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May the Only True God Yahweh bless you abundantly.
Pastor Sylvia Chan
In the Bible there are around 100 titles of the Lord Jesus Christ. So far we have studied only 5 titles: the Messiah, the Advocate, the High Priest, the Son of man, and the man of sorrows. These 5 titles describe various aspects of the Lord’s character and his work, what he has done for us. I hope you will not treat these studies simply as Bible stories, by which you feel good about yourselves for accumulating more and more biblical knowledge. Rather these studies are meant to encourage you to imitate the Lord: the more we know him, the more we want to live for him and to live like him. Today we are going to study the book of the Acts of the Apostles, but from time to time I may still come back to talk about the other titles of the Lord Jesus.
Why do we study the book of Acts? What is the importance of the book of Acts?
The life and teaching of the Lord Jesus are recorded in the 4 gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. After the Lord had been resurrected from the dead, he appeared to his disciples and gave them the commission to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth. The disciples carried out the Lord’s commands, and their activities are recorded in the book of Acts. Acts is a bridge between the Gospel accounts of Jesus Christ and the preaching of the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
Continue readingToday we are going to study another title of the Lord Jesus Christ, a man of sorrows.
NASB Isaiah 53:1- 4 1 Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD (Yahweh) been revealed? 2 For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. 3 He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. (Isa 53:1- 4 NASB)
This passage, Isaiah 53:1- 4, describes a man of sorrows (v.3); he had no stately form or majesty, no attractive appearance; he was despised and forsaken of men. He was acquainted with grief; people didn’t even want to look at him, and they hid their faces from him. He bore our griefs, he carried our sorrows, yet people thought he was stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
This passage is a prophecy by the prophet Isaiah, who was active from 740-681 BC. We can estimate roughly this passage was written around 700 BC, around 700 years before Christ.
Christians see Isaiah 53 as a prophecy of a suffering servant of Yahweh God, namely our Lord Jesus Christ. But the Jewish rabbis see Isaiah 53 as referring to the nation of Israel collectively as “Servant of Yahweh God”.
If you are interested in the teaching of the Jewish rabbis, you can go to study their writings. I am not going to explain their teaching; here I am explaining the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Continue readingToday we are going to study another title of the Lord Jesus Christ; it is a very familiar one: the son of man.
This is the Lord’s favorite title for himself; he refers to himself almost exclusively as the son of man.
“Son of man” simply means man. In Israel today, people still use this term “son of man” to refer to a man. Prophets Ezekiel and Daniel were referred to as “son of man” in the Hebrew Bible.
NASB Ezekiel 1:28-2:1 As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD (Yahweh). And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking. 2:1 Then He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you!” (Eze 1:28-2:1 NASB)
This passage says that Ezekiel saw the glory of Yahweh God, which was like the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day. When Ezekiel saw it, he fell on his face, then he heard a voice speaking, and the voice of Yahweh God said to him, “Son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you!” Here Yahweh God called Ezekiel “son of man.”
NASB Daniel 8:16-17 And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of Ulai (אוּלַי), and he called out and said, “Gabriel, give this man an understanding of the vision.” 17 So he came near to where I was standing, and when he came I was frightened and fell on my face; but he said to me, “Son of man, understand that the vision pertains to the time of the end.” (Dan 8:16-17 NASB)
Here in Daniel 8:16, the archangel Gabriel was called, presumably by Yahweh because who would have the authority to give a command to archangel Gabriel except Yahweh God himself; Gabriel was called to explain to Daniel the meaning of the vision; then in v.17 Gabriel called Daniel, “Son of man…”
These two passages show that the term “son of man” simply means man.
Continue readingSo far we have studied two titles of Jesus Christ: The Messiah and the Advocate. Today we will study a third title of the Lord.
ESV Hebrews 4:14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. (Heb 4:14 ESV)
Here it says that Jesus the Son of God is our great high priest. What does it mean that he is our great high priest? In order to understand the meaning of this title, the high priest, first we have to look into the Law in the Hebrew Bible to understand the duty of the high priest.
Continue readingLast time we studied the title Messiah in a series of messages on the titles of Jesus Christ. There are lots of titles for the Lord Jesus Christ in the Bible, today we are going to study another title: The Advocate.
NASB 1 John 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; (1Jo 2:1 NASB)
Here Apostle John says that Jesus Christ is our advocate with the Father Yahweh God. First of all, what does this word “advocate” mean?
The original Greek word for “advocate” is “παράκλητος” (paraklētos); its basic meaning is one who is called alongside to help, especially called to one’s aid. In a court of justice, it is a legal technical term for the legal assistant to the defendant. In its general sense, it is one who pleads the cause of another person.
This word in its wider sense can mean comforter, counselor. That is why the Holy Spirit is also called paraklētos.
NASB John 14:16-17 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. (Joh 14:16-17 NASB)
Here the Lord Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth. The original Greek word for “helper” in this passage is also parakletos, the same as the Greek word for “advocate”.
Continue readingSo far we have studied several titles of Christians and several titles of the Church, indeed there are in the Bible many titles of Christians and many titles of the Church. We have studied only the more important titles, but there is a lot more we have not studied yet. From time to time we will go back to studying some meaningful titles of Christians and titles of the Church.
Today we are going to study a new topic: The titles of Jesus Christ. There are more than one hundred titles of Jesus Christ in the Bible. The first title we are going to study is “The Messiah”.
Many years ago an elderly Christian sister asked me during a Bible study: How come we often say “Jesus Christ” instead of just “Jesus”? What is the meaning of “Christ”? I told her, “Jesus is the Lord’s name, Christ is his title; for example, President Reagan: President is his title, Reagan is his name; or Prime Minister Churchill: Prime Minister is his title, Churchill is his name. Similarly, in the case of Jesus Christ, Jesus is his name, Christ is his title.”
Continue readingSermon by Pastor Sylvia Chan
Today we are going to study another title of the Church.
ESV Ephesians 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. (Eph 5:23 ESV)
Here Apostle Paul says that Christ is the head of the church just as the husband is the head of the wife; he compares Christ to the husband and the church to the wife.
Christians often use this verse to illustrate the human relationship between husband and wife, but few study it as the relationship between Christ and the church.
Continue readingToday we study another title of the Church, this is the 6th title we are studying.
NASB 1 Peter 2:5 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1Pe 2:5 NASB)
Here Apostle Peter is telling us that Christians are living stones, and that we are being built up as a spiritual house to offer up spiritual sacrifices to Yahweh God.
Since we have studied Christians as living stones in an earlier sermon called “Titles of Christians (#10) Living Stones,” please refer to that sermon. Today I will not repeat the part about living stones, but will only focus on the Church as the spiritual house.
We Cannot Isolate Ourselves from Other Christians and Live by Ourselves
This title “the spiritual house” tells us that we cannot isolate ourselves from other Christians and live by ourselves. Here Apostle Peter compares Christians to stones that build up a spiritual house, but one stone by itself is not enough to build up a house, no matter how big and wonderful that stone is. Just one stone is not sufficient. We need many stones to build a house.
There is no room for individualism. Today many Christians don’t want to relate to other Christians; they say they don’t need to go to Church, for they can worship God and meditate on the Word of God at home; that is not Christianity in the Bible. Our concern is not only for our own salvation. Even though salvation is important, that’s not our only concern. We are baptized into one body. As living stones, we are being built up together as a spiritual house of Yahweh God.
Continue readingToday we are going to study another title of the church, this is the 5th one. The purpose of these studies is not to accumulate more and more biblical knowledge so that we feel good about ourselves. We study these titles so that by the grace of Yahweh God we would fulfill the meaning of these titles in our lives.
ESV Galatians 6:16 16 And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. (Gal 6:16 ESV)
This is a greeting from Paul to the Galatian Church; he says that “peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.” He is calling the Galatian church the Israel of God!
The people of Israel are the Jews, but in Paul’s churches, many or most of the Christians were not Jews. Indeed, Galatians 2:9 specifically says that Paul and Barnabas went to preach to the Gentiles:
ESV Galatians 2:9 9 and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. (Gal 2:9 ESV)
The term “circumcised” here refers to the Jews, because circumcision is the sign of the covenant between Yahweh God and Abraham. This verse says that James, Cephas (Peter) and John went to the Jews, whereas Paul and Barnabas went to the Gentiles. That’s why many or most of the Christians in Paul’s churches were Gentiles, they were not Jews. Then why did he call the Galatian church the Israel of God?
In order to answer this question, we have to look into the meaning of circumcision.
Continue readingToday we are going to study another title of the church:
NASB 1 Timothy 3:15 15 but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth. (1Ti 3:15 NASB)
Here Apostle Paul says that the purpose of his letter is to help Timothy know how to conduct himself in the household of God, the church of the living God Yahweh, the pillar and support of the truth.
Last time we studied the first part of this passage “The household of God”; please refer to the last sermon. Today we are going to study the second part: “The pillar and support of the truth”.
First of all, what is truth? I am not talking about the dictionary definition of truth, but the biblical meaning of truth; how does the Bible define truth? The meaning of truth in the Bible is vast and deep; we need to look into both the Old and New Testaments.
The Old Testament was written in Hebrew; the original Hebrew word for truth is “אֱמֶת ” (emeth). The New Testament was written in Greek; the original Greek word for truth is “ ἀλήθεια ” (alētheia).
Continue reading
Gospel and Salvation 