Divinity of Christ

Dogma for Pr-Servants

January 15, 2011

The Lord Jesus Christ(The Divinity of Christ)

1) Why is it important to believe in

Christ’s Divinity?

2) Divinity of Christ

3) The Creed on Christ with biblical proofs

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The Divinity of Christ is vital in the Christian The Divinity of Christ is vital in the Christian doctrinedoctrine

“I said therefore unto you, that you shall die in your sins; for if you believe not that I AM, you shall die in your sins” (John 8:24,28)

Jesus would Send The Holy Spirit To Convict The World: “Of sin, because they believe not on me” John 16:9

Therefore,

Denying the Lord Jesus Christ’s Divine attributes and powers

Constitutes heresy! Such heretics bring upon themselves “swift

destruction” 2 Peter 2:1

DOES IT REALLY MATTER WHAT WE BELIEVE ABOUT JESUS?

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Arius wrong belief concerning the Divinity of Christ saying that Christ is less than God the Father destroys our salvation

The Ecumenical Council of Ephesus, 325 ADThe Ecumenical Council of Ephesus, 325 ADo Arius and AthanasiusArius and Athanasiuso The CreedThe Creed

The heresy of Jehovah’s Witness- Founded in Pennsylvania, USA in 1872- Moved to NY in 1909 under the name “Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society”

DOES IT REALLY MATTER WHAT WE BELIEVE ABOUT JESUS?

2) Divinity of Christ

Christ is God with respect to:

A) Him being has no beginning

B) His relation with the Holy Spirit

C) Him being Omnipresent

D) Him being the Judge

E) Him being the Giver of life

F) Him being worshiped

A) Christ Has NO Beginning• “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1“And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us…” John 1:14

He wasHe was with GodHe was GodThe Word became flesh

B) Christ and the Holy Spirit• The Father & the Son pour out the Holy Spirit

The Father: “I am the Lord your God… I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh” Joel 2:27-28

The Son: “Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God… He poured out this (Holy Spirit) which you now see and hear” Acts 2:33

• The Father & the Son send the Holy Spirit

The Father: “You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; and You renew the face of the earth” Psalm 104:30

The Son: “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth” John 15:26

C) Christ; God is Omnipresent

• “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” Matthew 18:20

• “No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven” John 3:13

• John 14:23• Gal.2:20• Rev. 3:20

D) Christ; being the Judge

• God alone is the Judge: “O God, to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth! Rise up, O Judge of the earth” Psalm 94:1,2

• Christ is the Judge: “The Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead” 2Timothy 4:1

• 2Cor.5:10• Matt.16:27• Rev. 22:12

E) Christ; Giver of life

• “In Him was life” John 1:4

• Christ raised the dead by His order: - the raising of Jairus daughter, Mark5:22,35-42

- the raising of the son of the widow of Nain, Luke 7:11-17

- the raising of Lazarus, John 11 “For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will”, John 5:21

F) Christ; being Worshiped

• “That to Me every knee shall bow” Isaiah 45:23

• “And the four living creatures said ‘Amen!’ And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.” Rev. 5:14

• “And when He again brings the Firstborn into the world, He says: ‘And let all angels of God worship Him’.” Hebrews 1:6

3) The Creed on Christ

We believe in One Lord, Jesus Christ: • The Only Begotten Son of God

• Begotten from the Father before all ages

• Light of Light

• True God of True God

• Begotten not created

• Of one essence with the Father

• By whom all things were made

The Lord Jesus Christ

• The names Lord and God were given to the Father and to Christ (the Son)

+ “God (Father/Jehovah) spoke to Moses and said to him: I AM the Lord” Exodus 6:2

+ “And Thomas answered and said to Him (Christ), My Lord and my God” John 20:28

The Only Begotten Son of God“Monogenies”

• “No one has seen God at any time. The Only Begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him” John 1:18 + “Son of God” => same essence of God“I and My Father are One” John 10:30 + “Begotten” => logos (logic) = the Word“Christ is the Power and Wisdom of God” 1Cor1:24 + “Only” => unique Sonship

• In Christ’s Baptism: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” Matthew 3:17, also in His Transfiguration, Matthew 17:5, Mark 9:7, Luke 9:35

Begotten of the Father before all ages

• Christ said to the Jews: “Before Abraham was, I AM” John 8:58

• “I am the Root and the offspring of David” Rev.22:16

• “Glorify Me with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was” John 17:5

Light of Light• On Christ: “He was the True Light” John 1:9

• “Who (Christ) only has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light (the Father), whom no man has seen or can see” 1Tim6:16

Analogy: The ray of the sun is generated from the sun without beginning or separation and exists with the source so long as the source exists.

True God of True God

• On the Father: “Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other (The True God)” Isaiah 45:22

• “But to the Son, He says ‘Your throne , O God, is forever and ever’ Hebrews 1:8.

Begotten not created (or made)

The Son was incarnated at certain time but His Divinity was NOT created i.e. at a certain time. It is eternal with the Father and the Holy Spirit within the Triune God.

• On the Father: “I am the First and I am the Last; besides Me there is no God” Isaiah 44:6

• On Christ “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the End, the First and the End” Rev1:8. On Christ Incarnation: “ And the Word became flesh” John 1:14

Of One essence with the FatherThe Son is from the same nature and essence as the Father. If the Father is God, the Son is also God (ONE GODHEAD).

On Christ: “Who being the brightness of His (meaning the Father) glory and the express image (essence) of His (the Father) person” Hebrews 1:3

“But Jesus answered them, My Father has been working until now, and I have been working. Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.” John 5:17-18

Through Whom all things were made

This means that the Son is the Creator as the Father is.

• On the Father: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” Genesis 1:1

• On Christ: “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” John 1:3