Person of Christ

Introducing the section on the central figure in salvation, Pastor Martin begins a sub-series on the mystery of Christ's person by laying out why the doctrine is of supreme importance. He argues from Scripture that individual salvation depends on a right confession of who Christ is (John 20:31; John 8:24), the church is built upon a right confession (Matthew 16:13-18), the gospel cannot be maintained or proclaimed without a right view of Him (Romans 1:1-4), and this doctrine is the critical test of any professed work of the Spirit (1 John 4:1-3). He closes by pressing the personal question: Who is Jesus Christ to you?

Pastor Martin gives the simple statement of the biblical doctrine of Christ's person from the Shorter Catechism (truly God, truly man, two distinct natures united in one person forever), traces how the Athanasian Creed and Chalcedon articulated this confession in response to heresy, and then begins the biblical basis by expounding the first category of texts — those that explicitly designate Christ as God. He handles John 1:1, John 20:28, and Romans 9:5, pressing the conclusion that only one clear witness is needed to prove Christ's deity and calling hearers to fall with Thomas before their Lord and God.

Pastor Martin opens the period of manifestation in the Gospels, demonstrating that Jesus Christ is truly man as witnessed in his conception, birth, infancy, and growth to manhood. He expounds Luke's record of the virginal conception, the normal pregnancy and birth, and the boyhood years in which Jesus genuinely grew in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and men. The sermon insists that the Gospels portray a real human development without halo or shortcut, then applies this with wonder at Christ's love and consolation that our salvation rests on a true and sinless humanity.

Pastor Martin moves from the Gospels into the period of explanation and application, demonstrating that the apostolic epistles continue to assert Christ's true humanity as essential to the gospel. He surveys Romans 1, Romans 9, 1 Corinthians 15, Galatians 4, 1 Timothy 2, and Hebrews 2 to show that Paul and the writer to the Hebrews never blush to call Jesus a man. He then applies the doctrine, showing that Christ's humanity authenticates him as the promised Messiah and equips him as an efficient mediator who could establish legal union with sinners, obey the law in their stead, and suffer the curse for their sins.

Beginning the third great pillar of his Christology, that Jesus Christ is one person in two distinct natures forever, Pastor Martin offers a sober word of caution and exhortation before approaching the mystery itself. He urges three things: dependence on the Holy Spirit, determination not to fall short of or go beyond what is written, and patience with precise theological definition. He warns from Luke 24, Ephesians 4, and 2 Peter 3 that mental laziness about the person of Christ produces spiritual declension and unstable souls who will be tossed by every wind of doctrine.

Pastor Martin now sets out the biblical demonstration of Christ as one undivided person subsisting in two distinct, unmixed natures forever. Using a glove and hand analogy, and the witness of John 1, Philippians 2, Acts 20, Romans 1 and 9, and Colossians 2, he shows that the eternal Word became flesh without ceasing to be all that God is. He then shows from Christ's own consciousness and the apostolic witness that the natures remain distinct, with the one person speaking sometimes from the form of consciousness of his deity and sometimes from the form of his humanity, applying the doctrine to interpretation of Scripture, worship, and gospel proclamation.

After nineteen Lord's Day mornings contemplating the person of Christ, Pastor Martin presses one searching question on every conscience: do you love him? Working through 1 Peter 1:8 and 1 Corinthians 16:22, he shows that love to Christ is an indispensable mark of Christian character and that its absence is the infallible indication of coming judgment. He defines the essence of that love (with help from Bishop Leighton) as goodwill toward Christ, delight in Christ, and desire for Christ, traces its roots to a saving revelation of his glory and a believing reception of him, and identifies its infallible fruit as keeping his commandments.

After a five-month digression, Pastor Martin returns to the Here We Stand series with an extensive review of the 44 previous sermons. He summarizes the Book we believe and obey (authority, inerrancy, sufficiency), the God we worship and confess (one, perfect, sovereign, good, triune), and the Salvation we receive and proclaim (the central figure Christ in the mystery of His person and the majesty of His offices). He closes by introducing Christ's manward succoring ministry from Hebrews 2:18 as the bridge to coming studies on Christ as prophet.