Our outline for this SERIES is taken from the Old Roman Creed (vide ante) from which the Apostles' Creed was adapted and possibly in use before the mid-2nd century.
Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham – Matthew 1:1b
When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying,
“Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”
Gospel of the Apostle Matthew 16:13 NKJV
This question and self-designation of Jesus Christ — iēsous, meaning “Jehovah is salvation” from the Hebrew root, yᵊhôšûaʿ or Joshua with the same meaning — reveals a great mystery that in His incarnation JESUS IS also the Son of Man.
Who is the Son of Man?
“God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
Numbers 23:19 NJKV
Yet the Messiah of Israel IS the Word of God and cannot lie.
‘Ya`akov became the father of Yosef, the husband of Miryam, from whom was born Yeshua, who is called Messiah.
Matthew 1:16 Hebrew Names Version
(Yes, Matthew Levi, Simon Peter, and Miryam the mother of Jesus Christ are all Jews.)
King David, a thousand years before, asks,
What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?
Psalm 8:4
His Jewish disciples whom Jesus asks know this self-designation of Yeshua from the Prophet Ezekiel about 600 years before.
“Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day.
Ezekiel 2:3 NKJV
“Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them.
“Son of man, receive into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears.
And He said to me: “Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and give wicked counsel in this city.. “Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man!”
..he asked his talmidim, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”
They said, “Some say Yochanan the immerser, some, Eliyah, and others, Yirmeyahu, or one of the prophets.”
Matthew 16:13b-14 HNV
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter answered and said,
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Matthew 16:15-16 NKJV
The Son of God
And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. – Gospel of Luke 2:7 RSV
Hard to imagine — this Son of Man, the Son of God!
male issue (one begotten by a father and born of a mother)
son of man
Christ seems to have preferred this to the other Messianic titles, because by its lowliness it was least suited to foster the expectation of an earthly Messiah in royal splendour.
son of God
those who revere God as their father,
.. governed by the Spirit of God,
Examine closely every aspect of the life of JESUS from manger to the cross and you will witness both humanity and deity — Christ the Son of Man—Christ the Son of God.
Roger@TalkofJesus.com
NEXT: we will see why JESUS is
His Only Son
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
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.
Peter’s second epistle to the church mirrors what the Lord had prayed prior to His crucifixion:
“But I have prayed earnestly for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, once you have returned, strengthenG4741 your brothers.”
Gospel of Luke 22:32
The Apostle had recently written to these same believers:
For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?
that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets
A single greek word for ‘that you may be mindful’ is the same word of remembering used frequently in the gospels.
And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So he went out and wept bitterly.
Matthew 16:75 NKJV
Peter emphasizes the subject matter spoken before by the ‘holy prophets,’ referring to the major and minor prophets of Old Testament Scripture from Isaiah to Malachi—pointing to them as Holy [ἅγιος – hagios – (an awful thing)] and certainly in contrast to the misleading false prophets and teachers against whom the Apostle has already warned.
Secondly, Peter equates Apostolic authority in this reminder mentioning the Holy Prophets speaking God’s word even before Jesus instructed them in Person.
and of the commandment of us,the apostles of the Lord and Savior..
commandment of the apostles of your Lord and Savior
or commandment of your apostles of the Lord and Savior.
The end was neither — the incarnation of JESUS the Son of God nor — resurrection of JESUS the Son of David hoped for by some of the Jews.
And don't Common Era scoffers also want a conquering King — bringing victory without cost and proclaimation without persecution, also saying:
… all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.”
2 Peter 3:4c NKJV
And so they do, Peter suggests, but these [scoffers and doubters of Christ] are without excuse.
For this they willfully forget: that
by the word of God the heavens were of old,
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
and the earth standing out of water and in the water,
by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.
A clear reference to Noah, who Peter has just mentioned.
2 Peter 3:5-6 NKJV
But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word,
are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition [apōleia– the destruction which consists of eternal misery in hell]
of ungodly [ἀσεβής – asebēs – destitute of reverential awe towards God]
men [anthrōpos – men or women].
2 Peter 3:7 NKJV
Has your Common Era Pastor preached this Apostolic caution?
And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: …
And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.
Genesis 7:21, 9;11 KJV
The Apostle’s Timeless Response
agapētos HEAR THIS:
But, beloved, do not forget this one thing,
that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us [or you]
not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
In the year of the Lord 2025 — dismissed by scoffers as: 2025 of the Common Era [2025 CE] — Do you fear the wrath to come when Christ returns?
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night,
in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise,
and the elements will melt with fervent heat;
both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
[literally, utterly burned up and consumed by fire!]
2 Peter 3: 10 NJKV
Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along.
On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.
2 Peter 3:11-13 New Living Translation
The Apostle’s command to look ahead may not appeal to you anymore than considering your inevitable death of the flesh.
Ah, but what of your spirit, the resurrection of our familiar flesh and the judgment to come?
Peter assures Christ’s true followers — the saints of the Chruch which may include you:
And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen,
make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.
And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved.
2 Peter 3:14-15a NLT
Might the Apostle actually be calling YOU, beloved member of Christ — in need of repentance for your impure fruit, to reject those easy false teachings which oppose the Lord Jesus Christ?
The APOSTLES, including Paul
NEXT, we will briefly study just one Epistle or Letter of the Apostle to the Gentiles [or Hellenists or Greeks], Paul.
Here Peter now mentions the Apostle Paul, due to an already developing false teaching in the early church broadly known as gnosticism [a Greek word meaning “knowledge.”]
Gnosticism
Such ‘knowledge‘ often accelerates into a down-hill slope into the pit of error. Therefore a brief summary here from BibleHub.com
Dualism: Gnosticism is marked by a strong dualistic worldview,
The material world is often seen as the creation of a lesser deity,
sometimes identified with the God of the Old Testament,
who is distinct from the true, transcendent God.
This, of course, is NOT SCRIPTURAL from either Jewish Scripture OR the Gospel of the New Testament.
Gnostics believe that.. salvation involves awakening this divine spark through gnosis.
Some Gnostic texts depict Christ as a purely spiritual being .who did not truly suffer or die.
Gnosticism generally views the physical world as corrupt or illusory.
This belief often leads to ascetic practices or,
conversely, to libertine behavior, as the material is deemed irrelevant to spiritual salvation.
Peter confirming Paul
So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, speaking of this as he does in all his letters.
There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures.
You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, beware lest you be carried away with the error of lawless men and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
How do WE respond after hearing a letter from an Apostle of Jesus Christ written to our Church?
We are about to take a look at the faith of three Apostles through Epistles they sent to many churches.
But more than that:
The Gospel of Jesus Christ proclaims connections — relationships that matter.
We receive the same love evident through these connections to God and the Apostles, who continue to mean much to 21st century Christians who believe with Apostolic faith.
Apostolic Unity in the Gospels
When someone asks us about our faith, their questions may boil down to a single foundational question:
“Faith in what?”
or perhaps, “faith in whom?”
Let’s begin with what the Lord says about these connections. Jesus actually presents His clarifying question to the Apostles.
And out of all the possibilities of their answers, one stands out in every Gospel.
Peter’s answer to Jesus
Gospel of Luke
9: And calling the twelve together, He gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases. And He sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick…
And departing, they were going from village to village, proclaiming the gospel and healing everywhere.
.. and He questioned them, saying, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”
.. And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Luke 9:18b,20a BSB
And Peter answered and said,
“The Christ of God.”
Gospel of Matthew
And Simon Peter answered and said,
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Mat 16:16 LSB
Gospel of Mark
And He continued asking them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.”
Mark 8:29 LSB
Peter provided an answer communited to him by the Holy Spirit of God. And the Apostle John through the same Spirit says the same more fully and in mysterious revealed detail.
Gospel of John
Nearly all of us are familiar with John’s introduction of Jesus in his Gospel:
IN THE BEGINNING was the Word [logos]
(We will come to discover that John refers to JESUS as the Word in the flesh.)
and the Word
was with God [Theos]
[but now, in John 1:1, the Apostle clearly states:]
John 1:1 LSB – English translation from Greek New Testament
JESUS IS GOD !
The Gospels all record that the twelve Apostles witness God’s power personally MANY TIMES in JESUS.
“I and the Father are [in essence] one,” John records later in his Gospel [John 10:30].
The Apostle’s Gospel of connection to the Living God revealingly becomes even stronger and more forward-facing after Jesus’ resurrection.
We see this first in Peter and John, but with an additional absolute faith in Christ later proclaimed to all the world by the Apostle Paul.
John 20 – Apostolic Authority from God
ἐμφυσάω
emphysáō– John 20:22, where Jesus, after the manner of the Hebrew prophets, expresses by the symbolic act of breathing upon the apostles the communication of the Holy Spirit to them
He breathed on them and *said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Gospel of John 20:22b LSB
Christ’s communication from the One God — Father, Son and now the Holy Spirit given — to His Apostles sent into all the world with Gospel Good News!
conviction of the truth of anything, belief; in the NT of a conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervour born of faith and joined with it
the conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ
a strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God
the religious beliefs of Christians
belief with the predominate idea of trust (or confidence) whether in God or in Christ, springing from faith in the same
which finds its roots in the eternal truth that GOD IS — the Person of JESUS IS God — and Christ chose Apostles to continue God’s work of redemption of sinners by proclaiming the Gospel to all mankind.
Who are Apostles?
ACTS on Mission
Tens of Thousands of men, women and children witnessed the Son of God, JESUS, born as a man to a virgin.
Many followed JESUS as DISCIPLES, listening to His teachings and commands. Sometimes Jesus taught thousands. At other times hundreds would follow their Master (Lord) as a Rabbi sent from God. Jesus would teach a houseful of guests or sometimes just one chosen by Him even without witness of the Twelve.
More than five hundred witnessed Jesus AFTER the Lord’s crucifixion and resurrection from the grave (even as several had seen Him raise Lazarus and others).
.. He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles:
Disciples followed their itinerant Rabbi from mountainside to village to city over three years, hearing the Messiah Jesus teach true faith. Yet even one of the Twelve had been chosen before time to betray the Lamb of God, our Savior redeeming our sins on a Cross in Jerusalem.
The APOSTLE’S sent out by Jesus were all chosen as witnesses to the Son of Man — an itinerant Teacher who was not of this world, but IS before all time — with God and was God.
Three Apostles nearer to Jesus
And He allowed no one to accompany Him, except Peter and James and John the brother of James.
And six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and brought them up on a high mountain alone by themselves. And He was transfigured before them;
James, the older brother of John, became the first Apostle martyred for his faith in Jesus just fourteen years into the establishing of the Church. Another would later replace him, as Matthias would replace Judas Iscariot.
It would be James the half-brother of Jesus who would later lead the church in Jerusalem, writing epistles to followers of The Way and conferring with the Apostles including Peter and John.
We witness these three Apostles nearest to Jesus on several occasions, both before and after the Lord’s resurrection.
Many witness the boldness of Simeon Peter and John in the Temple after Jesus is risen. It’s just once instance where Apostles proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the face of imprisonment, persecution and even death.
Σίμων Πέτρος – Simon Peter
So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go?”
Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. And we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”
Gospel of John 6:68-69 LSB
“Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
Gospel of Matthew 16:17b-18 LSB
a Fisher of Men
Ἰωάννην Βοανηργές – John son of thunder
Jesus called these two brothers and close friends of His inner-circle of Apostles, “sons of thunder,” and more than once James and John had caused a commotion among his disciples.
And they [James and John] said to Him, “Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.”
.. And hearing this, the ten began to feel indignant with James and John.
Gospel of Mark 10:37,41 LSB
And nearer the time of their journey to Jerusalem for Jesus’ crucifixion:
And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”
But He turned and rebuked them..
Luke 9:54-55a LSB
THEN on a hideous hill outside Jerusalem, as Peter and the other Apostles hid distanced from the iniquitous crucifixion of Christ, the youngest of these dared a nearby witness of this most ironic Sacrifice of all time — the Son of God, their friend, hanging and pierced on a cursed Cross.
When Jesus then saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother,
“Woman, behold, your son!”
Then He said to the disciple,
“Behold, your mother!”
From that hour the disciple took her into his home.
Gospel of John 19:26-27 LSB + Witness of the Disciple Jesus loved – youngest of the Twelve
The Lord Jesus entrusted His own mother Mary to the beloved Disciple John, who so often would cling to Him and His every word.
Christ would also restore Peter as the Rock upon which He would build His church.
“Children, have you any fish?”
Jesus’ love and connection to these two Apostles cannot be disputed.
Σαῦλος – Saûlos – Ῥωμαῖος Ταρσέα
After His resurrection the Lord will also embrace an arch-enemy who had not only denied a connection of the Son to God the Father, but even worse had persecuted and killed followers of The Way.
- Saul, Roman Citizen of Tarsus and Leading Jew of the Pharisees
And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple.
Acts of the Apostles 9:26 NKJV
Παῦλος – Paulos – ἀπόστολος ἐθνῶν
apostolos ethnos
ACTS on Mission
But I say unto you, Love your enemies,
bless them that curse you,
do good to them that hate you,
and pray for them which despitefully use you,
and persecute you..
Gospel of Matthew 5:44 KJV – from Jesus’ sermon on the mount
.. and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen…
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