Bramhall, John W: What Think Ye Of Christ 04 ~ His Pre-Existance

Beloved radio, friends, we greet you in the precious name of the Lord Jesus and give you a hearty welcome to the continued study of God's precious word. Most of all, we revel in the fact we are considering the greatest person who is revealed in that precious book, the Bible, none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, may I repeat with no apology for the repetition of this truth, The Lord Jesus Christ in his blessed person is the supreme subject of the Bible, which, like a mirror, reflects the glory of the Lord within it. And he is the greatest person in God's universe. Again we would be reminding you, my listener, that you should find interest to seek to understand, above all other persons in the universe, This one who is none other than the Christ, the Son of God. The question we bring before you came from his own blessed lips. We repeat it again from Matthew chapter twenty-two. Verse forty-two. And it is the concern of our own heart for your blessing. What think ye of Christ? That pertinent, penetrating, personal question concerning the preeminent person in the universe. What think ye of Christ? May I repeat? The blessing of your life, and the blessing for all eternity for you and for me, depends upon knowing him. But it is only through the Word of God we can and must know him. We repeat with emphasis. We take the Word of God to seek to present to your heart and even to our own as we speak, the person of the Son of God. We have already begun the first consideration of a revelation concerning him, that we ought to understand, and that is, his pre-existence. We have noted it directly stated. We have noted it definitely implied by the very acts and the works of creation that are attributed to him. We've also mentioned in our closing moments of the preceding message some of the titles that are given to him in the Word of God. And please may I state, the few titles that we mention are but very few belonging to his person you may find in the Word of God from the beginning to the end. But he's called the Son of God. He is called the only begotten Son. You remember that well in more than one scripture in the Gospel of John. He's called the first and the last, the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. Lord of all, Lord of glory. And his name, again we quote from Isaiah chapter nine, verse six. Remember those names that the prophet gave to him? His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace. And from chapter seven and verse fourteen, Emmanuel. And is he not called our great God? May I also point out to you that it certainly implies his pre-existence when we read in John one and verse one these words, In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. Please may I point out to you definitely, expressly, he is called in the Scriptures God. Romans chapter nine and verse five tells us, He is God overall blessed forever. We think of the words of Titus chapter two and verse thirteen, where the believer is encouraged to be looking for that blessed hope and for the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. Please let me state the one who's coming again, the one who came in the past, our great God. and Savior Jesus Christ. Beloved, please let me state again, we would impress upon the heart, the mind, the conscience, and the soul the greatness of this person. Jesus Christ may be all you know of him by name, but have you ever started to think that your thoughts about him should certainly be directed to where the Word of God reveals very clearly who He is as well as who He was. Then may we also go further to state, there are New Testament names that are associating Him with God the Father, with God the Son. Now, beloved, you didn't know your Bible. Let me just make a statement. and so that we can clearly understand what we're about to state and say from the New Testament. You that know your Bible may remember that there is the emphasis in the Old Testament of the unity or the oneness of the Godhead. You may think of the Decalogue of Moses and that which is often, in fact, constantly, in fact, spoken in a Jewish synagogue. Here, O Israel, the Lord thy God is one God. And the oneness of the Godhead is the main emphasis in the Old Testament. But there are intimations of the plurality in the Godhead, which you can find. But in the New Testament, I'm sure that every student of the New Testament, every reader of the New Testament has noticed the name of Christ is also associated with the two persons of the Godhead called the Father and called the Holy Spirit. We quote and bring before your attention one scripture in Matthew chapter twenty-eight and verse nineteen. It was on that occasion before the Lord went back to heaven. Following his death, his burial, his resurrection, and immediately before the ascension back to heaven, he commissioned his disciples. commanding them to go into all the world and preach the gospel, teaching all nations and make disciples of them, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Please, there's the triune persons of the Godhead, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and associated in eternal quality, in eternal reality, in co-equal with them, The sun is seen as his name is associated too. You find it also, as you go on reading the Blessed Truth of Bees in the Gospel and in the Epistles, that Paul, by the Spirit, first of all, let me go to John chapter fourteen. That may be one that is well known. You know the word so precious to the heart of a believer, and such blessed hope it brings to the believer when Jesus said, On the occasion when the disciples were saddened by the statement that he had told him he was going away, let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God? Believe also in me. In my father's house are many mansions. Now please know. Will you know very carefully? He places himself as he speaks in equality with his father. You believe in God? Believe also in me. My beloved, am I speaking to anyone that may confess readily there is a God, but may I raise the question, have you also believed in Christ? Believe also in me. And how necessary it is to believe in him, that we may have entrance into the Father's house. which he promises to all those that come to the Father by him. Remember the words of chapter fourteen in verse six here. No man cometh unto the Father, says the Lord Jesus, but by me. And my beloved, what blessed words they are. But oh, how it expressly redeems to us. He associates himself in his own name and in his own person with the Father. And he does likewise, in many cases, in the Scriptures, he does it in relation to the Holy Spirit too. But let me read these words. I'd like to read these words that we find Paul writing in I Corinthians chapter one and verse three. Grace be unto you in peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. What words are these? Again, Paul, by the Spirit, associates the Son of God with the Father, so that we can recognize inequality. He is associated in complete deity with God the Father, as well as with God the Spirit in other scriptures too. Well, let me read another scripture, if you please. And we go to the last verse of Second Corinthians, chapter thirteen. That closing benediction, when Paul writes at the close of the letter, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Now, hey, then, here you have the statement, the Godhead, Triune Godhead. First, the Lord Jesus. Second, God, undoubtedly the Father. And third, the Holy Ghost or the Holy Spirit. One may well realize how could he be associated in name with these divine persons of the Father and of the Holy Spirit unless he himself was also God. And please may I remind you again what we are emphasizing, his pre-existence. I'm blessed to realize that. His pre-existence. Let me quote the words of Jesus from John chapter seventeen in verse three. I want you to again see how he equally associates himself with his Father. As he prays to the Father saying, This is life eternal, that they may know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. Beloved, look again. He takes the co-equal place with the Father. And I think of his words in chapter ten of the Gospel of John, verse twenty-eight through thirty, when he says, My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal life. They shall never perish. Neither shall any pluck them out of my hand. And my Father who gave them me is greater than all. Neither shall any pluck them out of my father's hand. I and my father are one, my beloved. Don't think of Jesus as being a mere man. He is very God, and intimately and eternally, equal with his father, and associated with him, as well as the Holy Spirit. And thank God for such precious truth. And you find the truth of it, even as you go down through the New Testament, the name of the Lord Jesus is constantly associated with the other persons of the Godhead in his deity. Father, we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus to sanctify the blessed proof that the Son of God came from heaven to be our Savior, and that he was eternally the dear Son of God. co-equal and coexistence with the Father and the Holy Spirit throughout all eternity past. We ask it in the blessing of thy word to every heart in Jesus' name.