Christology: The Deity of Christ

Who is Jesus?

And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Cæsarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets. And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ. And he charged them that they should tell no man of him. And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.Mark 8:27-31

An easy way to spot false teachers is to ask the question, “Who is Jesus?”

The Importance of His Deity

Perfect holiness and righteousness are attributes of God alone. All men have sinned. If Jesus is not God, He must have sinned. If Jesus sinned, He must pay His own sin debt. If Jesus had a sin debt, He could not take our sin upon Himself. If Jesus sinned, we need a different savior.

Who denies the deity?

Nearly all non-Christian religions deny the deity of Christ: Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and more.

Some might claim the name of Christian, but their view of Jesus tells another story.

The deity of Christ is a non-negotiable Bible doctrine. If you reject the deity of Christ, you are not a Christian.

The Deity of Christ

His Names

God:

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.Isaiah 9:6

And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.John 20:28

Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.John 8:58

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.Isaiah 7:14

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.Matthew 1:23

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.Hebrews 1:8

Son of God:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.John 3:16

But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. 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 5:17-18

His Claims

And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.John 17:5

As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.John 17:2

The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.John 4:25-26

When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?Mark 2:5-7

And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.Revelation 1:17-18

Marks of Jesus’ Deity

Fulfilled Messianic Prophecies Sinless and Miraculous Life Resurrection of His Own Power Predicted by the Old Testament Predicted by Jesus Himself

Kenosis: the full or partial renunciation of his divine nature by Christ in the Incarnation.

ἐκένωσεν (EKENOSE) to empty or purge;

What did He empty Himself of? What was purged?

Jesus emptied Himself of his divine prerogative and privilege.

Jesus limited Himself and took on human form.

Jesus emptied Himself of His reputation.

Reputation: Good name; the credit, honor or character which is derived from a favorable public opinion or esteem. Reputation is a valuable species of property or right, which should never be violated. With the loss of reputation, a man and especially a woman, loses most of the enjoyments of life. The best evidence of reputation is a man’s whole life.

Kenosis Theology: Jesus divested Himself of His divine attributes of omniscience and omnipotence, so that in His incarnate life the Divine Person is revealed and solely revealed through a human consciousness.

Did Jesus lay aside his deity?

Advocates of kenotic theology would uniformly contend that their understanding enables seeing Jesus Christ as a real, growing, limited human without creating a sense that God is not somehow deeply involved in exactly this man.

Did Christ know or not know the time of the end (Mark 13:32)? Orthodoxy said that he must know, for he is the presence of the omniscient God; however, for some reason he has chosen not to reveal this knowledge. Kenotic theorists insist that the text means what it apparently says. God’s Son limited himself to his human and real development; he was genuinely dependent on his Father; he did not know.

The ‘kenosis’ began in His Father’s presence with His preincarnate choice to assume our nature; it led inevitably to the final obedience of the cross when He did, to the fullest extent, pour out his soul unto death.

JESUS NEVER LAID ASIDE HIS DEITY

Jesus is eternal God.

Jesus did not begin in Jerusalem, this was only the incarnation.

If Christ is a created being he is not God. One of the attributes of God is eternality.

Cults deny the deity of Christ.

Jesus never claimed to be God?

Jesus claims to be Jehovah God. Jesus claimed to be Messiah-God. Jesus claimed to be God by accepting worship. Jesus claimed to have equal authority with God. Jesus claimed to be God by requesting prayer in His name.

What about John 14:28?

Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.John 14:28

Jesus and the Father

Jesus Is Equal … in his divine nature. in his divine essence. in his divine attributes. in his divine character.

Jesus Is Subordinate … in his human nature. in his human function. in his human office. in his human position.

Hypostatic Union: the miraculous bringing together of humanity and divinity in the same person, Jesus Christ, such that he is both fully divine and fully human.

Jesus is either a Liar, a Lunatic or the Lord.

The ‘kenosis’ or emptying of Jesus began before His incarnation and was complete at his sacrifice upon the cross.

Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.Isaiah 53:12