...Why I Believe in The Deity Of Christ If I were asked why I believe in the deity of Christ my initial response would be because the Bible clearly and unequivocally describes Christ as divine. This was my belief prior to my reading assignments and I now believe that with a new level of certainty.Actually all of the reading assignments took me back to my firm belief in the Bible and the truth contained in it. First of all, I agree with the church's historical belief that "Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man in one person, and will be so forever." Reading in the Allison text about all of the challenges to this belief was both inspiring and troubling. Inspiring because each heretical line of thought was defeated. Troubling because the challenges kept coming, and they still do today. I would point out to the person questioning the deity of Christ how the great thinkers of each time eventually came back to the original premise for Christ's deity. From Docetism in the early church to the challenge by John Hicks in his book "The Myth of the Incarnate" in the modern period, a scholarly review of the scriptures show the deficiencies in every challenge.I would also point out how many of the challengers slightly altered truth and without a thorough study of the Bible, it would be easy to be deceived. A great evaluation of the evidence given in scripture for the deity of Christ was done by Bowman and Komoszewski. I really enjoyed the book "Putting Jesus In His Place" and will...
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...In this course there were many topics that raised awareness to what it means to be a Christian. After reading a lot of the material and through my studies I’ve often pondered and reflected on my own walk as a Christian and what steps, I’ve taken along my personal journey. I’m on a continuous exploration to develop my faith, learn more, and build on my relationship with God after seeking his grace and accepting the invitation to have live with him in my life. In this quest there have been relevant topics that lead me to dig deeper into its true definition in my own Christian life which are hope and the deity of Christ. I reflect in this paper what I knew or shall I say what I was told to be true when it comes to the two topics of hope and the deity of Christ and the way that it was presented in the course that brought about challenging questions and eagerness to want to learn more and the need of more clarification of what God is saying opposed to what others may have told me he was saying. I’ve always thought that “hope” was wishful thinking and hoping that things would happen without the assurance that it would. My studies have given me a different approach to what Hope truly is. According to the World English dictionary “hope” is defined as; a feeling of desire for something and the confidence in the possibility of its fulfillment. From a biblical stand point hope is a secure assurance on things that are imprecise and uncertain. From a spiritual basis hope is deemed as confident...
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...the Word became flesh, he dwelt in the womb of Mary and was born as Jesus. Jesus is the incarnation of God. He is God in flesh. Col. 2:9 tells "for in him dwells all the fullness of deity in bodily form." Another term for the incarnation of God in reference to Jesus is the hypostatic union. The term "incarnation" does not appear in the New Testament, but the concept is definitely taught: John 1:1, 14; Col. 2:9; Phil. 2:5-8; 1 Tim. 3:16; 1 John 4:2; John 20:28; Heb. 1:8 (ref) There are two views stology teaches that God the son; the second person of the Trinity laid aside the use of certain divine attributes or emptied Himself in the incarnation in order to become fully human. This view is also called the incarnation when the second person of the Godhead became flesh. this doctrine reaches reached every area of Christian theology and effects every area as well. The doctrine of the incarnation reveals the identity of Christ this theology touches the pre-existence of Christ, Christ’s humanity, deity, sinlessness, and His three-fold office and more. The traditional view of Christology maintains that Jesus exercised both his divine and human attributes at the same time. Christology is the study of Christ the word is derived from the Greek word Christos, meaning anointed one or Christ. Christ is the second person of the Trinity John 1:1, 14 verse give a clear view of Christology; And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the...
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...born of a woman, found lying in a cradle, growing, learning, subject to hunger, anxiety, doubt disappointment and surprise. Mark 2:15, 14:33; 15:34; Luke 2:40; 7:9, and finally to death and burial. Elwell. R.S WALLACE AND G.L. GREEN Pg 239 * What is the biblical basis for Jesus' deity? He claimed to forgive sin, thus assuming a prerogative that belong to God. Mark 2:5 – 7. He allows people to worship him, thus asserting himself as deity. Matthew 14:33, 28:9, John 20:28, 29 claimed any comparative attributes of omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence. He claimed to be in heaven John 3:13 and then nature would obey his words Mark 4:39. See towns 156 Explain how Jesus can be both God and Man at the same time (Hypostatic Union). “In the incarnation of the son of God, a human nature was inseparably united forever with the divine nature into one person of Jesus Christ, yet with the two natures remain distinct, whole, and unchanged, without mixture or confusion, so that the one person, Jesus Christ, is truly God and truly.” Elwell C.BLAISING Pg 584 * * What does it mean for Jesus to be both God and Man? * Jesus was true God and true man. * It means that Christ two natures,(Divine and human), is complete( meaning Jesus did not act as god on some occasions and man at other times. All his...
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...I then told them that Christology in its most basic definition means the study of Christ. Christology focuses on Jesus’ nature and the person he was, as well as the details of his life and teachings. It also focuses on the relationship between Christ and God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. Enwall explains Christology, “In the New Testament the writers indicate who Jesus is by describing the significance of the work He came to do and the office He came to fulfill” (Enwall 2001, 239). In this essay we will focus on some of the significant issues of Christology, such as Jesus’ humanity and deity, the Hypostatic Union, and the Biblical basis for such issues. Many people get confused and have a hard time with the concept of Jesus being both man and God at the same time. It is a hard concept to take in and understand, but we have to trust in the authority of the Bible. A few Biblical examples of the Humanity of Christ would be from the Books of Matthew and Mark. In Matthew 4:1-2, we read about Jesus being tested in the wilderness. He fasted for 40 days and 40 nights and after He was hungry, a very human trait. Again in Mark 4:38-41, we read the story of Jesus calming the storm and how He was in the stern of the boat sleeping, also, another very human trait. However, even though human, “even the wind and waves obeyed Him.” Along with humanity, Jesus also has deity. One aspect of Jesus’ deity is how He is worthy of worship. A biblical example of the worship of Jesus is in Matthew...
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...BIBL323 | Signs and Miracles | The Eight Signs and Miracles performed by Jesus Christ | | Sherell Andrews | 2/17/2013 | The eight signs and miracles Jesus performed and how each reveals his deity. | In the gospel of John there are eight signs and miracles that Jesus Christ performed; these signs and wonders are written so that you may believe Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God. The first miracle stated in John was Jesus turning water into wine. He and his disciples arrived at a wedding celebration that was in progress. Mary, the mother of Jesus, came to him and told Him they ran out of wine; she knew he would find a way of getting more wine.[1] Jesus responded by saying his hour had not come yet. His mother had enough faith in Jesus and instructed the servants at the wedding to do what he ask them to do, He ask them to fill the water pots with water.[2] He miraculously changed the water into wine. This miracle is said to bring out new beginnings in the ministry of Christ. Many Scholars parallel Jesus turning water in to wine to his death and resurrection. You could explain it as a full circle in Christ ministry. John shows “Changing the water of Judaism into the wine of Christianity, the water of sins and being unsaved into the wine of eternal life in Christ and to be saved” [3] This miracle points to the deity of Christ in and the fullness of eternal life in Christ power over creation. The next miracles in the gospel of John are the healing of the...
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...statement is identification with the Old Testament deity; therefore he is claiming to be there, the Jews, God. Jesus makes a prophetic statement about His Deity and resurrection Leon Morris correctly states, When Jesus used the "I AM" construction he was speaking in the style of deity." And, "There is general agreement among John scholars that this kind of language is a significant pointer to what John is telling us about the person of Jesus." The first time Jesus made this self-existent claim without explanation or without the use of a metaphor was in John 4:26. While speaking to the Samaritan women at the well in this scripture verse, Jesus told her things about herself that no one knew before displaying his deity. The woman questions who Jesus truly is.; The Deity of Christ is examined by the woman when she states to Jesus in John 4:25, “The woman said to Him, I know that Messiah is coming, He who is called the Christ (the Anointed One); and when He arrives, He will tell us everything we need to know and make it clear to us.” The woman is making reference to two Old Testament scriptures found in Isaiah. The first one is Isaiah 45:22, “Look to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.” The second scripture is Isaiah 43:11, “1I, even I, am the Lord, and besides Me there is no Savior.” Jesus answer to the woman was without explanation “I who now speak with you am He.” The deity of Christ is quickly confirmed when in John 4:28. The second...
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...of His divinity in the Incarnation. Rather, as one early theologian put it, "Remaining what He was, He became what He was not." Christ "was not now God minus some elements of His deity, but God plus all that He had made His own by taking manhood to Himself." Thus, Jesus did not give up any of His divine attributes at the Incarnation. He remained in full possession of all of them. For if He were to ever give up any of His divine attributes, He would cease being God (Perman, Matt). Jesus came to this world through a virgin birth but did not give up any of his divine attributes. This would make Jesus both man and God. There were eight aspects to Jesus’ claim to deity. The first was in the Gospel of John he used the Jehovistic I AM, that identified him with deity. The Jehovistic I AM statements were used without the figures of speech (John 8:25, 56-59; 18:6, 8 the pronoun “he” is not in the Greek). Jesus claimed to be Adonai (Matt 22:42-45) of the Old Testament. In the baptismal formula, Jesus identifies himself with God. Jesus claimed to be one with the Father (John 10:30) and that anyone who saw him was seeing the Father (John 14:9). Jesus claimed to forgive sins (Mark 2:5-7), He was assuming a prerogative that belonged to God. Jesus allowed people to worship him, He was asserting Himself as deity, for he was approving an act that belonged to Deity (Matt 14:33; 28:9; John 20:28, 29). Lastly Jesus claimed the comparative attributes of omnipresence, omniscience and omnipotence...
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...of our claim? I responded, If Jesus is just a man, were all doomed, because his humanity and deity are inseparable”. I explained to them, that the biblical basis for Jesus humanity was that he came as sacrifice for our sins and to identify with his creation. I told them,” it’s important to remember that his humanity is different from ours”. Jesus had no sin that permeates the rest of us. Jesus is what God intended for us to be. It’s through Jesus that our humanity can be purely and truly expressed. He always did the right thing and never sinned. None of us can say the same thing (Romans 5:12-19). The Biblical basis for Jesus humanity is just as important as his biblical basis for his deity. In 1Corithians15:3-8 Jesus deity is stated. That, for what I received I passed on to you as of first importance. That Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to scripture, and he appeared to Peter, than to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same place, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, than to all apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. For Jesus to die on the cross for sins of man, profess to be God, and to take opposition throughout his entire ministry, not only proves his deity but also his infallible nature. For man is fallible, and contradicts himself, by the changing...
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...Name Institution DOCTRINES IN THEOLOGY DOCTRINES IN THEOLOGY Doctrines can be defined as teachings that are believed in a society. The doctrines of the church are teachings of the scriptures and give answers to fundamental questions of life. “The trinity” and “The full deity and humanity of Christ” are such doctrines. The trinity basically is a belief that God exists in a trio form namely God the father, son and Holy Spirit. The full deity and humanity of Christ refers to the existence of the Son of God in two forms as human and as God. The trinity shows how the attributes of God are shown with the three forms he is. The trinity was a doctrine developed in the early church to answer the frequently asked questions about the nature of God. This was mostly in Arianism in the attempt to protect monotheism. God is believed be three persons in one essence. Theology however explains the trinity as a way of denying the oneness and uniqueness of God. The statement that there is only one God is seriously opposed in the trinity aspect. The doctrine of the trinity plays a major role amongst Christians today. Just as God is three in one, Christians are encouraged to employ the system of togetherness as no man can stand alone. It even presents a better argument that even God is three in one. This is often mistaken making understanding the trinity a hard task for believers. It involves careful concideration of the bibles analysis and faith to understand how God is both one and three...
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...Himself; when He simply states, “I am.” Theologian Elmer Towns states in his textbook, (Elmer Towns) “This is a statement of identification with Old Testament deity. Christ is implying, “I am…I am,” the self-existent One. He is claiming to be their God. The Old Testament is pointing to the coming One. Many scriptures tell that someone is coming. Who is coming? Could it be the Messiah? The people of John’s time were looking, searching, hoping for the One to come. Ray Stedman states in his commentary (Ray Stedman) “In John's day, people were stirred by the fact that John the Baptist had appeared. They asked him, "Are you the Christ?" He said, "No, but he is coming after me," and when Jesus began to preach up and down the hills of Judea and Galilee, men were saying everywhere, "Is this the One? Is this the Messiah?" The first time Jesus made this self-existent claim without explanation or without the use of a metaphor is found in John 4:26. Jesus was speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well in this scripture verse. Jesus being Deity had been telling her things about herself that no one knew. The exchange between the woman and Jesus is very telling. The Deity of Christ is examined by the woman when she states to Jesus in John 4:2, “The woman said to Him, I know that Messiah is coming, He who is called the Christ (the Anointed One); and when He arrives, He will tell us everything we need to know and make it clear to us.” The woman is making reference to two Old Testament...
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...cruel death. Only a human being could fully understand this. Lastly Jesus coming in the flesh is the mark of the spirit from God. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God and every spirit that does not confess that] Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. (1 John 4:2-3 NKJV) Jesus Christ is truly God and truly man. (Elwell, 2001) For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; (Colossians 2:9, KJV) Jesus Christ was and is God incarnate. As Christians we believe that there is a God who is infinite and immutable. He is a personal God, a creator and the Ruler of the entire universe. I believe that his deity is His eternality and His pre-existence. The hypostatic union states that human nature was united with the divine nature in the one person (physical, bodily form) of Jesus Christ. The two natures are distinct, complete and unchanged; they are not mixed or confused (as having multiple personalities) so that Jesus is one person both God and man. (Elwell, 2001) Jesus was both God and man. In order to identify with us, on an intimate level, he had to be human, yet maintain His deity. He humbled Himself, being in appearance as man, he was...
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...I Am Sayings Paper BIBL 323 B12 The Gospel of John Liberty University Abstract Jesus Christ was the most influential and the most controversial of all God’s teachers and prophets. His time spent discussing His deity by use of metaphors such as the I AM sayings lead the Pharisees to believe less in Him as the messiah, and more in him as being crazy. To understand Jesus’s claim to be the good shepherd, it is important to review the evidence of the claim compare it to the Old Testament which points toward Christ and apply the finds to the claims of Jesus’ deity. Jesus the Good Shepherd John wrote his Gospel of Jesus Christ for two reasons. The first reason was to communicate the message of Christ by providing examples of His miracles and his teaching in order to generate belief in the unbeliever that Jesus was who he said he was: the Son of God (Towns, 2002). The second reason was that those who then believed would have eternal life because of the faith that Jesus Christ was truly the fulfillment of the Messianic prophesies as Savior and Lord (Ibid). Jesus’ teaching style was not always easy to understand, and often created dissention between those who believed, and those who did not. He lessons linked who He was to prophesy about Him made by Old Testament prophets. In John’s Gospel there are eight lessons that are known as the “I Am” sayings that exemplify this teaching style by linking Him to well-known images and symbols provided in the Old Testament...
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...eight recorded sign miracles that Jesus Christ performed. This paper will briefly describe each miracle and how it reveals the deity of Jesus Christ. Turning of Water into Wine The first miracle Jesus performed was changing water into wine. He and His disciples arrived at a wedding celebration that was already in progress. Mary, the mother of Jesus, came to Him and told Him they had run out of wine, presumably because she knew that He was capable of doing something about the dilemma.[1] Jesus responded by telling her that His hour had not yet come. While scholars disagree on what Jesus meant by this statement, it is obvious that Mary, as a woman of faith, understood enough that she instructed the servants at the wedding to do whatever Jesus asked them to do.[2] Jesus did in fact direct the servants to fill six pots with water, which He then miraculously changed into a fine quality wine. “The changing of water into wine is surely meant to bring out the power of Jesus to bring about new beginnings.”[3] We might parallel the higher quality of wine that Jesus made from the water with the higher quality of life that Jesus made available through His death and resurrection. John shows how Jesus “changes the water of Judaism into the wine of Christianity, the water of Christlessness into the wine of the richness and the fullness of eternal life in Christ, the water of the law into the wine of the gospel.”[4] This miracle points to the deity of Christ in that it displays His power over creation...
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...was drawn to one sentence: “Jesus was a man and as such could not also be God.” Seeing the puzzled look on my face, one of the men asked me what I thought about the claim. The Biblical basis for Jesus humanity can be illustrated in scripture. John 1:14 states: “So the Word became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory of the only Son of the Father.” When Jesus was born, God became a man. He was not part man and part God, he was completely human and completely divine. Jesus Christ is the perfect expression of God in human form. Another important doctrine of Christianity is that of Jesus deity. In John 10:30 it reads: “The Father and I are one.” This is the clearest statement of Jesus divinity he ever made. Jesus and his father is not the same person but are triune in the nature of the Godhead. On page 158, Towns explains that, “The Biblical basis for Jesus deity is His pre-existence and eternity. Jesus has always existed as stated, John 8:58: “Jesus answered, “The truth is, I existed before Abraham was even born!” This is one of the most powerful statements uttered by Jesus. When he said that he existed before Abraham was born he undeniably proclaimed his divinity. In addition, the Bible teaches that Jesus is both God and man at the same time, (Hypostatic Union). The Bible supports that Jesus is God by showing all the attributes of God. Matthew 18:20 reveals Jesus is everywhere. “For where two or three...
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