We’re going to spend the next several weeks looking at the question “Who is Jesus”. There’s so many questions that can swirl around us.  The rational mind thinks the well being it wants is found in answering all the questions.  So many questions, so little time.  Really the only question we need answered is “who is Jesus”.   We can give a vague answer to the question “who is Jesus” that sounds correct, but when we get into describing the nature of Jesus; his essence; the very substance of his being, who do we say Jesus is?  

Everything flows from who Jesus is.  All wisdom and understanding about God and man, and life and suffering is found in Jesus.  The stability we long for; the clarity we desire; the confidence we want, are all contained in the revelation of Jesus Christ.  He’s the rock; he’s the sure foundation for our lives.  We are built up a spiritual house in him.  There’s an intertwining of the divine nature with your human nature, as the Father draws you to the Son, and the Holy Spirt, answers the question of who Jesus is, in your heart.  It’s a kind of hypostatic union that takes place in you, as you come to see the substance of God in the face of the Jesus.  Not just mystically, but experientially 

Mat 16:13  When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
Mat 16:14  And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
Mat 16:15  He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
Mat 16:16  And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Mat 16:17  And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 16:18  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

We have the two natures of Jesus expressed in these verses.  Two distinct natures, hypostatically joined together in one person, never to be able to be separated again.  Verse 13 refers to the humanity; the human nature of Jesus.  And verse 17 talks about the divinity of Jesus.  Thats why some call Jesus the Godman.  

Jesus starts off by asking the disciples who do people say that I, the Son of man am?  Notice Jesus gives a qualification to his question.  He doesnt just say who do people say I am.  He first identifies himself with humanity/he identifies himself with human nature; with human flesh, he identifies himself with flesh and blood, when he calls himself, the Son of man.  And from there he asks, who do people say I am?  

The disciples respond, saying, some say you are John the Baptist, some Elijah, others say Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.  When Jesus hears their response he shifts gears, and asks his disciples directly, who do you say I, the Son of man am.  I hear what you say people think.  But, what I really want to know, is who do you say I am.  I’ve partaken with you in flesh and blood.  Here I am in flesh and blood.  Born of a woman.  A man, possessing in myself the nature of human.   Who do you say I am?  

Peter doesn’t hesitate.  He jumps right in, and says you are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.  Notice Peter draws a distinction between Jesus and the prophets.  He doesn’t see Jesus as merely a man who the Word has joined himself too.  The prophets were mortals who the logos animated.  Peter sees something about Jesus that completely sets Jesus apart from the prophets.  

Peter’s answer is very interesting.  He’s a Jewish guy.  When Jewish people thought of your identity; when they thought of who you are, they thought of your nature.  They thought of the very essence of your being.  They considered the substance from which your being is derived.  The Jewish people would have a very specific response that would be according to natural lineage.  Meaning you are Jesus barjoseph.  You are Jesus son of Joseph of the tribe of Judah.  In Matthew 13 the people were astonished at the wisdom and mighty works Jesus performed, and said is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?  They were defining Jesus, according to his natural lineage, marveling at how he could be so wise, and perform such mighty works, seeing he derived his being from Joseph and Mary.  

But when Peter talks about the lineage of Jesus; who he is by nature, he doesn’t mention anything of Jesus’ human lineage.  He says you are the Christ the Son of the Living God. When Peter says you are the Christ, the Son of the Living God, he’s making a statement about the nature of Jesus, the very essence of his being, and what substance he is of.  So Peter says, I see you are partaking in flesh and blood, that you are a man, as I am also a man, but I see something else about your nature, I see something else about the essence of your being that is more than only human nature. I see the substance of your being; your nature; even while dwelling in flesh and blood, is the self same substance of the living God.

The word Living is to have means of subsistence; its to be self existent; its means to be the source of all life on account of possessing life in yourself. Meaning the very essence of your being is life itself.  When Peter says Jesus is the Son of the Living God, he’s saying Jesus is by nature God.  He’s saying Jesus is the very essence of the Fathers being.  Peters having his Thomas moment.  He’s calling Jesus His Lord and His God.  Peter is saying that Jesus is by nature divine. If Jesus is the Son of the living God.  He is Jesus baryahweh.  He is by nature God, Light from Light.  True God from true God.  He’s God in human flesh.  Jesus is called the Son of God because he is by nature the same essence as the Father.  Jesus is by nature co equal; of the self same substance, consubstantial to the Father.  They are the same species so to speak. The Father is fully God, and Jesus is fully God.  The Father is the Light, and the Son is the Light.  The Father is the Creator of all things, and the Son is also the creator of all things.  They are distinct in persons, but equal in substance. Jesus is the eternal Word, always with the Father, eternally declaring the Father, eternally expressing the Fathers image; eternally expressing the brightness of the Fathers person.  You cannot worship the Father without worshipping the Son.  You cannot worship the Son without worshipping the Father.  If the Father is the source of all life, then the son by nature is also the source of all life. 

Now there’s times when Peter has foot in mouth syndrome, but not this time.  Jesus says blessed art thou Simon, Barjona.  Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father, which is in heaven.  Jesus says to Peter you could never come to the conclusion that I am light from light, true God from true God, by only looking at me as partaking in the same flesh and blood as you.  If you only looked on me according to flesh and blood, you would say isnt this the Carpenters Son.  Jesus tells Peter flesh and blood has not revealed to you who I am, and what substance I am of.  No one comes to the revelation of who and what I am, apart from the Father drawing them to me.  

Jesus goes on to say I call you Peter/Petra, a living stone, your life being built on the knowledge of the chief cornerstone.  And upon this Rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  Peter is not the Rock the church is built on.  He is not the Word that holds all things together.  Peter didnt create anyone or anything.  He isnt the potter.  The Father created all things through the eternal expression of his Son.  Peter isn’t the head from which the church receives nutrients.  Isaiah says the Lord is the Rock from which we are hewn.  The apostle Paul says no foundation can anyone lay other than Jesus Christ.  Jesus says he is the chief cornerstone; he is the rock, which those who try to build themselves a habitation, refuse.  Peter himself speaking of the church, calls us all, lively stones, built up as a spiritual house, by Jesus Christ.  Petra, means a piece of the Rock, or a sliver of the rock.  Or as Peter says lively stones, built on the Rock.  We are all chips off the old Rock.  

Jesus Christ is the foundation the church is built on.  The revelation of the Godman; the revelation that the man Jesus, is the Son of the Living God, is the foundation the church is built on.  The revelation that the divine nature, and human nature have been hypostatically joined together in the person of Jesus Christ, never to be divided asunder, or lost in the other, is the foundation the church is built upon.  The revelation of the Godman Jesus Christ is the foundation the gates of hell cannot prevail against.  How do we know, we see Jesus conquer the grave when he lays down his life on the cross, and picks it back up again in the resurrection.  

When we think of hell, we tend to define it more like Gehenna Fire, but Gehenna Fire is not the same thing as hell in the scriptures.  The gates of hell is referring to the works of the devil.  The word hell is hades in Greek.  It talks about the grave, or people being held by death.  Jesus says in John 8 the devil was a murderer from the beginning.  The work of the devil is to murder mankind, destroying creation in the process.  

If Jesus says the gates of hell; the works of the devil, cannot prevail against the revelation of who he is, then we ought to pay more careful attention to answering the question, who is Jesus.  Who do you say Jesus is?  

Jesus is called Son, not just because he is identical in nature with the Father, but because he stems from the Father.  When we say Jesus stems from the Father, we’re talking about causation of manifestation, not causation of being.  The nicene creed says Jesus is eternally begotten, not made, of one essence with the Father.  If the Father isn’t made and doesnt have a beginning, then neither can the Son.  We cannot look at one of the instances Jesus is begotten, and say he wasn’t begotten until then.  Jesus is the concise and simple revelation of the Father’s nature.  Thats why Hebrews says Jesus is the express image of the Father, and the brightness of His person.  

Jesus is the only begotten Son.  He is the only begotten Son, who is the source of all life with the Father.  John draws a distinction between our Sonship and the Sonship of Jesus, when he says Jesus is the only begotten Son, and then describes that by saying no one has seen the Father but the Son.  When John says no one has seen the Father, but the only begotten Son.  He’s talking about them being of the same nature; the same essence.  John’s saying no one inherently possesses the immortality of the Father but the only begotten Son.  No one is by nature the self same substance of the Father.  No one is by nature immortal, but the only begotten Son.  No one has approached the light, even as He is in the light, but the only begotten Son, he is in the bosom of the Father.  He is the Word, John says has always been with God, and is God.  

1Ti 6:16  speaking of Jesus says Who only has immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man has seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.  

We are sons, not by nature, but by grace.  We are by nature human; we are by nature creatures; we have a beginning, and we are partakers of the divine nature by grace through the faith. 

Jerred’s quote 

- Christ Jesus being the ‘Only’ begotten, is that He is the ‘only son’ who is of the selfsame substance and nature as the Father, consubstantial.
- We are also sons but we participate in and partake of the divine nature through grace. He alone participates in the father by nature. He is a son by nature and therefore God by nature. We are also sons but not sons by nature, sons by grace.
- He is the only begotten, outside of time, uncreated son. We are created sons who were begotten, in time, by grace. 
- He was begotten not made, without time and beginning, we were made then begotten in time with a beginning.
- We now by grace through faith, partake of the divine nature of the Father in the same way Jesus does...face to face. ‘Only’ He does it by nature we do it by grace. 

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