by
E d w a r d P. M y e r s
The DIETY of CHRIST
N
o doctrine is more fundamental to the existence
of Christianity than Jesus Christ being the divine Son of God. Christ Himself was concerned
that people understand this. In Matthew 16:13-16, we read:
“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea
Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the
Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist,
others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’
He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter
replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’ ” (esv).
What is interesting about this passage is that although
men were complimentary about whom they considered Him
to be (John, Elijah, Jeremiah, etc.), it was not sufficient. He
was more than any of these, for He was divine.
The testimony of Scripture presents Jesus as divine by
many direct statements. For example, the Greek word usually reserved for God is theos. But several passages in the
New Testament apply this word to Jesus Christ, including
John 1:1, 18; 20:28; Romans 9:5; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 1:8;
and 2 Peter 1:1. The clear reference in these passages is that
Jesus Christ was divine.
Along with this is the fact that the Septuagint (Greek
translation of the Hebrew Old Testament) uses the word
kurios in reference to YHWH (“Yahweh”; that is, God
Himself). And in many instances in the New Testament,
the word kurios was used in referring to Jesus Christ
(cf. Luke 1:43; 2:11; Matthew 3:3 [quoting Isaiah 40:3]).
The implication of such passages is that when Jesus came,
God Himself was coming.
Apart from this evidence, three specific New Testament
passages present the deity of Christ: John 1:1-14; Colossians 2:9; and Philippians 2:6.
John 1:1-14
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Three statements
made by John give identification to the deity of Christ. First,
“in the beginning” speaks of Jesus as eternal. This phrase
may be taken in different ways, but one of significance is
that whenever there was “the beginning,” Jesus already was.
In other words, this speaks of His eternality – an attribute
belonging properly only to God.
John said also that the Word (logos) was “with” God,
referring to an intimate relationship the Word (logos) had
with God (theos). The preposition “with” expresses the fact
of coexistence or the close communion or fellowship They
shared together.
He continued with “the Word was God” (emphasis
added). Here, John acknowledged Jesus as divine; properly
translated, this could read, “God was the Word.” John’s emphasis here was on the divinity of Jesus. John made this very
plain when, in John 1:14, he wrote, “And the Word became
flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory
as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Colossians 2:9
Paul gave concise and clear support to the deity of
Christ when he stated, “For in him the whole fullness of
deity dwells bodily” (Colossians 2:9). Because words have
meaning, we again look at the words Paul used in reference
to Jesus. “Fullness” is translated from the word pleroma
and speaks of something that is full. Picture a container so
full of a liquid that one single drop more, no matter the size
of the drop, would force the container to overflow. That is
the idea of fullness.
Of what did this fullness consist? Paul’s statement was
“deity.” The word used here is the word theotetos, which can
be found three times in the New Testament (cf. Acts 17:29;
Romans 1:20; and Colossians 2:9). R.C. Trench says of this
word: “Paul is declaring that in the Son there dwells all the
fullness of absolute Godhead; they were no mere rays of divine glory which gilded Him, lighting up his person for a season and with a splendour [sic] not his own; but He was, and is,
absolute and perfect God; and the Apostle uses [theotetos] to
express this essential and personal Godhead of the Son.” 1
The word “bodily” points to His humanity; that is, to
His human form. This corresponds to John’s statement
about the Word being made flesh or, in other words, the
incarnation. In His body, Jesus was divine.
Philippians 2:6
Paul wrote of Christ, “He was in the form of God” (Philippians 2:6). The word “form” is the word morphe and refers
to the sum of those characteristics that make a thing precisely
what it is. Hence, Christ was in possession of all the attributes
of deity. Paul continued and said Christ “did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.” His equality with God
was acknowledged here as Paul then spoke of Christ’s humiliation in becoming a servant. “Being born in the likeness of
men … being found in human form” (v. 7) is the way Paul
continued to express it.
Without a doubt, the deity of Christ is acknowledged in
Scripture both by testimony of those who confessed it and by
those who, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote of
it. Our responsibility is to accept and confess His deity to the
glory of God the Father. ❏
Edward P. Myers is a Bible professor at Harding University, specializing in doctrine and ministry. He can be contacted by email
at [email protected].
Endnote
1 From Trench’s Synonyms of the New Testament as presented at www.blueletterbible.org.
August 2013
•
Gospel advocate
19