Bible Study Material

OLD TESTAMENT TESTIFIES THAT JESUS IS GOD
1. “For unto us a child is given, unto us a son is born, and the government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counseller, The Mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6). – The terms child and son refer to the incarnation or the manifestation of “The Mighty God” and “The Everlasting Father”
2. Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be called Immanuel, that is, God with us (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:22-23).
3. Isaiah described the Messiah as both a branch out of Jesse (father of David), and as a root of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1, 10; Revelation 22:16). -According to the flesh He was a descendant (branch) of Jesse and David, but according to the Spirit He was their Creator and source of life (root).
4. Isaiah 35:4-6 shows that Jesus is God “Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.” -Jesus applied this Scripture to Himself (Luke 7:22), and his ministry produced all these things.
5. Isaiah 40:3 declares that one would cry in the wilderness, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord, male straight in the desert a highway for our God.” John the Baptist fulfilled this prophecy when he prepared the way for Jesus (Matthew 3:3); Jesus is the Lord (Jehovah) and our God.
6. Micah 5:2 proves that the Messiah is God. “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”

NEW TESTAMENT PROCLAIMS THAT JESUS IS GOD
1. Thomas confessed Jesus as both Lord and God (John 20:28).
2. Acts 20:28: The church was purchased with God’s own blood, the blood of Jesus.
3. Paul described Jesus as “the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13)
4. Peter described as “God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (II Peter 1:1)
5. Our bodies are the temples of God (I Corinthians 3:16-17), yet we know Christ dwells in our hearts (Ephesians 3:17)
6. The Book of Colossians strongly emphasizes the deity of Christ. “For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily: (Colossians 2:9, 1:19) – Jesus is not just a part of God, but all of God is resident in Him.

GOD WAS MANIFEST IN THE FLESH AS JESUS
1. “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.” (I Timothy 3:16) – God was made visible in the flesh, justified (shown to be right) in the Spirit; God was seen of angels, God was believed on in the world; and God was received up into glory. THIS HAPPENED ALL IN JESUS CHRIST.
2. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God..And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:1, 14). -Literally, the Word (God) was tabernacled among us. When did God robe Himself in flesh? IN JESUS CHRIST. Both prove that Jesus is God manifest (revealed, made known, made evident, displayed, shown) in flesh.
God is a Spirit (John 4:24)-without flesh and blood and invisible to us. In order to make Himself visible to us, and to shed innocent blood, he had to put on flesh. Jesus is not another God or a part of God, but He is the God of Old Testament robed in flesh, the Father incarnate, He is Jehovah who came to in flesh to bridge the gap between humanity and God that sin created.
Many scripture declare Jesus Christ to be the God of the Old Testament robed in flesh for the purpose of self-revelation and reconciliation: 3. “To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself” (II Corinthians 5:19).
4. “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared (spoken, revealed) him” (John 1:18).
5. “God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son.the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person” (Hebrews 1:1-3)
6. Jesus is “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15, II Corinthians 4:4)
7. Jesus is God veiled in flesh (Hebrews 10:20). Abraham prophesied “God will provide himself a lamb” (Genesis 22:8). -God surely provided a body for himself: “Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me” (Hebrews 10:5).
8. Jesus was the builder of the house (God the Father and Creator) and also a son over His own house (Hebrews 3:3-6).
9. He came to His own creation and to His own chosen people, but they did not recognize Him or receive Him (John 1:10-11).

The three words of this title come from Luke 13:5 which reads, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Plainly, then, the tragic alternative to repentance is eternal perdition. In view o ft this fact, it is extremely important that everyone know what repentance is and how it is accomplished.

Repentance Is More Than Reformation
To reform is “to improve one’s character or conduct; to become better; to behave better; to give up misconduct; to make better by removing faults or defects.” One who genuinely reforms will, from that moment on, live a better life. And certainly this is to be desired.

However, reformation falls short in at least one vital particular-it does nothing about the past. It leaves upon the pages of God’s record all the sins that a person has committed. Consequently, it leaves the sinner still under the sentence of eternal death. Suppose that a criminal who has been guilty of many and various offenses against the law decides to reform. From that moment on, he determines to be a law-abiding citizen. This would be a commendable, but it would not absolve him from the guilt of his past crimes. If he is apprehended, or if he surrenders himself, he will still be called upon to pay for his past crimes, unless he is given a pardon. The same is true of the sinner in relation to his past sins.

What is Repentance?
Repentance is, first of all, a turning away from all sin. And, so far as this aspect is concerned, it closely resembles reformation. But repentance further involves turning to God, in believing prayer, for forgiveness and cleansing from all sin. Such prayer is not necessarily vocal, but it usually is. The repentant person confesses to God that he is a sinner and asks for forgiveness. If he obeys the gospel, he can rest assured that God will forgive, for His Word promises, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins” (I John 1:9).

The Basis of Repentance
How is genuine repentance brought about? Paul explained, ” For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation” (II Corinthians 7:10). Before a person can repent, he must feel sorrow for his sins. And this must be godly sorrow. For someone to be sorry merely because his sins have been found out, or because they have brought trouble upon him is not enough. He must be sorry because he has broken the commandments of God, spurned his gospel, and thereby grieved Him days without number. Such godly sorrow is the only motivating force for real repentance.

Repentance and the Holy Ghost Baptism
A person cannot receive the Holy Ghost before repentance. Jesus said that the “world” could receive this experience (John 14:17) He meant that those who were unwilling to give up the carnal things of the world, through repentance, could not receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Peter made this plain in Acts 2:38-“Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” It was no accident that he mentioned repentance first. In God’s divine order, repentance must precede water baptism and receiving the Holy Ghost.

The requirements for receiving the Holy Spirit are repentance and faith. In many cases, those who tarry for this spiritual experience without receiving it simply have not repented. If and when this is true, it is useless for such a one to praise God with the expectation of receiving the Holy Ghost. He should repent and claim God’s promise of forgiveness. As his burdens lift because of his confession of sin and as he feels God’s love and mercy, he will naturally begin to worship God. And God will pour out his Spirit upon this repentant, believing, and worshipping soul!

Time for Repentance is Limited
The time to repent is strictly limited by the extent of earthly life. There can be no repentance after death. Since in the normal course of events no one knows how long he will live, it is perilous indeed to procrastinate. The bible declares, “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). The time of repentance is further limited by the duration of a person’s capability of being impressed by conviction. A continued refusal to repent when called by God’s Spirit brings hardness of heart. Paul spoke of people who were “past feeling” (Ephesians 4:19). Such people no longer feel God’s Spirit leading them to serve him. They have lost all desire for repentance.

The apostle also asked this question: “Despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” (Romans 16:24). Think of the goodness of God to you, and surely your heart will be inclined toward repentance. The Lord is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance “(II Peter 3:9).