The Deity of Our Lord and Saviour

I well remember that when I was examined for license to preach, one of the questions put to me was, “What are the proof texts for the Divinity of Christ?” And in answering the question I racked my brain for a few proof texts, but when I came to study the Bible in a thorough way, I discovered, to my surprise, that there were not merely a few proof texts, but that the doctrine of the Deity of Christ was found everywhere. There are at least six distinct lines of proof in the Bible that Jesus Christ is not merely divine, but that He is GOD, God manifest in the flesh.

I. The first line of proof is that sixteen names clearly implying Deity are used of Christ in the Bible, some of them over and over again, the total number of passages reaching far into the hundreds. These names are:

1. “The Son of God.” That this was a distinctly divine name appears from John 5:18, where we are told, “Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill Him, because He had not only broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was His Father, making Himself equal unth God.”

2. “The only begotten Son.” This occurs five times. It is evident that the statement that Jesus Christ is the Son of God only in the same sense that all men are the sons of

God is not true. In Mark 12 :6, Jesus says: “Having yet therefore One Son, His well-beloved, He sent Him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence My Son.” Here Jesus Himself, having spoken of all the propl.ets as servants of God, speaks of Himself as “One,” a “beloved SON,”

3. “The First and the Last.” Rev. 11:17. That this is a distinctly divine name is evident from Is. 41:4, and Is. 44:6, where it is used of Jehovah.

4. “The Alpha and Omega.”

5. “The Beginning and the Ending.” These two last names are used of Jesus Christ in Rev. 22:12, 13, 16, and in Rev. i :8, it is the Lord God Who is called “The Alpha and Omega.”

6. “The Holy One.” Acts 3:14. In ‘Hos. 11:9, and many other passages, it is God, who is “The Holy One.”

7. “The Lord.” This name or title is used of Jesus several hundred times. The name translated “Lord” is used in the New Testament in speaking of men nine times, but not at all in the way it is used of Christ. When used of men the definite article is omitted. Jesus is spoken of as “The Lord,” just as God is. In Acts 4:26, God, the Father, is spoken of as “The Lord,” and eight verses further on Jesus is called “The Lord.” If any one doubts the attitude of the apostles of Jesus toward Him as Divine, tl’ey would do well to read one after another the passages which speak of Him as Lord.

8. “Lord of all,” Acts 10:36.

9. “The Lord of Glory,” i Cor. 2:8. In Ps. 24:8-10, “The Lord of Hosts, He is the King of Glory.”

10. “Wonderful.” Is. 9:6; cf. with this Judges 13:18; R. V., where it is the Angel of Jehovah, who says His nam* is Wonderful. And it would be easy to prove, from O1<J Testament Scripture, that the Angel of Jehovah was a Divine Person, namely, Christ, before His incarnation.

11. “Mighty God,” Is. 9:6.

12. “Father of Eternity,” Is. 9:6; R. V. Margin.

13. “God.” In Heb. i :8 Jesus is called “God” in so many words, “But Thy throne, O GOD, is forever and ever.” In John 20 :28 when Thomas fell at the feet of our Lord and cried to Him: “My Lord and MY GOD,” Jesus accepted the ascription of Deity to Himself and gently rebuked Thomas for not believing it before.

14. “God with us,” Matt. 1 :23.

15. “Our Great God,” Titus 2:13, R. V.

16. “God blessed forever,” Rom. 9:5.

II. The second line of proof of the Deity of our Lord is that five or more distinctively diiwc attributes are ascribed to Jesus Christ and all the fullness of the Godhead is said to du’dl in Him.

i. In Heb. 1 13 and Eph. 1 :2o OMNIPOTENCE is ascribed to Jesus Christ. In many passages we are taught that He had power over disease, that it was subject to His Word; He had power over death, that it was subject to His Word; that He had power over the winds and the sea, that they were subject to His Word; that He had power over demons, that they were subject to His Word. 2. In John 21 117 and 16, 30, OMNISCIENCE is ascribed to Jesus Christ. In many passages we are taught that He knew the secret thoughts of men; that He knew all men; that He knew what was in man. Whereas, in Jer. 17:9, 10, we are taught that Jehovah only knows the hearts of men. We are also taught in the New Testament that Jesus knew, from the beginning, man’s present thoughts and their future choices; that He knew what they wtre doing at a distance; that He knew the future, not only regarding God’s acts, but regarding the minute specific acts of men, and even regarding the fishes of the sea. And in Col. 2 13, we are taught that in Him “are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

3. In Matt. 18:20 and 28:30 and John 3:13; 14:20; 2 Cor. 13:5; Eph. 1:23, OMNIPRESENCE is ascribed to Jesus Christ. 4. In John i :i; Micah 5 -.2; Col. i =17; Is. 9:6; John 17 :5; John 8 155; i John i :i; Heb. 13 :8; ETERNITY is ascribed to Jesus Christ. 5. In Heb. 13:8; 1:12, IMMUTABILITY is ascribed to Jesus Christ. 6. In Phil. 2:6, we are taught that Jesus Christ, before His incarnation, was IN THE FORM OF GOD. The Creek word translated “form” means “the form by which a person or thing strikes the vision, the external appearance.” (Thayer’s Greek-Eng. Lexicon of the N T.). Summing it all up under this head, Paul declares in Col. 2 :9, that “!N HIM DWELLETH ALL THE FULLNESS OF THE GODHEAD BODILY,”

III. The third line of proof of the Deity of our Lord is that seven distinctively divine offices are predicated of Jesus Christ, i. In Heb. 1:10; John 1:3; Col. i :16, CREATION is ascribed to Jesus Christ. 2. In Heb. i :3, THE PRESERVATION

OF THE WHOLE MATERIAL UNIVERSE IS ASCRIBED TO JESUS

CHRIST. 3. In Mark 2:5-10; Luke 7:48, and many other passages, THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS is ASCRIBED TO JESUS CHRIST. In this connection it is worthy of note that in Luke 7 40-47, Jesus says that sins are against Himself. He speaks of both Simon and the woman as sinners, being debtors to Hims«lf. But sin can only be committed against God. We can wrong others, but not sin against them in the strict sense of the word (cf. Ps. 51:4). 4. In John 6:39-44, THE

RAISING OF THE DEAD IS ASCRIBED TO JESUS CHRIST. 5. In Phil.

3:21, R. V., THE TRANSFORMATION OF OUR EARTHLY BODIES

I he Deitv of Our Lord and Sainour

INTO THE CELESTIAL BODY IS ASCRIBED TO JESUS ClIRIST. 6. In 2 Tim. 4:1, R. V., THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING AND THE

DEAD is ASCRIBED TO JESUS CHRIST. Jesus Himself emphasized the divine character of these offices in John 5 :22, 23. He says, “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honor the Son, crcn as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father, which hath sent Him.” 7. In John IO:28; 17:2, THE BESTOWAL OF ETERNAL LIFE IS ASCRIBED TO JKSUS CHRIST.

IV. The fourth line of proof of the Deity of our Lord Jesus is that statements which, in the Old Testament, arc made distinctly of Jehovah, God, are taken in the New Testament to refer to Jesus Christ. That is, IN NEW TESTA MENT THOUGHT AND DOCTRINE, JESUS CHRIST OCCUPIES THE PLACE THAT JEHOVAH OCCUPIES IN OLD TESTAMENT THOUGHT

AND DOCTRINE. For example, in Heb. i: 10-12, we read these words, “And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of Thy hands; they shall perish, but Thou remainest; and they shall all wax old as doth a garment; and as a vesture shalt Thou fold them up, and they shall be changed; but Thou art the same, and Thy years shall not fail.” This is a quotation of a statement made about God in Ps. 102:24-27. In Luke 1 :68, 69, 76, we read: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He hath visited and redeemed His people, and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of

His servant David And Thou, Child, shalt be

called the prophet of the Highest; for Thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways.” Here, it is evident, that Jesus is the Lord before whose face the messenger goes to prepare His way before Him, but in Is. 40:3, 4 (see Amer.

R. V.)» it is Jehovah whose way the messenger is to prepare before Him. In Rev. 2:23, we read, “And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am He which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.” Here it is Jesus who searcheth the reins and hearts”, but in the Old Testament, in Jer. 11:20; 17:10, Jehovah is represented as saying that He is the One who tries the reins and heart. In Luke 2 132, we read of Jesus, “A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel”; but in Is. 60 :19, we read (Am. R. V.), “Jehovah will be unto thee an everlasting light and thy God thy glory.” In Is. 6:1, 3, 10, we read certain words that Isaiah spoke -when He saw the glory of Jehovah of hosts, but in John 12:37-41, John says it was when Isaiah saw the glory of Jesus Christ that he said this. Of course, the inference is plain. There are many other passages of a similar character where statements which, in the Old Testament, are made unmistakably of Jehovah God are taken in the New Testament to refer to Jesus Christ. “Lord” in the Old Testament always refers to God, except where the context clearly indicates otherwise. “Lord” in the New Testament always refers to Jesus Christ, except where the context clearly indicates otherwise.

V. The fifth line of proof of the Deity of our Lord Jesus is that THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST is COUPLED WITH

THAT OF GOD, THE FATHER, IN NUMEROUS PASSAGES IN A WAY THAT IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE TO COUPLE THE NAME OF ANY

FINITE BEING. Illustrations of this can be found in 2 Cor. 13:14; Matt. 28:19; i Thess. 3:11; I Cor. 12:4:6; Tit, 3 -.4, 5; Rom. 1:7; Jas. I :i; especially John 14:13; 2 Pet. I :i; cf. R. V.; Col. 2:2 (see R. V.); John 17:3; John 14:1; cf. Jer. Z7 — 5-7; v. 7:10; 5:13 VI. The last, and, if possible, the most decisive proof of the Deity of our Lord Jesus is that WE ARE TAUGHT IN SCRIPTURE THAT JESUS, THE SON OF GOD, is TO BE WOR SHIPPED AS GOD HY AXGKLS AND MEN. Passages in point are Matt. 28:9; Luke 24:52; Matt. 14:33 cf. Acts 10:25, 26; Rev. 22:8, 9; Matt. 4:9, 10. In these passages we see that Jesus Christ accepted, without hesitation, the worship which men and angels declined with fear and horror. It is often said that the verb translated “worship” in these passages is sometimes used of reverence paid to men in high position. We are so told in the margin of the American R. V. The statement is true, but it is misleading. The word is used of reverence paid to men in high position, but it is not used in this way by worshippers of Jehovah, as is seen by the way in which both Peter and the angel drew back when such wor ship was offered to them. In Heb. 1 :6 we read, “And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship Him.” There can be no possible mistaking of the meaning of this passage. And in Phil. 2:10, u, we read, “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.” And from all these passages it is evident that Jesus Christ is a Person to be worshipped by angels and men, even as God, the Father, is worshipped.

To sum it all rp, by the use of numerous Divine names, by the ascription of all the distinctively Divine attributes, by the predication of several Divine offices, by referring statements which, in tl.e Old Testament, distinctly name Jehovah God as their subject to Jesus Christ in the New Testament, by coupling the name of Jesus Christ with that of God, thf

1 he Higher Criticism and The New Theology

Father, in a way in which it would be impossible to couple that of any finite being with that of the Deity and by the clear teaching that Jesus Christ should be worshipped even as God, the Father, is worshipped — in all these unmistakable ways God, in His Word, distinctly proclaims that Jesus Christ is a Divine Being — is GOD.