Theological term
Deity of Christ
24 sermons · All terms
More than a Greeting
Titus 1:1–4 is far more than a standard epistolary greeting: compressed into four verses is a complete theology of the apostolic commission, the sovereignty of God in salvation, and the unchangeable hope of the elect. The sermon traces seven movements in Paul's salutation — from the commissioned servant and his appointed course, through the changeless confidence grounded in divine immutability, the chosen season of gospel proclamation, the committed charge, the common confession, and the consummate blessing of grace, mercy, and peace. Hearers are pressed to own the gospel publicly, to adorn it by godly conduct, and — if outside of Christ — to cast off misery and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul's Salutation to Titus
Paul's salutation to Titus in Titus 1:1–4 is not empty formality but a compressed treasury of apostolic theology. This exposition works through seven elements of the greeting: Paul's identity as bondservant and apostle, the apostolic task of advancing the faith of God's elect through faithful proclamation, the eternal assurance grounded in God's immutable promise before time began, the providential means of preaching, the specific entrustment given to Paul, the recipient Titus as a true son in the common faith, and the benediction of grace, mercy, and peace from the triune God. The sermon calls hearers to slow down at biblical salutations, to prize the heritage of Christian antiquity, and to pray for ministers who proclaim Christ in a God-hating world.
Fears Relieved
Fear entered the world with sin, and the disciples' terror on the Sea of Galilee — first at the storm, then at what they supposed was a ghost — is the common condition of all fallen men. Working through Matthew 14:22–33 and its Markan parallel, this sermon traces how Christ reveals himself in word and deed to relieve those fears, and why the disciples' hardness of heart prevented them from resting in what the feeding of the five thousand had already demonstrated about his power. The practical conclusion is that faith and doubt coexist in the believer, that trials come by the hand of a loving Savior, and that — like Peter — the only right response to sinking is to cry 'Save me' and look to Christ alone.
The Light of the World
In John 8:12, Jesus declares 'I am the light of the world,' a claim that situates him within the great 'I Am' tradition of Exodus 3:14 and the Isaianic servant songs, asserting both his full deity as the eternal Son and the universal scope of his messianic mission to Jew and Gentile alike. The sermon traces the 'I Am' statements across John's Gospel, showing that Jesus consciously identifies himself with Yahweh and that the light-imagery of the Old Testament finds its fulfillment in his person and work. Darkness in John is not physical but ethical — the guilt, depravity, and rebellion of a world that hates the light — and the follower of Christ, by grace through faith, passes from that darkness into the light of life. The church is therefore called to hold forth the word of the gospel as light in a morally darkened age, trusting that God is able to transfer sinners from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of his Son.
The Believer's Gratitude toward God
Colossians 1:12–20 presents the believer's gratitude as an essential component of a walk worthy of the Lord — not a sentimental add-on but a theological necessity rooted in what God has actually done. Paul prays that the Colossians would be fruitful, growing, strengthened, and thankful, with gratitude serving as the lens through which sovereign grace becomes visible. This exposition works through two grounds for thanksgiving — inheritance and deliverance — before tracing the movement of Paul's prayer into the great Christological hymn of verses 15–20, where Christ as Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer becomes the ultimate reason for the believer's praise. The sermon applies throughout with the exhortation to rehearse these redeemed blessings, particularly in the context of the Lord's Supper.
The Importance of the Knowledge of Christ
The most important question ever asked — 'Who do you say that I am?' — exposes a crisis in the contemporary church: a Ligonier survey found that 78% of polled evangelical Christians answered that Jesus Christ is the highest creature of God, effectively the ancient Arian heresy. This sermon works through Matthew 16:13–20 as a launching point, pressing seven reasons why the knowledge of Christ is of supreme importance: He is the scope of Scripture, eternal life hinges on a right knowledge of His person, the gospel is about Him, He is the exclusive way of salvation, all redemptive benefits are found in Him, the church's commission is given by and about Him, and our present and future hope rests in Him alone. The practical import of Christology — rightly defined as the dignity of Christ's person and the virtue of His office — is shown to bear on worship, humility, beneficence, good works, and steadfast confession.
The Doubter Turned Confessor
Thomas's refusal to believe the disciples' eyewitness testimony of the risen Christ is one of the most emphatic denials of the resurrection in the New Testament — not mere doubt, but obstinate, threefold rejection of Scripture, Christ's own words, and apostolic witness. When Jesus appears and meets Thomas's exact conditions, Thomas confesses 'My Lord and my God,' bookending John's Gospel with the same declaration of Christ's deity found in its opening verse. The sermon expounds John 20:24–31 in two movements: the post-resurrection appearance to Thomas and the stated purpose of John's Gospel — that all who read it might believe and have life in Christ's name. Hearers are urged to stop placing conditions on God, to confess with Thomas that Jesus is Lord and God, and to avail themselves of the church's theological resources to grow beyond a superficial grasp of cardinal doctrines such as the Trinity.
The King's Wedding
Psalm 45 is a royal wedding psalm that the New Testament applies directly to Christ, identifying the king as God incarnate whose throne is forever. This sermon works through four movements: the psalmist's overflowing intention, the glory and divine-human person of the king, the call for the bride to forsake all competing allegiances, and the declaration of the king's everlasting dominion. The congregation is pressed to enter the Lord's Supper — and every Lord's Day gathering — with the gladness and rejoicing that befits a bride coming into the presence of the one who is fairer than the sons of men.
The Confession of Thomas
John 20:24–31 presents Thomas's movement from emphatic unbelief to the confession 'My Lord and my God' — the confession that frames the entire fourth gospel, answering John 1:1 at its close. Thomas's refusal to believe is shown to be not mere doubt but a willful rejection of Old Testament testimony, the word and works of Christ, and apostolic witness — making Christ's gracious condescension to meet him all the more striking. The sermon expounds John's stated purpose in verses 30–31: that the gospel was written to produce saving faith, defined in the confession's terms as accepting, receiving, and resting upon Christ alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life. Hearers are called to forsake the folly of placing conditions upon God and to confess with Thomas, 'My Lord and my God.'
The Deity of Christ
Who is Jesus Christ, and what does Scripture mean when it confesses that He is God? This Bible study on John 1:14–18 opens a series on Christology by examining the deity of Christ from three angles: its precise meaning, the breadth of its biblical testimony, and the doctrinal affirmations necessary for confessing it rightly. The study moves from definitional clarity—ruling out Arian, adoptionist, and Mormon distortions—through exegetical survey of Christ's self-identification, apostolic statements, Old Testament Yahweh texts applied to Christ, and divine attributes predicated of Him, before concluding with four essential affirmations: His essential identity with the Father, His personal eternal distinction as the eternally begotten Son, His unchanging post-incarnation deity, and the specific role His divine nature plays in assuming, personalizing, and sustaining His human nature.
John's Incarnation Theology
John 1:1–18 presents the most concentrated incarnation theology in the New Testament, and this sermon works through that prologue under four headings: the eternality of the Word, his personal distinction from the Father, his full and essential deity, and his true humanity. The Word who has always existed as God, distinct from the Father yet of one undivided substance with him, took to himself man's nature — not by casting off deity, nor by confusion of the two natures, but by a condescension in which he remained what he always was while becoming what he was not. The sermon guards each heading by naming and refuting the classical heresies that have distorted each truth, drawing on John 8, John 18, John 20, Philippians 2, and 1689 LBCF 8.2. The application calls believers to deepen their knowledge of this Christ and urges the unconverted to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ before that same Christ comes as the sovereign judge of Revelation 19.
The Cleansing of the Temple, Part 2
Matthew 21:14–17 presents two responses to Christ's messianic presence in the temple: the blind and the lame receive healing, and the religious leaders respond with indignant fury. The healing of the outcasts carries deliberate Davidic overtones, evoking 2 Samuel 5 and the messianic prophecies of Isaiah 35 and 61, so that Christ's identity as the greater Son of David is confirmed by deed as well as by word. The praise of nursing infants, drawn from Psalm 8, presses the question of Christ's deity — the religious leaders understood the implications and hardened rather than repented. The passage calls unbelievers to abandon the side of Christ's despisers and look to Him as the only ground of mercy, and reminds the church that the threefold office of prophet, priest, and king is the heart of the gospel it is commissioned to preach.
The Risen Lord and a Doubting Disciple
Thomas's demand to physically verify Christ's resurrection before believing exposes the human tendency to place conditions upon God — the creature setting terms for the Creator. This sermon works through John 20:24–31, examining Thomas's obstinacy, the patient grace of Christ who meets Thomas on his own stated terms, and the lofty confession that follows: 'My Lord and my God.' The passage closes with John's stated purpose in writing the fourth gospel — that readers would believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and so have life in his name — a purpose the risen Lord underscores in his final beatitude: blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.
The Hope and the Preaching
Titus 1:2–3 sets before believers a hope of eternal life that is neither wishful thinking nor earthly optimism, but a certain expectation grounded in the immutable character of God and the finished work of Christ. This sermon works through three headings: the believer's certain expectation of everlasting life as a goal of gospel ministry; the foundation of that hope in God's unchanging nature and eternal promises; and the ordained means by which those blessings are made known — namely, the preaching of the Word. The application is direct: believers are to rejoice daily in this sure hope, find comfort in God's immutability, and never despise the act of preaching; unbelievers are called to flee to Christ as the only ground of any lasting hope.
2LCF Chapter 8 - Of Christ the Mediator
What is Christology, why does it matter, and how does the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith frame it? This introductory session works through John 17:3, Luke 24, John 20, Acts 5, 1 Corinthians 2, Colossians 1, and related texts to establish four grounds for the importance of Christology: its relation to Scripture, to preaching, to salvation, and to practical Christian living. The confession's account of Christ as mediator — truly God, truly man, two natures inseparably united in one person without conversion, composition, or confusion — is introduced as the doctrinal framework for the series. Hearers are called to approach the study of Christ's person and work not with cold detachment but with the highest reverence and the utmost joy, because eternal life itself consists in knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent.
The Gospel's Prophetic Prologue
Mark 1:1–4 introduces the gospel not as a literary convention but as the announcement of a real, historical event: the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. This passage establishes that the gospel's ministerial beginning is rooted in prophetic fulfillment, as both Malachi 3 and Isaiah 40 foresaw a wilderness messenger who would prepare the way of Yahweh himself. The identity of Jesus as the divine Son of God is not incidental to the gospel but is its very foundation — without his deity, there is no sufficient Redeemer. The sermon closes with a call for believers to know and proclaim the gospel precisely, to walk in a manner worthy of it, and for unbelievers to turn from sin and believe on Christ alone.
The Christian Doctrine of the Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity — one God eternally subsisting in three distinct persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — is defined, defended against historic and contemporary errors, and displayed across the whole of Scripture. The sermon works through three movements: first defining the doctrine precisely (one in essence, three in person), then defending it against polytheism, Arianism, and modalism, and finally displaying its pervasive witness throughout both Testaments. The doctrine is shown to be not a cold theological abstraction but the very foundation of salvation, worship, and the believer's communion with the triune God.
The Beauty of Christ
Psalm 45 is a royal love song that the New Testament, in Hebrews 1:8, applies directly to the Lord Jesus Christ as the eternal God-man. The sermon works through four observations: the beauty of the Savior as stated by the psalmist, the beauty of his person as both fully human and fully divine, the beauty of his attributes or perfections, and the beauty of his works in advancing his kingdom. The closing application presses both believer and unbeliever: the same arrows of Christ's word that subdue sinners to saving faith will, for the impenitent, become the instrument of final judgment — the only question is whether one falls under him now in submission or later in condemnation.
Jesus and Thomas
Thomas's refusal to believe the apostolic testimony of the resurrection was not mere intellectual doubt but willful obstinacy — a demand that God meet his conditions before he would submit. This sermon works through John 20:24–31 under four headings: the character of Thomas, the grace of Christ, Thomas's lofty confession, and the Lord's final beatitude. The central challenge is that sinners who insist on their own terms for believing are placing themselves in the judge's seat over God, and the only fitting response is to bow with Thomas and confess, 'My Lord and my God.'
The Miracle of Forgiveness
Mark 2:1–12 presents the healing of a paralytic not primarily as a display of physical power but as a confirmation of a far greater miracle: the forgiveness of sins. The sermon works through the location, declaration, examination, and explanation of the passage to argue that Christ's authoritative word of forgiveness — a performative act belonging to God alone — is the central event, while the physical healing serves only as visible evidence of the invisible spiritual reality. Drawing on Romans 1, Isaiah 43–44, Micah 7, and Acts 13, the sermon calls hearers to see that justification by faith alone in Jesus Christ is every bit as miraculous as any bodily cure, and to value peace with God above physical wholeness.
The Superiority of Christ Over the Angels
Hebrews 1:8–14 presents four lines of Old Testament evidence that the Son is categorically superior to the angels: His unique filial relationship to the Father, the angels' worship of Him, His unqualified deity as the creator and immutable eternal God, and His present sovereign reign at the Father's right hand. The study works through citations from Psalms 45, 102, and 110, demonstrating from Israel's own scriptures that Christ holds the offices of creator, sovereign administrator, and eternal king — offices no angel can claim. The doctrine of the Trinity is defended against both Jehovah's Witnesses and any who collapse the distinction of persons, and believers are called to anchor their confidence in Christ's present reign rather than fear the powers arrayed against the church.
Questions to Live By
Matthew 22:34–40 records a lawyer's question to Jesus — which commandment is the greatest? — and Jesus answers by binding together love for God and love for neighbour as the sum of all the law and the prophets. The sermon traces the theme of questioning throughout the Gospels to show that Christ himself answers every fundamental question about who he is and what he requires. From that foundation, two implicit questions are drawn from the text and pressed upon hearers: who are you living for (vertical love toward God), and how are you living (horizontal love toward neighbour)? The conclusion calls those outside Christ to submit to him and those within to pursue him with wholehearted passion.
John, Brother and Companion of the Persecuted
Revelation 1:9–11 introduces John not as a remote visionary but as a brother and companion sharing in the tribulation, kingdom, and patience of Jesus Christ — writing from Patmos, where he was banished for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. The sermon examines three dimensions of John's identity as author: his solidarity with persecuted believers, his present experience of exile, and the divine commission he receives from the Alpha and the Omega, whose self-identification as the First and the Last establishes the explicit deity of Christ. Christians are called to embrace a joyful rather than merely resigned response to affliction, to reclaim a robust confidence in the present reign of Christ over all things, and to be devoted to the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ regardless of whether they face first-century intensity of persecution or the subtler trials of the modern West.
The Throne Room
Revelation 4–5 answers the suffering and persecution catalogued in the letters to the seven churches (Revelation 2–3) by drawing back the curtain of heaven to reveal the throne room of God. Chapter 4 grounds worship in the doctrine of creation, while chapter 5 grounds it in definite atonement — the Lamb who was slain has redeemed a people to God by His blood out of every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. The vision presses the church to respond to earthly trial not with despair but with humility, worship, and mission, because the Lion of the tribe of Judah has already prevailed.