus" - Murray Smith
Talk 2 of 4 at Easter Time Convention (ETC) 2012.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one being with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary,
and became truly human.
Nicene Creed
When God seems distant...
Isaiah 7:14, Matt. 1:21-22. Jesus is Immanuel (God with us).
Matt. 18:19 "There am I with them."
Matt. 28:18 "Surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Jesus is linking us back to Abraham here, "I will dwell among you."
Jesus uses God's language.
1. Jesus and the one true God of Israel
There IS only one true a living God. God makes this clear in the Old Testament.
a. The one true and living God is utterly unique
It's no wonder the Jews thought Jesus needed stoning for blasphemy.
The God of Israel defines himself
I AM who I AM.
God tells Moses to talk to Pharaoh. Moses asks God how he is to tell Pharaoh who sent him. "Tell them I AM has sent you."
God will define himself. No-one can define God or limit God.
God is not limited or finite like humans. Nothing outside of God can say who God is.
The God of Israel is the only true God
Deuteronomy 6. Plains of Moab.
"Hear O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one."
There is no other.
Isaiah 40. God is immense and majestic. He's not a super human, he's not human at all. He's beyond the limits of our human imaginations, he's above and beyond what we can understand and define.
The God of Israel alone can save
Isaiah 45, no-one else in the Sovereign LORD.
"What is the glory of the LORD?" Numbers 14:21-23
The God of Israel is present in his world
Through the following ways, and more!
Glory - Number 14:21-23
Word - Psalm 33:6
Wisdom - Jeremiah 10:12
Messiah? - A human being is being called "Mighty God"!
But isn't there only one true and living God?
(and Spirit)
b. Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth, is palpably human
Human genetics
He is human. You can trace his descent.
Jesus looked like Mary, he received the X chromosome from her.
Human birth
Luke 2:6-7 Birth is a messy process.
Jesus had a fully human birth.
Human development
Circumcised on the eighth day, named Jesus.
At 12 years old he grew in wisdom and stature.
Luke 2:21,40,42,52; 3:23
Human needs and limitations
Jesus got hungry, he was physically located, he grew tired, he could eat and drink. He had human needs.
... including the human need for enablement by God's Spirit
Jesus had God's Spirit at work within him. He was 'led by the Spirit'.
Human emotions
He has compassion. He feels sorrow. He gets angry.
Human temptations and struggles
He was tempted by Satan.
His obedience did not come easily, he relied on the Spirit.
Human weakness and mortality
Jesus died. He was crucified on the cross.
Fully human in every way, but without sin
Hebrews 2:10-18; 4:15.
Jesus felt temptation in every way and yet he never gave in to sin.
He stood by the power of a relationship with God.
c. And yet, Jesus is no ordinary human
Jesus exercises authority over demons, diseases, death
Not something that ordinary humans are able to do, unless empowered by God.
Jesus commands the creation
Jesus rebuked the wind and the waves and they became calm.
He was able to exercise authority over God's kingdom.
Jesus forgives sins
"Get up and walk" Matt. 9
God alone can forgive sins.
Jesus reveals the Father, and is included in the identity of God
Matt. 11, baptising people in the NAME of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
There are three names there, and yet the 'NAME' in that sentence is not plural.
d. Jesus, the true Adam and faithful Israel
See Talk 1 for more detail.
e. Jesus, included in the identity of the one true God
The One God and One Lord
With God, distinct from God, and yet also God.
There is one God, the Father. Deuteronomy 6:4-5
The One name at which every knee should bow
Philippians 2:9-11
The One through whom all things exist
The Son had been with God from the beginning.
The Son of God that is, not the human being Jesus.
Christology: The study of Christ.
The highest possible Christology, the inclusion of Jesus in the unique divine identity, was central to the faith of the early church even before any of the New Testament writings were written, since it occurs in all of them. Although there was development in understanding this inclusion of Jesus in the identity of God, the decisive step of so including him was made at the beginning of Christology.
Richard Bauckham
2. The identity of Jesus debated and defined
Heresy, the destructive and wrong ideas of humans. These are just people trying to make sense of what the Bible has to say and getting it wrong. Do not be too hard on them.
Question 1: Is Jesus really both God and human?
False trail #1 - Jesus is not fully divine
Ebionism: Jesus is the divinely appointed Messiah
"Jesus was not pre-existent" according to Ebionism.
Adoptionism: Jesus is a human being adopted by God the Father
"Jesus did not start out as God, he was adopted into God. This adoption probably occurred at his baptism" according to Adoptionism.
Arianism: Jesus is the first created being through whom everything else was made
"God existed, then he created a second God, the Son. Through the Son the world was created" according to Arianism.
The problem with a not-fully-divine Jesus
None of these ideas recognise that Jesus was co-eternal with God.
God the Father and God the Son existed from the very beginning.
False trail #2 - Jesus is not fully human
Doecetism: Jesus only seemed human
"Jesus looked human but he wasn't really human. He was just not quite human" according to Doecetism.
The problem with a not-fully-human Jesus
Jesus was human in EVERY way except that he was without sin.
Answer 1: Jesus is truly God and truly human
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one being with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary,
and became truly human.
The Nicene Creed (AD325, revised at Constantinople AD381)
Yes, Jesus is both FULLY GOD and FULLY HUMAN.
He was eternally begotten, there was no point at which the Son did not exist.
How is being 'begotten' different from being 'made'?
If something is 'begotten' it is giving life to something of equal status to yourself. When a mother births a child, that child is begotten, not made.
The Church did not develop the New Testament, they transposed it.
They expressed it in different language. So this creed is not a development of the NT, but rather, it is the truths of the NT expressed in a different way.
Question 2: How can Jesus be both God and human?
False trials
Apollinarianism: Jesus has a human body and a divine mind/spirit/logos
"Jesus had a human body and a divine mind. These were both together in one body" according to Apollinarianism.
But how then was Jesus able to suffer human temptation?
Nestorianism: The human Jesus and the divine Son worked closely together
"Jesus appeared as one person, but really he was two" according to Nestorianism.
No, Jesus is one person. He didn't just appear to be one person.
Eutychianism: Jesus had a single, blended divine-human nature (monophysitism)
"Jesus' humanity and divinity merged together. Jesus became like a hybrid, a new third thing" according to Eutychianism/Monophysitism.
But how then could Jesus be the mediator between God and humanity if he was neither God or human, but some new third thing?
Answer 2: The one divine Son of God took humanity into himself - Jesus is one person in two natures, forever
Therefore, following the holy fathers, we all with one accord teach men to acknowledge one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man, consisting also of a reasonable soul and body; of one substance with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with us as regards his manhood; like us in all respects, apart from sin; as regards his Godhead, begotten of the Father before the ages, but yet as regards his manhood, begotten, for us men and our salvation, of Mary the Virgin, the God-bearer; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person and subsistence, not as parted or separated into two persons, but one and the same Son and Only-begotten God the Word, Lord Jesus Christ; even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of him, and our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the creed of the fathers has handed down to us.
The Definition of the Council of Chalcedon (AD451)
The Westminster Larger catechism (AD1647)
Q: Who is the Mediator of the covenant of grace?
A: The only Mediator of the covenant of grace is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the eternal Son of God, of one substance and equal with the Father, in the fullness of time became man, and so was and continues to be God and man, in two entire distinct natures, and one person, forever.
Hebrews 4:14-16
3. When God came near: why it matters
a. Real humanity matters
Our Lord sympathises with us in our weakness
God understands from the inside what it is like to be human.
Jesus shows us what it means to be human
You don't need to sacrifice your humanness, or somehow become less human to be more godly. Like nuns and monks.
Jesus shows us how to be both human and godly.
We are saved by the humanity of Christ
Romans 5:18-19
One condemnation through Adam -> Death.
One saving act through Jesus -> Life.
1 Cor. 15:21-22
It is much harder to fix something than it is to wreck it.
Wrecking stuff is easy. Fixing stuff is difficult.
What has not been assumed has not been healed; it is what is united by his divinity that is saved.
Gregory of Nazianzen
The eternal Son of God took our flesh in order to make it what it was created to be.
Colin Gunton
b. Real divinity matters
When God saves, he really does save!
2 Cor. 4
Start your theology with the person, Jesus, not the abstract concepts.
It's in Jesus' face that we see the glory of God.
For thus he (the devil) worked death in Christ, but Christ completely swallowed up death in himself through the immortality of his divinity and rose again in glory ... in the 'Author of salvation', in the 'Holy of Holies', in Christ, our Head, death and all the works of the devil have been destroyed ... for just as Christ was at once a mortal and an immortal Person, He was indeed subject to death by reason of His humanity; but because his whole person could not be slain, it happened that death failed, and the devil succumbed in slaying Him; and thus death was swallowed up and devoured in life. In this way the curse was swallowed up and conquered in the blessing, sorrow in joy, and the other evils in the highest good ... it is impossible for Christ, the Victor over death, to die again ... Christ, by reason of His union with immortal divinity, overcame death by dying
Martin Luther
Jesus overcame death, because the Son of God cannot die.
Death failed, it was swallowed up. Jesus overcame death by dying.
And so...
We worship Jesus as Lord
Revelation 1:8-18
"I am the First and the Last."
John cannot help but worship Jesus and nor can we!
c. Both natures in one person matters
Our Lord came forth as true man and took the person and name of Adam in order to take Adam's place in obeying the Father, to present our flesh as the price of satisfaction to God's righteous judgement, and, in the same flesh, to pay the penalty that we had deserved. In short, since neither as God alone could feel death, nor as man alone could he overcome in, he coupled human nature with divine that to atone for sin he might submit the weakness of the one to death; and that, wrestling with death by the power of the other nature, he might win victory for us.
John Calvin
Where to from here:
Talk 1 - Son of God, Messiah: the mission of Jesus
Talk 2 (you are here)- Son of God, Immanuel: the identity of Jesus
Talk 3 - Son of God, Lord of All: the achievement of Jesus
Talk 4 - Life in the Son: living in the now and not yet of Jesus' achievement
"Son of God, Messiah: The Mission of Jesus" - Murray Smith
Talk 1 of 4 at Easter Time Convention (ETC) 2012.
There's quite a gap between the man I am and the man that I want to be.
Murray Smith
This is true of me too.
Where to find 'a better man'?
All through the Bible we're longing, we're waiting for a better man.
Jesus was that man, who lived the way God wanted him to live.
His mission was focused on the Jews.
1. The story of the Bible: the kingdom of God through the kingdom of his Son
Adam - Gen. 1,2,3
God created human beings in his own image. He gave them authority to have dominion over his creation, just as he has dominion over everything.
God commands us to obey him, and promises to bless us for our obedience. God blesses Adam in Gen 2.
When Adam disobeys, God curses him. Gen. 3:14-19
Israel - Gen 12
God promises Abraham that "all peoples on earth will be blessed through [him]" Gen 12:1-3. Abraham's descendants were blessed through him, God's people, Israel.
God's covenant with Abraham (and Israel) required obedience. But again and again, Israel turn from God's way to worship false Gods. Israel is disobedient.
David
David is chosen from within Israel.
If created man is disobedient, and God's chosen people are disobedient, maybe one man chosen to be Israel's king will live an obedient life to God.
But David commits adultery and murder. David is disobedient. David fails.
Solomon follows David, but Solomon fails too, because he is disobedient.
What will happen to God's kingdom?
Daniel's vision of 'the son of man' (Adam, Israel, David) - Daniel 7
The term 'Son of Man' refers to Adam and Israel and David all at the same time. The human being God always intended to rule over his creation.
Biblical history has moved from the widest horizon (i.e. creation) to the narrower (Israel), until it reaches its target: the Son of Man. After redeeming work of Jesus, the movement is reversed; from the most particular centre (Christ) to Jerusalem, and then to the ends of the earth.
Michael Horton
Creation -> Israel -> Son of Man -> Christ -> Jerusalem -> Ends of the Earth
2. The story of Jesus: The true Son of God brings the kingdom of God
Messiah: Anointed One. Anointing with oil was a sign of Kingship.
Christ and Messiah are the same word, only 'Christ' is Greek.
A walk-through Matthew. This is not Act 1 of the story!
This is Act 4 or 5, it is part of the story of Israel and the Old Testament.
a. The Son of God announces the kingdom of God: good news for Israel
Abraham -14 generations-> David -14-> Babylonian Exile -14-> Messiah.
Israel needs a new start. They came out of the promised land to be baptised in the River Jordan by John the Baptist. Then they would return to the promised land. When Jesus goes to be baptised he throws his lot in with Israel.
"This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased" Matt. 3:17
God is expressing Jesus' divinity. He is Son of God, Son of Man, Son of David.
It is the Son of God's purpose to bring God's kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven.
This is not 'someplace else', it is about God reclaiming his world. We pray in the Lord's Prayer; "your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." We're praying for God to help the world to be the way it was meant to be in Genesis 1.
On the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus blesses his people (Matt. 5:3-10) and then teaches them how to be God's people. The kingdom of God requires obedience. This is the way it has been from Adam -> Us.
b. The Son of God embodies the kingdom of God: Israel re-formed, hope for the world
Jesus himself relives the story of Israel with one difference. He is resolute in his obedience. Finally, we have found the 'better man', the true Adam, the true Israel.
Matt. 2:1-20 When King Herod heard of Jesus' birth he declared all boys in Bethlehem under the age of 2 be killed. By this time, Mary, Joseph and Jesus had escaped to Egypt. They lived in Egypt until King Herod's death at which time an angel called them out of Egypt. This mirrors the Exodus of the Israelites in the Old Testament!
Jesus also called 12 disciples, which parallels the 12 tribes of Israel. It's like Jesus is forming a new Israel. By Jesus' authority the disciples do as he is doing. He brings new life, reforms and heals Israel.
c. The Son of God enacts the kingdom of God: Israel set free, creation reclaimed
Jesus says "I was sent to the lost sheep of Israel" Matt. 15:24.
God's plan is to rescue the whole world through his people, Israel.
But Israel is broken, corrupt and sinful.
Jesus heals Israel, sets them free, so that he can reach the World.
Jesus makes the Kingdom of God a reality. Matt 9.
He announces forgiveness of sins on his own authority.
As Matthew continues, his language changes from
"The Kingdom of God is near" Matt. 4:17, to
"The Kingdom of God has come among you" Matt. 12:28, this is significant!
d. What kind of Son? What kind of kingdom?
Matt. 4:1-11; 12:22-29 Jesus defeated Satan in the wilderness, with his obedience to God he resisted temptation. For this reason he can cast out demons. Jesus brings about God's kingdom by his obedience.
Jesus is Son of God, Son of Man, Son of David, Messiah, Christ, The Long Awaited, The Perfect, Man of God.
Jesus is like the cleaner. He's come to clean up Israel. But they must come with the cleaner. They must repent, otherwise judgement is coming their way.
He will not be the kind of Messiah his disciples are expecting. Matt. 16:12-28.
After Peter admits that Jesus is the Christ, Jesus begins to explain to them that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things. He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter rebukes Jesus, saying "This shall never happen to you". But Jesus says "Get behind me, Satan." Jesus recognises the voice of Satan in his best friend, but he resists the temptation to disobey God.
e. The Son of God establishes the kingdom of God: death and vindication for the Son of God, new life for Israel and the world
Matt. 21:12-13, Jesus tips over tables in the Temple because the whole system, the whole of Israel is corrupt, under the control of Satan. A place of worship to God is instead being used by moneylenders for profit here.
Jesus is obedient even to the point of death. Matt. 27:38-44.
On the cross we hear the echoes of temptation from the mocking of those around him. The one man who obeyed. The better man. This death will bring about the blessing God had always promised.
3. The story of the church: the sons of God display the kingdom of God
Jesus enters into Israel's exile. He dies for the sake of others, even though he didn't deserve it. It's no surprise that God raises him up again, the better man.
Here we are, finally, Jesus with Adam's job, obedient even to the point of death. Finally God's kingdom is established, with a human. Dominion over creation.
Creation -> Israel -> Son of Man -> Christ -> Church -> The World.
We have the privilege of following in the footsteps of Jesus' disciples.
The job of the church is to show the world the way life works.
We point the world back to Jesus, the better man.
Where to from here:
Talk 1 (you are here) - Son of God, Messiah: the mission of Jesus
Talk 2 - Son of God, Immanuel: the identity of Jesus
Talk 3 - Son of God, Lord of All: the achievement of Jesus
Talk 4 - Life in the Son: living in the now and not yet of Jesus' achievement
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
"Meeting Jesus Again For The First Time" - Murray Smith
Introductory Talk at Easter Time Convention (ETC) 2012.
1. The Christian faith is all about Jesus
What do the Scriptures say about Jesus, God's Son?
Christianity is not FIRST and FOREMOST:
a philosophy
a system of personal morality
a blueprint for human society and politics
a manifest for changing the world
a teaching about how to be saved
Although, there are elements of all of these things.
Christianity is about Jesus. He is the one we proclaim.
2. The danger of domesticating Jesus
There is a danger that we may re-invent Jesus to our own image.
How do we avoid doing this? What image do you have of Jesus in your own head?
3. Which Jesus?
Not just any Jesus - the Jesus of the Gospel story
Our culture is critical of the gospels.
Acts 10:34-43, Paul's summary of the Gospel. Jesus' ministry in Judaea, first events, the life of Jesus (Galilee - Jerusalem), killed, raised, seen by witnesses, final commands.
Not Jesus out of context - the Jesus of the whole Bible
Jesus in the context of the whole story of Israel.
His story links in with the Old Testament story of God's people, Israel.
Not Jesus alone - Jesus sent by the Father, empowered by the Spirit
All the way through Acts 10:34-43, Paul links Jesus' experience to God (the Father) and includes the Holy Spirit. The Godhead was working together, Jesus was not acting on his own.
4. An invitation to meet Jesus again for the first time
Jesus Christ, who died for our sins, and is raised from the dead, is LORD. This matters.
Jesus is the center of the Christian faith. CHRISTjesusINAITY.
When you focus on Jesus everything else comes up in full colour; life begins to make sense through him.
I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen; not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.
C.S. Lewis
Where to from here:
Talk 1 - Son of God, Messiah: the mission of Jesus
Talk 2 - Son of God, Immanuel: the identity of Jesus
Talk 3 - Son of God, Lord of All: the achievement of Jesus
Talk 4 - Life in the Son: living in the now and not yet of Jesus' achievement
You can imagine the shark’s view, this fluorescent kite and little piece of meat just waiting to be nibbled on
Vollebak talks to Murray Smith
Yeah, talk us through the warm-up ride from Antigua to St Barts…
Yeah, I finished ‘Last Man Standing,’ and then got really bored, so ended up out in the Caribbean where I started working on super-yachts and stuff, but that turned out to be really quite boring as well. I had a great time on this island called Antigua but then thought time to move on, so pretty much rigged my kit on a beach in the morning…
So no preparation?
…well a little bit of preparation, I mean I didn’t have any money, once again. I managed to blag a few flares off a friend that were out of date, and I did actually go to the coastguard and say ‘I’m going to do this, is there any chance that you can wait for a phone call from me from the other end just to make sure I’ve come in?’ But they were like ‘Nah, we’re not going to come out and get you even if you do get in trouble.’ So then I went to customs, because you have to sign out of the country, and I explained my story and she just goes ‘We have no form for that mon.’ I couldn’t actually legally sign out of the country, but I just decided to do it anyway, because I just hate that whole legislation thing.
Basically I turned up on this beach 90 miles later through storms – like you get some really strong gales and fronts that come through – and then the wind will just disappear and stuff so it’s quite scary. But being in the middle of nowhere and on your own, and not seeing land for 5 hours is pretty sick. Plus there are sharks. When you’re sitting in the water having a little nibble on your chocolate bar you just feel like this human piece of bait. You can imagine the shark’s view, this fluorescent kite and little piece of meat just waiting to be nibbled on.
