"I believe in Jesus Christ" Message by Rev Dr Ng Swee Ming on 15 Dec 2013. Concluding series on the Apolstles' Creed.

1. the CRADLE, the CROSS & the CROWN

2. Scripture Reading : Matt 16:13-16
When Jesus came to the region of
Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,
"Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
They replied, "Some say John the Baptist;
others say Elijah; and still others,
Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
"But what about you?" he asked.
"WHO DO YOU SAY I AM?"
Simon Peter answered, "You are the
Christ, the Son of the living God."

3. I believe in God the Father
Almighty, Maker of heaven and
earth: And in Jesus Christ, his
only Son, our Lord: Who was
conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary:
Suffered under Pontius Pilate;
was crucified, dead and buried:

4. The third day he rose again
from the dead: He ascended
into heaven, and sits at the
right hand of God the Father
Almighty: From thence he
shall come to judge the quick
and the dead:

5. I believe in the Holy Spirit:
the holy catholic Church:
the communion of saints:
The forgiveness of sins:
The resurrection of the body:
and the life everlasting. Amen.

6. Recap to Apostles Creed
BAPTISMAL TRINITARIAN FORMULAE
I Believe in God the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven & earth ...
I Believe in the Holy Spirit ...
I Believe in Jesus Christ ...
62% (66/106) of the Creed
Q: WHO IS JESUS ?
Q: WHO IS JESUS TO YOU ?

7. Apostles Creed cont
I Believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son,
our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy
Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary: Suffered
under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead
and buried: The third day he rose again
from the dead: He ascended into heaven,
and sits at the right hand of God the
Father Almighty: From thence he shall
come to judge the quick and the dead:

8. I Believe in Jesus Christ,
his only Son, our Lord:
WHO IS JESUS ?
JESUS
CHRIST*
GOD’s SON*
LORD**
: ‘He who saves’ or ‘Savior’
: ‘the Anointed one’ or
‘the Messiah’
: ‘only begotten’,
‘absolutely unique’,
‘same nature as God’
: ‘kurios’/’kuros’ – absolute
ruler or master

9. I Believe in Jesus Christ,
his only Son, our Lord:
Paul’s Triumphal Declaration in Phil 2:9-11
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest
place and gave him the name that is above
every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow, in heaven and on earth and
under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

10. I Believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord:
• Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary:
CRADLE
• Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was
crucified, dead and buried: CROSS
• The third day he rose again from the dead:
He ascended into heaven, and sits at the
right hand of God the Father Almighty:
From thence he shall come to judge the
quick and the dead:
CROWN

11. Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary:
1. CRADLE - His Birth :
• Predicted 700yrs before in Isa 7:14 “... The
VIRGIN will be with child and will give birth
to a son, and will call him IMMANUEL.”
• Importance of the “Virgin Birth”
i. God’s direct intervention (Luke 1:35)
ii. No man was involved (John 1:13)
iii. Had a human mother but no human father
(Matt 1:20)
iv. Fully Human and Fully Divine (Phil 2:6-8a)
v. Born without SIN (1 John 3:5b)

12. And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord: Who was
conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary:
His Virgin Birth results in ...
• His SINLESS Life
• Is the key to being our SAVIOR
 ‘Holy’ & ‘Sinless’ - qualified to pay the
penalty for the ‘sins of the whole world’
(1 Jn 2:2)
 ‘Fully Human’ – to understanding /
experience suffering & temptation
(Heb 4:15-16) as we do – yet did not sin.
 ‘Fully Divine’- he paid the infinite price
for man’s sin for all ages (eg John 20:31)

13. I Believe In Jesus Christ...
I Believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
NOTHING ABOUT
born of the Virgin Mary:
HIS 3 yrs of
Suffered under Pontius Pilate;
TEACHINGS &
was crucified, dead and buried:
MINISTRY ??
The third day he rose again from the dead:
He ascended into heaven,
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty:
From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the
dead:

14. 2. CROSS - His Death :
Suffered under Pontius Pilate;
was crucified, dead and buried:
Q: Why mention Pontius Pilate ?
A: Historical Time & Space –
• Pontius Pilate: Roman governor
of Judaea from AD 26-36 :
• Betrayal, Trial & Crucifixion
• Truly & Fully suffered
(Ref Isa 53:4-6)

15. The Passion of The Christ

16. Q: Who is ultimately responsible for
the death of Jesus Christ ?
Answers :
A. Judas Iscariot - His betrayer?
B. The Jews esp. Caiphas the
High Priest ?
C. The Romans esp. Pontius
Pilate, the Governor ?

17. Question :
Who nailed
Jesus to the
Cross ?
Whose hand
is this ?
“..all of us are
responsible for
Christ's death.”

18. Consider Isa 53:4-6
4 Surely he took up our infirmities and
carried our sorrows, yet we considered
him stricken by God, smitten by him, and
afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities; the
punishment that brought us peace was
upon him, and by his wounds we are
healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each
of us has turned to his own way; and the
Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

19. Q: Who is ultimately responsible for
the death of Jesus Christ ?
Answers :
A. His betrayer - Judas Iscariot ?
B. The Jews incld Caiphas the
High Priest ?
C. The Romans incld Pontius
Pilate, the Governor ?
D. Sinful man - you and I ?
E. God & Jesus ?

20. Q: Who is ultimately responsible for
the death of Jesus Christ ?
Isa 53:10 “Yet it was THE LORD'S WILL to crush
him and cause him to suffer,...”
John 10:18 “No one takes it from me, but I LAY
IT DOWN of my own accord.”
Acts 4:27-28 "For truly against Your holy Servant
Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and
Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people
of Israel, were gathered together TO DO
WHATEVER YOUR HAND and YOUR PURPOSE
determined before to be done. NKJV
** TWENTY EIGHT Prophecies were fulfilled on
the day Jesus was crucified

21. Q: Who is ultimately responsible
for the death of Jesus Christ ?
QUOTE :
“No one killed Jesus against his will.
If God had not willed for his Son to die,
and if Jesus had not willingly laid down
his life,
all the armies of Rome could not have
killed him.”

22. Good Friday
14th April 1865
? 1887
? 1901
How did
Abraham
Lincoln die ?

23. 2. CROSS – His Death
Suffered under Pontius Pilate;
was crucified, dead and buried:
However even till TODAY his
‘DEATH’ is questioned ?

24. 2. CROSS - His Death
Christ’s death is very important & central
to the Christian faith
• NO DEATH = NO ATONEMENT
1 John 2:2 He is the ATONING
SACRIFICE for our sins, and ... the sins
of the whole world.
• NO DEATH = NO SALVATION
1 Peter 3:18 For Christ died for sins
once for all, the righteous for the
unrighteous, to bring you to God.

25. 3.
CROWN –
His Resurrection,
Ascension & Return:
The third day he rose again from the dead: He
ascended into heaven, and sits at the right
hand of God the Father Almighty: From thence
he shall come to judge the quick and the dead:
Why is his Resurrection important ?
 Ref 1 Cor 15

26. 1 Cor 15:13-19
If there is no resurrection of the dead, then
not even Christ has been raised. And if
Christ has not been raised, our preaching is
useless and so is your faith.
More than that, we are then found to be false
witnesses about God, for we have testified
about God that he raised Christ from the
dead....
And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is
futile; you are still in your sins. If only for
this life we have hope in Christ, we are to
be pitied more than all men.
v32 If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and
drink, for tomorrow we die."

27. 3.
CROWN -His Resurrection, Ascension & Return:
The third day he rose again from the dead: He ascended
into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father
Almighty: From thence he shall come to judge the quick
and the dead:
Ref 1 Peter 1:3
“In his great mercy he has given us ...
NEW BIRTH into a LIVING HOPE ...
through the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead,”

28. He ascended into heaven, ...
His ASCENSION
Quote :
“Easter is incomplete,
Pentecost is impeded,
and the Second Coming is
impossible
without the ASCENSION” .

29. He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of
God the Father Almighty:
WHERE IS JESUS NOW ?
• At God’s RIGHT HAND :
(Acts 2:33, Eph 1:20, Col 3:1, Heb 1:3)
WHAT IS JESUS DOING NOW ?
• Rom 8:34 “...Christ Jesus, who died... who was
raised to life — is at the right hand of God and is
also INTERCEDING for us.”
• Heb 9:24 For Christ did not enter a man-made
sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he
entered heaven itself, now to APPEAR FOR US in
God's presence.

30. From thence he shall come to judge the
quick (living) and the dead:
SECOND COMING !
WILL JESUS RETURN ?
YES !
WHEN WILL JESUS RETURN ?
• Matt 24:36 "No one knows
about that day or hour,
not even the angels in
heaven, nor the Son, but
only the Father.”

31. From thence he shall come to judge the
quick (living) and the dead:
SECOND COMING :
WHY WILL JESUS RETURN ?
 To Judge
• John 5:22 “Moreover, the
Father judges no one, but
has entrusted all
judgment to the Son,”
• Other Ref
• Rom 14:10-12
• Heb 9:27-28

32. Apostles Creed - Conclusion
A CREED is a concise, formal
and universally accepted
statement of faith.
Baptismal Trinitarian Formulae
The person of Jesus Christ
occupies a large part of the
Creed
Certain parts of the Life of
Jesus Christ are Key to his
ministry & purpose
CRADLE - CROSS - CROWN

33. Conclusion :
As 2013 draw to a close...
As we celebrate Christmas...
Whose birth are we celebrating ?
• JESUS, the CHRIST
From the CRADLE to the CROSS
• He DIED for you and me
He conquered death and is now in
Heaven – CROWNed in Glory
• And He is coming back to JUDGE...

34. • The same question that Jesus asked his
disciples in Matt 16:15, he is asking you
and I today – "WHO DO YOU SAY I AM?”

35. C. S. Lewis - The Trilemma :
' Lunatic, Liar, or Lord:
Quote : “People cannot logically say that
Jesus was "just a good man”. Jesus Christ
claimed to be God in the flesh - Good men do
not claim to be God.”
1.Jesus could have been- as we might
consider anyone making claims of divinity a raving lunatic.
2.He could have been the world's greatest
con-man, a liar.
3.He could have been who he claimed to be,
LORD.

36. • The same question that Jesus asked his
disciples in Matt 16:15, he is asking you
and I today – "WHO DO YOU SAY I AM?”
• Your answer to that One Question will
determine your FAITH, your LIFE, your
ALL