Day: June 25, 2007

BF&M – God: The Son

/ Tim A. / Leave a comment

One of the very basic doctrines of Baptists is the belief and Biblical teaching of the deity of Jesus Christ.  The Bible is quite clear on this teaching, and it is clear from much of Jesus’s own words.

Here is our Statement of Faith concerning Jesus Christ:

B. God the Son

Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever present Lord.

Genesis 18:1ff.; Psalms 2:7ff.; 110:1ff.; Isaiah 7:14; 53; Matthew 1:18-23; 3:17; 8:29; 11:27; 14:33; 16:16,27; 17:5; 27; 28:1-6,19; Mark 1:1; 3:11; Luke 1:35; 4:41; 22:70; 24:46; John 1:1-18,29; 10:30,38; 11:25-27; 12:44-50; 14:7-11; 16:15-16,28; 17:1-5, 21-22; 20:1-20,28; Acts 1:9; 2:22-24; 7:55-56; 9:4-5,20; Romans 1:3-4; 3:23-26; 5:6-21; 8:1-3,34; 10:4; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2:2; 8:6; 15:1-8,24-28; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21; 8:9; Galatians 4:4-5; Ephesians 1:20; 3:11; 4:7-10; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:13-22; 2:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; 3:16; Titus 2:13-14; Hebrews 1:1-3; 4:14-15; 7:14-28; 9:12-15,24-28; 12:2; 13:8; 1 Peter 2:21-25; 3:22; 1 John 1:7-9; 3:2; 4:14-15; 5:9; 2 John 7-9; Revelation 1:13-16; 5:9-14; 12:10-11; 13:8; 19:16.

Jesus was with the Father in the creation of all that is.  It is even said of Jesus, “All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made” John 1:3 (KJV).  Then, again in Colossians the apostle Paul wrote by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, “For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him and for Him: and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.”  Colossians 1:16-17 (KJV).

When you follow the ministry of Jesus through the Gospels you see much more than a man.  You see God who became flesh; “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 (NKJV).  We see Him changing water to wine (John 2); we find Him walking on the water (John 6:15-21);  we see Him feeding five thousand people with only “five barley loaves  and two small fish” (John 6:1-14);  we also, see Him stilling a storm on the sea of Galilee (Matthew 8:23-27).  That is only a small number of the mighty things which Jesus did as the Son of God, God become flesh as He walked among men.  Only God can do these mighty things.

Jesus, also claimed deity for Himself. “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.  Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbat, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.”  John 5:17-18 (NKJV).  There are many who will admit that Jesus is the Son of God, but will not confess that He is indeed God incarnate.  If indeed He is the Son of God, that in itself declares He is God.

It is in Jesus Christ alone by which we are saved.

I am Tim A. Blankenship

Noah, “Rest”

/ Tim A. / 4 Comments

Genesis 5:1-32 Conclusion.

“And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died. And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.” Genesis 5:31-32 (KJV).

Now we have come to the final link in this genealogy. That is Noah. Noah’s name means “Rest”. There is an intended message to be given to the then world, which was about to perish; yes!!! Though it were over five hundred years from the time of Noah’s birth to the time of the flood; I say they were about to perish.

Allow me to give you the ages of these men once again. Adam is now dead, having died when Lamech was 56 years of age. At the birth of Noah Seth would also have been dead for 14 years having died at the age of 912. Enos is 821 years of age; Cainan is 731; Mahalaleel 661; Jared 596; Enoch was translated at the age of 365, or 69 years before Noah was born; Methuselah 369; Lamech being 182 years old when his son Noah is born. Remember, this is the godly line of Seth through which God offered the then sinful people much grace. For holy God to be so full of mercy and endure such wickedness on the earth show to us His much patience.

There are some who proudly call themselves “Bible Scholars” who deny the historicity of these first eleven chapters of Genesis, and even all of the book of Genesis. We must realize that these men named, having sons, and naming them, along with their ages at the birth of the son, and their ages at the time of death; surely confirm the reality and history of these people. Was there a real Adam and Eve? The Bible confirms their reality; first in Genesis 2 and 3, then by Luke in the genealogy of Jesus and His birth (Luke 3:38). Paul mentions Adam as being the “First man” (Romans 5:12-21; 1 Corinthians 15:45, 47). If Adam was only an allegory, analogy, myth, then Jesus and Paul; as well as other reputable historians of that day would have debunked that from the beginning.

Jesus Himself quoted the scripture which God gave to Adam and Eve concerning marriage (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5-6). Jesus also gave reference to Noah (Matthew 24:37); of whom if he had not been a actual historical being Jesus would have exposed it for the falsehood that it was. However, Adam was an actual man, created by God in God’s image. Noah, too, was a historical being, and we will address him further in a later writing. Jesus would not have supported or encouraged the teaching of myth.

If there was a Noah, then there was also a Lamech, whose father was Methuselah; whose father was Enoch, and was translated; whose father was Jared; whose father was Mahalaleel; whose father was Cainan; whose father was Enos; whose father was Seth; whose father was Adam, whose Maker and Father is God.

Lamech died at the age of 777. This was only about 5 years before the great flood. Not one man named in this holy lineage of Seth lived to see the flood. All died – look at the scriptures – the birth of each one ends with, “and he died”. So do we all unto this day. All died with the exception of Enoch who was “translated”, and Noah, who did not die in the flood, but was lifted above it (7:17); but even Noah died.

Noah means “Rest”. At the age of five hundred Noah is called by God to build and ark. Somewhere, in and around his fifth century of life God gives him three sons.

God uses Noah to deliver hmankind from destruction. It is quite possible that during the hundred years Noah was building the ark that his father, Lamech, Methuselah, and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth helped in its building. Lemech and Methuselah were the only remaining two named in this lineage.

Noah was also a preacher (1 Peter 3:18-20), warning his neighbors, relatives and family of the impending judgment from God coming on the whole earth. Some today tell us that the disease of AIDS could not be, and is not, judgment from God, because of all the innocent children who are afflicted by it, and the supposed “innocent” who are afflicted by it through blood supplies and other means. What about the flood? Was it or was it not judgment from God? Maybe it was just due to a previous affliction of “Global warming”, or “Global cooling”. Not at all. Were there young and “innocent” children who died in the flood? You and I both know that there were. All diseases and sickness are a direct result of Adam’s and Eve’s sin of rebellion in the garden of Eden. Let us never forget that. There is judgment for our sins and those of our children.

There are none who are sinless in God’s eyes (Romans 3:10, 23). There is only one sinless person who ever lived; and we couldn’t stand Him, and we nailed Him to a tree, and there He died. We deserve the wrath of God. In and by His mercy and grace He has chosen to save some. In that we can find rest for our souls.

God has provided an ark of salvation. That ark is none other than Jesus Christ and His shed blood; shed to make atonement for our souls (Hebrews 4:9).

Here is the meaning of their names all in one line – “Appointed”, “Mortal”, “Sorrow”, “Blessed God”, “Descended”, “Experienced”, “Judgment – Death which would bring”, “Strength”, “Rest”. Is the Gospel message in those words?