Who is Jesus?

Background

My article, The Case for Christ, was condensed from my original research for readability, but the additional information is important. Therefore, I created several pieces so that I could share the extra content with readers. This is one of those articles. Click the link above to see the original post on The Case for Christ.

Note: The following information fills out the content from the various sections in the original paper to give a more complete case. I have not repeated the content, except in limited amounts, unless it was necessary for understanding.

Introduction

The orthodox Christian faith is based on the person of Jesus and that He was God incarnate. This doctrine places Christianity in a different category than any other religion -not just another kind of religion. It makes the historic Christian faith unique and authoritative above any other worldview or meta-narrative, including Judaism and Islam. This section of the paper will focus on and investigate who Jesus is and will look at some of the declarations made about Him.

My article, The Case for Christ, looked at and demonstrated the historical accuracy, authenticity. and reliability of the New Testament (NT) documents. Now, we can look at these source documents to see what Jesus said about Himself, as well as what the NT authors believed about Jesus.

The Testimony of Jesus

Jesus claimed that attributes which are only true about God, were also true about Him. These attributes are said to be ‘non-transferable’ or incommunicable, meaning that even though man was created in God’s image, these attributes cannot be transferred to man.1 In my paper, The Case for Christ, we looked at His eternality and omnipotence, here, we will look at two more of these attributes: God’s omniscience (all knowing); and, His omnipresence (everywhere present). It is important to point out that God’s attributes are essential to His nature and that they are only “known to us through revelation. Man does not attribute them to God; God reveals them to man.”2

Omniscience

Jesus showed knowledge of things that could only be known if He were omniscient.

  • “From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.” (Matthew 16:21)
  • “But He knew what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and come forward!” And he got up and came forward.” (Luke 6:8)
  • “But He knew their thoughts and said to them, “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against itself falls.” ” (Luke 11:17)
  • “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?” (Spoken by a woman Jesus had just met at the well.) (John 4:29)

Omnipresence

Two passages where Jesus explained that He would be present with His followers are in the Gospel of Matthew. In chapter 18, verse 20, He is assuring believers that He would comfort them. “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” In Matthew 28:20, He explains that they are not on their own, saying, “and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” The only way for Him to fulfill these statements is for Him to be everywhere present. “Omnipresence differs from pantheism, which identifies the universe with God. This heresy fails to distinguish the Creator from the created, a distinction taught in the very first verse of the Bible.”3 Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

Charles Ryrie explains that the attributes of God apply to each member of the Trinity. He says that they, “describe equally the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. They describe the nature of the Triune God and therefore each person of the Trinity.”4

The Testimony of the NT Authors

The apostles had a lot to say concerning the Deity of Jesus. The following passages are a small sampling of what is recorded about Him:

  • “They will call Him [Jesus] Immanuel – which means, ‘God with us’ ” (Matthew 1:23)
  • “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)
  • “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
  • “No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.” (John 1:18)
  • “Thomas answered and said to Him [Jesus], ‘My Lord and my God!’ ” (John 20:28)
  • “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form.” (Colossians 2:9)
  • “looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.” (Titus 2:13)
  • “God our savior” (Titus 1:3; 2 Peter 1:1; Luke 1:47; 1 Timothy 4:10)
  • “And He [Jesus] is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature.” (Hebrews 1:3)
  • “And He [Jesus] is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:17)
  • “For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fulness to dwell in Him [Jesus].” (Colossians 1:19)
  • “For by Him [Jesus] 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 by Him and for Him.” (Colossians 1:16)
  • “All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” (John 1:3)

Conclusion

In my other articles, we have determined that the NT passes overwhelmingly as to authenticity, accuracy, and reliability. Using the NT as a source document, we thought briefly about the life of Jesus, what He said about Himself, and what others said about Him. We saw two attributes that Jesus demonstrated that are only true about God, showing that He was God incarnate. We also listed 14 examples from NT writers that reveal the Deity of Jesus.

The Biblical account is very clear about who Jesus is. This is why the orthodox Christian faith is in a different category than any other religion. It is also why the historic Christian faith is unique, authoritative, and is unlike any other worldview or meta-narrative.

Appendix

This paper gives us a reason to not be afraid. I write more about that in, Don’t Be Afraid.

1 Some attributes transferred to man, but in a limited fashion, are justice, wisdom, goodness, and mercy, among others.

2 Charles C. Ryrie, Basic Theology, (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 1986), 40

3 Ryrie, 46

4 Ryrie, 40