Is Christ God?


	IS CHRIST GOD? by David E. Bishop One of the issues that makes Christianity totally unique among the worlds religions is the incredible claim that God became a man and visited this planet. And what makes it even more incredible is the way He did. Clothed as a peasant? A poor carpenter from a country village, being nothing more than a common laborer? And then the creatures murder their own Creator? A relative of mine maintained that Christ only claimed to be the “son of God,” not God. After I cited numerous proofs from Scripture, she fell back on the statement “but God would not do that.” She saw the humiliation of the crucifixion and the attendant indignities of it all, and she could not imagine the almighty God condescending in such a fashion. Such things may be expected among the common lot of mere mortals, but of God? Never! I recall responding to her, “but what if He did?” For the first time she got quiet, and just looked at me. It ended our conversation. I could tell by the look on her face that for that one moment, she actually contemplated the possibility, what if He was? And the thought overwhelmed her. THE TRINITY Not Buddha, Mohammed, nor any other recognized religious figure in the world has ever made a claim to be God. Yet all orthodox Catholics and Protestants hold Christ to be God in the flesh, and have believed this to be true for nearly 2000 years. Why? Because the Bible plainly teaches this. The Bible teaches the trinity. There are not three Gods, but one God; yet He subsists in a triune way, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Throughout Scripture, all the attributes of deity are subscribed to all three Persons of the Godhead. Three in person, yet one in essence. Although the comparison is not totally valid, even humans are said to be triune beings of sorts - as we have a body, soul, and spirit. Genesis 1:26 says, “Let us make man in our image.” Note the plural pronouns used. Yet in Matthew 28:19 “Baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Not names but the singular word “name.” A tri-unity in one. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, second member of the Godhead, and is co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father. Although difficult to comprehend or suitably illustrate, it should not be difficult to understand that a finite creature may have limitations in fully understanding the mode of existence of an infinite God. Indeed, one of the reasons God became man was to reveal His nature in a way we could understand! (John 1:18; Hebrews 1:3). THE DEITY OF CHRIST - A CENTRAL ISSUE. There are some who deny Christ was God, and who claim neither the Bible nor Christ taught this. Any cursory reading of the New Testament or the major Messianic passages in the Old Testament clearly show that only those unfamiliar with Scripture could make such a claim. If one denies the Deity of Christ because of a bias against the supernatural, that is one thing; the Chapters on historical evidence and fulfilled prophecy thoroughly address that issue. But to say the Bible or Christ did not teach this is quite another, and easily shown to be false by simply reading it! The Deity of Christ is a central issue because God had to become man to die, but He also had to be God for that death to be efficacious for the sins of the entire human race. Therefore belief in Christ as Savior must include who the Scriptures declare Him to be. Thus, a denial of any aspect of the totality of who Christ is results in a faith that is not saving faith (1 John 2:22,23; 4:2; 2 John 1:7). Furthermore, the fact that Christ was God has resulted in a comprehen- sion of the Divine character not otherwise attainable. It provides a profound glimpse into the depth of His love and mercy, which reveal it is the moral, not the metaphysical majesty, that is highest, if not the distinctive, in the Divine Being. The gracious condescension of the Son of God, as God, in becoming man, is a sublime act of self humiliation. But Christ’s humiliation is His glorification, the glory of Divine love revealed. John says “and the Word (who is God, according to verse 1) became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory...” (John 1:14). The glory John speaks of is that of Divine grace and love, revealed in word, deed, and suffering. Only by becoming poor could He fully reveal the depths of His moral nature. It is through the incarnation that Divine love can fully communicate itself, and only then does it reveal its omnipotence, when it conquers hearts, and has the strong for a prey.[1] All this and more is nullified by the false attempts to deny Christ’s Deity. Not only does it prevent salvation, but a denial of Christ’s Divinity dishonors God by veiling the beauty of who God is, and consequently lessens the moral power over human hearts. It also reduces God to the same level as the heathen Gods made up by men, whose greatness lies merely in the fact of being High. The Bible declares Christ to be both God and Man, united in one person. It is my hope that any true seeker after truth who has denied Christ as God because of confusion over Bible verses that refer to Christ’s human nature will have their questions answered by the following discussion. • Christ is the Creator. Genesis 1:1 says that God created the heaven and the earth. Yet numerous times the New Testament states Christ created the heaven and earth. John 1:3,10: “All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being...” “He was in the world, the world was made through Him, but the world did not know Him.” Colossians 1:15-17: “ And He is the image of the invisible God... For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things have been created by Him... He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” • The New Testament directly states that Christ is God. Philippians 2:5-8: “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Hebrews 1:3: “And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact represent- ation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power.” Colossians 2:9: “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwelt in bodily form.” John 1:1,14: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us...” • God the Father calls Christ God. Hebrews1:8: “But of the Son He says, Thy Throne, O God, is forever and ever, And the righteous scepter is the scepter of His Kingdom.” • Christ’s enemies knew He claimed to be God. In John 10:30-33 Jesus says “I and the Father are one.” The Jews then took up stones to stone Him, and Jesus then asks them for which good work they wanted to kill him. They replied “for a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy....because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.” • The Old Testament declares Christ to be Jehovah There are different words used for God in the Old Testament. “Elohim”, which is translated “God.” Also the word “Adonai” which is translated “Lord.” The personal name of God was written as YHWH, with no vowels between the letters. The name was considered so Holy, they hesitated to even speak it, preferring Adonai instead. YHWH may have been pronounced “Jehovah,” or more likely, “Yahweh,” which comes from the verb “to be.” It basically means “He who is,” or “I am who I am” and declares the Divine Self-existence. Yahweh is translated “LORD” in all capital letters in most English translations of the Bible. There is no doubt among scholars that Yahweh is God - and Christ is called Yahweh numerous times. Listed below are only a few examples. In Zechariah 12 the second coming of Christ is described. All the nations are gathered against Israel, and the LORD (Yahweh) states He will defend Jerusalem on that day and destroy the nations that have come up against her. He then says Israel will look upon Him whom they have pierced: I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and supplication, so they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him, like the bitter weeping over a first born.... In that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem... And the land will mourn, every family by itself (Zechariah 12:10-12). This amazing prophecy predicts that the day will come when Israel will realize they crucified (“pierced”) their own Messiah, who is declared to be Yahweh Himself! It then goes on to describe the deep contrition they experience when they realize the enormity of their crime. Zechariah 14:3-4 also speaks of the second coming of Christ: “Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem.” In Zechariah 11:13, the prophecy earlier quoted that concerned Christ being sold for 30 pieces of silver, which were thrown into the temple and used for a potters field; the prophecy states “Then the LORD said to me throw it to the potter than magnificent price that I was valued by them.” Jeremiah 23:5-6 speaks also of the second coming of Christ, “Behold, the days are coming” declares the LORD, “ When I shall rise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as King and act wisely, and do justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved and Israel will dwell securely...” This is clearly speaking of Christ. And note what the rest of the sentence says: “And this is His name by which He will be called, The LORD our righteousness.” • Christ had two natures: God and man united in one Person. Many of those who object to Christ’s Deity usually proceed by focusing on certain passages of Scripture and isolating them from the rest. The argument goes as follows: “Is not God omniscient? Well then why does Jesus say in Mark 13:32, concerning the exact hour of the second coming, neither the angels nor the Son knows, but only the Father? Jesus is not omniscient; therefore Jesus is not God.” A basic rule of Biblical interpretation is to look at all the verses that bear on a subject, not just pick out a few and attempt to build a doctrine on them. One cannot ignore the scores of verses that directly state Christ is God. In John 14:8-9 Philip asks Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Philip’s request is quite plainly to see God. Jesus answers, “have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how do you say, ‘show us the Father'?" To see Jesus was the same as seeing God. Jesus Christ had two natures. He was fully God from all eternity, and also fully man, beginning at the Virgin birth. The Old Testament both declares and predicted this. Isaiah 9:6, says “A child will be born to us, a son will be given to us, and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government...” So a child will be born to Israel, and He is given four titles, two of which could refer to a man, but “Mighty God” and “Eternal Father” can only refer to God. Christ is called God and man in the same verse. Isaiah 7:14 says “Behold, a virgin will be with child, and bear a son, and she will call his name Immanuel.” A child will be born, a human son, yet his name is called Immanuel which means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). Again He is called God and man in the same verse. Micah 5:2, prophesies that from Bethlehem, “One will go forth for Me to be a ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.” This person who will be born in Bethlehem is an eternal person; he pre-existed before Bethlehem. At least seven major passages in the New Testament speak of the union of the divine and human natures in Christ (Philippians 2:6-11; John 1:1-14; Romans 1:2-5; 9:5; 1 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 2:14; 1 John 1:1-3). These passages studied with other Scriptures make it evident that the eternal Son of God took upon Himself a complete human nature and became Man, yet He did not sacrifice in any way the possession and full exercise of His attributes of Deity at any time. That He still possessed and used His omniscience, omnipotence, and the other attributes of Deity while on earth is evident from Scripture. What was sacrificed was the outward glory and majesty along with the Divine prerogatives to be worshipped and adored as when seated on His throne of Glory. These two natures comprise one person, without mixing the natures or dividing the person. The divine and human nature maintain their separate identity without the transfer of any property or attribute of one nature to the other, else His Deity would cease to be true Deity, and humanity true humanity. Even though Christ had two natures He is never considered a dual personality. The attributes of both natures are expressed through the one Person, which is why He can seem to transfer back and forth from the expression of one or the other natures, though the attributes themselves must remain as part of whichever nature they properly belong to.[2] It is precisely because the attributes of both natures must be expressed through the one Person that Christ may seem to have contradictory qualities; be weak yet omnipotent; not know things, or increasing in knowledge and yet omniscient.[3] Christ’s person is not divided, and all statements in Scripture concern His whole indivisible person, yet the expression of certain qualities can be traced to His human nature, divine nature, or both natures. Some examples would be references to His work of redemption, which involve both natures; or references to His pre-existence, which is true only of His divine nature; or statements of Jesus as “I thirst” which can only be true of His human nature. • Christ himself declared that He had a human and divine nature. In Matthew 22:41-45, the Pharisees and Saddudees had been putting questions to Christ in an attempt to trap Him. After they exhausted their attempts, Jesus asks them a question. Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They said to Him, “The Son of David.” He said to them, “Then how does David call Him Lord, saying, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, Until I put Thine enemies beneath Thy feet?’ If David then calls Him ‘Lord’, how is He his son?” How can the Christ who was to come be David’s Lord, yet at the same time be David’s son (descendant)? In His divine nature, He was David’s God and Creator; but in His human nature He was David’s descendant, according to the flesh. This along with many other New Testament passages clearly show Jesus Himself claiming to be God, both directly and indirectly. He accepted wor-ship (Matthew 8:2; 14:33; John 20:27-29) and forgave sins (Mark 2:5-12) which the Bible says are prerogatives of God alone (Matthew 4:10). And in the case of Thomas’s worship, he calls Jesus “my Lord and my God,” titles which Jesus accepted. He also claimed to be the “I am” of Exodus 3:14, when God appeared to Moses in the burning bush (John 8:58). Some people seem to think that if Jesus was truly God, why did He not run around saying to everyone who would listen “I am God,” “I am God,” all the time. They object as to why He did not make those type of direct statements frequently. The answer to this may be found in another question. Why did not God come among us with His face shining like the sun in its strength, and with His power unveiled, clearly visible to the eye? This subject was already addressed in Chapter 5. God’s method of revelation was designed to reveal true hearts, not so overwhelm as to have awestruck humanity do slavish obeisance. How else could this have been accomplished apart from Him coming among us the way He did? The fullness of His identity partially veiled, yet unveiled only to those who truly have an interest in Him as they are the only ones who look beyond the surface. One cannot ignore the voluminous testimony of the Scriptures to the fact Jesus is declared to be God in virtually every way possible for language to communicate - and then try to rest on verses of Scripture isolated from all the rest that are expressions of His human nature which He took upon Himself in the incarnation. • The dual natures of Christ are appropriate for a Savior. The fact of one Person but two natures is brought out by many passages, and it serves to further declare the Glory of our great God and Savior. Hebrews 2:10 states that in the process of “bringing many sons to glory” the Captain of our salvation was made perfect through suffering. Hebrews 5:8 says he learned obedience through suffering. How can one who is already perfect be made perfect though suffering? How can one who knows all things learn obedience, or even need such an education? This signifies that by suffering, the Captain of salvation was perfected, in that He was fully fitted for His office as Savior. And what would the qualifications be of such an office? It includes a bond of sympathy between the Leader and the led, based on a common experience of hardship, so He can be the kind of Captain they need. A curriculum of temptation is also represented as being indispensable, by way of training for office. Hebrews 2:18 says that Jesus suffered in being tempted, consequently He can “come to the aid of those who are tempted.” Hebrews 4:15-16 says this results in our understanding that, “we do nothave a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses...” Therefore we can “draw near with confidence to the throne of grace...” knowing we “may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” The Captain becomes perfectly fit for His office by these means, among others, that through comradeship in suffering He learns that intense sympathy with His followers which gains their hearts, and so gives Him unlimited moral power over them.[4] Both His human and divine nature are involved. His human nature was subject to progression of learning. Even in His Divine nature, an aspect of His knowledge is enhanced by personally experiencing these things in an experiential way, what he had already known intrinsically. Christians come weary and beleaguered to a God like this, who was once Himself a weary wanderer as they, knowing from experience the sufferings, hardships, and temptations commonplace among the sons of Adam. Yet all this is expressed through the One person, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and serves to set forth in yet another way, how His name is truly “Wonderful” (Judges 13:18). • No middle ground: Lord, liar, or lunatic. One final thought, so well brought out by Josh McDowell [5] and C.S. Lewis is a logical argument. If Christ is not Lord, as He clearly claimed to be, then the options are limited to only two other choices; choices which most people would never dare to say! C. S. Lewis states: I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept 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 the 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 up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.[6] Lewis’ argument cannot be refuted. If Jesus was not Lord, but rather just had visions of grandeur because He was insane - He certainly would not be a good moral teacher. He would have been a madman and a lunatic! If, on the other hand, He knew He was not God, yet deliberately lied about the most crucial thing of all, His own identity, then He would have been a most wicked liar! While telling others to be honest no matter what the cost, He Himself would have been living a colossal lie! This would make Him the worst deceiver that ever lived. Worse than that, He would be the most wicked person who ever lived. Millions upon millions of people throughout the ages have dedicated there whole lives to Him - lived in jungles as missionaries, suffered deprivations and hardships, violent death and persecutions, given up wealth, money, and livelihood - all because of believing He was who He said He was. If He was not the Lord, then above all He most certainly cannot have been a good moral teacher. That is not an option concerning His identity. Logically He has to be either Lord, liar, or a lunatic. One must make their choice. [1] A.B. Bruce, The Humiliation of Christ. (New York: Hodder & Stoughton, 1879), p. 34 [2] Charles C. Ryrie, Basic Theology (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1986), p. 251. [3] John F. Walvoord, Jesus Christ Our Lord (Chicago: Moody Press, 1969), p. 116. [4] A.B. Bruce, op cit, pp. 275-276. [5] Josh McDowell, Evidence That Demands a Verdict, Vol I. (San Bernardino: Here's Life Publishers, 1979), pp. 103-107. [6] C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York: The Macmillion Company, 1952), pp. 40-41. <<<Previous chapter Next chapter>>> (Questions about God, faith, (Evolution or Creation?) and reason) Back to HOME: Christian Truth and its Defense Questions or comments? Contact Us!