The Eternal Deity of Christ From Scripture
1Jo 5:20 And we know that the Son
of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that
is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal
life.
I have
added notes to the following article in this
color print, with emphases in this color.
http://www.wholesomewords.org/resources/deity4.html
Home | Biography
| Children
| Family
| Ministries | Missions
| Poetry
| Quotes | Resources | Store
doctrinal & practical
writings
The
Deity of Jesus Christ
by Don Jasmin
In recent months, the deity of the Lord Jesus
Christ has come under severe attack from literary media and liberal theological
critics. In a massive endeavor to discredit our Saviour's relationship as the
second person of the triune Godhead, there has been a deluge of negative
publicity that have cast serious reflection upon Christ's person and work. The
DaVinci Code, The Jesus Dynasty, the
release of the ancient Gospel of Judas and the documentary on the
ossuaries [box tombs] that supposedly contain the remains of Jesus and his
family are all part of a vicious assault upon the cardinal doctrines of
historic Biblical Christianity.
While these do not
have real historical or Scriptural credibility among honest archeologists,
historians and Biblical scholars, they have dominated the nation's media. These
attacks deserve a Biblical response and the following article is being
published with this purpose in view. While this article is much longer than the
editorials the editor normally prints, he trusts it will be a blessing and
encouragement to those who read its contents.
"And we know that
the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know
him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ.
This is the true God and eternal life." (I John 5:20)
Who is Jesus Christ?
The answer to this query is actually the foundation of the historic Christian
faith. One noted Bible scholar called the answer to this question the
"supreme test of a man's faith." While most individuals will agree
that there was a historical personage called Jesus, the key question to be
answered is this: Is Jesus Christ actually God? Is He the second person in the
triune Godhead? Was He actually God manifest in human flesh as the sacred
Scriptures declare?
THE DIFFERING APPRAISALS OF CHRIST
The Muslims
believe that Jesus was a virgin born prophet; but He was superseded by Mohammed
and that He is not God. Some modernists accept that Christ was a prophet
in whom the ideals of God are epitomized, but that He is not God. The Jehovah
Witnesses claim that Christ is the first in rank of created angels, but that He
is not God. Unitarians say that Christ was "a son of God" but
not "The Son of God". The New Age movement claims Christ was
an eastern mystic who faked his death, traveled to the far
east where he became a guru and taught incarnation, but that He was not
God.
One noted Baptist
theologian, however, rightly said: "If Christ is not God, He is either a
deceiver or self-deceived. If Christ was not God, then Christ was not
good." The Scripture’s plain
teaching is that Christ is God: "and they shall call his name Emmanuel,
which being interpreted is, God with us" (Matt. 1:23); "In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God"
(John 1:1); "God was manifest in the flesh" (I Tim. 3:16);
"Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great
God and our Saviour Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13); "But unto the Son he
saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever." (Heb. 1:8)
Jesus Christ was
perfect God and perfect man, two
distinct natures combined in one distinct person. The phrase "Son of
God" (Mark 1:1) emphasizes His deity, while the phrase "Son of
man" (Luke 19:10) emphasizes is humanity.
In Isaiah 9:6, the O.
T. prophet wrote: "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is
given." In His being "born," we see his humanity; in His being
"given, we see His deity. Note the following comparisons of Christ’s deity
and Christ’s humanity as perfectly combined in one person.
1. As man, he was the
descendant of Abraham (Gal. 3:16); as God, He said, "Before Abraham was, I
am." (John 8:58)
2. As man, He was the
son of David (Rom. 1:3); as God, He is David’s Lord. (Matt. 22:43-45)
3. As man, He was
baptized in water (Mark 1:9); as God, He baptizes in the Holy Spirit. (Matt.
3:11)
4. As man, He was
tempted in all points like as we are (Heb. 4:15); as God, He sustains us when we
are tempted. (Heb. 2:18)
5. As man, He became
poor (II Cor. 8:9); as God, He makes us rich. (II Cor. 8:9)
6. As man, He was
subject to the Father (John 5:19); as God, He said, "I and my Father are
one." (John 10:30)
7. As man, He had
"not where to lay his head" (Luke 9:58); as God, He said, "I go
to prepare a place for you." (John 14:2)
8. As man, He became
wearied with his journey (John 4:6); as God, He said, "I will give you
rest." (Matt. 11:28)
9. As man, He walked
by the sea (Matt. 4:18); as God, He walked upon the sea. (Matt. 14:25)
10. As man, He was at
the mercy of the storm (Matt. 8:24); as God, He stilled the storm. (Matt. 8:26)
11. As man, He said at
Lazarus tomb, "take ye away the stone" (John
11:39); as God, He said, "Larazus, come
forth." (John 11:43)
12. As man, He
hungered for figs (Mark 11:12,13); as God, He cursed
the fig tree. (Mark 11:14)
13. As man, He prayed
to the Father (John 17); as God, He said, "If ye shall ask anything in my
name." (John 14:14)
14. As man, He prayed
that the Father would send another comforter (John 14:16); as God, He said,
"when the Comforter is come, whom I will send
unto you." (John 15:26)
Note by Ron: As God, He
said the both the Father and He could come to us: Jhn
14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him,
If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father
will love him, and we will come unto him,
and make our abode with him.
15. As man, He allowed
Simon to bear His cross (Matt. 27:32); as God, He upholds "all things by
the word of his power." (Heb. 1:3)
16. As man, He said,
"Now is my soul troubled" (John 12:27); as God, He said, "Let
not your heart be troubled." (John 14:1)
17. As man, He needed
sympathy in Gethsemane, (Matt. 26:40); as God, He refused sympathy while going
to Calvary. (Luke 23:27,28)
18. As man, He was
strengthened by angels (Matt. 4:11); as God, He is worshipped by angels. (Heb.
1:6)
19. As man, He was
lifted up to die on a cross (John 12:32); As God, He draws all men unto Him.
(John 12:32)
20. As man, He said,
"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34); as God, He
said, "Lo, I am with you alway." (Matt.
28:20)
21. As man, He said,
"I thirst." (John 19:28); as God, He said, "If any man thirst,
let him come unto me, and drink." (John 7:37)
22. As man, He died on
the cross, (I Cor. 15:3); as God, He said, "I am the resurrection, and the
life." (John 11:25)
23. As man, He was
crowned with thorns (Matt. 27:29); as God, He is crowned with glory. (Heb. 2:7)
There are three distinct truths concerning
Jesus Christ:
A. His eternal existence: co-eternal with the Father.
B. His equal existence: co-equal with the Father.
C. His earthly existence: condescension from the Father.
Note by Ron: I would add: D. His adoption by the
Father of His humanity into the heavenly Godhead as the second person of the
Godhead, while His Holy Spirit is the Third person of the Godhead.
A. ETERNAL EXISTENCE:
CO-ETERNAL WITH THE FATHER
The Scriptures teach
the eternal existence of God: "Before the mountains were brought forth, or
ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God." (Ps. 90:2)
The Scriptures also
teach the eternal existence of Jesus Christ; that there never was a time when
He did not exist: "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little
among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that
is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." (Micah 5:2) "In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1)
B. EQUAL EXISTENCE:
CO-EQUAL WITH THE FATHER
"I and my Father
are one." (John 10:30) "Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill
him, because he not only had broken the sabbath,
but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God." (John 5:18) "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be
equal with God." (Phil. 2:6)
God the Father has
handed over all spiritual authority to His Son, so that God the Son is the
dispenser of all blessings that flow from the Father’s throne. "The Father
loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand." (John 3:35)
Christ, the Son, is the (a) Supplier of all our blessings (Eph. 1:3); (b)
Strength in all our battles (Phil. 4:13); (c) Source in all our building (Matt.
16:18).
C. EARTHLY EXISTENCE:
CONDESCENSION FROM THE FATHER
"But made himself
of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was make in the
likeness of men" (Phil. 2:7); "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt
among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
Father,) full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)
To state, as one
well-known evangelical Bible teacher formerly taught that that
"Son" is only an incarnational title; that the Scripture nowhere speaks
of the eternal sonship of Christ and that Christ only
became the Son of God at his incarnation is dangerous doctrine and is
biblically inaccurate.
While this writer does
not agree with the current New-Evangelical trends in the IFCA, their doctrinal
statement is correct when it says: "We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ,
the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God."
SEVERAL BIBLICAL FACTS CONCERNING THE SON OF
GOD
1. The Son of God
Co-existed
Christ never had a beginning, He co-existed with the Father from eternity.
"Whose goings forth have been from of old, from
everlasting." (Micah 5:2) "No man hath seen God at any time; the only
begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him."
(John 1:18)
In Vine’s Expository
Dictionary of N. T. Words, the author says that the word "bosom"
means "of the Lord’s eternal and essential relations with the Father in
all its blessedness and affection."
2. The Son of God
Communed
In the eons of
eternity before this world was ever brought into existence, Christ communed
with His Heavenly Father. "And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine
own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." (John
17:5) "That they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovest me before the foundation of the world." (John
17:24)
3. The Son of God
Created
The Lord Jesus Christ
was the creator of all things. "God… hath in these last days spoken unto
us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made
the worlds." (Heb. 1:1,2) "For by him were
all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and
invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers:
all things were created by him, and for him." (Col. 1:16)
4. The Son of God
Condescended
Christ left the
glories of heaven, condescending to this earth to become genuine humanity.
"For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich,
yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be
rich" (II Cor. 8:9); "In this was manifested the love of God toward
us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might
live through him." (I John 4:9)
5. The Son of God
Carried
Christ carried our
sins and our sorrows upon his back on the Cross. "Surely he hath borne our
griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of
God, and afflicted" (Isaiah 53:4); "He that spared not his own Son,
but delivered him up for us all." (Rom. 8:32)
6. The Son of God
Conquered
At Calvary, Christ
conquered all that had conquered humanity. "Who gave himself for our sins,
that he might deliver us from this present evil world."
(Gal. 1:4) "Even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come" (I
Thess. 1:10); "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he
might destroy the works of the devil." (I John 3:8)
7. The Son of God
Calls
Christ is tenderly
calling sinners today to come unto Him: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt.
11:28); "To day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts."
(Heb. 3:15)
8. The Son of God will Come Again
It's only a matter of
time until the rapture of the saints in the air, when Christ returns for His
saints. "I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am,
there ye may be also." (John 14:3) "And unto them that look for him
shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation." (Heb. 9:28)
Note by Ron: 1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up
together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we
ever be with the Lord.
We spend the millennium
in heaven. End note.
THE WITNESS OF SCRIPTURE TO CHRIST’S DEITY
There is a three-fold Scriptural witness to
the deity of Christ.
(1) The Scriptures Ascribes Divine Names to
Christ.
(2) The Scriptures asserts a Divine Nature to Christ.
(3) The Scriptures Attributes a Divine Nobility to
Christ.
1. The Scriptures
Ascribe Divine Names to Christ
GOD: God the Father is
called God: "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be
afraid." (Is. 12:2) Christ is also called God: "For unto us a child
is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder:
and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The
everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." (Is.
9:6)
LORD: God the Father
is called Lord: "that thou mightest know that
the LORD he is God." (Deut. 4:35) Christ is also called Lord: "David
therefore calleth him Lord, how is he then his son?" (Luke 20:44)
Note by Ron: Christ is
called King of kings and Lord of lords in the following verses:
Rev 17:14 These shall make war with the
Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of
kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
Rev 19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written,
KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. End note.
JEHOVAH: This word
means "the eternally self-existent one." God the Father is called
Jehovah: "That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art
the most high over all the earth." (Ps. 83:18) Christ is called Jehovah (the eternally self existing one) in essence
in John 8:58 "before Abraham was, I am" and also in Rev. 1:8:
"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending saith the Lord,
which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty."
Note by Ron: Christ is
also called the FIRST AND THE LAST: Rev 1:11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the
first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the
seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto
Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
Rev 1:17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid
his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
Rev 2:8 And unto the
angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things
saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
Rev 22:13 I am Alpha and
Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
"Jehovah
is the name given to Christ. 'Behold, God is my salvation,'
writes the prophet Isaiah 'I will trust, and not be afraid for the Lord Jehovah
is my strength and my song He also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy
shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. And
in that day ye shall say, Praise the Lord, call upon His name, declare His
doings among the people, make mention that His name is exalted.' 'In that day
shall this song be sung in the land of Judah: we have a strong city salvation
will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the
truth may enter in. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on
Thee, because he trusteth in Thee. Trust ye in the Lord forever for in the Lord
Jehovah is everlasting strength." E.G. White, The
Signs of the Times, May 3, 1899, p. 2. SDA Bible Commentary Vol. 7a, p.
439. End note.
There are three great
descriptive titles given to God that are also ascribed to Christ.
ROCK: God the Father
is called the Rock: "And they remembered that God was their rock, and the
high God their redeemer." (Ps. 78:35) Christ is given that same title in I Cor. 10:4: "for they drank of that spiritual Rock
that followed them: and that Rock was Christ."
RIGHTEOUSNESS: God the
Father is described as possessing righteousness: "I will fetch my
knowledge from afar, and will ascribe righteousness to my Maker." (Job
36:3) Christ is declared to be our righteousness in I Cor. 1:31: For "of
him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and
righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption."
REDEEMER: God the
Father is called the Redeemer: "…Thou, O LORD, art our father, our
redeemer" (Is. 63:16); Christ is called the redeemer in Isaiah 54:5:
"And thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel" (Is. 54:5) [cp: Ps. 16:10 & Acts 2:27].
2. The Scriptures
Assert a Divine Nature to Christ
"Believest thou
not that I am in the Father and the Father in me?" (John
14:10); "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."
(Col. 2:9) "And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an
understanding, that we know him that is true, and we are in him that is true,
even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life." (I
John 5:20)
3. The Scriptures
Attribute a Divine Nobility to Christ
The Scriptures give
Christ a dignity, a loftiness, a majesty, a grandeur,
an elevation that it grants to no other human being. No sinful human being is
given the awesome distinct characteristics that are ascribed to Christ alone in
Rev. 19:11-16.
THREE SETS OF PERSONAL WINTESSES TO CHRIST’S
DEITY IN SCRIPTURE
1. The Witness of His
Father: "And Jesus, when
he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens
were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and
lighting upon him; And lo, a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son,
in whom I am well pleased." (Matt. 3:16,17)
2. The Witness of His
Friends: "Then saith he
to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy
hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And
Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God." (John 20:27-28)
3. The Witness of His
Foes: "And there was
in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, Saying, Let
us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the
Holy One of God." (Mark 1:23-24) "Then the Jews took up stones again
to stone him…the Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not;
but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest
thyself God." (John 10:31,33)
THE WITNESS OF THE SAVIOUR HIMSELF
1. Christ’s Deity is Signified by His Attributes (Ones He personally exercised): Christ claimed
and exercised the attributes that belong to God alone.
(a) OMNISCIENCE: John
2:24,25: "But Jesus did not commit himself unto
them, because he knew all men, And needed not that any should testify of man:
for he knew what was in man. In John 11:14: Christ had not yet gone to Bethany
where Lazarus lived, but knew Lazarus had died: "Then said Jesus unto
them, plainly, Lazarus is dead."
(b) OMNIPOTENCE: Matt.
28:18: "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." John
11:25: "I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me,
though he were dead, yet shall he live…"
(c) OMNIPRESENCE:
"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in
the midst of them." (Matt. 18:20)
2. Christ’s Deity is Stated in His Affirmations:
There are numerous
occasions when he clearly asserted His deity:
To the Pharisees
Christ stated: "I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins:
for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins." (John
8:24) To this same group again: "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my
day ... and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years
old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily I say
unto you, Before Abraham was, I am." (John 8:56-58). "I and my Father
are one." (John 10:30)
3. Christ’s Deity was Substantiated by His Actions: The three fold actions of
(a) HIS VIRTUOUS
RECORD—Heb. 4:15: "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched
with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we
are, yet without sin."
(b) HIS VICARIOUS
RANSOM—Mark 10:45: "For even the Son of man came not to be ministered
unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."
(c) HIS VICTORIOUS
RESURRECTION—Rom. 1:4: "And declared to be the Son of God with power,
according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead."
THREE MORE EFFECTIVE WITNESSES
1. Jesus Christ
Received Divine Worship: Only
God should be worshiped. Jesus Christ accepted worship from human beings. The
amazed Disciples: "Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped
him, saying, Of a truth, thou art the Son of
God." (Matt. 14:33) The former blind man: "And he said, Lord, I
believe. And he worshipped him." (John 9:38)
2. Jesus Christ
Ratified the Divine Word: "The scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35);
"Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."
(Matt. 24:35)
3. Jesus Christ
Rendered Divine Works: Only God can forgive
sins. Jesus Christ has the power. "Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be
forgiven thee." (Matt. 9:2)
SOME IMPORTANT
CONCLUSIONS
1. Jesus Christ was
God before He came to this earth and He was God while He was on this
earth. Jesus Christ was God after He ascended back into heaven. Jesus
Christ is now God in the heavenlies and He will
still be God when He reigns in the future. (Rev. 1:8)
2. You cannot be a
genuine Bible Christian without believing in the deity of Christ. (John 8:24)
3. Among those who
have experienced humanity, Jesus Christ alone is worthy of our worship.
(Rev. 4:10-11)
4. Since Jesus Christ
is God, He alone can provide what sinners need most: forgiveness of sins
(Eph. 1:7) and assurance of eternal life (I John 5:11-12).
5. If Christ is not
God then we must (a) disease all the bodies healed in His name; (b)
destroy all the history that revolves around His name; (c) divorce all the
couples married in His name; (d) destroy all the documents dated from His
birth; (e) denounce all the doctrines taught in His book; (f) defrock all the
preachers ordained to preach His gospel; (g) disfellowship
all the people added to His body.
The Scripture aptly
summaries Christ’s perfections when it declares in Col. 2:9 "For in him
dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." The apostle John concisely summarized
Christ’s person when he stated in I John 5:20: "This is the true God, and
eternal life."
A Gospel Song that
Asks a Vital Question—
Do you know Jesus, |
Reprinted from The Fundamentalist Digest,
April-May 2007. Don Jasmin, editor.
P.O. Box 489, West Branch, MI 48661.
about
| contact us | terms of use | site index | store
Copyright ©2015
Wholesome Words. All Rights Reserved.