10: The Deity of Christ
The Deity of Christ In this lesson we will seek to examine the important implications and ramifications of our previous lessons. We have seen that the Bible is an incredibly reliable book. The reliability of the existent text can be confirmed by the biographical test (manuscript evidence). In addition, the reliability of the Biblical text can be confirmed by both internal (internal consistency) and external tests (science, archaeology, fulfilled prophecy, etc.). We have examined many of these tests in previous lessons and found the Bible to be remarkably reliable. With this foundation, we will now seek to examine the main character of this historically reliable book: the One whom the Old Testament pointed to and the New Testament revealed - the Lord Jesus Christ. As mentioned in Chapter 2, Jesus Christ was unique in all of history. No other man in history fulfilled literally scores of specific prophesies anticipating His birth, life, and death. No other man in history lays claim to a virgin birth, a sinless life, and a resurrection from the dead. Yet Jesus Christ lays claim to all of these things, and one more. He claims to be God! This is a truly remarkable claim, especially in the Jewish context in which it was made. We must remember that Jesus was not claiming to be "god" in a pantheistic, or even a polytheistic context, but in a strongly monotheistic Jewish context. To claim deity in such a context was to claim that one was, in actuality, the very creator of the world and the only true God. Perhaps the most remarkable part of this claim is its implications, for it is either true or it is not. His Own Claims of Deity
Direct Claims of deity. There are several instances in the gospels where Jesus directly claims to be God. He claimed deity by:
1. Claiming equality with the Father
I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him, Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, make thyself God. (John 10:30-33) But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. 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 5:17-18)
It is significant to note that the Jews never referred to God as "my Father". Christ, on the other hand, did often and sought to distinguish His unique relationship with the Father from the relationship with the Father that all believers enjoy (note John 20:17). Lest one should argue that Christ was not claiming deity in these passages, we should note the Jews’ reaction. It is rather obvious that they thought He was claiming to be God, and it is also obvious that He made no attempt to correct their interpretations of His statements! Certainly He had good reason to correct them if a correction were in order, for in both instances they tried to kill Him because of His claims. It is interesting to note in Leviticus 24:16 that the penalty for blasphemy, which would include claims of deity, was stoning!
*Also note John 5:23-24; John 8:19; and John 14:1, John 14:9.
2. Claiming to be YHWH ("Jehovah" or "LORD") The name YHWH (pronounced Yahweh) was the covenant name of God in the Old Testament. As such it is always used of God, never of men or false gods (unlike adonai or elohim). This name was so holy to the Jews that they would not even pronounce it. In public reading the name Adonai was substituted for it. The name declares God’s self-existence and basically means "I am". As such, it is related to the passage in Exodus 3:14 where God reveals Himself to Moses as "I AM THAT I AM". Therefore, it is very significant when Christ declares Himself to be the "I Am" (Greek - ego eimi). In essence, He was claiming to be the pre-existent and self-existent creator of the world. To the Jews this would be nothing short of blasphemy unless the one making such a statement were actually God. For instance note John 8:58-59.
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
Again it should be obvious that the Jews recognized Him to be claiming deity. In other places Christ claimed:
"I am the bread of life..." (John 6:35) "I am the light of the world..." (John 8:12) "I am the good shepherd..." (John 10:11-14; compare with Psalm 23) "I am the resurrection and the life..." (John 11:25) "I am the way, the truth, and the life..." (John 14:6) "Unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins" (John 8:24)
Note also John 4:26; John 6:41, John 6:48, John 6:51; John 8:18, John 8:28, John 8:58; John 10:7, John 10:9; John 13:19; and John 15:1.
These are incredible claims for any man to make, much less a Jewish man in a Jewish context where his listeners were familiar with the implications of "I Am"!
3. Claiming to be the Messiah In passages such as Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 9:6, Micah 5:2 and Zechariah 12:10 the Old Testament pointed to the deity of the Messiah. Therefore, when Jesus claimed to be the promised Messiah (or Christ from the Greek kristos), He was claiming to be God. Instances where He directly claimed to be the Messiah include: The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am [he]. (John 4:25-26) But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. (Matthew 26:63-65) But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses? Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death. (Mark 14:61-64) The last two passages were from Jesus’ trial before the high priest. In these passages, He directly professes to be the Messiah and He applies Daniel 7:13, a Messianic passage, to Himself. Like the previous examples we have seen, those who heard these claims left no doubt as to how they interpreted them. The high priest tore his robes and accused Jesus of blasphemy while the entire council condemned Him to death. Anyone who would dare argue that Jesus never claimed to be God must postulate that all the Jewish leaders of the 1st Century misunderstood Jesus’ statements (made in a Jewish 1st Century context) while they in the 20th Century interpreted them correctly!
Indirect claims of deity. In addition to directly claiming to be God, Jesus said and did several things that indirectly implied his deity. For instance:
1. He claimed to have authority to forgive sins. In passages such as Matthew 9:2-7 and Mark 2:5-11 Jesus claims to have authority to forgive sins. In both of these passages, however, He was accused of blasphemy, because the Jews recognized that only God had this authority.
2. He claimed to be the judge of the world. In John 5:21-22, John 5:25, John 5:27, John 5:29 Jesus claims to have the authority to raise the dead and judge the world. However, the Old Testament Scriptures made it very clear that only God could raise the dead (1 Samuel 2:6; Psalms 2:7) and judge men (Joel 3:12; Deuteronomy 32:35).
3. He spoke with authority. It is significant to note that when Jesus taught He never quoted from or referred to other men in support of His positions. He always spoke with His own authority (See Matthew 7:29). This was in great contrast to the scribes and Pharisees of the day who always quoted other rabbis when making a point. Jesus, however, never changed His mind, had afterthoughts, or added corrections to His messages. He never guessed, supposed, speculated, or spoke with any type of uncertainty whatsoever. As a matter of fact, He often placed His own words on the level with God’s (see for instance Matthew 5:21-22).
4. He accepted worship. On at least 9 occasions, Jesus both received and accepted the worship of others (for instance see Matthew 8:2, Matthew 14:33 and John 20:27-29). This is significant, because the Old Testament specifically forbade the worship of anyone but God (Exodus 20:1-4; Deuteronomy 5:6-9). Even angels refuse to be worshipped (Revelation 22:8-9). Jesus, however, never rebuked those who worshipped Him. In Thomas’ case, He even commended his act of worship (John 20:29).
C. S. Lewis puts these remarkable claims of Christ in their proper perspective when he writes:
Among these Jews there suddenly turns up a man who goes about talking as if He was God. He claims to forgive sins. He says He has always existed. He says He is coming to judge the world at the end of time. Now let us get this clear. Among pantheists, like the Indians, anyone might say that he was a part of God, or one with God: there would be nothing very odd about it. But this man, since He was a Jew, could not mean that kind of God. God, in their language, meant the Being outside the world who had made it and was infinitely different from anything else. And when you have grasped that, you will see that what this man said was, quite simply, the most shocking thing that has ever been uttered by human lips. [1] Other Testimonies to His Deity He is called God. In several instances in the New Testament, Jesus is directly called God. For instance:
1. John writes: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1) 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) [Note: The English word Son is the Greek word theos (i.e., "God")] 2. "Doubting" Thomas proclaimed: And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. (John 20:28)
3. Paul stated: 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. (1 Timothy 3:16) Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; (Titus 2:13) 4. The writer of Hebrews states: 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. (Hebrews 1:8)
He is worshipped as God. In addition to the several specific examples of worship that were mentioned earlier, New Testament authors proclaim that Christ should be worshipped by all men and angels. 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. (Php 2:10-11, Compare with Isaiah 45:23) And again, when he bringeth in the first-begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. (Hebrews 1:6)
He is referred to as the creator. Genesis 1 and 2 make it very clear that God created the world. However, the New Testament ascribes the creation to Jesus Christ.
All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. (Hebrews 1:6) 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; (Hebrews 1:2) The name YHWH is applied to Him. One fascinating testimony to the deity of Jesus Christ is that Old Testament passages referring to Yahweh are frequently applied to Christ in the New Testament. For example, compare the following New Testament quotes with their Old Testament sources.
1. Matthew 3:3 and Isaiah 40:3 2. John 12:41 and Isaiah 6:1 3. Ephesians 4:7-8 and Psalms 68:18 4. Hebrews 1:6 and Psalms 97:7 5. Hebrews 1:10-12 and Psalms 102:25-27 In conclusion, we must state that the evidence is overwhelming that Jesus Himself, and the writers of the New Testament believed He was God. One cannot escape this conclusion. As reformed theologian B. B. Warfield states: The very abundance and persuasiveness of the evidence for the deity of Christ greatly increases the difficulty of stating it adequately...The deity of Christ is in solution in every page of the New Testament. Every word that is spoken of him, every word which he is reported to have spoken of himself, is spoken on the assumption that he is God...Because the deity of Christ is the presupposition of every word of the New Testament, it is impossible to select words of the New Testament from which to construct earlier documents in which the deity of Christ shall not be assumed. The assured conviction of deity is contemporary with Christianity itself. There never was a Christianity, neither in the times of the Apostles nor since, of which this was not a prime tenet. [2] Implications of His Claims
There is a great diversity of opinion today when it comes to the question, "Who was Jesus Christ?" There may be a small minority who still consider Him only a legend. However, the abundant historical evidences for His existence, and the impact His life has had on the world rule out this possibility for all but the most close-minded of critics. Nearly all critics today will admit that a man by the name of Jesus of Nazareth at least existed. Many will say that Jesus Christ was a prophet or a good teacher, but certainly not God. Others still will say he was one of many gods or perhaps a lesser god in relation to the supreme God. Christians, of course, say He was God manifest in the flesh. So the diversity of opinion today is as great as it was in Jesus’ day when He asked his disciples "Who do men say that I the Son of man am?" (Matthew 16:13).
If one thinks logically, Jesus’ own claims of deity rule out all but three possibilities for the question, "Who was Jesus Christ?" Let us remember that this man claimed to be God! Furthermore, His claims were either true or false. If they were true then He was exactly who He said He was. He was and is LORD! If His claims were false, however, then He can’t possibly be considered a prophet, good teacher, or lesser god. If He knew His claims were false, then He was nothing more than a liar. Furthermore, He was a hypocrite as He taught others to be honest. He was a fool because He died because of His claims. Most importantly, however, He was the greatest deceiver who ever lived, on par with the demons of hell, because He taught others to trust Him for their eternal destiny, and countless millions have done just that. If, however, Jesus’ claims were false and He didn’t realize it, then He was nothing more than a lunatic. A man who claims to be God when He is not is severely deluded indeed!
Those, then, are our three choices. Jesus Christ was either Lord, liar, or lunatic. He leaves us with no other alternatives. C. S. Lewis put it this way:
I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish things that people often say about Him: "I’m ready to accept Him Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God." That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic - on a level with a man who says he is a poached egg - or else he would be the devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. [3]
Conclusion: Each of us must decide for ourself whether Jesus Christ was Lord, liar, or lunatic. When making this decision we should keep in mind many of the evidences supporting and underlying His claims that we have examined in previous lessons. For instance, the fulfilled prophecies that pointed to His life substantiate His claims of deity. Furthermore, the accounts of His miracles and His sinless life as recorded in the most unique and reliable book in the history of mankind support His claims of deity. The fact that His disciples, those who knew Him best, went to their graves proclaiming His deity support His claims of deity. In addition, we must consider the nature of His teachings. How could a man who was the source of the highest ethical and moral teaching known to man be at one and the same time either a liar or a lunatic? Especially when those closest to Him never picked up on it. Finally, and most importantly, His resurrection proved once and for all that His claims of deity were accurate. Because of its importance we will specifically examine the resurrection in the next lesson.
If, after examining the evidence, we conclude that Jesus is Lord then we must decide if we will accept Him or reject Him. The consequences of this decision are enormous. For this same man who claimed to be God also stated, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6). In Acts 4:12 it is stated of Him, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." So if He is who He said He was, then He is the only way to God, salvation, and eternal life. Therefore, each of us needs to answer the question stated in Matthew 22:42, "What think ye of Christ?"