Jesus the Divine

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   “The more we know about Christ, the more profoundly we’ll grasp all that He did for us, and all that He is in Himself as God and man come in the flesh.  Christology is learning more about Jesus so we can love and follow Him better.”  (W. Robert Godfrey).

   The word “Christology” might seemingly convey certain scholarly overtones, but it is quite pertinent for every believer and while not exceedingly complex, it is, admittedly, like drinking from a firehose.  The basic etymology is derived from two Greek roots: “Christ” (Messiah or anointed one) and “ology” (the study of).  Christology encompasses the examination of Jesus’ existence prior to His earthly life, Old Testament prophecies of His coming, the coupling of His humanity and deity, His earthly life, death, and resurrection, His future return, and eternal reign.  Essentially, who was Jesus and why did He do what He did?  

   When each area is carefully studied with time, consideration, and wisdom, the pieces of His existence help formulate the narrative of an Almighty Father, Son, and Spirit whose compassion for creation prompted a divine intervention into man’s affairs in which, “[Jesus’] ministry [was] focused, above all, on healing the broken relationship between sinful human beings and God.”  And one quintessential attribute that recognizes the fullness of Jesus Christ and affirms this hope of the gospel is crucial – His divinity.

   To begin an abbreviated Christological analysis, one must recognize that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has existed since before the creation “of the heavens and the earth.”  Indeed, John begins his fourth gospel with this supreme certification: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” (1.1) 

   As the second person in the Trinity, God the Son, Jesus would be the personification of the testimony and written “Word” given by YHWH as fulfillment of the Old Testament promises.  John’s use of the verb, “was,” (1.1) highlights the constant preexistence of Christ, in contrast to the predicate “were (or was) made” from verse 3, that would suggest Jesus’ “creation.”  

   This truth is apparent throughout the New Testament such as Paul’s clarification to the Ephesians about the mystery “which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ,” (3.9), his explanation to the Colossians that “by [Jesus] all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth…all things were created through Him and for Him, and He is before all things,” (1.15-17) and his confirmation to the Corinthians that “there is one God…and one Lord Jesus Christ through whom are all things.” (1 Cor. 8.6)

   Other biblical illustrations verify such an identity.  After a difficult lesson on partaking of “the flesh of the Son of Man and drink[ing] His blood” to gain life, the disciples expressed their struggle to comprehend Jesus’ claim that He was the “bread of life.”  Sensing their complaint, He said, “Does this offend you?  What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?” (John 6.61-62). The clear implication being the establishment of His position prior to His status on earth.  Likewise, the author of Hebrews opens his letter by praising God for His revelations to man, both to the Jewish prophets of the Old Testament and “in these last days spoken to us by His Son, through whom also He made the worlds.” (1.2)

   Jesus’ own use of “pre-existence” language reveals further truth about His universal being.  When the Pharisees accused Jesus of being demon-possessed in John’s gospel due to His assertion that Abraham had “seen” Jesus despite generations having passed, the Son of God responded, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I Am.” (8.58).  Similarly, when Jesus walked on water in Mark 6, He said to the frightened disciples in the boat, “Take heart, I am, do not be afraid.” (50).  

   In Greek, the phrase “I am” is translated from “Ego eimi” meaning “I exist” and is the first-person indicative of the verb “to be.”  This is the Old Testament self-revelation that God the Father revealed to Moses as the burning bush in Exodus 3, in which He establishes His eternal presence.  

   This phrase, grounded in Jewish belief, was the definitive illustration of YHWH, completely describing the utterly indescribable.  Such an idiosyncrasy is all we have, yet all we need, precisely because His nature is constant; one with which Jesus identifies.  He did not attempt to reassure the disciples by simply stating “I am here,” but rather that their fears should cease because YHWH was in their midst.   

   Even Jesus’ prayer life simultaneously reflected His own nature and glorified God the Father when, in John, He petitioned “now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with you before the world was.” (17:5) and recognized “You loved Me before the foundation of the world” (17.24). 

   One of the ultimate Christological passages in the New Testament regarding Jesus’ eternal position is Philippians 2.6-7: “Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”  The word “being” in the Greek translation means “constant or cannot be changed.” In this context, “robbery” is defined as “clutched” or “grasped,” while the Greek word for “equal” defines things that are the same in every sense (size, quantity, number, etc).

   This passage has been exploited by Word of Faith preachers to convince their congregants of their own inherent divine abilities by claiming that Jesus emptied Himself of His Deity during the atonement process.  If Jesus did the miracles of God as a man, “then so can you,” they say!  Make no mistake; this is heresy.  Jesus never abandoned His Deity.  Rather, this verse clarifies that Jesus simply did not cling to His privileges of Deity (heavenly glory, eternal riches, etc.), but rather emptied Himself of His entitlement to exercise His divine attributes for a season.  

   The vital component, therefore, to an initial understanding of Jesus Christ, is recognizing His divinity.  However, it is troubling that 30% of Americans who identify as “evangelical” (Lifeway and Ligonier 2020 surveys) question, or doubt, this characteristic.  This demonstrates not only a startling lack of Christological knowledge, but that some who identify as “Christian” do not realize the truth about their own faith.  Jesus was not God’s creation, but the second person of the Holy Trinity representing the one true God, YHWH.  

   From this authority, then, comes a manifestation; the unique spiritual collaborative between an eternal deity and the carnal man to fulfill God’s covenant promise of salvation; the anticipated Messiah, whose arrival was prophesied by the ancient Scriptures, in more ways than one.

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