This We Believe - Week 2

For Further Study

INTRODUCTION:

I was chatting with someone this past week and the topic was “The Hill” as I like to call it.  What that means, and I am sure you have had a few of these in your life…. Was the phrase, “Is it a hill worth dying on?”.  Again we have all had a few in our days but what it means is “simply is it worth fighting for?”.  Now, some are worth fighting for… how to organize the utensils in a drawer, maybe not, or even theological topics, maybe, but what is the personal goal?  Some of us HAVE to be right…it is this “thing” inside us and can cause some rough things to happen in relationships.  Sometimes we just have to drive right by that hill and not even look at it.  I don't know if that makes sense for today, but I do know that Jesus did go up a hill and took the penalty of sin upon himself, for me, for you, for the world.

We are working through our belief statements for our church. As we do,  I want to remind us of the grace that exists through our relationship with Jesus. Questions for you..Do you believe your beliefs shape your mindset?  How about your decision making?  Emotional reactions?...How about our relationships?  Last week we shared our statement on “The Bible” and this week we are looking at what we believe about God and Jesus. 

Why are we spending time going over these statements you may ask?

What we believe molds us and motivates us and defines us. 

These belief statements, while they are specifically put together as a public statement for our 7 Creeks Church- they are the foundation we are building our church upon.  These belief statements are our public declaration of faith.  They are the foundation of everything we do as a church and  everything we teach as a church.  They are the boundaries within which we as a church stay. Not everyone sees and interprets life, situations, the Bible the same way and this is where His grace comes in. The need to be right, that I was talking about earlier, can crush relationships, which is the opposite of grace. But having a core foundation built on the Word where we can find unity as a church family will be what sustains us through any storm that comes our way. 

Today we will look at our statements on God and Jesus and a few scriptures that support these statements.

God:

We believe that there is one and only one true and living God, an infinite Spirit who is the Maker and Supreme Ruler of the universe. 

We believe the Bible reveals Him to be holy, sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, eternal, immutable and full of love, justice, goodness, mercy and truth. This is only a representative list of His eternal and unchanging attributes. Although there is only one God, He exists eternally in three persons as the Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

We believe these members of the Trinity are coequal in essence, having precisely the same nature, attributes and perfections, but are distinct in subsistence, executing different but harmonious functions (Mark 12:29, John 4:24, Matt. 3:16-17, Matt. 28:19, 2 Cor. 13:14).

Let me try to help us wrap our minds around this. Let’s define a few of these words describing God’s attributes…

• Holy - Holiness is an essential attribute of God. He is often referred to as the Holy One, meaning He is completely pure, morally perfect, and separate from sin. He is blameless, faultless and unblemished.

• Sovereign - Refers to His supreme power, authority, and control over all creation.

• Omnipotent - God's attribute of being all-powerful. This means that God possesses unlimited power and can do anything that is consistent with His nature and will.

• Omnipresent - Refers to God's attribute of being present everywhere at all times.

• Eternal - God has no beginning or end and exists outside the constraints of "time."

• Immutable - This refers to God's attribute of being unchanging and unchangeable. This means that God's character, purposes, and promises remain constant over time.

How about the Trinity… Check out this illustration…  This illustration helps us, at least a little, understand the Trinity.  To simplify it , we see that God IS The Father, God IS The Son, God IS The Holy Spirit. But we also see the Father IS NOT the Son or The Spirit, the Son IS NOT the Father or The Spirit and the Spirit IS NOT the Father or The Son.

** Disclaimer- The concept of the Trinity is simply beyond human understanding.  It is similar to asking a 2- dimensional world to understand a 3 or 4 dimensional world. Because of this,  there is a great deal of faith involved in accepting this.  Any way that our human minds try to describe this will fall short to clarify fully the scope of this Triune God.

• We are stating that there is one God who eternally exists in three distinct persons: the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. Quick overview of each person of the Trinity:

  • God the Father: The first person of the Trinity, often seen as the Creator and Sustainer of all things. He is the source of all that exists and is characterized by His love, holiness, and sovereignty.

  • God the Son (Jesus Christ): The second person of the Trinity, who became incarnate as Jesus Christ. He is fully God and fully human, and through His life, death, and resurrection, He provides salvation for humanity. John 1 describes Him as the Word who was with God and was God.

  • God the Holy Spirit: The third person of the Trinity, who works in the world and in the lives of believers. The Holy Spirit convicts of sin, regenerates hearts, indwells believers, and empowers them for holy living and service. John 14 speaks of the Holy Spirit as another Advocate who will be with believers forever. 

We will be covering the Holy Spirit in more detail next week.

Now let’s look at a few scriptures chosen to support this statement. 

• Mark 12:29 - Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

This verse is speaking to the fact that God is One while the rest of these verses speak to the triune nature of our One God.

• John 4:24 - God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.

• Matthew 3:16-17 - And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.

• Matthew 28:19 - Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

• 2 Corinthians 13:14 - The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

My favorite topic… let’s talk about what we believe about Jesus

Jesus Christ: 

We believe that Jesus Christ has existed eternally as the Son of God. At a specific point in time, Jesus became a man (the incarnation) in order to reveal God and redeem humanity. We believe He was supernaturally conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, Mary. In His incarnation, He forever possesses both full deity and full humanity in such a way that the properties of each nature are fully retained and undiminished by the union. We believe Jesus died on the cross as a substitute for sinful humanity, was buried, rose bodily from the tomb, ascended into Heaven where He ministers on the behalf of those who have trusted in Him, and someday will come again for His own (John 1:18, 8:58, Matt. 1:23, Col. 1:15-17, 1 Tim. 1:15, 3:16).

We’ve got some big theological words here to explain so hang with me here…and I will try not to put you to sleep.

• Eternal Existence of the Son: Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, has existed eternally with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. This is part of the doctrine we just discussed which asserts that God is one being in three persons. 

• The Incarnation: The incarnation refers to the event when the eternal Son of God took on human flesh and became a man. This occurred at a specific point in history, with the purpose of revealing God to humanity and providing redemption through His life, death, and resurrection. By becoming human, Jesus could empathize with our weaknesses and serve as the perfect mediator between God and humanity.

• Supernatural Conception: Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. This miraculous event signifies that Jesus did not inherit the sinful nature common to humanity.

• Dual Nature of Christ: In His incarnation, Jesus possesses both full deity (divine nature) and full humanity (human nature). Meaning that Jesus is both fully God and fully man. 

• Substitutionary Atonement: Jesus' death on the cross is a substitutionary atonement, meaning He took the place of sinners, bearing the punishment for sin to reconcile humanity with God. 

• Resurrection: Jesus rose bodily from the dead on the third day after His crucifixion, affirming His victory over sin and death.  You may know this celebration as Easter.

The importance of the resurrection is everything.  

• Ascension: After His resurrection, Jesus ascended into Heaven and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father. 

• Intercession: Jesus acts as a mediator between God and humanity, advocating for those who trust in Him.

• Come Again: We believe that Jesus will return one day to judge the living and the dead and to establish His eternal kingdom.

Now let’s look at a few scriptures about Jesus chosen to support this statement. 

John 1:18 - No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.

John 8:58 - Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.

Matthew 1:23 - Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel

Colossians 1:15-17 - He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

1 Timothy 1:15 - The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.

1 Timothy 3:16 - Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.

CONCLUSION -  As we wrap up today, and throughout this series, we will anticipate a few questions you may have and take a few moments to answer some of these. However, if any additional question crosses your mind that you have or that you have been asked, please write that down on the note cards provided on the tables and drop them in the offering box and we will get them answered!  

The word Trinity does not exist in the bible - isn’t this a man-made concept?

• Correct, the word “Trinity” is not in the Bible, but the concept does exist in the bible. The Bible teaches that the Father is God, that Jesus is God, and that the Holy Spirit is God. The Bible also teaches that there is only one God. Though we can understand some facts about the relationship of the different Persons of the Trinity to one another, ultimately, it is incomprehensible to the human mind. However, this does not mean the Trinity is not true or that it is not based on the teachings of the Bible.

Did the resurrection of Jesus Christ actually happen?

• If you remember last week we shared how the Bible is backed by a multitude of historical and archeological facts, manuscript evidence and translation consistency, that support the truth that is the Bible.  Now how about that Resurrection?

• Scripture - presents conclusive evidence that Jesus Christ was in fact resurrected from the dead. Christ’s resurrection is recorded in all four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The resurrected Christ also appeared in the Book of Acts. From these passages you can gain several “proofs” of Christ’s resurrection. 

• Life Change

  • First is the dramatic change in the disciples. They went from a group of men frightened and in hiding to strong, courageous witnesses sharing the gospel throughout the world. What else could explain this dramatic change other than the risen Christ appearing to them?

  • Paul - The life of the apostle Paul. What changed him from being a persecutor of the church into an apostle for the church? It was when the risen Christ appeared to him on the road to Damascus.

• The Empty Tomb - Another convincing proof is the empty tomb. If Christ were not raised, then where is His body? The disciples and others saw the tomb where He was buried. When they returned, His body was not there. Angels declared that He had been raised from the dead as He had promised (Matthew 28:5-7)

  • If anyone would have found the body of Jesus the last several thousand years would look very different…but they cannot find it.  He ascended into heaven.

Lots of information the last two weeks but that is what makes Sunday so cool.  It's an opportunity to come together and worship Him by learning and fellowshipping together. 

For Further Thought and Study

1. If you were asked, “What do you believe about God?” how would you respond?

2. If someone said they thought Jesus was just a prophet, how would you share who you believed Jesus was?

3. Here’s a great verse to meditate on 2 Corinthians 13:14 - The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

What would it look like to live in the grace of Jesus, the love of God and the fellowship of the Spirit?