Easter According to the Nicene Creed, Part 15 (Just Jesus Evangelistic Campaign, Day 744 since Jan. 20, 2017 / Day 1,109 since Jan. 1, 2016)

TEXT: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:

6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.

8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

11 Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.

——-

Regarding First Corinthians 15:1-11, John Gill Alexander McClaren said, “We know that there was a very considerable body of antagonists to Paul, who ranked themselves under the banner of Apollos or of Cephas (Peter). Therefore, Paul, keenly conscious that he was speaking to some unfriendly critics, hastens in the context to remove the possible objection which might be made — that the Gospel which he preached was peculiar to himself — and proceeds to assert that the whole substance of what he had to say to men, was held with unbroken unanimity by the other apostles.”

Today, we are continuing our series drawn from the Word of God, the Holy Bible, and a historical text based on the Word of God, the Holy Bible, that was passed down from the early church all the way to us today — the Nicene Creed. In this series, we are talking about the importance of the historical Christian faith that was passed down to us from the early church, how that we as Christians who are falling away from it ought to return to it, and how that the world ought to hear it so they can believe on Christ.

Regarding the need for creeds in the church, John Leith said, “The need for theology and for creeds arises from two basic facts. One is the nature of man as an intelligent being. ‘Just because he is intelligent, the Christian, of all men, has to learn to discern with agonizing clarity what is conceivable by him about God.’ What cannot be thought through critically and expressed with reasonable clarity cannot demand the allegiance of man’s whole being. Understanding is necessary for man’s full commitment. Hence faith must be spoken and made intelligible. This is not to say that faith must be enclosed within the limits of reason, but it does mean that faith must require neither the closing of the mind nor the sacrifice of the integrity of the mind.”

In this series, we have looked at the following factual statements from the Nicene Creed based upon the Word of God:

We believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
begotten from the Father before all ages,
God from God,
Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made;
of the same essence as the Father.

Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven;
he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary,
and was made human.
He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered, died, and was buried.

The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.
He was seen alive by Mary Magdalene and the other women,
the disciples, and over five hundred other brethren;

He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again with glory
to judge the living and the dead.
His kingdom will never end.

Today, we will continue looking at the next section of the new Nicene Creed, which reads as follows:

And we believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life.
He proceeds from the Father and the Son,
and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified.
He spoke through the prophets.

The Holy Spirit is the Person of the Trinity whom Jesus promised would come to indwell the first disciples and all who believe on Him. In John 15:26, Jesus said, “When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me.”

Who is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity through which God manifests Himself as Father, Son, and Spirit. We don’t understand exactly how the Trinity works, but we believe in it because that is what the Bible teaches. Dr. Wilbur Smith said, “The man who denies the Trinity will lose his soul. The man who tries to understand the Trinity will lose his mind.” Our finite minds cannot understand the nature of the Trinity or the Holy Spirit, but let us look briefly at what Scripture reveals about the purpose of the Holy Spirit.

Based on Jesus’ words, we know that the Holy Spirit came to glorify Christ and to lead believers into the truth. The Holy Spirit comes to live inside of each person who accepts Jesus Christ as their Savior and acts as an agent of verification in our hearts and minds. The work of the Holy Spirit in our lives lets us know that we are truly saved. Have you ever been listening to someone or reading something, and it seemed as though something inside of you was warning you about that person or telling you that what you were reading was not true? That is the Holy Spirit at work inside of you. In John 16:13, Jesus said, “when the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth.”

We learn the truths that God wants us to learn because of the work of the Holy Spirit. Dr. Bill Bright said, “The Holy Spirit inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. As you read the Bible, He reveals its truth to you. I read passages of Scripture that I have read many times before, and suddenly, at the moment I need a particular truth, a certain passage comes alive to me. Why? Because the Holy Spirit makes the Word of God relevant and meaningful when I need it. It is a living Book inspired by the Spirit, and only Christians who are filled with the Spirit can understand the true meaning of God’s Word.”

The Holy Spirit also helps us to live pure and God-honoring lives by convicting us of sin. Jesus said, “When he [the Holy Spirit] is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” Have you ever thought about doing something wrong, or began to do something wrong, and a voice seemed to speak to you telling you not to do what you were going to do? Again, that is the Holy Spirit at work. We cannot live holy lives without the help of the Holy Spirit for as the Bible says, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.”

When Jesus finished His work on the Earth, He wanted His followers to know that they had the power to live like Him and to continue the work that He had begun. The Holy Spirit was sent to be an inner guide for us as we carry out the Great Commission and live like Christ in this sinful world.

Millie M. Lawhead wrote:

He has come, the Holy Spirit,
To my longing, waiting heart;
He has come, and like a fountain,
Joy and gladness upward start.

Often would He hover over me,
Waiting me to let Him in;
Sweetest words of promise whisper:
I will cleanse you from all sin.

Then I bade Him search the temple,
And reveal to me my need;
Now at last He makes me holy—
He is dwelling there indeed.

Like the dew, O so refreshing,
Yet so gently He has come,
And He fills me with His presence,
Makes my heart His blessed home.

——-

Now, if you are with us today and you do not know Jesus Christ as your Savior, allow me to show you how you can place your faith and trust in Him for Salvation from sin and Hell.

First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”

Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 10:28: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

Now that is bad news, but here’s the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will.

Romans 10:9 & 13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved… For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead, and you want to trust Him for your Salvation today, please pray with me this simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. I am sorry for my sins, and today I choose to turn from my sins. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. I trust Jesus Christ as my Savior and I choose to follow Him as Lord from this day forward. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.

If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the Cross, was buried, and rose again, allow me to say, congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour! For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”

If you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior today, please email me at dw3@gospellightsociety.com and let us know. There is some free material that we want to send you. If you have a prayer request, please e-mail that to us as well, and we will pray for you until you tell us to stop.

God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.

Daniel Whyte III has spoken in meetings across the United States and in over twenty-five foreign countries. He is the author of over forty books including the Essence Magazine, Dallas Morning News, and Amazon.com national bestseller, Letters to Young Black Men. He is also the president of Gospel Light Society International, a worldwide evangelistic ministry that reaches thousands with the Gospel each week, as well as president of Torch Ministries International, a Christian literature ministry.

He is heard by thousands each week on his radio broadcasts/podcasts, which include: The Prayer Motivator Devotional, The Prayer Motivator Minute, as well as Gospel Light Minute X, the Gospel Light Minute, the Sunday Evening Evangelistic Message, the Prophet Daniel’s Report, the Second Coming Watch Update and the Soul-Winning Motivator, among others.

He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology from Bethany Divinity College, a Bachelor’s degree in Religion from Texas Wesleyan University, a Master’s degree in Religion, a Master of Divinity degree, and a Master of Theology degree from Liberty University’s Rawlings School of Divinity (formerly Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary). He is currently a candidate for the Doctor of Ministry degree.

He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica since 1987. God has blessed their union with seven children.

Easter According to the Nicene Creed, Part 14 (Just Jesus Evangelistic Campaign, Day 743 since Jan. 20, 2017 / Day 1,108 since Jan. 1, 2016)

TEXT: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:

6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.

8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

11 Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.

——-

Regarding First Corinthians 15:1-11, John Gill said, “By ‘grace,’ [Paul means] the good will and free favour of God, from whence all the blessings of goodness arise — particularly such as qualify a person for the ministry. What qualifies men for the preaching of the Gospel is not human learning, nor natural grace, but peculiar gifts, which lie in an understanding of the Scriptures, and the doctrines of the Gospel, and in an aptitude to explain and teach them to the edification of others. These gifts are not of nature, nor acquired by art and industry, but are freely bestowed by God for the good of souls and the glory of Christ.”

Regarding the development of creeds in the early church, Anthony Costello said, “We can see that the early creeds themselves, and specifically the Nicene Creed, were essentially apologetical. They were designed to clarify truth claims and refute false claims. They were defenses of the core truths found in the Scriptures themselves, without being exhaustive about the truth that is found in Scripture. To know these claims and defend them seems to be a task that still applies to us today as inheritors of an apostolic and historical Christian faith.”

In this series, we have looked at the following factual statements from the Nicene Creed based upon the Word of God:

We believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.
He was seen alive by Mary Magdalene and the other women,
the disciples, and over five hundred other brethren;

He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again with glory
to judge the living and the dead.
His kingdom will never end.

Today, we will continue looking at the next section of the new Nicene Creed, which reads as follows:

And we believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life.
He proceeds from the Father and the Son,
and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified.
He spoke through the prophets.

Who is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity through which God manifests Himself as Father, Son, and Spirit. We don’t understand exactly how the Trinity works, but we believe it because that is what the Bible teaches. Dr. Wilbur Smith said, “The man who denies the Trinity will lose his soul. The man who tries to understand the Trinity will lose his mind.” Our finite minds cannot understand the nature of the Trinity or the Holy Spirit, but let us look briefly at what Scripture reveals about the purpose of the Holy Spirit.

Millie M. Lawhead wrote:

He has come, the Holy Spirit,
To my longing, waiting heart;
He has come, and like a fountain,
Joy and gladness upward start.

Often would He hover over me,
Waiting me to let Him in;
Sweetest words of promise whisper:
I will cleanse you from all sin.

Then I bade Him search the temple,
And reveal to me my need;
Now at last He makes me holy—
He is dwelling there indeed.

Like the dew, O so refreshing,
Yet so gently He has come,
And He fills me with His presence,
Makes my heart His blessed home.

——-

Now, if you are with us today and you do not know Jesus Christ as your Savior, allow me to show you how you can place your faith and trust in Him for Salvation from sin and Hell.

First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”

God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.

He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica since 1987. God has blessed their union with seven children.

Easter According to the Nicene Creed, Part 13 (Just Jesus Evangelistic Campaign, Day 742 since Jan. 20, 2017 / Day 1,107 since Jan. 1, 2016)

TEXT: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:

6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.

8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

11 Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.

——-

Regarding First Corinthians 15:1-11, Albert Barnes said, “It is comparatively immaterial by whom the preaching was done. The establishment of the truth is the great matter; and the question by whom it is done is one of secondary importance. Paul is saying, ‘We all defend the same great doctrines; we all insist on the fact that the Lord Jesus died and rose; and this doctrine you all have believed. This doctrine is confirmed by all who preach; and this enters into the faith of all who believe.’ The design of Paul is to affirm that the doctrines which he here refers to were great, undeniable, and fundamental doctrines of Christianity; that they were proclaimed by all the ministers of the gospel, and believed by all Christians. They were, therefore, immensely important to all; and they must enter essentially into the hopes of all.”

Regarding the development of creeds in the early church, J.N.D. Kelly said, “In contradiction to the view that Paul was a daring doctrinal innovator, virtually the inventor of theology, all the evidence goes to prove that he had a healthy regard for the objective body of teaching authoritatively handed down in the Church. Nor was he isolated in having this attitude. The Apostles considered ‘the ministry of the word,’ that is, the proclamation of the message with which they were entrusted, to be their overriding duty. ‘The word which was preached to you,’ referred to in First Peter, presumably formed the basis of baptismal instruction.”

In this series, we have looked at the following factual statements from the Nicene Creed based upon the Word of God:

We believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.
He was seen alive by Mary Magdalene and the other women,
the disciples, and over five hundred other brethren;

He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

Today, we will continue looking at the next section of the new Nicene Creed, which reads as follows:

He will come again with glory
to judge the living and the dead.
His kingdom will never end.

From this passage, we have seen that Jesus’ ascension marked, not an ending, but a beginning (and continuation) of the work of announcing the Kingdom. Second, the ascension marks the beginning of the fulfillment of Christ’s kingdom. Third, the ascension marked Jesus’ return to the Father after the completion of His work. Fourth, in the ascension, we also see the expectation of Christ’s return.

FINALLY, TODAY, THE ASCENSION SHOWS US THE COMING EXECUTION OF CHRIST’S JUDGMENT. The Nicene Creed states that, at His return, Jesus will “judge the living and the dead” and “His kingdom will never end.” Second Timothy 4:1 says, “the Lord Jesus Christ shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom.” In John 5:22, Jesus Christ said, “the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son.”

We like to think of Jesus Christ returning to take us to Heaven to be with Him, but the Bible tells us that the Lord is also coming to execute judgment on the living and the dead. When we pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven,” we are, of necessity, praying for the judgment of sin and evil in the world because, in Heaven, just as there will be no suffering, no pain, no heartache, and no tears, there will be no sin and no evil to cause suffering, pain, heartache, and tears. When He returns, the Lord Jesus Christ will execute judgment on the Earth, and all of those who remain in rebellion against Him will be destroyed.

Brian Tabb said Christ’s judgment should infuse believers with “hope for a glorious future. The ascended Lord will return as judge and king. He will abolish injustice, end suffering, and destroy death and set up his kingdom of truth, righteousness and love. Best of all, we will be with our king forever.”

The ascension of Jesus Christ is just as important as His coming, His death, and His resurrection. All of it is a part of God’s plan. Jesus’ exaltation reminds us that even now, He is King of kings and Lord of lords. The expectation of His coming gives us hope for the future. And his execution of judgment on Earth lets us know that He has everything under control, and that one day, His kingdom will fully come and His will will be fully done on Earth as it is in Heaven.

James R. Woodford wrote:

Christ, above all glory seated!
King triumphant, strong to save!
Dying, Thou hast death defeated;
Buried, Thou hast spoiled the grave.

Thou art gone, where now is given
What no mortal might could gain,
On the eternal throne of Heaven,
In Thy Father’s power to reign.

There Thy kingdoms all adore Thee,
Heaven above and earth below;
While the depths of hell before Thee
Trembling and defeated bow.

We, O Lord, with hearts adoring
Follow Thee above the sky!
Hear our prayers Thy grace imploring,
Lift our souls to Thee on high.

——-

Now, if you are with us today and you do not know Jesus Christ as your Savior, allow me to show you how you can place your faith and trust in Him for Salvation from sin and Hell.

First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”

God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.

He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica since 1987. God has blessed their union with seven children.

Easter According to the Nicene Creed, Part 12 (Just Jesus Evangelistic Campaign, Day 741 since Jan. 20, 2017 / Day 1,106 since Jan. 1, 2016)

TEXT: 1 Corinthians 15:1-8

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:

6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.

8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

——-

Regarding First Corinthians 15:8, Mark Dunagan said, “Paul is one who, from the spiritual point of view, was not born at the right time because he had not been a disciple during the lifetime of Jesus. His calling is somewhat forced as well as abnormal. He is torn from his previous course of life by the powerful intervention of the exalted Christ. Paul didn’t consider his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus to be a visionary experience, but an actual resurrection appearance of the same kind as the others mentioned in this series. His seeing Jesus was as ‘objective’ as theirs.”

Regarding the existence of creeds in the early church, J.N.D. Kelly said, “Examples could easily be multiplied, and the conclusion is inescapable that, however anachronistic it may be to postulate fixed credal forms for the apostolic age, the documents themselves testify to the existence of a corpus of distinctively Christian teaching. In this sense, it is legitimate to speak of the creed of the primitive Church. Nor was it something vague and nebulous, without precision of contour: its main features were easily defined.”

In this series, we have looked at the following factual statements from the Nicene Creed:

We believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.
He was seen alive by Mary Magdalene and the other women,
the disciples, and over five hundred other brethren;

He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

Today, we will continue looking at the next section of the new Nicene Creed, which reads as follows:

He will come again with glory
to judge the living and the dead.
His kingdom will never end.

IN THE ASCENSION, WE ALSO SEE THE EXPECTATION OF CHRIST’S RETURN. The Nicene Creed says, “He will come again with glory.” After His ascension, two angels appeared to the disciples and said, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” Perhaps the one thing that has driven Christianity forward more than anything else is the expectation that Jesus Christ is coming again. All other religions worship and follow a dead leader. But Christians worship and follow a living Savior. We don’t make pilgrimages to Jesus’ tomb seeking guidance and inspiration. We aren’t looking to the ground for our deliverance, we are looking up into glory because that’s the direction in which our resurrected Savior went. He ascended and we expect Him to descend one day soon and take us to be with Him.

David Guzik points out that the way in which Jesus Christ left the earth was different from the way in which He had appeared and disappeared to His disciples over the 40 days after His resurrection. “Jesus was taken up from them, as He was blessing them, slowly disappearing into the sky, surrounded by a cloud. Jesus certainly could have simply ‘vanished’ to the Father’s presence in a secret sort of way.” But Jesus wanted to let His disciples know with certainty where He was going. After Jesus had disappeared beyond the clouds, the disciples stood gazing into the sky, and that is when the angels appeared and told them that Jesus would come back one day and that they needed to get busy right now. Like the disciples, we ought to be about our Father’s business in this world as well. But we ought to look up in expectation of Christ’s return.

FINALLY, THE ASCENSION SHOWS US THE COMING EXECUTION OF CHRIST’S JUDGMENT. The Nicene Creed states that, at His return, Jesus will “judge the living and the dead” and “His kingdom will never end.” Second Timothy 4:1 says, “the Lord Jesus Christ shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom.” In John 5:22, Jesus Christ said, “the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son.”

James R. Woodford wrote:

Christ, above all glory seated!
King triumphant, strong to save!
Dying, Thou hast death defeated;
Buried, Thou hast spoiled the grave.

Thou art gone, where now is given
What no mortal might could gain,
On the eternal throne of Heaven,
In Thy Father’s power to reign.

There Thy kingdoms all adore Thee,
Heaven above and earth below;
While the depths of hell before Thee
Trembling and defeated bow.

We, O Lord, with hearts adoring
Follow Thee above the sky!
Hear our prayers Thy grace imploring,
Lift our souls to Thee on high.

——-

Now, if you are with us today and you do not know Jesus Christ as your Savior, allow me to show you how you can place your faith and trust in Him for Salvation from sin and Hell.

First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”

God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.

He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica since 1987. God has blessed their union with seven children.

Easter According to the Nicene Creed, Part 11 (Just Jesus Evangelistic Campaign, Day 740 since Jan. 20, 2017 / Day 1,105 since Jan. 1, 2016)

TEXT: 1 Corinthians 15:1-8

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:

6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.

8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

——-

Regarding First Corinthians 15:1-8, Brad Price said, “In this passage, Paul implied that if anyone wanted to question the people [who saw Jesus after His resurrection], that could (and should) be done. Christianity was started and perpetuated with many different miracles, thousands of people witnessing Jesus before and after His resurrection, and the beliefs of Christianity were ‘delivered once for all time.’ No other religion has been introduced, verified, and perpetuated in the way that Christianity has been.”

Regarding the importance of early church creeds, Anthony Costello said, “Knowing the creeds can help us better appreciate the rich, intellectual history of our faith — something we all want to do as faithful defenders of Christ’s church, but are often times unaware of. So, to know the deposit of faith left for us by our spiritual forefathers, can be not only apologetically useful for defending certain claims, but also spiritually formative in putting us in touch with our past.”

In this series, we have looked at the following factual statements from the Nicene Creed:

We believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.
He was seen alive by Mary Magdalene and the other women,
the disciples, and over five hundred other brethren;

Today, we will continue looking at the next section of the new Nicene Creed, which reads as follows:

He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

From these words in the Nicene Creed, we see that the ascension of Christ not an ending, but the beginning (and continuation) of a new age of evangelism and mercy. Second, the ascension of Christ marks the beginning of the fulfillment of Christ’s Kingdom on earth.

THIRD, THE ASCENSION MARKS JESUS’ RETURN TO THE FATHER. After His resurrection, Jesus tells Mary, “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.” When Jesus went back to Heaven, imagine the great homecoming celebration that awaited Him there. He had fulfilled the purpose for which He had been sent into the world. All of Heaven rejoiced as its Hero came home. But, Jesus did not just go back to Heaven to celebrate His victory. He went to Heaven to prepare a place for us and to begin His intercessory work for us before His Heavenly Father.

The ascension and exaltation of Jesus Christ is very important for our understanding of the church’s role in the world today. Walter Elwell said, “Clearly the greatest theological emphasis of the New Testament regarding the ascension is that Christ now regains the glory he had with the Father before the world began, is now able to send his powerful Spirit into the world, and reigns from heaven over every authority and power in heaven and earth.” We can be confident that while we are down here, Jesus Christ is up there interceding for us, overseeing His work through us, and preparing a place for us.

In closing, on Sunday, I shared with you part of an interview between Focus On the Family host Jim Daly and investigative journalist Lee Strobel who described how women being the leaders in the resurrection account bolsters the claim that Jesus actually, physically rose from the dead. After investigating this evidence on his own as an atheist, Lee Strobel came to the conclusion that what the Bible says is true, and that led him to give his life to Christ. He said in the interview, “I read John 1:12 which says, ‘But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believed in His name.’ That verse forms an equation of what it means to become a child of God — believe plus receive equals become. Believe that Jesus is who He claimed to be. He claimed to be the son of God. He backed up that claim by returning from the dead. I believed that based on the historical data. But that wasn’t enough. I had to receive this free gift of God’s grace, forgiveness, and eternal life that Jesus purchased on the cross when He died for our sins as our substitute and paid for all of the sins that we’ve committed so that we could be given this free gift of forgiveness and eternal life. And then when we receive that gift in a prayer of repentance and faith, then we become a child of God. I think there’s a lot of people who would agree with the resurrection evidence, but their life hasn’t changed. Their values haven’t changed. Their character hasn’t changed. Their morality hasn’t changed. Because they haven’t taken that next step — to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior in a prayer of repentance and faith.”

If you are ready to pray that prayer of repentance and faith, g nallow me to show you how you can place your faith and trust in Him for Salvation from sin and Hell.

First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”

God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.

He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica since 1987. God has blessed their union with seven children.

Easter According to the Nicene Creed, Part 10 (Just Jesus Evangelistic Campaign, Day 739 since Jan. 20, 2017 / Day 1,104 since Jan. 1, 2016)

TEXT: 1 Corinthians 15:1-8

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:

6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.

8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

——-

Regarding First Corinthians 15:1-8, William Godbey said, “This great Bible truth involves the conclusion that man inherited immortality from the creative decree appertaining to soul, mind and body. Hence the body is as immortal as the soul, only taking a nap in the dust, awaiting the mandate of God, revealed by the resurrection trumpet. It is very injudicious for us to speak of our departed loved ones as dead. We should look upon and speak of our departed friends as yet alive, and living in a better country than ever before.”

Regarding the purpose of the Nicene Creed, Anthony Costello said, “Regaining a knowledge of these core beliefs, handed down by the first witnesses, and later consolidated by Christ-followers into formal, and definitional statements, can provide a second mooring for understanding what we believe, why we believe it, and why we need to defend it.”

In this series, we have looked at the following factual statements from the Nicene Creed:

We believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.
He was seen alive by Mary Magdalene and the other women,
the disciples, and over five hundred other brethren;

Today, we will continue looking at the next section of the new Nicene Creed, which reads as follows:

He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

From these words in the Nicene Creed, we see three important facts about the exaltation of Jesus Christ.

Mark 16:19 says, “After the Lord had spoken unto [the disciples], he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.” If you have ever wondered where Jesus Christ is right now, this verse provides the answer. After He finished the work which He was sent to do on Earth, He sat down on His throne at the right hand of God in Heaven. After walking among men for 33 years, He picked up the glory that He had laid aside temporarily and ascended into Heaven. Philippians 2:9 says, “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name.” Why is the exaltation of Christ so important?

FIRST, THE ASCENSION MARKS NOT AN ENDING, BUT A BEGINNING. Acts 1:1-2 says, “The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, Until the day in which he was taken up…” Notice the word “began.” Jesus’ ascension and exaltation was not a consummation but a commencement of the greatest work ever carried out on earth — the work of spreading the good news of salvation to every nation. You and I are blessed to be a part of that work today. Jesus is still working through His church by the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish this task.

SECOND, THE ASCENSION MARKS THE BEGINNING OF THE FULFILLMENT OF CHRIST’S KINGDOM. Jesus “ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.” When Stephen was being stoned for his faith, he declared, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.” On the cross, Jesus Christ defeated Satan and thwarted his plan to rule on the earth. Because of His victory, Jesus’ kingdom has already begun. Right now He reigns in the hearts of millions of men and women across the globe, and one day, He will reign on Earth as King of kings and Lord of lords.

Charles Wesley wrote:

Hail the day that sees Him rise
To His throne above the skies
Christ, awhile to mortals given
Reascends His native heaven

There the glorious triumph waits
Lift your heads, eternal gates
Christ hath conquered death and sin
Take the King of glory in

Still for us His death He pleads
Prevalent He intercedes
Near Himself prepares our place
Harbinger of human race

Grant, though parted from our sight
Far above yon azure height
Grant our hearts may thither rise
Seeking Thee beyond the skies

Now, if you are with us today and you do not know Jesus Christ as your Savior, allow me to show you how you can place your faith and trust in Him for Salvation from sin and Hell.

First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”

God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.

He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica since 1987. God has blessed their union with seven children.

Easter According to the Nicene Creed, Part 9 (Just Jesus Evangelistic Campaign, Day 737 since Jan. 20, 2017 / Day 1,102 since Jan. 1, 2016)

TEXT: 1 Corinthians 15:1-8

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:

6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.

8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

——-

Regarding First Corinthians 15:6, Thomas Coke said, “The appearance to the 500 was probably in Galilee, where our Saviour had a very great number of disciples. This is so far from being an objection to the truth of our Saviour’s resurrection, that it is a glorious proof of the contrary. Had it been an imposture, so many false hearts and tongues could never have acted in concert; nor would they all have kept the secret, which remorse, interest, and perhaps often torture, might urge them to divulge.”

Regarding the purpose of the Nicene Creed, Robert Goff said, “One of the purposes of the Creed was to give continuity to Christianity as it expanded over the world. As the faith spread across the globe it found itself interacting with the customs and practices of the indigenous people. In many instances new converts found themselves adopting the practices of Christianity in conjunction with their old way of life. This led to a myriad of heretical beliefs. The Creed gave a firm theological basis for universal Christian faith and doctrine so that as the faith spread globally its core tenants would stay firm.”

In this series, we have looked at the following factual statements from the Nicene Creed:

We believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

Today, we will continue looking at the next section of the new Nicene Creed, which deals with the resurrection and the evidence for the resurrection:

The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.
He was seen alive by Mary Magdalene and the other women,
the disciples, and over five hundred other brethren;

From the words of the Nicene Creed, we see three important facts about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We looked at the necessity of Jesus’ resurrection. We have looked at the unlikely evidence for Jesus’ resurrection — that women were the first to find the empty tomb and the first to declare the risen Lord.

Today, we are looking at FURTHER EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY OF THE RESURRECTION. Jesus was also “seen alive” by “the disciples, and over five hundred other brethren.” These are men and women who met with, talked with, and ate with Jesus after His crucifixion. It is impossible that all of them were hallucinating, experiencing flashbacks, or fabricating a story. Paul even adds in his letter, “the greater part [of these eyewitnesses] remain [alive] unto this present [day], but some are fallen asleep [or have died].” He says, “Most of these guys are still alive. You don’t have to take my word for it. Go ask them.”

The disciples and brethren who saw Jesus alive went on to establish the church in Jerusalem. Jesus’ crucifixion was a major event in the life of the city. Historians tell us that the population of Jerusalem was normally about 100,000. But, during Passover, the city’s population swelled to around 3 million as Jews from all over the diaspora traveled to the city for the commemoration. Everybody knew what had happened to Jesus, not only in Jerusalem, but in the surrounding areas as people left the city and traveled back home. It would have been ridiculos for Jesus’ followers to begin preaching that Jesus was alive when everybody knew He was dead — unless He actually was alive.

The disciples’ preaching about a risen Jesus only got them persecuted and killed. And that is yet another evidence that the resurrection really happened. Dr. Jonathan Morrow said, “The earliest disciples would have known — not just believed, but would have known — that either Jesus was who He claimed to be and was actually raised from the dead or they were making this thing up. And yet history tells us that we have good reason to think they all went to their death with the exception of one for that core belief: that Jesus was raised from the dead. They didn’t recant that. Conspiracies break down under pressure. And this conspiracy would have cost them their lives.”

The disciples were willing to die for Jesus because Jesus had died for them — and because they knew that since He had risen from the dead, He would raise them from the dead as well.

On yesterday, I shared with you part of an interview between Focus On the Family host Jim Daly and investigative journalist Lee Strobel who described how women being the leaders in the resurrection account bolsters the claim that Jesus actually, physically rose from the dead. After investigating this evidence on his own as an atheist, Lee Strobel came to the conclusion that what the Bible says is true, and that led him to give his life to Christ. He said in the interview, “I read John 1:12 which says, ‘But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believed in His name.’ That verse forms an equation of what it means to become a child of God — believe plus receive equals become. So believing is a great first step. Believe that Jesus is who He claimed to be. He claimed to be the son of God. He backed up that claim by returning from the dead. I believe that based on the historical data. But that wasn’t enough. I had to receive this free gift of God’s grace, forgiveness, and eternal life that Jesus purchased on the cross when He died for our sins as our substitute and paid for all of the sins that we’ve committed so that we could be given this free gift of forgiveness and eternal life. And then when we receive that gift in a prayer of repentance and faith, then we become a child of God… I think there’s a lot of people who would agree with the resurrection evidence, but their life hasn’t changed. Their values haven’t changed. Their character hasn’t changed. Their morality hasn’t changed. Because they haven’t taken that next step — to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior in a prayer of repentance and faith.”

If you are ready to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, allow me to show you how you can place your faith and trust in Him for salvation from sin and Hell.

First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”

God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.

He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica since 1987. God has blessed their union with seven children.

Easter According to the Nicene Creed, Part 7 (Just Jesus Evangelistic Campaign, Day 735 since Jan. 20, 2017 / Day 1,200 since Jan. 1, 2016)

TEXT: 1 Corinthians 15:1-8

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:

6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.

8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

——-

Regarding First Corinthians 15:4-8, Warren Wiersbe said, “It is important to note that the believers at Corinth did believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ; so Paul started his argument with that fundamental truth. He presented three proofs to assure his readers that Jesus Christ indeed had been raised from the dead. His first proof was their salvation; after all, a dead Savior cannot save anybody. Paul’s second proof was the Old Testament Scriptures. But where does the Old Testament declare Jesus’ resurrection on the third day? Jesus pointed to the experience of Jonah. Paul also compared Christ’s resurrection to the ‘firstfruits,’ and the firstfruits were presented to God on the day following the Sabbath after Passover. Since the Sabbath must always be the seventh day, the day after Sabbath must be the first day of the week, or Sunday, the day of our Lord’s resurrection. This covers three days on the Jewish calendar. Paul’s third proof was that Christ was seen by witnesses. On the cross, Jesus was exposed to the eyes of unbelievers; but after the resurrection, He was seen by believers who could be witnesses of His resurrection. The resurrection is not just important; it is ‘of first importance,’ because all that we believe hinges on it.”

On this Resurrection Sunday of Holy Week, we are continuing our series drawn from the Word of God, the Holy Bible, and a historical text based on the Word of God, the Holy Bible, that was passed down from the early church all the way to us today — the Nicene Creed. Not only are we talking about the power of Easter and Resurrection Sunday, but we are talking about the importance of the historical Christian faith that was passed down to us from the early church, how that we as Christians who are falling away from it ought to return to it, and how that the world ought to hear it so they can believe on Christ.

Regarding the history of the Nicene Creed, Ken Collins said, “The Church formulated the Nicene Creed before it issued an official list of the books of the New Testament that were already in use as Holy Scripture. Another way of looking at it is that God chose the people who were bound by the Nicene Creed to affirm the contents of the New Testament, thereby endorsing the theology of the creed. The Nicene Creed is therefore a reliable test of our interpretation of the New Testament. If we are at variance with the Nicene Creed, we are in error.”

In this series, we have looked at the following lines from the Nicene Creed:

We believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

Today, we will continue looking at the next section of the Nicene Creed, which reads as follows:

The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.
He was seen alive by Mary Magdalene and the other women,
the disciples, and over five hundred other brethren;

From the words of the Nicene Creed, we see three important facts about the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the climax of Holy Week.

FIRST, WE SEE THE NECESSITY OF JESUS’ RESURRECTION. Just as Jesus had to die, Jesus had to rise from the dead. And, “He rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” It was necessary for Jesus to rise from the dead to prove His divinity. Jesus’ death on the cross could not prove that He is God. Many criminals were scourged, nailed to a cross, and left to die. Even Jesus’ miracles do not, on their own, prove that He is God. They are convincing proof that Jesus was indeed a Man of God, but many of the Old Testament prophets worked miracles as well. However, miracles alone cannot prove divinity. Romans 1:4 says that Jesus was “declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”

It was also necessary for Jesus to rise from the dead to prove His power to deliver us from sin. Remember, “the wages of sin is death.” First Corinthians 15:17 says, “If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.” If Jesus had only died, He would have satisfied the Father’s wrath, but we would have still bound by sin. We would still stand guilty before God with no hope of getting into Heaven.

Another reason why Jesus’ resurrection is absolutely necessary is because it proves His ability to give eternal life. Romans 6:9 says, “Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.” Jesus’ death and resurrection secured the means by which we will also be raised from physical death and go to live in Heaven with Christ for eternity. Think of it as boarding a plane without having to worry about buying a ticket because somebody else has already paid for it. When Jesus defeated death and rose from the dead, He paid for our ticket to Heaven. Ephesians 2:6 says that, because of the resurrection, God “hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

Even though we are not physically in Heaven right now, it is just as good as if we were, because Jesus reserved our place by His resurrection. Simply put, without the resurrection, there is no salvation. John MacArthur said, “The salvation of God demanded eternal life, the coming of the Spirit, the forgiveness of sins, ongoing intercession, the bestowing of spiritual gifts, the granting of spiritual power and the outpouring of eternal blessing — and all of that hinges on the resurrection. If Christ doesn’t rise, none of it happens — none of it.”

SECOND, WE SEE THE UNLIKELY EVIDENCE FOR JESUS’ RESURRECTION. “He was seen alive by Mary Magdalene and the other women.” Since the four gospels were written by four men with different perspectives and four different audiences, there are variations in the accounts of the Resurrection. But there is one detail that is consistent in all four accounts — that women were the first to discover that Jesus’ body was not in the tomb and that they were the first to bear the message that Jesus had risen to others. The angels at the tomb and Christ himself gave women the task of delivering the great news of His resurrection to His disciples during a time when the testimony of women would not be believed in court unless men could corroborate it.

In his book, Exploring Reality: The Intertwining of Science and Religion, physicist John Polkinghorne said: “Perhaps the strongest reason of taking the stories of the empty tomb absolutely seriously lies in the fact that it is women who play the leading role. It would have been very unlikely for anyone in the ancient world who was concocting a story to assign the principal part to women since, in those times, they were not considered capable of being reliable witnesses in a court of law. It is surely much more probable that they appear in the gospel accounts precisely because they actually fulfilled the role that the stories assign to them, and in so doing, they make a startling discovery.”

If they were making up the resurrection, the most unlikely thing any of Jesus’ disciples would have done, would have been to make women the discoverers and deliverers of this news. The only logical explanation is that the gospel accounts come down to us in the way they have because they are the absolute truth.

THIRD, WE SEE FURTHER EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY OF THE RESURRECTION. Jesus was also “seen alive” by “the disciples, and over five hundred other brethren.” These are men and women who met with, talked with, and ate with Jesus after His crucifixion. It is impossible that all of them were hallucinating, experiencing flashbacks, or fabricating a story. Paul even adds in his letter, “the greater part [of these eyewitnesses] remain [alive] unto this present [day], but some are fallen asleep [or have died].” He says, “Most of these guys are still alive. You don’t have to take my word for it. Go ask them.”

The disciples and brethren who saw Jesus alive went on to establish the church in Jerusalem. Jesus’ crucifixion was a major event in the life of the city. Historians tell us that the population of Jerusalem was normally about 100,000. But, during Passover, the city’s population swelled to around 3 million as Jews from all over the diaspora traveled to the city for the commemoration. Everybody knew what had happened to Jesus, not only in Jerusalem, but in the surrounding areas as people left the city and traveled back home. It would have been foolish for Jesus’ followers to begin preaching that Jesus was alive when everybody knew He was dead — unless He actually was alive.

The disciples’ preaching about a risen Jesus only got them persecuted and killed. And that is yet another evidence that the resurrection really happened. Jonathan Morrow said, “The earliest disciples would have known — not just believed, but would have known — that either Jesus was who He claimed to be and was actually raised from the dead or they were making this thing up. And yet history tells us that we have good reason to think they all went to their death with the exception of one for that core belief: that Jesus was raised from the dead. They didn’t recant that. Conspiracies break down under pressure. And this conspiracy would have cost them their lives.”

The disciples were willing to die for Jesus because Jesus had died for them — and because they knew that since He had risen from the dead, He would raise them from the dead as well. This Easter, we remember a risen Savior who was seen alive by Mary Magdalene and the other women, the disciples, and over five hundred other brethren. It’s the most important thing.

Charles Wesley said:

All ye that seek the Lord who died,
Your God for sinners crucified,
Prevent the earliest dawn, and come
To worship at His sacred tomb.

Could neither seal nor stone secure,
Nor men, nor devils make it sure?
The seal is broke, the stone cast by,
And all the powers of darkness fly.

The body breathes, and lifts His head,
The keepers sink, and fall as dead;
The dead restored to life appear,
The living quake, and die for fear.

The Lord of Life is risen indeed,
To death delivered in your stead;
His rise proclaims your sins forgiven,
And shows the living way to Heaven.

Haste then, ye souls that first believe,
Who dare the Gospel-Word receive,
Your faith with joyful hearts confess,
Be bold, be Jesus’ witnesses.

——-

Now, if you are with us today and you do not know Jesus Christ as your Savior, allow me to show you how you can place your faith and trust in Him for Salvation from sin and Hell.

First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”

God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.

He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica since 1987. God has blessed their union with seven children.

Easter According to the Nicene Creed, Part 6 (Just Jesus Evangelistic Campaign, Day 734 since Jan. 20, 2017 / Day 1,099 since Jan. 1, 2016)

TEXT: 1 Corinthians 15:1-8

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:

6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.

8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

——-

Regarding First Corinthians 15:1-8, Raymond Ortlund Jr. said: “The Gospel of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ is today suffering humiliation among [Christians] by our conspicuous neglect of it. We should not think, ‘Well, of course we have the Gospel. We already know that. Ho-hum.’ Such complacency will cost us dearly. Every generation of Christians must be retaught afresh the basic truths of our faith. The church is always one generation away from total ignorance of the Gospel, and we today are making rapid progress toward that ruinous goal. Rather than carelessly assume the Gospel, we must aggressively, deliberately, fully and passionately teach and preach the Gospel.”

Joe Rigney said, “Jesus is like us, but different. Jesus’ body was buried, like ours, but it did not decay. Jesus’ soul went to Hades, like the Old Testament saints, but wasn’t abandoned there. God raised him from the dead, reunited his soul with a now-glorified body, so that he is the firstfruits of the resurrection harvest. And this is good news for us, because those in Christ now bypass the land of forgetfulness, where no one praises God. Instead, when we die, we join with the angelic choir and the saints of old to sing praises to the Lamb who was slain for us and our salvation.”

On this Holy Saturday of Holy Week, we are continuing our series drawn from the Word of God, the Holy Bible, and a historical text based on the Word of God, the Holy Bible, that was passed down from the early church all the way to us today — the Nicene Creed. Not only are we talking about the power of Easter and Resurrection Sunday, but we are talking about the importance of the historical Christian faith that was passed down to us from the early church, how that we as Christians who are falling away from it ought to return to it, and how that the world ought to hear it so they can believe on Christ.

In this series, we have looked at the first two sections of the Nicene Creed, which read:

We believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

Today, we will continue looking at the next section of the Nicene Creed, which reads as follows:

These words remind us of the first Good Friday, which, to those who lived through it, would have seemed like a very dark day indeed. Certainly not a day to celebrate or call “good.” Unfortunately, as Eric Gungor wrote a few years ago, “Good Friday isn’t always noticed by modern Christ-followers. In fact, it is the least attended service on the Christian calendar. (Some churches don’t even have a Good Friday service.) Contrariwise, Easter has the highest attendance. It appears we love to think about the hope of the Resurrection without attending to the messiness of the Cross. But the truth is, there would have been no Easter without a Golgotha.” If Jesus had not died, if He had not been crucified, His coming into the world would have been in vain.

From the words of the Nicene Creed, we see three important facts about the coming of Jesus Christ, the focus of Holy Week.

FIRST, WE SEE THE LORDSHIP OF JESUS CHRIST. “Through him all things were made.” John chapter 1 tells us that “all things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” The Son was with the Father in the creation of the world. Hence, the Son has the same authority and lordship over the world that the Father does. However, Jesus’ lordship extends beyond the general to the specific, beyond the cumulative to the individual, beyond the universal to the personal. We see this in John 20:28, when the disciple, Thomas, meets the risen Saviour and declares, “My Lord and my God!”

We often refer to Jesus Christ as the “suffering servant,” especially in light of Good Friday. We often speak of how He was whipped, beaten, spit on, jeered at, and mocked. But that only heightens the stark contrast of Him being the Lord of all. It was His creation that rejected Him, abandoned Him, betrayed Him, and killed Him. In John 13:13, Jesus Christ told His disciples, “Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.” In Acts 2:36, Peter is preaching before a crowd in Jerusalem just after Pentecost, and he says, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

Jesus’ lordship is not dependent on our acceptance of it. Even while He hung naked, bloodied and grotesque, between the earth and the sky, He was the Lord of Heaven and Earth. R.C. Sproul Jr., said, “We make the foolish mistake of thinking that when enough souls decide to make Jesus the Lord of their lives, that He will become the Lord of all things. The reality is that Jesus is already Lord over all things. His kingdom, strictly speaking, does not expand, for even now it knows no borders. He does not, therefore, engage in some sort of power sharing arrangement with other pretenders to His throne, whether they be false deities, or those who falsely worship them. His lordship is not something we accomplish. It is something we recognize and submit to. It is not something we negotiate; it is something we proclaim.”

Jesus did not set aside His lordship when He came to earth. Rather, He chose to make “himself of no reputation, and took upon Himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.” Jesus did not abdicate His throne; He merely set aside His glory for a little while so that He could identify with and save lost humanity. While He was on Earth, He was still God almighty. He was still the Lord of the universe, and He demonstrated that lordship by healing the sick, casting out demons, calming stormy seas, raising the dead, multiplying food for thousands, and opening the eyes of the blind. And, most importantly, He demonstrated His lordship over the powers of sin, death, and darkness, by “triumphing over them by the cross.”

SECOND, WE SEE THE COMING OF JESUS CHRIST. “He came down from Heaven for us and for our salvation.” In John 6:51, Jesus says, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven.” He says, “I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” Ever since the Old Testament prophets predicted that the Messiah would come, the people of Israel had been waiting expectantly for His arrival. Rick Reinckens said, “God tells us in Isaiah that He alone knows the future and He tells it to us to prove that He is real and that the Bible is His word. This is called prophecy. The Creed contains nine examples of things that were foretold and later happened.” The coming of Jesus Christ is one of those things.

The Old Testament prophecies regarding the birth of Jesus provided hope for the people of Israel as they lived through the Exile, as they went back to their homeland, and as they waited through 400 years of silence from God. For us today, the prophecies of the coming of Jesus form a trail of truth and evidence which verifies the claims of Christ and upholds the real meaning of the Christian faith. If Jesus Christ had not come, we would have no faith, we would have no salvation, and we would have no eternal life.

Because most of the members of the early church were Jewish, they were able to appreciate Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah of the Jews and the Saviour of the world. We see this appreciation in the reaction of Anna and Simeon when Joseph and Mary brought the infant Jesus to the Temple. They both had long-awaited the Messiah and expressed great joy at finally seeing Him. Aren’t you glad that God keeps His promises? As the Bible says, “God is not a man that He should lie.” The promised Savior came, and each of us today receive benefits and blessings because of Him.

THIRD, WE SEE THE EMBODIMENT OF GOD IN JESUS CHRIST. That is what the Creed means when we read, “He became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary, and was made human.” All of us are familiar with John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Verse 17 goes on to say, “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” When God saw that man continued to sin and rebel against His authority, He could have very well decided to give up on trying to save us; but, He didn’t. He made a personal sacrifice by coming into the world and incarnating Himself in the form of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Speaking rhetorically, the writer of Proverbs 30 says, “Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell?” Of course, at the time these words were written, no one knew the name of Jesus as the Son of God. But, today, we are blessed to know the name of Jesus Christ and to see God Himself revealed through the sending of His Son. Matthew Henry states, “We must now exalt Christ as one revealed; they [the Jews] magnified him as one concealed, as one they had heard something about, but had very uncertain ideas of.”

The embodiment of God in Jesus Christ allows us to grasp that which is ineffable. The person of God is revealed in His incarnate Son. Carnegie Simpson said, “The face of Christ does not show us everything, but it shows the one thing we need to know — the character of God. God is the God who sent Jesus.” When Jesus came to earth, He came to unite sinful man to God. He “came into the world to save sinners.” That salvation involved severe physical suffering and death. Yet, Jesus still put on a cloak of mortal flesh and took care of everything necessary for a lost soul to be saved. The once-for-all sacrifice of Christ — yea, the once-for-all sacrifice of God — is the only means by which man can be saved.

This Easter season, we celebrate Jesus as the Lord of all, the promised Savior, and the embodiment of God for the benefit of man.

Fanny Crosby wrote:

Shout for joy, ye holy throng,
Christ the Lord is King;
Angel harps, the sound prolong,
Christ the Lord is King.

Shout for joy, ye nations all,
Christ the Lord is King;
Crowns before His throne shall fall,
Christ the Lord is King.

He who rent the boasting grave,
Christ the Lord is King;
He who lives the lost to save,
Christ the Lord is King.

Shout for joy, ye realms of night,
Christ the Lord is King;
Hail the beams of Gospel light,
Christ the Lord is King.

——-

Now, if you are with us today and you do not know Jesus Christ as your Savior, allow me to show you how you can place your faith and trust in Him for Salvation from sin and Hell.

First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”

God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.

He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica since 1987. God has blessed their union with seven children.

Easter According to the Nicene Creed, Part 4 (Just Jesus Evangelistic Campaign, Day 731 since Jan. 20, 2017 / Day 1,096 since Jan. 1, 2016)

TEXT: 1 Corinthians 15:1-8

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:

6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.

8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

——-

Regarding First Corinthians 15:1-8, Dr. R.C. Sproul said: “When I would teach a doctor of ministry program, I would ask the clergy there to define the gospel. And if I got ten percent of them to give an adequate answer, I would be happy. Because that word is thrown around so much it has died the death of a thousand qualifications. In New Testament terms, the gospel is the proclamation of the person and work of Jesus Christ plus how the benefits of that work can be appropriated to us by faith and by faith alone. So the gospel has a narrow definition: it’s the message about Jesus.”

Marshall Segal said, “Many of Jesus’s followers thought Jesus came to rescue and reign now. They anticipated a physical and political freedom from the oppressive Roman rule. For them, the Christ was the key to their immediate, this-world issues. Life now. Freedom now. Power now. But Jesus, walking to the cross, instead says to wait. Be patient. The rewards of following me, of finding life in me won’t come in full today, but they will far surpass anything else you could have hoped for. In this story of life and hope and freedom, death comes first, and then life. Darkness, and then liberating, untouchable, unsearchable light.”

On this Wednesday of Holy Week (sometimes referred to as Spy Wednesday), we are continuing our series drawn from the Word of God, the Holy Bible, and a historical text based on the Word of God, the Holy Bible, that was passed down from the early church all the way to us today — the Nicene Creed. Not only are we talking about the power of Easter and Resurrection Sunday, but we are talking about the importance of the historical Christian faith that was passed down to us from the early church, how that we as Christians who are falling away from it ought to return to it, and how that the world ought to hear it so they can believe on Christ.

Regarding the use of creeds in the church, John Piper said, “Is there a place for creeds in the church? I think they have a really important place. But they aren’t to be a replacement for the Bible and they shouldn’t be given equal authority to the Bible. Rather, they are to be considered faithful expressions of the Bible. We need faithful expressions of the Bible—both those written for our generation and those preserved from other generations.”

On Sunday, we looked at the first section of the Nicene Creed, which reads:

We believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

Over the past two days, we have been looking at the second section of the Nicene Creed, which reads as follows:

From these few words, we see three important facts about Jesus Christ, the focus of Holy Week. We have looked at the ETERNALITY OF JESUS CHRIST — that He is eternally existent, without beginning or end, just as God the Father is. Then, we looked at the UNIQUENESS OF JESUS CHRIST, the “only begotten Son of God,” one of a kind, not one of many.

THIRD, WE SEE THE NATURE OF JESUS CHRIST. He is “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God…of the same essence as the Father.” In John 14:9, Jesus says to Philip, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?” Jesus’ nature is that of His Father. He is complete God, complete light, complete truth. Every attribute that Scriptures apply to God are also applied to Jesus.

No one in their right mind would claim to be God. But Jesus did. He told the Jews who wanted to know who He was, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” Here, Jesus was not just describing His eternality. By using “I AM,” the name by which God revealed Himself to Moses and the nation of Israel, Jesus was claiming for Himself all of the attributes of the Heavenly Father as a part of His own nature.

Apologist and professor J. Warner Wallace said, “All worldviews have distinctive beliefs and characteristics distinguishing them from other ways of viewing the world. Christianity is no different. When it comes to the nature of Jesus, the Deity of Christ is a Christian essential. It has been affirmed by believers over the centuries based on the reliable eyewitness testimony of those who saw Jesus after He rose from the dead. Jesus was all man and all God and as part of the triune Godhead, Jesus is the uncreated Creator of the universe. As bold and exclusive as this claim may seem, it is the defining and distinctive teaching of the Bible. To reject the nature of Jesus is to reject the clear teaching of the Scriptures.”

This Easter season, we reaffirm our belief in the eternal, unique Son of God, Jesus Christ who is the “express image of the Father.

Edward Perronet said,

All hail the power of Jesus’ name!
Let angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown Him Lord of all.

Crown Him, ye morning stars of light,
Who fixed this floating ball;
Now hail the strength of Israel’s might,
And crown Him Lord of all.

Ye seed of Israel’s chosen race,
Ye ransomed from the fall,
Hail Him who saves you by His grace,
And crown Him Lord of all.

Sinners, whose love can never forget
The wormwood and the gall,
Go spread your trophies at His feet,
And crown Him Lord of all.

Let every tribe and every tongue
Before Him prostrate fall
And shout in universal song
The crownèd Lord of all.

——-

Now, if you are with us today and you do not know Jesus Christ as your Savior, allow me to show you how you can place your faith and trust in Him for Salvation from sin and Hell.

First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”

God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.

He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica since 1987. God has blessed their union with seven children.

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: