Week 2

QUESTIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL THOUGHT AND SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION

What Believers Believe, Week Two: Who Is Jesus?

Before jumping into this week’s questions, take some time to read slowly and carefully through Philippians 2:5-11 and Colossians 1:15-23.

As you begin your discussion time with your group, please take a moment to read or recite together the following words of the Apostles’ Creed:

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth,

and Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, and crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended to the dead. On the third day, He rose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven, where He sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

From there He will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church, the communion of the saints, the forgiveness of sins, and the life everlasting. Amen.

SECTION 1 – Read Philippians 2:5-11 out loud in your group.

You may want to have several people read this passage back-to-back, possibly even using different English-language translations.

What stands out to you as you read or listen to these verses? Is there a word or phrase you find particularly meaningful or insightful or possibly confusing? What are your immediate thoughts and responses to this passage of Scripture?

With regard to the questions, “Who is Jesus?” and “Why does it matter?” what are some specific things you learn about Jesus from this passage of Scripture?

Philippians 2:5-11 is sometimes referred to as the Hymn of Christ, and many biblical scholars believe it represents an early hymn or perhaps an early creed that Paul is quoting for the Philippian believers. This letter was written around AD 60; and, since Paul quotes this particular hymn or creed apparently assuming it will be familiar to the Philippian believers, we can conclude this specific passage significantly predates the letter itself. And that fact matters immensely, since this Hymn of Christ clearly portrays the dual nature of Jesus as both fully God (“being in very nature God,” v. 6a) and fully man (“being made in human likeness,” v. 7b). That means that this belief about Jesus – that He is God incarnate in flesh and blood – was the common belief of the church well before AD 60.

What does Philippians 2:6 reveal about Jesus Christ?

Notice the text explicitly refers to Christ’s “equality with God.” The Nicene Creed was composed to reflect this reality, stating in part that the Lord Jesus Christ is “very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father.” The Athanasian Creed indicates the same truth in words like: “Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit: the Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, the Holy Spirit uncreated; the Father infinite, the Son infinite, the Holy Spirit infinite; the Father eternal, the Son eternal, the Holy Spirit eternal,” adding later, “So the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God; and yet there are not three Gods, but one God.”

What does Philippians 2:7 reveal about Jesus Christ?

Notice that this text portrays the Lord Jesus as having begun from a place of equality with God and only later to have taken on the nature of humanity (the Greek word used is anthropon, that is, human). This passage leaves no room whatsoever to imagine a purely human Jesus, who was somehow later elevated to a higher, divine status. No, He is the eternal Word, forever present with God as God (see John 1:1), who later assumes flesh and blood at the incarnation (see John 1:14). It was then that He took the name Jesus, the name He will carry throughout eternity.

What does Philippians 2:8 reveal about Jesus Christ?

The humility the Lord Jesus demonstrates in His willingness to first become incarnate and later to be abused and killed is infinitely magnified by the earlier phrase, “Who, being in very nature God” (Philippians 2:6a). His was not mere humility; it was a God-sized humility. There’s a line in a song that goes, “I’ll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon the cross.” The truth is, mortal and finite beings that we are, we’ll never know how much it cost just for the incarnation itself, just for the eternal Word to take on the limitations of flesh and blood, let alone to go on from there and suffer biological death.

What does Philippians 2:9-11 reveal about Jesus Christ?

Believers believe the Bible is true, which means believers believe that one day every person who’s ever lived will bow and testify to the greatness of the Lord Jesus – whether or not they ever imagined doing such a thing. Better to acknowledge Him now voluntarily, than to wait until it’s too late and you have no choice.

SECTION 2 – Read Colossians 1:15-23 out loud in your group.

What strikes you as you read or listen to these verses? Does anything in the reading jump out at you? Is there a word or phrase you find particularly meaningful or insightful or possibly confusing? What are your immediate thoughts and responses to this passage of Scripture?

With regard to the questions, “Who is Jesus?” and “Why does it matter?” what are some specific things you learn about Jesus from this passage of Scripture?

These nine verses of Scripture are among my very favorite because they so powerfully and resolutely focus their attention on the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. You can easily spend hours meditating on these words – and I strongly encourage you to consider trying it.

What does Colossians 1:15 reveal about Jesus Christ?

The Greek word translated as image is the word eikon and refers to that which resembles, reflects, and reveals its source. In other words, Jesus shows you God – who He is and what He’s like.

Read John 12: 44-45 and 14:7-10 and discuss how these verses relate to Colossians 1:15 and what they reveal about who Jesus is and why it matters.

Don’t be confused by the phrase “firstborn over all creation” as if it’s saying the Lord Jesus is a created Being. For the Christians and Jews of Paul’s day, firstborn was an idiomatic term used to denote the place of highest honor and privilege. The phrase no more means Jesus was a created being than saying, “Jesus is top dog” means He’s a poodle.

What does Colossians 1:16-17 reveal about Jesus Christ?

Compare Colossians 1:16 with John 1:3, I Corinthians 8:6, and Hebrews 1:2; and notice how consistent the Bible is in its insistence that the Lord Jesus was present and active in the creation of the world.

Colossians 1:18 speaks of Christ’s headship over the church and His unique place as the first and highest to experience the promised resurrection of the dead, and then it sums up this section by declaring Him supreme over all things.

In what ways does your life clearly demonstrate that you recognize and honor the supremacy of Christ? Have there been particular incidents in your life that helped you yield more of your life to His control? If so, would you be willing to share with the group? What are the areas of your life in which you could still do a better job of acknowledging Christ’s supremacy? Would you be willing to share any of those with your small group and ask for their prayer and encouragement?

In v. 19, the passage begins to pivot from exalting Christ for who He is to exalting Him for what He’s done to bring salvation to anyone who will trust in Him. Vv. 20 and 22 say the Father reconciles people to Himself in Christ, and v. 21 explains why such reconciliation is needed.

Paul says we were all at one time enemies of God and alienated from Him. Does that language bother you in any way? Do you recognize (believe) that everyone is estranged from God unless and until they are reconciled to Him by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ?

As already noted, believers believe what the Bible says – about God, about Jesus, and about mankind. They believe the consistent testimony of the Lord, of His apostles, and of nearly two millennia of Christian witness; and the unpleasant assertions of Colossians 1:21, stand in complete agreement with other passages of Scripture, including but not limited to: Romans 3:9, 23; Psalm 53:3; Proverbs 20:9; and I John 1:8, 10. Read each of those passages aloud in your small group, then ask for any questions or comments.

Read Colossians 1:19-23 again.

According to vv. 20 and 22, what was necessary to open the door for you to be reconciled to God? According to v. 22b, what was the intended result of Christ’s remarkable sacrifice? What is the first word of v. 23 and why is it important? (Note: if you’re reading from the New Living Translation, this verse begins “But you must continue to believe this truth,” which is worded a bit differently than most English-language translations, but the underlying concept is still the same.)

Colossians 1:23 plainly states that to receive the benefit of the gospel (which is reconciliation with God the Father), you must continue to be steadfast in the faith, that is, you must stand firm in believing these things believers believe.

Do you steadfastly believe the testimony of Colossians 1:15-23? Have you placed your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and asked Him to reconcile you to God? Are you seeking to live out these beliefs every day with the help of the Holy Spirit?