The Trinity 12 - The Deity of Christ 1
1/27/13
One of the central doctrines of biblical orthodox Christianity is the deity of Christ. It is a doctrine that has been attacked by those outside the faith since the early days of the Church. It is doctrine that is still under attack. There are those who will knock on your door and tell you that Jesus Christ was not God. That he was “a god” but not the Almighty God. That he was the Father’s first creation, that he was/is Michael the arch angel. That he was not the creator, but a creature, that God created through Him.
My friends, let me make this clear, if you reject the Biblical teaching that Jesus Christ is God, you reject the Bible, you reject the very gospel itself. You cannot have eternal life without the belief that Jesus Christ is in fact God.
Jesus states this quite plainly in John 8:24; “I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am He you will die in your sins.” We will look at that passage a little closer in the future, but in it Jesus is in essence saying, unless you believe that I am God, that I am deity, you will die in your sins.
So we can see the importance of this doctrine of the deity of Christ. It is important that we believe it, it is important that we know where the Bible teaches it, and it is important that we can defend it from attacks.
We have come to the point of our study into the Trinity where we will begin to look at several passages of Scripture that clearly demonstrate the deity of our Lord Jesus. I believe we have demonstrated the trinity of persons in the Godhead, which of course shows that divinity of Christ. But now I want us to spend some time looking at the ways in which the Bible clearly teaches us that Jesus is God.
Please understand that when we say that we love Jesus, when we confess our love for Him, that love should inspire us to want to grow in the knowledge of Him. Think about this for a moment, suppose I said to you have some information about the life of your spouse/loved one that you did not know. That I had some wonderful information about them, that you were unaware of. I am sure you would be very interested in knowing what it was that I knew. I pray that is how you would feel about Jesus and our study of His deity.
I pray that as we look at these passages from the Word of God that you would do so with a desire to understand them. That you would grow in Christ, and grow deeper in love with your Lord and Saviour.
I have, as a Christian, over the last 28 years or so, studied the deity of Christ extensively. And I firmly believe that any honest person who studies the NT, can come to no other conclusion than that the NT does indeed teach that Jesus Christ is God.
Listen to this quote from theologian R.L. Dabney in his work, Lectures in Systematic Theology, he stated, “If the Apostles did not intend to teach this doctrine they have certainly had the remarkable ill-luck if producing the very impression which they should have avoided especially in a Book intended to subvert idolatry.”
In other words, if the writers of the NT did not believe in the deity of Christ, they certainly should have avoided giving that impression. Yet in passage after passage it is precisely that impression that they do give.
In our examination of the deity of Christ we will be breaking it down into six categories. As we look at Bible passages within these categories we will be spending more time on some than other. Some passage are richer in this truth than others.
The six categories are; 1. The Pre-existence of Christ as the Son of God 2. The Deity of Christ in the OT 3. Names of God ascribed to Christ 4. Attributes of God ascribed to Christ 5. Works of God ascribed to Christ 6. The worship of Christ
Looking now to the first category, the Pre-existence of Christ as the Son of God.
If it can be shown that Christ did in fact pre-exist, that is that He existed before creation, then this does away with both the heresies of Arianism or subordinationism, that is the teaching that Christ is a created being and not of the same nature of God. It also does away with the heresy of modalism, which is the heresy that Christ as the Son of God, did not exist prior to his virgin birth. That He and the Father are not distinct persons in the Godhead, but that are both different modes, or manifestations of God.
If it can be demonstrated that Christ pre-existed His birth in Bethlehem, and that pre-existence was as Dabney puts it, “characterized by divine works of creation and providence” then it would be clear that He is not a creature and that He existed separately from the Father.
We will look at several passages that show this, then I want to examine closely two passage in particular that show this to be true.
It should be admitted that most of the passages where we see the pre-existence of Christ are found in the writings of John. Specifically in John’s gospel and Revelation. I also want to point out that this is in no way an exhaustive list. There are numerous passage that teach the pre-existence of Christ that we will not mention.
Within Scripture we have the most direct statements of Christ’s pre-existence in that He is said to have come from heaven, or descended from Him. This is a claim made not only in the NT, but by the very words of our Lord Jesus Himself.
Let’s take a look at some of these passages. Please turn with to the gospel of John. The first verse I want us to look at is John 3:12-13; ““If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.”
Jesus here is speaking to Nicodemus, and His point is that in order to have first hand knowledge of that which is heavenly, Jesus must have come from heaven. From the context of this passage we can see that the specific knowledge that Jesus is speaking of here is the redemption of God’s people. Jesus is saying that God’s plan of redemption, that is sending His Son to die on the cross and to rise again, is completely beyond the innate knowledge of man, it must be revealed to him.
Thus the one who was with the Father has such knowledge, He in fact reveals such knowledge. Jesus Christ alone can give this heavenly knowledge because He alone has descended from heaven.
It is clear then that Jesus has pre-existed prior to His birth in Bethlehem.
I want you to move down to John 3, and look at vss. 31-34 where this truth is repeated; “He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. For He whom God has sent utters the words of God, for He gives the Spirit without measure.”
These are the words of John the Baptist, but they reinforce what Jesus had said to Nicodemus. We are told that Jesus bears witness of what He has seen and heard in heaven. It goes on to say that He is sent by God, and utters the words of God, that is God the Father.
It is clear that Jesus must have existed with the Father in heaven prior to being born in Bethlehem. For we see here that Jesus saw and heard while in heaven, we see that He was sent by the Father, and utters the Words of God and that He gives the Spirit without measure.
It should be pointed out that it is God who gives the Holy Spirit, as we are told in 1 Thess. 4:8 “Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives His Holy Spirit to you.”
It is obvious from this passage that Jesus pre-existed, but not only that He is said to be doing something that other passages tell us God does.
Turn now to John chapter 6. Two verses I want us to look at briefly; vss. 38 and 62; Both these verses give to us the words of Christ.
Vs. 38; “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of Him who sent me.”
Vs. 62; “Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?”
I would encourage you to read through John chapter 6. Jesus leaves no doubt that he existed with the Father prior to coming into the world, prior to His incarnation. In vs. 38 Jesus explains why He has come down from heaven, that is to do the will of the Father that send Him. Please do not read into this passage that somehow the will of the Father and the will of Son are at odds, and Jesus chooses to do His Father’s will rather than His own. Scripture teaches us elsewhere that the will of the Father and the Son are identical.
In vs. 62 Jesus makes it clear once again that He will return to the place where He was before. You cannot go to be place you were “before” unless you were there prior to where you are now.
Another passage from John that is worth looking at is John 16:28;
“I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”
I want you to recognize the beauty of this passage, for in it we have four core facts of our salvation.
First, take note of the two words, “came forth” is one Greek word that means “the point from which one departs.” A more literal way of saying this would be “I came out of the Father…” Here Jesus speaks of deity and his pre-existence. For He comes out of the Father, because He and the Father are of one nature, one being, yet two persons.
This bring us to the second fact, Our Lord humbles Himself and leaves the Heavenly realm in that He “comes into the world”. That is the incarnation. Jesus becomes flesh to live among men, to reveal the very Nature of God, to show mankind the Holiness and perfection of God. To make known God’s blessed gospel.
Bringing us to the third and fourth facts His death and resurrection, that He is “leaving the world and going to the Father.” Jesus comes into the world to die. To give His live for many. He is leaving the world, but death will not have the last say, He will rise again, He will return to that place He came for from and that Is the Father.
That is such a beautiful passage of Scripture and it certainly teaches the pre-existence of our Lord and Saviour.
One last passage from the gospel of John that I would like us to look at, please turn over to John 17. Here we have what is known as Jesus' high priestly prayer. This chapter of John is certainly worth reading and rereading. In fact when the great Scottish reformer John Knox was lying on his death bed, he would have this chapter read to him daily. It is indeed one of the beautiful and powerful sections of Scriptures.
I want us to take note of vss. 4 & 5, keeping in mind these are the words of our Lord and Saviour spoken to the heavenly Father. “I glorified You on earth, having accomplished the work that You gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify Me in Your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.”
Notice what is said here. Jesus states that during His earthly ministry that He has indeed brought glory to the Father. Jesus has brought praise and honor to His Father throughout His time on earth.
In fact the very incarnation, the very birth of Christ brings God glory, as we are told in John 1:14; “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, the glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
I want you to understand that when Jesus states that He has “accomplished the work that You gave me to do” He is including all the work He has done that has brought glory to the Father. That is His birth, His life, His death, His resurrection and His exaltation. He is speaking in a way that looks forward to what He will still do. Because Jesus is God, He can indeed speak this way. He is speaks with confidence that His work will be completed because He has all authority and there is nothing in heaven, nor in hell that can stop Him from completing the work the Father has given Him.
But notice in vs. 5 Jesus is praying that the Father would glorify Him IN THE FATHER’S PRESENCE, with the glory that Jesus had with the Father before creation itself.
In other words what Jesus is saying, is “Father I want to come home”. Jesus had emptied himself of this glory, left the heavenly realm, became a man, completed the work the Father had given to Him, and now He prays that He might once more enjoy this glory that He had with the Father that He had for all eternity with the Father.
We must not fail to see two things here. First, Jesus existed WITH the Father. They are not two different modes or manifestation of one God. They are separate persons. The Father was with the Son “before the world existed.” That is prior to anything being created that was created.
The second thing we must not fail to notice is that Jesus shared glory with the Father. “…glorify me in Your own presence with the glory that I had with You before the world existed.” Notice that Jesus is not asking for something that He did not have prior to His incarnation. He is not asking for more glory now that His work at been complete. He is not going back to more glory then He had before He emptied Himself and became a man. For that would be impossible.
Jesus could not pray for more glory because as God, as the Second person of the Trinity, He can be no more glorious then He already was. The glory that He had before creation with the Father, was the glory of God, and God can not be any more glorious that He is.
MacArthur puts it this way, “He is God. He will always be God. He asks no more glory than He had eternally, and will have eternally, because there isn't any more glory.”
So when we look at this portion of Scripture there is not doubt of Jesus’ pre-existence with the Father. No doubt that He was with the Father prior to creation, thus He must be creator. No doubt that He shared the glory of the Father, the glory of God, thus we see that Jesus Christ is indeed deity, He is the second person of the Godhead.
Before I move on to one more verse I want us to look at, I do want to make note within the gospel of John, Jesus repeatedly states that He was sent by the Father. Over 30 times in the gospel of John alone, Jesus uses the words “sent me” in speaking of His relationship with the Father. Over and over again Jesus said that the “Father sent me” or “Him who sent me”. Everyone of those statements implies that Jesus pre-existed His birth in Bethlehem, and that He and the Father are in fact distinct persons of the Godhead.
One last passage I want us to look at in the time we have left. While as I stated earlier, the majority of the passages where we see the pre-existence of Christ are found in the writings of John. There are several places where the other writers of Scripture make such a claim. I just want to look at one of them today.
Turn over to 1 Cor.15:47; “The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.” In the context of this passage the apostle Paul is contrasting that which mortal, with that which is immortal. In this passage He is contrasting Adam, who comes from the earth, therefore he is mortal, with Christ, who comes from heaven, that which is immortal.
The point that Paul is making is the case for the difference between Adam and Christ. Adam is a creature, Christ is not. If Christ does not pre-exist His birth at Bethlehem, then this passage does not make any sense. If Christ is created, if He comes into existence at some point, then the contrast Paul is making fails.
But it does not fail, because Christ is the pre-existent one. He was with the Father prior to being born a man. He eternally existed with the Father before the creation of the world and if He existed prior to creation, He cannot be a creature.
So there we have some verses that certainly teach the pre-existence of Christ or Lord as the Son of God. Yet we have just begun to scratch the surface. Next week we will dig deeper as we will be looking at some more passages that will leave no doubt that our Lord Jesus is in fact God of God.
I pray that today has been helpful to you. I pray that you have begun to see how important of a teaching the deity of Christ is. As I stated - I believe you cannot have eternal life without believing the Jesus Christ is in fact God. I believe the Scripture clearly teaches that. It is part of the Gospel that is the power of God unto salvation.
I pray that you believe in that gospel. I pray that God would grant you the grace to repent and place your trust and faith in Christ. Believing that He died for your sins, that He rose again on the third day, and sits at the right hand of the Father as the eternal Son of God. Any questions see me.
LET US PRAY
