The Deity of Christ

CHRISTOLOGY: The Deity of Christ

· Apologetics may be simply defined as the defense of the Christian faith. It's the icing and not the cake, which is the gospel.
· Our purposes are to utilize apologetics for evangelism.
· Having said that, there are two scriptures that are crucial as we go to approach a person or persons to share the gospel:
· 1 Corinthians 3;6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
· 7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Keep in mind that we're not warring against flesh & blood/Eph. 6, and that it's God's job to change the heart, not ours. Secondly, 2 Timothy 2;24-26: 24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
· 25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
· 26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

· Christology is the study of the person and work of Jesus Christ. The confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, which Peter was the first to make (Matthew 16:16), is the heart of the Christian faith. It is this confession that makes one a Christian, and all Christian theology attempts to understand what it means to make this confession.
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· The first major theological decision that the church ever made was to confirm that Jesus is the Son of God. He was declared to be of one essence with God the Father and the Holy Spirit (this was decided upon by the Council of Nicea, AD 325). But this belief forced upon the church, formed another question: How could one person be both God and man?
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· To answer this question, the church developed the doctrine of the Incarnation. The way to that doctrine was paved with controversy. There were theologians who emphasized the deity of Christ at the expense of his humanity (a belief called docetism), while others emphasized his humanity at the expense of his deity (adoptionism). Some claimed that the Son only seemed to have a human body, or that while he had a true body and soul, the divine logos took the place of the human spirit. There were theologians who claimed that the man Jesus, as he grew in virtue, was elevated to divine sonship and so was “adopted” into the Godhead, perhaps when he was baptized or at the Resurrection. The church rejected all such explanations. It also rejected all attempts to resolve the problem by suggesting that Jesus was both a divine person and a human person (Nestorianism) or, alternately, that the human and divine nature were fused in one nature (monophysitism).
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· Jesus proved to be God in three ways:
· 1)Fulfillment of prophecy, over 300 fulfilled
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· BIBLE READING: Isaiah 53:1-12
· KEY BIBLE VERSE: He was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace. He was whipped, and we were healed! All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the guilt and sins of us all. (Isaiah 53:5-6)

This chapter in Isaiah speaks of the Messiah, Jesus, who would suffer for the sins of all people. Such a prophecy is astounding! Who would believe that God would choose to save the world through a humble, suffering servant rather than a glorious king? The idea is contrary to human pride and worldly ways. But God often works in ways we don’t expect. The Messiah’s strength is shown by humility, suffering, and mercy.
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· How could an Old Testament person understand the idea of Christ dying for our sins (our transgressions and iniquities)-actually bearing the punishment that we deserved? The sacrifices suggested this idea, but it is one thing to kill a lamb, and something quite different to think of God’s chosen servant as that Lamb. But God was pulling aside the curtain of time to let the people of Isaiah’s day look ahead to the suffering of the future Messiah and the resulting forgiveness made available to all mankind.
· BIBLE READING: Luke 2:21-40
· KEY BIBLE VERSE: Lord, now I can die in peace! As you promised me, I have seen the Savior you have given to all people. He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel! (Luke 2:29-32)
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· The Jews were well acquainted with the Old Testament prophecies that spoke of the Messiah’s blessings to their nation. They did not always give equal attention to the prophecies saying that he would bring salvation to the entire world, not just the Jews (see, for example, Isaiah 49:6). Many thought that Christ had come to save only his own people. Luke made sure his Greek audience understood that Christ had come to save all who believe, Gentiles as well as Jews.
· BIBLE READING: Luke 7:18-35
· KEY BIBLE VERSE: John’s two disciples found Jesus and said to him, “John the Baptist sent us to ask, ’Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?’ ” At that very time, he cured many people of their various diseases, and he cast out evil spirits and restored sight to the blind. Then he told John’s disciples, “Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard-the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. And tell him, ’God blesses those who are not offended by me.’ ” (Luke 7:20-23)
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· 2) Sinless life=1 Peter 1;19 He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. Luke 23;14 and he announced his verdict. "You brought this man to me, accusing him of leading a revolt. I have examined him thoroughly on this point in your presence and find him innocent. ;15 Herod came to the same conclusion and sent him back to us. Nothing this man has done calls for the death penalty. Hebrews 4;15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same temptations we do, yet he did not sin.
· 3) miraculous life=Gospel of John=2=water to wine, healing of nobleman's son, healing of lame man in 5, multiplication of loaves in 6, 9 the healing of the blind man,11= resurrection/resuccitation of Lazarus, no other religious leader in the past has accomplished these kinds of miracles, esp. w/ the proof we have for them.
· The truth of Christianity rests on the truth & truthfulness of Jesus Christ. Who is He? What did He say about Himself? What separates Jesus from a host of others such as Buddha, Confucius, Hare Krishna, and the Dali Lamma? Answers to these questions make a difference not only when one chooses a worldview, but to whom ultimate allegiance & worship is to be rendered. Therefore, based on the premise that the biblical records are presenting a reliable portrait of Jesus Christ, we will seek to discover "who" Jesus claimed to be while at the same time placing emphasis on rationality(non-contradictory)of the incarnation of the Son of God.
· Regarding the divine nature of Jesus, this is the very characteristic that separates Him from the rest of religious leaders; Buddah, Mohammed, Joseph Smith and the rest.
· None of them either claimed to be divine or demonstrated being divine. This makes Christianity unique, this is the very thing that caused Christianity to rise above the pagan religions of the first, second, and third century. While they were still dealing w/ mythological content, we were dealing w/ history.

· What are the Critics saying about Christ?
· Bertrand Russell(1872-1970) was an English logician and philosopher. He called Jesus cruel & inhumane for teaching the doctrine of hell & eternal punishment. This quote from Him is very indicative of what many people cross the country and in the world believe about Jesus," When I tell you why I am not a CHristian I have to tell you two different things: first, why I do not believe in God & immortality; and secondly, why I do not think that Christ was the best & wisest of all men, although I grant him a very high degree of moral goodness. I do not believe that one can grant the superlative(passsing all others in quality)wisdom or the superlative goodness of Christ as depicted in the gospels.
· So he's denying what the gospels say; he's saying he was a good man but He's not wise like God is in any sense of the Word. This mentality is very prevalent, the Jesus Seminar/higher critics and secular humanism of people you talk to on the street hold to it as well.
· Others say:
· Jesus was a good man but not sinless (Secular Humanism) He tried to change people, He helped the poor and tried to help those in the Middle East but He's not God. They always stop short of the divine question. In fact humanism says that God is out-moded/a thing of the past because today man is modernistic. We have science/technology so, get rid of the deity question. See the communist manifesto for that. He was a wise man but not God(unusual wise person).
· You can have the Christ consciousness like Confucius and Krishna had, this is the tennant of the New Age movement.
· He never claimed to be the Son of God (Arianism/Jehovah's Witnesses). These guys will take you through all kinds of scriptures and show you how He talked of Himself as being a man. Ultimately they don't take you to the divine passages. (Islam) He couldn't be God because God can't have a Son. They think God had a son in a procreative/biological way. We're talking about a relationship that denotes a member of the Godhead; Father, Son, Holy Spirit, which is a functionality.
· Some say He should be categorized w/ the rest of those who claimed to be God( Rev. Moon, David Koresh, Charles Manson who claimed to be Messiah or God in some way, we would call these people insane). Most of them are in prison, did prison, or are dead. Manson's in prison and Moon has served prison.
· Notice the scriptures that Paul gives, the first is 2 Cor. 11;4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him. What Paul is saying is that the Corinthian church was submitting to doctrines and teachings that were not scripturally sound. There's all these different doctrines of Jesus coming along and you're just buying whichever one comes along. He warns us here against another Jesus, we need to know the true Jesus.
· Galatians 1; 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. He goes on in ;9 repeating the phrase. Where's the gospel in scripture? 1 Corinthians 15;1-10, John 3;16. Christ came, died on the cross, buried and raised and revealed Himself to many and ascended to the right hand of the Father=the essential gospel message. He will forgive sins.
· Why is it important?
· 1. If Jesus is not God there are several implications that follow: He's a liar.
· A. He said He was the only way to salvation, Jn. 14;6/Acts 4=there's no other name by which we must be saved.
· Man has a moral obligation to worship & obey. So if He demands worship and He is God, we ought to render to Him ultimate allegiance and obedience. If we're not rendering ultimate worship to the ultimate, we've got a problem. But if we're rendering worship to something that's not the ultimate, we also have a problem. What do you give to the person who has everything? You give Him worship. People don't understand that He wasn't just a man.
· Isaiah 44...Son of God refers to position not origin, the little Greek word for born one is never used of Him
· He's called the heir, the Lord/Curios is what translated the Hebrew word for Yahweh
· He's called the Lord of Glory, the Holy one=108 times the bible says He's the Holy One of Israel
· 44 is a very critical issue as it relates to the deity of Christ, that is, He's called the first and the last
· ;6 the word Yahweh is used twice in this verse and the redeemer is called the Yahweh of hosts=Lord Saabaoth means hosts or armies
· Because of the statement, beside me there is no God. So now I know the statment I am the first and the last, beside me there is no God is a statment of deity.
· In chapter forty-eight verse twelve=the first and the last. ;13=the creator, thru ;16 shows that He's both the sent one as well as the creator. ;17=I am the Lord God, the last twenty-seven chapters of Isaiah are critical as to who the Messiah is & His deity.
· Take this and go to Revelation chapter one and see how the bible in the NT takes these quotations & applies them directly to Yeshua/to Jesus.
· ;17 this is that vision of the resurrected Christ. You see that there's no doubt about it that He's our Lord Jesus Christ. And He makes a clear statement=I am the first and the last.
· In 2;8=first and last. And then at the end of Rev. at the last chapter ;13, if it's the first and last letter of the Greek alphabet, and He's called the Word, the revelation from God, then everything there is to be said, He is. He's the first word and the last word. He's all there is that God has ever said. The statement is really dealing w/ the finality of God's revelation, that Jesus is God in human flesh, a final revelation that's complete & sufficient for all the fullness of God dwelled in Him in bodily form. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, now if you put a period there, you don't have a strong OT connection, although some certainly powerful statements but, the first and the last gives that Isaiah 44 and 48 connection.
· Now notice ;16, the point of using this verse is to confirm that the person talking is in fact, Yeshua/Jesus. Now we've already mentioned that in Isa. 44;6 He's called the Lord of Hosts/the Redeemer/Yahweh, not adonai=earthly lord, it's Yahweh, the name of our God.
· It's been said that there are several arguments to prove the deity of Christ, His names are just one of them. We have His attributes and His abilities. Technically speaking, divine attributes are not possessed by man. We point this out because you'll get some books in a Christian bookstore and it will talk about the attributes of God & they will say some of the attributes are love, righteous, faithful, while we aren't what God is, yet we manifest some of the characteristics. When you speak strictly of the attributes of God, you speak of what man is not and cannot be. Some tv evangelists have claimed to be God, it's a miracle God didn't strike them dead. It's important to ask yourself as you look @ these attributes to ask yourself if these belong to Jesus Christ?
· God is eternal, man is not; Isa. 9;6=everlasting Father. Now a lot of people who are a part of the Jesus only group, who believe that Jesus and the Father are one and the same, use this verse to say that Isa. 9;6 calls Him the Father. No, what it means is that He's the Father of the Ages, what it means is He's the source controlling all of time, it's dealing w/ His providential role, it's not saying He's the Father. 9;6 describes Him as being eternal.
· In 1 John 5;11=eternal life is the possession of JC, He is eternal.
· Now a second attribute of God that's unlike man is that He's unchangeable. Malachi 3;6=6 For I am the Lord(Yahweh), I change not; Now from man's perspective, it might look like He changed. It says at the time of the flood, it says that the Lord repented when He saw the wickedness of man. He hasn't changed, because one of His principles is to judge sin. The Lord changed His mind, we think, because man sinned, no He knew man would sin, the change of mind was in accord w/ the change of the course of action God will take. Up until that time, He's patient. At that time, He's no longer patient, but brings the judgment & righteously so. So His character doesn't change. What's interesting in that passage that if the bible didn't say that, & that He didn't judge the world, then we could argue that He does change. But His character is always consistent w/ Himself. Hebrews 1;8-12 He is unchangeable. In some of your theological books that you might read, this is usually called immutability. Chapter 13, and Hebrews is one of the best books to read on the person & work of JC, esp. from a Jewish point of view. 13;8 This makes a connection because here, at the last chapter, he deals w/ the immutability of the Lord, which he mentioned in the first chapter. The unchangeable Christ.
· Now some of the next three attributes are what people fight over in the Christian world at the time of our Lord becoming man. There are a lot of good men that are discussing these things. The root question here is when Jesus became a man, what characteristics of His divine attributes did He not have? Historic Christianity teaches that He never stopped being God. All during His earthly ministry when He willing humbled Himself as a man, He was still God in human flesh. All the fullness of God dwelt in Him. Watch very carefully the tricky wording of some bible teachers today that indicate the fullness of God didn't occur until the ressurection. Some of the word of faith teachers teach that Jesus became a sinner, descended into hell, was tortured, punished, & became born again & then became the fullness of God in human flesh & we can do the same through the new birth. Ken Hagin/Ken Copeland/and Fred Price. And many of the things they say look/sound good but that's pure heresy. He never stopped being God ever. Phillipians 2;5-11 is the key passage on the Kenosis(emptying) of Christ, what we believe He did is He layed aside the exercise of His divine attributes. It didn't mean that He permanently did it because on certain occasions He clearly revealed it. It only took one look in the garden of Gethsemene and the entire priestly soldiers fell over backwards like dominos. He said to a fig tree be withered and it was. During a storm on the Sea of Gallilee, He rebuked it the bible said, the same word for rebuking a demon, and immediately the sea was calm, it wasn't gradual. Now the disciples who were expert fishermen, knew those winds didn't just subside, and worshipped Him saying truly you are the Son of God.
· Omnipresence is our next one. How is Jesus omnipresent when He had a physical body located in the land of Israel, He never really went more than 200 mi. from His home, how can He be omnipresent? At the same time that He walked the hills of Judea, He was filling the universe w/ His presence. And there's where we have a total inability from the human perspective to understand. In Matthew 18;20=two or three are gathered=what do they mean? According to the law in Deuteronomy in order for a word of which you say is to be established, there needs to be two or three witnesses to confirm it. What He's saying is whenever two or three are gathered together in My name to witness what that brother says, I'm there in the midst of it/the authority of Christ is there. In Chapter 28, after His resurrection, He makes this statement; ;20 I am w/ you alway, even unto the end of the world. Do you believe the Lord Jesus is with you right now? Col. 3;11=Christ is all(everything that you'd possibly need in Christianity), and in all=meaning in every person/His omnipresence. We speak about Jesus coming into your heart. According to John 14, not only does Jesus come, but also the Holy Spirit and the Father. Jesus said We'll all abide in you. We'll make our abode in you. When you honor the Son you honor the Father. It's interesting in Revelation at the church of Laodicea, Christ is on the outside of the door of the church knocking. Saying if any man/singular, apparently the church gets so bad in the end time, that Jesus has been pushed outside and His invitation is to anyone in there. According to Revelation 12, satan won't be kicked out until the tribulation period. He's omnipresent, right now @ the throne of God in the physical body which He was resurrected in.
· He's also omniscient. Some good bible teachers say that while He was on earth He didn't know. Why do they say this? For one passage alone," No man knows the day nor the hour, neither the angels nor the Son of man". Let me ask you a question, is there anything that God knows that He chooses not to know? Our sin! He knows them but He chooses not to remember them. So Jesus could choose not to remember the day of His return, while on earth, so He could relate to His disciples. Remember that in Col. 2;3 it says that in Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom & knowledge. The bible says that Jesus grew in wisdom & knowledge in favor w/ God & man. Well then He didn't know everything, did He? Begin @ John 2;3-5 , by the way the word commit and the word believe in the previous verse are exactly the same, He knew what was in man=omniscience. In Mark 2 Jesus heals this paralytic man, in ;6 there were scribes reasoning in their hearts and in ;8 He knows what they're thinking.
· He's not only omniscient but, omnipotent, there isn't anything He can't do. God can do anything consistent w/ His nature. He's not going to alter who He is in order to please our fanciful ideas. Phillipians 3 spe77aks about His power to give us a resurrected body like His. 3;20-21= He is able even to subdue all things unto himself. JW's teach that He can't do that, only the Father does & then eventually He surrenders all things to the Father, who's the only one that can do that. But yet here's a clear verse saying He can and will do that. Our Lord is able to do all things unto Himself. In Rev. 1;8=the almighty/the omnipotent one, there isn't anything He cannot do. One of the things that makes God Himself and not man is that He's perfect. Totally complete & sufficient in Himself needing nothing. Col. 1;19=all the fullness dwell. In the Gr. text Father is not written=italics. All the fullness was pleased to dwell in Him. 2;9-10, all Christians are filled up in Him. When you have Jesus, that's all you need. Are sufficiency is of the Lord. You don't need pastors, the church has grown up without them. As well as bibles, no printing press unitl 1450 A.D. That's why we can do church anywhere.
· He's incomprhensible , He's past finding out. He's greater than our knowledge can discern. In Isa. 9;6 it says His name shall be called Wonderful, the Heb. word=incomprehensible/too difficult to understand. It's important for us to understand this nature of God. We'll be learning about Him throughout all eternity. Isa. 55;8-9 He's giving us a comparison there. In church history there's two doctrines about God that kind of fight each other, you need a balance there. There's what we call the transcendence of God=how great He is. And the other is the emmanence of God=how He's identified w/ that which He's created. He's transcendant=greater than anyone can possibly fathom, & yet He's small enough to live within my heart. And those two battle. Now sometimes when you and I in wanting to pray to God, we want to know that He's as close as our breath & our friend, He's the friend that sticks closer than a brother. So the compassionate, High Priest that He is, comforts us when we're really going through hard times as though He's right there in the room. But we have to keep in mind the emmanence of God because if we keep focusing on how He's like me, it will confuse you as to who He really is. He's also the transcendent God=greater than anything I could ever imagine. The name it and claim it movement is an offense to the transcendence of God. The greatness of God is what I need so I don't lay my total confidence upon myself. Romans 11 says He's way past finding out.
· Misunderstanding the title," Son of Man"
· Excerpts from "the Case for Christ"=Lee Strobel
· "Karen Armostrong, the former nun who wrote the best-seller A History of God, said it seems that the term "Son of Man"simply stressed the weakness and mortality of the human condition, so by using it, Jesus was merely emphasizing that He was a frail human being who would one day suffer and die." If that's true, that doesn't sound like much of a claim to deity."
· Contrary to popular belief, "Son of Man" does not primarily refer to Jesus' humanity. Instead it's a direct allusion to Daniel 7;13-14=13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
· 14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
· So look at what Jesus is doing by applying the term 'Son of Man' to himself, he continued. This is someone who approaches God himself in his heavenly throne room and is given universal authority and dominion. That makes 'Son of Man' a title of great exaltation, not of mere humanity."
· The man sharing w/ Lee Strobel is Dr. Craig Blomberg, author of The Historical Reliability of the Gospels. He's considered widely to be one of the country's foremost authorities on the biographies of Jesus=the four gospels.
· "Later I came upon a comment by another scholar whom I would soon interview for this book, Wiliam Lane Craig, who has made a similar observation. "Son of Man" is often thought to indicate the humanity of Jesus, just as the reflew expression "Son of God" indicates His divinity. In fact, just the opposite is true. The Son of Man was a divine figure in the Old Testament book of Daniel who would come at the end of the world to judge mankind and rule forever. Thus, the claim to be the Son of Man could in effect be a claim to divinity.