[00:00:00] Jesus, the Christ is God. And that's the essential. If you take that away, Christianity falls apart. Jesus is God.

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Salty Pastor Podcast, a podcast dedicated to helping you learn, to think critically and grow your faith. That is not something we can do for you, but instead something very personal and something you have to do for yourself. Very similar to you can have your trainer do your workouts for you, but instead you have to do the workouts.

If you want to see progress. I've got several very, very in-fit people at this church that telling me that. So. 

You mean I have to do the pushups. 

That doesn't make sense. What am I paying you for you? For my name is Jesse Maher. I will be your host and without further ado, the one, the only the Salty Pastor himself, Dr.

Douglas Peake. 

Well [00:01:00] greetings everyone. And yes, I think that's such a great way to phrase it in that is, is that the mission of Salty Pastor is that everything in this society. Is trying to teach you to not accept responsibility for yourself, but that my friends is when you take ownership from where, where you're at and where you're going, that's when your life totally changes and it totally opens up.

And your whole demeanor. Changes is transformed. You move from a person of I'm a victim and I have no control to bad things are gonna happen, but I am I'm strengthened and courageous. I'm going to face them. We're going to March through them. And that's where your dignity comes from and your sense of self worth and confidence and courage.

Yeah. Those things are so important. And so that's what the mission of salty pastors is all about, is to dig into the word of God so that you develop, this notion of how Jesus Christ loves you, values, you affirms you. And yet there's something that is holding you back and how he deals with that. [00:02:00] 

So we just started last week, a brand new series.

Um, we're using the famous children's song to remember the essentials of the faith. Jesus loves me. Right. And, uh, the song starts with the name of the song, which is Jesus Loves Me, that's the first line. Um, last week we kind of discussed, why having essentials is essential. Um, but then there's a fallacy in that, right?

If you use our term to define a term, I'm learning things from you, anyways, there's a better way to phrase that, but the why the essentials are important. And then we are learning about our next essential, which is based off of the line, Jesus loves me, this week. And what are we learning about pastor Doug?

Well, okay. First of all, having essentials, is critically important, but the essential that we're going to talk about today, and the first line of the song is Jesus. Who is Jesus? If Jesus loves you, [00:03:00] who is doing the loving, right? What it does, the source of the love have to say about the nature of love. So essential number one is all about the nature,

of Jesus. And in a nutshell, it's Jesus, the Christ is God. And that's the essential. If you take that away, Christianity falls. Jesus is God. 

So there's a lot of YouTube videos and articles that are claiming these days that Jesus never claimed to be God. Yes. What do you have in rebuttal to this pastor? This is the gotcha.

Well, first and foremost, what's really interesting is when you go back and read 2000 years of church history, and you look at all of what they call the heresies of the early Orthodox Christianity, the first five major [00:04:00] heresies that the church dealt with in the first four to five centuries or four or 500 years all had to do with the nature of Jesus, every single one of them. The Mar konijn, uh, heresy, the Arion heresy a docetism, all of these.

Uh, different heresies that have all fallen apart. We don't know about them all questioned whether or not Jesus was completely God, and completely human all at the same time. So they denied that. And the reason why is predominantly because of Greek philosophy at that time was dominated by platonic dualism.

And that is, is that from Plato, right? Yeah. For Plato they'd split the difference between your spirit and material world, and they didn't see how those two could be the same. They could come together. And so they were very dualistic in their thinking. Uh, uh, it's a very co it's been a very common claim from day one, and it's very common [00:05:00] today in America, particularly on the internet, it's just simply not true.

I mean, it's a hundred percent not true. And the bottom, the way we know this is that Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and then the other 23, uh, letters and or books in the New Testament. Matthew, Mark, and Luke and John are gospels are biographies on the life of. We all know, even the biggest critics, there's a Duke University.

There's a professor by the name of Bart Ehrman. And he is the biggest critic of Christianity. He's an atheist and all this kind of stuff, but he always concedes that. Well, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John did right. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and the content of what they said in there is accurate. So, so he'll even concede that yes, Jesus was a person and Jesus said these words and they were adequately or accurately recorded.

And in the gospel of John chapter 14, Philip, you know, one of his apostles is confused [00:06:00] and comes up and says, How, how do we know who you are? And Jesus answers. Don't, you know me Philip? This John chapter 14, verse nine, he says, don't, you know, me, Philip, even after I have been among you for such a long time, anyone who has seen me has seen God, seen the father.

So how can you say, show us the father? Don't you believe that I am in the father and the father is in me? The words I say to you, I do not speak on my own authority, rather. It is the father living in me who is doing his work. So believe me, verse 11. When I say that I am in the father and the father is in me, or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.

So notice what he's saying is he's using their language, which is Greek at that time. Uh, it's not spoken now. It's Koine Greek, and that is, believe [00:07:00] me. He said, I am in the father and the father is in me. He saying, I am, the father are one. We're the, we're the one we are the same. And so, uh, I think that, so Jesus claimed to be God over and over again.

And he never denied that. You go back and you read his crucifixion accounts and all the gospels, he never denies it. He always claims that he and God are one. So the people who say that Jesus never claimed that are charlatans, they're they're, uh, they're liars. They're they're propagating falsehoods. And what's sad is that there will be people who believe it.

You know, but Jesus did say if you do that, it'd be better that a gigantic millstone be tied around your neck and, you know, cast into 

the deepest seas. Read that yesterday, actually. Yeah. Studies, 

You know, what a millstone millstone could be the size of a, you know, a Ford Focus.

[00:08:00] I know exactly what size that is weirdly enough. 

Weirdly enough.

So that makes sense. That's much clear. Um, so we've kind of debunked that claim. That's kind of going around as a popular claim these days. The, the concept you're kind of talking about with Jesus and God being one in the same as kind of this idea of the Trinity, right? That's what we're, we're we're discussing.

Why is this such a difficult, thing to wrap your head around. Cause I mean, I think that's one thing that like, especially early believers, like when they're first kind of starting their walk, it's like trying to, if someone goes, well, how can he be these all three things at the same time? It usually leaves people little like tongue tied of like, well, I mean, Yeah, it's complicated, which sounds like a Facebook status at this point.

But. 

Well, I do think that, uh, at first, you know, when you try to comprehend it, it is [00:09:00] difficult to understand. And I think that our, our knowledge base, you know, influences that quite a bit. Uh, what's really interesting is people who grasp the Trinity. You know, really clearly can, or, you know, uh, people who study quantum mechanics, theoretical physics, a lot of these things mathematics, you know, spirit states of matter because you know, it's oh yeah, it makes perfect sense.

You know, and, but they're still using a material, a material paradigm to understand something that exists outside of the material universe, you know, and it's in the spiritual realm now, any, and every illustration that we use to describe the term. Uh, is insufficient, meaning it's not going to catch the whole thing.

Right. But I think it's really important to understand is that Jesus Christ God, the father and the Holy Spirit are three in one. They are all. One is a matter of fact, this was such a big deal in the first century. Uh, there is, there was a [00:10:00] woman who was really well known in her, uh, city that she lived. She was a Roman citizen and during one of the persecutions, uh, they came, they accused her of believing.

She refused to deny Christ and under Roman law. Whenever they took you. They took her to the, the center of the, the city. They're kind of, and if you know much about how Roman cities are built, they always have a city center and all roads lead into it. And right there, what they did is they took out a sword and they, uh, struck her on the neck to kill her, but it didn't kill her.

You know, she lived for another three days before she died in the entire time that she was in there. She, she put her fingers like this. And if you're, if you're listening online, uh, in her right hand, she had three fingers. And then in her left hand, she had one finger pointing to the. So it was three in one or one in three.

And so the concept of the Trinity, God, Jesus Christ and holy spirit are all. One is [00:11:00] very, it's very early on. It's Orthodox Christianity. It's always been a part of it on Sunday. I'm going to try to illustrate it just to help people understand it. But the reason why we struggle is because we try to use material, you know, things to try to describe this spiritual phenomena.

It's kind of like that. Everybody, uh, pretty much, you know, they believe in a fourth dimension. Right. Right. So how do you explain the, what a fourth dimensional object looks like in three dimensional space? Yeah. How do you do that? 

Yeah, it's like. Cartoon artists have even struggled with this for years, as far as trying to take a 2d object and make it up here, 3d. 

I mean, if you watch a television, you're still attempting to understand a 3d object in 2d space and they found ways to kind of try to illustrate it, but it's still not a three-dimensional person in your television. It's still only rendering out or appearing as a two dimensional object. 

And what the [00:12:00] movie was, where they instituted the camera shots to try to give you a three dimensional perspective into D what was the first movie that was the most radical approach to how they filmed and shot it?

It was the matrix. 

Oh, yeah, because of the three times all the time, uh, set up. 

Yeah, yeah. Remember that they set up all these cameras and they do that. Now when you watch and CGI, whenever there's action happening, they'll take the camera and they'll rotate it in three dimension around the event to try to give 

them. 

To try to give you a sense of it, but it is still not a three-dimensional object hanging out in your TV.

It's still just an attempt to communicate it. That strange. Yeah. So. We got very nerdy there for a second. 

You know, that, I think that's why it's hard to understand, but it's, it's critically clear. The Trinity is, um, in all the primary source text of the new Testament, Philippians chapter two, [00:13:00] Colossians chapter one gospel of John chapter one.

These sections in the new Testament speak directly to the issue of the. Yes, so let's go through them. 

So let's, uh, talk about the first passage you had mentioned, uh, Philippians two, five through 11, and I'll read it for us. It says, uh, starting with verse five in Philippians two in your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.

Who being in very nature. God did not consider equality with God, something to be used to his own advantage. Rather he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name. That at the time of Jesus. Every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth. And every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord [00:14:00] to the glory of God. The father. 

Now you see, what's really special about this passage is it explains the preexistent nature of Jesus.

It says Jesus being in very nature. God. So he's saying that Jesus and God are one. There's no division there. He says did not consider equality with God in the original Greek. It says something to be held on to. So in other words, you know, a lot of times when you have power control, you don't, you know, or money, you don't like letting it go.

We don't see that at all in today's world at all. Pastor Doug, I don't even know how you would say that. 

So he says he, you know, he didn't consider holding on to the power of God. Uh, but he emptied himself. It says he made himself nothing. Meaning he let it go. He emptied himself and took the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness.

So here's what we see is that [00:15:00] God and Christ are one. And then. You know, a portion of God leaves this unification, this unity, and then takes a form of a human being. And it made in the likeness of a human being for a time. And then as he walked the face of the earth, he then ultimately is crucified or obedient to the point of a death so that this passage is unique because it really talks about the upfront process of this equation.

And that is, is that Jesus Christ and God, are one. Right. You know, and the best that we can understand that now we, I am not one with anyone else. So it's really difficult for me to under stand that, you know what I'm saying? If, if there were two of me living in this body, they would call me. 

Uh, just Dissociation Identity Disorder, I think is the technical term.

So, but I'm not in any way, trying to say that God has schizophrenia or weirdly, I'm just simply [00:16:00] saying, trying to point out how difficult it is for us to even grasp the idea of God. And Jesus Christ all being one. 

So let's read our next passage. It's out of Colassians we'll start a chapter one verse 15.

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 and through him to reconcile to himself, all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood shed on the cross.

Wow. This is this [00:17:00] passage to just packed full of all kinds of things. And it really it's special because it explains the centrality of Jesus. And so it says, first of all, that the son is the image of the invisible God. And that is so like Jesus said, when you see me, you see the father, right? So he's a personification of that.

And then it goes on, it says in him, all things were created visible and invisible heaven on earth, whether Thrones or powers, all things have been created through him and for him. So he is the creator of this reality. So he is God, the creator. Right. And then what's really interesting is it says verse 19, God was pleased to have all of his fullness dwell in him.

So this manifestation of God has a fullness of God, Jesus Christ. And it says, and then through him reconcile to himself, all things. So the reason why [00:18:00] Jesus Christ died on the cross was to reconcile us back to God, which is himself. And that's what you see him say right here. He reconciled to himself. All things by the blood shed on the cross. 

So this is definitely along those lines of we've talked about this before on the Salty Pastor, but I'm talking about when certain philosophers would say, well, he was like a Demi God.

He was like a facsimile of, of God. And these scriptures are basically refuting that argument. No, he was God. And he was here. Like he, it was not a partial portion of him. He had the full extent of God dwelling within him. Right? 

Like when people say those things, you know, this passage of scripture is like on, America's Got Talent, the big right here, canceled.

Try again. No, not even close. And, but I think this is why The Salty Pastor I think, is [00:19:00] so important is because see what we're doing right here is we are reading verbatim, the source text. Right? And so anybody who listens to this right now has heard from the source written 2000 years ago. Exactly what it says.

So when somebody comes up and says, well, actually it never claimed, or it never said this or that you just kind of go try again. You're not even close, you know, it's fine to not believe it's fine to even criticize it, but have some intellectual honesty. Right. You know, right now all's you are just a bubble headed mini- muffin.

I mean, all you're doing is just spewing, stupidity and misinformation. If you don't want to believe that's fine search. 

You're not thinking critically. 

That's fine, but you're not thinking at all. You know, you're just spreading misinformation and that is what God takes a dim view of. He says, that's the millstone principle.

You know, you better watch out if you're not a believer, you better be honest. Right. You know about why you don't believe, but lying about it. Not a [00:20:00] good look. 

So our, the last passage we had to, uh, you'd brought up was. Gospel of John and we are in the first 

chapter first, beginning of the first verse 

right there.

So one, one in John and it says in the beginning was the word and the word was with God. And the word was God. He was with God in the beginning, through him, all things were made without him. Nothing was made that has been made in him was life. And that life was the light of all mankind. And then, uh, Verse 14, 14.

So we're going to skip ahead a little bit. Verse 14 has the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only son who came from the father full of grace and truth. So we kind of hit four verses at the beginning of John. And then we skipped a couple.

And talked about the 14th. So tell us what this is communicating to us, Pastor. 

Yeah. Well, the passage of the verses we skipped over basically said [00:21:00] he was the light of the world and the darkness did not fall. Yeah. Yeah. And it basically talks about why the world rejected him, you know, but, but the most important parts of this are number one.

In the beginning and he's saying so an uncaused cause before time began was the word and he says, the word was God, the logos and that's different than spoken word or written word. Is he saying that this is the light of the universe. It is God. And it says through him, all things were made and without him, nothing was made that has been made and all life is in him.

And this is the light of all mankind. So he's making a statement about the nature of God, the creator, right? And then he says in verse 14, this word, this logos became flesh and dwelt among us. So we see the exact same theme in Philippians chapter two, the exact same [00:22:00] theme in Colossians chapter one, the exact same thing in the gospel of John, it's just repeated over and over and over again.

And what's interesting is the verbiage is different, but the exact same principle is being reiterated over and over and over again. And that is, is that God and Jesus Christ are one. So Jesus Christ is the creator. Jesus Christ is the one who redeemed us and reconciled us back to God, which is himself.

And so what we're seeing here in all of these passages is that the very nature of Jesus is that is that he is God and that everything in Christianity is built upon Jesus. 

And with that, we have defined who he is. So he is him being [00:23:00] who he is as we've defined, being God, being all creator, creator 

of the universe, the leverage.

He loves you. Yeah. Right. Jesus loves me. 

Jesus, the creator of the universe, Jesus, the Redeemer of all things. Jesus, the light of all mankind, Jesus, the light of your life. Jesus loves you. 

Those are some powerful words.

Those are really powerful words, because I think when people start to think about that, see, this is the basic gospel.

And the problem is, is people have seen, you know, Jesus loves you, bumper stickers everywhere, and people are like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But nobody ever actually sits down and thinks about what does this mean? That there is a God, there is a God, and this God has created the universe and everything about me.

Is influenced it's it's, uh, [00:24:00] affected by this guy who created this universe. And so the very nature that this God is interested in me for some reason. I mean, that would be the most. Inspiring towards curiosity thing you could ever imagine. 

Well, and your inspiration to be able to do amazing things. I mean, we see this in movies all the time, right?

Where it's like the true love conquers all, and you know, there's always the five act structure typically. You get towards the end of a movie and something bad happens. And then the protagonist's love interest comes in and says, Hey, I love you. I believe in you. You can do this heart thing and they surge forward.

And so if you think about that in your own life, you are the protagonists. God's coming alongside you. And he is the most amazing magnificent creator of the university says, yo, I love you. You got this. What kind of amazing things can [00:25:00] you do with that kind of a knowledge of you have the greatest power in the world?

I love you. And I believe in you and you can do this. 

And the world wants to Rob you of that. See, the world wants to Rob you of that by telling you that Jesus was, uh, he was a guy who said some really unique stuff, but he wasn't God or Jesus. He doesn't have the power to forgive your sins and redeem you and wash away.

Jesus said, You know, Hollywood loves this. Hollywood loves making movies, showing how Jesus was a lustful sinful mistake written, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. You know, uh, the media, you know, with Tom Hanks made the DaVinci code books all about how well Jesus was actually married to the prostitute

Mary Magdalen. He never died on the cross, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. We're major world religions, Islam specifically teaches in the Koran that Jesus Christ did not die on the cross and that he was not God. He never claimed to be God. And so our [00:26:00] world, whether it be through major religions, through political movements, through Hollywood, through.

You know, whatever you want to say through movies through our culture is all trying to Rob you of the most profound truth that would forever transform your life. The one you just described, and that is Jesus, the creator of the universe, Jesus, the Redeemer of all things, Jesus, the author and source of pure, authentic love. Jesus

the only thing that brings meaning and purpose to this reality that Jesus is God don't ever forget it. Don't ever let it go. And anybody who says different is trying to deceive you with a lie. 

So I think that is a great point for us to end today because that's such a powerful principle. Again, we're talking about essentials of the faith, right?

The things that make or break your, the foundations of Christianity basically. Right? Correct. And so knowing [00:27:00] these truths of Jesus, who is, God loves you, is part one, right? 

Jesus. You gotta know who Jesus is. He's not just a guy in a Toga. He is took the form of a human being creator, God himself. 

We really appreciate you guys being with us.

Um, today we'll continue this on Thursday with some real-world examples and things of that nature. We'll continue on. I'm excited to see how you wrap this into some real world examples. Oh, it's going to be good, but we are really excited that you guys are here with us. Uh, make sure you guys are sharing this.

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Blessings.