Deity of Jesus

All of us who call ourselves Christian, a term which identifies us as “being Christ like,” may want to reevaluate our relationship with Jesus. Within Christendom, that body of persons who call themselves Christian, there appears to be a full spectrum of beliefs about Jesus. At one end of the Christendom-spectrum are those who believe the bible to be a semi-historical book and Jesus a wise man. At the other end of the spectrum are those who believe that the bible is the infallible word of God, Jesus is their savior and everyone who disagrees with them is an enemy. Doesn't make a lot of sense, does it. In fact, it is hard to find Christianity at the poles of the Christendom-spectrum. 

That end of the spectrum, which believes Jesus was only a man, is characterized by a preponderance of intellectual thought.  People here are open to diverse, philosophically developed spiritual and religious ideas and are not constrained by any one set of instructions.  This “liberal” approach to Christianity seems to have become a prominent characteristic of mainline protestant denominations.  While there is no common agreement on exactly which set of denominations constitutes mainline Protestantism; for the most part they are the:

• Episcopal Church,
• Lutheran Church,
• Presbyterian Church,
• United Methodist Church,
• American Baptist Church (Northern Baptist) and
• Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

We can generally find, at the liberal end of the Christendom-spectrum, commitment to a clearly defined Christian belief system to be rather loose and somewhat undefined.  A recent Barna survey of mainline Protestants revealed that:

• about half - of the people are not even committed to Christianity;
• about half – are willing to try another church;
•      over half – are willing to try different types of worship environments;
• the vast majority – develop their own religious beliefs and not those   taught in church;
• the vast majority – believe God reaches out to people beyond Biblical Christian beliefs;
• less than half – believe that the bible is the best tool for teaching life principles;
• about half – consider themselves to be on a personal quest for spiritual truth; and
• almost no one – considers any Christian belief to be his or her top priority in life.

At the opposite end of the Christendom-spectrum we have the Fundamentalist. 

Christian fundamentalists profess a very rigid and well-defined commitment to a Bible-based Christian belief system.  They acknowledge, without reservation, a fundamental set of Christian beliefs: the inerrancy of the Bible, Sola Scriptura, the virgin birth of Christ, the doctrine of Jesus as savior, the bodily resurrection of Jesus, and the eventual return of Jesus Christ. There are, however, few if any denominations classified as Fundamentalist.  Fundamentalism is not easy to define within the structure of denominations, organizations or religious fellowship. The simplist way to look at fundamentalism is as a religious movement, which can be  found within denominations and in individual congregations outside of any denominational structure.   Fundamentalism is made even more difficult to classify when you include elements, which have adopted isolationist agendas with militant racial and political overtones. 

At the risk of stereotyping, it would appear that the Christendom-spectrum is bounded on one side by legalistic self-righteous individuals and on the other side by liberal socialists.  From a Biblical perspective, both pieces of ground are dangerous places for a Christian to find theirself.  A liberal minded man has the tendency to become so enamored with their own intellect that they no longer need God.  A legalistic man becomes so confident in their beliefs and judgments that they set themselves up as God.  Of course, we must recognize that being liberal does not automatically turn one into an irreligious libertine and being legalistic does not have to turn one into a Pharisee.

The danger in being liberal or being legalistic is found in our tendency to raise the conscious of man to the level of God.  If we are to be Christians then we must only exercise faith in the written Word of God.  We can neither put faith in the word of man nor in man’s interpretation of the Word of God.  A Christian cannot ignore this issue!   You cannot take the middle ground and follow a mixture of liberalism and legalism, a mixture of hot and cold, … this a lukewarm fuzzy middle ground. Remember, Jesus made the statement that He couldn’t stomach a lukewarm person. 

We are Christians, we acknowledge Jesus as our Lord and we do not put our faith in the minds of man.

We need to pause here for a moment, set aside our personal opinions, and think about this!  If there is a Supreme Being, who wishes to communicate with his creation, then he certainly wants them to get His message. This means that a Supreme Being who leaves His message to the inventions of men’s minds cannot be much of a God.  Thus, for a mature Christian, the Holy Bible must be the inspired word of God: if not the inspired word of God, then the Holy Bible is of no more reliability than the words of man.  When the Holy Bible is relegated to the level of man’s mental gymnastics then there is nothing to put your faith in that is greater than the mind of man.  This is a depressing thought!  If our understanding of God’s Will for mankind is not totally locked up in the teaching of His only begotten Son, then our relationship with God is tenuous at best, and were we are in the Christendom spectrum is irrelevant … simply a matter of personal preference. 

We must believe the written word … as it is written and not man’s manipulation of the Word.

After all, what point is there in having a creator who does not clearly communicate with His creation?  There is none.  And, that single rock is the anchor of Christianity.  By faith, a mature Christian knows that God did clearly communicate His plan and expectations for mankind through the Apostle’s record of Jesus’ teachings. Paul told Timothy that “all scripture” is inspired of God and thus profitable for use by Christians.  A mature Christian is one who believes in the deity of Jesus and the need to follow Jesus’ teachings as recorded in the New Testament. A mature Christian is one who is firmly anchored to the rock of Jesus’ deity and they are not a liberal, a legalist nor one who has a wishy washy set of beliefs. Jesus brought to all of mankind God’s communication and He shared it with the Apostles; the Apostles shared Jesus’ teaching with the world. 

There is no communication from God that resides outside of the Apostle’s writings.

Through faith, mature Christians take the Bible as the final and complete revelation of God’s will for mankind.  For a mature Christian, this means that scripture is the ultimate authority in legislating and judging motives and actions in their lives. A mature Christian can digest New Testament truths and authoritative messages exactly as they exist in scripture.  Jesus’ teachings are not set aside for liberal agendas; His words are not warped and twisted into legal dogma; and the hard realities of life are not turned into a prosperity gospel or warm & fuzzy messages.

The mature Christen walk only where the Bible speaks, is silent where the Bible is silent and deals with this world through the love of Jesus.

The most important part of a mature Christian’s life is living so that their life is a constant testimony to the Deity of Jesus.  A mature Christian knows that their security comes from God becoming man … the incarnation of the Godhead. Everything that makes a Christian a Christian is wrapped up in the Deity of Jesus as proven by:

1.      Jesus existing, as part of the Godhead, before He came to earth as a human baby;

2.      all things being created through Jesus;

3.      the mother of Jesus (Mary) being a virgin, thus Jesus had no earthly father;

4.      the essence, power and authority of the Godhead being contained in Jesus;

5.      Jesus bringing to all mankind a revelation of the Will of God and the only opportunity for eternal life;

6.      the requirement for mankind to submit to the authority of Jesus’ teachings; and

7.      Jesus returning one day to judge all of mankind and to rule a new heaven & earth.

A mature Christian believes, without any doubt, in the 7 tenets of Jesus’ deity. Jesus claimed His deity through the Godhead and He boldly proclaimed being our only option for salvation.  Once again, take time to think about it. Without the deity of Jesus, the entire bible becomes nothing more than a historical novel and Jesus becomes nothing more than a great teacher or philosopher; who … by the way … was a liar.  There is no gray area.  There is no middle ground. The 7 tenets of Jesus’ deity are valid or Jesus is nothing more than a great man.  Without the Deity of Jesus, Christianity becomes just another manmade religion.

There is one God: the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  There is but one way to God and that is through Jesus the Christ.

Robert A. Sickler