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Basic Discipleship
Written by Dr. Lester Hutson

This material is copyrighted c2002 and may not be copied or reproduced without the express written permission of the Berean Baptist Church.

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PHASE 3      CHURCH ORIENTATION AND EDIFICATION

SESSION 10

THE DEITY OF JESUS CHRIST

Your disciple is now considering one of the most precious and critical doctrinal positions of Christianity.  The liberals hate this truth.  Nearly every new translation of the scriptures seeks to discount and undermine it.  The Jehovah's Witnesses have made the rejection of this truth their primary goal.  The modernist would appease Bible-believing Christians by saying that Jesus Christ was a great moral teacher but that He was not God.  That's ludicrous! Jesus claimed He was God, that He had every attribute of God, that He will come again, that He predated Abraham and that He was worthy of worship.  If He was not, He was a liar or a lunatic and got Himself crucified for making such claims.  If He was not God indeed, He must be regarded as extremely foolish.  If He was a liar on a scale that grand, He surely wasn't a great moral teacher.  He was a hypocrite of the rankest sort.  Of course, if He was telling the truth, He must be accepted as God.

This is another one of those heavy sessions.  To work this one, your disciple must look up many provocative scriptures.  Effort has been made to include enough scriptures and concepts so that he can't possibly fail to see that the scriptures clearly teach the deity of Christ.  Don't take for granted that he will get the point.  Always spot check.

You should be familiar with this material.  You should consider the proofs that are set forth and be prepared to discuss them with your disciple.  This is "strong meat" (Hebrews 5:12-14).  We're seeking the serious growth and grounding of your disciple.  Only the truths of God's word can produce that desired result.

Keep praying for and with your disciple.  Make sure he gets the next assignment.  It is noteworthy that with this session, your disciple is just past half way through the course.

Definitions are really important!  Many conflicts arise, divisions and riffs occur and misunderstandings and false ideas proliferate because people are not on the same page.  Definitions would cure the problem.  Make it your business to know what you are talking about, particularly when it comes to the ideas and teachings of God in His Word.  The Hebrew and Greek dictionaries that were mentioned earlier are great tools.

By now you probably know that a deity is a god.  Since there is really only one real God, then when we Christians speak of deity we are speaking of the God of the Bible.  To speak of the deity of Jesus Christ is to claim that He is God.  He is not some lesser god whom the real God created at some point in time.  He is not God's Son in the sense that a natural father is the progenitor of a little boy.  No!  If Jesus Christ is deity, He must (and does) possess every attribute and quality of God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.  His essence must be holiness, love and goodness because that is the moral essence of God. Furthermore, if Jesus Christ is deity, He must back up His claim as such with power over all things (omnipotence), knowledge of all things (omniscience) and limitless presence (omnipresence) for these are unique attributes of God alone.

All Christian doctrine points to the deity of Jesus Christ, but apart from the divine revelation, inspiration and infallible authority of the Bible, no truth has been more vehemently attacked than the deity of Jesus Christ.  The fact is that if Jesus was not deity, He was just another man and if He was just another man, He was not qualified to perform the redeeming work of salvation.  Therefore, if Jesus was not God, no man has (or ever has had) salvation.  To take away the deity of Christ would be to undermine the very foundations of Christianity. 

IDENTICAL ATTRIBUTES AND ESSENCE 

Below you will find three columns.  The center column is a list of attributes. The left column is a list of scripture verses ascribing these qualities to the Jehovah God of the Old Testament.  The right column is a list of scripture verses ascribing these qualities to Jesus Christ. Match the verses in each column to the correct attribute.  Note that every quality is ascribed to both Jehovah of the Old Testament and to Jesus Christ of the New Testament.

OF JEHOVAH             ATTRIBUTE         OF JESUS

(9) Exodus 3:14            1. Holiness            (3) 1 John 4:8

(8) James 1:17             2. Goodness          (6) John 18:4

(6) Hebrews 4:13        3. Love                     (9) John 8:58

(5) Psalm 139:7-8      4. Omnipotence                (8) Hebrews 13:8

(4) Genesis 17:1          5. Omnipresence              (5) Matthew 18:20

(3) Ephesians 3:17-19  6. Omniscient                   (2) Hebrews 9:11-12

(1) Leviticus 11:44-45        7. Eternal              (4) Revelation 1:8

(7) Deuteronomy 33:7 8. Immutable                     (7) 1 Timothy 1:16-17

(2) Nahum 1:7              9. Self existent          (1) Acts 3:13-14

While you are looking at scriptures that prove Jesus Christ to be the God of the Old and New Testaments (the entire Bible), also match some of the titles and acts that are ascribed to both Jehovah and Jesus. 

OF JEHOVAH             ATTRIBUTE         OF JESUS

(7) Psalm 23:1             1. Light                    (7) John 10:11

(5) Genesis 1:1            2. Forgiver of sins     (4) Revelation 5:9

(9) Isaiah 43:11           3. Rock                    (5) John 1:3

(4) Job 19:25-27          4. Redeemer          (8) Revelation 1:17

(3) Psalm 18:2             5. Creator             (2) Matthew 9:6

(2) Psalm 103:2-3      6. Judge                   (9) Titus 3:6

(8) Isaiah 44:6             7. Shepherd          (1) John 8:12

(6) Joel 3:12                 8. First & Last        (6) John 5:27

(1) Isaiah 60:19-20   9. Savior                (3) 1 Corinthians 10:4

BIBLE EVIDENCE THAT SUPPORTS THE DEITY OF JESUS CHRIST

          Each of the scripture passages listed here specifically point to the deity of Christ.  Each one introduces a new line of proof.  Read each one, then answer the accompanying multiple choice questions.  You will discover that the Bible is far from silent on this issue and that it aggressively affirms that Jesus Christ was God in flesh. 

1.        Matthew 1:18-25.        Based on this passage, one of these statements is false. The others are all true and affirm the deity of Jesus Christ. Which one is it?

A.    "Emmanuel" means "God with us."

B.    Jesus Christ was conceived in Mary of the Holy Spirit.

C.    Jesus Christ had no earthly father.

D.    Mary had a sexual relationship with a man prior to the conception of Jesus Christ.

2.     Luke 1:26-35        The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and announced that she would give birth to Jesus.  Based on that account, one of these statements is untrue.  Which one is it?

A.    Mary was "a virgin."

B.    Mary is the mother of God.

C.    The angel told Mary what to name Jesus.

D.    His ultimate reign on the throne of David would be without end.

3.               Galatians 4:4-5           Which of these statements based on this passage in untrue?

A.    God chose the time for the birth of Jesus Christ.

B.    Jesus was God in human flesh.

C     There was nothing unusual about the birth of Jesus Christ.

D.    God came in flesh to redeem them that were under the law.

4.     John 1:1-2,14        Which of these statements based on this passage is untrue?

A.    Jesus Christ is called "the Word."

B.    "The Word" was God.

C.    "The Word" was made flesh and dwelt among us in the person of Jesus Christ.

D.    Jesus Christ is not the God of the Old Testament, but is some lesser god.

5.     Hebrews 1:1-3   Based on this passage, which of these statements is true?

A.    Jesus Christ was a great moral teacher, but not God.

B.    The Bible is silent on whether or not Jesus Christ was God.

C.    Jesus Christ was the express image of God.

D.    Whether or not Jesus Christ was God doesn't matter.

6.     Hebrews 1:10-12   Based on this passage which of these statements is untrue?

A.    Jesus Christ created the universe and that makes Him the God of Genesis 1:1.

B.    Jesus Christ is eternal and eternality is one of the characteristics of God.

C.    If Jesus Christ was not the creator God, this passage is false.

D.    We know that Jesus could not have been involved in creation.

7.     Revelation 1:8    Which of these statements is true.

A.    By definition there can be only one "Almighty" being and Jesus is that being.

B.    Jesus was mighty but not Almighty.

C.    The Bible specifically says Jesus Christ was not Almighty.

D.    There is room for speculation as to how much power Jesus has.

8.     Colossians 2:8-9  Which of these statements is true?

A.    Jesus was great but He did not possess all that God is.

B.    In Jesus Christ dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

C.    The Bible doesn't compare the attributes of the God of the Old Testament with those of Jesus Christ.

D.    It really doesn't matter what people believe about who Jesus Christ was.

9.               Isaiah 9:6-7.   Isaiah prophesied the coming birth of the Messiah. Based on this passage which of these statements is untrue?

A.    The Messiah will ultimately rule from the throne of king David.

B.    The Messiah, who is Jesus Christ, is called "the everlasting Father." That statement equates Jesus with Jehovah of the Old Testament.

C.    There is no hint from Isaiah's prophecy as to whether or not Jesus, the Messiah, is God.

D.    The eternality of the Messiah's government (Jesus) says He is God.

10.             Hebrews 7:1-3.  This passage compares Jesus Christ to the Old Testament person named Melchizedek.  One point that is established concerning Jesus is His existence.  How long has Jesus Christ existed?

A.    Only since His birth in Bethlehem.

B.    Only since the real God created Him at some point in time.

C.    He is "Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life."

D.    He has existed eternally because He is God.

11.             1 Peter 2:22.   Which of these statements show Jesus was God and not just another man?

A.    He never committed even one sin.

B.    He was very strong and physically fit.

C.    He was a very kind and good person.

D.    He was crucified.

12.             Luke 7:47-48.  How does this passage prove that Jesus Christ was God?

A.    A sick person came to Him and He was able to help.

B.    A sinner came to Him and He was very understanding.

C.    He forgave sins.

D.    He was very compassionate to needy people.

13.             Matthew 28:9.  How does this passage prove that Jesus Christ was God?

A.    His disciples thought that He was God.

B.    He received and approved the worship of humans.

C.    Jesus said to those who came to Him, "All hail."

D.    Jesus was so good and pious that He just seemed like God.

14.   Hebrews 1:12 and 13:8.  Based on these passages, which of these statements in untrue?

A.    Jesus does not possess the changeless, immutable nature of God.

B.    Jesus does possess the changeless, immutable nature of God.

C.    Jesus is perfect, never improving nor diminishing.

D.    Jesus will never cease to be exactly what He currently is.

JESUS CLAIMED THAT HE WAS GOD 

Work this little matching exercise to see some of Jesus' many claims that He was God in the flesh.

1.     "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father"         (4) Matthew 28:19 

2.     "Before Abraham was, I am"                                  (3) Matthew 28:18 

3.     "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth"   (2) John 8:58

4.     Identified Himself with God in the baptismal formula    (5) John 8:23

5.     "I am from above"                                                   (6) John 10:30 

6.     "I and my Father are one"                                       (1) John 14:9 

Those who lived in His presence while He was on earth certainly recognized His claim to be God.  They said to Him in John 10:33, "For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God."

If Jesus Christ is God, how much authority should He command in your life?

"It Does Make a Difference What You Believe"