The Deity of Jesus Christ
2011-01-02
Introduction
Who is Jesus Christ? Different people have different answers. There are always those documentaries on television that try to explain Jesus as the good teacher or philosopher, or a helper of the poor and needy. Other religious groups believe He was the first creation that merely lived a perfect human life. Still others believe that He was a prophet in the midst of a long line of prophets, who came to a specific group of people at a certain time. However, the Biblical evidence and testimony gives us a much stronger picture of who Jesus is—that Jesus was God manifest in the flesh. We will examine the Biblical evidence by comparing attributes of God the Father and Jesus Christ, looking at clear and concise statements, and studying the more difficult texts that may seem to teach the contrary. At the same time, we will briefly examine the humanity of Jesus, because he was both fully God and fully man. It is imperative that we do not undermine either of these qualities.
Eternality of Jesus Christ
It is clear from the Bible that God is eternal; that is, he always existed and never will stop existing. For pertinent scriptures, see Genesis 1:1; Deuteronomy 33:27; Psalm 41:13; 90:2; 93:2; 106:48; Isaiah 63:16; Habakkuk 1:12. A very clear signal from the Bible that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh is that he is also eternal. In other words, he likewise has always existed. Consider the following scriptures.
Micah 5:2: “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.” This is a clear prophecy of the Messiah Jesus, who was “from everlasting.”
John 1:1-2: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.” This is a very clear statement that though there is a distinction between the Father and the Son, they are the same God. Besides the obvious “the Word was God,” we can also see that Jesus already existed “in the beginning,” just as God already existed in the beginning, before there was either time or space.
Note: Before I get arguments about the missing Greek definite article before the word “God” in John 1:1, please understand that the article is also missing in John 1:6; 1:12; and 1:18, and those contexts clearly mean the God.
John 8:58: “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” This is a very peculiar statement grammatically. Jesus was stating that he always existed. He also is referencing that he is the same “I AM” that God identified himself as in Exodus 3:14. The Jews knew this implication full well, as in John 8:59, they began to pick up stones to kill him.
John 17:5: “And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.”
The Omnipresence of Jesus Christ
God is omnipresent; he is everywhere, and nothing can contain him. Consider these appropriate scriptures: 1 Kings 8:27; Psalm 139:7-8. Jesus is also is omnipresent. Consider these Scriptures.
Matthew 18:20: “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Surely two or three have been gathered in his name at the same time on opposite sides of the planet!
Matthew 28:20: “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” If Jesus were not omnipresent, he would surely not make this promise to his disciples.
Luke 23:43: “And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” Consider also Acts 2:31: “He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.” Jesus was in heaven and hell simultaneously before being raised from the dead.
The Omniscience of Jesus Christ
God is omniscient; he knows all things. See these scriptures: Psalm 139:15-16. Interestingly enough, Jesus is also omniscient. Consider these Scriptures.
Luke 6:8: “But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth.” Jesus had the ability to know other people’s minds. Other similar examples include Matthew 12:15; 12:25; Luke 11:17; John 2:24-25; 4:16-19, 29.
Mark 13:32 is a notable exception. This will be dealt with in the section containing difficult passages.
The Omnipotence of Jesus Christ
God is also omnipotent; he is all-powerful. Consider the following: Genesis 1:1; Jeremiah 10:12; and Revelation 19:6. Jesus also is all-powerful; consider these scriptures.
Matthew 28:18: “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” Jesus spoke this before his ascension to heaven. All means all.
Mark 5:11-15: “Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea. And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done. And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.”
Jesus cast out about 2,000 demons in order to send them into that many pigs. No human being is going to be able to do that like Jesus did.
John 11:38-44: “Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.” Jesus rose someone from the dead who had been decomposing for days.
Colossians 1:17: “He is before all things, and by him all things consist.” The whole universe remains in existence because of and is held together by Jesus Christ.
Concise Statements
I will first record some obvious statements, knowing full well that there are many out there that claim textual issues with the verses. These textual issues I hope to one day discuss in separate argument; but it suffices to say that there is an enemy alive and well that has assaulted these verses via Westcott and Hort and the codices Sinaiticus and Vaticanus.
1 John 5:7: “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” Jesus is called the Word of God in John 1 and Revelation 19:13.
1 Timothy 3:16: “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”
Now among the following verses there are no textual arguments.
Matthew 28:19: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” The word “name” is singular, so the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost all have one name, or authority. Read more about this verse here.
Philippians 2:5-11: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
A few noteworthy things: Jesus Christ was in the form of God and was equal with God according to 2:6. He has a name above all names (see the previous statement above about the Father, the Son and the Spirit all having a common name, Matthew 28:19). Every creature will bow before him and call him Lord. If Christ is not God, then God will allow Christ to be a worshipped idol.
John 20:27: “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. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” When Thomas beheld the risen Christ and saw him alive with his wounds, he called him his God. Even the most corrupt Bible translations do not change this. And if this is what Thomas said, and Jesus, as you can see by his response did not rebuke him, both Thomas and Jesus have sinned. But Jesus is without sin, and many scriptures testify: 2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 4:15, 1 Peter 1:19, 1 John 2:1-2. We will return to this notion later.
People other than Thomas also worshipped Jesus, and the Lord did not rebuke them: Matthew 2:11; 8:2; 9:18; 14:33; 15:25; Luke 24:52; John 9:38; 20:28.
Hebrews 1:8: “But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.” This is interesting in that God the Father calls his Son God.
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, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” The Messiah that was to be born is referred to as the Mighty God.
John 5:18: “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.” No creature can be equal with God, as it is written in Isaiah 45:22, “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.”
Acts 10:36: “The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)” Jesus is Lord of all, but God is Lord of all the earth: “And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap” (Joshua 3:13).
Titus 2:13-14: “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” Jesus Christ is both God and Savior, and we are looking for his glorious appearing.
1 John 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.” The subject of the verse is Jesus Christ, and John sums it up by calling him the true God.
Old Testament Quotations
Joel 2:32: “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered.” This verse is quoted in both Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:13, which in these passages is equated with confessing the Lord Jesus Christ and believing on him. Consider the context in Romans (10:9-13): “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Malachi 3:1: God speaking: “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me.” Compare this with Mark 1:2: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.” God himself was coming, and John the Baptist was coming to prepare the way before him.
Zechariah 12:10: God speaking: “They shall look upon me whom they have pierced.” In John 19:37, speaking of the crucified Christ, says the following: “And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.”
The Sinless Life of Jesus Christ
Consider the following scriptures that state the Jesus Christ never sinned.
2 Corinthians 5:21: “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
Hebrews 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.”
1 Peter 1:19: “But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”
1 John 2:1-2: “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” Since Jesus was a sacrifice, his sinlessness was non-negotiable, as we see throughout the Old Testament in Exodus 12:5, Leviticus 1:3, 1:10, 3:1, 3:6, and many others.
Every human being on the face of the earth was a sinner, for it was written, “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). Jesus being sinless is a concept that is contrary to what is known of the human race in the Bible. Adam, who was tempted in Eden by Satan in Genesis 3, fell into sin when he was well provided for in a lush garden. Jesus on the other hand, in Matthew 4 and Luke 4, was also tempted by Satan, but Jesus was at His worst, in the wilderness and without food for over a month, and He did not bow to temptation to satisfy His hunger (see Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-13). No ordinary human could do that.
The Miraculous Life of Jesus Christ
The four gospels provide ample testimony of Jesus’ miracles. To list them all would take pages. Of course, other prophets of the Bible did miracles, but none did the same quantity and diversity of miracles that Jesus did. Jesus showed that He commanded the elements to change form, as in Cana (John 2:9), had power over storms (Mark 4:39), walked on water (Matthew 14:25), made the blind see (Mark 10:52), made the deaf hear (Mark 7:35), cast out thousands of demons at once (Mark 5:1-13), resurrected the dead (Mark 5:41-42; John 11:44), walked through people (Luke 4:29-30), and fed thousands of people with a couple of loaves and fish (Luke 9:16-17). Most important of all, He also resurrected Himself from the dead (John 10:18). This only scratches the surface as to what Jesus did.
Centrality of Jesus’ Deity in Salvation
Paul in his epistle to the Hebrews discusses at length the once-for-all sacrifice that Jesus covered all sins for all time: “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many” (Hebrews 9:28). He also states, “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4). Referring to the Levitical law in the ancient world where the Jewish nation offered sacrifices a certain way at certain times at a certain place, continuously throughout centuries, Paul’s conclusion was: It did not work. If mere creatures’ blood could not cover the sins of humankind, why would God send a mere created man to die for the entire creation?
All of humankind was so desperately lost in sin, that a mere creature would simply not be effective. God had to do everything. Remember Jesus’ words “I am” in John 8:58: His eternality appeals to the universality of His sacrifice, that upon trusting on Him alone, our sins of the past, present, and future are eternally forgiven.
Absence of the Name Jehovah or LORD in the New Testament
In the Old Testament, the Tetragrammaton is used as the primary name for God over 5000 times. This name, usually signified in the King James Bible as LORD (i.e., all capital letters, though Jehovah is sometimes used), is used to show God’s intimacy with His people, that they might know His name. Every time you read it in the Old Testament, especially for the Jewish person, it is a reminder of God’s loyal love in His covenant with His people. This name is not used once in the New Testament. Even Old Testament quotes in the New Testament do not transliterate the Tetragrammaton; they use the regular Greek word for lord (i.e. κυριος, for example, Acts 2:21). In the New Testament, intimacy with God by calling on His name is forgotten, which is sort of ironic, considering “whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21, quoting Joel 2:32 that uses the Tetragrammaton or LORD). Now think about the number of times that the name Jesus is used in the New Testament. The New Testament seemingly blasphemes since His name is used so many times and God’s covenantal name is never used. But the validity of the New Testament has been discussed at length as being strikingly accurate in geography, in customs, etc., and showing itself to be preserved better than any other writing in the ancient world.
Suppressing the Deity of Jesus Christ does two things: 1) it undermines humankind’s sin; that is, it is not that bad and an ordinary creature’s blood could cover it all, and 2) it also weakens the effectiveness of the sacrifice of Jesus. If Jesus is not God in the flesh, all of ours sins might not be covered, and we could never know for certain that we are good enough to make it into heaven. Christ’s sacrifice says: Trust in me alone, and your sins are eternally covered.
Difficult Passages
Mark 13:32: “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.” Now this verse states something that Jesus does not know, namely, his return. But he said that he did not know that time while he was on the Mount of Olives. In Philippians 2:6-11, Paul recounts Jesus leaving heaven to become a human being, where he greatly humbled himself. When Jesus became a child, and started to grow, the Bible says that “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man” (Luke 2:52). We cannot ignore the other side of the coin, that Jesus was God but also was a man. He limited himself in certain ways when he entered the human experience. But these limitations ended when he was resurrected from the dead, for Jesus said before he ascended, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18). Paul says that Jesus was “declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:4). His limitations that he had while he was yet to be crucified were no longer in effect at this point. Do we understand all of this? Not at all, but these things found in the Bible are sufficient for our understanding of this verse.
Colossians 1:15: “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature.” Now this verse has great potential for misunderstanding, because the first half seems to affirm Christ’s deity, while the second half seems to undermine the same. The former half is an express statement of Jesus Christ being God in the flesh (see 1 Timothy 3:16). The second half is what we will concentrate on here.
The term firstborn clearly implies inheritance and birthright. Genealogical data in the Bible can read like this: “Huz his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram” (Genesis 22:21). Why doesn’t the Bible use secondborn and thirdborn and so on to refer to the other brothers? The Bible is indicating preeminence for inheritance. The right of the firstborn was to get a double inheritance according to Deuteronomy 21:17: “But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.” As evidence of this, Ishmael was born before Isaac, but he was not called the firstborn.
Also, God says that the firstborn son in a family is devoted to him: “Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine” (Exodus 13:2), and again, “Because all the firstborn are mine; for on the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast: mine shall they be: I am the LORD” (Numbers 3:13).
Now keep these previous definitions of the firstborn in mind as God talks about his firstborn in Psalm 89:27, which is King David: “Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth.” The king of Israel is made God’s firstborn, though Adam was the first man. King David, and his lineage after him, is considered God’s son, as seen in 2 Samuel 7 and Psalm 2:7. Jesus Christ is the king from the line of David who will rule forever; does it seem far off to call him the firstborn considering all of these things? Furthermore, a direct prophecy of the Messiah, which directly affirms Jesus’ deity (as previously discussed) is Zechariah 12:10, which refers to the Messiah as God’s firstborn: “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.”
Colossians 1:18: “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” See the discussion on Colossians 1:15 for the term “firstborn.” The only thing I would add here is that he is “the firstborn of the dead,” namely, that he was the first to be resurrected from the dead into the new created order. For example, Lazarus and others throughout the Bible have been brought back to life, but they were not the firstborn from the dead, so they died again.
Revelation 3:14: “And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.” This is Jesus speaking to the church, and he called himself “the beginning of the creation of God.” Here and in Colossians 1:18, Jesus is the beginning. The firstborn was considered the beginning of his father’s strength, as seen in Genesis 49:3 and Deuteronomy 21:17. This sense is evident in these verses. However, Jesus Christ was considered the beginning and the ending in Revelation 1:8; 21:6; and 22:13, which is a reference to Isaiah 44:6, where God is the first and the last. He spans all of time; he is eternal. Likewise, Jesus already was in the beginning, as seen in John 1:1. It is clear that Jesus has preeminence in his creation, as he created all things (Colossians 1:16).
Matthew 19:17 (et al.): “And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God...” Is Jesus good? Then he is God. If he is not good, then he is no valid sacrifice for sin.
Psalm 83:18: “That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.” This is speaking of God, and has no other name but Jehovah. Two problems: first, according to Matthew 28:19, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost all have the same name, as discussed previously. But also consider the following in Psalm 148:13: “Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.” Is God’s only name “excellent”? Herein lies the faulty interpretation of Psalm 83:18. For yet another argument regarding the name of God, see the discussion above on Joel 2:28.
Jesus Christ is Fully Man
Having discussed at length that Jesus Christ is fully God, we do not want to undermine his humanity. He referred to himself more frequently as the Son of Man.
Matthew 3:13-17: “Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. 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.”
Jesus became a human being. Though it is beyond the scope of this essay, one major aspect of baptism is association. For example, we get baptized with water to declare our association with Jesus Christ. Nonetheless, Jesus was baptized by John because he associated himself with all the sinners of humankind.
Philippians 2:7-8: “But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Though the larger context was discussed above, these verses clearly state that Jesus came to earth as a human being. He was born as a baby, and grew in wisdom and stature; he entered the human experience to the fullest. He suffered extreme torture. He was truly a man.
Conclusion
Why do we care whether Jesus Christ was God or not? The main reason is because a creature cannot cover all of the sins of all humankind from the first man Adam to the last baby that will ever be born. It is written, “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4). What difference would Jesus Christ be from a goat or a bull if he were only a man? We would always doubt if the sacrifice of Jesus would be enough to cover all of our sins.