For our scripture reading this morning, turn with me to John 10, John 10 as we read the last half of the chapter, verses 22 through 42, after our Lord's discourse about being the good shepherd, John chapter 10, verses 22 to 42, and also if you would turn in the back of the Psalter hymnal to page 74 as we turn once again to our confession of faith, the Belgic confession. This morning, considering what we believe, as stated in Article 10, that Jesus Christ is true and eternal God. Indeed, we know that our confessions are summary statements of what we believe Scripture teaches. And it is good for us to be reminded why we believe what it is we believe as we search the Scriptures. John chapter 10 as we give our attention to this, the Word of God. Verse 22, Then came the feast of dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon's colonnade. The Jews gathered around him saying, How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered, I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one. Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me? We are not stoning you for any of these, replied the Jews, but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God. Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I have said you are gods? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken, What about the one whom the Father set apart as His very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy? Because I said, I am God's Son. Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I in the Father. Again, they tried to seize Him, but He escaped their grasp. Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. Here he stayed, and many people came to him. They said, though John never performed a miraculous sign, all that John said about this man was true. And in that place, many believed in Jesus. Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, in another portion of Scripture, you recall that Jesus said to his disciples, Who do people say the Son of Man is? And after listening to the variety of answers that His disciples gave, He, as it were, looked His disciples in the eye and said, But who do you say I am? And I can't think of a more important question, can you? I cannot think of a more important question, a question that each one of us, young or old, must personally answer. Who do you say Jesus is? How do you answer that? On what authority do you base your answer? Now as believers, by the grace of God, we know that there is only one acceptable answer, and that's Peter's answer. You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. You are God. Jesus is God. That's what we believe. That's what we confess. In a congregation, we cannot overstate the importance of this truth because you cannot and you will not go to heaven without believing the truth that Jesus is God. It's impossible. Yet we know that many have denied this truth of Jesus Christ. We've talked a little bit about this before, and we know that our children in church history class learn about the fact that the early New Testament church faced a number of heretical attacks on this very point. The church was forced to contend and deal with not only what we call Trinitarian heresies, heresies that deny or attack the truth of the triune God, but more specifically, Christological heresies which denied either or both the person and the work of Jesus Christ. Denied the truth of Christ in some way. And we could talk about a number of them. We could have a history class. But one notable one was from a man named Arius, as we've also mentioned before, called Arianism. And among other things, of course, Arianism taught that Jesus is not God. It taught that He was the first and most exalted creature which God had made. Therefore, in essence, He's like you and me, yet He's the first and most exalted. But He's not eternal. And they would say there was a time when He did not exist. As I believe I've also mentioned before, a number of weeks ago, we find Arianism taught under the names, today, Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons. But even as our Lord walked this earth, there were those, especially His own countrymen, many of the Jews and Jewish leaders who did not agree with Peter. John 10 is just one of many places in Scripture that proves that point. You're just a man. You're a mere man. And in other places, you're just the son of a carpenter, or you're from Nazareth of all places. But for the church of Jesus Christ congregation, the fruit of the heretical attacks that the church dealt with, the fruit of that was a shift from confusion and contradiction to a clear and a concise confession of Jesus Christ, the God-man. And this is beautifully expressed in Article 10 of the Belgic Confession. If you have it open, please follow along. Again, top of page 74, Jesus Christ is true and eternal God. We believe that Jesus Christ, according to His divine nature, is the only begotten Son of God, begotten from eternity, not made nor created, for then He would be a creature, but co-essential and co-eternal with the Father, the very image of His substance and the effulgence of His glory. I had to look that word up, effulgence. It means the radiance of His glory, the shining forth of God's glory, equal unto Him in all things. He is the Son of God, not only from the time that He assumed our nature, but from all eternity, as these testimonies, the testimonies of Scripture, when compared together teach us. Moses says that God created the world. And St. John says that all things were made by that Word which he calls God. The Apostle says that God made the world by His Son. Likewise, that God created all things by Jesus Christ. Therefore, it must needs follow that He who is called God, the Word, the Son, and Jesus Christ did exist at that time when all things were created by Him. Therefore, the prophet Micah says, His goings forth are from of old, from everlasting. And the apostle, He hath neither beginning of days nor end of life. He therefore is that true, eternal, and almighty God whom we invoke, worship, and serve. Again, this article, pulling from Scripture, the truth that Jesus Christ is from eternity. He's not a creature, but He is the Creator. He is of one substance with the Father. He is given divine names, divine work, as we'll talk about. And also, He deserves divine honor to be worshipped. You see, that article is a beautiful summary of the teaching of our ultimate and our only authority with regard to the truth that Jesus is God. And that ultimate and only authority is the very Word of the Triune God. A special revelation that we talked about earlier in our consideration of the Confession. That which we believe is the Word of God. And the truth, as the Bible teaches us, that was spoken by the Father, it was claimed by the Son, and it is certified by the Holy Spirit. This testimony comes from the very triune God Himself. Well, first of all then, beloved, God the Father's testimony to the truth of His Son, Jesus, is so clear, it is so abundant throughout His Holy Word. In a sense, we do a Scripture survey this morning. Why do we confess to believe this? Well, this is why. Scripture. And it begins with God's voice spoken, the Father's voice spoken, begins with His promises about the coming of His Son. In Genesis 3, He speaks about the enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. And God promises the Savior would come and crush the head of the serpent. In Psalm 2, we read that the Father said, You are My Son. Today I have become Your Father. And then He goes on in that psalm. He speaks of the glory given to the Son. As well, He calls for man to honor His Son. In Isaiah 7, the Father speaks of the virgin birth of His Son who will be called Emmanuel, which we know from another place in Scripture means God with us. And then in Isaiah 9, the Son is given those names which describe His deity, wonderful Counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. You see, all of these were promises of the Son to come. The one whom Jeremiah describes as being the Lord our righteousness. But then we push ahead in history and when Christ was born, God the Father spoke through His messengers, the angels, who said to the shepherds, Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord. And even later, with His very own audible voice, the Father spoke of the truth of His Son, didn't He? At the baptism of Jesus, the Father said, This is My Son whom I love. With Him I am well pleased. And then on the mountain of transfiguration, the Father said the very same words, but adds, Listen to Him. Before our Lord was crucified, We read in John chapter 12, we might say, of a conversation between the Father and the Son. Jesus prayed, Father, glorify Your name. And then Scripture says, a voice came from heaven. I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again. And beloved God the Father also spoke and still speaks the truth that Jesus is God through the testimony of His other inspired writers. Again, John begins his gospel record, as the article mentioned. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And in 1 John 5, verse 20, John says of God's Son, Jesus Christ, He is the true God and eternal life. Not He is a God, or He is one of many, or He is simply like God. He is the true God. But there's more. Again, the article 10 touches on this, but the Word of God ascribes to Jesus different divine characteristics. Again, divine names, as John says, He is the Word. And in many places, Jesus is in a straightforward way called the Son of God. He says it Himself. Thomas calls Jesus, my Lord and my God. In Titus 2, verse 13, Paul calls Him our great God and Savior. As well, he is spoken of in Scripture as having divine attributes. We've already considered that He is eternal. He is wisdom. He is power. Divine works are ascribed to Him. John and then Paul later on in Colossians speak of His work of creating. And we could add to this what the Bible says about His work of redemption. His work of ruling and governing all things. His work of one day coming again to judge the living and the dead. And as we will talk about in a moment, His work of miracles. But then also divine or godly honor belongs to Him. Believers are to be baptized into His name, Matthew 28. We are to believe in Him, John 14. We are to bow down before Him in worship. Again, Matthew 28 and Philippians 2. God the Father has given such a strong and a powerful testimony to His own Son in His Word. This is the testimony we believe by the grace of God. And the Word of God says that without believing it, no one goes to heaven. See, that's our calling, isn't it, congregation? Our calling is to believe what the Bible, God's very own Word, testifies to us about the Son of God Himself. There's no guesswork involved here. It's clear. We believe God's Word is clear. We believe God's Word clearly teaches that Jesus is God and that He is the only way of salvation. The Father has spoken it. But then in the second place, Jesus the Son claimed this truth for Himself. Again, recorded in Scripture. In fact, he always maintained his identity as the Son of God, being one with the Father. Even as a boy, 12 years old, in the temple, he said, I must be about my Father's business. But because he always maintained that claim, that identity of being the Son of God, one with the Father, that's what got him into trouble with the Jews and their leaders. For example, again, verse 33 of chapter 10, We are not stoning you for any of these, not for the miracles that they saw, as wonderful as they may have been. We're not stoning you for these, replied the Jews, but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God. Now we need to understand that Jesus claimed His divinity by both His words, what He said, and by His works, what He did. In the passage before us, he said, I and the Father are one. He was not saying that we are one person, but we are one in essence. Again, the very image of his substance and the effulgence, the shining forth, the radiance of his glory. One in essence, the same nature, divine. And when Jesus was talking to the Samaritan woman by the well as recorded in John 4, she said, I know that Messiah called Christ is coming. Then Jesus declared, I who speak to you am he. To Pilate he said, you are right in saying I am a king. And in another place he points to the fact that he is eternal. He says, before Abraham was, I am. Congregation, the Jews hate for Jesus. And their desire to kill Him grew precisely because He maintained His identity as the Son of God. In John 5, verses 17 and 18, we read, Jesus said to them, My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I too am working. For this reason, the Jews tried all the harder to kill Him. Not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. When Jesus sent out His twelve disciples, He said to them in Matthew 10, He who receives you receives Me. And he who receives Me receives the One who sent Me. And then in Luke 10 when He sends out the seventy, He said, He who listens to you listens to Me. He who rejects you rejects Me. But he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me. Such powerful words. Even for you and Me today. the one who rejects the preaching of the faithful preacher who preaches Christ, rejects the Father of Christ. In John 15, verse 23, Jesus says, He who hates Me hates My Father as well. It's no wonder, is it, why the Jews, who wanted nothing to do with Jesus and said God is their Father, why the Jews hated Him when He made claims like these. But even beyond his words, his works were claims of the truth that he is God. And we could recount them as well as we go through Scripture. But to summarize, he healed the sick, he raised the dead, he cast out demons. And ironic, isn't it, that even the demons claimed the truth of who he is. Think of the legion in that one gentleman. Knew exactly who Christ was. Jesus gave sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf. He multiplied the loaves and the fishes. You see, all of His works, all of His miraculous works were works that pointed to spiritual restoration and healing. They pointed to the salvation of God. And after performing many miraculous signs and wonders, Jesus spoke these beautiful words that many of us hold dear in John 14. Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God. Trust also in Me. I who have performed those miraculous signs and wonders, I am God. Trust in Me. Believe in Me. And then later on He says, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me maintaining that identity. And then Jesus prayed in His high priestly prayer in John 17. There Jesus acknowledged that eternal life was His to give. that which is only God's to give was His to give to all those given to Him by the Father. Now, of course, some believed in Him. As we read in the last verses when He went to where John the Baptist had ministered, some believed, some were in awe of Him. Others didn't. Those we read about in John 10, we might say, represent all who reject the truth of Jesus. Again, verse 24. the Jews gathered around Him. And the idea there is there's a pressing in around Him, in a sense, making it hard for Him to escape them, to escape their questions. They gathered around Him saying, how long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly. Now think about it. If any one of us, if we were Jesus by this time, we'd be pulling our hair out. What's the matter with you people? We would have lost our temper and said, what's the matter with you ignorant, ignorant folk? Are you deaf? Are you blind? I've told you. I've shown you. We would have done that in our often unmerciful way, huh? But Jesus simply says, I did tell you, but you do not believe. There was such a blindness. There was spiritual blindness. was represented by their physical blindness. Now, boys and girls, they weren't truly blind in the sense that they couldn't see with their eyes, but in a sense they were blind because they saw the works. They saw the miracles. But it didn't register in their minds and in their hearts. They said, tell us plainly. Well, Jesus appeals to the plain, yet speechless, wordless, Yet indisputable proofs of His divinity and of His oneness with the Father, He appeals to His miracles. Those miracles were as plain as the noses on their faces. The miracles spoke for themselves that the power that performed them was not only the power of God, but it was a power that pointed them to God. In fact, in essence, Jesus says, let the miracles speak for themselves. Verses 38 and 39. Do not believe in Me unless I do what My Father does. A good reminder for us, too, that with anyone, whether it be a preacher or a believer, if they don't follow what the Father says, what God says, they're not to be believed. But if I do it, Jesus says, even though you do not believe Me, believe the miracles that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me and I in the Father. Indisputable proof. Of the power of God. But what's sadly amazing is what the chief priests, I think anyway, is what the chief priests and the Pharisees say in the next chapter, verses 47 and 48. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. What are we accomplishing? They asked. Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. They saw them, right? They acknowledged them. But they weren't impressed. Didn't mean a whole lot to them. If we let him go on like this, Everyone will believe in Him and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation. Such arrogance, you see. Such arrogance. In their blindness, they reject the one they had waited for for so long because He didn't fit their expectations and therefore they were deaf to His words. They were blind to His miraculous signs. Again, like so many today who don't want a Jesus, the Jesus of the Bible. They want the kind of their own making, you see. One who is tolerant and one who helps them along in their salvation or in their time of need, but doesn't really do it for them or whatever the case may be. And therefore, so many are blind to the truth of this Jesus. They're deaf to the words and blind to the signs. Again, beloved, there are only two possible responses to the truth that Jesus is God. Either you reject Him or you believe in Him. As we consider what the Father has said in His Word and as we consider the record we've been given in Scripture of the claims of Jesus Himself, we are to be in awe and filled with belief. The Bible, which is a most vivid picture for you and me of the truth that Jesus is God, testifies to this truth. We are to be in awe that God has blessed us so richly and sent Jesus into the world. And we are to be humbled that Jesus lived a sinless life for His people. And that His perfect death on the cross was also for His people. All that He did, all that He continues to do today was and is always for His people. That's why Romans 5 verse 8 is so very comforting. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And Paul also makes it clear in that same verse that Christ's death was a demonstration of God's love. And Paul tells us in another place that Christ became sin for us. He took our curse upon Himself that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Now that's the heart of the Gospel, isn't it? of Christ for His people. And it could only happen because Jesus is God. The Father spoke it. The Son claimed it. But that would be of no effect apart from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit certifies it. He certifies it through the Word of God to your heart and my heart. You see, actually the Holy Spirit, we might say, certified this truth in history, throughout the history of Revelation. We could go back to different episodes in the Old Testament. But for example, beginning in the New Testament, as by His power, He certified this truth as by His power Christ was conceived in the Virgin Mary. And at the baptism of Jesus, the Holy Spirit came upon Him without measure, without limit, to equip Him to do the Father's work. And in a very vivid and visible way on Pentecost, the Holy Spirit empowered the church of Jesus Christ and certified the truth of Him to their hearts in such a way that all fear was driven away. And they stood up boldly and they suffered cheerfully for Jesus' sake. But we might say in a manner of speaking that the Holy Spirit's greatest testimony of all has come since Christ's resurrection and ascension as He has worked throughout the ages in the hearts and lives of God's elect, in your heart and in my heart, certifying the truth of Jesus Christ, of what the Father has spoken and what the Son has claimed, and applying His work of salvation to those hearts. You see, not only does the Holy Spirit simply teach us the truth of Jesus Christ and of His divine names and divine work and divine attributes and divine honor. Even as Article 10 ends, He that is Christ, therefore, is that true, eternal, and almighty God whom we invoke, worship, and serve. Not only does the Holy Spirit teach us about that, but the Holy Spirit works in us to that power of regeneration and new life. He works in us to then invoke and call upon Jesus. And to worship Him, actually. And to desire to serve Him. It is the Holy Spirit, the Bible teaches, that removes the blinders of sin from our hearts and gives us the eyes of faith to see and to understand the truth. Lydia was an example of that. Acts 16 verse 14 says, The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message. By nature, our hearts are closed up tight, But the Holy Spirit works with His tool, the tool of His Word. I've stressed this before and we must continue to keep this in mind because it's being taught differently. You see, the Holy Spirit never works apart from the Word. Never, ever. The Word is the tool of the Holy Spirit. The Word is not effective apart from the Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit works with the tool of His Word to remove the dark shades of doubt and of night. And He enlightens us by the Word of God, which is a lamp unto our feet and a light upon our paths. He brings us then to see our lost condition and to see that salvation is only in Christ Jesus. That He alone is our hope. He alone is our heart's desire. And once the Spirit of God certifies the truth of Jesus, as given to us in Scripture, once He certifies that truth to our hearts, including that He died for me, and that because of Him alone I am righteous in God's sight, then He also gives us the confidence, as Paul says in Romans 8, that the Holy Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are children of God. And only by Him do we cry, Abba, Father. You see, if you believe in Jesus Christ, the Christ of Scripture, If you believe it, it's only because of the certifying work of the Holy Spirit. And praise God, His work is ongoing. We have a constant witness through the Word of God that what the Bible says not only about Christ and God's promises is truth, but also what the Bible says about believers is truth. The whole thing about I will remember your sins no more and about eternal life, it's all true. And it's only by the power of the Holy Spirit that we then turn and claim these promises. And a part of growth in the faith, as we study the Word of God, congregation, is that we come to confess, I sought the Lord and afterward I knew. He moved my soul to seek Him seeking me. I was found by Thee. And this is only true because Jesus is God. If He were not God, we would still be lost in sin. We would be completely blind because of our sin. And Scripture would be meaningless. Just pages with ink and words. The rich man of Lazarus, that parable teaches that. Abraham says to the rich man, if your brothers will not believe Moses and the prophets, they will not believe though one return from the dead. And as hard as it may be for us to understand, even if one were to see Jesus Christ do the most wonderful miracle He ever performed on earth, if His heart is not opened by the Holy Spirit, it will mean nothing. Apart from the truth of believing that Jesus is God. You see, if that's your confession, that He is God, then you know, you have the confidence that you are right with God for eternity. But if that's not your confession this morning, And you are called to meditate upon this truth that Jesus is God. And you are called to meditate upon that and that He is the only way of salvation and called to think about the truth of the warnings of Scripture for those who reject Jesus Christ. You are called to repent of your sins and place your trust only in Him. Take heed to John 2, verses 22 and 23, which says, Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the Antichrist. He denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. And we've already been reminded this morning about that assurance of pardon for those who turn to Him. Such beautiful, such amazing assurance of pardon. And Jesus says it as well in this passage. I give them eternal life. No one will take it away. No one will snatch them out of my hands. Jesus is God. By this confession, the church stands or falls. You see, if He is not God, if He is not God, then Christianity is not the only true religion. If He is not God, then we have no certainty in our knowledge of God. We have no certainty or assurance that Jesus revealed the truth of God to us. If He is not God, then we have no comfort in His promises. If He is not God, then we worship a creature. We worship one of our own. And we know how dangerous that is. If He is not God, there is no basis to our salvation. If He is not God, then we are to be pitied. Because we have no hope. But Jesus is God. The Father spoke this truth. The Son claimed this truth. And the Holy Spirit certifies this truth. The danger is for those who deny this truth. As 2 John 9-11 says, Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God. Whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him. Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work. By God's grace, beloved, we do not live as those who have no hope. Our hope is sure, it's certain, it is eternal, and our hope gives meaning to life. This truth that Jesus is God applies to all of life in a general way. The fact that our Savior is God gives purpose, for example, to our work. We do it and we do all things as unto the Lord. And our Christian gratitude because of this truth that Jesus is God, our Christian gratitude to God, transforms our marriages and our relationships and our life as we look forward to and we cherish not only this life but the life to come. And as the Holy Spirit certifies and applies this truth to our lives, and as the old man of sin dies more and more, and as the new man of righteousness lives more and more, we are less grumpy, let's say. We complain less. Our greed and our selfishness fades away. And instead, we are more encouraging to others and we enjoy greater contentment. And we give of ourselves selflessly. You see, the point is, we're talking about a transformed life completely by the power of the Holy Spirit, a transformed life that is unrecognizable to the world, unexplainable to the world, a transformed life that is recognizable to those who are in Christ Jesus. What's the effect of the truth that Jesus is God? John says it beautifully in chapter 20, but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name. There's no other name under heaven given among men by which we might be saved. Beloved, we must all answer the question of Jesus. Boys and girls, I'm talking to you too. We must all answer the question of Jesus, Who do you say I am? The Bible, the very Word of God, gives us a true answer. The complete answer. Jesus is God. He is the Savior. He is the beautiful Savior. Is He yours? Amen. Shall we pray? Father, we thank You again for Your Word, Your truth. We must confess that often we become lax, even in what it is we claim to believe, forgetting why it is we confess it. Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You most of all for Your Word applied to our hearts and lives by the regenerating power on the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. Thank You for bringing us as Your people to see Your Word clearly. Even though we may not always understand everything in it and understand all of Your ways, yet You've given to us to understand the truth of our need and how that need is satisfied through Jesus Christ, our Lord, because He is God. If there is even one here this morning, Father, who does not know this or believe this, work powerfully in that heart. Bring those eyes, lift those eyes to see clearly the truth of Jesus Christ and the beauty of the Gospel. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.