THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST

As in Marriage when two contracting persons become "one flesh" their Unity does not destroy their individuality, (1) so the Unity of the Godhead (2) is not destroyed by the Doctrine of the Trinity. Thomas Jefferson showed his ignorance when, in a letter to Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse, he accused Calvinists of believing in three gods.

The study of the Trinity is essentially the study of the Divinity of Christ. For this reason, the first three centuries after its founding, the Christian Church was plagued by heresies surrounding the Person of Christ –"Whose Son is He?" "Is He Divine?" In the following three centuries, new heresies appeared that called into question the Nature of Christ --"If He is Divine, is He ‘Man’?" "If He be both God and Man, does He possess both a Divine Will as well as a Human Will?"

So critical is the proper understanding of the Person and Nature of Christ that the Veracity and Credibility of a Sect can be known by their Christology. "What think ye of Christ?"

Gnosticism was one of the earliest heresies to fester within the professing Church. F.W. Farrar enumerates 13 different kinds of Gnostics, 3 yet all basically held to certain premises, the first of which was that "Matter is Evil." Therefore, if Christ is Divine, He had no body, and hence they denied His Humanity. Secondly, if He had a body, He could not be Divine; hence denying His Deity. Thirdly, they concluded Christ was one of a series of emanations from God, and thereby denied His Sovereignty.

The Apostle John set out to answer these Dualists. "That which was from the beginning," he wrote thus arguing the Divinity of Christ on the basis of His Antiquity. "...(That) which we have Heard, which we have Seen with our eyes, which we have Looked upon, and our Hands have handled of the Word of Life; (for the Life was manifested, and we have Seen it, and bear Witness and show unto you that eternal life which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us.)" Here the Apostle maintains the Humanity of Christ. "That which we have Seen and Heard declare we unto you that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ." (4) There can be no Christian fellowship except around the Person of Christ. They who deny either His Person or His Nature are not numbered among the "Household of Faith."

Still the Church had no rest, for Arianism next assaulted the Person of Christ denying the Son of God is Eternal. While some affirm the doctrine of the Trinity is of "Roman Catholic invention," and that "before the Incarnation of the Son of God in Bethlehem, He was known as ‘the Word’", yet Micah declared, "And thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be Ruler in Israel: Whose goings forth have been from of old, from Everlasting." (5) And Solomon asked, "Who hath ascended up into Heaven or descended? Who hath gathered the Wind in His fists? Who hath bound the waters in a garment? Who hath established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son’s name if thou canst tell?" (6) Since Jehovah’s Witnesses deny the Son of God is eternal, the next time they come to your house, ask them, "Is God the Father Eternal?" "Yes," they will affirm. Then ask them, "How can you have an Eternal ’Father’ and not have an Eternal

Son?’" Jesus Christ is the Son of God by what theologians call "Eternal Generation."

Arianism modified and became known as "Semi-Arianism." It maintained Jesus Christ was "of LIKE substance with the Father --(homoiousios) but not Of the SAME substance --( homoousios"). The shift by the Arians of the "o" to the letter "i" caused a sea of blood to flow in the ensuing persecutions. So popular was this view that someone scoffed at Athanasius, the defender of orthodox Christianity, "Don’t you know the World is against you?" "Then I am against the world!" replied the man of God.

This is the position of the Jehovah’s Witnesses who deliberately mistranslate John l:l -- "In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God." They make it read, "...and the Word was A god;" hence in essence they allow for the existence of more than

one God. If the Greek article "the" were present, it would make the Word how it is later identified as Jesus Christ (7) to be identical with the Father. But the Apostle John left it out to show Christ to be distinct from the Father, but of the SAME substance.

While Jehovah Witnesses, as Semi-Arians, affirm Jesus Christ is "the Son of God", they refuse to equate the term with "God the Son." The Jews realized full well that when Jesus declared Himself to be the Son of God He was "making Himself equal with God" and they took up stones to stone Him. (8) I point out to them they take the same position as these Jews when they deny the Deity of Jesus Christ.

About the Same time Arianism appeared, Sabellianism, or the belief the Father and Son are identical, arose. Some Sabellianists went so far as to teach the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit were successive manifestations of God.

In an attempt to bring order out of the religious chaos, Emperor Constantine in the year 325 summoned a church council to the Imperial Palace at Nicea. The result of this greatest among the Eastern Church councils was the Nicene Creed, the first written Creed of the Church.

In it the council maintained the Scriptures teach that Christ is very God of Very God; begotten, not created; consubstantial with the Father. The Deity of Christ is the line of Demarcation separating believers from unbelievers. Patrick, Apostle to Ireland, expressed the doctrine by saying, "He (God) hath a Son Co-eternal and CO-equal with Himself. The Son is not younger than the Father. Nor is the Father older than the Son ...The Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost are not divided."(9)

In 451, the Council of Chalcedon was summoned to settle what the Scriptures taught concerning the Nature of Christ. It declared that in Christ there dwells One Person but two Natures, "Unconfounded, Unchanged, Undivided, and Inseparable." It further re-iterated the Nicene Creed that our Lord Jesus Christ is "perfect God and perfect man." Still the heresies emerged.

In addition to the continuation of the aforementioned heresies, the sixth century witnessed the rise of Monophysitism and in the following century, Monothelitism emerged. While the former held that after the Spirit of God descended upon our Lord at His baptism He was possessed Of only one Nature, the Monothelites maintained Jesus had but one Will. Still, Chalcedon had affirmed Scripture taught Christ possessed two natures "Unconfounded."

In the late 16th century, during the Reformation period, Socinianism appeared. It denied the Deity of Christ and espoused His Humanity. It is the typical Unitarian view. Moses, however, writing under Divine Inspiration, carefully recorded, "In the beginning, ‘Elohim’ created the Heaven and Earth." (10) The "im" in the Hebrew is plural. While the context is not a dissertation on the Trinity, it is definitely allowed. And Jesus confessed to Nicodemus, "If I have" told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you of Heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up to Heaven, but He that came down from Heaven, even the Son of man WHICH IS IN HEAVEN."(ll) Be sure to consult your King James Version on this verse, or if you have one, your Geneva Bible, because modern translators have found it convenient to dilute this last critical phrase (like the New American Standard Version), or to delete it altogether.

When the Apostle John wrote, "In the beginning was the Word," he was arguing the Divinity by declaring His Eternality. "...And the Word was with God" --Here John asserts the Divinity of Christ by declaring He was in Company with the Father and hence is Co-Eternal with Him.

"And the Word was God." Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, is Consubstantial (of the same substance) with the Father. "The same was in the beginning with God." Hence our Lord is declared to be CO-Equal with the Father. "All things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made." (12) The Word is Co-Essential with the Father whether it he in the work of Creation or in the greater work of Salvation. (See: the testimony of the Apostle Paul in Philippians

2:5-11; Colossians 1:14-17; Hebrews 1:1-3).

We are warned, "Take heed therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the Church of God, WHICH HE HATH PURCHASED WITH HIS 0WN BLOOD." Yet for all this, God the Son is distinct from God the Father for David

wrote, "The Lord said unto my Lord, ’Sit Thou at My right hand until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool." See also: Hosea 1:7.

In joyful confidence we may burst forth with Charles Wesley in a resounding Doxology, "Hail, the Incarnate Deity!"

1 Gen. 2:24; 3:22

2 Deut. 6:4/I Cor. 8:4; Is. 44:6,8/1 Tim 1:17; Is 45:5/I Tim. 6:15

3 Farrar, Lives of the Fathers

4 I Jn. 1:1-3

5 Mic. 5:2

6 Prov. 30:4

7 Jn. 1:14

8 Jn. 10: 25-33

9 Epistles and Hymn of St. Patrick, ed. Olden,

10 Gen. 1:1

1l Jn. 3:13

12 Jn. l:l-3