Proposed Statement of Faith Article 4

We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, one person in two natures. Jesus, Israel's promised Messiah, was conceived through the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father as our high priest and advocate.

God's gospel is revealed in history supremely through the person of Jesus Christ.

When we began this series of messages on the story of our faith (summarized by the word "gospel"), I made this point:

In Jesus, God came to the world personally. This is the heart of the gospel, i.e., God's good news (1 Cor. 15:1-11). Jesus, who is fully God and fully man, entered the world on a rescue mission ("to seek and save that which was lost"), lived the life we should have lived but have not, and then died the death we should have died and now do not have to because he has done it in our place. Jesus personally defeated sin through his death on the cross and death through his resurrection from the grave. The event that took place in history—from the birth of Jesus to his ascension into heaven and gift of the Holy Spirit—comprises thirty years that changed the world and forms the center of God's gospel.

Over the next two weekends, we will fix our eyes first on the person of Jesus and second on the work of Jesus. The commentary on these articles will be available on line at www.lakeave.org. Many of the issues related to the person and work of Jesus are addressed there so that we might look in our services at several episodes in Scripture. We want to see what practical difference it makes to believe that Jesus is both "fully God and fully man, one person in two natures." As you prepare to worship, consider these words from Col. 1:15-19

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him...

To His glory,

Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor