Course: Jesus the Son of God

Section Four: Witnesses who have a Personal Relationship.

Lesson Seven (outline)

Lesson Title: The Argument from experience

Text: Psalm 34:8 'Taste and see that the Lord is good'.

Introduction: A witness must be able to speak from experience.

· Experience was essential for the Apostles to be witnesses to the Lord's resurrection. Acts 1:21-22.

· We must never underestimate the importance of experience.

· It was not theology that brought Paul to Christ. It was a personal encounter with the Lord, Acts 9:6.

· Salvation is an experience that can happen instantaneously. But understanding the theology behind our salvation may take many years of study.

Introductory Illustration: Witnessing to people who belong to a cult.

The greatest evidence that Jesus is the Son of God is the evidence of knowing Him through personal experience.

Quote: Duncan Campbell "If you want to know whether the Bible is the word of God then don't go to the theological colleges or the theologians but go and ask a sinner who has been saved by grace. He will tell you or she will tell you because they have tasted of the goodness of the Lord".

Main Points:

1. John writes to say we know from experience. 1 John 1:1-4

• They were certain of what they are saying because they had experienced Him through the senses.
• They testified from experience that Jesus is the eternal One. He is eternal life.
• The purpose that John wrote about his experience of knowing Christ to the believers was to bring joy, ‘that your joy may be full’.

2. The testimony of Peter - Mount of transfiguration, Matthew 17:1ff

· They saw Him - Peter testified that they saw His glory on the Mount of Transfiguration, 2 Peter 1:16.

• They heard the Father bear testimony of the Son on the Mount of Transfiguration. 2 Peter 1:17-18; Matthew 17:5
• They could testify from experience that Jesus was the One of whom the prophets had spoken. Luke 9:29-31.

3. Knowing Him from personal experience.

• The desire of Paul – ‘that I might know Him’ (Philippians 3:10).

Paul had been lifted to the ‘third heaven’ and heard things he was not allowed to tell, 2 Corinthians 12:2-4. Yet Paul still desired to ‘know Christ’.

• The experience of knowing Him will be seen in us. 2 Corinthians 4:6; Matthew 5:16; Exodus 34; 2 Corinthians 4:18.
• The glory of God will be seen in the body of Christ when we speak from the experience of knowing Him.
• The glory of God in our witness. Elijah - the still small voice, 1 Kings 19. John the Baptist - the glory of God was in the voice.

Summary:

1) The Apostles wrote out of personal experience. They knew He was the eternal Son of God because they had experienced Him.

2) Peter, James and John knew He was the eternal Son of God because they saw His glory on the mount of transfiguration.

3) The glory of God is seen when the body of Christ witnesses in the power of the Holy Spirit.

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