Grace Bible Church
Basic Training in Doctrine
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
This means that Christ must subordinate His deity to the will of the Father, ands the only way He can do that is to not use His attributes of deity independently – doctrine of Kenosis.
Kenosis: Jesus Christ refused to operate independently of the Father’s plan in His deity. He did not use the characteristics of His deity independently of the Father’s plan.
When Jesus says, “I am not able,” obviously He is referring to his humanity because His deity has unlimited ability – omnipotence.
How does He operate, then, in the incarnation? “As I hear, I obey” – He obeyed perfectly the will of the Father during the incarnation.
So he is judging right now, but He is not judging because of what He feels about it, He is judging because the Father has said that those who reject the Son must come under judgment.
“Him who sent me” – apostello, which means to send on a special official delegation.
This is the impact of the message of Jesus Christ. The people who reject that salvation are going to be condemned; but He was sent officially into the world to save the world, not to condemn the world.
If Jesus acts independently of the Father’s plan He is bearing witness to Himself. His witness would then be insubordination.
Satan tempted Jesus to act independently of the Father’s plan and the Father’s provision — turning stones into bread.
Verse 32: Witness of the HS
Verse 33: Witness of John the Baptist
Verse 35: Witness of miracles
Verse 37: Witness of the Father
Verse 39: Witness of the OT Scriptures
Verse 45: Witness of Moses
This is the witness of Him to mankind. As DEU 17:6 says, one needs 2 or 3 witnesses for conviction. Christ provides 6 witnesses to convict the unbelieving Jews.
Jesus takes the Sabbath and shows them that the Sabbath was designed for grace, not for legalism. Now He turns and shows them that the law of double witness was designed for grace and to protect people, and not to be distorted.
“that bears witness” – present active participle, martureo which is the key word for the rest of the passage: he who acts as a witness.
The first witness is the sustaining ministry of the Holy Spirit during the incarnation of Christ, and the second is the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the production of the canon of scripture – 2 Peter 1:21.
When you have the truth you don’t run around begging people to listen to it. Doctrine can stand on its own feet; it never needs any help from us.
a) The person of Christ – John 1:29, “Behold the Lamb of God.”
b) A change of mental attitude accompanies faith – Matthew 3:2, “Repent.”
c) The mechanics of salvation – Acts 19:4, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
d) Occupation with Christ – John 3:30, “He must increase, I must decrease.”
It is impossible to convert divine power into your life without possessing the perfect Righteousness of God and the filling of the HS. This is the dilemma of religion.
2 Tim 3:5
holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; and avoid such men as these.
The religious Jews never accepted the gospel but they were so impressed with John the Baptist that they sent him an official delegation.
“I receive not,” lambano means to receive, but it has other meanings. It means to take to one’s self or to sustain, and so Jesus is saying, “I am not sustained by a testimony from the immediate source of a man.”
“You wanted the power, but you rejected the message. I am not sustained by the power of John the Baptist, I am sustained by the doctrine – just as John was sustained by the doctrine which he communicated.”
“He” is not “he” at all, in the Greek it is “that one” – ekeinos, which is not a simple pronoun = that special one; the herald of the King.
On the inside he was burning; on the outside he was shining. If you burn on the inside you shine on the outside.
The Christian way of life starts on the inside and works to the outside. Doctrine is on the inside; the filling of the Spirit is on the inside. This works to the outside.
The filling of the Spirit and Bible doctrine on the inside creates divine good which is production seen on the outside.