ON
THE DEITY OF JESUS CHRST
I am surprised
at some notions I find among Christians concerning Jesus Christ
Himself. Many who are true Believers, having testified that Jesus is
Savior and Lord, having trusted His death and resurrection for
salvation, having joined and become active in Christian churches,
still stop short of ascribing to Him full deity. They think of the
Trinity as a committee, with the Father as Chairman, the Son and the
Holy Spirit holding inferior positions. Does the Bible support this
view of the Godhead? Or is Jesus identical to the Father in nature,
having only a different role in God's plan for His world? Let us see
what the Scriptures say about this.
Genesis 1
1. In the
beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (KJV)
The word
translated God here is
the Hebrew Elohiym (Strong's Exhaustive Concordance,
Hebrew Dictionary, Entry #430). The word is plural; the singular
Eloahh (Strong's Hebrew #433) is also used in reference
to God. If both nouns are available, but the plural is used, does
that mean that all Persons of the Trinity were at the Creation?
John 1
1. In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God. 2. The same was in the beginning with God. 3. All things were
made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made. 4.
In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.
This passage
was originally in Greek. God is the singular Greek word Theos
(Strong's Greek #2316). The Word is obviously personal, as the
pronoun Him indicates. The Word is also eternal. He was in the
beginning, and He was where God was then. Furthermore, the Word was
God. Whoever the Word is, He has all the attributes of God, and He
has always had them. He is said to have created everything. This is
restated in passive voice and in negative terms, with the negative
statement nullified for emphasis. The Word's deity is the focus of
these verses. He is the Source of Life and the Light to guide people.
The author is stressing the deity of the Word with every clause. A
few verses later, he focuses on the identity of the Word.
John 1
14. 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.
The Word, Who
is eternal and has always had all the attributes of God, became human
and lived on Earth. Chapter 1 of John's Gospel goes on to state that
Jesus was the Word (vv. 17, 30, 33-34, 49-51). Thus John the
Evangelist confirms what God had already said through Moses the
Lawgiver: Jesus is God, and He always has been.
Jesus was God
in the beginning, just as He was God when He lived on Earth. Between
those times, when Isaiah prophesied, there is this testimony of the
deity of Jesus.
Isaiah 9
6. 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,
Counseller, The Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, The Prince of
Peace.
The word for
God here is El
(Strong's Hebrew #410). It is translated God
elsewhere in the Old Testament, sometimes combined with other words
that speak of God's character (see Gen. 17:1; Gen. 33:20; Gen. 35:7).
The Child bears all the titles listed above. He is The Mighty God, a
singular title denoting deity. He is The Everlasting Father. God is rarely
called Father in the Old Testament; but Jesus uses
the title repeatedly. Being the biological Son of God, He spoke
easily of God as His Father. What did Jesus say of the relationship
between God the Father and God the Son?
John 14
7. If ye had
known Me, ye should have known My Father also: and from henceforth ye
know Him, and have seen Him. 8. Philip saith unto Him, Lord, shew us
the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9. Jesus saith unto him, Have I
been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip?
He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then,
Shew us the Father?
Jesus speaks
of Himself as being the Father. Those who have seen and known Him
have seen and known the Father. He completely identifies with the
Heavenly Father, the God of Hebrew history and culture. This passage
positively identifies Jesus as the Son foretold in Is. 9:6. He is
both the Son and the Everlasting Father.
The Apostle
Paul, in his Letter to the Philippians, speaks of Jesus' divinity. He
mentions it in passing, on his way to making his real point. Paul is
urging his readers to live humbly, and he mentions Jesus as the
greatest example of humility and obedience.
Philippians 2
5. Let this
mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6. Who, being in the
form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
Before His
incarnation, Jesus did not think that equality with the Father was
more than His due. Why would He consider deity His entitlement? The
answer is simple: He was "in the form of God." Jesus
voluntarily took on the limitations of a man. Before His conception,
He was unlimited,and equality with the Father was part of His Divine
Nature. Taking on human flesh was a big step down for Jesus, but it
was only temporary. Before His birth, Jesus was divine and infinite.
Since His ascension, He has been the same. Paul reminds us of this
later in the same chapter.
Philippians 2
9. Wherefore
God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above
every name: 10. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of
things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
On orders from
the Father, all living things will someday worship the Son. Jesus was
all that God was in the beginning, and He will be all that God will
be in the end (the never-ending end).
What did Jesus
Himself have to say on this subject? If He were not fully God, could
He have claimed to be God and remained sinless? If He sinned by
usurping God's Name or Title, could He still die for our sins? Did he
ever state, in a way that His listeners understood, that He was God?
John 4
25. The woman
saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ:
when He is come, He will tell us all things. 26. Jesus saith unto
her, I that speak unto thee am He.
The final word
He is not in the Greek text. It was added to clarify Jesus'
affirmative answer that He was Messiah. A translation that states
Jesus' words more accurately is I that speak unto thee AM.
When I heard Dr. Joe McKeever preach on this verse, he gave another
translation that captures the message even better: It is I AM Who
is speaking to you. Jesus confirms His Messiahship here. His way
of stating it also tells her and us that Messiah is God.
John 8
58. Jesus said
unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
Here Jesus
tells His critics that He is eternal. He makes a second statement,
calling Himself by God's Personal Name, the same Name spoken to
Moses from the burning bush. Is that how His listeners understood
Him? Yes, as evidenced by their attempt to kill Him on the spot. Why
did their attempt fail? God protected Jesus, supernaturally enabling
Him to walk out of the Temple untouched. Jesus could use The Name
without sin, because He had a right to it. The Name was His, because
He was, and is, God.
While Jesus
lived on Earth as a man, He had the physical limitations that men
have. Do not conclude from that fact that He was not fully divine.
Jesus was comfortable claiming to be God, and He did not sin in
making the claim. We cannot understand Jesus fully, because He is
greater than we. However, we can know things about Him that are true.
One truth we can know about Him, because it was stated by the
prophets, by Jesus Himself, and by His closest followers, is that He
is God, not in the least inferior to the Father or the Holy Spirit.
As Paul stated in Colossians 2:9, "(I)n Him dwelleth all the
fulness of the Godhead bodily." Let us recognize His full deity:
Otherwise, we dispute His central teaching and lessen what
comprehension we have of His incomparable work on our behalf.
The Two-Page Papers