Sermon #35 Series: Matthew
Title: DEITY DEMONSTRATED
Text: Matthew 14:22-36
Subject: Proofs of Christ’s Divinity
Readings: Office: Rex Bartley Aud. Bob Poncer
Date: Tuesday Evening –
March 7, 1995
Tape: R – 10
Introduction:
The title of my message tonight is Deity
Demonstrated. Many who claim to be Christians and claim to worship God deny
the deity of Christ. That is to say, They deny that Jesus Christ is himself God.
Many others, who claim to believe that Jesus Christ is God, ascribe to him
attributes of weakness, helplessness, frustration, and failure, which of course
are a denial of his true deity as much as the doctrine that denies. The
religion of such people, the religion of the liberal, or the Arian who denies
Christ’s deity, and the religion of the freewill, works religionist, whose
doctrine denies Christ’s deity, is nothing but a religion of moralisms and
philosophy. Such religion is of no more benefit to a man’s soul than the
teachings of Plato or the ancient, pagan religions of the Gentile world.
We are Trinitarians. We worship one, holy, sovereign God in three separate but equal persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We do so because the Lord God has revealed himself, from the beginning as One subsisting of a plurality of divine Persons.
Not only are we Trinitarians, we fully believe that
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the man
who walked this earth for thirty-three years and died by Roman crucifixion,
just outside Jerusalem two thousand years ago, is himself over all God, blessed
forever (Rom. 9:5). That man is “God manifest in the flesh” (I Tim. 3:16). We
believe that he is God because the Word of God declares that he is God, because
he claimed to be God, because both angels and men worshipped as God
while he was upon the earth, and because our entire salvation stands and
falls with his absolute deity – If Jesus Christ were not God
To deny Christ’s deity is to deny his honesty and
integrity as a man, for he claimed
to be God and received worship from men as God. The Jews took up stones to kill
him because he, being a man, made himself equal with God! All he had to do to
stop their wrath was to say, Wait a minute, You misunderstood me. I did not
mean to imply that I am God!
Having said all that, I am fully
aware that it is not possible to prove Christ’s eternal power and Godhead to an
unbeliever. I can no more prove the deity of Christ than I can prove the
existence of God. Such proof cannot be given because God never made any attempt
to prove his Being. The only way God can be proved is by faith. If you believe
God, you know God. If you don’t believe God, you can’t know him. And you hope
that he is just a myth.
However, the Lord God has
given us numerous demonstrations of his Being. He has given us such
demonstrations of his Being, that no same man can deny that God is, and such
demonstrations that every believer simply laughs at those who deny him. Even
so, we have in the New Testament numerous demonstrations of the deity of
Christ. Those are given not to prove that Christ is God, but to reassure and
strengthen the faith of all who know him, worship him, and love him as God our
Savior.
In our text every thing is moving in
one direction. The events before us come to a climax in verse 33, when the
disciples “came and worshipped (the Lord Jesus) saying, Of a truth thou are the
Son of God.” The Father had declared this at his baptism (3:17). And the demons
in Gadara confessed it in Matthew 8:29. But this is the first time the twelve
apostles unequivocally declared of Christ, “Thou art the Son of God.” They made
this declaration because our Lord Jesus had so powerfully demonstrated his
deity that they simply could not refrain from worshipping him as their God. In
our text we are given six demonstrations of the fact that….
Proposition:
The man Christ Jesus is himself God.
I.
Verses 22-23 give us a
demonstration of Christ’s Divine Authority.
Notice that our text says, “Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship.” Then “he sent the multitudes away.” He made the disciples take a ship across the Sea of Galilee that they did not wish to take. Then he sent the multitudes away who wanted to take him by force and make him a king – (John 6:14-15).
A. Thus he demonstrated his authority as God
over all things.
He has authority over the lives and destines of all men, including their
final judgment – (John 5:22). He has authority over all the supernatural world,
including satan and the fallen angels (Mk. 1;27). He has sovereign authority
over all the holy angels, whom he could have summoned at anytime to his aid
(Mt. 26:53).
Jesus Christ, because he is God, has control and
authority over everything in heaven, earth, and hell. He commands and controls
all men. He commands and controls all angels. He commands and controls all
demons. He commands and controls all the elements of nature.
B. Yet, this God is so much one with us in
our nature that, as a man he walked before God in perfect faith and was a man
of prayer. (v.23).
The Lord Jesus always went some
where to pray when –
II. Verses 24-25 give us a demonstration of our
Savior Divine Omniscience.
A. Try to imagine what was going through the
minds of these men.
1.
They were in this mess
because the Lord made them get into the ship – He put them in it!
2.
They are to be admired
for their obedience.
3.
But you can imagine the
terror and confusion they must have felt – The Master was not with them this
time! -- Yes, he was! They just didn’t know it!
B. In the time of their great need, “Jesus
went unto them, walking on the sea.”
1. He knew where they were.
NOTE: When
the storm arose and they were alone in the sea, these disciples forgot all they
had seen and heard before. All they could think of was the storm. All they
could see was danger. All they could see; was fear!
III. Verses 26-27 show us the blessedness of
Christ’s Divine Protection.
Being God full of compassion, he understood their frailty and came to them, “Walking on the sea.” He did not come “walking on the sea” to teach them how to do it, but to teach them and us that since he is God over all we can and should trust him absolutely.
A. He has absolute power and control over all
things.
B. He can and will do whatever is needed to
protect us.
C. We will never find ourselves a place where
we are beyond his eye and his reach – There is no storm from which he cannot
save us!
D. The place of obedience to Christ is the
place of safety
Illus: Paul – “I believe God”
(Acts 27:25).
IV. Verses 28-31 give us a beautiful picture of
our Redeemer’s Divine Faithfulness.
A. Peter’s Request (v. 28 – “If” – Since).
Better to be with Christ in the sea
than in the boat without him!
B. The Savior’s Command – (“Come” – v. 29).
C. Peter’s Weakness – (v. 30. “He saw the wind
and was afraid.”)
D. The cry of Faith – (v. 30).
E. The Faithfulness of our God and Savior (v.
32).
V. Verses 32-33, along with this entire
incident, clearly demonstrate Christ’s Divine Omnipotence.
A. “The Wind ceased!”
B. “They worshipped him saying, of a truth thou
are the Son of God!”
VI. Then, in verses 34-36, we are given a
marvelous demonstration of Christ’s Divine Goodness and Grace.
“As many as touched him were made perfectly whole.”
A. His knowledge was spread.
B. The sick and needy were brought to the
Savior.
C. Prayer was made.
D. Grace was found.
Application:
Take these simple lessons home with you and ask God to seal them to your
heart.
1.
Christ has absolute
power over all things.
2.
We make trouble for
ourselves by our unbelief – Peter.
3.
Our great God and
Savior is full of mercy.