IT IS HE
John 9:35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?36 He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? 37 And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. 38 And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.
It has been reported that our Lord called himself the “Son of man” some 81 times in the gospels. But he only referred to himself as the “Son of God” some four times. And here in our text is one of those times.
He goes to look for this previously blinded soul, as a shepherd seeking out a lost sheep, entangled within the brambles of religion. How precious He is to take some out of religion and then take religion out of them. Now they can walk more in the motivation of spiritual devotion and not just in legalistic duty!
His question to this enlivened soul is set forth to extend, and is one that prompts the usage of faith. This is quite unlike the Jews questions of him. They only wanted to know who did it, what and how it was done. (See verses 9, 12 & 26) And this was in order to farther condemn our Lord. But the Lord basically asks, ‘Now that you have your sight, what do you see?’ John 6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
The sheep answers well that he would continue in his new pursuit, in coming on to know the Lord if he could now be shown just who the Son of God was. Then the precious Lord Jesus, in his usual meekness and lowliness, aids the soul in the spiritual usage of his newly provided sight. For he states, ‘You have already SEEN him.’ In other words, ‘Trust your new vision. Affix your soul upon that which your spiritual eyes have seen.’ For his newly granted faith evidences things not seen. (Heb. 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.)
Then the Lord does that rare thing for this one individual sinner. He frankly sets forth that he is the very Son of God! And in the last verse of our text the believer does exactly what he said he would, if he only knew who the Son of God was! He worships him! And that is the activity exclusive of the truly redeemed!
For when the Lamb takes the book, revealing that he is the key to both the Scriptures and the book of God’s Providential dealings, without fail, all the redeemed fall down and worship him! Revelation 5:8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. 9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
Worship is greatly enhanced when a soul is taught by the Holy Spirit that the Lord Jesus is the entire theme of, and therefore the key to the holy Writ! John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. Luke 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
And worship is also heightened when one has it revealed to him of Christ’s sovereign control over all providence! Ephesians 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: 11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
But now let us consider some verses that reveal to us how our Lord upon occasion, alluded to his former state of glory that he had prior to his Incarnation. John 8:14 Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go. This is a very unique glance into the way our Lord viewed himself. The Jews were saying that he, being just one person, was not a true witness. For the law stated that it was only at the mouth of two or three witnesses a matter could be settled. And they were correct in the statement of the law.
But what is unique about the Lord’s answer is that it reveals how he viewed himself! He says that with the understanding he had of his previous state of glory with the Father, and his sure return there, he was not just one single voice, but had the other Persons of the Trinity to back him up! And in that, he represented more than just one witness!
John 13:3 Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; Here again we find the Lord’s stedfast confidence in his return to the Father, in that he knew that is from whence he came!
John 16:28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. This is an amazing verse. Each one of the four phrases has a glorious presentation of the different stages of our Lord’s supernatural experiences! In phrase one we see His Eternality! In phrase two, His Incarnation. Phrase three reveals His Ascension, and phrase four reveals him as Man Head going back into the Godhood! Therefore the entirety of his experience as Son of God, and Son of man were known to him as expressed in this one verse.
John 17:5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. 24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. And in these two verses of his prayer to the Father at the time of his crucifixion, he reveals his firm awareness of enjoying his Father’s past glory and love! And upon that sure awareness he asks that all his sheep take part of the same. Truly he is the One that was, and is, and is to come! Revelation 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
And a student of the scriptures can readily tell of the eternality of the Son of God with even a casual reading of Proverbs chapter eight. For there Wisdom speaks as a person. And we know from 1 Corinthians 1:30 that Christ is made unto us wisdom! And as he is Wisdom, he is also the Word that was God and that was with God! The same was in the beginning with God, (John 1:1-2).
Here is but a portion of that Proverbs eight passage: Proverbs 8:22 The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. 23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. 29 When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: 30 Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him;
But the Incarnation is one of the great mysteries of the world! 1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. No one can fully fathom these depths. And one can only know this by faith when he is shown the glory! Luke 10:22 All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him. John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
“Jehovah Witnesses” love to harp on the humanity of Jesus of Nazareth, omitting these verses on his eternal glory, in order to deceive unstable souls, regarding this great mystery of the Son of man being the very Son of God! For to sustain their false doctrine, they must prove, by the misuse of the scriptures, that Jesus is not “the” son of God, but only “a” son of God, like Adam.
So just how do we attempt to enter into this mystery? Here is a writing from a Jesuit theologian that seems to have had some helpful insight into this, whatever his other theological understandings were.
Iron and Fire:
Leonardus Lessius (1554-1623)
“Deity is united with Humanity as fire is with iron. It conditions it throughout but remains distinct.
Fire gives iron light, heat, purity so you can’t distinguish one from the other. Yet they are two distinct natures. Iron is not fire and fire is not iron. But fire makes the iron incapable of rust or blackness.
The operation of each is attributed to the other. Together iron can heat & burn, and fire can cut & pierce.
Imperfections of iron do not affect the fire. Things belonging to Divinity are ascribed to Humanity!” (“Our Elder Brother”; pages 413, 414.)
Let us take the remainder of our space to list some of the various passages that reveal both the deity and the humanity of the Eternal Son of God, Jesus Christ.
His Deity: Romans 11:35 Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? His humanity: Luke 8:3 And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance. As God, he knew not the experience of “need!” No one is relied upon to give to him. But as the Son of man, the birds and foxes had better accommodations than he. And he relied on God’s provisions through these women for his needs to be supplied!
His Deity: Psa. 104:2 Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain: His Humanity: Luke 2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. As God, his “clothing” was his glory! But as man, in his infancy he was covered with strips of cloth, known as ‘swaddling’ clothes.
His Deity: In Daniel 7:9, 13, 22 he is spoken of as the “Ancient of days.” And in Revelation 21:6 & 22:13 he is referred to as “Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.” His Humanity: Luke 22:37 For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end. Even though in his essence he is eternal, in his humanity, while doing the work the Father gave him to do (John 17:4), he warns his disciples that the completion of that work would bring his earthly journey to an end! Luke 17:22 And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it.
His Deity: Psalm 50:12 If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. His Humanity: Matthew 4:2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. As God, he depends on nothing outside of himself for his glorious continuance. For he dwells not in succession, which requires fuel for continuance, but in eternity. Even when he was in the burning bush, he used not the bush to fuel the fire. For He is the fire! Hebrews 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire. But as the Son of man, even Satan used the knowledge of his hunger against him.
His Deity: Isaiah 57:15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. His Humanity: Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. The brilliant blaze of his holiness and glory prevents even the celestial beings, made to stand in his presence, to shield their faces! (Isa. 6:2). And in that essence, no one could survive such holy light! 1 Timothy 6:16 Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen. But in his humanity he proclaims himself to be meek and lowly for his approachability, even being compared to a dead lamb and a chicken! (Revelation 5:6 & Luke 13:34).
His Deity: Daniel 7:10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. His Humanity: Matthew 20:28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. As God, he was ministered to by a thousand thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand celestial beings. But as the Son of man he would not allow himself to be ministered unto, but set himself forth as the minister of all! And he is one and the same Person as Son of man and Son of God! Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
Pastor Gene Breed, January 23, 2014