 I pray that you will continue to unite him so that he will be able to be used of you. Even for us that we shall put in time, energy and also all the efforts so that we will be able to learn. Thank you for this morning. Amen. Thank you Charles. And welcome everyone once again. I've just started the recording and see here. I don't want anybody to be locked out of the class. A lot of people are coming in. Okay. All right, so today we are shifting focus. We are. Last week we spent time on on the last two weeks on the scriptures. The authenticity, the accuracy of the scriptures. And today we are going to go forward into the changing focus. And we're going to spend time focusing on the person of Christ. Right. So we've spent the first part of our course on God creation, so on. Then we focused some lectures on the scriptures, the Bible. Trying to understand that. And then today we're going to shift focus, focus on the person of Christ and questions around the person. And so some of the things we want to understand is first of all, the uniqueness of Christ. That's what we'll be doing today. That is, why do we say Christ is unique? This is very important in our world today because when we talk about Christ as unique, he is the only way to salvation. He's the only savior. We have salvation only through him. Then immediately there is this backlash or response from the world in general that we are being intolerant that we are being, you know, close minded. We have an air of air of superiority. So whatever, whatever, all kinds of things that, you know, then we say Christ is unique and he's the only way to salvation. So we want to discuss that and try to understand that. And sadly in many parts of the Christian world, even among Christian leaders, there's been a compromise or a change in message from saying Jesus is one. From saying Jesus is the way he is the Messiah to, okay, he's one of the ways, you know, they're refusing to state categorically that he is unique. So sadly, there's been that change or sometimes there's even been a change into what we call as universalism. That is, everybody saved automatically because Jesus died for everybody, you know, so you can make everybody happy by telling them you're automatically saved because Jesus died for you. He died for the sins of the whole world, so every human being is already saved. So, you know, people have tried to shift positions and talking about Christian leaders, theologically, because to stand by this fact that Christ is unique. First of all, you need to be convinced why he is unique and why he is the only way to salvation. And then it takes a lot of courage to, especially in today's world, to stand up and say Christ is unique. But I'm sure that even the apostles in the early church, it wasn't easy to stand up and say Christ is unique. Because, you know, the philosophers of those days, they worshipped, you know, all the gods, everybody. So to stand up there and say Christ is unique is the only way to salvation is very challenging. It was not easy for them and it's not easy for us today, but we need to be convinced on the uniqueness of Christ. So we're going to focus on that. And then secondly, we are, then we also want to talk subsequently on the resurrection of Christ. That, you know, how do we, we are here 2000 years later, we were not there when it happened. Or just after it happened, we are here 2000 years detached from that event that took place. So looking back, how do we piece evidence together? And from the information we have, and how do we substantiate the resurrection of Christ? So that would be another question to look at as concerned the person of Christ. Okay, so we're going to spend some time on that. And then we will move on into other topics like, you know, how do we present this unique Christ to a Hindu, unique Christ to a Muslim? Some thoughts on that. And then get into other topics that we want to have a section of, we will have a section on social issues. That is, how do we respond to some of the dominant teams that are affecting society? So we will take some time to respond to that. And then the last piece that we want to look at is how do you respond to the questions related to suffering? If there is a good God, you know, why did he let the pandemic happen? Why did so many lives get lost? I mean, die? Why did so many lose their lives? You know, why is there suffering in this world? Why is there terrible sicknesses and diseases? All these questions. And so the question is related to suffering. That'll be a last topic. And then if we have time, you know, we'll just keep it open for any other things that might be of interest. So the course notes, the lecture notes for today's lectures are on your classwork section. And I'm just going to share it as we go through the lectures today. Is that all okay? You're all good? Everybody with me so far? The plan that we have in front of us? Okay. Nobody said yes. Someone's assuming it's a yes. Okay. All right. Oh, okay. But I just wanted to highlight certain things. Okay, I was just wondering how to do that. Anyway, let's try this out. Go ahead and share it. Let's see how this works. Anyway, so the lecture notes are there. And if I need to add a switch and I can have Tarun share this, but let's try this out for now. And so on the uniqueness of Christ, the person of Christ, right? So now some people have tried to dismiss the person of Christ. I hope people are still coming in. Hope they're coming. Some people have tried to dismiss the person of Christ by just dismissing his place in history. You know, that's quite a task because, you know, they try to say, well, Christ never existed in history. He was just a legend. He was just a story. He was just, you know, a figment of imagination that somebody came up with. Now that's a hard sell because historically the person of Christ, the fact that there was this person called Jesus of Nazareth, cannot be disputed. So there are at least 19 ancient sources that refer to Jesus Christ as a real person. So when somebody tries to just dismiss Christ as a legend, as a story, as a fable and not part of history, that doesn't happen. So, you know, and we have various, you know, historians that you could reference that who have confirmed or wrote about Christ from that period of time or close to that period of time. You know, they wrote, they recorded history. Now, the very fact that, you know, all of human history was divided around this person should be evidence enough that, hey, this person lived. Otherwise, why would, you know, why would somebody even think of dividing history prior to and after his life. And of course, sent it around that we want the modern days trying to rephrase that but, you know, the common era and just try to avoid making mention of the focus of the person of Christ. But regardless of what is done, the fact is, historically, there was this person, Jesus of Nazareth, and he has been written about by historians from his day. So we can't buy into that of trying to dismiss Jesus as a fable or a myth or a legend or a story. He was there historically. So why would this person Christ be absolutely unique, like how, you know, we, you know, if you're going to say what the Bible says, why would we, you know, why would we present Jesus Christ as unique. Right. And so I want us to think through on it. Some of these may be very basic, very simple, but nonetheless, we need to think through, understand this for ourselves and be convinced about it ourselves. Then we can, you know, we, when we take our stand and say Jesus Christ is unique, we know why we're taking that stand. So the objective here is, first of all, each one of us should be convinced about the uniqueness of Christ. And then we can share that with others and convince others about his uniqueness. Okay. So that's what we're going to go through. Again, I'm concerned about people being locked out of the class just a minute. All right, let them come in. All right. Okay. So let's proceed. So what we're going to do is we're going to look at it in these nine statements that I've put together. These, some of these are, you know, common, but some of these, when we get into it, there may be some things that we want to really highlight. So first is about Christ's claim for himself. Second, the Bible statement about the person of Christ, the deity of Christ. Third, the Bible statement about Christ's uniqueness. Number four, the Incarnation Word and the Origin Word of Christ. Why is that unique? Why is that so crucial and so important? Number five, his life work, teaching and impact on history. Number six, the sacrificial death of Christ. Number seven, the resurrection of Christ. Number eight, the provision of salvation through faith in Christ. And number nine, his power to transform, heal and deliver. So these nine statements, as we delve into each of these, I want you to understand them, of course, but also look at them from the perspective of why does this make Christ unique? Why does this particular piece or point or statement make Christ unique? I want you to think about it from that perspective. So number one, Christ's claim for himself. This is something very unique. When you compare Jesus with, you know, just in general, and if you're comparing a religious leader with other religious leaders, Christ, in what he claimed, was very unique. He dared to make these kinds of statements. He said, I am the bread of life. That means I'm the one who satisfies your hunger, your spiritual hunger, and I am the one who gives your life. He said, I am the light of the world. That's pretty strong. The implication is the world is in darkness. It needs the light I'm bringing. And he didn't say I am one of the lights. I am the light of the world. And he said, next one, before Abraham was, I am. Now we will be referencing this again a little later. But no other man stood up and said, hey, I was there before somebody who lived 2,000 years before me, or, you know, way back in time, whatever time, but there's 100 years or 200 years or 2,000 years or 4,000 years. Before Abraham was, I am. Imagine if I stood up and said, hey, before my great grandfather I was, then that just wouldn't hold. But he stood up and said, before Abraham was, I am. Now, whoever claimed that, that I was there back in time. He said, I am the door of the sheep. I am the door of the sheep. That means the sheep, the people who belong to God will have to go through me. I am the door. I am the good shepherd. I am the resurrection and the life. I am the way, the truth and the life. I am the true wine. So if you look at the I am claims of Jesus, it's very emphatic. It's very clear. It's categorical. There is no I am like many others. So you can choose from all 10 of us whom you want to follow. No, it's not like that. He is saying I am very different from anyone before me or anyone after me. This is who I am. So if he claimed that for himself. And if you and I say we believe in him for who he said he is, then we have no choice but to say he's unique. Because what he said, I am unique. I am the bread of life. I am the light of the world. I am before Abraham was I am. So Christ was not ambiguous on who he was. And so we claim to believe in this Jesus. Then we can't be ambiguous. We can't be, well, he's one of the many. Yeah, if you want to believe in him, it's okay. And if you want to choose somebody else, it's okay. Because that's not what he, how he positioned himself. So at the very beginning, if you and I say we're followers of Christ, we are given no option but to say he is. And he alone is. There have been other religious leaders who will come and said, you know, I'll show you the way to live better. I'll show you how to improve your life. I'll show you, you know, some of the ways that you can attain salvation, et cetera, et cetera. But Jesus didn't do that. He said, I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life after his death and resurrection is very clear. I am the one who lives. I was there. I'm alive. And I've got the keys. Now who said something like that? That died, rose up again alive and then stating, look, I was alive. I was dead. I'm alive again. I've got the keys. So these claims of Christ, which of course are recorded for us in Revelation after his resurrection, again, are very unique. His claims after his resurrection. That means he died and he rose again and he's made these claims. So he was more than just a good religious leader or a prophet or a teacher. He's very, very unique in what he claimed for himself. Right. So that's what we've said. He claimed to be the one and only and not one among many. So if you and I are going to say that, look, this is the Jesus we believe in, then we are left with no choice but to say this Jesus whom I believe in claimed to be unique. And not only that, he also claimed his oneness with the Father, with God. Like we said in John 8, he said before Abraham was, I am. Now that's heavy. Why is that so strong? Because remember, he's speaking to a Jewish audience. The Jews refer to God as I am. And so here comes a man. And he's claiming or saying before Abraham was, I am. He's using God's title for himself. That's why later on, you know, when the Jews already do apprehended him. He asked them, you know, okay, for which work, which one of the words are you going to storm me in? They said, look, because you're speaking blasphemy. You're making yourself God. So in the mind of the Jews, this was it. This man is claiming to be God. So when he said before Abraham was, I am. When he said I and my father are one. Basically the message he was conveying was I'm God. Now who claimed that for themselves? And so we're just looking at the claims of Christ. We've claimed years, what he does for people. What he claimed after his resurrection. He claimed his pre-existence and his equality with God. And if you look at his prayer in John 17. In his prayer, he's praying and saying, Father, glorify me with yourself. With the glory I had with you before the foundation of the world. Before the world wars, John 17.5. So he's praying. So here's a man was praying. He's talking to the father and says, Father, glorify me with yourself. With the glory which I had with you before the world wars. That means before creation came, he was there with the father. And he's saying, I had the same glory with you. Glorify me together with yourself. So there's no other spiritual leader who's made these kinds of claims. The claims of who he is to humanity. Of who he is after his death and resurrection. Of his equality with God and his pre-existence with God before creation. So either Jesus was totally out of his mind in making all these statements. Like he just lost it and just gone out of his mind to make these erratic statements. Or these statements are true because he's not giving us any middle ground of, well, you know, I'm one of the many religious leaders. I'm teaching you nice things. No, either he's completely out of his mind to make these kinds of statements or these statements are true. And if they are true, then he is the only one who made these kinds of statements. And it's unique, very unique in his claims. So that's the first thing. You and I cannot claim to say, cannot claim that we believe in this Jesus Christ and then compromise his claims. So if somebody says, I believe in Jesus, but he's not unique. Then you're not believing in the same Jesus, the Bible's talking about, because the Jesus of the Bible said, I am the way, the truth, the life. No one comes to the Father except through me, very categorical. So somebody says, you believe in Jesus, I believe in Jesus, but I also believe that you can go to God through person A and person B and person C. Well, then you don't, you don't believe in the Jesus of the Bible. You believe in some other Jesus because of Jesus, the Bible said, you cannot go to the Father except through me. If that's the Jesus you believe in, then you've got to say what he said. And his claim was very unique. He's the only one who said that he was with the Father before the world began. He was the only one who said before Abraham was I am. He's the one who was the only one who rose up from the dead and said, I was dead, but now I'm alive. And that makes him very unique. So that's the first thing that makes Christ unique. There is no other Jesus like this Jesus. Secondly, let me pause. Any questions on this? You have any so far? Any questions? So that's the first thing. Why is Jesus unique? His claims for himself. He didn't give us any, give us no choice. Either you believe me or you don't. If you believe me, you have to believe that I'm unique is what Jesus said. Secondly, is what the Bible presents about Jesus. Right. So when the Bible is presenting the same Jesus, so we have taken Jesus words about himself. Now, what about the Bible? What does the Bible say about this Christ? So the Bible talks about Jesus. It's clear that the Bible presents him as God. Now people have tried to dispute it. And especially those who, you know, we talk about the cults like Jehovah's Witnesses and others who tried to disprove the deity of Christ. No, no, no. He was a created being and this is, and they use certain phrases. They're using titles. They're using titles that talk about a certain aspect of who he is. We want to see the full picture. If you want to know the person, you have to see the full picture. You'd also consider all the other titles that are there in the Bible, all the other things the Bible says about him. And what does the Bible say about him? The Bible says the word was God. Yes, it does say he was in the beginning. He created everything. He was with God. But it says the word was God. There's no ambiguity about that. There is no, you know, it's not hard to understand the word was God. This eternal word that we're talking about is God. And this eternal word became flesh. The one who was God was the one who became God. What's the one who became flesh? So the Bible is not ambiguous on this. The Bible is clear, explicit. The word was God. And this eternal word was the one who became the man again in Philippians two, five to seven. He was in the form of God. That means he was God and he, every whatever form and substance God was, this Christ was. And he did not hold on to this, to being equal with God. So who is Jesus? The one who had the same form and substance as God, the one who was equal with God. And this person who was in substance God and equal with God came and made himself of no reputation. I mean, he came. So while the Bible talks about Jesus as a son of man, it talks about him as the son of God. He talks about him as the only begotten of the father talks about him as the firstborn talks about him as, you know, so many other titles. So many other titles are there. That is true. But it also clearly states that this word was God. The one who was in form and substance God, who was equal with God is the one who became the man. So I should, I cannot just zero in a one title or two titles of Jesus as he is not God. No, no, no. The first titles that are that talk about his humanity that talk about him, you know, being a fruit and offspring of David and talks about the fact that he was born of the line in the age of David and so on. Okay, yeah. But it also says the same Bible also says he is God. And I've given other references. We haven't written more of these, but if you look at it, you know, you look at all of these references. The 16 God was manifested in the flesh. Very clear. God was manifested in the flesh. Romans nine five Paul says that Christ Jesus, the eternally blessed God, Romans nine five. So Paul is referring to Jesus as the eternally blessed God. Isaiah nine six. He is he is referred to as the mighty God. The everlasting father, the prince of peace. Who's Jesus, the mighty God. Micah five to the one who was from old from eternity. He is the one who came out of Bethlehem. And I'm just paraphrasing it. Micah says the one, you know, he comes out of Bethlehem. The one was from eternity. So these are the references that Jesus is referred to as God. So this makes Jesus very unique. If I say I believe the Bible and what the Bible says about Jesus, then I have to believe that Jesus is God. Otherwise, I don't really believe the Bible. Some people will read the Bible and focus on the historic historical Christ or Christ as a great teacher, Christ as a good man, Christ as a, you know, a person who broke away from today's and whatever, whatever. But all that said, this Bible also says he's God. What will I do with what the Bible is stating about the deity of Christ. So the second reason why Christ is unique. He's the only one in all of scripture. The only person, human person in all of scripture who is called God. So he is, I cannot, you know, treat him like Abraham or Isaac or David or Solomon or anybody else. He's God. So when Islam says, well, we regard Christ as a prophet. Sorry. He's more than a prophet. He's God. The Bible says he's God. So that saying he's a prophet is not good enough. It's not referring to the same Christ. Why is Christ unique? First, his claims for himself. Second, the Bible's claim on who he is on the deity of Christ. So this man is God. We'll do one more before we go for the break. There is this third statement about the uniqueness of Christ. The Bible, when it presents Christ to us, not only does it present to him as God, but the Bible presents him as the only savior, the only savior. So here again, you know, if people ask, why do you say that Christ is the only savior? Well, because the Bible says he's the only savior. And if I believe the Bible, then that's the only thing I can say. The Bible doesn't say, give me options and say, well, you can be saved through Abraham or through David or through, you know, somebody else. The Bible says this is the savior, the one who was spoken of throughout the history throughout biblical history. All the prophets spoke about him and this one fulfilled all of those prophecies. And this one is the Messiah. So just giving you some numbers here. You know, more than 300 prophecies fulfilled by Christ's coming. And he looks at the probability that one man. Okay, so the whole thing is this, there has to be one man who would fulfill all these prophecies. So you take, you know, so here was somebody who did some work, Peter Stoner. He took 48 major Old Testament prophecies. And then other 48 he said, let's just take eight of these. Okay. And that means one man has to fulfill all eight. In reality, he has to fulfill all 300. And of course, some of the prophecies are out in the future about a second coming, but there are 48 major ones. And he just choose eight of those that he had to be born in Bethlehem. He had to die like this, et cetera. And so it has to be very, you know, one man has to fulfill all of these. And he was just using probability for one man to fulfill just eight of these prophecies. He figured the probability is one in 10 raised to 17. And for one man to fulfill all 48 prophecies is one in 10 to the power of 157. So this one man, Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled all 48 with this kind of probability. So definitely it has to be this one man. This one man is the Messiah. He alone could be the Messiah. That's just from a, you know, a probability point of view. But the truth we want to emphasize is the Bible itself saying that there's only one way for salvation. It says there is no other name given under heaven among men by which we must be saved. It says there's one God, one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. So why is Christ unique? The third statement is the Bible presents Christ as the unique way, the only way for salvation. No other way. So why is Christ unique? Three reasons that we consider just now. One, what he claimed for himself. Two, the Bible states that he's God. And three, the Bible states he's the only way for salvation. So if somebody asks you, you know, why do you say Jesus is the only way for salvation? That's what the Bible says. And we can state, I mean, if we believe the Bible, then that's what we have to state. We are not given an option. Or if you believe in the person of Jesus, he claimed his claims are very unique. So we have no other option but to say he is unique. He is the way for salvation. Okay. I'm going to pause here. Let's give some time for questions and then we will go into the other six reasons right after break. Questions. Okay. Let me say now. Beth, can you refer to Bible verse that other stake to support their argument that you separate from God explain them. John 14 month and a few others, but I don't have the references at hand. Okay. Maxon. I know Jesus the only way to way to our God of the Bible. Well, it's probably Jesus Christ is our Lord. Should be said that Muslim and do also believes in same God, the Bible or they got their own one God, which is very different to the God of the Bible. All right. So. Okay, let's respond to that question. So that's question is the versus that others take to talk about the Christ, the Jesus is separate from God. Right. So, yeah, there are other scriptures right there. So understand. Now what we need to understand is this, the Bible talks about one God, but three persons, father, son, Holy Spirit. Right. So I'm just giving us the framework and so Beth, I'm just giving us a framework and which to understand all the other scriptures that people might use. Right. So. So we understand God. One God, three persons father, son and Holy Spirit. So God, the father, God, the son or God, the eternal word and God, the Holy Spirit. Co equal. Three persons and each person of the God had fully represents the God had. So God, the father is fully God. God, the eternal word is fully God. God, Holy Spirit is fully God and God, Holy Spirit fully represents the father and the son or the eternal word. God, the eternal word fully represents the father and the spirit. So we understand that. So now, example, the Old Testament in Daniel seven, you will see the ancient of days. And the son of man standing at the right hand of the ancient of days or in the presence of the ancient of days. That does not make just because it's used the title son of man does not make him any less than the ancient of days. And so when Jesus walked the earth, he said, you will see the son of man. Use the title son of man for himself. But that was an Old Testament title taken from Daniel chapter seven. And the Jews understood the son of man is the title of the one with the ancient of days that Daniel saw and Jesus is using that title for himself. Now, that does not. So when somebody uses the word says takes the title Daniel son of man. It does not make him less than the father. So, okay, so then we need to understand the incarnation. So in the incarnation, the eternal word laid aside his eternal glory became a man and walked on the earth. And he used so many titles like he used this title the son of God. He was the son of God, the son of man, the son of David, so on. And these are titles that describe his humanity, but they don't take away from his deity. But when somebody takes just the scriptures that you take these titles that describe his humanity, they can say, hey, look, he's not God, the son of David, son of man, son of God. Well, you need to understand the full picture. That the one who's called the son of God is also called the eternal word. So just because he has a title of son of God, it's the title of son of God is used to describe his incarnation and his building submission to the father. Just because he says the father is greater than I or, you know, Corinthians talks about that, you know, he said the son submits all things to the father that doesn't take away from the fact that the son is the eternal word. He's talking about what he did as the son of God is his humanity a role that he chose. He was willingly chose in order to redeem and it's stepping into that role as his humanity, walking as the son of God. He willingly submitted himself to the father. That doesn't take away from him being deity. Right. So if we have this framework, then regardless of what scripture. So then there's the other scriptures on being the first born from the dead, the first begotten, the only begotten of the father, the first begotten among many brethren, you know, so people use those titles. Well, it's talking about him being the only one to come forth from the father and to be born as a man, the only begotten of the father. That doesn't take away from his deity is only explaining a certain aspect of what he did. That's all the first begotten from the dead, the first born from the dead, the first spawn among many brethren. Well, it's talking about the fact that he was the first person to be raised from the dead and that there'll be many others who will be like sons and daughters of God will also be raised from the dead. That's what he's talking about. It doesn't take away from his deity. So all these titles are like, you know, all these scriptures that people use to try to disprove the deity of Christ is simply because you're not seeing the entire picture. But when you have this framework and you understand clearly. The eternal word who became the incarnate son of God, who became the resurrected Christ, who then became the glorified Christ was now seated at the right hand of the father, co equal with the father. Everything makes sense. There is no discrepancy. There is no contradiction. So in response to bet your question, I think if you have a clear picture of the whole, you know, the, the triune God and what happened incarnation and the resurrection, the ascension, then everything is clear. None of these scriptures are going to cause problems for us. So let me respond to Maxon's question then we'll go for a break. So, yeah, so Maxon, the other religions believe in a God with a small G. And as far as the Bible says, there's only one God is the God of the Bible. And then there are many, you know, small gods or small things that we have made, we have created. And it is not the same God as the eternal God of the Bible. So it is not correct to say that somebody practicing another religion just believes in the same God in a different way. No, because the God of the Bible is unique. Did I answer your question, Maxon, or do you want to clarify something? No, thank you. Okay. Okay. Everyone, let's take a little break. So while you have your refreshment, try to digest what we heard. We come back. If you have any questions, we'll be, we'll discuss them as well. Okay. I know we are five minutes over time. So we'll be back in 10 minutes. That's 1005 Indian time. Okay, see you soon. Thanks.