Seminar 2 - The Birth of Jesus Christ

The Deity Passages

John was not alone in his declarations that Jesus Christ was God incarnate. Both the Old and New Testaments contain so many witnesses to the deity of Christ that it makes it virtually impossible to read the scriptures and miss this important truth. The following is a chart that organizes and tracks the biblical references to the deity of Christ. It is certainly not exhaustive but is ample enough to back any arguments for the deity of Christ. Since many of these passages are repeated in the topical headings we will also include at the end a list of all the relevant passages dealing with the deity of Christ.

Preexistence
Ephesians 1:4 Chosen us in him before the foundation of the world.
Philippians 2:5-8 Made himself of no reputation...Being found in fashion as a man.
Colossians 1:17 He is before all things.
2 Timothy 1:9 Called us...before the world began.
Hebrews 1:2 By whom also He made the worlds.

Creator
John 1:3 All things were made by him, without him not anything was made ...
I Corinthians 8:6 Lord Jesus Christ by whom are all things.
Ephesians 3:9 God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.
Colossians 1:16 By him were all things created...by him all things consist.
Hebrews 1:2 By whom also He made the worlds.
Hebrews 1:10 You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth.

Divinity
Matthew 1:23 Call his name Immanuel, which means, God with us.
Acts 20:28 Feed the church of God which he has purchased with his own blood.
Romans 9:5 Who is over all, God blessed forever.
Philippians 2:6-8 Being in the form of God.
Colossians 1:15 Who is the image of God.
Colossians 2:9 In him dwells all the fullness of the godhead bodily.
I Timothy 3:16 God was manifest in the flesh.
I Timothy 6:15 Blessed and only Potentate, King of kings, and Lord of lords.
Titus 2:13 Looking for...glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 1:8 Unto the Son he says, Your throne O God is forever and ever.
I John 5:20 This is his Son Jesus Christ, the true God, and eternal life.
Jude 25 To the only wise God our Savior.

Eternity
Colossians 1:17 Who is before all things.
II Timothy 1:9 Our calling...given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.
I Peter 1:20 Who was foreordained before the foundation of the world.
I John 1:1 That which was from the beginning.
I John 2:13 You have known him that is from the beginning.

Exalted Position
Philippians 2:9-11 Highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name.

Power to Forgive
Matthew 9:2-8 Jesus heals sickness and forgives sins.
Mark 2:10 Son has power on earth to forgive sins.
Luke 5:24 Son has power on earth to forgive sins.
Luke 7:49 They asked, Who is this that forgives sins also?

Worshipped
Matthew 2:11 The Magi worshipped him.
Matthew 14:33 The disciples worshipped him after he stilled the sea.
Matthew 28:9, 17 The disciples worshipped him after the resurrection
Luke 24:52 The disciples worshipped him after the resurrection.
John 20:28 Thomas calls him "My Lord and my God."
Hebrews 1:6 "All the angels of God worship him."
Philippians 2:9-11 "Every knee shall bow."

Power over nature
Matthew 28:18 All power is given unto me in heaven and earth
Colossians 1:17 By him all things consist
Ephesians 3:20-21 Exceeding greatness of his power

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New Testament Passages

1. Matthew 1:23
2. John 1:1-18 (and all John passages) 5:18-23, 8:52-59, 14:6-11, 17:5-24, 20:28
3. Colossians 1:15-17
4. Philippians 2:5-11
5. 1 Timothy 3:16
6. 1 Timothy 6:15-16
7. Hebrews 1:1-13
8. Revelation 1:8-18

Old Testament Passages

1. Isaiah 7:14
2. Isaiah 9:6
3. Micah 5:2

You ought to be able to remember these passages in order to call them to remembrance in the hour that you would need them. Strive to be familiar enough with each of them that you can give the gist of the passage without using your bible. I would also encourage you to write these passages in the fly leaf of your bible so that they will be handy when you need them. Know these!

Names of Christ

1. Alpha and Omega - Rev. 1:8
2. Almighty - Rev. 1:8
3. Blessed and Only Potentate - 1 Tim. 6:15
4. Brightness of His Glory - Hebrews 1:3
5. Emmanuel - Matthew 1:23, Is 9:6
6. Everlasting Father - Is 9:6
7. First and Last - Rev 1:7, Is 41:4
8. God manifest in flesh - 1 Tim. 3:16
9. God our Savior - 1 Tim. 2:3
10. God with us - Matthew 1:23
11. I Am - John 8:58
12. Image of His Person - Hebrews 1:3
13. King of kings - 1 Tim. 6:15, Rev 17:14
14. Lord of lords - Rev. 17:14, 19:16
15. Lord God Almighty - Rev. 15:3, Is 9:6
16. Lord of the Sabbath - Mark 2:28
17. Mighty God - Is. 9:6
18. Only Wise God - Jude 25
19. Only Potentate - 1 Tim 6:15
20. Word of God - John 1:1, Rev 19:13

It would do well for every student of the Word to study Jesus Christ. He appears throughout the Bible. "He is given a name that is above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

One of the most significant exercises our church has ever undertaken is that of exalting the name(s) of Jesus at Christmas time through decorating the "Chrismon Tree." Every emblem on the Christ-tree represents one of the 600+ names of Christ. Every year at the end of the service we invite every knee to bow and every tongue to confess Jesus Christ as Lord. What a wonderful, worshipful experience it is.

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Cult Teachings Today

In our day there are no less dangerous doctrines afloat in the stream of so-called Christian cults. Two of those need special mention since they have so affected millions by distorting the scriptures and the truth of the deity of Jesus Christ.

Jehovah's Witnesses Teachings:

The Jehovah's Witnesses appear as harmless, perhaps over-zealous, do-gooders to many evangelical Christians. Yet most Christians are unaware of the realities of JW teachings concerning Jesus Christ. Here are just a few as they apply to the deity of Christ:

"Our Lord Jesus Christ is a god..." Studies in the Scriptures. Vol. V. p.55

Teaching: Jesus was a god, not 'the Almighty God, who is Jehovah'.

"Our Redeemer existed as a spirit being before he was made flesh, and dwelt amongst men. At that time as well as subsequently, he was properly known as 'a god' - a mighty one." Ibid. Vol. V, p 84

Teaching: At the beginning Jesus was created by God without the instrumentality of any mother. He was not an incarnation in flesh but was flesh, a human Son of God, a perfect man, no longer a spirit, although having a spiritual heavenly past and background.

"...the Logos [Christ] himself was 'the beginning of the creation of God.'" Ibid. Vol. V, p.86 Teaching: This One is not Jehovah God, but was existing in the form of God... he was a spirit person... he was a mighty one although not Almighty God. He was a god, not Almighty God.

"As chief of the angels and next to the Father, he [Christ] was known as the Archangel (highest angel or messenger), whose name, Michael, signifies, 'Who as God' or 'God's Representative.'" Ibid. Vol V. p. 84

Teaching: Jesus was a prince among other creatures. He bore another name in heaven, that of Michael the archangel. Other names were given to him in the course of time. (see Martin p. 51)

Mormon Teachings:
(We need no commentary here!)

"God himself was once as we are now and is an exalted man."

"The Father has a body of flesh and bone as tangible as man's."

"When our father Adam came into the garden of Eden, he came into it with a celestial body and brought Eve, one of his celestial wives, with him...He is our father and our God and the only God with whom we have to do."

"As man is, God once was; as God is, man may become."

"Remember that God our Heavenly Father was perhaps once a child and mortal like we are, and rose step by step in the scale of progress, in the school of advancement...until He has arrived at the point where He now is."
(Martin, p.178)

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Remember the purpose of this course is to build your knowledge for ministry, not just to get a good grade. Most people are minimalists, learning only what is necessary for a test but that is not good stewardship of our minds or our resources. We should seek to show ourselves approved UNTO GOD as workmen that never will be ashamed of our ability to rightly divide the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)

That being the case we should seek to thoroughly understand and be able to effectively defend the deity of Jesus as we would in a court of law. So then what we need to know is how to earnestly contend for the faith (Jude 3) once delivered to the saints. Be able to biblically defend the deity of Jesus Christ. If we were using essay questions I would pose one of the many deity passages and ask you to argue the deity of Christ based on that passage. Another way to test your knowledge would be to pose a challenge to the deity of Christ based on a Jehovah's Witness argument and ask you to defend the faith. Another test would be to defend the deity of Christ from the Old Testament, or the gospels only, or from the Pauline epistles.

The real test of whether you have profited by this lesson is to ask yourself whether you could answer any of the previous challenges.

Memorize
(Where they are and what they say)

• The eight key passages from the New Testament
• The three Old Testament passages.
• The six passages from John's gospel.

Sources and Recommended Reading:
(It is not necessary to buy these books.)

Authur W. Pink, Gleanings In The Godhead, Moody Press, Chicago, 1975
Hurbert Lockyer, All the Doctrines of the Bible, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, 1964
L. Berkhof, Systematic Theology, Eerdmans Publishing Co. Grand Rapids, 1939
Orville J. Nave, Nave's Topical Bible, Southwestern Co. Nashville, 1962
Walter Martin, Kingdom of the Cults,
Kenneth Scott LaTourett, A History of Christianity, Vol. 1, Harper and Row, New York, 1953
William Steuart McBirnie, The Search for the Twelve Apostles, Living Books/Tyndale, 1973