INTRODUCTION
This fundamental doctrine is consistently attacked by Manalistas, Russellites, etc.
Belief in the Deity of Christ is essential to salvation. Rom. 10:9 (R.V.), “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord. . .” ——- not merely a good man.
A study of Bible conversions will reveal that many occurred when they recognized Jesus as Lord — Paul in Acts 9:5, the man in John 9:38, etc.
To deny the Deity of Christ is to rob mankind of a Saviour and condemn us eternally.
In this lesson we present fifteen proofs of the Deity of Christ.
I. JESUS CHRIST IS REFERRED TO AS LORD IN PSALMS 110:1
Psa. 110:1, “The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit Thou at My right hand until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool.” (“The Lord, the Father God, said to my Lord, the Saviour. . .”) :
Jesus referred to this passage in Matt. 22:41-46; Mark 12:35-36; Luke 20:39-44; Philippians 2:10-11
Peter referred to it in his sermon at Pentecost, Acts 2:34. It is very important.
The prophecy was the Messiah-Saviour would be the Divine Lord Himself.
II. THE VIRGIN BIRTH WOULD BE GOD COMING TO LIVE WITH MEN
Isa. 7:14, “. . .and shall call His Name Immanuel.” This is the Saviour that was coming.
Matt. 1:23 tells us that Immanuel means “God with us.” This came true at Bethlehem.
God in the Person of Jesus Christ came to dwell with man at the Incarnation.
III. THE MESSIAH, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST WAS GIVEN DIVINE NAMES IN PROPHECY
Isa. 9:6,7, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given. . . and His Name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty. God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Only the Lord God Himself could be the fulfilment of these names.
Wonderful — Only God is truly wonderful. See Luke 18:19, none good save the Lord God.
Counsellor — Only the omniscient God could be the perfect Counsellor, Psa. 16:7.
The Mighty God — The One prophesied to be the Messiah was to be God Himself.
The everlasting Father — John 10:30, Jesus said, “I and My Father are one.”; 1 John 5:7 In this text Jesus as man was born but Jesus as God was “given.” (God always existed.)
IV. THE CHRIST WHO WAS PROPHESIED TO COME WAS TO BE FROM “EVERLASTING.”
Micah 5:2, “But thou Bethlehem . . . 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.”
The Messiah-Saviour was to be the eternal omnipresent God HIMSELF.
V. GOD AND CHRIST BOTH GAVE THEIR PERSONAL NAMES AS “I AM.”
Ex. 3:14, “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”
John 8:58, “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM.”
The Jews understood Jesus perfectly and thought that He had committed blasphemy for ascribing the Name of God to Himself. They promptly attempted to stone Jesus.
Death by stoning was the proper death penalty for this particular sin (Lev. 24:12-16).
But Jesus had not sinned for He was truly God. He was the great I AM in person.
VI. JESUS CHRIST FORGAVE SINS
Mark 2:5, “. . . son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” Only God can forgive sins.
Mark 2:7, “Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only.”
The Jews were correct for only God can forgive sin, for sin is transgression against the law and only the aggrieved person can forgive the guilty one.
In forgiving sin Jesus either blasphemed or was God. Jesus was God and could forgive.
VII. JESUS CLAIMED EQUALITY WITH THE FATHER AND THE HOLY SPIRIT
This is evident in the baptismal formula of Matt. 28:19, and in the benediction of Il Cor. 13:14, the names of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are linked together. Philippians 2:6 – Equal with God
VIII. JESUS CLAIMED OMNIPRESENCE
To be omnipresent is a characteristic of God Almighty only, not true of angels or men.
Matt. 18:20, Jesus promises to be anywhere, everywhere at one and the same time.
Matt. 8:8 Jesus healed the centurion’s servant even though the servant is in another location.
IX. JESUS CLAIMED OMNISCIENCE
Omniscience is to know all things and is a characteristic exclusive of God Himself.
This fact is evident in Mark 11:2-6, the description of the colt for the triumphant entry. Jesus exercised the gift of prophecy, too, in Matt. 12:40 and Matt. 24:3-31.
Some argue that Jesus is not Omniscience because of Mark 13:32, but that was Jesus speaking as a man. While here on earth, Christ didn’t always exercise His Deity, as we saw back in 11:13. Of course, one of the reasons He couldn’t say for sure right then when He was coming back was that He was waiting to see what the Jews would do there in the early part of the book of Acts. As I have told you many times throughout this Commentary, Christ was standing up there in Acts 7:5–6 in preparation for His return if the Sanhedrin had accepted the message of Stephen. They didn’t, so the Second Advent was put off for 2,000 years. – Dr. Peter S. Ruckman, Gospel of Mark Commentary
X. JESUS CLAIMED OMNIPOTENCE
Omnipotence, all power, is another exclusive attribute of the Lord God Almighty.
Matt. 28:18, “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.”
This claim supersedes the power of man, spirit, angels, demons or supermen.
XI. JESUS CHRIST HAD CREATIVE POWER
To bring something into being from nothing, creation, is possible only to God.
Jesus Christ was active in creation and continues to maintain the world, John 1;1-3; Heb. 1:3.
Jesus used creative power to perform some miracles — water to wine and food for the 5,000.
XII. JESUS CHRIST THE TRUE GOD HAD POWER OVER THE ELEMENTS
Luke 8:24, Jesus rebuked the wind and it obeyed Him and there was a great calm at once.
Mark 4:39, Jesus calmed the waves of the raging sea — a power not of man but of God only.
Matt. 14:25,26, Jesus walked on the water. This ability is denied to ordinary men.
XIII. JESUS CHRIST RECEIVED WORSHIP DUE ONLY TO GOD
John 9:38, the man who had been healed of blindness recognizing the Saviour, said, “Lord, I believe.
And he worshipped Him.” Jesus as God rightfully accepted this worship.
Luke 4:8, Jesus said to Satan at the time of the temptation, “Get thee behind Me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and Him only shalt thou serve.” To worship anyone but the Lord God is a terrible sin.
When Jesus accepted worship He Was saying to the world, “I AM THE LORD.”
XIV. JESUS ACCEPTED THE TESTIMONY OF THOMAS
John 20:28, “And Thomas answered and said unto Him, my Lord and my God.”
If Thomas had made a mistake, misstatement or overstatement Jesus would have corrected it.
Thomas had told the truth for Jesus was the Lord God, the eternal pre-existent One.
XV. THE FACT OF JESUS’ RESURRECTION
This is the strongest and capstone argument that Jesus is God.
Rom. 1:4, “And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”
This verse specifically states that the resurrection declares Jesus as the Son of God.
If Jesus were a fake, liar, impostor or a mere man or superman, God would have left Him in the grave until the day of the final judgment and condemned Him to hell.
1 Corinthians 15:6 – five hundred eye witness saw Jesus Christ’s Resurrection, “After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.”
According to Rom. 6:4, it was the Father God, Himself, that raised Jesus from the dead.
The Father God thus proclaims conclusively to the world the Deity of Jesus Christ.
CONCLUSION
We conclude that Jesus is God for He possesses the ten exclusive attributes of God.
1. Eternal. Micah 5:2, “. . . from everlasting.” Also John 8:58; Col. 1:17; Rev. 1:8.
2. Unchangeable. Heb. 13:8, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.”
3. Omnipotent. Luke 8:24, Jesus stilled the tempest and the sea, also Matt. 28:18.
4. Omnipresent. Matt. 18:20; John 1:48; John 3:13; Matt. 28:20.
5. Omniscient. Mark 11:2-6; John 2:24,25; Luke 5:22; Matt. 24:3-31.
6. Holy. Mark 1:24, “Jesus... the Holy One of God.” Sinless. I Peter 2:22; John 19:4
7. Just. John 2:14-17, the cleansing of the Temple; Acts 17:31, a righteous Judge.
8. Loving. John 15:18, “Greater love hath no man than this.” Also John 11:36.
9. Merciful. Titus 3:5, “According to His mercy He saved us.” He died for us.
10. Faithful. 1 Tim. 2:13, “If we believe not, yet He abideth faithful.”
The five works of God are ascribed to Jesus — creation, preservation, forgiveness, raising the dead, and judgment — John 1:3; Heb. 1:3; Luke 7:48; John 6:39; John 5:22.
Sources:
GOD'S ANSWERS TO MAN'S QUESTIONS 100 Bible Lessons with Supplement Including God's Promises to You by Dr. Alban Douglas
Gospel of Mark Commentary by Dr. Peter Ruckman
How to go to Heaven? Find out in the short video below.
GOD's Simple Plan of Salvation
If you were to die today for any reason, are you 100% sure you will go to heaven?
This video explains the SIMPLE TRUTH according to the Scriptures. The only way to go to heaven is by:
(1) Admitting that you are a sinner
(2) Believing on the Lord Jesus Christ as your own personal Savior and Lord
(3) Repenting (meaning you are willing to turn away from your sins) of your sins then confessing your sins to God
Jesus Christ willingly sacrificed Himself and shed His precious blood on the cross as a substitute for you, so that you don't have to burn in hell for all eternity because of your sins, and have eternal life in heaven instead.
Watch the video to learn what Scripture says of God's great plan of salvation for you and how to receive His free gift. This is wonderful news. We pray you surrender to Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and to know 100% for sure you will go to heaven when you die!
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