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.”

Simple Truths Regarding Sanctification

1. Most church members know little or nothing about the Biblical doctrine of sanctification. This is sad, particularly because the subject of sanctification is not as complicated as some ministers have made it.
2. The root word “sanctify” means literally “to set apart.” A sister term to “sanctification” is “holiness.” When we talk about someone being “holy” or “sanctified,” we are simply speaking of that person being “set apart” for God.
3. To put the concept of sanctification more simply, sanctification is the process by which Christians become more and more like Christ. This is why it is so grieving to me to watch ministers and Christians argue over the subject of sanctification. While many get involved in angry debates over sanctification, they miss the blessing of sanctification – being conformed more and more into the image of Christ (Romans 8:29).
4. Contrary to the teaching of some, sanctification is not a second definite work of grace. What I mean by this is that sanctification is not a separate work from salvation.
5. A person is sanctified the moment they are saved. At the moment of salvation, God sets the believer apart for his glory. Some make a statement similar to the following: “I was saved in January, but I was not sanctified until May.” With all due respect, if you were not sanctified until May, then you were not saved until May.
6. At salvation, the believer is sanctified solely by Christ’s work on the cross (Hebrews 10:10). At that moment, the believer is “perfected forever” (Hebrews 10:14).
7. After a person is saved, of course he grows in sanctification. Over time, the believer becomes more like Christ. Believers are sanctified through the word of God (John 17:17), which means that the more we meditate upon the word, the more like Christ we will become (Psalm 119:11). Believers are sanctified by the Spirit (II Thessalonians 2:13; I Peter 1:2), which means that the more we yield to the Holy Spirit, the more like Christ we will become.
8. Rather than being a separate work from salvation, sanctification is a work within salvation. The salvation of the believer is a single work that contains past, present, and future aspects. A person may say, “The Lord saved me” (past tense), and he is absolutely correct! Our salvation is past – we were saved the moment we believed on Christ (Titus 3:5). Another person may say, “The Lord is saving me” (present tense), and that is also correct! Another person may say, “The Lord will save me” (future tense), and there is nothing wrong with that statement (Romans 5:10). I have been saved from the penalty of sin. This is called justification. I am being saved from the practice of sin. This is called sanctification. I will be saved from the presence of sin. This is called glorification, and will come to pass when I receive a glorious body like His body (Philippians 3:21).
9. Sanctification is not an eradication of the sinful nature. Just an honest, simple study of the word “sanctification” (and its variations) in scripture will easily debunk this notion. In Exodus 40:10-11, inanimate objects are said to be sanctified. Did those objects have their sinful natures eradicated? Of course not. In Exodus 19:23, Mount Zion was sanctified. Mount Zion, of course, has no sinful nature. In Exodus 13:2 and Exodus 19:10, Moses sanctified the people. Does a mere man have the power to eradicate the sinful nature of another individual? Of course not. Isaiah 66:17 actually speaks of people sanctifying themselves to commit iniquity. These people certainly retained their sinful natures. In John 10:36 and John 17:19, Christ is said to be sanctified. Did Christ finally overcome His sinful nature? Of course not; He had no sinful nature to overcome! In I Corinthians 7:14, even unbelievers are said to be sanctified! Teaching that sanctification is an eradication of one’s sinful nature is false, as that kind of teaching will hit many snags in scripture.
10. Sanctification is a mark of identification for true believers. Those who belong to Christ are actually predestined to be conformed to the image of God’s Son (Romans 8:29). Though I wish to be more like Christ, God the Father desires that more than I do. This is a great encouragement to me. When some people think of sanctification, they think of themselves struggling along to sanctify themselves. As they struggle, they picture God the Father looking on, examining their every step, looking for something for which to condemn them. However, it is not like that at all! It is God’s will that I be sanctified (I Thessalonians 4:3). God the Father wants me to be more like Jesus. And He is working through the word and the Spirit to make it happen!

Simple Truths Regarding Salvation

1. Man is lost because of his sin. Sin is the transgression, or breaking, of God’s law (I John 3:4). Even before a person commits a sin on his own, every person is a sinner from the time of his birth (Psalm 58:3). Although all have sinned (Romans 3:23), you did not become a sinner when you sinned; you became a sinner when Adam (the first created man) sinned (Romans 5:19).
2. Man, on his own and at his best, is completely lost and unable to save himself. His best works, the sum of all his righteousnesses, are as filthy rags in the sight of God (Isaiah 64:6). Man, without having to do anything, is by nature a child of God’s wrath (Ephesians 2:3).
3. Because of his lost condition, man is on his way to a literal, burning, eternal hell. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), and the Bible teaches that the lake of fire is called the second death (Revelation 20:14).
4. Because man is completely incapable of saving himself, man must depend upon an outside source to save him. Consequently, God, in his love for mankind (John 3:16), provided a plan to save mankind from the penalty, practice, and presence of sin. We call this plan “salvation.”
5. God’s loving act of providing salvation for mankind is called grace. Man has broken God’s laws, and the penalty of death and hell is just and fair. God could have provided no salvation whatsoever for mankind, and His righteousness would not have been diminished in the least. However, God provided salvation for mankind. When God provided a plan of salvation, every lost individual was “without strength,” or “unable to save himself” (Romans 5:6); every lost individual was a sinner (Romans 5:8); and every lost individual was an enemy of God (Romans 5:10). Hence, man did absolutely nothing to earn salvation. The only thing we earned as lost individuals was a place in hell. When God devised a plan to save man, this plan was not provided because of what man had done; it was provided rather in spite of what man had done. Grace, defined as “the unmerited, or unearned favor of God toward man,” was shown to mankind when God presented a salvation plan to fallen man.
6. God’s plan of salvation is in His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. In order to save man, God sent His only begotten Son into the world (John 3:16-17). Jesus Christ lived as a man, yet he lived without sin (Hebrews 4:15). He never broke a single law of God. Christ never sinned in word, in thought, or in deed. This point is of absolute importance. If Jesus Christ were to save mankind from sin, it was necessary that Christ have no sin whatsoever. And though he was tempted in all points as we are, yet he was proven to be absolutely sinless.
7. Because Jesus Christ, as a man, never committed a single sin, God the Father laid upon Jesus every sin you and I ever committed or ever will commit (Isaiah 53:6). Jesus then paid the penalty of sin, which is death. Jesus died a horrific death upon an old, rugged cross. At the moment of His death, Christ declared “It is finished,” indicating that the penalty of our sins had been completely paid in full (John 19:30). It was very important that Christ be sinless upon the earth. Had Christ committed any sin of His own, He would not have been able to pay for my sins; He would have rather died for His own sins. But since He had no sins of His own for which to die, He could rightfully die for my sins and yours. And He did just that. Christ’s death is sufficient to save the whole world from sin. Absolutely nothing else needs to be done to pay for our sins. To prove that Christ's death was indeed a sacrifice that was holy, without blemish, and accepted by the Father, God the Father raised Jesus Christ from the dead (Romans 1:3).
8. Although God showed grace by sending His Son to save us from sin, and although the blood of Jesus Christ is sufficient to save the entire world (I John 2:2), not everyone will be saved. This is because God’s salvation is not “by grace alone.” In other words, just because God showed grace to you by sending Jesus to die for your sins does not mean that you are saved. Titus 2:11 tells us that God’s grace that brings salvation has appeared to everyone. But everyone will not be saved. Even though Christ died on the cross, some men are yet lost (II Corinthians 4:3). If salvation were “by grace alone,” then the whole world would be saved because God’s grace appeared to whole world when Christ died for all (II Corinthians 5:14-15).
9. The salvation that God provided is “by grace,” but it is also “through faith” (Ephesians 2:8). “By grace” speaks of what God did when He sent Jesus to die upon the cross. But you are not saved until you place your faith in Jesus Christ to save you. When you realize that you are hopelessly and helplessly lost, and you understand that Christ’s death upon the cross is completely sufficient to pay for your every sin, you must then place your faith in Christ and in Him alone to save you. Jesus repeatedly stated and the scriptures continually declare that all you must do to have everlasting life is to “believe” on Jesus Christ (John 1:12; John 3:14-18; John 3:36; John 5:24; John 6:28-29; John 6:35; John 6:40; John 6:47; John 7:38; John 8:24; John 11:25-26; John 12:44-46; John 20:31; Acts 10:43; Acts 13:39; Acts 16:30-31; Romans 1:16; Romans 3:21-22; Romans 10:9-13; I Corinthians 1:21; Galatians 3:22; I Timothy 4:10; Hebrews 10:39; I John 3:23; I John 5:1; I John 5:4-5). When the Bible says to “believe” on Him, it is not talking about believing in God’s existence, or even believing that Jesus died on the cross. “Believing on Jesus Christ” means that your faith is in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:25). You trust nothing and no one except Jesus Christ to save you.
10. To have your faith in Christ means that your faith is in absolutely nothing else outside of Christ to save you. If you think you are saved because you have been baptized, then your faith is in baptism, not in Christ, and consequently, you are lost. If you believe you are saved because you have spoken in tongues, then your faith is not in Christ. If you are trusting sacraments to save you, then you are not believing on Jesus Christ. If you think you are saved because you keep certain standards of dress or standards of separation, then your faith is not in Christ. When Jesus said “No man cometh to the Father but by me” (John 14:6), that’s exactly what He meant.
11. The salvation that God provided is not only “by grace” and “through faith,” but it is also completely “apart from works” (Romans 3:20-21; Romans 4:6; Ephesians 2:8-9). There is not a single work you can do to save yourself, and there is not a single work you can do that will keep you saved. Many admit that salvation is by grace, through faith, and apart from works initially, but “in order to keep your salvation,” they claim, “you must do this, do that, or do the other…” Romans 11:6, however, completely contradicts this. According to Romans 11:6, if a man is saved by grace, then his salvation is no more of works. And if a man is saved by works, then his salvation is no more of grace. You are not granted the privilege to claim to be saved by grace, and then demand certain works to be done to keep your salvation. You are saved either by grace and completely apart from works, or else you are saved by works and completely apart from grace. You cannot mix grace and works into salvation.
12. The act of believing on Jesus Christ for salvation is not a work of the man doing the believing; it is rather the work of God (John 6:29). God has given to every man the measure of faith (Romans 12:3). Thus, the faith to believe on Jesus Christ is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8).
13. Through prayer, a lost man desiring to be saved may express to God that his faith is in Christ. Romans 10:13 states, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Please note that a person’s prayer does not save him; he places his faith in Christ, and Christ saves him. If a man is not fully trusting Christ for salvation, then he may pray all day long, and yet be lost. There is no “sinner’s prayer” recorded in the Bible. There are no certain words to say. You simply must express to the Lord in some way that all of your faith is in Christ and Christ alone. The thief who died upon a cross beside our Lord’s cross said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when thou comest into Thy kingdom.” The Lord promised him, “Today shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:42-43). A tax collector simply prayed, “God, be merciful to me a sinner.” And the Bible said he went home justified (Luke 18:13-14). Saul of Tarsus simply prayed, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” He was saved immediately (Acts 9:6). Salvation is not wrapped in certain words; it is rather received by faith. When you simply express to the Lord in prayer that you are trusting Him completely to save you, placing yourself only at His mercy, He will save you the very instant you believe on Him.

Simple Truths Regarding the Holy Spirit

1. He is a person (though not a human person); not merely a force or a power. He is a divine person who can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30), resisted (Acts 7:51), quenched (I Thessalonians 5:19), blasphemed (Matthew 12:31), and lied to (Acts 5:3). He contains the ability to both rejoice and weep.
2. As for His name, He is referred to as the Holy Ghost, or the Holy Spirit. Either of these names is correct. The King James translators seemed to favor the term “Holy Ghost.” But they did translate His name “Holy Spirit,” as in Luke 11:13. I personally use both terms interchangeably. He has many titles, including “the Spirit,” “Spirit of God,” “Holy Spirit of God,” “Spirit of the Father,” and “Spirit of Christ.”
3. The Holy Ghost is deity. This means that He is God Almighty. Just as the Father is called God (I Corinthians 8:6), the Son is also referred to as God (Hebrews 1:8). Just as the Son is referred to as God, the Holy Spirit is also called God (Acts 5:3-4).
4. In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit “came upon” individuals from time to time. The idea of the Holy Spirit dwelling inside individuals, living in their hearts continually, was foreign to the Old Testament saints. In the Old Testament, the Spirit came upon individuals “at times” (Judges 13:25).
5. Since the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit comes to live in every believer. Before Christ went to the cross, He told his disciples that the Holy Spirit was presently with them. He was with them because Christ was with them, and the Holy Ghost was with Christ. However, Christ promised them that, after the Holy Spirit would be poured out, that He would not just be with them, but He would be in them (John 14:17). Christ promised that the Holy Ghost would abide with them, not just visit them from time to time. Christ also promised that, when the Holy Ghost came to abide with them, living within them, that He would abide with them forever (John 14:16).
6. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the body of believers known as the church. Since the Holy Ghost came to abide with the church forever (John 14:16), there will never be a need for another Pentecost. To say that we need another Pentecost is as ignorant as saying that we need another Calvary. What Christ did upon the cross was sufficient, being a “once for all” event, and what Christ did when He prayed the Father to send the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost is also a “once for all” event. Just as I was crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20), buried with Christ (Romans 6:12; Colossians 2:12), and risen with Christ (Colossians 3:1), it is also true that when Christ ascended, I was seated with Christ in heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3), and I was baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ (I Corinthians 12:13) on the day of Pentecost.
7. Although the disciples were “with one accord” in the upper room (Acts 2:1), this is not why the Holy Ghost was poured out on the day of Pentecost. It was predestined that the Holy Spirit would come on the day of Pentecost. He would have arrived on the day of Pentecost whether or not the disciples were with one accord. Christ, being our Passover (I Corinthians 5:7), was slain on the feast of Passover, fulfilling the Jewish feast of the Passover. Christ was buried, fulfilling the feast of unleavened bread. Christ was resurrected, fulfilling the feast of firstfruits. And Christ prayed the Father to send the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, fulfilling the Jewish feast of Pentecost.
8. Since the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit lives inside of the believer from the moment of conversion. Galatians 4:6 plainly teaches that God sent forth the Holy Spirit into your hearts. Galatians 4:6 also tells why God sent forth the Holy Spirit into your hearts – not because you tarried; not because you prayed; not because you spoke in tongues; but rather because ye are sons. The Bible is plain – God sends the Spirit into a person’s heart because that person has become a son, or child, of God. Now the question must be asked, “How does a person become a son?” John 1:12 answers the question concisely – “But as many as received Him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even as many as believe on His name.” A person becomes a son by simply believing on Jesus Christ (John 1:12), and God gives that person the Holy Spirit because they are a son (Galatians 4:6). Hence, the Holy Spirit dwells within an individual at the very moment they believe on Jesus Christ. In Romans 8:9, Paul reiterates this, stating that if a person does not have the Spirit of Christ within him, then that person does not belong to God.
9. You do not have the Holy Ghost because you prayed; you have the Holy Ghost because He prayed. In John 14:16, Jesus promised, “I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter.”
10. At the moment of conversion, when the Holy Spirit takes up residence within the believer, the Holy Spirit then baptizes the individual into the body of Christ (I Corinthians 12:13).
11. Just because an individual has been converted, and the Holy Spirit lives within them, does not mean that the individual has been filled with the Holy Spirit. Those in the Ephesian church had already trusted in Christ (Ephesians 1:12-13). Yet, Paul commands them to be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18).
12. The experience of being “filled with the Spirit” is given to the believer that he might fulfill the Great Commission, being a witness to a lost and dying world. It is inconsistent to emphasize the experience of being filled with the Spirit, but refuse to emphasize the subject of soul winning. They go hand in hand. A person who claims to be filled with the Holy Ghost for the past twenty years, but has not lifted a finger to win a single soul to Christ in those twenty years, is a hypocrite. Every time the scripture gives the Great Commission in one of its forms, the scripture also gives the command to be filled with the Spirit. In Matthew 28:18, Christ says “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” But why does He speak of the power? Why is the power emphasized in verse 18? The power is emphasized in verse 18 because the Great Commission is given in verses 19 and 20. We need the power of the Holy Ghost to carry out the Great Commission. In Mark 16:15-16, Christ gives the commission to go and preach the gospel to every creature. Then, Christ says, “These signs shall follow them that believe.” But there are no signs except to those fulfilling the Great Commission. In Luke 24:47, Christ tells the disciples that remission of sins is to be preached. Then, in Luke 24:49, He commands them to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father, the infilling of the Holy Ghost. Then, in Acts 1:8, Christ again tells the disciples that they will receive power, and that the power will be given to them for the purpose of being witnesses.
13. The experience of being “filled with the Holy Ghost” is not a one-time experience. The disciples were filled in Acts 2 (Acts 2:4), but they were filled again in Acts 4 (Acts 4:31). We should be filled with the Spirit as consistently as we are working for God.