22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” John 10:22-24 ESV
QUESTION #1: Can we know for sure that Jesus is the Christ?
25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me.” John 10:25 ESV
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John 20:30-31 ESV
QUESTION #1: Can we know for sure that Jesus is the Christ?
Yes. The Father gave Jesus works to bear witness that He is Christ.
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26 “But you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27 ESV
My sheep:
- Believe
- Hear
- Know
- Follow
Am I one of Jesus’ sheep?
- Do I believe in Jesus?
- Do I hear the Word of Jesus?
- Do I know Jesus in a personal relationship?
- Do I follow in obedience to Jesus?
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28 “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” John 10:28-29 ESV
BVG STATEMENT OF FAITH: The Salvation of Man
WE BELIEVE that salvation is the free gift of God’s grace, from sin, death and hell, to everyone who believes in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Every believer has eternal life and complete security in the finished work of Jesus Christ when He died on the cross for our sins, and arose from the dead, thus guaranteeing our own resurrection and eternal life.
John 3:16; 14:6; Acts 16:31; Romans 3:24; 6:23; 10:9-10; Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 1:18-19, 22-25; 1 John 5:11-13
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30 “I and the Father are one.” John 10:30 ESV
QUESTION #2: Did Jesus claim to be God?
62 “Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?” John 6:62 ESV
23 “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.” John 8:23 ESV
58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” John 8:58 ESV
28 “I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” John 16:28 ESV
5 “And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” John 17:5 ESV
QUESTION #2: Did Jesus claim to be God?
Yes. Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.”
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BVG STATEMENT OF FAITH: The Triunity of God
WE BELIEVE that God is one, manifesting Himself in three distinct and separate Persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each of Whom is God and to be honored and worshiped as God.
Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14
31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” John 10:31-32 ESV
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33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.” John 10:33 ESV
QUESTION #3: Did Jesus, being a man, make Himself God?
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:1,14 ESV
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 1:18-20 ESV
30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.” Luke 1:30-35 ESV
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BVG STATEMENT OF FAITH: The Person and Work of Jesus Christ
WE BELIEVE that Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh, born of a virgin, sinless, crucified for our sins, resurrected from the dead, ascended to heaven, and coming back again to establish His Kingdom on earth.
Matthew 1:23; John 1:1, 14, 29; 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, 12-19; Hebrews 4:15; 1 John 2:1-2; Acts 1:9-11
QUESTION #3: Did Jesus, being a man, make Himself God?
No. Jesus was not a mere man making a false claim to be God.
Yes. The Word became flesh and the Word was God.
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34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’?” John 10:34 ESV
A Psalm of Asaph. 1 God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment: 2 “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah 3 Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. 4 Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” 5 They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. 6 I said, “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you; 7 nevertheless, like men you shall die, and fall like any prince.” 8 Arise, O God, judge the earth; for you shall inherit all the nations! Psalm 82 ESV
35 “If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— 36 do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?” John 10:35-36 ESV
9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. John 1:9-11 ESV
37 “If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” John 10:37-38 ESV
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Seven Signs in the Gospel of John:
- Jesus changes water into wine (2:1-11)
- Jesus heals an official’s son (4:46-54)
- Jesus heals an invalid at Bethesda (5:2-17)
- Jesus feeds the five thousand (6:1-14)
- Jesus walks on the sea (6:16-21)
- Jesus heals a man born blind (9:1-7)
- Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead (11:1-44)
39 Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands. 40 He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained. 41 And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” 42 And many believed in him there. John 10:39-42 ESV
12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:12-13 ESV
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