Christology (The Deity of Christ)
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Term to know: Deity means Godhood. Having the nature of God
Direct Scriptural Statements
Direct Scriptural Statements
“God” or “Theos” used of Christ
“God” or “Theos” used of Christ
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
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.
28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
“Lord” or “Kyrios” used of Christ
“Lord” or “Kyrios” used of Christ
Kyrios or Lord was used as a polite address to a superior like the word sir is used.
Kyrios or Lord was used as a polite address to a superior like the word sir is used.
27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’
30 Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go.
Matthew 27:63; John 4:11
Sometimes it can simply mean “master” of a servant or slave. Look at
24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?”
The same word used in the Septuagint
Term to know: Septuagint—Oldest translation of Hebrew Old Testament into Greek; often quoted in the New Testament.
Kenneth O. Gangel, Acts, vol. 5, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998), 481.
The Greek translation of the OT, which was commonly used at the time of Christ, translated the name of God Yahweh as Lord, or the word Jehovah or LORD as Lord.
The word Lord is used 6814 times in the Greek Old Testament. A Greek speaking reader during the time of the NT who had any knowledge of the Greek OT would have recognized based on the context, when the word Lord stood for the Creator and Sustainer of heaven and earth, the omnipotent God. Look at Luke 2:11
11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
43 But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
Listen to the words of John the Baptist
3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.’ ”
3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God.
44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool” ’?
10 And: “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
11 They will perish, but You remain; And they will all grow old like a garment;
12 Like a cloak You will fold them up, And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not fail.”
Other Strong Claims to His Deity
Other Strong Claims to His Deity
57 Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”
58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”
14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”
Titles that Affirmed His Deity
Titles that Affirmed His Deity
The Word
The Word
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.
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.
In John 1:1, John not only calls Jesus “God” but also refers to him as “the Word” (Gk. λόγος, G3364). John’s readers would have recognized in this term λόγος a dual reference, both to the powerful, creative Word of God in the Old Testament by which the heavens and earth were created (Ps. 33:6) and to the organizing or unifying principle of the universe, the thing that held it together and allowed it to make sense, in Greek thinking. John is identifying Jesus with both of these ideas and saying that he is not only the powerful, creative Word of God and the organizing or unifying force in the universe, but also that he became man: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father” (John 1:14). Here is another strong claim to deity coupled with an explicit statement that Jesus also became man and moved among us as a man. Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 546.
The Son of Man
The Son of Man
Further evidence of claims to deity can be found in the fact that Jesus calls himself “the Son of man.” This title is used eighty-four times in the four gospels but only by Jesus and only to speak of himself (note, e.g., Matt. 16:13 with Luke 9:18). In the rest of the New Testament, the phrase “the Son of man” (with the definite article “the”) is used only once, in Acts 7:56
56 and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
where Stephen refers to Christ as the Son of Man. This unique term has as its background the vision in Daniel 7 where Daniel saw one like a “Son of Man” who “came to the Ancient of Days” and was given “dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away” (
13 “I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him.
14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.
It is striking that this “son of man” came “with the clouds of heaven” (Dan. 7:13). This passage clearly speaks of someone who had heavenly origin and who was given eternal rule over the whole world. The high priests did not miss the point of this passage when Jesus said, “Hereafter you will see the Son of man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matt. 26:64
64 Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
The reference to Daniel 7:13–14 was unmistakable, and the high priest and his council knew that Jesus was claiming to be the eternal world ruler of heavenly origin spoken of in Daniel’s vision. Immediately they said, “He has uttered blasphemy … He deserves death” (Matt. 26:65–66
65 Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy!
66 What do you think?” They answered and said, “He is deserving of death.”
Here Jesus finally made explicit the strong claims to eternal world rule that were earlier hinted at in his frequent use of the title “the Son of man” to apply to himself. Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 546–547.
The Son of God
The Son of God
Though the title “Son of God” can sometimes be used simply to refer to Israel (Matt. 2:15), or to man as created by God (Luke 2:38), or to redeemed man generally (Rom. 8:14, 19, 23), there are nevertheless instances in which the phrase “Son of God” refers to Jesus as the heavenly, eternal Son who is equal to God himself (see Matt. 11:25–30; 17:5; 1 Cor. 15:28; Heb. 1:1–3, 5, 8). This is especially true in John’s gospel where Jesus is seen as a unique Son from the Father (John 1:14, 18, 34, 49)
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.
34 And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
39 He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).
who fully reveals the Father (John 8:19; 14:9). As Son he is so great that we can trust in him for eternal life (something that could be said of no created being: John 3:16, 36; 20:31). He is also the one who has all authority from the Father to give life, pronounce eternal judgment, and rule over all (John 3:36; 5:20–22, 25; 10:17; 16:15). As Son he has been sent by the Father, and therefore he existed before he came into the world (John 3:17; 5:23; 10:36).
17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
23 that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
36 do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?
1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,
2 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;
3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
The first three verses of Hebrews are emphatic in saying that the Son is the one whom God “appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world” (Heb. 1:2). This Son, says the writer, “reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp [lit., is the ‘exact duplicate,’ Gk. χαρακτήρ, G5917) of his nature, upholding the universe by his word of power” (Heb. 1:3). Jesus is the exact duplicate of the “nature” (or being, Gk. ὑπόστασις, G5712) of God, making him exactly equal to God in every attribute. Moreover, he continually upholds the universe “by his word of power,” something that only God could do.
These passages combine to indicate that the title “Son of God” when applied to Christ strongly affirms his deity as the eternal Son in the Trinity, one equal to God the Father in all his attributes. Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 547.
Divine Attributes seen in Jesus
Divine Attributes seen in Jesus
Term to know: Divine Attributes: Aspects of God’s character that describe his essential mode of existence
Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 1236.
Omnipotence
Omnipotence
Term to know: Omnipotence The doctrine that God is able to do all his holy will
Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 1249.
26 But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.
27 So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”
5 His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
6 Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece.
7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.
8 And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it.
9 When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom.
10 And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”
11 This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.
Jesus demonstrated his omnipotence when he stilled the storm at sea with a word (Matt. 8:26–27), multiplied the loaves and fish (Matt. 14:19), and changed water into wine (John 2:1–11). Some might object that these miracles just showed the power of the Holy Spirit working through him, just as the Holy Spirit could work through any other human being, and therefore these do not demonstrate Jesus’ own deity. But the contextual explanations of these events often point not to what they demonstrate about the power of the Holy Spirit but to what they demonstrate about Jesus himself. For instance, after Jesus turned water into wine, John tells us, “This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him” (John 2:11). It was not the glory of the Holy Spirit that was manifested but the glory of Jesus himself, as his divine power worked to change water into wine. Similarly, after Jesus stilled the storm on the Sea of Galilee, the disciples did not say, “How great is the power of the Holy Spirit working through this prophet,” but rather, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” (Matt. 8:27). It was the authority of Jesus himself to which the winds and the waves were subject, and this could only p 548 be the authority of God who rules over the seas and has power to still the waves (cf. Ps. 65:7; 89:9; 107:29). Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 547–548.
Omniscience
Omniscience
Term to know: Omniscience The doctrine that God fully knows himself and all things actual and possible in one simple and eternal act
Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 1249.
8 But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?
The omniscience of Jesus is demonstrated in his knowing people’s thoughts (Mark 2:8) and seeing Nathaniel under the fig tree from far away (John 1:48),
64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him.
and knowing “from the first who those were that did not believe, and who it was that would betray him” (John 6:64). Of course, the revelation of individual, specific events or facts is something that God could give to anyone who had a gift of prophecy in the Old or New Testaments. But Jesus’ knowledge was much more extensive than that. He knew “who those were that did not believe,” thus implying that he knew the belief or unbelief that was in the hearts of all men.
In fact, John says explicitly that Jesus “knew all men and needed no one to bear witness of man” (John 2:25
25 and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.
The disciples could later say to him, “Now we know that you know all things” (John 16:30). These statements say much more than what could be said of any great prophet or apostle of the Old Testament or New Testament, for they imply omniscience on the part of Jesus.
Finally, after his resurrection, when Jesus asked Peter if he loved him, Peter answered, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you” John 21:17
17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.
Here Peter is saying much more than that Jesus knows his heart and knows that he loves him. He is rather making a general statement (“You know everything”) and from it he is drawing a specific conclusion (“You know that I love you”). Peter is confident that Jesus knows what is in the heart of every person, and therefore he is sure that Jesus knows his own heart. Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 548.
Omnipresence
Omnipresence
Term to know: Omnipresence is the doctrine that God does not have size or spatial dimensions and is present at every point of space with his whole being, yet God acts differently in different places.
The divine attribute of omnipresence is not directly affirmed to be true of Jesus during his earthly ministry. However, while looking forward to the time that the church would be established, Jesus could say, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matt. 18:20
20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
Moreover, before he left the earth, he told his disciples, “I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Matt. 28:20
20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Sovereignty
Sovereignty
Term to know: Sovereignty is God’s exercise of power over his creation.
Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 1254.
Forgave Sins
Forgave Sins
That Jesus possessed divine sovereignty a kind of authority possessed by God alone, is seen in the fact that he could forgive sins (Mark 2:5–7
5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”
6 And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts,
7 “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
Unlike the Old Testament prophets who declared, “Thus says the LORD,” he could preface his statements with the phrase, “But I say to you” (Matt. 5:22, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44)—an amazing claim to his own authority. He could speak with the authority of God himself because he was himself fully God. He had “all things” delivered into his hands by the Father and the authority to reveal the Father to whomever he chose (Matt. 11:25–27
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 prudent and have revealed them to babes.
26 Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.
27 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.
Such is his authority that the future eternal state of everyone in the universe depends on whether they believe in him or reject him (John 3:36). Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 548.
Term to know: Kenosis Theory - is the theory that Christ gave up some his divine attributes while he was on earth as a man
Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 1246.
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
We must first realize that no recognized teacher in the first 1,800 years of church history, including those who were native speakers of Greek, thought that “emptied himself” in Philippians 2:7 meant that the Son of God gave up some of his divine attributes. Second, we must recognize that the text does not say that Christ “emptied himself of some powers” or “emptied himself of divine attributes” or anything like that. Third, the text does describe what Jesus did in this “emptying”: he did not do it by giving up any of his attributes but rather by “taking the form of a servant,” that is, by coming to live as a man, and “being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:8). Thus, the context itself interprets this “emptying” as equivalent to “humbling himself” and taking on a lowly status and position. Thus, the NIV, instead of translating the phrase, “He emptied himself,” translates it, “but made himself nothing” (Phil. 2:7 NIV). The emptying includes change of role and status, not essential attributes or nature.
A fourth reason for this interpretation is seen in Paul’s purpose in this context. His purpose has been to persuade the Philippians that they should “do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves” (Phil. 2:3), and he continues by telling them, “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Phil. 2:4). To persuade them to be humble and to put the interests of others first, he then holds up the example of Christ: “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant …” (Phil. 2:5–7).
Now in holding up Christ as an example, he wants the Philippians to imitate Christ. But certainly he is not asking the Philippian Christians to “give up” or “lay aside” any of their essential attributes or abilities! He is not asking them to “give up” their intelligence or strength or skill and become a diminished version of what they were. Rather, he is asking them to put the interests of others first: “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Phil. 2:4). And because that is his goal, it fits the context to understand that he is using Christ as the supreme example of one who did just that: he put the interests of others first and was willing to give up some of the privilege and status that was his as God.
The fifth and final reason why the “kenosis” view of Philippians 2:7 must be rejected is the larger context of the teaching of the New Testament and the doctrinal teaching of the entire Bible. If it were true that such a momentous event as this happened, that the eternal Son of God ceased for a time to have all the attributes of God—ceased, for a time, to be omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent, for example—then we would expect that such an incredible event would be taught clearly and repeatedly in the New Testament, not found in the very doubtful interpretation of one word in one epistle. But we find the opposite of that: we do not find it stated anywhere else that the Son of God ceased to have some of the attributes of God that he had possessed from eternity. In fact, if the kenosis theory were true (and this is a foundational objection against it), then we could no longer affirm Jesus was fully God while he was here on earth. The kenosis theory ultimately denies the full deity of Jesus Christ and makes him something less than fully God. S.M. Smith admits, “All forms of classical orthodoxy either explicitly reject or reject in principle kenotic theology.” Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 550–552.
Christ is Fully Divine
Christ is Fully Divine
19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,
9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;
23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
Early Debates
Early Debates
Ebionism
Ebionism
Jesus was simply the human, though divinely appointed, Messiah who was destined to return at the end of the age to reign on the earth by God’s sovereign power.
This offshoot of Jewish Christianity solved the problem of the relationship of humanity and divinity in Christ by effectively removing the divinity. In effect this left the gulf between God and humankind unbridged.
Docetism
Docetism
It solved the problem by excising the humanity of Christ. Jesus only seemed human (Gk. dokeō = seem).
This movement dates from apostolic times. In contrast to Ebionism, Its roots lie in Graeco-Oriental convictions that matter is inherently evil and that God cannot be the subject of feelings or other human experiences. Docetism was unacceptable because it cut the bridge between God and humanity at the other end; God did not really come to us, hence no effective sacrifice was made for our sins.
Gnosticism
Gnosticism
Precise dating of this is still disputed, though the assumption that it was essentially pre-Christian has been shown to be mistaken. The thought-world of gnosticism is chock-full of bizarre speculations, and it is unclear how far it was a unified system of thought. Christ is seen by[…]”
Arianism
Arianism
These earliest debates did not substantially affect the church as a whole. The same could not be said of subsequent discussions, particularly those which revolved around the views of Arius (246–336), a presbyter of Alexandria who had been influenced by the great teacher Origen. Arius came to hold that ‘the Son was created’. He had imbibed Plato’s division between the tangible world of sense experience and the intangible world of ideas. God, the absolutely unique and unoriginated source of all things, belonged to the second of these worlds, so was radically separated from the created world. Once this framework is accepted, there is obviously great difficulty in fitting the Son (Logos, the Word, John 1:1) into the picture. Arius concluded that the Logos must belong to the creaturely side of being; hence he is not eternal, but is himself a created being: ‘there was a time when he [Christ] was not’. Christ is the most exalted of all creatures, certainly, but ultimately only that.
The debate was strenuously pursued through much of the fourth century. After the Emperor Constantine professed Christian faith in AD 312, imperial politics became a significant factor in the ebb and flow[…]”
Excerpt From
Know the Truth
Bruce Milne
https://books.apple.com/us/book/know-the-truth/id829242465
This material may be protected by copyright.Excerpt From
Know the Truth
Bruce Milne
https://books.apple.com/us/book/know-the-truth/id829242465
This material may be protected by copyright.
3 Inadequate Views of the Person of Christ
3 Inadequate Views of the Person of Christ
Apollinarianism
Apollinarianism
Nestorianism
Nestorianism
Monophysitism
Monophysitism
From the Divine Nature to the Human Nature
From the Divine Nature to the Human Nature
Although Jesus’ human nature did not change its essential character, because it was united with the divine nature in the one person of Christ, Jesus’ human nature gained (a) a worthiness to be worshiped and (b) an inability to sin, both of which did not belong to human beings otherwise.
From the Human Nature to the Divine Nature
From the Human Nature to the Divine Nature
Jesus’ human nature gave him (a) an ability to experience suffering and death; (b) an ability to understand by experience what we are experiencing; and (c) an ability to be our substitute sacrifice, which Jesus as God alone could not have done.
Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 563.