Solid Food S1E4 The Deity of Christ

This podcast episode discusses the topic of the deity of Christ. It explores the evidence for Jesus being divine and how that is supported by scripture. The attributes of deity, the work of deity, and the titles of deity are examined. The episode encourages listeners to study the scriptures themselves and utilize different tools for interpretation. It also provides examples from Colossians and Philippians to illustrate the deity of Christ. The goal of the podcast is to increase biblical literacy and understanding. Hello, and welcome to Solid Food, a podcast that is meat for your soul. This podcast is designed to improve the biblical literacy of all those who desire to know and please God better by teaching us how to study the Bible in a way that will allow us to arrive in an accurate interpretation and better application. For our last time together, I found a quote, as Dr. Seuss once said, it is better to know how to learn than to know. As Dr. Seuss once said, it is better to know how to learn than to know. I'm Dr. Lee Lewis, and it is a privilege and a blessing to be your host today. Speaking of today, our topic of discussion is going to be a good one. It's going to be an exciting one. I actually shared this information with a Bible study class at the church I am privileged to serve. We had a very robust discussion about it, so I'm very excited to share this information with you today. Today, our subject is the deity of Christ, the deity of Christ. Now, being human, is Jesus divine? Is Jesus God? If so, how does that work? What does it mean? The evidence for the deity of Christ has been affirmed throughout the history of Christianity. Christ has the attributes of deity, performs the actions of deity, is given the titles of deity, and claims deity of himself. The apostles also claimed deity for Jesus. Now, the goal here is not to deal with the concept of the Trinity, per se, but to look at some of the scriptures that assign the qualities and facts associated with God to Jesus. By applying great study principles to this subject, primarily by examining the scriptures themselves, you can better decide for yourself regarding the deity of Christ. As we endeavor to exegete, or interpret, the text, we examine a variety of its aspects and utilize a number of different tools to do so. For instance, there are many different versions of the Bible that is translated to English. Pursuing several can provide added insight regarding what the original author is saying. It's important, therefore, that you utilize a version that you can understand, but that is accurate regarding its translation from the source material. For our purposes today, consider using the New American Standard Bible, but if you've got a reliable translation, you're going to have no problem following along as my good friend Dr. Thomas Jackson always says. We find in the book of Colossians, in the first chapter beginning in verse 13, in the first chapter beginning in verse 13, for he rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. Therefore by him, all things were created both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He's also the head of the body, the church, and he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so he himself will come to have the first place in everything. For it was the father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in him and through him to reconcile all things to himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross. Through him, I say, were the things on earth or things in heaven. Oh, I pray that God will add a blessing to the reading, the hearing, and the doing of his divinely inspired word. Norman Geisler wrote in his contribution to the Bible Knowledge Commentary, and I'm quoting, in this paragraph, verses 15 through 20, Paul mentions seven unique characteristics of Christ, which fittingly qualify him to have the supremacy that is discussed in verse 18. Christ is one, the image of God, two, firstborn over creation, three, creator of the universe, four, head of the church, five, firstborn from the dead, and six, the fullness of God, seven, the reconciler of all things. No comparable listing of so many characteristics of Christ and his deity are found in any other scripture. Christ is the supreme sovereign of the universe. Close quotes. Again, Norman Geisler in the Bible Knowledge Commentary. Now the scriptures have a considerable amount to say about the deity of Christ. Again, it can be shown that Christ possessed the attributes of deity, external existence, for instance. He performed the work of deity, creation. He accepts the worship of deity as seen in John 5, verse 23, and Luke 24, 52. He is given the title of deity, not just the son of God, but God. And he explicitly says that he is God in John 8, verse 58. Lastly, the apostles identified him as God, and we'll look into that in John 1, verse 1. Now, limitations of time will not allow us to study this topic exhaustively, but my goal is to give you enough to stir your own study and to thus be in a position to utilize the tools we often discuss and are, in fact, the purpose of this podcast. To exegete the text, utilizing sound hermeneutical principles in order to arrive at an accurate interpretation of the scriptures, thus increasing biblical literacy. That's our whole goal. We want people to be more literate when it comes to their Bibles and to be able to use sound study principles and tools to become more literate. So, today, let's briefly consider three of the previously mentioned scriptural pieces of evidence for the deity of Christ. Let's start with the attributes. And when I say the attributes, that he has the attributes of deity, in fact, the attributes of God. Let's start with the likeness. The scripture that we just read in Colossians says that he is the image of the invisible God. Wow. What does that mean, he's the image of the invisible God? Well, image implies representation and manifestation. Okay, Lee, I hear you. Tell me more. Hebrews chapter 1 verse 3, the Bible says that he is the radiance of his, God's, glory, and the exact representation of his nature. Now, again, I mean, that's worth repeating. He, Christ, is the radiance of his, God's, glory, and the exact representation of his nature. I mean, that's clear. That's wow to me. I don't know about you, but it's incredible. So this is how Jesus can say that if you have seen him, you have seen the father. And that's exactly what he did say in John chapter 14 verse 9. When the word images used, that is a translation of the Greek word icon. Now, you might be thinking I-C-O-N, but in Greek, it's E-I-K-O-N. And what it means is the living image and representation, the living image and representation. So Paul, by utilizing this word image, seems to be indicating that Jesus is God in the flesh, a representation that can be seen and interacted with of the full glory of him, which no man can experience and live. Okay, Dr. Lewis, I hear you. But how does that work? I'm so glad you asked. Take a look at Philippians chapter 2, beginning in verse 6, Philippians 2, 6. In fact, let's start with 5, because I want to be able to tie Christ to this. In verse 5 of Philippians chapter 2, the Bible says, have this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus. Now we've established that we're talking about Jesus. It goes on in verse 6 to say, Christ Jesus, who, although he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God to be grasped, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a bond servant and being made in the likeness, there's that word again, of men. Verse 8, being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death on the cross. Okay, now that would seem to be pretty clear. But one of the things that we talk about in this podcast is the utilization of tools. And one of the tools that we want to use are other versions of the Bible. I've shared with you that today we're following the New American Standard version. But for the purposes of clarity and additional perspective, I want to share the same Philippians verse with you in the New Living Translation. If you happen to have access to a copy of it, you will find that it says, you must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had, though he was God. He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges. He took the humble position of a slave and was born a human being. And when he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on the cross. Okay, same passage, two different translations. But I think the New Living Translation gives, once again, additional perspective because of what it says. It identifies him as God. And it says that he gave up his divine privileges. And so now we see the distinction between God the Father and God the Son. How can we say that the Son is God? Because right there in the verse, it says, having the same attitude that Christ Jesus had, though he was God. It's there. It's there. We only need to be able to read it for ourselves, understand it, and believe it. And so when we talk about the attributes of God, when we talk about the likeness of God, we can see that he is the image of the invisible God, which is his representation, exact representation of his nature. Let's go on to number two. Number two, the work of deity. What do we mean? That one of the attributes of deity that is assigned to Christ is not just his likeness, but also the work of deity. How do we prove that? You're no doubt familiar with Genesis chapter 1 verse 1. If there's anything that anybody knows about the Bible, they know Genesis chapter 1 verse 1, which says, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. That's what it says. You know that. I know that. Most people know that. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. But let's take a look at what John has to say, the apostle John, in his writing, John chapter 1 verse 1, which says, in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. Now, it would be great to kind of explore the whole topic of word, which is logos in the Greek. We won't do that today because that's not the point of what we're doing here. But it essentially says that this word was with God, and the word was God. We find out later on in this chapter that that word became flesh and dwelt among us, right? So establishing him as Jesus. But watch this in verse 2. It says that he was, in the beginning, with God. We've already established that he was there and that he is, in fact, God. But look at verse 3. All things came into being through him, and apart from him, nothing came into being that has come into being. Well, what does that mean? That means creation, folks. I mean, again, look at it. All things came into being through him. All things. All things. And no thing that exists, that came into being, came into being apart from him. So, well, wait a minute. If Genesis 1 says God created, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, now it's saying that this word, who, again, we see in verse 13 and 14 of John chapter 1, came and dwelt among us in this Christ, that all things came into being through him. That he created. And that nothing that has come into being or was created was created without him. So now we've just established that Jesus is the creator. Some of you still sound a little confused. I'm being generous with that, right? Because I want to make an additional point. We go back to our scripture in Colossians, where it says, for by him, all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things have been created through him and for him. So we've established that we're talking about Christ, but we now see that he is given credit for, established as, empowered to be the creator. Jesus is the creator according to the scriptures. It's incredible. Further, further, if we were to look at John chapter 8, verse 58, we would see something interesting there. Because now we're going to talk about his identity. You know, we talked about the work, but we want to talk also about his identity. In John chapter 8, verse 58, Jesus is having a discussion with some of his detractors. And, you know, I can't really say, because I wasn't there, of course, no one that's alive today was, but it seemed like there was a great debate that was going on. And I would just imagine that the tempers were flaring and things were heated. And Jesus makes this statement in response to some of the things that they were saying, questioning his authenticity and his identity. Jesus said to them, your father, Abraham, whom they were claiming as knowing and being related to. Jesus says, your father, Abraham, rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was glad. Now the Jews in verse 57 said to him, you're not even 50 years old. You've seen Abraham because Abraham lived hundreds of years before that. Jesus said to them famously in verse 58, truly, truly, I say to you before Abraham was, I am. Wait, he said what? He said before Abraham was hundreds of years ago, and I'm somewhere around 30, let's call it. I am. He's saying that he pre-existed Abraham, that Abraham saw his day and was glad. What is Jesus saying? He didn't say before Abraham existed, I existed. He said before Abraham was, I am. Now, do you remember in scripture where you've heard those two words together before? I am. Do you remember when Moses was at the burning bush and the spirit of God was talking to him and he asked God, would I go to carry out your orders for me and your people? And they asked me, who sent me? Who shall I say sent me? You remember what God's words were? He says, tell them I am sent you. I am that I am. Jesus is now saying, I am. I am. He's identifying himself as God in scripture. That is incredible. But there's more. There's more. Take a look at Revelation 22, 12. Revelation 22, 12. And here we find that there are things that are being discussed regarding essentially the next life. It says, and I want you to watch this carefully. Behold, I am coming quickly. And my reward is with me to render to every man according to what he has done. He says, I am the alpha and the omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Now that's Revelation 22, 12. Now that's Revelation 22, 12 and 13. Again, the important part here is he says, I'm the alpha and the omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Who's speaking? Because verse 12 doesn't tell you. But verse 16 does. If you drop down there, it says, I, Jesus, I, Jesus, I, Jesus have sent my angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star. So we've established that Jesus is speaking. And what does Jesus say? I'm the alpha and the omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Okay, Lee, what's your point? My point is to get you to turn to Revelation chapter one, verse eight, Revelation chapter one, verse eight, where the Bible there says similar sounding words. In fact, exact words in some cases. Revelation one, eight says, I am the alpha and the omega says the Lord God who is and who was and who is to come the almighty. What's going on? God identifies himself speaking in Revelation chapter one, verse eight, utilizing the words. I'm the alpha and the omega. We move over to verse 22 of Revelation. That is to say chapter 22 of the book of Revelation, beginning verse 12. And Jesus also says, I am the alpha and the omega first and last, the beginning and the end, same words, same identification, same God. You see that? My, my, my, my. That is incredible. So when we talk about the deity of Christ, we can see that it has been established in scripture. As we come to the conclusion of our study today, it's my prayer that your heart burns within you to have this to some previously unrealized view of Christ and what the scripture says about his deity. And even if you knew this inherently or instinctively that you can now prove it in scripture by utilizing tools and methods of study. Now, admittedly, admittedly, let's be fair. There are areas that due to time constraints, we did not cover a further explanation of the relationship between God, the father and God, the son is definitely warranted questions about how and why Jesus prayed to God and obeyed God if he is God are fair and they deserve an answer. And perhaps we'll take that question up and others like it in a future podcast or, or, or you could use the tools and methods used here today to study the question for yourself. What do we do? We looked at a couple of different versions of the Bible. We looked at a commentary. We defined some Greek words and we utilize multiple scriptures that you would normally find in a concordance. And so look at the five or six different tools that we use just today in this short consideration of this very, very big topic. You can do that. You can do that with any passage in the Bible. You can do it with any biblical spiritual subject by going in using those terms and having an enhanced study life. That's our goal here. That's our goal. And if you're willing to take up the challenge of some of those questions that I just mentioned, I would love to hear from you. You can reach me at Lee Lewis, L-E-E-L-E-W-I-S dot F-R-C-O-C at gmail.com. F-R-C-O-C at gmail.com. I would love to hear from you. Send me an email. I would love to hear what you have uncovered, what you've learned, what you think. It would be a great dialogue for us to have. I promise you, if you send me a note, I'll send you one back. Family, it is my sincere prayer that our time together has been encouraging, educational, and edifying. I want to thank you for joining the Solid Food Podcast today. Until next time, I wish you great spiritual food and great study. And be sure to bring a friend to our next meal. God bless you. Amen.