Simple Truths Regarding the Deity of Christ

1. The word “deity” is defined by Noah Webster as “Godhead; divinity; nature and essence of the Supreme Being.” When I speak of the deity of Christ, I am speaking of the fact that Jesus Christ is God Almighty. In this post, I will refer to the “incarnation” of Christ, which is the act of God becoming man.
2. The doctrine of the deity of Christ is one of utmost importance. In II John, John speaks of the “doctrine of Christ” (II John 9). A person’s “doctrine of Christ” is simply what that person believes about the person of Jesus Christ. John goes on to tell us about those who “abide not in the doctrine of Christ.” He is speaking of those who do not believe the truth regarding who Jesus Christ is. John says that if they do not believe the right teaching about Jesus Christ, receive them not into your house (II John 10). For this reason, if a person denies the deity of Christ, it affects the possibility of fellowship I would otherwise enjoy with this individual.
3. Jesus Christ is not merely a prophet, as Muslims teach. Jesus Christ is not just “a god,” as Jehovah’s Witnesses teach. Jesus Christ is not a created being, as those in the so-called “Gospel Assembly” teach. A brief study will show that nearly all cults have a perverted view of the person of Christ.
4. Though Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16-17), it is not enough to teach that Christ is only the Son of God. I know of some who readily admit that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, but they have a problem admitting that Jesus Christ is God.
5. In the first chapter of the book of Hebrews, we are told of a conversation between the Father and the Son. In this conversation, the Father refers to the Son as God. “Thy throne, O God,” the Father tells the Son, “is for ever and ever” (Hebrews 1:8). Jesus Christ is not just the Son of God; He is God! God the Father said so!
6. Before I was born, I did not exist. Before you were born, you did not exist. However, though these statements are factual in regard to mortal man, they are not accurate in describing the person of Jesus Christ. Christ, unlike any other man, existed before He was born. Before Christ was born, He was “the Word” who was with God, and who was God (John 1:1). Christ was equal with the Father before He took upon Himself human form.
7. There are those who agree that Christ was God before He was born in the flesh. “But when Christ was conceived in the womb of Mary,” they say, “He ceased to be God.” This is complete falsehood. There is no doubt that Christ humbled Himself to forsake the ivory palaces of heaven and come to this cold, wicked world (Philippians 2:8). Theologians for centuries have attempted to describe the self-emptying, the immense humiliation of our Saviour when Deity put on a robe of flesh. I have often said if Christ had come to this earth to live in a palace, he would have taken an incredible step down to do so. But He went further down than that! It is certain that Christ humbled Himself to become a man. But to conclude that Christ was less than God while upon this earth is to preach heresy. Isaiah prophesied of Christ’s birth. In Isaiah 9:6, Isaiah said, “Unto us a child is born!” Isaiah is prophesying here about Christ’s birth. Isaiah goes on to give a list of names whereby Christ would be called. One of those is “the Mighty God!” Isaiah was not talking about Christ before His birth; Isaiah was not talking about Christ after He ascended to heaven; Isaiah plainly tells us that, at His birth, Christ would be called the Mighty God! Christ was the Mighty God the moment He was born. Christ’s coming in the flesh did not cause Him to cease to be God. When Matthew wrote about Christ’s birth, he reminds us that Christ’s birth was a fulfillment of another prophecy of Isaiah – Isaiah 7:14 – “…they shall call His name Emmanuel.” What does Emmanuel mean? Matthew gives us the interpretation in Matthew 1:23 – “God with us.” Again, Matthew is recording Christ’s birth. At His birth, Jesus Christ was “the Mighty God” – “God with us.” If your theology has Christ being less than God while in the flesh, your doctrine is as dead wrong as it can be.
8. Christ, while living in the flesh upon this earth, was simultaneously God and man. He was just as much God as He was human. Yet He was just as much human as He was God. This is a paradox indeed. God is not a man (Numbers 23:19). Man is certainly not God (Psalm 8:4-5). Yet God became a man. Explaining it to the point of satisfaction is an impossibility. The fact of God becoming a man, without losing, giving up, or laying aside His deity, is a mystery indeed (I Timothy 3:16). Though the most brilliant of minds is incapable of fully grasping the truth of the incarnation, we must not allow this incapability to cause us to doubt or disbelieve it. Someone once asked Daniel Webster if he could understand how Jesus Christ could be both God and man. Webster replied, “So conscious am I of the fact that I am a sinner; so keen is my conviction for sin; so great is my realization that I need a Saviour who is greater than I; I must have One whom I cannot understand as my Saviour. If I could understand Jesus Christ, He would be no greater than I. I do not understand how He could be both God and man, but I firmly believe it.”