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By Jesse Jenkins

Benchley, April 22, 2012

• Some believe that Jesus divested Himself of the characteristics and qualities of deity and lived on earth as a man.
• One cannot be God without the powers and prerogatives of God.
• Some teach that Jesus had both human and divine attributes, but never used any of His divine attributes while on earth.
• Jesus, while on earth, was fully God and fully man.
• Proof that He was fully man: John 1:14; Hebrews 10:5
• Proof that He was fully God: John 10:36; 5:18; Matthew 1:23; John 2:25
• Proof that He used His own attributes of deity:
• He forgave sins (Mark 2:5)
• He received worship (Matthew 8:2; 9:18; 14:23)
• He gave the apostles power over unclean spirits and to heal the sick (Mark 6:7; Luke 10:3,9)
• He knew He was the Son of God (John 10:36)
• He knew what was in man (John 2:25; I Corinthians 2:11)
• His miracles proved He was the Son of God – deity
• No Holy Spirit empowered apostle could:
• Forgive sins. Jesus did.
• Walk on water, except Peter for a while by the power of Jesus’ word. Jesus did.
• Control the sea. Jesus did.
• Say “I give you power over unclean spirits.” Jesus did.
• Say “I have power to lay down my life and I have power to take it again.” Jesus did.
• Say He was in heaven. Jesus did.
• John 20:30-31
• Of what did He empty Himself? Philippians 2:7-8; John 17:5
• He did not empty Himself of authority and power.
• If He did not have the attributes of God He was not fully God.
• Colossians 2:9; 1:19; Hebrews 13:8 – These passages being true, how could anyone think He emptied Himself of any divine attribute?
• Does “all authority hath been given Me” prove that He did not have authority while He worked on earth?
• He did not say this relative to His work on earth, but just before ascending into heaven.
• Ephesians 1:20-22
• Daniel 7:13-14 teaches the same thing by prophecy.
• This is speaking of beginning His reigning as king.
• Acts 2:30-36; I Peter 3:22 – And Peter so applied it.
• What about passages that say the Father or the Holy Spirit did a work by Jesus?
• John 17:20-23 answers this question.
• These passages show harmony, not distinctiveness.
• Creation illustrates this. The Father created the world by His Son.
• Hebrews 1:1-3; Matthew 12:28; John 5:30
• John 16:7,13; 14:26 – Jesus talks about the Father sending the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ name.
• Jesus never used His attributes to overcome trials and tribulations.
• He used the same avenue that are available to us. Matthew 4:1-10; 26:26-45
• But when it did not get in the way of His being the servant and example He came to be, He did use His powers to prove that He was whom He claimed to be!

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By Larry Dickens

Benchley, March 5, 2012

• Faith comes from hearing and hearing from the word of Christ (Romans 10:17).
• God attested Jesus with miracles (Acts 2:22)
• Multitudes responded to the miracles (Matthew 15:31)
• Concerning miracles
• Many exclaim “miracle” when none has occurred.
• When someone is healing rapidly
• For the most natural of events
• When someone escapes injury or death
• Claims of miracles: apparitions, delusions, superstitions, frauds, modern day fake “faith” healers
• Many do not believe in miracles today or in the Bible
• Believers believe in the miracles of the Bible, but not in modern day miracles.
• Efforts are often to preach “faith in the miracles,” but need to be preaching to produce faith via the miracles
• The role of miracles
• Faith came from the Word (Christ) (Romans 10:7; John 1:14)
• God attested to Christ via miracles (Acts 2:22)
• Today faith comes from the Word revealed (Romans 10:7)
• The miracles were written that you might believe (John 20:30-31)
• What the miracles regarding Jesus tell us about Jesus
• Jesus is Lord of Creation
• Chemistry
• Water into wine (John 2:1-11) – the better wine
• Feeding 5000 plus women and children with five loves, two fish … with twelve baskets leftover (Matthew 14:21; 16:9; Mark 6:4; 8:19; Luke 9:14; John 6:10)
• Feeding 4000 plus women and children (Matthew 15:38; 16:10; Mark 8:9,20) … using seven loaves with seven “large” baskets leftover
• Biology
• Cursed the fig tree (Matthew 21:19-22)
• His virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1:34-35)
• The sea
• Walking on water (Matthew 14:25)
• Peace be still (Mark 4:39)
• Jesus is Lord over distance (space)
• Healing nobleman’s son (John 4:46-54)
• Healing Centurion’s servant (Matthew 8:5-13; Luke 7:1-10)
• Jesus is Lord over the curse of sin: sickness
• Healing the blind man (John 9)
• The lepers (Luke 17:1-19)
• The lame, crippled, dumb, and others (Matthew 15:30-31)
• Jesus is Lord over the spirit world – casting out demons
• Seven demons of Mary Magdalene (Luke 8:2)
• The naed man and the Legion of demons which entered the swine (Matthew 8:28-34; Luke 8:27-39)
• Jesus is Lord over the curse: death
• Raising son of widow of Nain (Luke 7:11-17)
• Raising Jairus’ daughter (Mark 6; Luke 8)
• Raising Lazarus (John 11)
• The blessing of believing in the miracles (Luke 7:22-23)
• The resurrection of Jesus
• God made Jesus both Lord and Christ by His resurrection (Acts 2:24, 32, 36)
• The gospel message (I Corinthians 15:3-4)
• God raised up Jesus (Acts 3:15,26; 4:10; 13:30,37)
• Declared the Son of God by the resurrection (Romans 1:4)
• Therefore all men must confess Him (Romans 10:8-10)
• All men must obey the plan of salvation (Acts 2:38-41).

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By David Watson

Benchley, October 26, 2011

• Signs of confirmation
• Judges 6:33-40 – Gideon asks God for signs of confirmation.
• Matthew 12:38-40 – Jesus refuses to give a sign to the scribes and Pharisees.
• Luke 23:8-9 – Jesus would not perform a sign for Herod.
• John 20:24-29 – Thomas investigates the proof of Jesus’ crucifixion.
• Exodus 4:1-5 – God gives signs to Moses.
• Choosing the 300 (Judges 7:1-8)
• God reduced the size of Gideon’s army to prevent pride.
• The battle and aftermath (Judges 7:9-8:23)

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By Jesse Jenkins

Benchley, June 8, 2011

• The book takes place somewhere around 780 B.C., in the time of Jeroboam II (I Kings 14:25).
• The story of Jonah is factual and not just an allegory because Jesus refers to it as such in the New Testament (Matthew 12:39-41; Luke 11:29-32.
• Jeremiah 18:7-10 – God promises to relent from destroying a sinful nation if it repents and turns from evil. This is exactly what happened in the case of Ninevah in Jonah 3.
  • Why did Ninevah react so well to Jonah’s preaching? Luke 11:29-30 shows that Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites. Somehow they knew about Jonah’s plight and it effected them greatly. Historically, the nation of Syria was also a a low point when Jonah did his preaching.
  • The Ninevites showed true repentance by changing their minds and their actions, from the king down to the common man.
• Jonah 4 – Jonah shows his Jewish bias. He was biased against the Ninevites from the beginning, which is why he didn’t want to go preach to them. He was extremely upset when God did not destroy them for their sins.
• Application:
  • We must learn God’s compassion for all people.
  • National sin requires national repentance.
  • God is the Creator and all creation is at His disposal.
  • We must obey God if we are to have His blessing.

By David Watson

Benchley, May 25, 2011

[Sorry, no audio for this lesson due to a technical glitch.]

• Mark 9:1 – The church would be established while some who were standing there were still alive.
  • Luke 24:45-53 – The apostles would be clothed with power.
  • Acts 2:1-4,41-42 – The gospel is preached in completeness for the first time.
• Mark 9:2-8 – The transfiguration.
  • II Peter 1:16-18
  • The appearance of Moses and Elijah with Jesus shows the transition to the New Covenant. Jesus was fulfilling the prophecies from the Old Testament, not contradicting them.
• Mark 9:11-13 – See Malachi 4:5. Here, “Elijah” is referring to John the baptist.
• Mark 9:14-29 – See Matthew 17:19-21 – Jesus casts a demon out of a boy. Apparently the faith of the disciples was not great enough to cast out the demon.

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By David Watson

Benchley, May 11, 2011

• Jesus heals the daughter of the Syrophoenician woman.
• Jesus heals the deaf man.
• Jesus feeds 4,000.
• Mark 8:14-21 – Jesus warns about the “leaven” of the Pharisees.
• Mark 8:22-26 – Jesus heals a blind man.
  • It is interesting that here Jesus healed the man in steps instead of instantaneously. The scripture does not indicate why this is.

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By David Watson

Benchley, April 27, 2011

• Herod and peer pressure (John 9:20-23; 12:42-43)
• Mark 6:31-32 – Jesus was surrounded by crowds by this time.  He and His disciples got out in a boat to rest, but even that was not much of a rest.
• Mark 6:33-44 – Jesus feeds five thousand men plus women and children.
• Mark 6:45-52 – Jesus walks on the water.
  • Mark 6:52 – The disciples did not learn what they should have from Jesus feeding the five thousand.
• Mark 6:53-56 – Jesus heals the sick at Gennesaret.
• Mark 7:3 – It was not part of the law to wash before eating.  There were many laws of cleanliness, but this was not one of them.
• Mark 7:5-8 – Here Jesus is making the point that if God did not command us to do something, we can’t command others to do it either.

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By David Watson

Benchley, April 13, 2011

• Jesus casts the demons into swine.
  • Jesus gave different instructions to the man than he had given to others at other times.  Compare Mark 1:44; 3:12; 5:43
• Healing Jairus’ daughter
• Woman’s flow of blood healed
  • John 11:41-42
• Jesus raised three people from the dead (besides Himself):
  • Mark 5:41-42 – Jairus’ daughter
  • Luke 7:12-15 – the widow’s son
  • John 11:43-44 – Lazarus
• The significance of the divine power of resurrection
  • Consider Matthew 16:18; Acts 2:24-36; Romans 6:9; I Corinthians 6:14; I Corinthians 15
  • Jesus’ power to resurrect Himself and other people shows that He is all powerful and proves that He can raise us from the dead when He returns.
• Jesus rejected by the Nazarenes
  • See Luke 4:16-30

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By David Watson

Benchley, April 6, 2011

• Mark 4:33 – See John 16:12; Hebrews 5:11-12 – Sometimes Jesus held back and didn’t teach everything at once.  Sometimes we must do the same when we teach.
• Mark 4:39 – Jesus could control the elements.  The apostles could perform miracles, but we have no record of them controlling the elements, suggesting that some types of miracles could onlu be down by Jesus.
• Mark 5:2-7 – Demons are real beings that are aware of God and recognize His power.  Demon possession seemed to be specific to the time of Jesus and the apostles.  There is no record of demon possession before or after that time.  Satan is the ruler of the demons.
  • Matthew 12:43-45
  • II Peter 2:4; Jude 6 – Demons are not necessarily angels who sinned.

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By David Watson

Benchley, February 23, 2011

• Mark 1
  • Jesus calls the apostles.
  • The authority of Jesus’ teaching
  • Jesus praying
  • Jesus heals the leper
• Mark 2
  • Jesus heals the paralytic