Merry Christmas Series

A Christmas Message that Keeps on Giving - His Person.

Last time we looked at Jesus Christ Pre-existence; now His Person.

I. His Deity.

A. Proper names.

1. God.

The name God is applied to Him (Jn.1:1; 20:28/Rom.9:5/Tit.2:13/Heb.1:8-9).

"And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life." 1 John 5:20

It is true that the name God is sometimes applied to creatures, especially in the plural (Jn.10:34-35/Psa.82:1,6,7/Ex.4:16; 7:1; 22:28) but it is always clear whether God or the creature is meant. When the singular is used, there are modifiers that make it plain.

2. Son of God.

Over 40 times this title is applied to Christ: Mat.16:16-17; 8:29; 14:33/Mki.1:1/Lu.1:35/Mt.27:40,43/Mk.14:61-62/Jn.5:25; 9:35-37; 10:36; 11:4.

If this meant only a son of God, why did the Jews accuse Him of blasphemy?

"63 But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, "I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God." 64 Jesus *said to him, "You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN." 65 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, "He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy;" Matthew 26:63-65

Note the force of John 5:18.

Five times He is called the "only-begotten Son" - Jn. 1:14,18; 3:16,18/1 Jn.4:9. This distinguishes Him from the many sons of God.

3. Lord.

This title is applied to Him hundreds of times in the N.T. Rom.14:9/1 Cor.2:8/Ja.2:1/1 Tim.6:15/Rev.17:14; 19:16/etc.

The title Lord means "over all" and indicates sovereighty. Furthermore, it is the N.T. translation of Jehovah as well as indicating deity.

The epression "Lord of lords" (Rev.17:14 and 19:16) is the highest possible indication of Deity.

4. Jehovah [Yahweh] of the O.T., is Jesus Christ of the N.T.

a. The Shepherd (Psa.23:1)..............Jn.10:11/Heb.13:20/etc.

b. Called upon (Joel 2:32)................Rom.10:13/Ac.2:21/etc.

c. Savior (Isa.45:15,21-22)................Lu. 2:11/Mt.1:21/etc.

d. I AM (EX.3:14)..............................Jn.8:24, 58/etc.

e. Rock (Psa.18:31)...........................1 Cor.10:4; 3:11/etc.

f. Judge (Psa.75:7-9).........................Jn.5:22

g. Creator (Isa.45:18)........................John 1:3

h. Omniscient One (Jer.17:9)............Jn.16:30; 2:24-25/etc.

i. Almighty (Gen.17:1).......................Rev.4:8-11/etc.

j. Omnipresent (Jer.23:24)................Mt.18:20; 28:20/etc.

k. Eternal (Isa.44:6)...........................Rev.1:8; 21:6; 22:13/etc.

l. Immutable (Mal.3:6)......................Heb.1:10-12; 13:8/etc.

Not an exhaustive list...

B. Praise is given to Christ.

The Scripture recognize that worship is to be paid only to God, not to the creature.

"'Then Jesus *said to him, "Go, Satan! For it is written, 'YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.'" Matthew 4:10

"'25 When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and fell at his feet and worshiped him. 26 But Peter raised him up, saying, "Stand up; I too am just a man." Acts 10:25-26

"20 Now he was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; and with one accord they came to him, and having won over Blastus the king's chamberlain, they were asking for peace, because their country was fed by the king's country. 21 On an appointed day Herod, having put on his royal apparel, took his seat on the rostrum and began delivering an address to them. 22 The people kept crying out, "The voice of a god and not of a man!" 23 And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died." Acts 12:20-23

"8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 9 But he *said to me, "Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God." Revelation 22:8-9

And yet, the Lord Jesus Christ accepted worship that was given to Him (Mt.14:33/Lu.24:52; 5:8/Jn.20:28/Heb.1:6.

The same honor and praise are ascribed to Christ as to the Father (Jn.5:22-23/2 Tim.4:18/1 Pet.4:11/2Pet.3:18/Rev.1:6; 5:13).

In 2 Thess. 2:16-17, the Father and the Son are invoked to comfort the hearts of the believers [and note that in spite of the double subject, the verb "comfort" is in the singular; this is not evident in the English but is in the Greek manuscript]

Prayer is an act of worship and recognition of deity. Prayer is offered to Christ and He Himself promises to work in answer to prayer, as well as the Father (Jn.14:13-14; 15:16/Ac.4:29; 7:59; 9:13/2Tim.1:16,18/2 Cor. 12:8).

Believers are defined as those who call on the Lord (1 Cor.1:2/2 Tim.2:22).