Is Jesus The Greatest Being Created By God? Careful With Your Answer!
Text: John 1:1-18
In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Question for you to consider: is Jesus the first and greatest being created by God? One more time: is Jesus the first and greatest being created by God?
This last year, in 2020, a group from Ligonier Ministries interviewed thousands of Christians to take the theological temperature of Christianity in America. The survey had 35 questions; one of the questions was the one that we just asked. So, when asked the question, “Is Jesus the first and greatest being created by God?” some 65% of Evangelical Christians answered by saying, “Yes, we agree.”
Let that sink in for a moment: sixty-five-percent!
Two out of three Baptists, Pentecostals, Nazarenes, and so forth affirm that Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God.
Now, just in case you did not pick up on what the question was asking and how this is a tremendous and horrific problem in American Christianity, let me repeat it to you in a very straightforward way,
“Is Jesus a created being?”
Dear friends, it is so very important for us to recognize that when Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, He was not created for the first time, as if He did not exist before the conception and His birth. But instead, we believe, teach, and confess BOLDLY that Jesus is eternal. We confess that He is God of God, Light of Light, and very God of very God. We confess that He is of one substance with the Father. And so, He was not made when He was conceived and born! But rather, when Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, He became a man – flesh and blood.
Keep in mind, though, when Jesus became man – flesh, and blood – He did not lose His divinity. Jesus’ birth was not an exchange of divinity for humanity like a quick exchange of goods at a pawnshop. When Jesus was born, He did not lose His power like Superman did in the 1980s Superman II movie. Jesus did not become like a powerless Clark Kent.
No, from His birth to His death, to His resurrection, and to right now, Jesus is fully Man and fully God at the same time.
So, what this means is that 65% of American Evangelicals are missing one of the most fundamental and important doctrines of the Christian faith. They believe Jesus to be a created being. And by believing this, they have inadvertently stripped Jesus of His divinity. They have denied Him as God in the flesh.
This is one of the main reasons why we confess the Nicene Creed twice a month in our Sunday Services, alongside the Apostles’ Creed. The Nicene Creed condemns the kind of thinking that would demote Jesus to a mere created being. In fact, the Nicene Creed was originally written to push back against this kind of heresy that makes Jesus into a mere created being.
But why is this so important? Isn’t this kind of talk splitting hairs?
I can remember about 15 years ago, Serenity and I just moved from Southern California to Williston, North Dakota. The second day we were in our new house, we received a knock at the door. At the door were two ladies. At first, I thought they were new neighbors, maybe bringing by an apple pie. However, as I opened the door, they quickly asked me a question,
“Are you ready for the end of the world?”
It was a very weird question to ask, especially to a new neighbor. But as I quickly realized, they were not our neighbors. And so, after I gained my composure, I said,
“Yes, I am. I am ready for the end of the world.”
They then gave me a pamphlet and explained several things that I needed to read. As they were sharing, it became clear to me that they were Jehovah's Witnesses.
As they were about ready leave, they said to me, “
“Do you have any questions for us?”
And I said,
“Yes, I do. Who is Jesus?”
Looking a bit flustered, they answered,
“God’s Son.”
I then said,
“So, He is a man?”
They said,
“Yes, a man – God’s Son.”
I followed up by asking,
“And
He is also God - right?”
To this question, they got flustered.
So, knowing their theology - that they believe Jesus is the greatest created being of God and not God, I said,
“In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus forgives sin, and the religious leaders get really upset because, in the Old Testament, it says that only God can forgive sin. So, how can Jesus forgive sin if He isn’t God?”
The older lady tilted her head and said with a bit of sass,
“Oh, my young many, you read your bible, don’t you?”
Dear friends, if Jesus is just a mere man – a created being like those Jehovah Witness ladies believed – we might as well just stop the service right here and go home. In fact, if Jesus is just a mere man – a created being – we would be better off selling this church building, getting some cash, and going on a fancy cruise together. If Jesus is just a created being, everything we are doing here is meaningless – foolish.
Hear this loud and clear! A mere mortal man – a created being – does nothing for you and me. Absolutely nothing. If Jesus is just a created being, we are sunk. We are still damned in our sins – alone. We don’t stand a chance against sin, death, and the devil by ourselves or with another created being on our side. If Jesus is just a created being, He definitely would not stand a chance against sin and death. And with the devil… it would be a toss-up – 50/50 who would win.
Baptized Saints, hear this today! Contrary to what 65% of American Evangelicals believe and contrary to what those two sassy ladies believed, the baby Jesus in the manger was no ordinary created babe. But instead, the babe in the manger was the One by which all things in heaven and on earth were created. Not one thing came into being without Christ. The earth, moon, stars, and universe were created through Jesus and for Jesus. And so we are not sunk. We are not alone. We are not left damned in our sins.
Dear friends, do not be misled into foolish ideas, silly myths, and biblical ignorance. Christ is indeed fully man, but He is also fully God. We see his divinity from His miracles, the testimony of Scripture, and His resurrection from the dead.
And so, it is necessary for Him to be true Man and God so that He might be a sufficient ransom for you and me before the Law. It is necessary for Him to be true Man and God so that He might be able to overcome sin, death, and the devil for you and me by His holy life and sacrificial death.
He is the God who was born for you and me. He is the God who suffers and bleeds for you and me. He is the God who was raised from the dead and reigns bodily today and forevermore – for you and me. He is the God-Man, not a created being. He is your Jesus who came to purchase you, not with gold or silver but with His holy, precious blood and His innocent suffering and death. He is the God-Man that came to conquer sin, death, and the devil for you so that you may be His own.
He did this all for you, not as a mere created being but as full God and full Man. He did this and considered it well worthwhile.
Merry
Christmas, in the name of the God-Man - Jesus. Amen.
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