Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas
Jeremy approaches Bible teaching with a passion for getting the basic doctrines explained so that the individual can understand them and then apply them to circumstances in their life. These basic and important lessons are nestled in a framework of history and progression of revelation from the Bible so the whole of Scripture can be applied to your physical and spiritual life.
Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas
NT Framework - Human Form reveals God?
God created Adam in His own image. Jesus Christ became flesh, born of a woman. So, does the human form reveal something about who God is?
More information about Beyond the Walls, including additional resources can be found at www.beyondthewalls-ministry.com
This series included graphics to illustrate what is being taught, if you would like to watch the teachings you can do so on Rumble (https://rumble.com/user/SpokaneBibleChurch) or on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtV_KhFVZ_waBcnuywiRKIyEcDkiujRqP).
Jeremy Thomas is the pastor at Spokane Bible Church in Spokane, Washington and a professor at Chafer Theological Seminary. He has been teaching the Bible for over 20 years, always seeking to present its truths in a clear and understandable manner.
Welcome to Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas and our series on the New Testament Framework. Today a smaller, bite-sized piece from the larger lesson. We hope you enjoy it.
Speaker 2:Ancient these are, so I put these up here so you can look them up. Meophysitism Now, these are not the same, because these two words I'm just putting them next to one another because they do have some similarities Monophysitism and modern day Krishna incarnations have you heard of that in the Eastern religions? Krishna incarnations, which is really an evolutionary thing. So you can see, this is going to be an evolutionary type of Jesus. Okay, also held by liberal and pagan theology. So this one is, let's just say, the farthest away from the biblical concept, because when you look at their presupposition, you'll realize, or you should realize right off the bat, this won't work. Okay, god and creation are one. This is known as monism. You know one, everything is one. And obviously you know the very first thing that should come to your mind is you know Genesis 1.1, right, in the beginning, god created the heavens and the earth. They're not him, they're the creature or creation. It's separate from him, the creator. This is the very first thing we taught in this whole framework class. I don't know, a year and a half ago. Right Was the creator-creature distinction. Okay, now, hopefully, all this is going to start to make sense. I told you you have to do the whole Old Testament before you can really really get and understand the New Testament.
Speaker 2:The very first truth that you learn in the Bible is the creator-creation distinction. We put the creator in the open box. We put creation in a closed box. Why do we do that? We're just saying by the open box that the creator is infinite, right, he's not limited. We're just saying by the open box that the Creator is infinite, right, he's not limited. And we're saying creation is limited. Now, this is the first truth in the Bible. I mean you learn it in Genesis 1.1, right In the beginning, god created the heavens and the earth. So we've got the Creator. And then we've got the creation, which is the heavens and the earth, and then he begins to form and fill the creation during Creation Week. So this is the most fundamental truth in the Bible. What is happening in Jesus Christ Isn't the Creator taking to Himself the creature? What do we have? Let's just draw a line here. Like we're talking about the, we still have the Creator. He is the Creator. Right by Him, all things were made. He sustains all things. He's the creator. Right by him, all things were made. He sustains all things. He's the creator. He took to himself the creature. Now look how I've drawn them. Notice that the creator and the creature are distinct from one another, not blended together. They're not overlapping, but they're together. In other words, they're touching, so to speak, not mixed, not separated and he's one person and this is who he is.
Speaker 2:Now, do you see, go back to creation. In your mind's eye, god makes Adam and he makes him in his own. What Image and likeness. Why? Why did he do that? Because one day he knew he himself would become and take to himself a creature. The model for Adam was the incarnation of Jesus Christ. God didn't say, no, let me see, what would I do here? No, he knew one day he was going to become incarnate and he made after that model. Looking at Christ, he made Adam. This is why I'm insistent that Adam and I wouldn't be dogmatic, but Adam is made in God's image, in his whole person body, soul and spirit.
Speaker 2:You say, but God doesn't have a body. I know I'm not a Mormon, I don't think God has a body and spirit. You say, but God doesn't have a body. I know I'm not a Mormon, I don't think God has a body. I'm saying that the body that God made Adam, just as the body that God made, jesus Christ, is revelatory of who God is, which is why God can come along later in the Bible and say, god's nostrils flared, or God's arm brought deliverance. You say, well, does God have a nose then, and does God have an arm? No, it's conveying something to us through the human nose and the human arm about what God is like that, for example, with his nostrils flaring, he gets angry, that with his mighty right arm, he brings deliverance and judgment on his enemies. So the human form is revelatory of who God is. God didn't make it randomly, in that the human form is not a chance form. That is a result of evolutionary processes. It is very specifically designed to teach us about who God is.
Speaker 2:Man also has a spirit, which is the immaterial aspect of man that is also made in God's image. We have such things as the conscience. Is that something that you can surgically remove? No, it's not a physical thing, is it? It's a part of our spiritual makeup. There's this thing that we do, called love. We love people, love one another. Is that just a chemical process in us? Now? Lust maybe, but is is true love? Is that something chemical in you, or is it more than that. Is it something that's related to your human spirit? I think it's tied to the human spirit. It's not something. Can you take it out of a person and weigh it on a scale in a laboratory and see how much love someone has? No, you can't do that because it's not material. It's not chemical. Chemicals are material. It's immaterial. It's part of the human spirit, all of Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2:First of all, god is spirit, right, he's a spirit being. He's not physical spirit being. He's not physical. Uh, but man, we have a spirit, we have a body and we are souls. We're living souls. So did jesus christ have all these going on as a creature? Yeah, he had a body. We already talked about that. He had a real flesh. You could touch it. People saw it, touched it. He said to Thomas reach here and touch my side, see, that is his eye. He ate. Spirits don't eat Bodies, eat. He ate in his resurrection body. So he has a body, he has a human spirit, he has a human soul or person and he's united with, but not mixed with, the Creator in his divine nature. So this is where everything at creation starts to come together in Christ.
Speaker 1:Thank you for joining us on Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas. If you would like to see the visuals that went along with today's sermon, you can find those on Rumble and on YouTube under Spokane Bible Church. That is where Jeremy is the pastor and teacher. We hope you found today's lesson productive and useful in growing closer to God and walking more obediently with Him. If you found this podcast to be useful and helpful, then please consider rating us in your favorite podcast app, and until next time, we hope you have a blessed and wonderful day.