FROM THE GARDEN TO THE CROSS
A STUDY OF OUR LORD’S PASSION
BY
A. B. CAMERON M.A. D.D.
LONDON
ISBISTER & COMPANY Limited
15 & 16 Tavistocic Street Covent Garden 1896
Thou who tor me didst feel such pain, Whose precious blood the cross did stain, Let not those agonies be vain! “
This 16 chapter work has a lot of scanning errors, but it is a very good work on the passion of Christ. Continue reading »
THE SEVEN WORDS ON THE CROSS
St Robert Bellarmine
This is a very large and extensive work on Christ’s saying on the cross by Bellarmine (Catholic). Even though it is Catholic, it is a very notable work on Christ’s sayings, well worth examining when studying this topic. Bellarmine’s work is divided into two books, the first deals with the first first three sayings, and the second book with the last three sayings.
Nihil Obstat:
EDWARD A. CERNY, S.S., D.D.
Censor Librorum
Imprimatur:
FRANCIS P. KEOUGH, D.D
Archbishop of Baltimore
See also
THE SEVEN WORDS ON THE CROSS
St Robert Bellarmine
This is a very large and extensive work on Christ’s saying on the cross by Bellarmine (Catholic). Even though it is Catholic, it is a very notable work on Christ’s sayings, well worth examining when studying this topic. Bellarmine’s work is divided into two books, the first deals with the first first three sayings, and the second book with the last three sayings.
Nihil Obstat:
EDWARD A. CERNY, S.S., D.D.
Censor Librorum
Imprimatur:
FRANCIS P. KEOUGH, D.D
Archbishop of Baltimore
See also
Divine Attributes
But there is a second line of proof that Jesus Christ is God, a proof equally convincing, and that is, all the five distinctively Divine attributes are ascribed to Jesus Christ, and “all the fulness of the Godhead” is said to dwell in Him. There are five distinctively Divine attributes, that is, five attributes that God alone possesses. These areOmnipotence, Omniscience, Omnipresence, Eternity and Immutability. Each one of these distinctively Divine attributes are ascribed to Jesus Christ. The Deity of Jesus Christ by R. A. Torrey
The final option (number 5) is a possibility, but Scripture does not present Jesus as a being different from what we have in God incarnate.
Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. (Compare with Mal 3:6 where “Lord” is Jehovah; James 1:7)
The fact that Jesus is eternally the same in his essence is something that no creature can ever claim. God is given the attribute of eternal “sameness” (Heb 1:12; Ps 102:27; Isa 41:4), which would mean in his essence and nature; he never changes; he always exists. Our best and most probably option, that which agrees most clearly with Scripture is that Jesus is God incarnate. 1Tim 3:16 describes Jesus as “God was manifest in the flesh”. You cannot get clearer than that. This is God incarnate.
Eternity is also ascribed to Him. We are told in John 1:1 that “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” In John 8:58 Jesus Himself said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” Note that the Lord Jesus did not merely say that “before Abraham was I was,” but that “before Abraham was, I AM,” thus declaring Himself to be the eternal “I AM.” Even in the Old Testament we have a declaration of the eternity of the Christ who was to be born in Bethlehem. In Micah 5:2 we read, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” And in Isaiah 9:6 we are told of the child that is to be born, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” And in Hebrews 13:8 we are told, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” The Deity of Jesus Christ by R. A. Torrey
First of all, omnipotence is ascribed to Jesus Christ. Not only are we taught that Jesus had power over diseases and death and winds and sea and demons, that they were all subject to His word, and that He is far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in the world to come (Eph. 1:20-23), but in Hebrews 1:3 it is said in so many words that He “[upholdeth] all things by the word of his power.” The Deity of Jesus Christ by R. A. Torrey
What we see in the person of Jesus Christ is power which is not granted to him by God the Father, but power which naturally of Jesus himself flows from himself. This power is direct testimony to Jesus divine character, to his being God.
.The Blood of the Lamb. The conception of the Lamb slain is involved also in the expression “the blood of the Lamb”; but “the blood of the Lamb” is most definitely related to the salvation of men from sin. Such a connection is established even in the first chapter — “Unto him that loveth us, and loosed us from our sins by his blood” (Rev 1.5). And then of those before God in white robes the elder says: “These are they that come out of the great tribulation, and they washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev 7.14). And speaking of the conquest over “the accuser of our brethren,” Saint Johnsays: “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb” (Rev 12.11).
The Lamb and the Book. As to the meaning of this “book written within and on the back, close sealed with seven seals” (Rev 5.1), many opinions have been given; but, with any possible view, Saint John is paying an extraordinary tribute to the power of the Lamb. He alone can open the peculiar book. And I think we may safely say more, even that Saint John himself furnishes the clue to his meaning. A little later, in the ninth verse of this fifth chapter, we read: “And they sing a new song, saying, Worthy art thou to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and didst purchase unto God with thy blood men of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation.” This, to me, means, when put into simple phrase, that the Lamb of God alone has power to save men, and he has this power because he died for their sins. That is, the strange, difficult book was the problem of human redemption. And, further, the elaborate description of the book is but a figurative way of saying that the moral difficulties of redemption were almost insuperable. In fact, all through Saint John’s peculiar imagery, there is a most intense moral emphasis. His throne of God is nothing whatever but the moral law.
The Lamb and the Redeemed. The first thing to note as to the redeemed is that they do not come out of the twelve tribes alone. “After these things I saw, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation and of all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb “(Rev 7. 9). Thus, redemption is lifted out of ethnic locality and given a racial extent. Again, these redeemed men are in a relation of loyalty and fellowship with the Lamb. “These are they that follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth” (Rev 14.4). And, again and again, we have the idea that the redeemed absolutely belong to the Lamb by purchase. They “were purchased from among men” (Rev 14.4, etc.).
The Lamb and the Throne of God. In almost every part of the entire book the Lamb sustains a peculiar relation to the enthroned God. And the emphasis of this peculiar relation culminates in the ascription of worship “unto him that sitteth on the throne and unto the Lamb”: “And every created thing which is in the heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, and all things that are in them, heard I saying, Unto him that sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb, be the blessing, and the honor, and the glory, and the dominion, for ever and ever” (Rev 5.13). Olin Alfred Curtis (1850-1918) - The Christian Faith chapter 16 (1905)
Omniscience is also ascribed to Him. We are taught in the Bible that Jesus knew men’s lives, even their secret history (John 4:16-19), that He knew the secret thoughts of men, knew all men, knew what was in man (Mark 2:8; Luke 5:22; John 2:24,25), which knowledge we are distinctly told in 2 Chronicles 6:30 and Jeremiah 17:9-10, that God alone possesses. We are told in so many words in John 16:30 that Jesus knew “all things,” and in Colossians 2:3we find that in Him “are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” The Deity of Jesus Christ byR. A. Torrey
Omnipresence is also ascribed to Him. We are told in Matthew 18:20 that where two or three are gathered together in His Name, that He is in the midst of them, and in Matthew 28:20that wherever His obedient disciples should go, He would be with them, even unto the end of the age, and in John 14:20 and 2 Corinthians 13:5 we are told that He dwells in each believer, in all the millions of believers scattered over the earth. In Ephesians 1:23 we are told that He “filleth all in all.” The Deity of Jesus Christ by R. A. Torrey
His immutability is also taught in the passage just quoted from Hebrews, and in the first chapter of the same book, in verses eleven and twelve, we find that while even the heavens change, the Lord Jesus does not change. The exact words are, “They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as cloth a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.”
Each one of the five distinctively Divine attributes were ascribed to our Lord Jesus Christ. And in Colossians 2:9 we are told in so many words, “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily [in a bodily form].” Here again we might rest our case, for what has been said under this heading, even if taken alone, clearly proves the absolute Deity of our Lord Jesus Christ. It shows that He possesses every perfection of nature and character that God the Father possesses. The Deity of Jesus Christ by R. A. Torrey
“For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth him all things that himself doeth: and he will show him greater works than these, that ye may marvel” (John 5:20). Here again the carnal mind is puzzled. If Christ be the Son of God why does He need to be “shown.” When we “show” a child something it is because it is ignorant. When we “show” the traveler the right road, it is because he does not know it. Refuge is sought again in the mediatorship of Christ. But this destroys the beauty of the verse and mars the unity of the passage. What seems to point to an imperfection or limitation in Christ’s knowledge only brings out once more His matchless excellency.
“For the Father loveth the Son and showeth him all things that himself doeth.” The opening word “For” intimates there is a close connection between this and the verse immediately preceding, as well as with the whole context. It intimates that our Lord is still submitting the proof that He was “equal with God.” The argument of this verse in a word is this: The Father has no secrets from the Son. Because He is the Son of God, the Father loveth Him; that is to say, because they are in common possession of the same infinite perfections, there is an ineffable affection of the Father to the Son, and this love is manifested by the Father “showing the Son all things.” There is no restraint and no constraint between them: there is the most perfect intimacy because of their co-equality.Let me try to reduce this profound truth to a simple level. If an entire stranger were to visit your home, there are many things you would not think of “showing” him—the family portrait-album for example. But with an intimate friend or a loved relative there would be no such reluctance. The illustration falls far short we know, but perhaps it may help some to grasp better the line of thought we are seeking to present. Arthur Pink - Exposition of the Gospel of John, Chapter 18
But not only do the words “the Father loveth the Son” make manifest the perfect intimacy there is between them, but the additional words “showeth him all things that himself doeth” evidences another of the Divine glories of Christ, namely, the absolute equality of intelligence that there is between the Father and the Son. Let us again bring the thought down to a human level. What would be the use of discussing with an illiterate person the mathematics of the fourth dimension? What’s the value of taking a child in the first grade and “showing” him the solution of a problem in algebra? Who, then, is capable of understanding all the ways and workings of God? No mere creature. Fallen man is incapable of knowing God. The believer learns but gradually and slowly, and only then as he is taught by the Holy Spirit. Even the unfallen angels know God’s mind but in part—there are things they desire “to look into” (1 Pet. 1:12). To whom then could God show the full counsel of His mind? And again we answer, To no mere creature, for the creature however high in rank has no capacity to grasp it. The finite cannot comprehend the infinite. Is it not self-evident, then, that if the Father showeth the Son “all things that himself doeth” He must be of the same mind as the Father? that they are one, absolutely equal in intelligence! Christ has the capacity to apprehend and comprehend “all things that the Father doeth,” therefore, He must be “equal with God,” for none but God could measure the Father’s mind perfectly.
“The idea seems to be this, that the love of the Father, and of the Son, their perfect complacency in each other, is manifest in the perfect knowledge which the Son has of the period at which, the purpose for which, and the manner in which, the Divine power equally possessed by them is to be put forth. It is in consequence of this knowledge, as if our Lord had said—‘That in this case (the healing of the impotent man) I have exercised Divine power while My Father was exercising it’
“And He adds, ‘Still further—still more extraordinary manifestations of this community of knowledge, will, and operation of the Father, and of the Son, will be made.’ ‘He will show him greater works than these, that ye may marvel,’ or ‘that ye shall marvel’; that is, we apprehend, ‘the Son, in consequence of His perfect knowledge of the mind, and will, and operations of His Divine Father, will yet make still more remarkable displays of that Divine power which is equally His Father’s and His own’—such displays as will fill with amazement all who witness them. What these displays were to be, appears from what follows: He had healed the impotent man, but He was soon to raise to life some who had been dead; nay, at a future period He was to raise to life all the dead and act as the Governor and Judge of all mankind” (Dr. John Brown). Arthur Pink - Exposition of the Gospel of John, Chapter 18
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24). Once more we find the Lord, as in verse 17, linking Himself in closest union with the Father: “heareth my Word, and believeth him that sent me.” But as we have already dwelt at such length on the dominant thought running all through our passage, we turn now to consider other subordinate though most blessed truths. This verse has been a great favorite with the Lord’s people. It has been used of God to bring peace and assurance to many a troubled soul. It speaks of eternal life as a present possession—”hath everlasting life,” not shall have when we die, or when the resurrection morning comes. Two things are here mentioned which are evidences and results of having everlasting life, though they are usually regarded as two conditions. The hearing ear and the believing heart are the consequences of having eternal life and not the qualifications for obtaining it. Then it is added, “and shall not come into condemnation’’: this guarantees the future—”There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). No condemnation for the believer because it fell upon his Substitute. Another reason why the believer shall not come into condemnation is because he has “passed from death,” which is the realm of condemnation, “into life.”
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live” (John 5:25). This continues the same thought as in the previous verse, though adding further details. ‘The dead shall hear:” what a paradox to the carnal mind! Yet all becomes luminous when we remember that it is the voice of the Son of God they hear. His voice alone can penetrate into the place of death, and because His voice is a life-giving voice, the dead hear it and live. The capacity to hear accompanies the power of the Voice that speaks, and it is just because that Voice is a life-giving one that the dead hear it at all, and heating, live. Here then is the sixth proof presented for the Deity of Christ: the Son claims absolute equality with the Father in the power to give life.
“For as the Father has life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself” (John 5:26). This confirms what we have just said above, while bringing in one further amplification. The Father hath “life in himself.” “It belongs to His nature; He has received it from no one; it is an essential attribute of His necessarily existing nature: He so has life that He can impart, withdraw, and restore it to whomsoever He pleases. He is the fountain of all life. All in heaven and in earth who have life, have received it from Him. They have not life in themselves” (Dr. John Brown). Now in like manner the life of Christ is not a derived life. “In him was life” (John 1:4). He is able to communicate life to others because the Father hath “given to the Son to have life in himself.” The word “given” must be understood figuratively and not literally, in the sense of appointed, not imparted: see its usage in Isaiah 42:6; 49:8; 55:4. So also the word “given him to have,” signifies to hold or administer. Thus, inasmuch as all creatures live and move and have their being in God, but in contrast from them Christ has “life in himself,” He cannot be a mere creature but must be “equal with God.” Arthur Pink - Exposition of the Gospel of John, Chapter 18
When we say that Jesus is the second Adam, it speaks of Jesus’ fulfillment of all that man could have been if man did not sin. The Bible makes no special concessions in hiding the obvious and gross sins of the saints of God. From Moses fumbling errors and resulting exclusion from the promised land, to King David’s sin with Uriah and Beth-Sheba, resulting in his later embarrassment by his own children, to Peter’s denial of Christ at his trial, the Bible accurately tells us of the foibles and failures of God’s children. This being the obvious tenor of God towards the sins and failings of His children, we see no sin in the life of Jesus Christ.
As the head of the human race, Jesus encapsulates both the holiness and purity of God, and yet he is the essence of man (weak and tempted as men).
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We see from the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, even in the time he was a child visiting the temple (Luke 2:46-47) that Jesus had a divine authority in His character. Perhaps other men of God also had this divine authority in his character, ministry, and teaching, but not had it like Jesus.
5. Jesus ever regards himself as the final authority for men. Notice the tone of authority in his forms of speech: “Verily, verily, I say unto you;” “Ye have heard how it hath been said, but I say unto you.” Sometimes the strangest thing in his speech is not its content, but its manner, the way it manifests an absolute consciousness that he himself is the last court of appeal. (See Saint Matt. 5.18-39 and Saint John 14.2, 3.)
6. Jesus regards himself as the supreme Master of men. As supreme Master he demands obedience. “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Saint Luke 6.46; compare with Saint John 21. 22.)
7. As a further revelation of the consciousness of mastership over men, notice our Lord’s claim upon their love “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Saint Matt. 10.37; and, as a significant background, read the passage in Saint Matt. 22.37-39). Olin Alfred Curtis(1850-1918) - The Christian Faith chapter 16 (1905)
“And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not” (John 5:38). Here our Lord begins to make solemn application of what He had said to the consciences and hearts of these Jews. Note the awful charges which He brings against them: “ye have not his word abiding in you” (verse 38); “Ye will not come to me” (verse 40); “ye have not the love of God in you” (verse 42); “ye receive me not” (verse 43); “ye seek not the honor that cometh from God only” (verse 44); “ye believe not” (verse 47). But notice carefully the basic charge: “ye have not his word abiding in you.” This explained all the others. This was the cause of which the others were but the inevitable effects. If God’s Word has no place in man’s hearts they will not come to Christ, they will not receive Him, they will not love God, and they will not seek the honor that cometh from God only. It is only as the Word is hidden in our hearts that we are preserved from sinning against God. Arthur Pink - Exposition of the Gospel of John, Chapter 19.
17. We have caught glimpses of our Saviour’s redemptional consciousness, here and there, during his active ministry; but the inquiry naturally arises, After his resurrection, does he manifest the same consciousness, the same conception of himself? “And when they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Saint Matt. 28.17-20; compare with Saint Mark 16.14-16; also with Saint Luke 24.44-49; also with Acts 1.6-8). The rationalistic contention that this passage reveals an altogether different attitude from that of Jesus before his crucifixion is such a contention as we would expect from men who have never caught the spirit and progressive method in our Lord’s mission of redemption. But I am quite sure that to the real Christian consciousness this most extraordinary passage effectually appeals as an indorsement, in succinct expression, of the same redemptional consciousness which our Saviour had during his active ministry. The passage is neither more nor less than the conjoining, for the establishment and future work of the Christian church, of all the tremendous claims which our Lord had ever made. Olin Alfred Curtis(1850-1918) - The Christian Faith chapter 16 (1905)
“For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will” (John 5:21). This verse presents the fourth proof of Christ’s Deity. Here He affirms His absolute equality with the Father in sovereign rights. This affords further evidence that the Lord Jesus was not here speaking as the dependent Servant, but as the Son of God. He lays claim to Divine sovereignty. The healing of the impotent man was an object lesson: it not only demonstrated His power, but it illustrated His absolute sovereignty. He had not healed the entire company of impotent folk who lay around the Pool; instead, He had singled out just one, and had made him whole. So He works and so He acts in the spiritual realm. He does not quicken (spiritually) all men, but those “whom He will.” He does not quicken the worthy, for there are none. He does not quicken those who seek quickening, for being dead in sin, none begin to seek until they are quickened. The Son quickeneth whom He will: He says so, that ends the matter. It is not to be reasoned about, but believed. To quicken is to impart life, and to impart life is a Divine prerogative. How this confirms our interpretation of the previous verses! It is the Divine rights of Christ which are here affirmed.“For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.” The verse opens with the word “for,” showing it is advancing a reason or furnishing a proof in connection with what had been said previously. In our judgment it looks back first to verse 19 and gives an illustration of “what things soever he (the Father) doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise”—the Father quickens, so does the Son. But there is also a direct connection with the verse immediately preceding. There he had referred to “greater works” than healing the impotent man. Here, then, is a specimen—quickening the dead: making alive spiritually those who are dead in sins. This is a further demonstration of His absolute equality with the Father. Arthur Pink - Exposition of the Gospel of John, Chapter 18
First, the fact that “all that are in the graves shall hear” the voice of Christ and shall “come forth,” proves that He is far more than the most exalted creature. Who but God is able to regather all the scattered elements which have gone to corruption! Arthur Pink -Exposition of the Gospel of John, Chapter 18
God will raise the Dead
Romans 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Jesus will raise the Dead
John 2:19 Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
God
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the
beginning with God”
This passage asserts that in the beginning existed the Word (Logos). This Word is further made clear that it is Jesus in John 1:14-15 ”made flesh, and dwelt among us… John bare witness of him“. Our point here is that “beginning” is before creation. This is obviously in view, a pre-creation world or existence of God. There are three assertions here: (1) The word was from the beginning, (2) the word was with God, (Greek pros or before, or face to face with. Pros means equality or before on an equal footing or basis) (3) the Word was God. There is a co-existence of the Word and God. We coexist with God, but not from the beginning of all things. Furthermore, this “Word” person is clearly declared to be “God.” Whatever God is, this “Word” is that. As I said, John 1:14-15 makes clear that this “Word” is Jesus Christ.
Additional Note on the New World Translation of the Bible (of the Jehovah’s Witnesses) - The NWT places a most disrupting indefinite article “a” before the word God in this verse, making it read “the Word was a god”. The additional change of a lower case “g” makes this a very clear reading that their translators believe that Jesus is not God, fully in the most fullest sense of the word. Indeed a study into their doctrine shows that they believe Jesus is “the son of God” which for them is not sharing the very essence and substance of God the Father, Jehovah (the Almighty). The key point to see in this issue of the article in John 1:1 is that the Jehovah’s Witnesses predetermine before approaching the Scriptures that Jesus is not God, and on that basis they slant everything to agree with this predisposition even though the evidence against it is great. They reason, God cannot be “with God” or beside himself. Those who accept the doctrine of the Trinity well understand this is completely possible, but those who refuse the doctrine of the Trinity have to twist what the Scriptures actually say. Remember that the JWs always present themselves as the only valid interpreter of Scriptures, and they are the “best Bible students” there are. They are never wrong, well, except in setting dates constantly, and doctrinal points of mammoth value like this one, and well, they are also wrong in just about everything else.
First of all, let’s start by declaring that in a sense, the adding of indefinite articles to nouns is a valid thing to do in Greek. There is no indefinite articles (“a” or “an”) in Greek, so one must be added as needed in order to make the translation smooth. But in this particular case, it confuses more than clarifies anything. Whenever you have a construction of A=B, where two things are logically joined by the verb of being, we need to understand what that communicates. When I say, “the apple is red”, I am using the word “red” as a predicate adjective, and I am attributing the quality of “red” to the apple. If I use a noun after the verb, then it is a predicate noun. “Chester is a cat.” We freely insert the indefinite article (“a” or “an”) as needed to make the sentence flow smoothly. But in analyzing the matter, Chester has all the qualities of whatever a cat is. That is the construction. In Greek as well as English, the predicate noun is “God”, and whatever God is, the Word is that thing.
A Greek scholar by the name of Colwell formulated a rule which states that a definite predicate nominative never takes an article when it precedes the verb as we find in John 1:1. To defend his point the student is asked to insert the indefinite article “a” before “God” in these passages with the same grammatical structure, and they obviously do not make good sense: Matthew 5:9; 6:24; Luke 1:35, 78; 2:40; John 1:6, 12, 13, 18; 3:2, 21; 9:16, 33;Romans 1.7, 17, 18; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 15:10; Philippians 2.11, 13; Titus 1:1. This method of adding the “a” is not done in their version Matthew 5:9;6:24; Luke 1:35, 78; John 1:6, 12,13, 18; Romans 1:7, 17, etc. Another Greek scholar is A.T. Robertson, which the Jehovah’s Witnesses twist one of his quotes to support themselves. They quote Robertson, “among the ancient writers ho theos was used of the god of absolute religion in distinction from the mythological gods.” (quoted from page 776 of the appendix to New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures). But in the following sentence in Robertson’s work, he continues, “In the New Testament, however, while we have pros ton theon (John 1:1,2) it is far more common to find simple theos, especially in the Epistles.” The point is that NT writers frequently used the simple theos (God) in reference to the true God far more frequently that for false gods. (See for example the following Matthew 4:3, 4; 12:28; 28:43; Luke 20:37, 38; John 3:2; 13:3; Acts 5:29, 30; Romans 1:7, 8, 17-19; 2:16, 17; 3:5, 22, 23; 4:2, 3, etc.). Therefore the Greek would more fully back the renderings, “the Word was God” or “the Word was Divine”.
If John was declaring Jesus to “a god” but not the true God, then the entire flow of his Gospel would be a contradiction to this point. John is declaring him to be the very God incarnate. The point is that John is declaring Jesus the Word to be divinity. Now which kind of divinity is John asserting that Jesus is? Is he condemning Jesus as being a false god, someone who pretends to be the true God when he isn’t? Or is John presenting Jesus as the true God. This can only be answered honestly as the true God. Within this first chapter, John identifies Jesus has being the source of life and light, which is only given or assigned to the True God, never to a false deity. John 1:6 says that God sent John the Baptist to bear witness of Jesus the Word. Is this a condemnation of Jesus by John the Baptist or a positive endorsement? John testified to Jesus’ deity. John says that the world was made by him (John 1:10) which again reinforces the conclusion that the Word is Jesus, and he is the creator. Can it be possible that a false god created the world? We cannot allow the use of “god” as being a god inferior to the True God for any created angel. The term “god” (small g) is always used with idea of a false god, opposing the True God. Moreover the Apostle John clearly links Jesus’ glory as “the glory as of the only begotten of the Father” (John 1:14). How can you construe this as dealing with Jesus as a “false god” or an “inferior god”? As a false god, or inferior god, Jesus would dwell in the bosom of the Father (John 1:18) and declare the Father to us? John 1:29 says that Jesus takes away the sins of the world. Only God can forgive sins. Our only conclusion is that in studying the tenor of the Gospel of John (as well as the entire New Testament) we can only conclude that John was presenting Jesus Christ as God incarnate. He was not condemning or denouncing a false God, nor did he choose to use the concept of an “angel”, a heavenly created being, but he chose to use the word “God”, the very same word that he otherwise uses for the one and True God. Even though this word theos God is also used a very few times in the New Testament for a false god, our point has to stand that the Apostle John is presenting Jesus as the true God, and not as a false God.
Indeed the Jehovah’s Witness digs himself a deep hole when he tries to rip deity from Jesus Christ in this verse. The point is that they reject the concept of the Trinity as being pagan, and as a consequence, they deny the personality of the Holy Spirit, attribute all references to the true God to the Father, and demote Jesus to the status of a spiritual created being, an angel. The point is that the Jehovah’s Witnesses are correct when they insist on Monotheism, because there is only one true God. But the hole gets deeper when they refuse the explanation of the Trinity. We ask the JW if there is only one true God? They will answer correctly yes. We then ask them on the basis of this verse if Jesus is that one true God? They will answer either no, or that he is the son of that one True God (Jehovah, or the Almighty in their terms). If Jesus is not the one true God, but a being lesser than God Jehovah, God the Father, God the Almighty, then what kind of god (notice the smaller case “g” is what they want to use), then what kind of god is Jesus? What is not Jehovah, the true God is a false god (here the smaller case “g” is now justified). If Jesus is not fully God in every aspect, essence and sense, then Jesus is a false god? They refuse to admit that because they would be branded as heretics so openly and obviously.
This is then their difficulty. They want to demote Jesus to something less than fully being God, and by doing so, they put Jesus into a Limbo between a celestial angelic (created) creature, or being a false god inferior to God the Father, Jehovah. There is no place where they are trying to place Jesus. Jesus is either fully God, or Jesus is not God at all, and this makes the presentation of the Scripture and Jesus’ own belief about himself being God as a mess.
Our conclusion then is that the New World Translation mistranslates this verse inserting the idea that Jesus the Word is a lesser god than the True God, and that is not taught either by this verse nor by the Bible in general. It is a bad and misleading translation that destroys the concept of the Word being eternal, and having the full quality of God, whatever “God” is, the Word is that thing.
HOW TO ANSWER THE JEHOVAH’S WITNESS ON JOHN 1:1 - There is a very simple answer to the JWs here. (1) Ask them to read John 1:1, and then ask them, is this God Jehovah Almighty or a lesser being? They will answer that he is a lesser being that God the Father, Jehovah, Almighty. Probably their answer that it is the Son of God (which to them is a lesser being). (2) Ask them if the Word here is Jesus. They will probably respond “yes”, and then read John 1:14. This clearly establishes that the Word is Jesus Christ. (3) Now ask them if they are politheists (believe in multiple gods). They will quickly say no. Jehovah is one (Deu 6:4 “Hear O Israel, The our God is one Lord”. Mark 12:32 ”for there is one God; and there is none other but he“ Eph 4:6 ”One God and Father of all“). Ask if John is condemning Jesus for being this “god” lesser than God the Father. Obviously he is not condemning Jesus in his being and ministry but is presenting him as the Saviour. (4) Now conclude, with the point that we are not politheists like the JWs holding to two true Gods, but rather insist in the doctrine of the Trinity, which is the Trinity position teaches there is only 1 true God that exists in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Read through the rest of the first chapter of John, and note the following verses 1:6 John bears witness to Jesus Christ, 1:10 Jesus is light and life, two concepts which belong exclusively to the true God, and never to false gods. 1:14 says Jesus shows us the glory of God the Father. Can a false god do this? Cannot only the true God have this glory? John 1:29 says Jesus forgives sins, which is again a quality of only the true God (Mark 2:7; Luke 7:49).
Prov 8:22 ”The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. 23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was 30 Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him.”
The key to understanding Proverbs is to first grasp that the wisdom which Proverbs speaks of is in a sense eternal salvation. To be wise, is to choose life the paths that lead to life, and reject death and the paths that lead to death. That being understood, we see proverbs takes a very different “twist” here in personifying wisdom as being eternal, ever dwelling with God. We find the same language as John 1:1 here as a being that exists beside or with God. This is a hard passage of Scripture, but we find it hard see how this can be referring to anything or anyone else except a divine being which is Jesus Christ.
Tit 2:13 ”Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;”
You can only take this verse one of two ways. First (the correct way) is to interpret the “and” as a renaming of “God” (i.e. consider it “even”), and thus read “of the great God even our Saviour Jesus Christ”. The second way to interpret this verse is to take God as referring to God the Father, and read it as “the great God (Jehovah, or God the Father) and our Saviour Jesus Christ”. The second way is incorrect, because God the Father will not return in the glorious appearing with Jesus Christ. This is simply an unbiblical teaching that has no basis whatsoever. The Bible always represents God the Father as staying in heaven until after the events of Revelation when God destroys the present universe and makes a new heavens and earth, and God the Father with all in heaven at that time will descend to the new heavens and the new earth.
Contrary to the arguments many put forth to prove the deity of Jesus Christ, Jesus himself appealed to the miracles and works that he daily performed as evidence of his deity that could not be refuted. In two occasions, people came to Jesus asking if he were the Christ, the Messiah. His answer in both cases we the works which he performed were the undisputable testimony to his deity.
Mat 11:2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,
Mat 11:3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?
Mat 11:4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:
Mat 11:5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
John 10:24 Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.
John 10:25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me.
For many people, actually seeing or being touched personally in this ministry of Jesus was what answered this question for them.
John 6:14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.
John 11:45 Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.
What is essential in this proof of Christ’s deity is that Jesus Christ did miracles on a totally different basis than all the prophets before him. Jesus did these miracles from his own internal power (God-essence), and not by direct authority from God as a grant from the Father. The miraculous power of the prophets was always attributed to be the power of God that God had granted them to perform. For example, Elisha raising the Shumanite’s son, he “prayed unto the Lord” and the child was restored to life (2Ki 4:33). To compare this power for God (generally or specifically coming from God the Father) to resurrect the dead, we have this set as parallel and equal to Jesus’ power to do the same.
John 5:21 For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.
This inherent power within Jesus went beyond Jesus himself exercising this power to include the ability of Jesus to commission others to do so also.
Mat 10:1 And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
Mat 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
Compare this with Acts 3:6 where Peter heals, and this is the first time the disciples exercised this power to do a miracle. Peter and John were imprisoned for this healing, and when they were questioned about it (Acts 4:5-10) they attributed it to what they had been commissioned by Jesus to do.
God never delegated to any human being the authority to confer on others the power to perform miracles, and no mere man ever possessed the power to work miracles of himself. Hence the very facts, if we are to believe the record, that Jesus Christ possessed the power to work miracles of himself and that he had the authority to delegate miraculous power to others, show beyond all controversy that he was divine, that he was God. Jerome, Thomas Jefferson (1859-) - The Christ, the Evidence of His Divinity reviewed from a Lawyers Standpoint page 19 (1917)
Luke 7:11 And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people.
Luke 7:12 Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.
Luke 7:13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.
Luke 7:14 And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.
Luke 7:15 And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.
Luke 7:16 And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.
Luke’s commentary here is very interesting. Jesus raised the widow’s dead son, and the commentary of the people which Luke mentions is “that God hath visited his people.” (Luke 7:16). The people seeing the power of Jesus to heal and even resurrect the dead supported the deity of Jesus. Nobody except God incarnate could do what He did.
The late Bishop Ryle called attention to five things in connection with our Lord’s miracles. “First, their number: they were not a few only, but very many. Second, their greatness: they were not little, but mighty interferences with the ordinary course of nature. Third, their publicity: they were not done in a comer, but generally in open day, and before many witnesses, and often before enemies. Fourth, their character: they were almost always works of love, mercy and compassion, helpful and beneficient to man, and not merely barren exhibitions of power. Fifth, their direct appeal to man’s senses: they were visible, and would bear any examination. The difference between them and the boasted miracles of Rome, on all these points, is striking and conclusive.” To these we might add two other features: Sixth, their artlessness. They were not staged mechanically: they happened in the natural course of our Lord’s ministry. There was nothing pre-arranged about them. Seventh, their efficacy. There was as much difference between the miracles of healing performed by Christ and those of His miserable imitators which are being so widely heralded in our day, as there is between His teaching and that given out by these pretenders who claim to heal in His name. Christ’s cures were instantaneous, not gradual; complete and perfect, not faulty and disappointing.
“The same works that I do, bear witness of me.” Ere passing on to the next verse, we pause to apply these words to ourselves. Our works, too, bear witness of us. If ours are “dead works,” wood, hay, and stubble which shall be burned up in the coming Day, that proves we are carnal, walking after the flesh; and such a witness will dishonor and grieve Him whose name we bear. But if we abound in “good works,” this will show that we are walking after the spirit, and men (our fellow-believers) seeing our good works will glorify our Father which is in heaven. What, then, my reader, is the “witness” which your “works” are bearing? What the writer’s? Let us “be careful to maintain good works? (Titus 3:8). Arthur Pink - Exposition of the Gospel of John, Chapter 19.
When we begin to examine the matter of worship, we meet with a very jealous God (Exo 34:14) who in no uncertain terms demands extremely that we reserve all our worship exclusively for God, and only for God.
God commands us to Worship Him
Psa 95:3 For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
Psa 95:4 In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.
Psa 95:5 The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.
Psa 95:6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.
God prohibits us from worshipping anything which is not the Very True One and Only God
Mat 4:8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
Mat 4:9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
Mat 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Rom 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
God condemns those who presume to worship anything or anybody except God Himself.
God Commands all creation to Worship Jesus
Heb 1:6 And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.
Heb 1:7 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
Heb 1:8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
This comes from the Messianic Psalm, Psalm 45, see Psa 45:6.
Jesus worshipped by people.
Jesus was worshipped by many in the Bible without any rebuke or condemnation on those people.
The Son is dishonored when he is assigned a lower place than that of the Father
John 5:23 That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.
“The Son is dishonored when he is assigned a lower place than that of the Father. Such dishonor to the Son is displeasing to the Father, and a ministry is vain indeed which, though sincere, advances under the displeasure of God.” Chafer Systematic Theology Volume 5 page 8.
http://www.theologicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/ffb/deity_bruce.pdf
http://www.letusreason.org/Tridir.htm (list of articles on the subject)
http://www.monergism.com/directory/link_category/Jesus-Christ/Deity-of-Christ/
Volume 2 ch. X
The Deity of Christ
by Professor Benjamin B. Warfield, D.D., LL.D.,
Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, New JerseyA recent writer has remarked that our assured conviction of the deity of Christ rests, not upon “proof-texts or passages, nor upon old arguments drawn from these, but upon the general fact of the whole manifestation of Jesus Christ, and of the whole impression left by Him upon the world.” The antithesis is too absolute, and possibly betrays an unwarranted distrust of the evidence of Scripture. To make it just, we should read the statement rather thus: Our conviction of the deity of Christ rests not alone on the Scriptural passages which assert it, but also on His entire impression on the world; or perhaps thus: Our conviction rests no more on the scriptural assertions than upon His entire manifestation. Both lines of evidence are valid; and when twisted together form an unbreakable cord. The proof-texts and passages do prove that Jesus was esteemed divine by those who companied with Him; that He esteemed Himself divine; that He was recognized as divine by those who were taught by the Spirit; that, in fine, He was divine. But over and above this Biblical evidence the impression Jesus has left upon the world bears independent testimony to His deity, and it may well be that to many minds this will seem the most conclusive of all its evidences. It certainly is very cogent and impressive. Continue reading »
The Jehovah’s Witnesses turn the phrase, “Son of God” to mean someone who is inferior to, and after (created) the Father. This is not valid in the light of the teaching of Scripture. Some people wish to make this a minor issue of no importance. 1 John 4:15 it says, “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him and he in God”. In other words, our confession of Jesus as our Savior which opens salvation to us is specifically a confession of the man Jesus to be the Deity, the Son of God. In Peter’s interchange with Christ, he says…
Mat 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Mat 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Christ asserts that Peter’s confession of Jesus as the “Son of God” is the foundation of the Church.
If this confession of Jesus as the “Son of God” is so importance as to hinge salvation upon it, then we have understand and place proper importance on the true meaning of this phrase, “the Son of God.”
The phrase “Son of God” occurs in 46 verses in the New Testament (plus an adjective before God in Mark 5:7; John 6:69), and only in Dan 3:25 in the OT.
Consider these phrases:
Num 23:19 ”God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man that he should repent”
1Sam 20:30 ”thou son of the perverse rebellious woman”.
1Sam 25:17 ”for he is such a son of Belial, that a man cannot speak to him”
Eccl 10.17 ”Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles”
Jer 49:18 ”Sodom and Gommorrah… no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it”
Eze 2:1 ”he said unto me, Son of man”
This small selection of OT verses where “son of somebody or something” is used shows us that the person who is the son has the character or essence of the father.
The phrase “son of something” is commonly used in the Bible to indicate that a person has the character and essence of someone or something else. If this is a person, for example King David, then the “son of David” means that the person is in the blood line of David, one of his sons. The idea being is that a son has the same character, quality, and essence of his father. When the Bible uses the phrase “son of God” it means that the person (Jesus) has the essence and being of the Father. What the Father is (God), so is His Son (God).
“Besides, it is forgotten, when such language (Son of Man, Son of God) is used, that in biblical phrase the name Son of God supposes nothing which Gen 6:2, Job 1:6; 2.1; Ps 82:6; Hos 1:10; Mat 5:9; Luke 6:35; 20:36; Gal 3:26
We will now consider other scriptures that support this truth. Here it is necessary to find scriptures where the abstract concept of sonship is the subject matter. It is not sufficient to look at places where the name “Son of God” is mentioned because, as we have seen, it is common to identify a person by a name or title even when referring to occasions when the person did not possess that designation. All the scriptures which say that the Father sent the Son do not prove to those who hold the temporal sonship theory that the Lord was the Son before He was sent, because, they say, the Divine Persons were not known by any distinct names before the incarnation, and therefore can only be referred to by the names they took afterwards.
Hebrews 5: 8. “Though He were Son”. There is no definite article before Son; it is characteristic, and the relationship of Sonship is the prominent thought. “Though He were Son, yet learned He obedience”. As the Son, the experience of obedience was unknown to Him, and so He learned what that experience was by the things that He suffered. In this passage we see that the idea of obedience and subjection was foreign to His Sonship. This is the opposite to the doctrine of temporal sonship which maintains that His Sonship is to be identified with subjection. No, it is not as the Son that He learned obedience, but in spite of His being such. The reason a man is subject and inferior to his father in human relationships is that the son is always the junior, the father obviously being born first. To argue from this that the Lord’s Sonship denotes subjection is plainly wrong for there can be no seniority between Divine Persons. It is another example of trying to understand the Infinite by a comparison with the finite.
Now turn to John 1: 14. The literal translation is “We beheld His glory, the glory of an only begotten with a father”. The glory is that of the abstract relationship rather than that of the Person Himself, that is to say, the glory in this passage is specifically that of His Sonship. This glory shone through the veil of His flesh so that His disciples recognised it. It was His Divine glory.
This will be immediately challenged by those who deny His eternal Sonship. They will say that it is His moral glory, which He had as the Perfect Man. We will, therefore, test this by searching the Scriptures. When those who had to do with Him in His life here were constrained to confess Him as the Son of God, what made them do so? Was it His moral glory or His Divine glory? Let us look at the incidents involved.
(1) Nathanael (John 1: 49) confessed Him as the Son of God and King of Israel. It was His omniscience that opened His eyes. The Lord had shown that He knew some secret that only Nathaniel could have known.
(2) The disciples in the boat. (Matthew 14: 33). The Lord had just shown His Divine power as the Creator and Sustainer of all things, walking. on the water and stilling the wind and the waves. Here we have Him as the omnipotent One.
(3) Martha (John 11: 27). The Lord had just revealed Himself as the Source of Life. Only God is the Source of Life. All other beings receive their life through Him.
(4) The man blind from birth (John 9: 35-38). Here the man is told directly from the Lord Who He is. It is the man’s reaction that is noteworthy as he immediately worships the Son of God showing that he recognised His Deity; for the Lord accepted his worship as offered intelligently. We can contrast this with the man in Matthew 19: 16-17 who said “Good Master”. At once the Lord checked him, because he had ascribed something to Him that only applied to God, without realising that the One he was speaking to was indeed God.
(5) The Centurion (Matthew 27: 54; Mark 15: 39). Here the reasons for the centurion’s confession are plainly stated. In Matthew it was due to the severe earthquake, the rending of the rocks and the opening of the tombs. In Mark it is specifically stated that it was due to the Lord’s shouting with a loud voice just before He gave up His spirit. This was remarkable to the centurion who had no doubt seen large numbers of such executions. A man crucified gets weaker and weaker until he cannot speak above a whisper. Here was One who could shout with a loud voice just before He died, showing supernatural strength. It was, therefore, not His moral glory that convinced the centurion, but His Divine glory, as was the case in all the foregoing cases.
We will refer to Peter’s great confession in Matthew 16: 16 and John 6: 69 later.
We are therefore fully justified in asserting that the Lord’s Sonship denotes His Deity and does not pertain to His lowly dependence and obedience as the Perfect Man. A possible reason why some think that the glory of John 1: 14 is moral and not Divine, is the words that immediately follow: “full of grace and truth”. We are sure, however, that the Authorised Version is correct in putting the clause “and we beheld His glory, the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father” in brackets. The words “full of grace and truth” refer to the statement before the parenthesis: “the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us”. The parenthesis is put in to show that in spite of the veil of flesh, the Divine glory shone through for His own to see. In saying all this we are not wishing to infer that moral glory is not included in Divine glory for “God is Light”. The idea that we are opposing is that it was exclusively His moral glory as seen in manhood. Dronsfield, W.R. - Eternal Son of the Father, Chapter 2
Sons [ben H1121] of God
“Sons of God” = Spirit celestial beings? - Gen 6:4 (Note see Luke 20:36 for a possible clarification)
Children [G5207 huios] of God
Mat 5:9 ”peacemakers” in beattitudes; [G3700 huios]
Luke 20:36 those participating in the resurrection “neither can they die any more: for they are equal to the angels; and are the children [G5207 huios] of God, being the children of the resurrection”
Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Children [G5043 teknon] of God
John 11:52 And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.
Rom 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
Rom 8:21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Rom 9:8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.
1Jn 3:10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
1Jn 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
Use of the Phrase “Son of God”
“Son of God” is used 48 times in 47 verses (Dan. 3:25; Matt. 4:3, 6; 8:29; 14:33; 26:63; 27:40, 43, 54; Mk. 1:1; 3:11; 15:39; Lk. 1:35; 3:38; 4:3, 9, 41; 8:28;22:70; Jn. 1:34, 49; 3:18; 5:25; 9:35; 10:36; 11:4, 27; 19:7; 20:31; Acts 8:37; 9:20; Rom. 1:4; 2 Co. 1:19; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 4:13; Heb. 4:14; 6:6; 7:3; 10:29; 1 Jn. 3:8; 4:15; 5:5, 10, 12f, 20; Rev. 2:18).
Mat 8:29 the demons “what have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?” (Judgment)
Mat 14:33 ”came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God” (Worship)
Mat 16:16 ”Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Being Christ)
Mat 26:63 ”I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.” (Deity)
Mat 27:40 ”If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross” (God Power)
Mat 27:43 ”He trusted in God; let him deliver him now… for he said, I am the Son of God” (Special relationship with God)
Luke 1.35 ”that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” (divinity)
John 1:34 ”I bare record that this is the Son of God” (Something noteworthy)
John 1:49 ”Rabbi thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel” (Ruler of God’s people)
John 3:18 ”condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (Perdition for not believing Jesus is Son of God)
John 5:25 ”the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live” (power to resurrect the dead)
John 10:36 ”Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?” (Deity)
John 19:7 ”by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God” (Deity)
John 20:31 ”that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name” (Salvation)
Acts 8:37 ”If thou believest… I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” (Salvation)
Heb 4:14 ”a great high priest… Jesus the Son of God” (Heavenly Intercession and Priesthood)
1John 5:12 ”He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (Salvation or Eternal Perdition)
Conclusion
Even though the phrase “sons of God” (huios) is used in the New Testament, it would seem to refer to those who are born again Christians. But the phrase “Son of God” has a very different connotation because it is clearly used as though the understanding is deity, the Messiah.
John 5:18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.
John 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
John 5:20 For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.
John 5:21 For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.
John 5:22 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:
John 5:23 That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.
John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
John 5:25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
The point here is that Jesus clearly used the concept that he is the Son of God. At the end he actually uses this phrase to describe himself. The Jews understood this teaching as making Jesus to be God, fully equal with God, Deity. When the Jews use the phrase “son of”, it did not generally mean subordination but rather equality with and identity with the nature of somebody. When the Jews understood his teaching as being equal to God, Jesus did not deny this conclusion and correct their teaching, but rather he defends it. This is situation is again repeated in John 10:30-39.
It is very important to see that the Scriptures does not use the concept “Son of God” in Hebrew basically, but does use it in Greek. In Greek we have several words for a child. Brephos is a child that is still in the womb, or recently having been born. The focus is on the child’s relationship and closeness to his birth. Paul refers to Timothy’s learning of Scriptures from his childhood 2 Tim 3:14-15 and uses this word here. Another Greek word for child is nepios which is generally used for children at or around age two. The word means without speech, but making noise, and is the word for our English “toddlers”. Paul uses this concept in Eph 4:14when Paul exhorts them NOT TO BE THESE KIND OF CHILDREN. Toddlers are known for being unstable and falling down frequently, and they frequently talk a lot and say nothing, and they don’t really know what they are doing. The word technon is a general word for child between brephos and nepios, and refers to a small child.
The phrase “son of God” is always a different Greek word, huios. This concept does not mean you are a minor child of somebody. It means you are the one who receives the inheritance and control over all that the father has. It means heir of everything. In Bible times, they were not very equable by our ideas today. Instead of a father splitting his goods equally between his children, one child got it all. That child took over the ranch, farm, business, of the father, and continued it essentially taking the father’s place. That child had to continue to take care of his mother, as well as all of his brothers and unmarried and widow sisters. The sisters of this chosen child were to be taken care of much as he would care for his mother. They were not slaves, nor queens (not working). The brothers were people of importance in the business of the family, managing, and administrating things. Rom 8:17 indicates that the saved will be joint heirs with Christ, but our position with Christ is not going to be exactly equal with Christ. We will be in the administration of Christ, ruling with him, but we are never given equality with Christ.
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John 1:18 ”No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He was explained Him” .
Torrey, RA - What the Bible Teaches#Subordination of the Son to the Father
Flavel - The Covenant of Redemption between the Father and the Redeemer (s)
Flavel - The amazing love of God in giving his own Son for us (s)
The very name of “Jesus” means Jehovah is Salvation.
“And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape” (John 5:37). The miracles performed by our Lord were not the only nor the most direct evidence which proved His Deity. The Father Himself had borne witness. The majority of the commentators refer this to the baptism of Christ, when the Father’s voice declared, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” But we scarcely think this is correct. Immediately following, our Lord went on to say, “Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.” What, then, would be the force of Christ here appealing to the Father’s witness at the Jordan if these detractors of His had not heard that Voice? Personally, we think that Christ refers, rather, to the witness which the Father had borne to His Son through the prophets during Old Testament times. This seems to give more meaning to what follows—the Old Testament economy was characterized by an invisible God, neither His voice being heard, nor His shape seen. Arthur Pink - Exposition of the Gospel of John, Chapter 19.
“Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me” (John 5:45, 46). Our Lord concludes by intimating to these Jews that they would yet have to give an account of their rejection of Him before the tribunal of God, and there they would see as their accuser the great legislator of whom they boasted, but whose testimony they rejected. Here, then, was the final reason why they would not come to Him for life—they believed not the written Word of God.
“There is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.” How solemn and searching is this! If there is one thing those Jews thought they believed, it was Moses and his writings. They contended earnestly for the law: they venerated the name of Moses above almost all of their national heroes. They would have been ready to die for what Moses taught. And yet here is the Son of God solemnly declaring that these Jews did not believe Moses, and furnishing proof by showing that if they had really believed Moses’ writings they had believed in Christ, of whom Moses wrote. How terribly deceptive is the human heart! “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Prov. 14:12). O, dear reader, make certain that you believe, really, savingly believe on the Son of God.
“But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?” (John 5:47). How this exposes the “Higher Critics!” If they believe not the writings of Moses, no matter what their ecclesiastical connections or religious professions, it is sure proof that they are unsaved men—men who have not believed in Christ. The Old Testament Scriptures are of equal authority with the teaching of Christ: they are equally the Word of God. Arthur Pink - Exposition of the Gospel of John, Chapter 19.
The NT apostles and disciples captured the mission and person of Jesus Christ. Here we see a multitude of testimonies but all of them center on a few central key concepts that was widely shared, and emphatically preached by the NT Church.
Essentially the situation was this: First, the one nerve of the whole matter is that these Christian men had been saved from sin. Seize that fact with all your strength, or you will never comprehend this mighty battle. Second, this salvation from sin they absolutely associated with Jesus Christ and his atonement. Third, they had inherited their Saviour’s own interpretation of the relation existing between his redemptive work and the intrinsic peculiarity of his person. Fourth, this consciousness of our Lord they found essentially repeated in the whole body of apostolic experience, the repetition gaining in force and completeness from first to last.
Fifth, this inheritance from Christ and his apostles exactly fitted and satisfied their own Christian consciousness which was resultant from their own Christian experience. Sixth, out of this combination of features they had gained a conception of Christ which they spontaneously expressed by worshiping him even as they worshiped God. This is a fair practical statement of the inner situation; and it all can be gathered up into a sentence: While up to this time they had no metaphysical view (the most of them) of Jesus Christ, yet, in their redemptional experience, they so regarded him that their hearts went out to him in full worship. Olin Alfred Curtis (1850-1918) - The Christian Faith chapter 16 (1905)
“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39). This is the last witness which our Lord cites, and, for us, it is the most important. John has long since passed away; the “words” of Christ are no longer before men’s eyes; the voice of the Father is no more heard; but the testimony of the Scriptures abides. The Scriptures testified of Christ, and affirmed His Deity. Their witness was the climax. The Holy Writings, given by inspiration of God, were the final court of appeal. What importance and authority does He attach to them! Beyond them there was no appeal: above them no higher authority: after them no further witness. It is blessed to note the order in which Christ placed the three witnesses to which He appealed in proof of His equality with God. First, there was the witness of His own Divine works. Second, there was the witness which the Father had borne to Him through the prophets. Third, there was the testimony of the Holy Scriptures, written by men moved by the Holy Spirit. Thus in these three witnesses there is a remarkable reference made to each of the three Persons in the Holy Trinity.
“Search the Scriptures” was both an appeal and a command. It is to be read, as in our A.V., in the imperative mood. The proof for this is as follows: First, the usage of the word. The Bible is its own interpreter. If scripture be compared with scripture its meaning will be plain. In John 7:52 we find the only other occurrence of the Greek word (ereunao) in John’s Gospel, here translated “search”; “They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.” When the Pharisees said to Nicodemus “Search and look,” they were bidding him search the Scriptures. Thus, in both instances, the word has the imperative and not the indicative force. Again; to give the verb here the indicative force in John 5:39 is to make the first half of the verse pointless; but to render it in the imperative gives it a meaning in full accord with what precedes and what follows. “For in them ye think ye have eternal life.” The pronoun “ye” is emphatic. The word “think” does not imply it was a doubtful point, or merely a matter of human opinion. It is rather as though Christ said unto them, ‘This is one of the articles of your faith: ye think (are persuaded), and rightly so; then act on it. Search the Scriptures (in which you are assured there is eternal life) and you will find that they, too, testify of Me.’ The word “think” does not imply a doubt, but affirms an assurance. (Cf. Matthew 22:42, etc.).
“Search the Scriptures.” Here is a command from the Lord. The authority of His Godhood is behind it. “Search,” He says; not merely “read.” The Greek word is one that was used in connection with hunting. It referred to the hunter stalking game. When he discovered the tracks of an animal, he concentrated all his attention on the ground before him, diligently searching for other marks which would lead him to his quarry. In a similar way, we are to study God’s Word, minutely examining each expression, tracing every occurrence of it, and ascertaining its meaning from its usage. The grand motive for such earnest study is, that the Scriptures “testify” of Christ. May writer and reader give daily heed to this Divine admonition, to “Search” the Scriptures. Arthur Pink - Exposition of the Gospel of John, Chapter 19.
As we pass from chapter to chapter it is ever needful to keep in mind the character and scope of this fourth Gospel. Its chief design is to present the Divine glories of Christ. It was written, no doubt, in its first and local application to refute the heresies concerning the person of the Lord Jesus which flourished toward the end of the first century. Less than fifty years after the Lord departed from these scenes and returned to His Father in heaven, the horrible system of Gnosticism, which denied the essential Deity of the Savior, was spread widely throughout those lands where the Gospel had been preached. Whilst it was generally allowed that Christ was a unique personage, yet, that He was “equal with God” was denied by many. Nor is that very surprising when we stop to think how much there was which would prove a stumbling block to the natural man.
Outwardly, to human eyes, Christ appeared to be an ordinary man. Born into a peasant family; cradled amid the most humble surroundings; carried away into Egypt to escape the cruel edict of Herod, and returning later, only to grow to manhood’s estate in obscurity; working for years, most probably, at the carpenter’s bench—what was there to denote that He was the Lord of Glory? Then, as He began His public ministry, appearing not as the great of this world are accustomed to appear, with much pomp and ostentation; but, instead, as the meek and lowly One. Attended not by an imposing retinue of angels, but by a few poor and unlettered fishermen. His claims rejected by the religious leaders of that day; the tide of popular opinion turning against Him; the very ones who first hailed Him with their glad Hosannas, ending by crying, “Away with him: crucify him.” Finally, nailed in shame to the cruel tree; silent to the challenge to descend from it; and there breathing out His spirit—that, that was the last the world saw of Him.
And now by the year A. D. 90 almost all of His original disciples would be dead. Of the twelve apostles who had accompanied Him during His public ministry, only John remained. On every side were teachers denying the Deity of Christ. There was thus a real need for an inspired, authoritative, systematic presentation of the manifold glories of His divine person. The Holy Spirit therefore moved John—the one who of all the early disciples knew Christ best, the one whose spiritual discernment was the keenest, the one who had enjoyed the inestimable privilege of leaning on the Master’s bosom to write this fourth Gospel. In it abundant evidence is furnished to satisfy the most credulous of the Deity of the Lord Jesus. It is to the written Word God now refers all who desire to know the truth concerning His beloved Son, and in it are presented the “many infallible proofs” for the Godhood of our blessed Redeemer. Chiefest of these are to be found in John’s Gospel.
In the chapter we are now studying we find record of a remarkable miracle performed by the Lord Jesus which signally displayed His Divine power. He had singled out a most hopeless ease and by a word had made whole, instantly, one that had suffered with an infirmity for thirty and eight years. Because this miracle had been performed on the Sabbath day, the Jews persecuted the Lord Jesus. In gracious condescension the Lord replied to their criticism by giving them a sevenfold declaration of His equality with the Father. This we examined at some length in maintaining it, so immeasurable is the blessing when received, so tremendous is the stake involved in its loss, God has vouchsafed us the amplest, clearest, fullest evidence.
“If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true” (John 5:31). Every commentator we have consulted expounds this verse as follows: The witness which I have just borne to Myself would not be valid unless it is supported by that of others. The law of God requires two or three witnesses for the truth to be established. Therefore if I bear witness of Myself, says Christ, and there is none to confirm it, it is “not true,” i.e., it is not convincing to others. But we most humbly dissent from any such interpretation. The word of a mere man does need confirmation: but not so that of God the Son. To affirm or suggest that His witness must be ratified by the testimony of others so as to establish its validity, is deeply dishonoring to Him. And we are both amazed and saddened that such a view should be put forth by many excellent men.
“If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.” The key to this verse lies in what has gone before. Divorce it from its context, and we must expect to find it difficult; but examine it in our last chapter; now, in the passage before us, we find that He closed by bringing in the evidence of various unimpeachable witnesses who testified to the veracity of His claims. In view, then, of what is to be found here, there can be no excuse whatever for ignorance, still less for unbelief, upon this all-important subject. So bright was Christ’s glory, so concerned was the Father in the light of its setting, and all becomes clear. This verse simply reiterates in another form what we find the Savior saying at the beginning of the previous verse, can of mine own self do nothing” means, I cannot act independently of the Father: I am so absolutely one with Him that His will is My will; mine, His. So, now, He declares, “If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.” He speaks hypothetically—”if.” “I bear witness of myself” means, If I bear witness independently of the Father. In such a case, “my witness is not true.” And why? Because such would be insubordination. The Son can no more bear witness of Himself independently of the Father, than He can of Himself work independently of the Father.
“There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true” (John 5:32). This explains the previous verse and confirms our interpretation of it. The “other” who is here referred to as “bearing witness” of Him, is not John the Baptist, as some have strangely supposed, but the Father Himself. Reference, not appeal, is made to John in verses 33, 34. Observe now that our Lord did not here say, “There is One that beareth witness of me” and His witness is true, but “there is another that beareth witness of me.” He would no more dissever the Father and His witness from Himself, than He would bear witness to Himself independently of the Father. This is strikingly confirmed by what we read in John 8: “The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true. Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true… Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man. And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me” (verses 13-16).
“Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth” (John 5:33). Here our Lord reminds “the Jews” (verse 16) how, when they had sent an embassy unto His forerunner (see John 1:19), that he “bear witness unto the truth.” Notice the abstract form in which this is put. Christ did not say, “He bear witness unto me,” but “unto the truth.” This witness is recorded in John 1:20-27. First, John confessed that he was not the Christ, but simply “the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord.” Then, he testified to the presence of One in their midst whom they knew not, One of whom he said, “He it is, who coming after me, is preferred before me, whose shoes latchet I am not worthy to unloose.” Such was the Baptist’s witness to the delegates of these same Jews.
“But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved” (John 5:34). The Son of God continues to occupy the same high ground from which He had spoken throughout this interview. “I receive not testimony from man” shows that He had not appealed to the witness of John in confirmation of His own declarations. His purpose was quite otherwise: “These things I say, that ye might be saved.” The witness which John had borne to “the truth” was fitted to have a salutary effect on those who heard him. John’s testimony was a merciful concession which God had made to the need of Israel. Christ Himself did not stand in need of it; but they did. God sent His messenger before His Son to prepare the way for Him. His ministry was designed to arouse men’s attention and to produce in them a sense of their deep need of the One who was about to be manifested.
“But I receive not testimony from man.” This word “receive” is explained to us in verse 44 where it is interchanged with “seek.” It means to lay hold of, or grasp at. Christ would not bemean Himself by subpoening human witnesses. His claim to be equal with God rested on surer ground than the testimony of a man. But He had reminded these Jews of what John had said to their representatives on an earlier occasion, and this that they “might be saved,” for salvation comes by believing God’s “witness unto the truth.”
“He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light” (John 5:35). This was most gracious of Christ. John had given faithful witness to the One who was to come after him; and now the Son of God bears witness to him. A beautiful illustration is this of the promise that if we confess Christ before men, so He will yet confess us before God. “A burning and shining light”—more correctly, “lamp,” see R.V.—the Lord calls him. Burning inwardly, shining outwardly. John’s light had not been hid under a bushel, but it had shone “before men.” Ah! dear reader, will the Savior be able to say of you, in a coming day, “He was a burning and shining lamp”? Is the light that is within thee “burning” or is it just flickering? Is your lamp “trimmed,” and so “shining,” or is it shedding but a feeble and sickly glow? Great is the need for burning and shining “lamps” in the world today. The shadows are fast lengthening, the darkness increases, and the “midnight” hour draws on apace. “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light” (Rom. 13:11, 12).
“And ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light” (John 5:35). This provides us with an illustration of the stony-ground hearers of the parable of the Sower. Concerning this class Christ says, “But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while” (Matthew 13:20, 21). Such were these Jews: “for a season” they rejoiced in John’s light. But the difference between real believers and mere professors is not in how they begin but how they end. “He that endureth to the end shall be saved”: enduring to the end is not a condition of salvation, but an evidence of it. So, again, when Christ says, “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed:” continuing in Christ’s word is a proof that we are His disciples. We take it that which caused these Jews to “rejoice’’ for a season in John’s light, was the testimony which he bore to the Messiah, then about to appear. This was good news indeed, for to them this meant deliverance from the Roman yoke and the destruction of all their enemies. But when the Messiah was actually manifested He instead announced that He had come to save the lost, and when He demanded repentance and faith, their joy soon faded away.
“But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me” (John 5:36). Here is the first witness to which Christ appeals in proof of His Deity. His “works” bore unmistakable witness to Him. He gave hearing to the deaf, speech to the dumb, sight to the blind, cleansing to the leper, deliverance to the captives of the Devil, life to the dead. He walked the waves, stilled the wind, calmed the sea, He turned water into wine, cleansed the Temple single-handed, and fed a great multitude with a few loaves and fishes. And these miracles were performed by His own inherent power. To these works He now directs attention as furnishing proof of His Deity. Quite frequently did He appeal to His “works” as affording Divine testimony: see John 10:25, 38; 14:11; 15:24. Arthur Pink - Exposition of the Gospel of John, Chapter 19.
[chapter:]
Divine Offices
But we do not need to rest the case here. There is a third unanswerable line of proof that Jesus Christ is God, namely, all the distinctively Divine offices are predicated of Jesus Christ. There are seven distinctively Divine offices. That is to say, there are seven things that God alone can do, and each one of these seven distinctively Divine offices is ascribed to Jesus Christ. The seven distinctively Divine offices are: Creation, Preservation, Forgiveness of Sin, the Raising of the Dead, the Transformation of Bodies, Judgment and the Bestowal of Eternal Life, and each of these is ascribed to Jesus Christ.
Creation is ascribed to Him. In Hebrews 1:10 these words are spoken of our Lord: “And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands.” The context clearly shows that the Lord addressed is the Lord Jesus. In John 1:3 we are told that “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” Preservation of the universe and of everything is also ascribed to Him in Hebrews 1:3 where it is said of the Lord Jesus, “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person [God's], and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
The forgiveness of sin is ascribed to Him. He Himself says in Mark 2:5-10 when His power to forgive sins was questioned, because that was recognized as a Divine power, “But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins.”
The future raising of the dead is distinctly ascribed to him in John 6:39,44, “And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.”
The transformation of our bodies is ascribed to Him in Philippians 3:21. In 2 Timothy 4:1judgment is ascribed to Him. We are told that He shall “judge the quick and the dead.” Jesus Himself declared that He would be the judge of all mankind and emphasized the fact of the Divine character of that office. In John 5:22,23 He said, “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father.” The bestowal of eternal life is ascribed to Him time and time again. In John 10:28 He Himself says, “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand,” and in John 17:1,2, He says, “Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.” Here then, we have the seven distinctively Divine offices all predicated of Jesus Christ. This alone would prove that He is God, and we might rest the case here, but there are still other proofs of His absolute Deity. The Deity of Jesus Christ by R. A. Torrey
All of these terms refer to the attribute of deity that Jesus and God both have, that they have no beginning and no end. The concepts of “first and last”, and “Alpha and Omega” are setting the absolute end posts by which everything else must fit into this “context”. For example, if we talk about the letters of the English alphabet, we can refer to the whole as “A through Z”, or in other words, every letter has to find its place within the context of A-Z, because this sets the limits for the alphabet. Nothing (no letter of the Alphabet) can exist outside of that context. In this sense we refer to the eternality of God.
We need to understand that there are only so many possible “players” in the scene of Jesus Christ. He is one of the following:
(1) God a spirit without a physical body (his body was an illusion)
(2) God incarnate,
(3) a man (not God-man),
(4) he is an angel.
(5) he is something between these (God incarnate is combination of 1. and number 3) or none of the above.
Since on many occasions it talks of Christ’s body, and people actually touched him, he is not just a spirit (option number 1). If Jesus is a normal man (opt number 3), then his existence began actually in his conception. (We will assume that every human being has always existed in the mind of God from eternity past, but we talk of beginning existence for a human in the moment of conception.) His statement in John 8:58 that he existed before Abraham existed would show that he is not a normal average man. Likewise Jesus is not just a normal angelic (heavenly) being. His humanity would be something that we never see an angel being born of a human being.
See also Index: Divine Names of Jesus
Isa 41:4 Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.
Isa 44:6 Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
This passage indicates the eternality of the one and True God. The phrase which is used to indicate this eternal position of God is “I am the first and I am the last“.Rev 1:8, 11 identifies God Almighty as being the first and the last, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.
Rev 10:6 And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer
John 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
Mic 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
Psa 93:1 The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved.
Psa 93:2 Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.Isa 63:16 Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting.
The phrase “from everlasting” is a direct reference to God Almighty.
God
Jesus
Definition: “Create” – This means the making of something from nothing (ex nihilo). God alone makes material things out of nothing.
The issue of Jesus’ Deity (full divinity, being equal with God the Father and God the Spirit) is important because some groups steal this divinity from Christ, making him something lower than full God. Here we need to understand that worship is directed exclusively to God our Creator, and Jesus is our Creator. Logically the only situation that can possibly reconcile this and the prohibit against worshipping anything other than God is that Jesus is fully God.
Mat 4:9And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
Mat 4:10Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses for example claim that God (Jehovah) created first Jesus, and then gave Jesus the task of creating everything else in the creation. When we see the extensive evidence (below) that God Jehovah is overwhelmingly the one referred to as He who created or made the heavens and the earth, this false heretic declaration of the Jehovah’s Witnesses reveals it evil and false nature.
Note: The Holy Spirit is also mentioned as Creator or at least taking part in the creation of the world, and we would assume that the entire Trinity participated in the acts of Creation, and not just Jesus, even though clearly Jesus is the Creator. The identifying of God the Father is very difficult because in the Old Testament, we would presume many of the mentions of LORD (Jehovah) and God were actually God the Father, but it is not so clearly identified as such. Our point here is clearly the Creator is not an angelic being, nor an inferior god being lesser than the Very True God. See 31.17 Holy Spirit in Creation
Deu 4:32 For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it?
Note that in Deu 4:32, God proposes that there has never been such a work done as Creation. Creation is a work that is singular in history. The importance of this work of Creation is so important that God Himself is the only one who can be credited with having done it. Never is creation attributed to being the work of a creature, but always it is the work of God Himself.
The reason why it is so important that we establish Jesus as our Creator and God is because we are obligated to worship our Creator. We should (are commanded by God) to worship Jesus.
Psa 95:3 For the LORD[Jehovah] is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
Psa 95:4 In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.
Psa 95:5 The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.
Psa 95:6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.
Psa 95:7 For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand….
In the Bible, God identifies Himself as our Creator, and the Creator of all the universe. This element or position of God in being “our Creator” means that we should worship Him because he is our God, our Creator, our Maker, our Owner. See discussion on Worship.
God
John 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Col 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Col 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
Col 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
Eph 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Heb 1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
Heb 1:10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:
Heb 3:4 For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.
We would identify Jesus in the New Testament with the title of “Lord”, and as the “Holy One of Israel”.
Lord
Act 7:48 Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,
Act 7:49 Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?
Act 7:50 Hath not my hand made all these things?
Act 17:23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
Act 17:24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
God the Son, Jesus Christ, as Creator
Note that the Word of God is also identified specifically in the Acts of Creation
Psa 33:6 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
Heb 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
Jehovah or LORD in KJV
Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Gen 2:8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
Gen 2:9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Gen 2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
Gen 2:19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.
Gen 2:22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
Gen 6:6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
Gen 6:7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
Gen 7:4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I (LORD 7:5) destroy from off the face of the earth.
Deu 32:18 Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.
Psa 33:6 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. 9 For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.
Psa 96:5 For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.
Psa 94:7 Yet they say, The LORD shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it. 9 He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see?
Psa 95:3 For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. 5 The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.
Psa 95:6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.
Psa 100:3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Psa 104:8 They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them. (See Psa 104:1 LORD my God)
Psa 115:15 Ye are blessed of the LORD which made heaven and earth.
Psa 119:73 JOD. Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments.
Psa 121:2 My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
Psa 124:8 Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
Psa 134:3 The LORD that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion.
Psa 136:5 To him (136:1,2,3 the Lord, the God of gods, the Lord of lords) that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Psa 136:6 To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Psa 136:7 To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever:
Psa 136:8 The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever:
Psa 136:9 The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Psa 146:6 Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever: (See Psa 146:1 ”LORD”, Psa 146:5 ”God of Jacob”)
Pro 3:19 The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.
Pro 22:2 The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.
Isa 43:1 But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
Isa 44:2 Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen.
Isa 44:24 Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;
Isa 45:5 I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
Isa 45:6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
Isa 45:8 Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it.
Isa 45:9 Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?
Isa 45:11 Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.
Isa 45:12 I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.
Isa 45:13 … saith the LORD of hosts.
Isa 45:18 For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.
Isa 51:13 And forgettest the LORD thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor?
Isa 54:5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
Amo 4:13 For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name.
Zec 12:1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
Act 4:24 And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:
When groups such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses try to attack the deity of Jesus Christ, they declare that Jesus is an archangel, created by the one true God, Jehovah, and that after Jehovah created Jesus, Jehovah did not create anything else, but left the rest of Creation for Jesus to perform. This is simply a twisting of Scripture to say what it doesn’t really say. The first account of Creation that God gives us in Genesis 1 and 2 says nothing about either Jesus nor any angel of God creating the universe, but states exactly “God created the heaven and the earth”. The first verse in the Bible has to be of importance in most people’s thinking, and if Jesus is a minor or insignificant god (lower case god), then how is it that God begins Holy Scripture with this minor god instead of the TRUE GOD!? This same true and only God says in Gen 1:27 that He created man in HIS IMAGE. The God of Genesis 1 is the true and only God.
God
Gen 1:7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
Gen 1:16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
Gen 1:25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Gen 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Gen 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
Gen 2:3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
Gen 2:4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,
Gen 2:9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Gen 2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
Gen 2:22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
Gen 5:1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;
Job 10:8 Thine hands (of God Job 10:2) have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me.
Job 35:10 But none saith, Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night;
Psa 89:11 The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them. (LORD GOD see 89:8)
Psa 100:3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Ecc 11:5 As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.
Isa 37:16 O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth.
Act 4:24 And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:
Rom 9:20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
Act 14:15 And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:
Act 17:24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
Rom 9:20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
Rom 9:21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
Heb 11:10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
Rev 14:7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
Here God affirms that “the Lord (Jehovah) God made the earth and the heavens” as in other places (Gen 6:7; Psa 148:5; Isa 40, especially Isa 40:10, 18, 26; Is 43:1; Isa 45:7-8, 11-12).
Isa 40:28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
Isa 42:5 Thus saith God [El] the LORD[Jehovah], he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
Isa 45:18 For thus saith the LORD[Jehovah] that created the heavens; God[Elohim] himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD[Jehovah]; and there is none else.
This passage identifies the “everlasting God (Elohim), the Lord (Jehovah), as being the Creator of the earth, from one end to the other.
Amo 4:13 For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD[Jehovah], The God[Elohim] of hosts, is his name.
Here God informs us that Jehovah, Elohim is who made the mountains and the wind.
Now once we establish the fact that the Old Testament, clearly using the personal titles and names of God, Jehovah, El, Elohim, etc., we turn to the New Testament and see with clarity that the Bible places Jesus as this same God.
1Ti 4:3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
1Pe 4:19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.
Rev 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.Eph 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Col 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Col 3:10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
Perhaps one of the most difficult points to understand if we reject the deity of Jesus Christ is how Christ clearly understood and presented himself as the absolute perfection of every sinner. In other words, Jesus confronted every sinner with the concept, “You have a problem in your sin, and I am the solution to that problem. You need me.” We see salvation being a love affair between the sinner and God, and this presentation would be highly blasphemous if Jesus is not God. How can a mere man, or a mere angel, present themselves to sinful men in this way?
8. In relation to man’s spiritual needs, Jesus regards himself as the ultimate and perfect supply. “Jesus answered and said unto her, Every one that drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up unto eternal life” (Saint John 4.13, 14; compare with Saint John 10.10).
Olin Alfred Curtis (1850-1918) - The Christian Faith chapter 16 (1905)Isaiah 43:11 I, even I, am the LORD, And besides Me there is no savior.
1 Timothy 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
Jude 1:25 To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.Titus 2:13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
2 Peter 1:11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
1 John 4:14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.
Another very important support of Jesus’ Deity is that He is the Owner and Head of the Human Race. This concept is necessary if he is to “redeem his own”. Working as a lawyer to defend and free the human race from charges of sin before the court of heaven, he must have a valid entry right into the court and to represent humanity. While the representation is established twofold, (1) because Jesus is Creator, and (2) Jesus is the head of the human race, the validity to come before God is also established by two points: (1) Jesus is sinless, and (2) Jesus is God.
9. Jesus regards himself as the Race-Man. Of all the discussions bearing upon the term “Son of man,” in its meaning as used by our Lord, the discussion by Professor Stevens, in his Theology of the New Testament, seems to me to be the most nearly satisfactory. But, for my purpose, this term “Son of man” has no large importance; and for the sufficient reason that we already have, in the four facts noted in this connection, a clear revelation of our Saviour’s consciousness of his peculiar relation to men. When we try to state this peculiar relation in a compact word we can do no better than to say that Jesus Christ is conscious of being the Race-Man. On the one side, he owns the race. It is his race in such a final way that he has the absolute right to make his claim upon all men. No man, high or low, rich or poor, this or that, can escape him. In his consciousness there is a great racial grasp. And, then, on the other hand, he belongs to the whole race. Every man has a property in him. It is his supreme business to live with men and for men, all men. Therefore, there is a fitness in his redemptive work. It is not extraneous.
It does not come at men from the outside. Our Saviour is not a stranger. His Relation to the Moral Law. Now, holding fast to what we have, namely, our Lord’s consciousness of the redemptive purpose of his mission and of his peculiar relation to mankind, it becomes exceedingly important to discover the content of his moral consciousness. How was he, in consciousness, related to the moral law under which man must be redeemed, if redeemed at all?
10. The first thing to be marked here is that Jesus Christ never manifested any consciousness of being himself a sinner. This point does not in the least depend upon the minute exegesis of such a text as that in Saint John’s gospel (8.46), where our Lord exclaims, “Which of you convicteth me of sin?” It is a matter of personal bearing. Read the record in the gospels from end to end, and you become positive that Jesus felt perfectly free from sin. Olin Alfred Curtis (1850-1918) - The Christian Faith chapter 16 (1905)
Jesus as the Savior is one of the roles he fulfills, but Jesus is also the final judge of all sinners also.Mat 10:32-33will judge the life of each person and redeem that person or deny that person salvation on the basis of that person’s faith in him (Jesus Christ the Savior). This judge over mankind means that the judge must be of some way above the men he judges. Jesus therefore must be God because he is man’s judge, and while his humanity establishes his link with mankind, his deity (especially seen in as the Creator of mankind) establishes the right and authority to judge mankind.
11. Even as the separate texts are overarched by the general bearing of Jesus, so his general bearing is overarched by the one fact that he claimed to have the moral authority to forgive sin. But that ye may know that the Son of man hath authority on earth to forgive sins (Saint Matt. 9.6; read the entire passage in Saint Mark 2.5-12).
12. But all — the separate texts, the general bearing, and the forgiveness of sin — are overarched by our Lord’s assertion that he alone is to be the final Judge of men. “For neither doth the Father judge any man, but he hath given all judgment unto the Son” (SaintJohn 5.22). “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then shall he render unto every man according to his deeds “(Saint Matt. 16.27) Olin Alfred Curtis(1850-1918) -The Christian Faithchapter 16 (1905)
“For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him” (John 5:22, 23). This declaration that the Father judgeth no man—better “no one”—is especially noteworthy. The Father is the One whom we might most naturally expect to be the Judge. He is the first who was wronged. It is His rights (though not His exclusively) which have been denied. His governmental claims have been set at naught. He was the One who sent here the Lord Jesus who has been despised and rejected. But instead of the Father being the Judge, He hath “committed all judgment unto the Son,” and the reason for this is “that all should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father.” There is then, or more correctly, there will be, absolute equality between the Father and the Son in Divine honors…
“And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation” (John 5:27-29). This brings us to the seventh proof for the absolute Deity of Christ: He is co-equal with the Father in judicial authority and power.
“And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.” The “also” seems to point back to verse 22, where we are told, “The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son.” Judgment has been committed to the Son in order that all should honor Him even as they honor the Father. But here in verse 27 Christ gives an additional reason: the Father has also appointed the Lord Jesus to execute judgment “because he is the Son of man.” It was because the Son of God had become clothed with flesh and walked this earth as Man, that He was despised and rejected and His Divine glories disowned. This supplies a further reason why it is meet that the Son of man should be Judge in the last great day. The despised One shall be in the place of supreme honor and authority. All will be compelled to bow the knee before Him; and thus will He be glorified before them and His outraged rights vindicated. Arthur Pink-Exposition of the Gospel of John, Chapter 18
Second, who but God is capable of acting as Judge in the Great Assize! None but He can read the heart, and none but He possesses the necessary wisdom for such a stupendous task as determining the sentence due to each one of that vast assemblage which will stand before the great white throne. Thus we see that from start to finish this wonderful passage sets forth the Godhood of the Savior. Let us then honor Him even as we honor the Father, and prostrate ourselves before Him in adoring worship. Arthur Pink-Exposition of the Gospel of John, Chapter 18
Jesus considered himself to be the expression of moral perfect, sinless, the example of God for holiness. This presentation of Jesus that obviously Jesus himself considered valid and something to teach humanity is hard to accept if Jesus was just a normal man, or even an angel. It borders on haughtiness that is never seen in mankind or angels as anything except demonic. The person making these kinds of claims must be God himself.
[chapter:]
God
GodIsaiah 44:6
God
Psalms 47:2 For the LORD most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth.
Psalms 47:7 For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.
Jeremiah 10:6-7 Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might. 7 Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee.
Daniel 7:27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
Zechariah 14:9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.
Zechariah 14:16-17 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. 17 And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.
2 Thessalonians 1:5 Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:
Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
Jesus
Ephesians 5:5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Colossians 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
2 Timothy 4:1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
Hebrews 1:8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
2 Peter 1:11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Revelation 1:9 I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Revelation 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. (Ephesians 4:5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism)a. Romans 5:21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
b. Acts 11:17 Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?
c. Acts 15:11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
GodDaniel 2:47
Acts 20:28 ”Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.”
The church is identified as being the “church belonging to God”. God is qualified as being the one who purchased the church with his own blood. Did God the Father die on the Cross or did Jesus? Well, Jesus did. Then Jesus is the God spoken of here.
[chapter:]One of the most important points of locking into the doctrine of the deity of Jesus Christ is understanding just what the office and mission of the Messiah was. Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah of the OT Jews. This Messiah was God Himself stepping down from heaven to partake of humanity so that He could effect salvation for mankind. This makes no sense if Jesus is not fully God. The mission of Jesus Christ was to save men. His conception and verbalization of this mission is seen in Luke 19:10 ”For the Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost.” Jesus came to establish the “kingdom of God” on earth. This is not a philanthropic kingdom only, but is highly involved in and based in the redemption of man’s soul. Entrance to the kingdom of God was only through being spiritual born “anew” (John 3:3), and conditioned on repentance from sin (Luke 5:32). To accomplish this mission Jesus had to give up his pre-existent state and take on himself humanity. Having taken on humanity, he had to give up his life to sinful men. The concept of the “Good Shepherd” that dies in saving his sheep in John 10 is this idea. Moreover his life was given as a “ransom paid” for humanity. “For the Son of man also came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many”Mark 10:45; Mat 20:28; 26:28. All of this focuses on Christ’s mission which was clearly in his own mind a mission that centered on his own sacrifice, from his life on the cross to his pre-existent state of glory.
Bibliography:
Olin Alfred Curtis (1850-1918) - The Christian Faith chapter 16 (1905)
When we consider the special names and titles used of Jesus in relationship to his being and ministry, we cannot but help understand that we are talking about the very God. Jesus is the God who has always existed through all of eternity past, the present, and will exist for all of eternity future. Continue reading »