Christ is Eternal, Changeless, Omnipresent

The point: Become familiar with the 'distinguishing attributes' of God so you can recognize them in Christ — eternal existence, immutability, omnipresence — and resist false christologies.

Both have four wheels and turn under a guiding hand, but a Pinto is self-propelled and carries adults — only distinguishing characteristics tell the two apart. So with Christ and creatures: distinguishing characteristics make Him God.

We've taken the big three and the little fourth, American Motors. And I were to ask you, describe to me the characteristics of these two vehicles. Well, they would have certain characteristics in common. You children would say, well, the baby carriage has four wheels.

5:55 - 6:12 Read in full sermon

John doesn't say 'in the beginning the Word began to be' — he uses an imperfect of continual past existence, 'in the beginning the Word was ever being,' an unbroken eternal subsistence.

If we were to give it a very crass literal translation, this is what the translation would be. In the beginning the Word was ever being. In other words, he does not say, and there was a perfectly legitimate form to say this. He uses that in verse 14 when he says the Word became flesh.

13:44 - 14:05 Read in full sermon

When Jesus said 'before Abraham was, I am,' the Jews instantly picked up stones — they understood Him to be claiming the divine name and were obeying Leviticus 24's penalty for blasphemy.

Jehovah says, you say the I am hath sent you. And that name which no godly Jew would speak out of a superstitious regard for that name, Jesus Christ identifies Himself as that Jehovah of eternal existence, the eternal, the ever-blessed I Am. Why do we worship Jesus Christ as God? Not only because He is explicitly called God And we looked at that group of seven witnesses But because the first witness in the second group He possesses the distinguishing characteristics of God

23:39 - 24:24 Read in full sermon

A 'perfect baby' is just everything a baby ought to be at that stage. Only one being is perfect at every stage — God — because for Him there are no stages.

What you mean is everything he ought to be at that stage in his development, he is. That's a perfect baby. When you talk about a perfect ten-year-old, you're talking about that stage of development. But you see, perfection, perfection involves a state that is static and cannot be changed.

25:37 - 25:56 Read in full sermon

Driving home: God is present in all places, at all times, in the whole of His being.

Solomon recognizes 'heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee' — even at the height of his temple-building joy he confesses God's omnipresence.

Solomon recognized this in that great dedicatory prayer in 1 Kings 8, 27. As he addresses God in that passage of Scripture, 1 Kings 8 and verse 27, he does so in this language. 1 Kings 8 and verse 27. But will God in very deed dwell on the earth?

33:54 - 34:19 Read in full sermon

Driving home: He is not present in symbol; He is the indwelling Lord of His people.

Christ as the glorified theanthropic person is somewhere in the universe — but as to His divine nature He is omnipresent, meeting every gathering of His people in His name.

I don't mean to be irreverent. I'm trying to impress you with this great reality. Jesus Christ as the God-Man, the two natures in the one person forever, is somewhere in the universe of God. Bless God, He's going to come from that place with the shout, the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God, and we shall see Him and be made like Him.

41:05 - 41:26 Read in full sermon

An author observed that Matthew opens with 'the book of the generations of Jesus Christ' (a biography) and ends with 'lo, I am with you always' (a presence). The biography would mock us if not for the abiding presence.

makes a very astute observation, and it's this. It said, in the Gospel record, we have at the beginning of Matthew this statement, the book of the generations of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And then we have a record of all that Jesus Christ did. We have biography, a record of his deeds and his words, an insight into his personality, if I may use the term in its highest sense, how he related to those who loved him and trusted him, and how he spoke to his enemies and his friends.

45:18 - 45:56 Read in full sermon

The point: Read biographies of saints to be encouraged — but never with nostalgia, because the same Christ who walked with Whitefield is present today.

Whitefield called counts and countesses to face their sins. Reading the biography you say, 'oh that we had such a man today' — and then realize the same Christ is with us today.

He was fearless to face anyone and call upon them to know that they were accountable to God. Well, you read a biography such as Dolly Moore's biography of Whitefield, and you say, oh God, what a disappointment. Whitefield's dead.

47:03 - 47:16 Read in full sermon

The point: When you doubt Christ's continuing willingness, remember Hebrews 13:8 — He has not changed, will not change, and never tires of His sheep.

Peter said 'all the rest may deny you, not me' and Christ said 'before the rooster crows...' Yet when Peter wept, Christ did not wipe His hands of him — 'I have prayed for thee.' Same Christ, same yesterday, today, and forever.

He's the Christ who bore with a wayward sheep like Peter. Lord, the whole bunch deny you, not me. And the Lord says, yeah, Peter, that sounds great. Before the little rooster crows a few times, three times you're going to deny me.

54:29 - 54:44 Read in full sermon