The Doctrine of Christ

Section V—THE DEITY OF CHRIST

LESSON FIFTEEN The Deity of Christ

1. The Word who became flesh was God. John 1:1, 14; Matthew 1:23; 2 Corinthians 5:19; Romans 9:5; Colossians 2:9; 1 John 5:20; John 20:28. TDOC 40.1

2. The “I AM” of the Old Testament was manifested in the person of Jesus. Exodus 3:14 and John 8:58 (compare Isaiah 41:4; 43:10-13; 44:6; 45:22; 46:4, 9); John 4:26; 8:24, 28; 6:20 (“It is I” may be translated “I AM”); 6:48; 8:12; 10:11; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1; Revelation 1:17, 18; 22:13, 16. TDOC 40.2

3. The claims and admissions of Jesus himself establish his deity. John 5:25; 9:35; 11:4; Matthew 19:28; John 14:2, 3; 2:19-21; 8:24; 10:17, 18; 12:47; 5:20-23; Matthew 28:18-20. TDOC 40.3

4. The deity of Christ is assumed throughout the New Testament. “Come to me.” Matthew 11:28. “Learn of me!” Matthew 11:29. “Believe also in me!” John 14:1. “Follow me!” Mark 10:21. “Abide in me!” John 15:4; Matthew 13:41 (note “his angels,” and “his kingdom”); Matthew 16:27 (compare 2 Corinthians 5:10) Matthew 24:31 (note “his angels,” and “his elect”) Luke 24:46, 47; Mark 2:5-7; Galatians 1:1; Ephesians 4:32, ARV. “The deity of Christ is in solution in every page of the New Testament.” TDOC 40.4

5. The religious leaders of Christ’s time were convinced that he claimed to be God. John 5:17, 18; 10:32, 33; 19:7; Luke 22:70, 71; Matthew 27:41-43. TDOC 40.5

NOTES: Christ was God revealed

“The only possible explanation of Christ and Christianity is that he was God revealed in human form. His uniqueness in relation to God makes the Christian doctrine of the incarnation the only adequate explanation of his personality and work. It is utterly impossible to hold to a merely human Christ. The Christ who proclaims God, who forgives sin, who unites men to God, who is and has ever been honored and worshiped in the church is the only satisfying solution of the problem of how God and man may be brought together, and man’s life find its full realization and satisfaction.” TDOC 40.6

Christ Is the I AM

He unveils a consciousness of eternal being. He speaks as one on whom time has no effect, and for whom it has no meaning. He is the I AM of ancient Israel; he knows no past, as he knows no future; he is unbeginning, unending Being; he is the eternal Now.” TDOC 41.1

Christ is Immanuel

“A so-called Savior, whose only power to save lies in the excellent moral precepts that he gave and the pure life that he lived; who is no longer the God-man, but the mere man; whose blood had no sacrificial atoning or propitiatory power in the moral government of Jehovah, but was simply a martyr’s witness to a superior system of ethics is not the Savior of the four Gospels, or of Paul, or Peter, or John. It is not under the banners of such a Messiah that the church of God has achieved its triumphs. The Christ of the New Testament, of the early church, of universal Christendom; the Christ, the power of whose name has revolutionized the world and raised it to its present level, and under whose guidance the sacramental host of God’s redeemed are advancing and shall advance to yet greater victories over superstition and sin, is Immanuel, God with us, in our nature, whose blood ‘cleanses us from all sin,’ and who is able to save, even to the uttermost, all that come unto God through him.” TDOC 41.2

Christ’s assurance

“Nothing is more remarkable about our Lord than the calmness and assurance with which he utters the most astounding statements. The ablest and most enlightened men have their hesitations, their periods of agonizing doubt, their suspense of judgment, their labored inquiries, their mental conflicts. With Jesus there is nothing of this. Prom first to last he sees with perfect clearness to the utmost bound of human thought, knows with absolute certainty whatever is essential for us to know. His is not the assurance of ignorance, nor is it the dogmatism of traditional teaching nor the evasive assurance of a superficial and reckless mind. It is plainly the assurance of one who stands in the full noon of truth and speaks what he knows.” TDOC 41.3

The crowning proof

“The crowning proof of the revelation of the Christ of the Gospels and of experience is that he is capable of being reproduced by the Holy Spirit in the lives of his followers.’ The culminating evidence of the Godhead of Christ is that he is able by the Holy Spirit to bestow’ his divine life on the lives of all who are willing to receive him. ‘As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.’ John 1:12. He thus assures us at once of the certainty of human access to God and of divine approach to man. All other views of Christ f ail either on one side or the other. A human Christ would be unable to satisfy us as to access to God, while a Christ who is not directly in touch with God could not assure us of any direct approach of God to man. Like Jacob’s ladder, which was set up on earth with the top reaching to heaven, Jesus Christ in his human life is a solid foundation, and in his divine life is a sure guaranty for every soul that wishes to come to God by him and to commune with God, through him.” TDOC 41.4

“The supreme proof to every Christian of the deity of his Lord is then his own inner experience of the transforming power of his Lord upon the heart and life.” TDOC 42.1