The Trinity 17
The Deity of Christ 6
Names of God
3/03/13
Think about this for a moment. How would you describe the color green to a person who has been blind all their life? That would a rather difficult task. It would be difficult because the terms you would use such as it is the color of grass, or trees in the summer, those terms would be useless because the person would be unfamiliar with them.
I believe that illustrates the difficulty we sometimes have in explaining the Triune nature of God, because we have nothing to say, what it is like… Because God is like nothing that we know. As I have said that anything we do know about God, comes from God. It must be revealed by God.
And because it is something that is revealed by God, we must treat it for what it is, and that is a very precious gift. So I want you think about this study into the Trinity as just that, a blessed gift from God, for by it we grow in the knowledge in the one who is our Lord and Saviour.
Today we continue to look at the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ and we turn now to the third category, and that is the Names/name of God ascribed to Christ. Though many folks seek to deny it, Jesus Christ is clearly and plainly called God in the NT. Today we will be looking at several passages where the name or names that are used of God are ascribed to Christ. I will also point out that this list is not exhaustive.
Of course one of the most obvious passage calling Jesus God is John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” We have already looked at that passage in detail so let us most on to some others.
Please turn with me to John 20. Chapter 20 of the gospel of John begins the narration of the resurrection of Christ. Looking down to vs. 19 we see the Jesus appears to His disciples in room where they are hiding out of fear of the Jewish leaders. There is however someone missing from the group and that is Thomas.
When Thomas does show up the disciples tell him that they have seen the risen the Lord. Thomas makes the statement, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”
Now look at vss. 26-29; “Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.””
The first thing to point out is that Jesus knows of the skepticism of Thomas even though He was not physically present when Thomas made the remark. So when Jesus does appear to the disciple again, this time with Thomas, He turns His attention to Thomas.
Jesus here gives a call to Thomas to believe. We are not told whether Thomas actually touches Christ, but Thomas profession of faith is quite clear as to what he believes ABOUT Christ.
We should note that the text statement that Thomas “answered him”, He is speaking to Jesus. His faith is the fact that Jesus is “My Lord and my God!” There is not reason what so ever, either in the context or other wise for not seeing the Thomas is calling Jesus is Lord and his God.
It must be pointed out that Jesus does not rebuke Him. Certainly Jesus would have if He were in fact not God, for no created being that is from God would accept should a title. But rather then rebuke Thomas, Jesus pronounces a blessing on Him. Jesus goes on to say that while Thomas believed because He had seen Jesus, Blessed are those who have not seen Jesus physically yet believe.
And believed what? The context is clear, that Jesus Christ is our Lord and God. That is the profession of faith we must make if we are to be as Jesus states here, blessed.
I am at a loss as to how one can read this passage any other way. It is a clear statement of the deity of Christ.
Moving to the next passage I want us to look at, Romans 9:4-5; “They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.”
In this section of Scripture Paul is discussing the rejection of Christ by the Jews as a whole. In reading that from the ESV it seems to be quite clear that this passage attributes deity to Jesus Christ. However not all translations do this. In fact this passage has been disputed by many.
We should understand that in most early Greek manuscripts of the NT there is no punctuation. So it becomes something the interpreter must do. With the passage, some punctuate this in such a way the ascribes deity to Christ, while others make the last phrase a doxology to the Father. Simply put, some say that the first part of the verse talks about Christ, the second part, talks about the Father. While others say that the whole verse speaks of Christ.
There are a few reason why we should see this as a reference to the deity of Christ, and not a doxology to the Father. Just to give you a couple, first, it would appear awkward to change the subject that abruptly. Paul is speaking about the Christ, (note that this is a title, not a name), that is the Christ being born of Jewish descent, and for him to all of a sudden throw in a doxology about the God the Father, does not seem natural.
We can also point out that the that early Fathers, many whose native language was Greek most often take these words to refer to our Lord Jesus Christ.
There are other arguments that can be given, and there are some that oppose this view, but I believe, with a host of others, that Romans 9:5 is indeed a declaration of the deity of Jesus Christ.
Looking to our next passage which is going to be Titus 2:11-14; “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self–controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”
I want us to look at the flow of this passage and what it is saying. Paul states that the “grace of God appeared bringing salvation for all people”. It is obvious that Paul is speaking of the coming of Jesus Christ.
He goes on to say that through that grace we are to forsake ungodliness and the things of this world, as we wait for our blessed hope.
And what is the blessed hope, “the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,” That is the second coming of Christ.
Then Paul goes on to tell us that us that it was Christ who gave Himself to redeem us for sin and “to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”
Once more, with just a simple reading of the text it appears quite clear that Paul here, is giving Jesus the title “great God and Saviour.” Yet there are some who say that this is not the case. They say that both terms “great God and Saviour” do not refer to Jesus. Paul is talking about the Father when He says great God, and Jesus when speaking about Saviour.
This view does not make sense for a couple reasons, but I will give just one. There is no reason at all within the context to introduce another person. It is clear that Paul is talking about the return of Jesus as our blessed hope, as is equally clear he talking about Jesus as the one who has redeemed us. So these folks would have us to believe that Paul is speaking of Jesus all the way through this verse, with the exception of when he use the word God.
That view does not make sense. There is no reason, other than a bias against the doctrine of the deity of Christ, to hold that view.
But I want you to see that the teaching of the deity in Christ in Titus 2:14 does not end there. Notice why it is that Jesus redeemed us; “…to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”
This statement is very similar to what is written in Ezekiel 37:23; “They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.”
It should be pointed out that word’s “purify” in Titus 2:14, and “cleanse” in Ezekiel. 37:23 are the same Greek word.
In Ezekiel we are given the words of Yahweh. He is speaking of the redemption of His people, and Paul, who certainly knew his Bible uses those same words to speak of the work of Christ.
I don’t believe we can just call this a coincidence. For elsewhere in the OT Yahweh calls his people His “Own possession” using the same phrase that Paul uses in Titus.
What I am getting at is that in the context here in Titus 2, Paul uses the same terms that were used in the OT by Yahweh to describe His people and Paul applies them to those who Jesus has redeemed. So calling Jesus our “great God and Saviour” fits in perfectly this context, and certainly Paul, who again was a very learned Jew, knew exactly what he was doing when he penned these words.
That is he was making a claim to the deity of Christ.
Please turn with me now to 2 Peter 1:1; “Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:”
Once more it is my belief, along with many others, that we have a clear declaration of the deity of Jesus Christ. But there are some that say that there are two persons being mentioned here. God, the Father, and Jesus Christ the Saviour. In fact one translation put the word “the” before Saviour to stress that they are two different persons.
But here is the problem with that. Without getting too technical, there is a rule in Greek grammar called the Gransville Sharp’s rule. Basically what it states is that when there is a particular construction in the Greek; the titles will always refer to the same person and that is what we have here in 2 Peter 1:1.
To demonstrate this point, we have that same construction in 2 Peter 1:11, as well as other places in 2 Peter. But look at 2 Peter 1:11. “For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
Now it is obvious that only one person is being spoken of here. Jesus Christ is both Lord and Saviour. No one argues that point and no translation that I know of translates it as two persons.
But that is the same construction of the Greek that is found in 2 Peter 1:1. So there is no reason, again other then a bias against the deity of Christ, for saying that both titles, God and Saviour, are being applied to Jesus Christ.
So once again we have an explicit affirmation of the deity of our Lord Jesus.
Please turn with me now to Hebrews 1:5-12; ““For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”?” And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” Of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.” But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.””
This is certainly a powerful verse, let go through it. In the context the writer of Hebrews is demonstrating the preeminence of Jesus Christ the Son of God, over the angels. I do not know how a person can read this passage and come away with any though thought that Jesus is Michael the Archangel.
It begins by saying with the rhetorical question, which angel did God ever call His Son. That answer of course is none.
That passage goes on to say that the ALL the angels of God will worship Christ the Lord. This passage is talking about true religious worship. It is speaking of worship that only God is worthy of. Yet God calls to the angels to worship His Son.
To suggest that God would call upon His angels to worship another angel is to suggest that God is calling upon His angles to commit idolatry. Calling upon them to sin. The context of the passage simply will not allow such a view.
One translation, the NWT of Jehovah's Witnesses translates Hebrews 1:6 as “And let all God’s angels do obeisance to him.” But do not be decieved by this. What is telling is that over and over again in the NWT this word is translated “worship”. Yet when you have it directed to Christ, then they use the term obeisance. It is simply an attempt to hide the fact that God calls on the angels to worship His Son.
That passage then goes on to state, “But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever…” Here is a quote from Psalm 45 and to be honest this can be translated, “God is Your Throne…” which not surprisingly is how the NWT translates it, but once again we can see that the context suggests that the after calling upon the angels to worship the Son, the Father would have no problem referring to the Son as God.
But also notice that in vs.10 the writer of Hebrews goes on to quote Psalm 102:26-27, a Psalm that speaks directly about God, and he applies it to the Son. It tell us that the Son laid the foundation of the earth…” and that “the heavens are the work of your hands…” That is the hands of the Son of God. It goes on to say of the Son that “…you are the same, and your years will have no end.”
In other words, the Son is creator, the Son is eternal, the Son is God. Keep in mind as well it is said in Hebrews 1 that it is the Father that states these things about the Son, it is the heavenly Father that testifies to the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
When a person reads Hebrews 1 honestly and in context, I do not see that you can not see a beautiful declaration of the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ. And it is a pronouncement of the deity of the Son of God, by none other than the Father Himself. Four times in that short passage we read that it is the Father who says these things.
One more name of God that is applied to Christ that I want to deal with this morning. Please turn to the Book of Revelation. There are three passages I want us to look at. The first is Revelation 1:7-8; “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.””
Now look at Revelation 1:17-18; “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.”
One more, Revelation 22:12-13; ““Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.””
As most of you may know Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and Omega is the last. It would be just like saying that “A and Z”. It would bring the understanding of first and last, beginning and the end. Here we see that the Lord God is the Alpha and Omega. Yet in Revelation 1:17-18 and 22:12-13 it is the Lord Jesus who is speaking.
The point is there can only be one first and last, only one beginning and end, only one Alpha and Omega, and it is that is Yahweh. As we read in Isaiah 41:4 for example, “Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD (Yahweh), the first, and with the last; I am he.”
And who is Yahweh, Father, Son, Holy Spirit. So that the title Alpha and Omega would apply to each member of the Godhead.
So we have looked a several passage today were Jesus is called either God outright or given a name that is only to be used of God. Our case for the deity of Christ is indeed getting stronger and stronger. I want to remind you as well, that what we have looked at today is not an exhaustive list. Many more passage could be quoted.
My prayer is that you are convinced of two things. First, the belief that Jesus Christ was both fully man and fully God. That He was and is deity. But that you would also see how important that belief is. As Jesus our Lord Himself stated to Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” That is believed that Jesus was both Lord and God.
May your belief, your faith be in Christ. Repenting and believing that He died for your sins, and that He rose from the dead. That He sits as the eternal Son of God at the right hand of the Father.
For that is the message of the gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation.
LET US PRAY.
