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The Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ
The Scripture plainly tells us that Jesus Christ has two natures—He is one of the three separate and distinct persons in the Godhead as we discussed in the second class, and He became a man a little over 2,000 years ago. Being truly divine, He is a true representative of God, and being truly human, He is a true representative of man.
His Humanity
It was foretold that He was to be born of a human mother:
By Moses — Genesis 3:14-15
The Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and the dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel."
By Isaiah — Isaiah 7:14; 9:6-7; 11:1; 53:1-12
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, MIghty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned--every one--to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.
By David — Psalm 22:27-31
All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations. All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive. Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.
It was written in the New Testament of Jesus as having flesh and blood like all other men:
By John — John 1:14; 19:34; 1 John 4:1-3
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.
By Paul — Hebrews 2:14-15
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
It was also written that Christ had a human body even after the resurrection:
By Luke — Luke 24:39
"See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have."
By John — John 20:27
Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe."
Jesus wept, hungered, thirsted, slept, grew weary, suffered physical agony, was tempted in all points as men, and suffered physical death. Jesus lived a normal life in total dependance on God the Father in prayer and faith. The New Testament teaches that Jesus Christ limited Himself of omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, eternity, and immutability. Just as Christ was perfectly helpless in Himself and acted, spoke, worked, lived, and did all things through the anointing of the Holy Spirit, we as Christians can live a divine human life in the Holy Spirit by the very presence and power of God in the human soul and spirit. It was important that Christ limit Himself as a man to set the right example for us so that we can be inspired to live like God on Earth by the same means that He used. It was equally important to God that Jesus limit himself as a man so that He could be an acceptable sacrifice for us and to be a mediator between us and the Father. The Son in connection with Jesus doesn't refer to His Deity, but to His humanity.
His Deity
The Bible declares plainly that Jesus is God, and that He created and upholds everything seen and unseen through His mighty power. Before He took on flesh, Christ was exalted on high with the Father; He had no beginning. After He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, He was born of a virgin, and led an obedient and sinless life. He then stepped into the vast void between sinful mankind and God, sacrificing Himself, and returning us to fellowship with God. Because of His obedience and divine nature, He was ultimately exalted to the right hand of the father and declared King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Let's read these passages from the Bible which plainly prove Christ's Deity before and after his human birth:
Philippians 2:5-11 — Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God [the Father] a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God [the Father] has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
John 1:1-5 — In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with the Father, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 8:58 — Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am."
John 17:5; 24 — "And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed."
"Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my giory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world."
Colossians 1:15-18 — He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, in heaven and earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.
Colossians 1:15-18 — Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God [the Father] spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God [the Father] and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. But of the Son he says, "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.
A Few Divine Names of Jesus
Immanuel — Matthew 1:23
"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us).
Lord of All — Acts 10:36
As the word that He sent to Israel, preaching good news od peace through Jesus Christ (He is the Lord of all).
The Only Begotten Son — John 3:16-18; 1 John 4:9
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
The First and the Last, Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End — Revelation 22:12-13
"Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."
The Bread of God — John 6:33
"For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."
The Holy One of God — Mark 1:23-24
And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are -the Holy One of God."
The Holy Child Jesus — Acts 4:30
...while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.
King of Kings and Lord of Lords — Revelation 19:11, 16
Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. On His robe and on His thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
The Lord and Savior — 2 Peter 3:1-2
This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles.
The Word of God — Revelation 19:13
He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.
Going Forward
As the title "Christian" implies, we must be sure to revere Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of our life. He is to be feared (not afraid of Him, but afraid to be separated from Him), to be the ultimate example for us, and the master of everything we do. Our actions must show that we believe He is worthy to be our Sovereign King.
It will be blatantly obvious to everyone around us if we only claim to be followers of Christ. Such people cannot hide the lack of spiritual fruit, joy, and peace beyond understanding in their lives. These things are reserved for His children. It is literally impossible to say that Jesus is Lord and yet not follow His example. The very fact that you call him Lord MEANS that you follow His commandments. We must all honestly ask ourselves are we ready for such a commitment?
2 Corinthians 10:4 says, "For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds." If you call on Jesus Christ daily and live with the leading of His Spirit, He said in John 7:38, "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." Christ is faithful to do this as long as we are faithful in our part.
You will become a wildfire of wisdom and a fully equipped disciple of Jesus Christ. The mission of Convergent City Church, along with the worldwide Body of Christ, is to equip our people for the spreading of this knowledge, which has the power to rip the chains of sin and death off the people around us and igniting that same flame in them!