The Deity of Jesus Christ
RO94-02

The Bible

So, it is very important that you understand that nobody could have made the statements that are made in the Scriptures. All the Bible, as one reads it, is in such contrast to the religious books of the world, such as the book of Mormon or the Koran, that it's just ludicrous for those books even to portray themselves as communications from God. The Bible is a fascinating book to read a book that has no mistakes in it – to read a book that has been written under the supreme control of the Spirit of God, so that a person can turn to this volume and say, "This is what God thinks. This is what God has to say."

Jesus Christ

All religious groups, therefore, which reject Jesus Christ as the sole channel of salvation, are leading their followers into hell, and no place else. And when we say that, we are not being anti-Semitic in any way to proclaim the fact that Jews are doomed to the lake of fire. It is not bigotry to declare that the Roman Catholic Church, with its works plan of salvation, is leading its millions into hell. It is not prejudice to say that the religions of Eastern mysticism are the channels into eternal death, and that that is exactly where its adherents will find themselves.

Indira Gandhi

So, it is not prejudice to say that the religious systems of Eastern mysticism are channels to eternal death. And it is not un-Christian to warn the cults, such as Mormonism, with their invented plans of salvation, that they are the agents of eternal suffering in hell for all those who follow them.

God's plan of salvation is a very simple plan, and it works because of the nature of the second person of the Godhead, upon whom it depends. That is the key to the whole thing. It is the only plan that deals with the guilt of human sin, and that's what keeps us out of heaven. It is the only plan that deals with the guilt of human sin in such a way that God's justice is satisfied, and His righteousness is preserved. And that's what he had to do. He had to take a sinner into heaven at the same time, and not violate His own justice, and at the same time preserve His own righteousness in what he was doing.

Jesus Christ

The Eternal, Only Begotten Son of God took on human form, minus the sin nature, to become the Lamb of God sacrifice to pay for the sins of the world. The unique nature, then, of Jesus Christ qualifies him alone to be the Savior of the world.

So, in Romans 8:3, we have read that: "For what the law could not do (the Mosaic Law, with its standard of absolute righteousness), in that it was weak, through the flesh (because it was undermined through the sin nature), God sending His own Son (the Son from Himself, because He was also divine), sending His Own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh." The word "likeness" looks like this in the Greek Bible. It's "homoioma." "Homoioma" means "that which is made like something." The idea is a resemblance to something. The humanity of Jesus Christ resembled the humanity of everybody else on the face of the earth. It was distinct, however, in one respect, and that is that it was free from a sin nature. So, that's why we have this comparison of: "He being like humanity, and, in fact, like sinful." And that is the word "hamartia," which means missing the mark of God's standard of absolute righteousness. It was like sinful "sarx" (flesh). The word here is used to refer to human nature contaminated by sin. So, Jesus Christ came in a literal, physical body with all the normal desires and functions of that body. But Hebrews 4:15 tells us that He was minus a sin nature.

So, we read, "For we have not an high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet apart from sin," meaning apart from a sin nature.

In Hebrew 7:26, we read, "For such an high priest was fitting for us, Who is holy; harmless; undefiled; separate from sinners; and, made higher than the heavens." Sinful flesh is man with a sin nature. The likeness of sinful man is the idea. This man, who was provided as a Savior, came in the likeness of sinful flesh. But the angel Gabriel made it very clear to the mother of Jesus, that the Son that she was to supernaturally bear, as a virgin woman, would be holy, meaning that He would be without any sin nature.

In Luke 1:35, we read, "And the angel answered and said to her, 'the Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the highest shall overshadow you. Therefore, also that Holy Thing which will be born of you shall be called the Son of God" – that Holy Thing. The Roman Catholic Church tries to explain the sinlessness of Jesus Christ by saying that was because His mother Mary had no sin nature. So, the Pope got up on his throne. And if you ever visit the Vatican in Rome, you can go into the pope's basilica, and you can see his throne sitting right up there. So, he hoofed it up onto the throne, and sat on it. And anytime he talks from that throne, that is the voice of God. And everybody puts his hands together, and all the ears are open, and everybody is awed because as long as he speaks ex-cathedra (from the throne), it is the voice of God sounding forth.

So, he got up on this throne, and he said, "I now declare that the holy mother of Jesus, the holy virgin Mary, was born without a sin nature, and thus was able to give birth to a Son who was sinless as well." Unfortunately, he never answered the question of how she got to be sinless, and why we would want to go back one step further and make her sinless. But of course, we understand why that is the case, because the Roman Catholic Church wanted to transform Mary into a Co-Redemptrix with Jesus Christ – that the Savior is Jesus and His mother, because that is the full picture of Nimrod's Babylonian mystery cult religion of the mother and child Savior system.

So, it is amazing how the Roman Catholic Church continues faithful to its pagan origins. But the Bible does not indicate that Mary was anything but a sinner. She was, in fact, one that it clearly says, "Needed a Savior," and, therefore, could not have been immaculate in her own conception. She is, in fact, one for whom Christ died.

But the Lord Jesus was indeed sinless. And that was because the sin nature is transmitted through the father, through the male sperm, not through the female ovum egg. Therefore, when God supernaturally created a body for His Son only from the female egg, it was free of all sin. Of course, only such an absolutely sinless person could qualify to be the Savior, to bear the sin of all mankind.

So, 2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us that: "He who knew no sin, either by nature or experience, became sin for us (He took our sin upon Himself), that we, in turn, by His payment, might become the righteousness of God in Him." So, He never knew sin by experience, nor did he know it by anything in the way of a polluted sin nature.

Hebrews 9:14, therefore, very explicitly declares Him to be a sinless person: "How much more shall the blood of Christ, Who through the eternal Spirit, offered Himself without spot to God. Purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God." And, of course, the writer's comparison here is: if animal sacrifices were of a significance to temporarily cover your sin, what do you think will be the significance of the life of Christ, represented by the shedding of his blood, Who was absolutely sinless.

In 1 Peter 1:19, we are told that Jesus Christ was the final Lamb of sacrifice. He was perfect in the tradition of all the animal sacrifices that had preceded: "But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish, and without spot." The Lord Jesus Christ was tempted in every respect that all men are except from the appeals of sin nature, since He did not have that.

Temptations

What Jesus Christ began, then, was a new humanity – a new creation in contrast to the fallen old creation that we have in Adam. This is what is described for us in 1 Corinthians 15:47 that says, "The first man is of the earth earthy, the Adam of the Garden of Eden. And the second man, Jesus Christ is the Lord from heaven. There is this contrast between the two. One was a fallen earthly creature. The other was the Lord from heaven.

Then Romans 8:29 says, "For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren." So, the Lord Jesus Christ is the first of a new creation, and we are part of that new creation. We're a totally new humanity, because we are in His image. And that's what is summed up for us in 2 Corinthians 5:17: "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things have become new."

So, the Lord Jesus Christ did not appear simply in flesh, as if merely a sinless human being like Adam was. He was not just a human being, nor did He appear in sinful flesh, as if He possessed a sin nature. He came like a human being, but in certain distinct differences that qualified Him to be the Savior.

The Deity of Jesus Christ

Secondly, they say the whole idea was an invention of His disciples after His death. They wanted to enhance the prestige of Jesus Christ because He had been so completely rejected by the Jewish leadership. So, they invented the idea that He was God. So, they began writing records that indicated that He was divine. But from the teachings of Christ, from His own claims, they said there is no such evidence that He was divine.

Well, I'm going to take the trouble today, as probably you never have before, to face that question, and not to simply say, "Oh, no, that's wrong." How do you know it's wrong? How do you know those people are not right? The Bible, first of all, we should point out, treats Jesus Christ as part of the Godhead. Now, that's significant. He is treated as part of the Trinity, and that treatment in itself declares that from the biblical point of view, He is God.

The Bible Claims that Jesus Christ was God

In 2 Corinthians 13:14, we have Him again included in the Trinity: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God (that is, the Father), and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen." When the apostle Paul closes this letter, he has a benediction. And whom does he include in this Trinitarian benediction, but Jesus Christ as part of the Godhead?

One more we may look at is 1 Peter 1:2, where, we read, "Elect according to the full knowledge of God the Father, through the sanctification of the Spirit (God the Holy Spirit), unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Grace unto you, and peace be multiplied." Here, the apostle Peter, in an opening salutation to his first letter, expresses that salutation in the name of the Trinity. Whom does he include in it, along with the Father and the Holy Spirit, but Jesus Christ as God the Son?

So, it is clear, first of all, that the Bible treats Jesus Christ as part of the Godhead; as part of the divine family; and, as part of the Trinity.

Now, of course, if Jesus Christ is deity, then it is obvious that He is eternal and preexistent before His incarnation in Bethlehem. You cannot have Him become God in Bethlehem. When we go back to the Old Testament, that's exactly what we find – that He was there on the scene before. Micah 5:2 says, "But you, Bethlehem Ephratah, though you be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall He come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel, whose going forth have been from of old, from everlasting." So, here is Micah saying, "I'm going to tell you where the Messiah is going to be born, in the city of Bethlehem. It's not much of a city – a little village of no significant consequence, but which will become important because of this event. And into that spot, there will be born the One who is to be the ruler in Israel; the One who is to fulfill the Davidic Covenant; and, the One who is to come as king of the Jews. And it is to be a human being, but it is to be a person who has been from everlasting. You couldn't be more explicit that the one who is born in Bethlehem was not only human, but he was the preexistent deity.

In Isaiah 9:6, we have that verse that people will be quoting a lot now at Christmas time. It says, "For unto us a Child is born (that's a human being there), unto us a Son is given (and that's deity)." Notice the distinction. A child is born – the human being was born. That's where He began. But the Son is simply given because he existed from eternity past. Then it goes on to say what will be upon this God-Man person: "The government shall be upon His shoulder," referring to the Millennial Kingdom: "His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor and the mighty God (very explicit), the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." So, when somebody comes along and says, "Oh, no, the Bible doesn't say that Jesus Christ is God. It says it in the New Testament and it says it in the Old Testament as well.

The Bible, furthermore, explicitly, in so many words, says, "Yes, He is God." And because we have this record in an inerrant Scripture, therefore, it bears authority. We can't just say, "Oh, sure, they just invented that. The disciples all ganged up together, and they decided to convey the idea that Jesus Christ was deity. That could carry some weight if the record was a questionable record. This is the most reliable record that you could find on the face of the earth. It would stand up in any court of law, when it was placed under the scrutiny of its integrity. You could not prove this document wrong. Therefore, the document stands.

So, in the first verse of the gospel of John, in John 1:1, we read that: "In the beginning was the Word" – the "logos." And this is a term referring to Jesus Christ, because the idea of "logos" (word) in the Greek conveys the concept of a physical appearance of an idea – the physical, concrete appearance of an abstract reality. So, here is the invisible God becoming visible to human eyes. And that's the reason for the use of this concept "word." In the Greek world, the word "logos" was significant as a concrete presentation of an abstract idea, which is what a word is. If you think about the word "dumb," the word "dumb" represents an idea that's abstract. If you say, "Smart," it's an idea that's an abstract idea. The word "smart" crystallizes it in a definite form. So, the "logos" here refers to Jesus Christ, as the context further indicates.

However, notice that it says, "In the beginning," which was a beginning without a beginning. This is just a human way of trying to say, "In eternity past" – no beginning: "And the Word was with God," and the expression there, in the Greek language, is face-to-face with God: "And the Word was God." The Bible, this authoritative book, says, "Yes, Jesus Christ was God." There's no question about it.

1 Timothy 3:16 says this: "And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh (Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem – deity, manifested in the flesh), justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the nations, believed on in the world, received up into glory." Certainly the disciples of Jesus Christ were quite convinced as they watched Him and listened to Him. As they watched him operate, and they listened to Him, they were quite convinced that He was God. And they expressed their own personal conviction on the basis of their eyewitness experience.

In John 6:69 says, Peter says, "And we believe, and are sure that you are that Christ, the Son of the Living God." There was no doubt in Peter's mind, and he was speaking for all of the disciples, when he said that – that Jesus was the promised Christ, the Messiah, and that He was the living God.

Titus 2:13, says, "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ." What that verse says is that it calls Jesus Christ our great God as well as our Savior.

Jesus Christ Claimed that He was God

Take a look at John 5:18: "Therefore, the Jews sought the more to kill him (Jesus), because He not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was His Father, making himself equal with God." There was no doubt in the minds of the Jews that Jesus, here, who had healed this impotent man on the Sabbath day – that He was indeed claiming to be God. And the Jews were ready to kill Him. Was that the right thing to do? Yes, it was right for the Jews to do that, because the Mosaic Law was very clear that if a human being came along and said that He was God, that's blasphemy. And the penalty for blasphemy is death. So, they were ready to kill Him. They said, "He's blaspheming. He's calling Himself the Son of God." And they knew what that term meant. If you call yourself the Son of God, you're saying that you are of the essence of God, and you're divine.

Look at John 8:58. This is even more explicit: "Jesus said unto them: Verily, verily, I said unto you, before Abraham was, I am." The term "I am" is an Old Testament expression that Jehovah Elohim used to describe Himself as God. So, if you call yourself "I am," you are saying that you are divine. And the Jews understood this very well. Jesus says, "Before Abraham existed, I was there." They said, "What do You mean? You've been born centuries after Abraham. How could you have been before Abraham?" Only because He was God. What do you think Jesus Christ is trying to say to them when he says, "Before Abraham was ever born, I was out there on the scene?" That's very clear. He's claiming to be God.

There was a popular religious cult leader in the days of my youth, in the teenage years, that I remember. He was called Father Divine. And he had a great following out in the East. And he portrayed himself among his followers as "the great I am." And his followers would all wear white robes, and they would bow before him, for he was the "I am," and he meant that he was God on this earth. So, he was viewed, if not worshiped, by his followers as "the great I am." Unfortunately, one day he died, and "the great I am" became "the great I ain't," when he woke up dead, and he found how mistaken he was. He was not "the great I am." He was not the great deity.

But the Jews knew what Jesus was claiming. Therefore, in verse 59, they were proceeding to take the Mosaic code action: "Then took they up stones to cast at Him (to kill Him). But Jesus hid Himself; went out of the temple, going through the midst of them; and, so passed by." You can hardly say that Jesus Christ did not claim to be God.

John 10:30-33 are very clear that He claimed to be deity: "'I and My Father are One.' Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, 'Many good works have I shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?' The Jews answered Him, saying, 'For a good work, we stone You not, but for blasphemy. And because that You, being a man, makes yourself God.'" Every Hebrew rabbi to this day repeats that phrase: "Jesus of Nazareth, a man made Himself out to be God, and we reject Him." And they are wrong. His claim was legitimate. The Bible revelation that Jesus Christ was God is very clear. The fact that He claimed that he was God is also very clear.

Jesus Christ was the Creator

Verse 17 says that: "He is before all things, and by Him, all things consist." So, that the Bible says, "This book (which we must believe, because of its absolute reliability) says that Jesus Christ not only was the Creator, but He is the One who now holds the molecular structure of the universe together."

Jesus Christ Did the Works of God

Jesus Christ Could Raise People from the Dead

Don't you know Oral Roberts eats his heart out when he reads that Scripture? Will this be the final touch (the epitome) of his whole carnival con program? And every now and then, one of these kooks in the charismatic movement claims to have raised somebody from the dead. Usually if they haven't raised somebody from the dead, some come up and say, "I was dead." And they tell how long they were dead. And then they say, "Then I came back, and here's what I saw out there." Well, they're probably telling the truth. They're dead from the neck up, but not dead in the clinical sense of the word.

However, here was Jesus Christ, who could take a dead person, and raise him back to life. Why did He do this? To prove that what He was saying was true. He was the Son of God. He was in the line of David. He had come to fulfill the promises. He was born to be the Savior of the world, to pay for the sins of mankind. He understood that when you looked at Him, he looked just like any other person. He had to prove His claims. He said, "Look at my works. I am proving My claims." Later on, for a short period of time, the disciples were given this power by the Lord, raising people from the dead, for the same purpose: to prove the claims. While the Bible (the New Testament Scriptures) was being written, they were given these miraculous powers. Once the Scriptures were written, the miracles of healing ceased. The ultimate expression of the gift of healing is raising people from the dead, and it ceased. So, that no longer continues.

I saw one of the carnival con men yesterday on television, in one of the local Dallas charismatic churches. He had a healing service, and he had this little old lady sitting in a wheelchair, and she was crippled. And he described all her terrible condition of her joints and so on. And then he went through his routine and said, "Now, do you believe that God can heal you and can stand up out of your chair?" She said, "Yes, I do." He said, "Do you folks believe it?" And they all clapped and cheered. And as soon as he got them to the right pitch, he pronounced his healing upon her. Then he slipped off into some gibberish tongue to make it really sound good. I liked his style. He had real class, as he gibbered out. And then he said, "Now stand up." And he took her by the hand, and she stood right up. And then he said, "Now walk." And she walked. And she just struggled along.

Then I thought about that poor fellow at the gate Beautiful, that Peter healed when he asked him for some money. And he said, "That we don't have. But what I have, I give you in the name of Jesus. Arise and walk." This poor guy, with his twisted ankle bones, had never walk in this life. He was not only healed, but you remember what the Bible says. The guy went leaping, jumping, skipping, and hopping. For all I know, he may have done a somersault. But obviously, he was not walking in some creaky way, as this poor woman, which made me suspect that she can get up out of that wheelchair, but that she generally sits in it.

This guy had real class. He said, "Now, people have been pushing you around in this wheelchair. I'm tired. I'm going to sit in it, and I want you to push me." And I noticed that he turned it around and went downhill in the auditorium. And she stood behind it, and stumbled along, and pushed him in the wheelchair, and everybody was going bananas there. And I noticed that the camera tipped a little. I said, "That sucker, he's making that look like it's really moving." I know what to do with movie cameras. I have faked people for years with movie cameras, and made impressive scenes out of nothing.

Now this isn't the kind of thing Jesus did. He took this son. The boy was dead, and the mother's heart was broken. It was all she had. She was a widow, and He raised this boy. Now that is a confirmation of deity that He could do that.

Also, He didn't do it with just one spectacular shot like that. Luke 8:49: "While He yet spoke, there came one from the ruler of the synagogue's house saying to him, 'Your daughter is dead. Trouble not the master." This man was seeking healing for his daughter. The servant comes and says, "It's too late. She's dead:" "When Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, 'Fear not. Believe only, and she shall be made well.' And when He came into the house, He allowed no one to go in except Peter and James and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden. And all wept and bewailed her. But he said, 'Weep not. She is not dead, but she is sleeping.' Then they laughed in the scorn, knowing that she was dead. And He put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, 'Maid, arise.' And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway. And He commanded to give her food." This was the clear, clear, supernatural power of God functioning in Jesus Christ.

In John 11:39, we have another example. This is in the case of Lazarus. Mary and Martha – they're all broken hearted. The brother died. "They rebuked Jesus, 'If only you'd have come, He could have lived.' Jesus said, 'Take away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, said unto Him, 'Lord, by this time he stinks, for he has been dead for four days.' Jesus said unto her, 'Didn't I say unto you that if you would believe, you should see the glory of God?' Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, 'Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I knew that You hear Me always. But because of the people who stand by, I said it, that they believe that You have has sent Me.' And when he thus had spoken, He cried with a loud voice, 'Lazarus come forth.' And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was bound with a cloth. Jesus said to them, 'Loose him and let him go.'

This is a beautiful example of the fact that Jesus genuinely raised the dead. The result was that, as you follow through in the context there, many of the people who stood by said, "Yes, this man is God. He could not do this if he was not God." And they believed. And the religious leaders themselves then decided that He should be put to death. Verse 53 says, "From that day forth, they took counsel together to put Him to death." Instead of saying, "Thank God, here is the Messiah Savior we've looked for," they proceeded to kill Him.

Miracles

This is the person of the Trinity. This is the person that the Bible has taken great pains to make it clear that He is Savior, and you are secure in that salvation, because He was something more than Adam. He was not just another nice Adam who made it, and who perhaps, down the line, can unmake it. This is God, and He is perfect. What He does is perfect, and He keeps it perfect.

However, for you to be fully convinced of that, you're going to have to take time to go through the Scriptures. So, next time, we'll look at some of these healings, and then take a look at how degrading what the charismatics do. What clowns they are when we look in the Scriptures and see what real healing is. Thank God for a Savior who is more than human, and therefore, fully capable of performing everything that He has promised to give us.

Dr. John E. Danish, 1977

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