By Lewis Sperry Chafer
[Author’s Note: This, the fourth article in a series on Trinitarianism, presents two aspects of the doctrine of Christ—His Names and His Deity. This was preceded by a discussion of His Pre-existence, and will be followed by articles on His Incarnation, His Humanity, the Kenosis, and the Hypostatic Union. There yet remains, also, in this series a consideration of the general doctrine of God the Holy Spirit.]
IV: His Name
Introduction.
The Messianic character of Psalm 45 cannot be questioned. Its closing verse is a promise and a prophecy, “I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever.” Because of all that is disclosed in the name of the Messiah, He shall be praised in all generations. Great indeed is the sum total of all His names, His titles, and His descriptive designations. Because of His incarnation, His work in redemption, and His multiplied relationships, the number of His appellations exceeds those of the Father, the Spirit, and all the angels so far as these are revealed. As is true of each Person of the Godhead, the names of the Second Person are a distinct revelation. It is probable that almost every essential truth resident in the Second Person is expressed in some specific name, i.e., Emmanuel speaks of His incarnation relationships, Jesus of His salvation, the Son of Man of His humanity, the Son of God of His Deity, Lord of His authority, the Son of David of His throne rights, Faithful and True of His manifestations, and Jesus Christ the Righteous of the equity with which He meets the condemnation due the Christian because of sin. Some of the major titles are to be considered more specifically.
1. Jehovah, Lord.
Some truth relative to the Jehovah character of the Second Person has been set forth in the previous discussion. Without restating what has gone before, added evidence may well be advanced to the end that the glory may be unto Him to whom it belongs. He is properly styled Jehovah. This is because of the fact that He is Jehovah; yet it will be remembered this designation is applicable to none but Deity. It is the ineffable name which represents that eternal exaltation which cannot be communicated to any creature. In Psalm 83:18 it is written: “That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.” Similarly, in Isaiah 42:8, “I am Jehovah, that is my name; and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise unto graven images” (A.S.V.). No greater proof of Deity could be presented concerning Christ than that He should rightfully be called Jehovah. Only a little attention need be exercised to discover how constantly the Jehovah title is ascribed to Christ. In Zechariah 12:10 Jehovah predicts concerning Himself: “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born.” Of none other of the Godhead than Christ could it be said that He was “pierced” and for whom the people would “mourn,” yet this is Jehovah who speaks. What other application could be given of Revelation 1:7, which reads, “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him”? To the same end, the prophecy presented in Jeremiah 23:5, 6 declares that the Righteous Branch, a son of David, who is Himself a King, shall be called Jehovah our Righteousness. It is Christ and not another who is made unto believers righteousness (1 Cor 1:30), and it is only in Christ that they are made the righteousness of God (Rom 3:22; 2 Cor 5:21). Again, Jehovah who ascended up on high and led captivity captive, according to Psalm 68:18, is, in Ephesians 4:8–10, none other than Christ. And in Psalm 102 where the name Jehovah appears many times and in verse 12 with special significance, that enduring Person is declared in Hebrews 1:10 to be the Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah’s testimony, “Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD [Jehovah] of hosts,” is interpreted by the Apostle John to be a reference to Christ. He states: “These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him” (Christ—John 12:41). It may yet be added that as Jehovah of the Old Testament declares Himself to be the First and the Last (Isa 41:4; 44:6; 48:12), so Christ, according to Revelation 1:8, 17, 18; 22:13, 16 is the same First and Last. The hosts of heaven have no thought of withholding from Christ the honor due unto Jehovah. Of their song it is written, “And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest” (Rev 15:3, 4). As has been observed, Christ is Jehovah of the temple (cf. Matt 12:6; Mal 3:1; Matt 21:12, 13), and He is Jehovah of the Sabbath (Matt 12:8).
A distinct and extensive proof that Christ is Jehovah is to be seen in the New Testament title of Lord which is applied to Him upwards of a thousand times. Jehovah is a Hebrew term which is not brought forward into the New Testament. Its equivalent is κύριος, which title is also applied to the Father and the Spirit. It is a justifiable procedure to treat the name Jehovah of the Old Testament as continued in its specific meaning into the New Testament by the name Lord. Such would be the natural meaning of many exalted declarations: “Lord of all” (Acts 10:36), “Lord over all” (Rom 10:12), “Lord of glory” (1 Cor 2:8), and “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Rev 17:14; 19:16).
2. Elohim, God.
The body of Scripture in which this title is assigned to the Second Person is manifold indeed. In two notable passages in Isaiah the advent of Christ is anticipated and there in each He is styled Elohim. Predicting the ministry of the forerunner and his message, the prophet writes: “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God” (Isa 40:3). In the fulfillment of this anticipation, Luke declares that Christ is in view. He states: “As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight” (3:4). It is evident that the word our as used in these passages includes the saints of all the ages and affirms the truth that the one who bears this title is Creator, Benefactor, and Judge, and that to Him supreme adoration is ever due. None from among men could ever answer the claims of this exalted name. After the same manner in a passage none will misinterpret, Isaiah, in the midst of other equally significant appellations, states that Christ is The mighty Elohim. The passage reads, “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 [Elohim], The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this” (9:6, 7). The accompanying ascriptions in this passage are as exalting as the title mighty God. He is Wonderful, Counsellor, Father of eternity, and a King who will establish a kingdom of perfect peace. This mighty God is born as a child. The Ancient of Days becomes an infant in a woman’s arms; the Father of Eternity is a Son given to the world. Each appellation breathes out the character of Deity and they without question belong to the Second Person alone.
The New Testament bears even a greater witness. Of John the Baptist it was said that he would turn many to “the Lord their God.” The Apostle John certifies that “the Word was God.” Emmanuel, Matthew says, is “God with us”—not as a mere spiritual presence, but a complete identification with the human family forever. The Apostle Paul enjoins the elders at Ephesus to “feed the church of God, which he [God] hath purchased with his own blood” (Acts 20:28). The writer to the Hebrews says of Christ, “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever.” Thomas, in spite of his incredulity, declares, “My Lord and my God,” and the Apostle Paul in another Scripture anticipates the return of Christ as “the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). It may be accepted as true that in the combined titles such as God and Father, Christ and God, God and Saviour, the great God and Saviour, but one Person is in view. Thus Christ is specifically called God (cf. Rom 15:6; Eph 1:3; 5:5, 20; 2 Pet 1:1). In 1 John 5:20, 21, Christ is designated, “the true God, and eternal life.” So He is “the blessed God” and “God over all” (Rom 9:5).
3. Son of God, Son of Man.
An interesting and fruitful study is presented in these two titles. Christ did not often designate Himself as Son of God, though He accepted that address whenever it was offered to Him by others. That He asserted that He is the Son of God led to the charge of blasphemy in His trial (Luke 22:67–71). In this instance He was asked two direct questions, namely, “Art thou the Christ?” and, “Art thou the Son of God?” It is possible that in the estimation of the Jews to claim to be Messiah was not as great an evil as to claim to be the Son of God. He was condemned for blasphemy because of His unqualified assertion that He is the Son of God. John adds in 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,” and, again, in 10:33, “The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.” It is evident also that Christ spoke repeatedly of God as His Father, and though He reminded His followers that God is their Father, His own Sonship is a reality which He never classed with others. This is true regarding every form of sonship which the Bible recognizes and especially is it true of the sonship which believers sustain to God through regeneration. He taught His disciples to pray, “Our Father which art in heaven,” but He did not, and could not pray that prayer with them (cf. Matt 11:27). John’s Gospel makes much of the Son of God title and properly, since it is the Gospel of His Deity. In that Gospel, the Son—which evidently is an abbreviation of the full title the Son of God—executes judgment (5:22); He has life in Himself and quickeneth whom He will (5:26, 21). He gives eternal life (10:10); it is the will of the Father that all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father (5:23); the Son does only what He sees the Father do (5:19), and only that which He hears from the Father does He speak (14:10); and the Son confesses that, on the divine side, He has a Father and on the human side He has a God (20:17). A conclusive and arresting Scripture in this connection is Matthew 28:18–20, which reads: “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Here it is seen that not only all authority is given to the Son, but He is named in the Trinity on an equality with the other Persons of the Godhead. The Apostle Paul began His incomparable ministry with no uncertain word as to the Son of God. It is written of him: “And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God,” and his continued emphasis upon the Deity of the Son is well set forth in Romans 1:1–4: “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, (which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”
Concerning the name Son of Man, the fact is to be recognized for all that it connotes, that Christ almost universally referred to Himself by this title. He so represents Himself thirty times in Matthew, fifteen times in Mark, twenty-five times in Luke, and twelve times in John. The designation. as belonging to Christ, appears once in Acts (7:56) and twice in Revelation (1:13; 14:14). This cognomen appears in certain parts of the Old Testament, notably, Psalms, Ezekiel, and Daniel. In later years much consideration has been given to the problem as to why Christ chose this designation rather than the more exalting name—Son of God. The impression generally held in earlier years was that the term Son of God emphasizes the Deity of the Savior, while the term Son of Man emphasizes His humanity. It is highly probable that in the majority of cases this difference obtains. However, such is not always the case. The Son of Man title covers a wide range of reality. In Mark 2:28 it is declared that “the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath,” while in Matthew 8:20 Christ appears under the same name in lowly guise, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” Some have sought to account for Christ’s continued use of this name on the ground that it appears in the Old Testament. Such a connection can hardly be established, though there is clear anticipation of the Messiah under this designation in Daniel 7:13, 14. The choice of this appellation on the part of Christ does not seem to be restricted to Messianic aspects of His ministry. The people inquired, “Who is this Son of man?” (John 12:34), and Christ inquired, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” (Matt 16:13). The varied reply, like the question on the part of the people, hardly indicated that this specific title was associated generally with the Messianic hope. It would seem rather from His own viewpoint with the background of His Deity from all eternity in mind, the natural feature of His Person to be stressed while here on the earth was that which was new—His humanity. In this He was drawing near to those to whom He spoke and to whom He was ministering. Doubtless a contact was established under the relationship which the humanity title suggested that could not have been secured under the divine title. The use of the Son of man title by the Savior did not preclude Him from presenting Himself in any exalted position which occasion might demand. An important disclosure is made in Mark 10:45 concerning the Son of man: “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
4. Lord Jesus Christ.
Essential truth relative to the Person of the Redeemer is revealed in this His complete and official title. The name Lord, being none other than Jehovah, declares His Deity. The name Jesus belongs to His humanity and the way of salvation through His redeeming Sacriice—“A body hast thou prepared me.” The title Christ, though used as a general identification of the Second Person, in its technical implication means all that is anticipated in the Old Testament—Prophet, Priest, and King. Since these offices as represented by these titles occupy so large a place in Christology and must be yet considered at length in other divisions of Systematic Theology, they will not be pursued further here.
The first sentence of the first preserved writing of the Apostle Paul employs a designation of Deity which seems to be that commonly used by him, “God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess 1:1. Cf. 2 Thess 1:1; Gal 1:1; 1 Cor 1:3; 2 Cor 1:2; Rom 1:7; Eph 1:2; 6:23; Col 1:2; Phile 3; Phil 1:2; 1 Tim 1:2; Titus 1:4; 2 Tim 1:2). From this the exalted character of this name and of the One who bears it may be seen. The designation, Lord Jesus Christ, is as elevated as the term God with which it is coupled.
V. His Deity
Introduction.
As there is no question among professing Christians as to the Deity of either the Father or the Spirit, it is reasonable to suppose that there would have been no question raised as to the Deity of the Son had He not become incarnate in human form. The Deity of the Son is asserted in the Bible as fully and as clearly in every particular as is the Deity of the Father or the Spirit. On the other hand, the humanity of the Savior is as dogmatically set forth. To those who in their thinking keep these two natures of Christ separate both as to substance and manifestation, there is less perplexity as to Christ’s Deity. Difficulty arises with those who, assuming that they must blend these natures, attempt to strike an average in which His Deity is lowered and His humanity is exalted to a point of an equivalence. To such persons, the resulting error is twofold, namely, the Deity of the Lord is submerged in doubt and the humanity of the Lord is deprived of all its naturalness. Under those conditions, the Scriptures which so clearly present each of these two natures must either be disputed or qualified beyond effectiveness. The hypostatic union of the two natures in Christ is to be considered in another section of this general theme. However, it should be observed at this place that the true scientific method would be first to establish the fact of the two natures of Christ before undertaking to enter upon the mystery involved. The truth of the two natures is fully demonstrated; the mystery resides in their coexistence in one person. Of this scientific method Dr. A. B. Winchester has written: “The bush burning and unconsumed was a great mystery. Moses might have turned from it to consider something ‘practical’-as men of affairs say. If he had done so what a vision, an experience, a life-work, a character, and a glory he would have missed! All progress of knowledge of any kind is made possible only by the recognition at once of fact and of mystery. Every fact has its mystery, and each mystery has its fact. The scientific procedure is to make the known, the stepping stone to the unknown; to advance from the simple to the complex; from the fact to the mystery. To invert that order, ignore the fact and begin with the mystery is unscientific and an effective barrier to any possible advance in knowledge. Remember this is the inexorable law of advance in knowledge of any kind, secular or religious. ‘Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh.’...(1 Tim 3:16). In studying this ‘great mystery’ we must follow the same order, i.e., first the fact, then the mystery. This is precisely what rationalistic theologians and skeptics have not done. Moses was scientific. His attention was arrested by the fact of the bush and the fact of the flame. He would investigate the facts reverently and carefully, waiting patiently for the unfolding of the mystery. Beloved, do not miss that important lesson. That lowly bush burning unconsumed is a type radiant with the glory of the angel of the Covenant, our gracious and glorious Lord Jesus Christ. It foreshadows Him in the mysterious constitution of His complex Person and in the great redeeming work which necessitated for its accomplishment the union (not blending) of the divine and human natures in one mysterious and glorious Person. The flame in the unconsumed bush typified the presence of Jehovah-Jesus, anticipating, as in other types, the future appearing in ‘flesh’ of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.”[1]
The Second Person has ever been the manifestation of Deity and never more so than in and through the incarnation. So vital is this truth that He could say, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9), and “All things are delivered unto me of my Father; and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him” (Matt 11:27). The manifestation of the Godhead is not dependent alone upon the humanity of the Son secured through the incarnation for He was the perfect Revealer from all eternity. Because of this, He only served as the Angel of Jehovah. There is abundant reason to believe that finite humanity, of itself, could never serve as a medium through which infinity might be expressed. It follows from Christ’s words recorded in John 5:23 (A.S.V.) and 1 John 2:22, 23, that he who fails to see God in Christ does not see God at all. It follows, also, that the first step to be taken in an approach to the understanding of the Person of Christ is an unprejudiced recognition of His Deity. Certain lines of evidence establish this reality:
1. Divine Attributes Belong to Christ.
There is no attribute of Deity which is not declared to be in Christ and to the full measure of infinity. Of these note may be made,
a. Eternity.
This attribute can be applied to none but God. It is possible that angels have lived to observe uncounted ages come and go, but multiplied ages do not make an eternity. It is a specific and peculiar assertion to claim for any being the attribute of eternity. In Isaiah 9:6, Christ is styled “The everlasting Father,” or Father of eternity, and Micah declares that this same Jesus who on the human side was to be born in Bethlehem, was, on the divine side, He “whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2). Thus, also, John announces that this Logos of God was in the beginning and is none other than the eternal God (John 1:1, 2). Of Himself He said, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). By this declaration Christ proclaimed His Deity and His enemies so understood Him; for they took up stones to kill Him on the charge of blasphemy. He is eternal Life and the bestower of it. A creature by generation may beget after its kind, but none but an eternal Being could beget eternal life. The new birth is “from above.”
b. Immutability.
No created thing can be said to be immutable. Jehovah can say of Himself, “I am Jehovah, I change not” (Mal 3:6). Psalm 102:25–27 is a message concerning Jehovah which is quoted in Hebrews 1:11, 12, and there applied to Christ, and after this manner, “They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they chall be changed; but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.” The Lord Jesus Christ is “the same yesterday, and to day and for ever” (Heb 13:8).
c. Omnipotence.
As before indicated, the title Almighty God is used as a designation of Christ (Rev 1:8). It is written that He shall reign until all enemies are destroyed (1 Cor 15:25), and that “He is able even to subdue all things unto himself” (Phil 3:21).
d. Omniscience.
It is as definitely maintained that Christ knew all things. John states that He knew from the beginning those who would not believe, and the one that would betray Him (John 6:64), and that He knew “what was in man” (John 2:25). Peter said, “Lord, thou knowest all things” (John 21:17). The Lord said of Himself, “As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father” (John 10:15). Of Mark 13:32 where it is recorded that Christ declared that He did not know the day nor the hour of His return, it may be observed that the passage is not unlike 1 Corinthians 2:2 where the Apostle wrote, “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” The thought is not to make known, or not to cause another to know. The truth mentioned was not then, as to its time, committed either to the Son or to the angels to publish.
e. Omnipresence.
No attribute is more distinctive in the realms of that which is peculiar to Deity than Omnipresence, and none more foreign to the creature; yet of Christ it is said that He “filleth all in all” (Eph 1:23). Christ promised that He whose residence was to be in heaven would, with the Father, and as Jehovah walked with Israel (Lev 26:12), come and make His abode with the believers (John 14:23). He also promised that where two or three are gathered together unto His name, He would be in the midst of them (Matt 18:20). So, also, He has declared to His messengers in all lands and throughout the age, “Lo, I am with you alway” (Matt 28:20).
f. Other Major Attributes.
To these divine attributes, already named as belonging to the Savior, may be added all others, notably, Life (John 1:4; 5:26; 10:10; 14:6; Heb 7:16); Truth (John 14:6; Rev 3:7); Holiness (Luke 1:35; John 6:69; Heb 7:26); and Love (John 13:1, 34; 1 John 3:16).
Thus it is effectively reasoned that if attributes represent the elements of being and the divine attributes are the distinguishing features of Deity and that every divine attribute is fully ascribed to Christ, He is Deity in the most absolute sense.
2. The Prerogatives of Deity are Ascribed to Christ.
It is predicated of the Savior that He is Creator of all things, their Preserver, and that He has authority over His creation. He forgives sin, He will raise the dead, and He will judge the world. True worship is offered to Him and is received by Him. He is honored as Deity by inspired writers, and those who know Him best love and serve Him most. Some of these patent truths may well be considered more at length:
a. He is Creator of all things.
But three major passages need be introduced in support of this declaration. With what seems to be some consideration of the Mosaic account concerning creation, John declares, positively, that “All things were made by him” (the Logos); and, negatively, “without him was not any thing made”; and, universally, “The world was made by him” (John 1:3, 10). A more conclusive, dogmatic assertion could not be framed. The very material world in which He lived and moved was the work of His own hands. With the same positive and universal signification the Apostle, by the Spirit, states, “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: and he is before all things, and by him all things consist” (Col 1:16, 17); and with the added truth that all elements in His universe are held together by Him. Lastly, in Hebrews 1:10 it is written, “And Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands.” Therefore, if to create all things as Originator of them and to be the object of them as Proprietor is a mark of Deity, the Lord Jesus Christ is, in the absolute sense, God.
b. He is Preserver of all things.
The Lord of glory, the Savior of the world, upholds all things by the Word of His power (Heb 1:3), and, as noted above, is that One by whom all things are sustained (Col 1:16, 17). As vast as the universe may be, it is one organic whole which is bound and held by one Omnipotent Person—The Christ of God.
c. He pardons sin.
The right and authority to pardon sin, since sin is evil because of its offense against God, could be exercised only by God Himself. Hence when, as in various instances, Christ acted directly in the pardon of sin He, by so much, asserted that He is God. On one occasion He wrought a notable miracle to convince the Scribes that “the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins” (Luke 5:24). Thus, also, it is disclosed that Christ forgives the sins of believers. The Apostle writes: “Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye” (Col 3:13).
d. Christ will raise the dead.
This He did while here on the earth. When identifying that which is peculiar to Deity, the Apostle writes: “That we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead” (2 Cor 1:9). To the same purpose Christ said, “For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will” (John 5:21). John 5:28, 29 presents a clear prediction: “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.” So emphatically, indeed, has Christ the power to raise the dead that He is styled “the resurrection, and the life” (John 11:25).
e. Christ apportions the rewards of saints.
Though delivered from all judgment because of sin and because of the fact that Christ has borne their sins, the redeemed of this age do, nevertheless, all appear before the judgment seat of Christ there to receive His approval or disapproval concerning their service for Him (2 Cor 5:10).
f. The judgment of the world is committed to Christ.
The Lord Himself said, “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son” (John 5:22). With this in view, it is to be noted that the dead, small and great, shall stand before God and be judged by him (Rev 20:12). Thus Christ is identified as God and declared to be God.
g. That worship which belongs only to God is freely rendered to Christ.
Worship of God is primarily on the ground of the fact that God is the Creator. The Psalmist says, “O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker” (Ps 95:6). In the same manner Christ declared: “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10). No man—not even an apostle—would suffer himself to be worshiped (cf. Acts 10:25, 26; 14:8–15); nor will any unfallen angel accept the worship which belongs to God alone (Rev 22:8, 9). Yet Christ stated: “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 5:23). The sense in which Christ is to be honored may be determined by the way in which the inspired writers honor Him. On His ascension to heaven, they worshipped Him (Luke 24:52), and the early Christians were designated as those who call upon the name of Christ (Acts 9:14; cf. Acts 22:16; Rom 10:13; 1 Cor 1:2). To those at all familiar with the New Testament text, it need not be pointed out that, as He was worshipped in His preincarnate glory (Isa 6:3), so Christ is even more presented as the object of worship after His incarnation. It is no small feature of this consequence that all prayer is now to be made in Christ’s name (John 14:13, 14), and that those who knew Him best were by so much the more impelled to adore Him. He has always proven Himself to be the satisfying portion of all the saints of this and past ages.
How complete, then, is the evidence which establishes Christ’s supreme Divinity! It has been demonstrated that He existed from all eternity in the form of God; that He bears the titles of Deity; that the attributes of Deity are predicated of Him; and that He functions in all the prerogatives of Deity—He is Creator and Preserver of the universe, the Pardoner of sin, the One who raises the dead, who bestows eternal life and eternal rewards, who judges the world; and who receives the worship of angels and of men. No more is declared of the Father or the Spirit than is declared of the Son. To question this body of evidence is to reject proof altogether, which path leads logically to the rejection of God and to atheism. Either the Lord Jesus Christ is God in the fullest sense or there is no God at all.
No better summarization in brief form of the evidence that Christ is God has been found than that by Samuel Greene: “In the Holy Scriptures we learn of Christ, that his name is Jehovah; the Lord of Hosts; the Lord God; the Lord of Glory; the Lord of all; he is the true God; the Great God; and God over all; the First and the Last; the self-existent I AM. We see that all the attributes and incommunicable perfections of Jehovah belong to Christ. He is Eternal, Immutable, Omnipresent, Omniscient, Omnipotent! We see that the works which can be done by none but Jehovah himself, are done by Christ. He created all worlds; upholdeth all things by the word of his power; governs the whole universe, and provides for all creation; the power of his voice will call forth all the millions of the dead at the resurrection; he will judge them all in the great day. Although the company before his awful tribunal will be innumerable as the sand upon the seashore, yet will he perfectly recollect all their actions, words, and thoughts, from the birth of creation to the end of time; too much for man, but easy to Christ! He is also to his Church what none but God can be. He hath chosen his people before the world was; the church is his own property; he redeemed a lost world; he is the source of all grace and eternal salvation to his people; and it is he that sends the Holy Ghost down to prepare the church for glory, which he presents unto himself at last, and gives her the kingdom. And we are to act towards Christ exactly in the same manner as we are to act towards God the Father; to believe in him; to be baptized in his name; to pray unto him; and to serve and worship him, even as we serve and worship the Father. These are the things which irresistibly prove the Godhead of Immanuel. What stronger proofs than these have we of the existence of Jehovah?”[2]
3. Objections.
It is not the purpose of this work to dwell to any extent on the negative side of any truth; but like the foundational doctrine of the Inspiration of the Scriptures, so has the equally foundational doctrine of the Person of Christ been assailed. Objections usually disclose the inability of the objector to recognize and receive the truth set forth in the Word of God. This is especially true in the two fundamental doctrines named. In each there is a union of that which is divine with that which is human. The dual authorship of the Bible is an insolvable mystery to the unregenerate mind; so, also, is the union of two natures in Christ. Concerning the objections which are made against the truth of Christ’s Deity, a fair illustration is presented by Dr. B. B. Warfield from the writings of Schmiedel: “Proceeding after this fashion Sehmiedel fixes primarily on five passages which seem to him to meet the conditions laid down; that is to say, they make statements which are in conflict with the reverence for Jesus that pervades the Gospels and therefore could not have been invented by the authors of the Gospels, but must have come to them from earlier fixed tradition; and they are preserved in their crude contradiction with the standpoint of the evangelists, accordingly only by one or two of them, while the others, or other, of them, if they report them at all, modify them into harmony with their standpoint of reverence. These five passages are: Mk. x.17ff. (‘Why callest thou me good? None is good save God only’); Mt. xii.31ff. (blasphemy against the Son of Man can be forgiven); Mk. iii.21 (His relations held Him to be beside Himself); Mk. xiii.32 (‘Of that day and of that hour knoweth no one, not even the angels in heaven, neither the Son but the Father’); Mk. xv.34. Mt. xxvii.46 (‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’). To these he adds four more which have reference to Jesus’ power to work miracles, viz.: Mk. viii.12 (Jesus declines to work a sign); Mk. vi.5ff. (Jesus was able to do no mighty works in Nazareth); Mk. viii.14–21. (‘The leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod’ refers not to bread but to teaching); Mt. xi.5; Lk. vii.22 (the signs of the Messiah are only figuratively miraculous). These nine passages he calls ‘the foundation—pillars for a truly scientific life of Jesus.’ In his view, they prove, on the one hand, that ‘he [Jesus] really did exist, and that the Gospels contain at least some trustworthy facts concerning him,—a matter which, he seems to suggest, would be subject to legitimate doubt in the absence of such passages; and, on the other hand, that ‘in the person of Jesus we have to do with a completely human being, and that the divine is to be sought in him only in the form in which it is capable of being found in a man.’ From them as a basis, he proposes to work out, admitting nothing to be credible which is not accordant with the non-miraculous, purely human, Jesus which these passages imply.”[3]
Further comment is uncalled for beyond the statement of the truth that if the Christ of God be set forth as both God and man, it is to be expected that His humanity will be presented along with His Deity. That this is the plan and intent of the Bible needs no defence.
Dr. Richard Watson has written a worthy declaration of Christ’s essential Deity. It should be preserved and read by all: “Of Christ, it will be observed that the titles of Jehovah, Lord, God, King, King of Israel, Redeemer, Saviour, and other names of God, are ascribed to him,—that he is invested with the attributes of eternity, omnipotence, ubiquity, infinite wisdom, holiness, goodness, etc.,—that he was the Leader, the visible King, and the object of the worship of the Jews,—that he forms the great subject of prophecy, and is spoken of in the predictions of the prophets in language, which if applied to men or to angels would by the Jews have been considered not as sacred but idolatrous, and which, therefore, except that it agreed with their ancient faith, would totally have destroyed the credit of those writings,that he is eminently known both in the Old Testament and in the New, as the Son of God, an appellative which is sufficiently proved to have been considered as implying an assumption of Divinity by the circumstance that, for asserting it, our Lord was condemned to die as a blasphemer by the Jewish sanhedrim,—that he became incarnate in our nature,—wrought miracles by his own original power, and not, as his servants, in the name of another,—that he authoritatively forgave sin,—that for the sake of his sacrifice, sin is forgiven to the end of the world, and for the sake of that alone,-that he rose from the dead to seal all these pretensions to Divinity,—that he is seated upon the throne of the universe, all power being given to him in heaven and in earth,—that his inspired apostles exhibit him as the Creator of all things visible and invisible; as the true God and the eternal life; as the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God and our Saviour,—that they offer to him the highest worship,that they trust in him, and command all others to trust in him for eternal life,—that he is the head over all things,that angels worship him and render him service,—that he will raise the dead at the last day,—judge the secrets of men’s hearts, and finally determine the everlasting state of the righteous and the wicked.”[4]
Dallas, Texas
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Oh, the blessedness of having a great High Priest to sustain our hearts in happy, holy liberty in God’s presence. One who can sympathize with us as to our infirmities, succor us in temptation, and daily save us through His ever-living and all-prevailing intercession. How unspeakably precious to be able to look up, and see that no weakness nor failure on our part, no, not even eternity itself, can erase the engraving of our names from His heart. And when we would be easily cast down with humbling views of our weakness, forgetfulness and shortcomings, oh, the unutterable blessedness of looking up and seeing that infinitely loving, faithful heart ever engaged about us, and ever presenting us before the face of God in all the virtue and fragrance of an everlastingly—anointed High Priest. And if the precious ointment, with its exquisite perfume, when poured upon the head of Aaron, ran down to the skirts of his garments, surely the precious savor of Christ must, by the Holy Ghost, rest upon every member of His body.—Selected.
Notes
- God Hath Spoken, pp. 179,180.
- Present Day Tracts—Christology—The Divinity of Jesus Christ, p. 30.
- Christology and Criticism, B. B. Warfield, pp. 189, 190.
- Theological Institutes, Vol. I, p. 473.
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