The Centrality of Christ in Christian Theology

Now while this is obviously and clearly not the starting point of biblical Doctrine it is certainly the core and the center of biblical Doctrine this is the 23rd time that we meet together so it obviously isn't the first Doctrine or the beginning of the doctrine we start with the great doctrine of God and how God has revealed himself and men and his need and so on but uh obviously we come to this which as IAI is the core and the center of biblical Doctrine because the truth concerning the Lord Jesus Christ is at one and the same time the Central and the most stupendous fact in the history of redemption. [00:58:40]

The Bible itself makes it very plain and clear that the whole essence of the Christian position is dependent upon the person of the Lord Jesus Christ now that is in many ways what you may call the differentia of Christianity that is the thing that separates the Christian faith from all other religions in the other religions the names associated with them the names of men associated with them are not absolutely essential to them if uh the Buddha had never existed you could still have Buddhism if Muhammad had never lived you could still have muhammadanism. [03:07:00]

Christianity as has often been pointed out is Christ the person himself is not only Central he is absolutely vital and therefore we have to see that we are concerned primarily and always with the person this is something that I shall have to go on to emphasize of course time and time again but the Touchstone of anybody's profession of the Christian faith is of necessity such a person's relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ what proclaims at once that so many people who call themselves Christian are not Christian is that the Lord Jesus Christ as a person is not at all essential to their position. [04:13:00]

The New Testament itself exorts us to do this why do you think the four gospels were ever written surely there can be no hesitation about answering that question they were written God caused men to write them and guided them through the spirit as they did write them in order that the truth concerning the Lord Jesus Christ might be known exactly there were all sorts of false stories current at the time in the first century there were apocryphal gospels things were being ascribed to him and dis person and he was reported to have done and said things which he never had done nor said and the gospels are written in order to define the truth in order to exclude certain things and in in order to State these other things plainly and clearly. [07:19:00]

It is not enough to say I believe in Jesus Christ the New Testament asks you a question when you say that it asks you what do you believe about him is he man only is he God only has he really come in the flesh or hasn't he what did he do what's the meaning of his death the New Testament is concerned about definitions and there is nothing I suggest that is further removed from the teaching of the New Testament itself then to say it's all right as long as you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ it doesn't matter very much what you say in detail the detail as I'm hoping to show you is all important and absolutely vital to our our whole position. [10:14:00]

Here's the first it says that he is the Fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophecies and Promises the great uh Central statement of that of course is in 2 Corinthians 1:20 for all the promises of God in him are yay and in him amen unto the glory of God all the promises of God are in him yay and amen they come to Focus they come to a point in him now what are these promises and prophecies I can't take you through them all in detail I'm simply picking out some which clearly are the most important in order to establish this point here for instance is the Fulfillment of the promise that was given in the Garden of Eden Genesis 3:15. [12:19:00]

The Bible also exalts us to consider him because he is the only one by whom we can be reconciled to God and by whom we can know God we read in Hebrews 12:24 that he is the mediator of the New Covenant he said himself I am the way the truth and the life no man cometh unto the father but by me anyone who says a thing like that must be looked at in considered any man who values his salvation and wants to know God must listen to such a person no man cometh unto the father but by me he said then do you remember what we are told he said after his resurrection you read Luke 24:46 and 47 and you'll find this thus it is written and thus it behoved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations. [25:56:00]

One that he is the one in whose hands all things are all power has been given to him in heaven and in Earth he has all might and dominion and authority and power and is raised up over every other right and dominion and authority and power everything has been given to him in Revelations chap 5 we are told that he is the only one who can control and unfold history there was no one who was strong enough to break the seals of the book of History except the lion of the tribe of Judah the lamb that once were slain but he can do so and does so he's the Lord of History he is controlling the whole of History. [28:05:00]

The doctrine of the Incarnation says that the Eternal second person in the Blessed Trinity entered into time took unto himself and into himself human nature and was born as a babe lived a life as a man and appeared in the likeness of sinful flesh now there I am making being the most vital statement of all I say I shall go on to break it up and to show you the importance of making this statement and safeguarding it against various errors but the essence of the statement is that the one who was born was not coming into being them was not starting his existence as a person now no it is this eternal person the second person in the Blessed Trinity who now assumes this form enters the life of men in the world comes into the world. [35:17:00]

The progression of ideas the progression of our thought something must be done by God before men can be saved we have the assurance that it's going to be done in the Covenant and all the Covenant points to this person he's at the center of this book the book asks us to consider him for the reasons I've given you and then we having listened and having obeyed we come and look at him and what are we told about him that is the stupendous fact with which we start the doctrine the miracle of the Incarnation the Son of God entering into the world into time and into history and as we come to break that idea up we shall see what a glorious and astounding truth it is why it had to happen in that way and then we shall go on to consider the details which will involve a consideration obviously of the doctrine of the Virgin birth and after that we shall have to go on to consider what we are told about his deity and then about his Humanity and how these two are reconciled or exist together in the one person and so we shall be plunging right into the midst of this most wonderful and most glorious Doctrine concerning the mystery and the Marvel of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. [37:10:00]