John 1:14 - And the Word (undiminished deity) became flesh (true humanity), and dwelt among us (the Incarnation), and we (James, Peter, and John) beheld His glory (the visual manifestation of the Uniform of Glory), glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth (Bible Doctrine).
In our previous lessons we reviewed the doctrines that relate to TLJC in his first advent when he was incarnated via the virgin birth.
Christmas is about how God so loved the world that he gave his uniquely born son. It is about how God became human in order to solve the problem of man's of separation from God.
Christmas is about what God did to resolve man's problem and how he did it while maintaining his perfect integrity that is composed of his perfect righteousness, his perfect justice and his perfect love.
Christmas is about the person of TLJC. It is about knowing him personally as he is revealed in the word of God.
We started with a discussion of the doctrine of the virgin birth that was necessary for there to be no transmission of the OSN and then took up the doctrine of the hypostatic union that explains the mechanics of how undiminished deity and true humanity reside in the person of TLJC and then discussed the doctrine of the kenosis that defines the protocol for the deity and humanity of TLJC in hypostatic union.
In the context of these doctrines, we are now looking at the names and titles for Jesus Christ so we can see how the names and titles reveal the doctrines.
The Old and New Testaments both provide us with names and titles for TLJC and it is from these we are given a clearer awareness of Jesus' person, His deity, His humanity, the hypostatic union and His mission as the Messiah of Israel, and the Savior of mankind.
Last time we concluded with a discussion of TLJC as "the unique first born" and we saw how he is the recipient of all of the blessings associated with that position.
The next title for Jesus that we will look at is "The Son of Man"
Jesus is refers to himself as "The Son of Man" at least 82 times in the Gospels.
The title "Son of Man" emphasizes the humanity of TLJC.
He uses the term to refer to himself in Matt 12:8; Matt 17:22; Matt 19:28;
The term also identifies Jesus as the subject of the OT prophesies Dan 7:13;
Jesus is the human being Daniel saw in his vision, and Jesus will fulfill Daniel's prophecy when he returns to initiate his millennial reign. Luke 17:24; Matt 24:27;
The title "Son of Man" identifies Jesus with humanity in his work on our behalf. He used the phrase when he spoke of his suffering and death. Matt 17:12;b Matt 12:40;
Jesus the Son of Man came from heaven John 3:13; but he had to be lifted up on the cross in crucifixion in order to receive the imputation and judgment for the sins of all mankind so that anyone. anywhere, anytime who believes in him may have eternal life. John 3:14-15;
In addition to his title "Son of Man" he has the title "Son of God" that refers to his undiminished deity. This title is used 40 times in the NT.
During Satan's attempts to entice Jesus to sin, in Matt 4:3,6; satan said, "If You are the Son of God".
By referring to Jesus in this manner, Satan acknowledged Jesus' deity, because the word translated the "if" that is used by Satan is in the first class condition and assumed to be true so in the context can be translated as "since"
Satan was making the case that since Jesus is the Son of God, He should call upon His attributes of deity to change stones into bread thereby violating the kenosis protocol of the hypostatic union.
Jesus' response was, " The Man shall not live by bread alone" indicating that He chose to trust the Father to meet His physical needs.
When TLJC cast out demons, they clearly knew Jesus' identity as the Son of God and referred to Him as such Matt. 8:29; Mark 3:11; Luke 4:41;
Christ did not often refer to Himself as the" Son of God" even though He accepted it when others used it to refer to him.
When he acknowledged that He was the Son of God in Luke 22:67-71; it led to the charge of blasphemy.
He was condemned for blasphemy because of His statement that He was the Son of God. John adds to this in John 5:18 and John 10:33;
The Gospel of John that establishes his Deity frequently uses the title "Son of God" and It's abbreviations. John 5:19-23; John 5:26;
In Matt 28:18-20; we see that not only is all authority given to the Son, but He is also named in the Trinity with equality with God the Father and the Holy Spirit.
Paul begins the Book of Romans by pointing out that God the Father confirmed Christ's claim to deity when he states in Rom 1:4; that Jesus "was "declared to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead"....
The resurrection of Jesus serves as the Father's documentation of Jesus' identity as "God the Son".
The title "Son of David" that is found in Matt 1:1;refers to his royalty in Israel because He is directly related to David through the virgin Mary who is the direct descendant of Nathan, the youngest son of David and Bathsheba.
As we have seen, he is also legally descended from Joseph, who was not His real father, but who was descended from Solomon, the eldest son of David and Bathsheba.
David and Bathsheba are the royal line of Israel. They had four sons, and all of the descendants from the four sons are in the royal family of David.
That means that the Lord Jesus Christ is a member of the royal family in Israel as the son of David, and He will rule over Israel and fulfill God's unconditional covenants to them in the future.
The promise of the Davidic covenant is found in Psa 89:33-37;
In the Gospels, when the phrases "Gospel of the Kingdom" or "The kingdom of God" are in view, the topic generally relates to Jesus Christ as the royalty of Israel, who is the son of David who will rule Israel forever as promised by God as one of the unconditional promises given to Israel.
Acts 13:22-23; " Shows that the promise is fulfilled by Jesus.
Another title for Jesus is the "Bright and Morning Star"
In Rev 22:16 we read, "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star."
This is the title he receives in his hypostatic union that accrues from his victory in the angelic conflict where he deposes satan who was referred to as the "star of the morning before his fall. Isa 14:12;
Church age believers who advance to spiritual maturity as described in 2Pet 1:19; receive the order of the morning star award that is the highest honor a believer can receive at their evaluation. Rev 2:28;
Another group of Titles for Jesus is "The Holy One" Psa 16:10; Isa 43:15;
He is referred to as "The Holy one of Israel" Isa 41:14; Isa 54:5 Psa 89:19 and as "The Holy one of God" Luke 4:34; Mark 1:24; John 6:69; .
The Hebrew word that is translated "Holy" is "qadosh". The equivalent Greek word is "hagios".
Both words refer to being designated or set apart by God for special service.
As God, TLJC defines what it means to be holy and he then clearly fulfils that role as the unique impeccable God-Man.
We see in Mark 1:24; and Luke 4:34; where the same event that happened early in his public ministry was recorded. The demon's recognized him even though very few men did at the time.
Another Title of Jesus is "Savior" Luke 2:11; Acts 5:31;"God of my Salvation" or Deliverer. Psa 18:2; Rom 11:26;
In the OT the primary focus of salvation or deliverance was from danger in the believer's immediate circumstances in time.
In the NT the focus changes from temporal deliverance to eternal salvation.
The Lord is still recognized as being able to deliver us from dangerous circumstances, but the focus changes to the work of Jesus, who has provided deliverance from the slave market of sin, and who is presently saving believers from the power of the OSN through the unique spiritual life of the church age, and who will ultimately save all who believe in him from the sin nature infused body of death in the appropriate resurrection. 1Cor 15:23-26;