#23 Jesus Christ: What Does He Mean to You? (04/05/02)

By Robert H. Schuller

I have preached thousands of sermons in the past 50 years. But if I were to take the one sermon with the message that I would like to give to the whole world and share it with all people regardless of their religion, it would be this message. Because in this message I call each of us to face what I believe is the most important question in our earthly life.

Jesus, in the Gospel of Matthew, looks at His disciples and raises a question to them ... and through the centuries He raises this same question to you and me and to every human being. Here it is in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 16:

"When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, 'Who do people say that I, the Son of Man, am'?

So the disciples answered, 'Some say you are John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.'

Then Jesus said to them, 'But who do YOU say that I am?'

And Simon Peter answered and said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'" (Matthew 16:13-16)
Who was this Jesus?

We all know He lived. That is not debated. We all know that He died ... crucified. And billions, yes, a billion or more people, believe that Jesus Christ was resurrected on Easter morning. After His resurrection, the first followers had to answer that question. Who was this Jesus? Most of them were Jews who believed in one God, their Heavenly Father. Seven hundred years later, the Muslims would call Him, Allah, one God. The followers of Christ were convinced that Jesus was the Son of God, so then do they have two Gods? If this is God in the body of Jesus and there is a God in heaven called the Heavenly Father, and then through Pentecost when the disciples received the Holy Spirit, do they have three Gods? No, they concluded there is only one God, but He is three persons. A Triune God, a Holy Trinity! And this the apostles taught to future believers.

I had a problem understanding that concept even though I was born and raised in the Christian faith that taught the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. But in Hope College in Holland, Michigan, I was introduced to psychology, and that would become a major study of my life. It was there that I found an answer to the mystery of the Trinity, the Triune God. Actually, the key is in the Bible. In Genesis we read that "human beings are created in the image of God." (Genesis 1:27). Well, if we are created in the image of God and God is a Trinity, are we a trinity? Yes we are.

Every human being is three persons in one.

Herein lies the answer I discovered in my studies in psychology. I am one person, named Robert Schuller, but I am really three persons in one. First there is Robert Schuller, the mind. In the same way that God, the Father, is the mind of the Trinity. Our minds can be anywhere in the world at the very same time when we are somewhere else talking with each other in the same room. Our minds often are so focus on a completely different problem that we're not even conscious of our bodies. I am a mind, so are you.

And I am a body made of bones, meat, hair and blood. That is it. You also have a body made of bones, meat, hair and blood ... but then you have a subconscious. You are a soul ... so am I.

Your subconscious of collective emotions is a soul filled with memories. It will be impossible to ever clone a person because even if you might be able to clone the body, meat, bones, hair and blood, you will not and cannot clone the soul for it is a collection of memories that can never be repeated in any case. And it is the soul that has the last word. Now that doesn't make us a holy trinity. More often than not, by nature and because of sin, we are an unholy trinity ... body mind and soul!

The three persons in Robert Schuller don't always get along with each other. They can disagree. For instance, right now I should lose about 15 pounds. Let's see how these three persons handle that. My brain looks at a dessert and sees an apple pie and says, "That's 400 calories, put a slice of cheese on it and it moves up to 500 ... put a dip of ice cream ... add another 150 calories. Schuller, you're looking at 650 calories and, that is almost a quarter of a pound, because 4,000 calories is a pound." That's my brain, the mind. Well, my emotion, my soul which is a collection of all the experiences and memories that I've had, probably says, "It's not only good eating, but it'll bring back memories of when your mother made homemade apple pie because you asked her!" And then my body comes into the act. And it says, "Well, it may be bad for my health but I don't agree with the mind. The soul is right, it's going to be delicious and I'm going to eat it." And there you are. That's an unholy trinity called Robert Schuller.

We are all a trinity created in the image of God. God is the mastermind. And God is the Holy Spirit who impacts us in our moods and memories, and God became a body in Jesus Christ ... Father ... Son ... and Holy Spirit.

A friend whom I admired so very much was Archbishop Fulton Sheen. I consider him to be the greatest theologian and the greatest mind and spirit in the 20th century. He preached in this church four different times before he died. And Fulton Sheen in one of his messages here said:

"If God wanted to communicate to birds He'd have to become a bird. If He wanted to communicate to dogs, He'd have to become a dog. If he wanted to communicate to humans, He'd have to become a human. And that's what happened."

God had to come to planet earth to show Himself in a body where He could talk; He could touch people with His hand, and love them with His gentle spirit. He had to become a body only once. And then He was crucified and killed.

Now what do you think of Jesus Christ? Do you believe He was the Son of God?

Why do I believe Jesus Christ was the Son of God? Why do a billion people on planet earth, and more than that believe He was God, coming in human flesh? First of all, because thinking people know that if there is a God, He had to expose Himself in form and flesh so that we could touch and see and feel Him. I could not believe in a God who would not show Himself fully, truthfully and honestly.

1) Examine the Claims of Jesus Christ

Then how do I know if a person is what he is? Ask him. Don't ask his critics or those who don't believe in him and don't trust him. Ask Jesus who He is and you will get His answers. He said:

"I am the way, the truth and the life." John 14:6.
"I am the door. By Me, if anyone enters in, he shall be saved." John 10:9
"I am the Good Shepherd. I know My sheep."
John 10:11
"I am the light of the world. Those who follow
Me shall not walk in darkness but shall have
the light of life." John 8:12

Look at how the world lives if they do not believe in Jesus Christ. Look at how people live when they make fun of Him, reject Him and do not accept the faith that I'm sharing with you. They walk in darkness. It is so pathetic.
The other day I was flipping the television channels and I saw on the Discovery Channel a program called, "The History of Tattooing." There was a man, a woman and a family and they were all tattooed. And they were asked. "Why are you all into tattoos?" And the husband, the father said, "Well you know you have to believe in something. And there was a time when people believed in the church but they don't anymore. You have to believe in something, so I decided to believe in tattoos." Can you believe that?
I believe in Jesus because of His claims. Examine the claims of Jesus Christ. He was either telling the truth or He was a liar. I either have to accept Him as speaking pure truth or I have to look at Him and say, "You're a liar." I cannot do that because that doesn't make sense. I have studied psychology enough to know that only insecure people become liars. Jesus was not insecure. Greedy people become liars. And Jesus Christ was not greedy. He had none of the emotional negative infrastructure that would provoke Him to prevaricate. Surely He was not seeking honor and glory at the price of a crucifixion. No way ... that doesn't make sense.

2) Examine the Character of Jesus Christ

Look at His character. He was and still is to me the ultimate illustration of what a human being can be. In several of my books I call Him the World's Greatest Possibility Thinker. Jesus Christ believed in the dignity, the value and worth of every human being. Jesus Christ showed the world a God of love. That's where I get my positive messages that I teach and preach, and have done so for three-quarters of a century. I get it from Jesus Christ. He was super positive.

3) Examine the Credentials of Jesus Christ

I challenge you to read the Gospels and discover for yourself who Jesus Christ was. Read Isaiah who told of His coming and then read the true life accounts of how Jesus Christ lived as the Son of God come to earth. Look at his credentials and look at His cross.

4) Examine the Cross of Jesus Christ

You know, the cross was a sacrifice, not a suicide. Suicide is the ultimate selfishness. Sacrifice is when you choose to make a sacrifice not for yourself, but always for others. It is the soldier who drops dead in battle, dying for your freedom. That is a sacrifice. Jesus was a sacrifice on a cross. Why? The answer is in the Bible, but permit me to explain by imagining a scene in Heaven: Before Jesus came to live on planet earth He was in existence. He was a part of the Holy Trinity ... the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. I can imagine that the Trinity was having a serious debate up in heaven. Like the three persons in my body will often times debate each other. The Father, Son and the Holy Spirit were having a little debate. And Jesus was saying to the Father, "But Father, You're a God of love. Forgive them. God, forgive everybody." And God said, "But Jesus, if I do that, I am condoning their evil behavior. I will be most unjust and if I have no justice, Jesus, My love is worthless. I cannot let evil and sin go unpunished." And Jesus said to the Father, "Let Me go. Let Me go down to earth. Let Me give My life as a sacrifice. Let Me take the rap for them. Then they can ask forgiveness and You can say 'Your sins are forgiven. They've already been dealt with.' I'll die on the cross for them."

Justice and mercy is the ultimate contradiction and in the book of Psalms we reads: "Justice and mercy have kissed each other on the cross." (Psalm 85:10) That's what I believe!

But a friend of another faith said to me, "How can you possibly believe in the cross? Because if Jesus was God, how could He die? God cannot die and still be God." And my answer is, "Well, because that was God, the Son, only the bones, meat, hair and blood died. The Father did not die on the cross. The Holy Spirit did not die on the cross. And Jesus Christ did not die forever. He was dead only three days."

Who do you think Jesus Christ is?

I offer to you my faith because it is the most precious thing I have. I offer to you my belief. I get it from the Holy Bible and I get it from common sense. When I look around I see people who choose to put their lives in God's hands and become followers of Jesus Christ. What does that do?
Shortly after our daughter, Carol, lost her leg she went to visit Tara Nason, Mike Nason's daughter. He was my chief aide. She had an injury that left her paralyzed from the chin down. And here comes Carol hobbling on crutches with her left leg gone. And the two girls are talking and Tara said, "Boy I sure wish I could walk." And Carol said, "I sure wish they could replace my leg with a real leg." They were commiserating about their accidents, but then they began thinking positively and the name of Jesus came up. Carol said, "I couldn't do anything without Jesus," and Tara said, "Neither could I." And they began to elaborate and share about Jesus. Immediately their gloom turned to joy and they began to laugh out loud. World, what do you have to offer to girls like that?

Howard Kelley, a faithful member of this church, sent me an e-mail this week:

In whose hands is your life today? Put your hands in the hands of Jesus Christ. Accept Him. Make a decision to put your worries, your fears, your hopes, your dreams, your sins, your failures and all that you are, whoever you are, in the hands of Jesus Christ ... Now what is your life worth? With that question I end my message. Amen.