Pastor Jonathan Falwell
TRBC Doctrinal Statement:
We affirm that the Lord Jesus Christ is the second person of the Trinity. Eternally begotten from the Father, He is God. He was conceived by the virgin Mary through a miracle of the Holy Spirit. He lives forever as perfect God and perfect Man: two distinct natures inseparably united in one person.
We affirm that Jesus Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice by the appointment of the Father. He fulfilled the demands of God by His obedient life, died on the cross in full substitution and payment for the sins of all, was buried, and on the third day, He arose physically from the dead and ascended into Heaven where He now intercedes for all believers.
We affirm that the return of Christ for all believers is imminent. It will be followed by seven years of great tribulation and then the coming of Christ to establish His earthly kingdom for a thousand years. The unsaved will then be raised and judged according to their works and separated forever from God in hell. The saved, having been raised, will live forever in heaven in fellowship with God.
Colossians 1:15-20 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and by him all things hold together. 18 He is also the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile everything to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
- The Son of the Past
- Vss 15-16 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through him and for him.
- From our Doctrinal Statement: We affirm that the Lord Jesus Christ is the second person of the Trinity. Eternally begotten from the Father, He is God.
- Genesis 1 – Let us…
- John 1:3 – All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created
- The Son of the Present
- Vss 17-18 He is before all things, and by him all things hold together. 18 He is also the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.
- Christ appeared and was discussed many times in the Old Testament
- Theophanies – “theos – God; phaino – appear”
- Christophanies – appearances of Christ
- A “theophany” is a pre-Bethlehem appearance of Christ, often seen in the form of the “angel of the Lord”. He appeared to Hagar, Abraham’s Egyptian wife (Gen. 16:7- 14; 21:16-20), Abraham (Gen.18:10; 18:17; 22:11), Jacob (Gen. 28:12-15; 32:24-30), Moses (Exod. 3:4-5; 23:20; 33:22), Joshua (Josh. 5:13-15), Gideon (Judg. 6:11-24), Samson’s parents (Judg. 13), three young Hebrews in the fiery furnace (Dan. 3:24-25), and Daniel (Dan. 6:21-22; 7:13-14; 10:5-6)[1]
- Nearly 500 Old Testament prophecies about the coming Messiah
- From our Doctrinal Statement: We affirm that Jesus Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice by the appointment of the Father. He fulfilled the demands of God by His obedient life, died on the cross in full substitution and payment for the sins of all, was buried, and on the third day, He arose physically from the dead and ascended into Heaven where He now intercedes for all believers.
- The Gospel – 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
- Jesus is active today in every aspect of your lives
- He holds it all together – vs 17
The Present Ministry of Jesus Christ – He sits at Father’s right hand to:
- Be our forerunner (Heb. 6:19-20)
- Prepare a place for us (John 14:2)
- Give spiritual gifts to His followers (Eph. 4:10-14)
- Offer encouragement to His followers (Heb. 4:14-16)
- Make high priestly prayers for us (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 9:24)
- Send the promise of the Father (John 16; Acts 1:4; 2:33)
- Care for His churches (Rev. 1:10-3:22)
- Work through His people (John 14:12)
- Wait until His enemies become His footstool (Heb. 10:12-13)[2]
- The Son of the Eternal
- Vss 19-20 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile everything to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
From our Doctrinal Statement: We affirm that the return of Christ for all believers is imminent. It will be followed by seven years of great tribulation and then the coming of Christ to establish His earthly kingdom for a thousand years. The unsaved will then be raised and judged according to their works and separated forever from God in hell. The saved, having been raised, will live forever in heaven in fellowship with God.
- Jesus’ future work includes:
- The rapture – (John 14:1-3; 1 Cor. 15:51-53; 1 Thess. 4:16-17)
- The second coming – (Jude 14; Psa. 24:9-10; Isa. 25:8-9; Isa. 40:5, 10; Matt. 16:27; 24:30; 26:64; 2 Thess. 1:7; 2:8)
- 1,000 year reign – ( 9:6-7; Luke 1:32-33; Matt. 8:11; 13:43; 25:34; 26:29; Acts 3:19- 21; Rom. 8:16-23; 15:11-12, Rev. 20:4,6)
I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.[3]– C.S. Lewis
[1] Start Book, TRBC, page 87.
[2] Start Book, TRBC, Page 90.
[3] C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Simon & Schuster/Touchstone, New York, 1996, p. 56.