(1 Timothy 3:16) Today we examine one of the great summary verses of the Bible. A verse that is about the great theme of God's Word - the Lord Jesus Christ. As we walk through all of Scripture we find Jesus on every page. (0944250218) ----more---- A One-Verse Summary About Jesus There are certain verses of Scripture that are great summary verses. I mean by that, they encapsulate so much doctrine in a concentrated way in just a few words. 1 Timothy 3:16 is one of those verses. Would you hear it with your heart today? 1 Timothy 3:16 says, "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." The Person and Work of Jesus Christ What is 1 Timothy 3:16 about? It's all about the person and work of Jesus Christ. Literally, it summarizes in one verse the whole message of Christ in the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation. From creation to His glorification. It's God was manifest in the flesh. So the creator God of the universe God came to earth. Then He was justified in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit was evident through His life and ministry, His words and His works. He was seen of angels at different points all through His life and ministry. He was then preached unto the Gentiles. He's been believed on in the world, and now where is he? He's received up into glory, where he's sitting on the right hand of the Heavenly Father, praying for us, preparing heaven for us, and yes, coming again. I want to say to you today that you find Jesus on every page of the Bible. Someone has said that you can take your text from anywhere. And you can find some path that leads from that place to the person of Jesus Christ. I do believe that. Jesus in the Old Testament Our study of Christ does not begin in the New Testament because He did not begin at Bethlehem. Earlier in this study, we began in Genesis 3, verse 15, with the first promise of Messiah. But I want to tell you, He was there in Genesis 1, 1, in the beginning God. Because He is the eternal Son of God. As you walk through the Old Testament, Jesus. I believe that He appeared many times. He appeared to Hagar, to Abraham, to Jacob, and Moses. Joshua saw him as the captain of the host. Manoah saw him, Isaiah saw him, lifted up, Zechariah did, and Gideon. He was manifested to many different people at many different times all through the Old Testament. As you read and study the Old Testament scriptures, there are over 300 prophecies concerning Christ. Think of that, over 300 of them. Many of the psalms are messianic psalms. There are lots of pictures of Christ in the Old Testament. Some people, like Joseph, is a beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. But many objects point to Him. Noah's Ark is a picture of Christ, the brazen serpent, the tabernacle, the rock flowing with that living water, the Passover land, the cities of refuge, on and on throughout the Old Testament, Jesus. Jesus in the New Testament Then when you come to the New Testament, He's revealed as he is, as he's taking on human flesh, his incarnation. God became a man without ceasing to be God. That's powerful. He did not lay aside his deity, he just robed it, clothed it in humanity. Someone says, was he a man or was he God? Yes. And He wasn't 50-50. He was 100 percent man and 100 percent God and He was the perfection of both. He's the only sinless man who ever lived, and yet He is the perfect son of God. We see his humanity all through the gospel records. He hungered. He thirsted. He slept. He grew. He suffered. He had a body, a soul, and a spirit. He even referred to himself as the son of man. That was His favorite title for himself. Think of that. He had every right to call himself everyday Son of God, but He loved to refer to himself as Son of man. Why? Because He was connecting with us. Aren't you glad that we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities but was in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin? Not only do we see His humanity, we see His deity. He is the Son of God, the Eternal Son of God. He claimed to be God all through his life He claimed to be the same things as Jehovah of the Old Testament claimed to be. He claimed to be the shepherd, the judge, the light, the first and the last, the I am. He claimed to have power to forgive sins. He raised dead people. He quoted Old Testament messianic passages and applied them to Himself. He placed His Word on the same level as God's Word. He received worship. He told men to pray in His name. Why would He do such things? Because He's not just the Son of Mary, He's the Son of God. All man - all God. We see Him in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, and then His death, His burial, and His resurrection from the dead. What makes the Christian faith distinct? We have a living Savior. For the record, I know He's alive because I've ...
