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Matthew 16:13-16 NKJV  “When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”

This perhaps is the most important question of all time:  “Who do you say Jesus is?”
So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.””
The revelation of Jesus identity is those most important revelation you and I will ever have.    
What if???????  If He’s just a prophet…If He’s just a man…If He’s A son of God…
  1. Who we believe, or know Him to be will determine what we do with Him 
  2. What we believe Him to be will determine how we approach Him
Jesus refers to himself as the Son of Man, Peter calls Him Son of God.
Jesus, The Son of Man
What’s With the Son of Man?
81 written accounts of Jesus calling himself the son of man.
  • Jesus used the title to emphasize his humanity.
  • He used it to refer to his sufferings on behalf of humanity.
  • He used it to refer to his exaltation and rule over humanity.
  • He used it to refer to his designation as the Messiah.
  • The Jews knew the term or title “Son of Man”.
  • OT reference, God himself referred to men, humans, as “Son of Man”
This term would have invoked a varied response from the hearers, especially the teachers and scribes.  Also, referring to himself in the third person.. using this specific ancient title.  
Daniels’ vision:  I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of Heaven..
Is Jesus Human? (slide)  
  • Jesus was born of a human mother.
  • Jesus was born through actual child birth.
  • Jesus was a baby, grew up into a boy, then a man.
  • Jesus experienced the full human experience (pain, discomfort, temptation, etc.)
     
    • He slept, was hungry, angry, sad, got tired, was hurt…
  • Suffered, bled, died and was placed in a tomb.
  • Jesus had a physical body before and after the His resurrection.
John 1:14 “And the Word become flesh…” - Jesus was 100% Man…
Jesus, Man or God
Galatians 4:4
Romans 1:3
Colossians 2:9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily...
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 

Jesus Divinity
The doctrine of Christ’s divinity seems to me not something stuck on which you can unstick but something that peeps out at every point so that you’d have to unravel the whole web to get rid of it.  ~ C.S. Lewis
That Jesus is Himself God is the heart of the gospel, because apart from His deity He could not save a single soul. No heresy so corrupts the gospel and robs it of its power as the teaching that Jesus is not God. Apart from His deity, there is no gospel and no salvation.  ~ John MacArthur
The Bible Only Claims Jesus Is God (slide) 

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 “He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”

1 John 5:20 “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.”

Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

Colossians 1:15-16 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.  He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,16  for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth.  He made the things we can see  and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.

 Jesus Called Himself the Son of Man, But plainly claimed Divinity (slide)

John 8:58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

John 6:38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

John 17:5 And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.


John 12:45 And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.


Jesus Must Be God (slide)

He never claimed to be a prophet or just a person or even A son of God.  
He is either who He said He is or He was a liar or lunatic.
If He is not God, the Bible can’t be trusted.
If He is not God, he would be unable to save us. 
To pay the penalty for sin: Only God could pay the infinite penalty for sin against an infinite God. 
To be a suitable mediator: God needs a mediator acceptable to him, and only God can represent God. 
To reveal God: Jesus is the one who makes God known. 
To not diminish God's glory: Salvation is entirely God's work, and if Jesus were only human, some of the glory would belong to someone other than God. 
Jesus had to be truly God so that he could satisfy God's wrath and secure for us true righteousness and life.
Jesus is the Only Begotten Son, we have right to become sons....but He is not our Big Brother... He’s God!

Jesus Divine Attributes  
He is all powerful (Mt. 28:18; John 1:3; Eph. 1:20-23; Heb.1:3; 2:8).
He is all-knowing (John 2:24-25; 5:25; 16:30; Col. 2:3; Rev. 2:23)
He is everywhere present since the resurrection by the Spirit (Mt. 18:20; 28:20
He is eternal (John 1:1; 17:5; 8:58; Mic. 5:2)
He is unchanging (Heb. 1:10-12; 13:8)
He is self-existent (John 1:4; 5:21, 26; Heb. 7:16)
He is holy (Acts 3:14; Mark 1:24
He is the fullness of the Godhead (Col 1:19; 2:9)
Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

Jesus Divine Functions 
Creation (John 1:3)
Sustaining Creation (Col. 1:15-17; Heb. 1:3)
Forgiving Sins (Mk. 2:5-12; Luke 7:48)
Eternal Judgment (John 5:22; Mt. 25:31-46; Acts 17:30-31; II Tim. 4:1)
Giver of Life (John 10:28; 17:2)
He is an equal person in the Godhead (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) (II Cor. 13:14; John 10:30-33; II Th. 2:16-17; Heb. 1:3)
Peter “my Lord and my God”
We need Revelation of Character and Nature of Christ…

Hebrews 4:15 NKJV  “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

Depend on it, my hearer, you never will go to heaven unless you are prepared to worship Jesus Christ as God.  ~ Charles H. Spurgeon