Scripture Reading: John 1:1–3, 14–18

You can turn in your Bibles to John chapter 1. The Gospel According to John, chapter one. You'll remember last time we looked at an introduction to Christology. We read from John, chapter 20, the account of the risen Christ appearing to the disciples and specifically the encounter with Thomas and his confession, my Lord and my God.

We used that as a text to introduce the doctrine of Christology. This time we're moving on then from that introduction now to a look at the person of Christ. We noted last time that Christology is the study of the person of Christ, and it is the study of the work of Christ. And so we begin our study in the person of Christ by tonight looking at the deity of Christ.

I'm going to read from the Gospel of John 1, verses 1 to 3, and then verses 14 to 18. Here we are with the Word of the Living and True God, John 1.1, 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.

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. Verse 14, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, This was He of whom I said, He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me. And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.

For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

Introduction

Well, this prologue to the Gospel of John is rich with Christology, and no doubt it is, in essence, the purpose of the prologue. Now, the purpose of the book, remember, is that statement in John 20, 31, these things were written so that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and believing you may have life in his name. And we noted a number of Sundays ago, if that's the purpose statement, then this is the theological and Christological undergirding for the entirety of the book, the prologue to the Gospel of John. And in what we just read there, we have a minefield rich with Christological truths concerning our Savior, our Redeemer, the Savior of men.

Now, tonight we're going to begin looking at the person of Christ. Who is he? And specifically, first off, the deity of Christ. And to do so, Or to start us off, another quote from C.H.

That is Spurgeon. Christians have many treasures to lock up in the cabinet of memory. They ought to remember their election, chosen of God, ere time began. They ought to be mindful of their extraction, that they were taken out of the miry clay, hewn out of the horrible pit.

They ought to recollect their effectual calling, for they were called of God and rescued by the power of the Holy Ghost. They ought to remember their special deliverances, all that has been done for them and all the mercies bestowed on them. But there is one whom they should embalm in their souls with the most costly spices, one who above all other gifts of God deserves to be had. perpetual remembrance. One, I said, for I mean not an act, I mean not a deed, but it is a person whose portrait I would frame in gold and hang up in the stateroom of the soul.

I would have you earnest students of all the deeds of the conquering Messiah. I would have you conversant with the life of our beloved, but oh forget not his person. It is Christ's glorious person which ought to be the object of our remembrance. So the study of the person of Christ is absolutely vital.

We noted that last time, the importance of Christology, a number of elements that we went through, a number of points that we noted with regards to the importance of Christology. And

Meaning of the Deity of Christ

so we come now, first off, to the deity of Christ. And this is an absolutely vital doctrine. It's one of those doctrines, I know all of you understand this. That is a non-negotiable.

It is paramount. It is a paramount doctrine that cannot be jettisoned from Christianity. If it is, then we have lost Christianity. It is a cardinal truth.

By this doctrine, our orthodoxy is tested. If we reject the deity of Christ, then we are no longer safely in the fold of the Redeemer. Throughout the history of the church, Christians come against Jews, Monarchians, Adoptionists, Arians, Ebonites, Muslims, Remonstrants, Sassanians, Anti-Trinitarians, Jehovah's Witnesses, all at the point of this particular doctrine, other doctrines to be sure, but this doctrine most especially. the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so we want to look first off, and we're going to look at three things.

The first thing is the meaning of the deity of Christ. Secondly, the biblical testimony to the deity of Christ. And then thirdly, important affirmations in confessing the deity of Christ. So first off then, the meaning of the deity of Christ.

We're going to get to some Bible in a few minutes, but let's first off look at the meaning of the deity of Christ, and as is always a good exercise, we want to eliminate first what the deity of Christ isn't.

What the Deity of Christ Does Not Mean

The deity of Christ does not mean First, some of you might recognize some of this language when we work through the confession, but it's important to repeat. The deity of Christ does not mean, first, that he is one God among many in a pantheon of deities. That's a simple statement, a simple denial with regards to Christ. He is not one God among many in a pantheon of deities.

We do not subscribe to any notion of polytheism, and so we must affirm that the deity of Christ is not that He is one God among many. Secondly, the deity of Christ does not mean that He is of a similar or derived substance as the Father. In the early church there was, and following after the early church, there was the notion that Christ was, or his deity was seen in, that he was a similar substance as the Father. He wasn't of the same substance as the Father, but just a similar one, and many by that doctrine could claim that there was a time where Christ was not. like the Aryans and others.

And so we must say that the deity of Christ does not mean that, yeah, he's still divine, but he's only of a similar or derived substance as the Father. That must be rejected. Thirdly, the deity of Christ does not mean that he is divine in the sense of being filled with the Holy Ghost. That's not where in his divinity lies.

His deity is not seen in that he is Holy Spirit filled. In his humanity, he is Holy Spirit filled. The Bible discloses this time and again. The Old Testament anticipates and prophesies that reality, and the New Testament bears witness to that.

But his deity is not seen in that. that he is filled with the Holy Ghost. Fourthly, the deity of Christ does not mean that he is an exalted man, his divinity being a result of being in some way chosen or honored by the Father. Some heiress, and we must say some heretics, of course, have proposed that is where the deity of Christ is seen, that he is just an honored or chosen by the Father and has a sort of honorary divinity by virtue of being chosen by the Father. No, that is of course not where the deity of Christ is seen.

Fifthly, the deity of Christ does not mean that he merited divinity by virtue of his obedience, that a la Mormonism. Mormonism teaches that Christ is received divinization, if you will, deification by virtue of the completion of obedience. And so by that he is deified or his divinity is seen in being exalted by virtue of his obedience. That, of course, is not what the deity of Christ means.

Lastly, and certainly not exhausting what some propose the deity of Christ is, but lastly, the deity of Christ does not mean that as the personification of an impersonal logos, he was an enfleshed agent of God, and so can be called God in some ambassadorial way. That's a lot of language and, you know, what are you talking about there? Basically, there are those today and some that have recently debated, James White, as well as Michael Brown. James White and Michael Brown teamed up in a debate against two fellows.

Their names, Anthony Buzzard, I think is one of them, and some other fellow who proposed that sort of reality with regards to the deity of Christ, that he was Prior to the incarnation, he was this impersonal Logos principle in God, the Word, but not an actual person of the blessed triune. So he was just an enfleshed agent of God and can be called God in some ambassadorial way. That is not wherein the deity of Christ lies. So then, where does the deity of Christ lie, or what do we mean by the deity of Christ?

What the Deity of Christ Does Mean

Well, a good definition is that we can simply say he is true and essential God, coessential with the Father. That's the language of Turretin. So what do we mean by the deity of Christ? He is true and essential God, coessential with the Father.

He is of the same substance or of the same essence as the Father. The Confession of Faith reads this way, and this is what the deity of Christ does mean. The Son of God, the second person in the Holy Trinity, being very an eternal God, the brightness of the Father's glory, of one substance and equal with Him who made the world, who upholdeth and governeth all things He hath made, which person is very God. And so that is what we mean by the deity of Christ.

To simplify it and go back to the Turretin definition, which agrees with the confession, He is true and essential God, coessential with the Father. You'll remember hopefully some of you if you've rehearsed or sought to remember the Westminster Shorter Catechism. How many persons are there in the Godhead? There are three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and in glory.

That speaks to the true and proper deity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Co-essential, co-glorious, consubstantial. all equal in their divinity, having the essence and the essence undivided.

Biblical Testimony to the Deity of Christ

And so moving on now to the biblical testimony of the deity of Christ. The biblical testimony, what does the Bible say with regards to the deity of Christ? We won't tonight work through much of the church history as we have in the past when we've gone through the confession, but just a note briefly with regards to the testimony of the church throughout the ages at the point of the deity of Christ. We must say at the outset that the church has always confessed the deity of Christ. within the safe confines and blessed confines of the revealed truth regarding the Trinity.

Christ is truly God. The deity of Christ is not some imposition by an ecclesiastical power that squashed out true professors of proper Christianity like the Arians. Arianism is a heresy. It was not by ecclesiastical power and tyranny that the deity of Christ was propagated throughout history.

It was not by political power that the deity of Christ was thrust upon the church, but rather it was by apostolic proclamation followed by faithful, divine, providentially guided defense of the doctrine The deity of Christ that we have professed the church the the doctrine throughout the ages at the outset of the if we look at the if we look at Nicaea and just very briefly and the the conciliar of declarations concerning the person of Christ upholding his true divinity and his true humanity, we see that what they are doing is they're reflecting upon or they're defending 200 years of reflection upon the person of Christ that the church underwent. The church is brought to a point where they have to defend the deity of Christ against heretics, and what they do is they're reflecting upon the baptismal formula, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. They're reflecting upon liturgical doxology when the church is saying, Jesus is Lord, what does that mean? And they're reflecting, they're reflecting upon, stuff like salvation.

How is it that we are saved? Can we be saved by a created mediator? Or are we saved by one that is truly the God-man? And they come out, of course, on the side that we can only be saved by a divine savior, a human savior or a created savior solely and alone. cannot affect true and proper and lasting salvation.

So what then does the Bible say? The Church has always upheld, though in the midst of opponents, the deity of Christ. What is the biblical testimony to the deity of Christ?

Proved by Christ's Self-Identification

First off, the deity of Christ is proved by Christ's self-identification. Now with fingers at the Bible, let's go to John 8. So the first point of evidence regarding the biblical testimony to the deity of Christ, the deity of Christ is proved by Christ's self-identification. John chapter 8.

Notice what we find there in two places in John 8. The first beginning at verse 23. And he said to them, you are from beneath, I am from above. You are of this world, I am not of this world.

Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins, for if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins. We noted this last time at the importance of Christology, specifically with regards to salvation. We must confess the true and proper Christ, lest we prove our profession to be false. And here we see this absolute truth, and this glorious truth brought out by the lips of the Redeemer Himself.

Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins, For if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins. He is self-identifying himself as that Exodus 3.14, Isaianic, I am who I am. Secondly, in John 8, we have the verse in 58. In John 8, in verse 58, notice what we find there.

This is in response, and actually maybe backing up to verse 54, Jesus answered, if I honor myself, my honor is nothing. It is my father who honors me of whom you say that he is your God. Yet you have not known him, but I know him. And if I say I do not know him, I shall be a liar like you.

But I do know him and keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was glad. Then the Jews said to him, you are not yet 50 years old. Have you seen Abraham?

And Jesus said to them, most assuredly I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." Very, very striking and strong statement, evidenced by the fact that they understood fully well what Jesus was saying in verse 59. When we read the narrative, then they took up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. going through the midst of them and so passed by. You see, Christ was saying, before Abraham was, I am. And it's, again, not that he's saying, before Abraham was, I existed, as if to just uphold some measure of pre-existence prior to Abraham.

He could have been created, you know, but he's definitely before Abraham, no. He doesn't say, before Abraham was, I was. He says, before Abraham was, I am. a clear affirmation of the full and unabridged deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice as well in the Gospel of John, with regards to Christ's self-identification, in John 13, There's a statement there, and we certainly aren't exhausting the instances of Christ's self-identification as God.

But notice in John 13 at verse 18, I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen, but that the scriptures may be fulfilled. He who eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me. Now I tell you before it comes that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am." And then the last one of these instances is in John chapter 18 and verse 5.

We have quite a shocking scene here that speaks to the glory of Christ in His true divinity. They answered Him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said to them, I am, and Judas who betrayed Him also stood with them. Now when He said to them, I am, they drew back and fell to the ground.

In an interesting twist of appropriating this particular verse, that is to be the proper response to the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, of falling to the ground. Whether by his enemies or his friends, the proper response to the one who has or who is a true and essential God, coessential with the Father, is that we are to fall as dead men to the ground before his holy feet. So, the deity of Christ is proved by Christ's self-identification. A number of other verses we could go to to prove this, but we move on.

Proved by Equality with the Father

Secondly, the deity of Christ is proved by Christ's equality with the Father. And these, in fact, are more statements with regards to Christ's self-identification, but specifically at the point of equality with the Father. And still in the Gospel of John, you can turn to John 5. John 5 and beginning in verse, well just reading verse 17, but Jesus answered them, my father has been working until now and I have been working.

There's a solidarity there, or an identity with the Father, a distinction of person, but nevertheless, an identity at the point of the working. As well in John, in the Gospel of John, in John 8, we have this same reality, Christ's equality with the Father in John 8, 38. John 8, 38, where we read, I speak what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have seen with your Father. Again, distinction of person, but identity with respect to glory and equality.

In John 10, we have two instances there where we find Christ's equality with the Father. Notice in John 10 at 15. As the father knows me, even so I know the father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. Notice the language there.

As the father knows me, even so I know the father. You see the reciprocal parallelism there and identity with the knowledge of each other. Just as the father knows the son, so the son knows the father. There is equality as well in John 10 at verse 30.

Actually backing up to verse 28, And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and my Father are one. You see the equality at the point of the soteriological grip that each member of the Trinity has upon the chosen people, and then it's punctuated by this, I and my Father are one.

Clearly, Christ affirming by this language of equality with the Father, that he is most certainly true and essential God, co-essential with the Father. We could note as well John 14.10 and John 17.5, but turn to the book of Philippians because there we have that glorious Christological statement upholding with apostolic authority the identity, the equality of Christ with the Father. In Philippians 2, in that Carmen Christi, the hymn to Christ as to God, we have this language beginning in verse 5. Let this mind be in you.

This is Philippians 2.5. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God." There's in fact a double statement there with regards to Christ's deity, who being in the form of God, We ask the question there, well, why didn't Paul just say Christ who being God? Why does he have to say who being in the form of God as if to give ammunition to the Jehovah's Witnesses? Well, it's a statement of deity that is specifically by, we may say, antithetical parallelism.

It's not opposing, but it's set in comparison to a statement that comes later. taking the form of a bondservant. Just as he is truly man in taking the form of a bondservant, so too is he eternally truly God, brought forth in this statement, who being in the form of God. And then we have the statement of equality following, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God. And that verse might better be rendered, did not consider equality with God something to be held onto at all costs.

In other words, he condescends in the incarnation. He doesn't hold on to his divine and sovereign prerogatives with a strong grip, but rather condescendingly comes, taking upon himself man's nature, with all the essential properties and common infirmities thereof, yet without sin. Christ self-identifies himself as God, and Christ states, and the Apostle states, his equality with the Father.

Proved by Apostolic Statements

Thirdly then, the deity of Christ is proved by explicit apostolic statements of Christ's deity. We already saw one in John 1.1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Language is quite clear.

That language bringing out the reality that the Word, as to His very nature, is deity, is God. There is personal distinction. He is not the father, but there is identity. There is the reality that he is true and essential God, co-essential with the father, because John states clearly the word was God.

We have that statement that we noted later on in John 20, 28, that we looked at last time, the statement of Thomas, my Lord and my God. the silly notions of the Muslims and the Jehovah's Witnesses who say it's, you know, it's just an exclamation of surprise. Thomas saying, oh my God. The stupidity of such an approach to the statement of Thomas need not be exhausted. Thomas is confessing the lordship and the deity of Christ there in John 20, 28.

It's not an exclamation of surprise. Thomas wouldn't use the Lord's name in vain to exclaim, oh, that really is the resurrected human Christ. No, he's stating with absolute clarity, and John rehearsing the statement, my Lord and my God, an ascription of the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is Robert Raymond on John 20, 28.

My Lord and my God. Thomas' confession of Jesus as his Lord and God is, now notice this, the supreme Christological pronouncement of the fourth gospel. That's the importance of that statement in the Gospel of John. Thomas' confession of Jesus as his Lord and God is the supreme Christological pronouncement of the fourth gospel.

Here within a week of Jesus' resurrection in the presence of the other disciples, who would surely have learned from Thomas' words and Jesus' favorable response the appropriateness of doing so, a disciple for the first time employs theos as a Christological title. That's the Greek word for God. This demonstrates that there is no basis in fact for the view of some form critical scholars that the church only gradually came to the view of an incarnational Christology. Christians virtually from the beginning believed that in Jesus they had to do with God incarnate.

That is, Thomas' words, my Lord and my God, is the supreme Christological declaration, proclamation, statement of the fourth gospel. As well, under this, the deity of Christ is proved by explicit apostolic statements of Christ's deity. We have a few other verses in the the Pauline epistles, you can turn to the book of Romans for a moment. We have one there.

Depending on your translation, it might not be so apparent, but if you have the New King James and others, it's there. Romans 9, notice what we have in verse 5 with regards to the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom are the fathers, Romans 9, 5, and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is overall the eternally blessed God. Amen. A clear Pauline statement affirming the full deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, that He is true and essential God, co-essential with the Father.

As well in Titus 2, we have the language of our God and Savior. You'll notice there what we have again is Clear Pauline statement with regards to the deity of Christ. This is Titus 2 and verse 13. Notice what we read there.

Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. That isn't a separation into two objects with regards to this glorious appearing, but one. And further elaboration in the latter identification, our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is our God and Savior.

And that same sort of language is employed by Peter in his second epistle. Notice in 2 Peter, right at the beginning of his particular letter, Simon, Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, this is 2 Peter 1.1, to those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. Now we could go to other verses, but the testimony is clear. Christ himself, the apostles, Paul and Peter here, John as well, all upholding the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Proved by Old Testament Yahweh Texts

Fourthly, under the biblical testimony to the deity of Christ, and hopefully, just a brief pause, hopefully as we move through this, we're moving sort of quickly through this material, but let it never be just material to us. This is a glorious revelation about the person of Christ, our blessed Savior. He is fully God, and this one who is fully God condescended to take man's nature and redeem guilty sinners. It truly is a blessed thing to rehearse these truths.

Fourthly, the deity of Christ is proved by Old Testament Yahweh verses applied to Christ. Old Testament Yahweh verses applied to the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice in Psalm 45. You can turn there.

There's a lot of Bible turning, but hopefully it's always healthy Bible turning. And whenever we turn to our Bibles, hopefully that's always the case. It's good to read from God's inerrant, infallible, and inspired Word. Notice what we have in Psalm 45 at verse 7.

And then prepare your minds and fingers to quickly turn to the book of Hebrews. Psalm 45 verse 7, you love righteousness and hate wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your companions. We turn to the book of Hebrews and notice what we find there in Hebrews 1. the apostle there rehearsing that very psalm to argue for the superabounding excellence of Christ over and against the prophets and the angels.

Notice in Hebrews 1 at verse 8, but to the Son, he says, that is to the Son of God, he, the Father, says, your throne, O God, is forever and ever. A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom. And now notice Psalm 45, you have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your companions.

Again, continuing with Old Testament Yahweh verses applied to Christ, we have, don't turn there, but Psalm 102, 25 to 27, is here in Hebrews 110. You, Lord, in the beginning, laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. A clear statement with regards to the deity of Christ, quoting Psalm 102, 25 to 27. Now, notice what we have in Romans 10, 13.

If you turn there, Romans 10, 13. Well, actually, well, yeah, sorry, Romans 10, 13. You can go there. And then keep in mind the Pentecostal sermon of Peter in Acts chapter two.

Notice what we read in Romans 10 at verse 13. For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, well, that's a reference to Joel 2.32. where, clearly in view, Yahweh is being spoken of, and that's the language used in Joel. Well, in Acts 2, the same verse is quoted by Peter at the end in verse 21, and it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord, on the name of Yahweh, shall be saved.

In view, it's captured within the preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ by Peter on the day of Pentecost. we would want to note as well, Isaiah 9.6. What do we find there in Isaiah 9.6? But a connection between a prophecy concerning the incarnate Christ and then clearly a statement with respect to His deity. In Isaiah 9, verse 6, a passage well familiar to you all.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God. Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. See, the language of Mighty God applied there to the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, Jehovah's Witnesses will even affirm and say that yes, that is Christ that's being spoken of, but you see, it says Mighty God, it doesn't say Almighty God.

We read elsewhere, actually even in the book of Isaiah, where Yahweh is referred to as mighty, not almighty. We need not play these silly word games. It's clearly an affirmation of the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Mighty and almighty at the point of God are interchangeable.

And besides, there is no other God save the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As well, we could note, and if you're making notes, you can just make a note of this, Isaiah 44, 6 is repeated by the Apostle John in Revelation 1, 8 and 11, 2, 8 and 22, 12 to 13. So that's Isaiah 44, 6 is brought forth by the Apostle John in the book of Revelation in chapter 1, verses 8 and 11, chapter 2, verse 8, in chapter 22, verses 12 to 13. Remember the passage that we looked at if you were here on the Lord's Day, or if you listened to the sermons on the Lord's Day.

In Isaiah 6, verses 1 to 3, we observed from Isaiah that language, in the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. We come to John 12, 40 to 41, and we find there John the Apostle bringing together Isaiah 53 and John 6, saying that these things Isaiah wrote when he saw the glory of Christ and spoke of Him. The biblical evidence to the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ is clear, it is astounding, and for anyone to come up against it is to be found as a potter's vessel being dashed to pieces upon the rock of clear biblical clarity.

Proved by Divine Attributes Predicated of Christ

Lastly then, under the biblical testimony to the deity of Christ, the deity of Christ is proved by verses ascribing to Christ those things which can only be predicated of God. So this is the fifth point, the deity of Christ is proved by verses ascribing to Christ those things which can only be predicated of God. And the first thing is the forgiveness of sins. In Mark 2 and verse 7, who can forgive sins but God alone?

Christ in the context is forgiving sin. And so clearly, Christ identifies the fact that He, by divine authority, is forgiving sins. And not simply by divine authority granted, though we can see that in there at the point of His mediatorial ship as the God-man. But the statement is clear, who can forgive sins but God alone?

And Christ owns that He does forgive sin as God. Secondly, I want to note the hearing and answering of prayers. This is, again, those things only predicated of God. The hearing and the answering of prayers, Acts 7.59.

Stephen calls out to Christ. receive my spirit. Stephen himself cries out to the risen and exalted Christ and prays to him. John Gill on this idea or this truth says he does this is and this is by the way speaking of Christ with regards to intercession and prayer and those sorts of things from John 14, 13. He does not say that he would be a mediator between God and them and advocate with the Father for them and would intercede and use his interest with him that it might be done, which would have been saying much and all which he does, but he declares he will do it himself. which is a proof of his deity and an instance of his omnipotence.

What he's citing is, if you ask anything in my name, I will give it to you. To paraphrase the language of John 14, 13, that is an instance and proof of his deity and an instance of his omnipotence. Christ hears and Christ answers prayer. Thirdly, of those things that can only be predicated of God, accepting praise and worship, we could note Matthew 21 16 and John 20 28 the latter instance is what we've already talked about the instance of Thomas's declaration my Lord and my God their Christ does not rebuke correct or offer any sort of, you know, qualification, well, Thomas, you shouldn't do that.

Angels elsewhere in the Bible do reject such worship, rightly, because there is only one to be worshipped, the living and true God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So there in that instance of Thomas saying, my Lord and my God, Christ does not reject, but rather receives, rightly, that worship and praise. Fourthly, under those things that can only be predicated of God, The possession of sovereign divine prerogative. The possession of sovereign divine prerogative.

You can turn to the book of Matthew. In Matthew chapter 11. This is another verse that is familiar to you, no doubt. Matthew 11.

Beginning in verse 25, at that time Jesus answered and said, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and the prudent and have revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in your sight. All things have been delivered to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him." You see, Christ has the possession of sovereign divine prerogative, in this case, the authority and the sovereign prerogative to reveal to whom He wills the truth of the Gospel. It's a clear statement with respect. to the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ.

There's an instance as well in John 5, 21. But moving on, lastly, under this heading, verses ascribing to Christ those things which can only be predicated of God, still not exhausting the list, but we would want to say attributes. Attributes, and there are many. Eternity, Micah 5, 2.

Immensity and omnipotence, or excuse me, immensity and omnipresence in Matthew 18, 20 and 28, 20. He says, lo, I am with you always. In the Matthew 18 instance, with regards to church discipline, he says, there I am in your midst when two or three are gathered together. So eternity, immensity, omnipotence, omniscience, and immutability, all these things are ascribed to the Lord Jesus Christ.

So the biblical testimony to the deity of Christ, we only spent 35 minutes in that, and we scratched the surface, really, in summarizing and only going to a few select passages. But let's take pause again to glory in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, that he is true and essential God, coessential with the Father. You see, Thomas serves as a prototypical exclaimer of every Christian professor that follows after him. We are all to be Thomases, my Lord and my God. our precious, glorious, divine Christ.

He is true and essential God, the brightness of the Father's glory in the express image of His person.

Important Affirmations in Confessing Christ's Deity

Well, moving on lastly now then, so we've looked at the meaning of the deity of Christ, the biblical testimony to the deity of Christ, and now lastly, important affirmations in confessing the deity of Christ. Some of these have sort of already come up, but this is to hone and to specify, to ensure that we have our proper Christological ducts in a row when we are affirming the deity of Christ.

Essential Identity with the Father

The first important affirmation is this, his essential identity with the Father. Another way to say this would be, his essential identity with the Father and Spirit. Another way to say this would be everything predicated of God, for example, in that regal chapter in our confession, chapter two, paragraph one, everything predicated of God there can and should be predicated of Christ. All those blessed perfections.

So when the confession says things like, and rehearses truths of God like, The Lord our God is but one only living and true God, whose subsistence is in and of himself, whose essence cannot be comprehended by anyone but himself, a most pure spirit, without body, parts, or passions, immutable, invisible, most holy, most loving, most wise, et cetera. All those things are true of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and all equally. And so his essential identity with the Father must be upheld. In paragraph 3, the language is that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all have the same essence and the essence undivided.

And so Christ is, has, essential identity with the Father, and of course with the Spirit. Where might we see this in our Bibles? Well, one of the places that we see this is in Hebrews 1, to be sure. This is an address of Holy Scripture that is rich with affirmations of the deity of Christ, and at this particular point, His essential identity with the Father.

Notice in Hebrews 1.1, God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds, Now notice, who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power. Christ's essential identity with the Father, He is the brightness of the Father's glory, and the express image of His person. The biblical testimony to Christ's essential identity with the Father is absolutely clear, and the language is quite glorious. The brightness of His glory and the express image of His person.

The express image of His person there, that language in the Greek is transliterated well into English as character. The word isn't used in the Bible, but the language employed there, the express image of His person, we could have in view some sort of implement whereby the exact representation is impressed upon something else. Christ has essential identity with the Father. He's the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person.

We've already noted Philippians 2.6. But that is the first important affirmation in confessing the deity of Christ, His essential identity with the Father. All that the Father has with respect to essential deity, the Son has.

Personal Eternal Distinction from the Father

Now the second important affirmation in confessing the deity of Christ is his personal eternal distinction from the Father and the Spirit. So he has essential identity. with Father and Spirit. In this divine and infinite being, there are three subsistences, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And all three are of the same substance and eternity, all sharing the divine essence, the essence undivided. we must confess that this as the second point, his personal eternal distinction from the Father and Spirit.

And so, if everything predicated of God in, for example, chapter 2, paragraph 1 and 2 of our confession, paragraphs 1 and 2 of our confession, must be predicated of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, at this point, everything said of the Son cannot be said of the Father. Everything said of the Father cannot be said of the Son, and everything said of the Spirit cannot be said of Father and Son. What do I mean by that? At the point of personal eternal distinction, at the point of the Father, we must say that he is the only one who is the eternal begetter of the Son.

At the point of Christ specifically, because we're studying His divinity, His deity, His personal eternal distinction from the Father is seen in that He is eternally begotten from the Father. The distinction of father and son from the spirit, we would say, is that father and son breathe out the spirit eternally. The spirit proceeds from the father and the son. But getting back to this point, Christ's personal eternal distinction from the father and spirit, his personal distinction from the father is that he is the son.

How is He the Son? He is the Son by virtue of His being eternally generated by the Father. The Father is begotten of none. He is neither begotten nor proceeding.

The Son is eternally begotten of the Father, and the Spirit is proceeding from the Father and the Son. Where do we see this language in the Bible? We see this language of eternal personal distinction in John 1. We read at the outset.

If there's any questions afterwards, because this is a lot of information, but hopefully, we need to perhaps operate by this sort of maxim. Actually, two maxims. We said last time that we're not saved by theological precision. were not saved by theological precision. However, the saved are to be theologically precise.

God demands it, Christ demands it, the apostles demand it. We're to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of Christ. The apostolic prayer in Ephesians 1.15 and following is that we would grow in wisdom, spiritual understanding, and knowledge. Christ himself says, this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

So we are not saved by our theological precision, but the saved are to be theologically precise. There's another maxim that we should operate by. And to use the language of Carl Truman, mystery is the refuge of the disreputable theologian. In other words, very often the Christian wants to abandon to just, you know, the confession of mystery without being required to actually know the blessed God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent to a full and to a proper and to a glorious knowledge.

We ought to want to know the Redeemer of men. we ought to not get to a point where we just stop and say, you know what, I've learned enough of my glorious God-man redeeming King, the Lord Jesus Christ. So mystery is often the refuge of the disreputable theologian. Deuteronomy 29, 29 is an escape hatch from those who don't want to learn the, you know, to a proper Christian fullness, the glorious truths of Christ. But yet we must also confess nevertheless that there is a point where we must say, at just, you know, fall on our faces and worship the triune God of heaven and earth.

Sometimes when we dive into Christological truths like this, while these truths are necessary, we get to the point where, because of our finitude, we must only fall on our faces and worship the One who gives us life through Jesus Christ the Lord. All that to say, where does the Bible teach the eternal personal distinction of the Son? In John 1, We have it in verse 1 first, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. There we have both of those truths, his essential identity with the Father, but then his personal distinction from the Father.

And then at the point of what that personal eternal distinction is, eternal begottenness, notice in verse 14, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. And then verse 18, No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. Theologians, Christians throughout the ages have gone to these passages in order to defend the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ because you see His deity is upheld here by the eternal generation from the Father.

Christ is eternally begotten or eternally generated by the Father. What does that mean or what's a good definition of eternal generation. Here's a couple for you. These are truths that ought to be upheld.

The first one, you might roll your eyes and say, do we really need to multiply that many truths about this? Yes, it is important. So don't roll your eyes at Stephan Lindblad's definition of eternal generation because it is a very good one. This is what eternal generation is at the point of Christ.

The Father is necessary eternal, supernatural, and incomprehensible personal act of communicating His whole essence to the Son, as to the Son's personal subsistence, without any imperfection, dependence, succession, multiplication, mutation, causation, derivation, confusion or division, either of the one common divine essence or of the divine personal subsistences of the Trinity. If you want a more simple answer, though that is a rich and good one, Bavink defines it this way, the divine deed by which the father gives the son to have life in himself. Now this is important to understand because in saying this, we're not railing against the deity of Christ, we're upholding how Christ has his deity. He has it by eternal generation.

And that might be an overly simplistic statement, but notice in John 5, the biblical warrant for this definition of the eternal generation of the Son. He is the only begotten Son. John 3.16 upholds that as well. But notice in John 5, with regards to this doctrine, where God the Father eternally begets the Son as to His personal subsistence and eternally communicates the divine essence to the Son.

Notice in John 5 at verse 26, there we read this, For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself. And it must be stressed that He does this eternally. And when we say He does this eternally, we don't say that He stopped doing this at some point in time, because God is timeless, autemporal. Eternal generation means that Christ is eternal.

And He has that eternality, if you will, as it pertains to His personal subsistence, being the Son, by virtue of the Father eternally begetting Him. We'll move on, though, because that is sort of the stuff of high theology. Another verse is Proverbs 8.22. But when I say high theology, when we dive into beyond the veil of the simple profession of the truth and confession of that truth, which we must confess, it can be very rich with theological inquiry. and speculation, and wholesome speculation, and those sorts of things.

But we must confess His eternal begottenness. When we ask the question, how is the Father the Father, or why is the Father called the Father? It's not just because that's the name that He reveals Himself by, or because that's just, you know, that's just by name only is He the Father. No, He's the Father by virtue of eternally begetting the Son.

How is the Son the Son? He's not the Son in name only, but He's the Son by virtue of being eternally begotten of the Father. We would say then, how is the Spirit the Spirit? Not in name only, but by being eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son.

Spiration, being eternally breathed out by the Father and the Son. So, important affirmations in confessing the deity of Christ, His essential identity with the Father, His personal eternal distinction from the Father, and then

Unchanging Post-Incarnation Deity

Thirdly, His unchanging, undiminished, post-incarnation deity. What does that mean? It just simply means we uphold divine immutability at the point of the incarnation of Christ. The incarnation doesn't bring to the Son of God any change to His deity, to His divinity.

Remember a quote from Calvin, you might not remember, Sunday night, it was a few days ago now. But at the point of the incarnation, Calvin says, The Son of God descended from heaven in such a way that without leaving heaven, He willed to be born in the Virgin's womb, to go about the earth, and to hang upon the cross. Yet he has always been as he always was from the very beginning, filling the heavens and the earth. The incarnation doesn't bring a change to Christ as it pertains to his divinity, as it pertains to his deity, in the same way that creation did not bring a change to God.

Creation did not bring a change to He who is immutable, impassable, neither does the incarnation bring a change to He who is eternal, unchangeable, and infinite in all of His blessed perfections. So the third truth that we must affirm is His unchanging, undiminished, post-incarnation deity. And then lastly, before we close, a couple comments, pray, and then if you have any questions, you can ask away.

Christ's Role in the Incarnation

The fourth important affirmation in confessing the deity of Christ is his role in the incarnation. the deity of Christ and the point of the deity of Christ in the role of Christ in the incarnation. Notice, to sort of clear things up on what we mean by that, John Owen. He says this, that the Lord Jesus Christ as man did and was to exercise all grace by the rational faculties and powers of his soul, his understanding, will, and affections. For he acted grace as a man, made of a woman, made under the law.

His divine nature was not unto him in the place of a soul, nor did it immediately operate the things which he performed, as some of old vainly imagined. But being a perfect man, his rational soul was in him the immediate principle of his moral operations, even as ours are in us. Now, in the improvement and exercise of these faculties and powers of his soul, he had and made a progress after the manner of other men, for he was made like unto us in all things, yet without sin. In their increase, enlargement, and exercise, there was required a progression in grace also, and this he had continually by the Holy Ghost." In other words, the role of Christ in the incarnation, at the point of his deity, we might say this, Christ as God didn't go about the earth as God, doing all of those things just enfleshed in humanity.

It wasn't an enfleshed God, God in man doing those things, but rather God as man. The incarnation was real. Christ, the son of God, the second of the blessed triune, took to himself man's nature. And so he went about the earth as man, doing the miracles, walking on water, fasting 40 days and 40 nights.

It was God as man. It wasn't the Son of God just wearing a flesh suit. He truly did those things as man. We would want to see a verse such as Acts 2.22, which speaks to this reality.

Notice what we find there. We'll quote another couple fellows and we'll close. This is important because it brings us into next week's section where we'll talk about the incarnation and the humanity of Christ. Because there are some essential truths that I think perhaps sometimes we might get wrong with regards to the divinity of Christ and the incarnation.

Notice what we have in Acts 2 at verse 22. Men of Israel, hear these words, Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves also know. Now, I read through that quickly, deliberately. Notice again, men of Israel, hear these words, Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through him in your midst.

Gil, on this particular verse, says this, that as man, not but that he did the miracles himself as God and the Son of God, but as he was man, God did them by his human nature as the instrument. In other words, it's what Calvin is getting at when he says this, and we'll see more of why this is important next time. For the power wherein Christ exceeded, proceeded from the Spirit alone. Therefore, when as the Heavenly Father anointed His Son, He furnished Him with the power of His Spirit.

Peter saith immediately after that, that this power appeared in miracles, although he expresseth one kind only in plain words, that Christ testified that he was endowed with power of the Holy Ghost, that he might do good in the world. Ferguson as well on this line, as Jesus' obedience to the Father grew in harmony with his developing capacities as a man and at the demands of his ministry as the Messiah, so he received the power of the Spirit's anointing for each step of this way. So what does this have to do with the deity of Christ then and his role in the incarnation? Well, the role of Christ in the incarnation as it pertains to his deity is seen not in him doing the miracles, wonders, and signs, not in him walking on the water, not in him fasting in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights, not in him raising Lazarus from the dead.

Those were all done in his spirit-filled humanity. His divinity is seen in this, the assumption of his human nature. He did that according to his divinity. It's seen in the provision of the personality.

The human nature did not have a personhood independent of the divinity of Christ. In other words, as Burkoff says, the Logos furnishes the basis for the personality of Christ. And then lastly, What else does his deity have as the role in the incarnation? The point of sustaining.

So it's assumption, it's providing the personality of his humanity, and it's in sustaining the humanity, called sustentation. It was requisite that the mediator should be God, that he might sustain and keep the human nature. from sinking under the infinite wrath of God and the power of death. Why did we rehearse that? We rehearsed that because next week we'll look at the humanity of Christ.

And to properly have a doctrine of the incarnation, and maybe even more to the point, a proper doctrine of substitutionary salvation, the one who went about the earth doing good and hanging upon a cross must be fully human. And so to do those things as God, to do obedience as God, according to His divinity, would not be true and proper satisfaction of the demands of God to have a human substitute, to live in our stead, to die in our stead, and to rise again. So the role of the deity of Christ, or the role of Christ, according to his deity in the incarnation, is not in going about and doing the miracles and all of those things, but it's seen in assuming, it's seen in providing or furnishing the personality of Christ, and it's seen in the upholding, the maintenance, and the sustaining of the human nature of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, to close, and you can ask some questions afterwards, if anything, what we need to do is we need to glory in our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

We need to glory in the fact of His deity, that He is true and essential God, co-essential with the Father. Next time we'll look at why we need to glory in Christ for a second point, and that point being the incarnation and His humanity unto the salvation. sinners. Well let's close in prayer and then if there's any questions you can ask away.

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father we thank you for this time in Christology. We thank you for the fact that we can look at these portions of your word to see revelation concerning the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that you would help us to have our thoughts and our contemplations and our blessed reflections about the person of Christ aligned with your holy word. You might help us by your spirit to jettison any errors that may linger in our conceptions of the Savior. that we might wholly and truly trust in what the Bible reveals.

At this point that we discovered tonight, studied tonight at the point of the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, we rejoice in you, the Son of God, and we praise you, Christ, for that one, as that one who came in the fullness of the times, that one who has a true and essential deity, who came and took to himself humanity to save us from our sins. We pray that you would help us to rejoice in truth, help us to rejoice in the Savior, and might you receive all honor and all glory, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We pray in Christ's name, amen.

Scripture References

• Exodus 3:14
• Deuteronomy 29:29
• Proverbs 8:22
• Psalm 45:7; 102:25-27
• Isaiah 6:1-3; 9:6; 44:6; 53:1
• Micah 5:2
• Joel 2:32
• Matthew 11:25-27; 18:20; 21:16; 28:20
• Mark 2:7
• John 1:1-3; 1:14; 1:18; 3:16; 5:17; 5:21; 5:26; 8:23-24; 8:38; 8:54; 8:58-59; 10:15; 10:28-30; 12:40-41; 13:18; 14:10; 14:13; 17:5; 18:5; 20:28; 20:31
• Acts 2:21-22; 7:59
• Romans 9:5; 10:13
• Ephesians 1:15-17
• Philippians 2:5-8
• Titus 2:13
• Hebrews 1:1-3; 1:8-10
• 2 Peter 1:1
• Revelation 1:8; 2:8; 22:12-13