Hebrews
1:8
But of the Son He says, “YOUR THRONE, O GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER, AND THE RIGHTEOUS SCEPTER IS THE SCEPTER OF HIS KINGDOM.”
Commentary:
Here, the Son is clearly praised as divine without equivocation.
Hebrews 1:10-12 à Psalm 102
Hebrews 1:10-12
And, “YOU, LORD, IN
THE BEGINNING LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH, AND THE HEAVENS ARE THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS; THEY WILL PERISH, BUT YOU REMAIN; AND
THEY ALL WILL BECOME OLD LIKE A GARMENT, AND LIKE A MANTLE YOU WILL ROLL THEM UP; LIKE A GARMENT THEY WILL ALSO BE CHANGED. BUT YOU
ARE THE SAME, AND YOUR YEARS WILL NOT COME TO AN END.”
Psalm 102:1, 12, 14-15, 18-19, 22, 25-27
Hear my prayer, O LORD! And let my cry
for help come to You…But You, O LORD, abide forever, and Your name to all generations…So the nations will fear the name of the LORD and
all the kings of the earth Your glory. For the LORD has built up
Commentary:
The author of Hebrews is quoting Psalm 102 and applying it to Jesus. In Psalm 102, David is singing to YHWH (i.e. Jehovah), and he does not change the object of his praise throughout the whole psalm. Thus, the author of Hebrews is implying that Jesus is YHWH.
Jehovah’s Witnesses try to get around this by saying that many messianic prophecies in the Bible can be applied to multiple people. For instance, a prophecy that is applied to Christ in the New Testament might be applied directly to some king of Israel in the Old
while only having an indirect application to Christ. Thus, they say, this quote from the Old Testament could be applied to multiple
people, one of which is Christ. However, though some of the messianic prophecies quoted in the New Testament may apply to several
people in the Old, this one cannot. The only Being which David speaks of is YHWH, and there is no other like Him. Therefore,
when the author of Hebrews applies this Psalm to Christ, he can only mean that Christ is none other than YHWH.
2 Peter 1:1
Simon
Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness
of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ…
Commentary:
Again, the Granville
Sharp rule applies, and Jesus is called our “God and Savior”.
1 John 1:2 à 1 John
1 John 1:2
…and the life was manifested,
and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us…
1 John 5:20
And
we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is
true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
Commentary:
In chapter 1, verse 2, John calls Jesus Christ “eternal life”. In chapter 5, verse 20, he identifies Jesus Christ as “the true
God and eternal life”. It could not be clearer. The one who is identified as “eternal life” is also the “true God”.
It may be objected that “the true God” and “eternal life” could be referring to two different beings. Robert Morey comments:
“The Granville Sharp rule once again applies. The phrase…is composed of two nouns separated by [kai] with the first noun having
the article. This means that only one person is in view. He is called “Eternal Life” as well as “God.” Thus, the
idea that [outos] refers to an abstract concept, and not to a person, is eviscerated by the grammar.”
-Robert Morey, The Trinity: Evidence
and Issues (Iowa Falls, IA: World Bible Publishers, 1996), p.357.
Revelation 1:17-18, Revelation 22:12-13 à Isaiah 44:6
Isaiah
44:6
Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last, and there is no
God besides Me.’
Revelation 1:17-18
When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying,
“Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have
the keys of death and of Hades.”
Revelation 22:12-13
“Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man
according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
Commentary:
In multiple passages of the Old Testament, YHWH calls Himself ‘the first and the last’. In the New Testament, Jesus refers to
Himself as “the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” If Jesus were an exalted creature, then this would be a blasphemous
title to ascribe to Himself since it is the title of YHWH alone (“and there is no God besides Me”; Isaiah 44:6). This only makes
sense if Jesus is YHWH (i.e. Jehovah).
The ‘I am’ Passages
Isaiah 41:4
Who has performed and accomplished it, calling forth
the generations from the beginning? ‘'I, the LORD, am the first, and with the last. I am He.’'
Isaiah 43:10
“You are My witnesses,”
declares the LORD, “and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me
there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me.”
Commentary:
The covenant name of God, YHWH (sometimes rendered incorrectly as Jehovah), literally means ‘I am’. It is the name God uses
for Himself throughout the Old Testament, and the Jews gave so much reverence to His name that they would not use it in everyday speaking. Instead, they would use other titles such as ‘the Most High’ to refer to God. Thus, it is no surprise that when Jesus uses it
of Himself in the New Testament, the Jews tried to execute Him for blasphemy or fell to the ground at the mentioning of the name of
God.
John 8:58-59
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” Therefore they picked
up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.
Commentary:
Obviously, if one didn’t know about the special covenant name of God, then that person might think that Jesus didn’t know how to speak. However, Jesus is saying that before Abraham was born, He was and is and always will be God. He is claiming to be YHWH. This was clearly understood by the Jews since they picked up stones to stone Him for blasphemy.
Arians try to get around this
by saying that the Greek should be taken in the historical present like someone who is telling a story about something in the past
as if it were taking place in the present. However, this explanation makes no sense in context. The historical present
is only used when someone is telling a narrative and uses present tense for a dramatic effect, but it is never used for dialogues
and debates. Jesus, in His dialogue with the Jews, was making a point about his origins in answer to the comment in verse 57:
So
the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”
-John 8:57
Obviously, Jesus’ point was to say that He is the Great ‘I AM’, the covenant God of Israel.
John 18:6
So when
He said to them, “I am,” they drew back and fell to the ground. (Literal Rendering)
Commentary:
When Jesus said the words ‘I am’, the Jewish soldiers who were going to seize Him took that as the name of God, and they fell back and bowed in reverence to Him. The soldiers were not just shocked that the person they were searching for was right in front of them as Jehovah’s Witnesses claim. [Have you ever seen a police officer draw back and fall to the ground when they encounter the person they are looking for?!] The argument is not saying that every passage where someone says, “I am,” is a claim to deity. The argument merely states that in its context, Jesus claims to be YHWH, and John put this occurrence into his Gospel to make that very point.
Anti-Gnosticism
One of the earliest heresies that the early church had to deal with was proto-Gnosticism. This religion tried to incorporate Christianity into its fold by adopting Christian religious terms and redefining their meaning. Its beliefs are as follows:
1. The religion was Dualistic (i.e. the belief that existence was under the power of two opposing principles, one good and the other evil). The spiritual world was considered good, and the material world was considered evil. According to the Gnostics, the ‘Demiurge’, the ‘evil’ deity, is basically the devil.
2. God the Father: Called the ‘Pleroma’ (Greek for ‘fullness’). It was a spirit being that created all other spirit beings.
3. The God of the Old Testament: Called the ‘Demiurge’. It was a spirit being that was created by the ‘Pleroma’. The ‘Demiurge’ ‘sinned’ (so to speak) when it created all material things.
4. Jesus: An ‘Aeon’. They said that He was a spirit being Who only ‘seemed’ like He came in the flesh. He was a ‘part’ of the Pleroma and a messenger between the ‘Pleroma’ and men, and He came to preach the evil of the material world. He was also created by the ‘Pleroma’. [The word ‘aeon’ basically has the meaning as that of angel.]
5. Gnosis: This Greek word means ‘knowledge’. The Gnostics believed that a man was ‘saved’ (so to speak) through the acquisition of knowledge. Thus, they were called the Gnostics.
When the New Testament writers responded to this, they used language that would directly contradict Gnostic teaching. Sometimes, this refutation included the use of Gnostic words and giving them a Christian meaning. These direct and purposeful contradictions of Gnostic teaching can be found in John’s writings (especially the Gospel of John) and some of Paul’s epistles. Verses that demonstrate this are as follows:
The Gospel of John
John 1:3
“All things came into being through Him…” [Jesus being the creator of the material universe was against the Gnostic belief that the material universe was evil and Jesus was good. (Obviously, the latter belief is correct.)]
John 1:12-13
“…who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” [John said this to contradict the Gnostic teaching that a man is ‘saved’ by his own acquisition of knowledge.]
John 1:14
“And the Word became flesh…” [Jesus being indwelt in a material body was completely against the Gnostic belief that the material world is evil.]
John 2:1-11
[John included the account of Jesus’ first miracle to debunk the Gnostic belief that Jesus had been performing miracles since He was a child.]
John 3:19
“…the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.” [John included this discourse of Christ to contradict the Gnostic belief that men were basically good. The Gnostics believed that the ‘Light’ was contained in men, and that all one had to do was bring it forth from within.]
The list in the writings of John could go on forever.
Paul’s Epistles
Colossians 1:16
“For by Him all things were created…” [Same as John 1:3; see above]
Colossians 1:19
“For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him,” [The use of the Gnostic word ‘Pleroma’.]
Colossians 1:22
“…yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death…” [See my comments on John 1:14 above. Also, the Gnostics did not believe that Jesus died on the cross. Paul clearly contradicts this.]
Colossians 2:2
“…a true knowledge…” [Paul is implying that the Gnostics have a false knowledge. Remember that the Gnostics believed that man was ‘saved’ through knowledge.]
Colossians 2:8
“See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the traditions of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.” [The roots of the religion of Gnosticism were from Greek philosophy, especially Plato.]
Colossians 2:9
“For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,” [Paul uses the word ‘Pleroma’ again. He also says that Jesus came in material form.]
Colossians 2:18
“Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels…” [The Gnostics said that the ‘Aeons’ were messengers of the ‘Pleroma’, and one of these ‘Aeons’ (according to them) was Jesus. The ‘Aeons’ were to be worshipped. Paul is clearly stating that no one is to worship anything that was created.]
The list could go on and on. For more anti-Gnosticism in Paul’s writings, read Titus.
Implications to the Deity of Christ
John 1:1
“In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
Commentary:
The very argument being made by John is to contradict the Gnostic teaching that Jesus was a created ‘aeon’ (i.e. a sort-of angel). Modern Arians, such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, do exactly what John is arguing against. They make Jesus the first created being,
and the Jehovah’s Witnesses even say that Jesus is Michael the
John’s argument, here, is to say that while God the Son is to be distinguished from God the Father, the two are, in fact, both timeless and of the same essence (i.e. they are both Jehovah). It is usually pointed out by Arians that the word ‘theos’ does not have a definite article in front of it, and thus, they say, the translation should be downgraded to “a god.” Robert Morey responds:
“We have already pointed out that the word “Father” is modified by [theos] without the article. Do the Arians downsize Him into “a god” because of this? No. Then on what grounds do they do this to Christ? The article was not placed in front of [theos] for two very good reasons. First, in terms of Greek grammar and syntax, Colwell’s Rule 20 states that when a noun is taken out of its normal word order and placed before its verb, 97% of the time it does not have an article. This is what we find in John 1:1c…The second reason [theos] does not have the article is that it would lead the reader to the mistaken idea that the Word was the Father…John did not place the article [o] in front of [theos] in order to maintain the distinction between the Father and the Son. This is why he made that distinction once again in John 1:2.”
-Robert Morey, The Trinity: Evidence and Issues (Iowa Falls, IA: World Bible Publishers, 1996), p.324.
The Deity of Christ
(Part 2)