The Doctrine of Jesus Christ (Christology, Part 1) | Philippians 2:5-11 | Message 4
-
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature[a] God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature[b] of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.Philippians 2:5-11
Understanding who Jesus is—biblically—is essential to overcoming biblical illiteracy. We cannot afford to be vague or casual about Christ. There are many opinions about Jesus in culture, but only one true Lord Jesus Christ, revealed in the Bible.
1. History Confirms the Real Jesus
One of the first unfounded attacks uninformed people make is, “We can’t even prove Jesus lived.” The claim of mythicism is not only wrong—it exposes historical ignorance. Galatians 4:4 says, “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law.” Jesus entered real history.
The distinguished British scholar F. F. Bruce, professor at the University of Manchester, wrote: “Some writers may toy with the fancy of the Christ myth, but they do not do so on the grounds of historical evidence … It is not the historians who propagate the Christ myth theories.”¹ Serious historians do not deny that Jesus lived.
Ancient non-Christian writers also recorded Him. Cornelius Tacitus (A.D. 55–120), one of Rome’s greatest historians, wrote that “Christus… was put to death by Pontius Pilate.” Suetonius and Lucian mentioned Christ and Christians. Pliny the Younger, governor of Bithynia around A.D. 112, wrote to Emperor Trajan for advice because he was executing so many followers of Jesus—men, women, boys, and girls—that he wondered how far he should go. Josephus, the Jewish historian, mentioned Jesus. Thallus and Phlegon wrote about Jesus. Even Roman records acknowledge Jesus’ death under Pontius Pilate.
Add to that the thousands of early New Testament manuscripts preserved in museums around the world, and the evidence is overwhelming: Jesus Christ is not a myth. He is a fact of history.
The name Jesus was a common human name, given to Him eight days after birth (Matthew 1:16, 1:21; Luke 1:31; 2:21). Josephus even mentions several men named Jesus. But there is only one who is also called Christ, the Anointed One, equivalent to Messiah (Daniel 9:24–27; John 1:41).
2. Jesus Became Fully Human
The Gospels present the true humanity of Christ. In John 4:9, the Samaritan woman says to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me?” She could look at Him and recognize Him.
Jesus had a real physical body. Matthew 26:12 records a woman pouring costly perfume on His body in preparation for His burial. He had a soul: “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death” (Matthew 26:38). He had a spirit: “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit” (Luke 23:46).
He experienced the limitations of humanity. “Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well” (John 4:6). Out on the Sea of Galilee, “the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep” (Matthew 8:24). On the road back into the city, “He was hungry” (Matthew 21:18). He suffered. He physically died: “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3).
This matters to you personally. When you say, “I’m tempted, and I can’t handle it,” the Bible answers differently: “For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted” (Hebrews 2:18). He has stood where you stand. He understands weakness, exhaustion, loneliness, pressure, and sorrow.
3. Jesus Is Fully God
Here is the core of true Christology: Jesus of Nazareth is not just a moral teacher, prophet, healer, or martyr. He is God.
He is directly called God. Hebrews 1:8 says, “But to the Son He says: ‘Your throne, O God, is forever.’” When Thomas touched the risen Lord’s wounds, he answered, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). Isaiah prepared the way for Messiah with these words: “Prepare the way of the Lord… make straight in the desert a highway for our God” (Isaiah 40:3). The Bible does not hesitate to apply the title God to Jesus Christ.
He eternally existed. Jesus did not begin at Bethlehem. He has no beginning. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). He could say, “I and My Father are one” (John 10:30). In the Old Testament, He appears again and again as “the Angel of the Lord,” a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ. Hebrews describes Him as a priest who “remains… continually” (Hebrews 7:3). He is eternal.
He is our High Priest. “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Right now, Jesus intercedes for believers. He is the Advocate who stands between us and accusation, and He never condemns the repentant.
He was virgin-born. This is not a side truth—it is central. From the very first book of the Bible, God pointed to a miraculous birth. Genesis 3:15 speaks of “the seed of the woman,” language that hints at a birth not from the seed of a man. Centuries later, the prophet declared, “The Lord Himself shall give you a sign: a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). The New Testament confirms the fulfillment: “They shall call His name Immanuel” (Matthew 1:23). Jesus Christ entered the world uniquely, conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin. No other religious founder in history even claims this.
He humbled Himself to save us. Philippians 2:6–7 says that Jesus, “being in the form of God… made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.” This is called the Kenosis—the self-emptying of Christ. He veiled His glory. He accepted human limitations. The Creator allowed Himself to be spit on by His creation. He who made galaxies allowed nails through His hands. He voluntarily stepped down into a sin-cursed world to rescue sinners.
C. T. Studd, the world-class cricketer turned missionary, said: “If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.”²
He is Creator and Lord of all. “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:3). “For by Him were all things created… visible and invisible… thrones or dominions or principalities or powers” (Colossians 1:16). “For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things” (Romans 11:36). Jesus is not a created being. Jesus is the Creator.
4. Jesus Rose from the Dead
The resurrection is not symbolic—it is an empty tomb in real space and time. At the grave, the angel said, “You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here” (Mark 16:6).
Every other world religious figure remains buried. Only Jesus Christ conquered death. His resurrection is God’s public declaration that Jesus is exactly who He said He was—Lord, Savior, Judge, King.
This is why His names matter. He is Alpha and Omega (Revelation 1:8), Lion of Judah (Revelation 5:5), Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6), Good Shepherd (John 10:14), King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:16), and the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).
This is the Jesus of the Bible—fully man, fully God, crucified for our sins, risen in power, reigning forever. Knowing Him is the cure to biblical illiteracy.
Footnotes
¹ F. F. Bruce, Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1970), 192.
² C. T. Studd, quoted in Norman Grubb, C. T. Studd: Cricketer and Pioneer (Fort Washington, PA: Christian Literature Crusade, 1951), 141.
