35 to 45 minutes for personal study; 55 to 70 minutes with a group Recognize Jesus as truly divine and truly human. Understand his identity as Messiah, servant, Savior, and Lord. See the cross and resurrection as the center of the gospel and the pattern of Christian life. People have always tried to fit Jesus into a manageable category. Some admire him as a moral teacher. Others approach him mainly as a miracle worker, political symbol, source of blessing, or private spiritual guide. The New Testament does not allow any one of those descriptions to contain him. Jesus touches people others avoid, forgives sins, confronts hypocrisy, announces God's kingdom, calms storms, welcomes children, eats with sinners, and calls people to leave everything and follow him. The question he asked his first disciples still stands before every learner: “Who do you say that I am?” Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God who became truly human, fulfilled Israel’s hope, gave himself for our sins, rose bodily from death, and reigns as Lord. Philippians 2:5-11 Colossians 1:15-20 John 1:1-18 Jesus stands within Israel's story as the promised Messiah, yet he fulfills that calling in an unexpected way. He does not seize power through violence. He announces God's reign, serves the vulnerable, confronts evil, gives his life, and is vindicated through resurrection. Christian faith confesses that the eternal Son became human without ceasing to be divine. His humanity was not a disguise. He became tired, hungry, sorrowful, and vulnerable to suffering. He obeyed, prayed, learned, loved, and died. Because he is truly human, he represents us. Because he is truly divine, he makes the Father known and accomplishes a salvation no mere teacher could provide. The cross is not an unfortunate ending to Jesus' ministry. He willingly gives himself for us and for our sins. At the cross, God's love is revealed, guilt is borne, evil is exposed, hostile powers are defeated, and reconciliation is opened. The resurrection is equally essential. God raises Jesus bodily, defeats death, confirms his lordship, and begins the promised new creation. To confess Jesus as Lord is therefore more than agreeing with a title. It means that our loyalties, ambitions, relationships, and use of power come under his authority. Mark 1-2: The Kingdom Comes Near Jesus announces God's kingdom and calls people to repent, believe, and follow. His authority becomes visible as he teaches, heals, cleanses, forgives, and restores people to community. The kingdom is not an abstract idea. God's saving rule is arriving through the words and actions of Jesus. John 1:1-18: The Word Became Flesh The Word exists before creation, is with God, and is God. This eternal Word becomes flesh and lives among us. John holds divine identity and real humanity together. In Jesus, the unseen God is made known, not because humanity is bypassed, but because the Son truly enters embodied human life. Mark 8:27-38: A Messiah Shaped by the Cross Peter correctly identifies Jesus as Messiah and immediately rejects the path Jesus says he must take. Jesus refuses a vision of power without suffering love. He then calls disciples to take up their cross. We do not repeat his saving death, but his self giving love becomes the pattern of our life. Philippians 2:5-11: Servant and Lord Christ does not use divine status for self advantage. He takes the form of a servant and becomes obedient to death on a cross. God exalts him, and every knee will bow. Paul gives this confession to a divided church because knowing Jesus must reshape the way believers treat one another. 1 Corinthians 15:1-28: Raised and Reigning Paul names Christ's death for our sins, burial, resurrection, and appearances as matters of first importance. Resurrection is not a metaphor for a cause that continued after Jesus died. God raised him, and his victory is the firstfruits of the coming resurrection and final defeat of death. Incarnation The eternal Son truly becoming human without ceasing to be divine. Messiah God’s promised anointed king, fulfilled by Jesus through service, suffering, resurrection, and reign. Atonement The saving work of Christ through which sin is dealt with and reconciliation with God is opened. Lord The risen Jesus’ rightful authority over every part of life and ultimately over all creation. Let the words and actions of Jesus correct any picture of God built mainly from fear, culture, or speculation. Bring your use of influence under the pattern of Jesus, who joins authority with truth, service, and sacrificial love. Make the resurrection part of everyday Christian hope, not only something remembered at Easter. Read one chapter of Mark each day this week. Keep two short lists: “What Jesus reveals about God” and “What Jesus asks from those who follow him.” At the end of the week, choose one response you need to make. Lord Jesus Christ, open my eyes to see you as you truly are. Free me from reducing you to the version I find most comfortable. Teach me to trust your cross, live in the power of your resurrection, and follow you as Lord. Amen. Which incomplete picture of Jesus is most common in the culture around you? Why must Christians confess both the full humanity and full divinity of Jesus? How do the cross and resurrection change the way we understand power? Let the Gospel scenes introduce Jesus before moving into theological vocabulary. Keep cross and resurrection together. Do not allow the resurrection to become a brief appendix. Invite learners to respond personally without pressuring them to manufacture an emotional moment. John Stott, The Cross of Christ. N. T. Wright, Simply Jesus. According to Colossians 1:15-17 and Philippians 2:6-11, who is Jesus Christ? An enlightened moral teacher who never claimed deity The eternal Son of God, truly God and truly human, Creator and Lord of all things An angel who was exalted to higher rank for good conduct A fictional prophet invented by the Roman Empire The eternal Son of God, truly God and truly human, Creator and Lord of all things Christian confession affirms the full deity and full humanity of Christ, who humbled himself to death and is exalted as Lord. What is the biblical significance of Jesus' bodily resurrection from the dead? It was a metaphorical myth describing how his memory survived in his friends' hearts It vindicates Jesus as the victorious Messiah, conquers death, guarantees our future resurrection, and establishes his kingdom reign It showed that spiritual beings do not care about physical bodies It was a private event with no historical evidence It vindicates Jesus as the victorious Messiah, conquers death, guarantees our future resurrection, and establishes his kingdom reign Paul declares that if Christ has not been raised, our preaching and faith are useless (1 Corinthians 15:14); his bodily resurrection is central to the gospel. How did Jesus reveal the kingdom of God during his earthly ministry? By raising a military army to overthrow the Roman legions Through authoritative preaching, healing the sick, casting out demons, forgiving sins, and welcoming social outcasts By building commercial businesses and accumulating silver and gold By isolating himself in desert monasteries Through authoritative preaching, healing the sick, casting out demons, forgiving sins, and welcoming social outcasts Jesus embodied the reign of God through words of grace and mighty deeds that restored broken lives and defeated the powers of darkness. What does it mean for a believer to confess 'Jesus is Lord' (Romans 10:9)? To mouth a religious slogan without any life change To surrender supreme loyalty, worship, and obedience to Jesus over every competing power, cultural pressure, and personal ambition To agree with a philosophical concept in an academic debate To join a political party in the government To surrender supreme loyalty, worship, and obedience to Jesus over every competing power, cultural pressure, and personal ambition Confessing Jesus as Lord was a revolutionary and costly confession, placing one's entire allegiance under the sovereign authority of Christ. Christological Research Essay on the Incarnation, Crucifixion, and Exaltation Write 700 to 900 words exploring the person and work of Jesus Christ. Analyze the early Christological hymn in Philippians 2, the cosmic Christ of Colossians 1, and the theological necessity of both his true humanity and true deity for human salvation. Exposit the kenosis and exaltation of Christ in Philippians 2:5-11, showing how self-emptying leads to cosmic reign. Analyze Colossians 1:15-20, evaluating [Jesus](/bible/explorer/person/jesus) as the image of the invisible God and reconciler of all things. Demonstrate why the historic bodily resurrection in [Jerusalem](/bible/explorer/place/jerusalem) is the bedrock of Christian hope. Articulate how bowing the knee to Christ challenges contemporary idols of status, power, and autonomy. The essay must be 700 to 900 words, cite biblical references accurately, engage the designated Bible Explorer links, and adhere to pastoral clarity without prohibited compound hyphens. The Chalcedonian definition (AD 451) affirming Christ in two natures without confusion, change, division, or separation. The interpretation of harpagmon in Philippians 2:6 as something to be exploited versus something not yet possessed. The Council of Nicaea (AD 325) settled homoousios (of the same substance) against the Arian homoiousios. Richard Bauckham demonstrates in Jesus and the God of Israel that early Christians included Jesus directly within the divine identity. Bauckham, Richard. Jesus and the God of Israel. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008. Hurtado, Larry W. Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003. Wells, David F. The Person of Christ: A Biblical and Historical Analysis. Wheaton: Crossway, 1984.