That You May Believe - Jesus' Claims In Relation To God

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                         "THAT YOU MAY BELIEVE"

                    Jesus' Claims In Relation To God

INTRODUCTION

1. In John's prologue (Jn 1:1-18), we noted the claims he made regarding
   Jesus; that in relation to:
   a. Deity, Jesus is the essence of God
   b. The physical world, Jesus is the creator
   c. The moral world, Jesus is the life and the light
   d. The darkness, Jesus is the challenger and the victor
   e. Humanity, Jesus is the creator and the benefactor
   f. The Father, Jesus is the revelation
   g. Grace and truth, Jesus is the fulness

2. At this point in our study, we begin a closer look at claims made by
   Jesus Himself...
   a. In particular, His claims regarding His relationship to God
   b. Which should help us appreciate John's claim:  "No one has seen
      God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the
      Father, He has declared Him." - Jn 1:18

[First we note that on least two occasions Jesus claimed...]

I. HE CAME FROM GOD

   A. AFTER FEEDING THE FIVE THOUSAND...
      1. He claimed to be "the bread of life" sent from the Father - Jn
         6:32-35
      2. His claim is stated more clearly - Jn 6:38
      3. In connection with this claim...
         a. Those who heard Him had problems with this claim - Jn 6:41,
            42
         b. He said people must accept Him as "the bread sent from
            heaven" - Jn 6:57-58
         c. Many found it hard to accept - cf. Jn 6:60,66

   B. IN THE TEMPLE, AT THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES...
      1. Again He claims to have come from God - Jn 7:28-29
      2. Causing some to try to seize Him - Jn 7:30-32
      3. Yet He continued to speak this way of Himself - Jn 8:23,42

[If such a claim was difficult for some to accept, imagine their
difficulty as Jesus made another claim in relation to God...]

II. HE ALONE HAS SEEN GOD

   A. HIS CLAIM TO HAVE SEEN GOD...
      1. He alone has seen the Father - cf. Jn 6:46
      2. The same claim stated by John in Jn 1:18

   B. WHAT ABOUT REFERENCES TO THOSE WHO SAW GOD...?
      1. For example, when the Lord appeared to:
         a. Abraham - Gen 17:1
         b. Isaac and Jacob - cf. Exo 6:3
         c. Moses - cf. Num 12:8; Deut 34:10
      2. Such "visions" of God explained:
         a. The same Scriptures declared that one could not see God and
            live - cf. Exo 33:17-23
         b. What they saw were representations of God
            1) E.g., the Angel of His presence (whom some think was
               Jesus in pre-incarnate form)
               - cf. Exo 13:21; 14:19
            2) E.g., the burning bush, the pillar of fire, cloud of
               smoke, bright glory, etc.

[Jesus' claim to have seen God is very unique, that He alone has seen
God as He truly is!  Closely connected to this claim is another one...]

III. HE KNOWS GOD

   A. THE GREEK WORDS FOR "KNOW" DEFINED...
      1. ginosko - "knowing which is the result of discernment and which
         may be enlarged"
      2. oida - "implies absolute knowledge:  the knowledge of intuition
         and of satisfied conviction"

   B. JESUS USED BOTH TO DESCRIBE HIS KNOWLEDGE OF GOD...
      1. "I know (ginosko) the Father" - Jn 10:14,15
         a. Knowledge which comes through experience
         b. By which we also can know the Father
      2. "I know (oida) Him" - Jn 7:29
         a. This is absolute knowledge
         b. Which comes from having been with the Father, and having
            seen Him
         c. This knowledge of God only Jesus can rightly claim to
            possess - cf. Jn 8:55

[Having claimed to come from God, that He alone has seen God and truly
knows God, we should not be surprised to note Jesus also claimed
that...]

IV. HE REVEALS GOD

   A. HE OFFERS A COMPLETE REVELATION OF GOD...
      1. As John stated in his prologue - Jn 1:18
      2. As Jesus claimed on at least two separate occasions
         a. To the Pharisees - Jn 12:44-45
         b. To His disciples - Jn 14:7-10

   B. THE IMPLICATION OF THIS CLAIM...
      1. To reject Jesus is to reject the only full revelation of God
         made known to man!
      2. Thus to reject Jesus is to reject God! - cf. Jn 15:23

[Finally, we note the claim that caused great irritation among the
Jews...]

V. HE IS EQUAL TO GOD

   A. THIS CLAIM IRRITATED HIS JEWISH BRETHREN...
      1. For this claim they tried to kill Him - e.g., Jn 5:16-18
      2. They viewed it as blasphemy - cf. Jn 10:30-33

   B. JESUS EVEN TOOK UPON HIMSELF GOD'S SPECIAL NAME...
      1. The Name revealed to Moses at the burning bush - cf. Exo 3:
         13-14
      2. Calling Himself the "I AM" - cf. Jn 8:56-59
      3. Teaching others that it was necessary to believe in Him as such
         - Jn 8:24

CONCLUSION

1. In relation to God, Jesus therefore claimed:
   a. He came from God
   b. He alone has seen God
   c. He knows God
   d. He reveals God
   e. He is equal to God
   -- Certainly these are claims difficult to accept from someone who
      was simply "a great man"

2. Jesus was either a liar, a lunatic, or everything He claimed to be: 
   the fullest revelation of God made known to man, and the only way to
   God - cf. Jn 14:6

Before we consider the evidence John presents in his gospel to
substantiate such claims, we want to look at even more claims made by
Jesus in our next study...
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