Date: 10/8/2023
Did Jesus ever pull out his deity card while living fully as human, yet being fully God as well? Do you believe the quote, “Never less than God, He chose to live His life never more than man”? I believe this is in reference to Philippians 2. I was listening to a sermon by Dan Spader who said we should never think we can’t do what Jesus did on earth because he was God while being human. He argued that “Jesus’ deity was unexpressed , so that His humanity could be fully expressed”. The points he made were compelling, but wanted to get your thoughts on this? Is it fair to say we shouldn’t say, “Jesus is God so of course we can’t do what He did”? Thanks! (2:35)
- I would agree with what’s being said about Jesus living in his humanity, though he was fully God. He came to earth to live as our human substitute. (3:40)
- Philippians 2 (4:20)
- Luke 4:1 – Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit…defeated the temptations of Satan in the wilderness (not out of his deity, but out of his humanity being empowered by the Holy Spirit) (4:45)
- Luke 4:14 – Then Jesus, in the power of the Spirit…began his ministry. (5:08)
- Luke 4:18 – The Spirit of the Lord is upon me…(5:20)
- It’s like Luke is trying to tell us something about the way in which Jesus lived — he lived in his humanity and all the miracles we see him do are done, not by his deity, but by the power of the Spirit of God.(5:30)
- Now, can we do everything that Jesus did? (6:08)
- He was sinless; we’re not. So there’s that. So he had no sin barrier between him and his Heavenly Father. He could hear God’s voice clearly, accurately, perfectly; we foul things up at times. (6:20)
- But the essence of the quote is correct and I’d suggest that individually, but especially as the body of Christ, we should expect to have much more in continuity with Jesus’ ministry — while he was here on earth — than discontinuity — which unfortunately is what most of us experience. (7:12)
Referring to your 1 John 5:1-12 sermon, how can we encourage someone dealing with a habitual sin or addiction without piling on shame by telling them they just need to have more faith? (8:18)
- Our goal is never to pile shame on folks. (8:40)
- Assuming the individual is a Christian, there’s a difference between struggling against sin in your life and living in the sin (enjoying it). (8:54)
- Addiction is a bit more complicated because now things include biology (substance abuse) and the changes addictions do to our bodies. (9:40)
- But we must never allow ourselves to have a defeatist view. Meaning sin is not more powerful than the Spirit of God who lives in us — neither are addictions. Sin and addictions are real, they are powerful, but they are not all powerful. They can be devastating, but God is in the “making all things new” business. (10:45)
- Remind your friend of these truths. Talk much about Jesus and his beauty and his worth to you. Show them the beauty, goodness, and mercy of Christ. (10:48)
Of all the past sermons available on the app, which one would you recommend I watch with a non-believer friend who is reluctant to come to church but is willing to sit in my living room and watch a sermon with me? (12:09)
- The Easter sermon from this year would be a good place to start. It’s titled “the resurrection” and was preached on April 9, 2023. (12:30)
- If you’re wanting a less evangelistic type of sermon, and maybe something to bridge the faith gap a less direct way, would be the emotions series from 2020. (13:20)
I’ve been reading the book “How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth” by Fee & Stuart, and I have a question regarding the Old Testament laws and what applies today. Their premise is that only the laws specifically renewed and mentioned by the New Testament apply today, and they say that includes all of the Ten Commandments. However, I can’t find a place in the New Testament where we’re commanded to keep the Sabbath. I referred back to your January 29, 2023 sermon on the Sabbath commandment, and the NT passages you quoted were John 4:34 and Matthew 11:29. While those talk about work and rest, they don’t command keeping the Sabbath. Passages such as Colossians 2:16-17, Romans 14:5, and Galatians 4:9-11 seem to say that keeping the Sabbath is optional for Christians. What are your thoughts on this? (15:00)