The Ohio Independent Baptist, November 1968

,at He is b e fore all things , and that by Him all things cons ist, hold together! But is not Jesus Christ the Son of God? This He d eclared Himsel f > be (Matthew 27·43). In human relations all fath ers are antecedent > their sons . On the basis of human reason God the Father must e older than His Son . It seems utter ly incredible to the rationalist ,at Jesus Christ the Son of God could be co-eternal with God the 3ther. The statement, " Th is day have I begotten thee' occurs rst in Psalm 2 7. Th is passage is quoted by the Apostle Paul in cts 13:33 and is applied with reference to Christ's resurr~ction om the dead. And this accords perfectly with what we read in evelation 1:5, "And from Jesus Christ, who is the f aithful witness, nd the f irst begotten of the dead." It appears again in Hebrews :5, and in a similar context . The r isen Christ was made to be an igh Priest after the order o f Melchisedek only afte r He was risen om the dead. It was at that point in t ime that He began His igh Pr iestly ministry. In Psal m 89:27 we read, "And I will make im my f irst-born, higher than the kings of the earth . " God has iven to His Son a position of preeminence over all of the kings of 1e earth . In Revelat ion 19: 16 He is called " King o f Kings, and :>rd of Lords . " The eternal ity of Jesus Christ is clearly stated in icah 5:2, " His goings forth have been from of old, from ever· sting ." From all etern ity He has sustained the relat ionship o f a on to the Father. There never was a point in t ime when He ecame such. " MY FATHER IS GREATER THAN I" (John 14:27) For a perfect illus trat ion of what this means see Gen . 41 :40). What did Jesus mean by these words? Did He mean to indicate ,at He was less than God? Do these words conflict with His state– ent =n John 10:30, "I and My Father a re one" or with His state– ent to Phil ip in John 14 :9, " He that hath seen Me hath seen the 3ther; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?" It is our conviction that the Scriptures are the embodiment of truth ohn 17: 17). If the Word of God is truth in its entirety, it must be armonious in alJ its parts. This fact becomes evident when each assage is examined in the light of its Biblical context; in the light f all truth divinely revealed . The words of our Lo rd, "My Father greater than I" must be understood in the lig ht of other Scriptures hich throw light upon them . In Phil ippia ns 2 :5-9 we read the eps of condescension which our Saviour took in order to redeem >st sinners. He thought it not robbery to be equal with God; that , He thought it not something to be retained, but made Himself f no reputation, even taking upon Himsel f the form of a servant! 1 other words, He condescend ed to a position in which His Fat he r as greater than He . A king may not be greater in person than any of his subjects, but his position is greater than they. The ords of our Lord, " My Father is greater than I" have absolutely no ference to His Pe rson, but to His position as the Son o f Man . his fact must be understood when we rea d I Timothy 2 :5, "For 1ere is one God, and one Mediat o r between God and men, the an Christ Jesus." Jesus Chris1 is the God-Man! As Ma n , He became weary and it by 1he well (John 4.6); was thirsty, and asked f o r a drink of dter (John 4 :7); was hungry (Matthew 21 : 18); wept (John 11 :35); 1<perienced sorrow (Matthew 26 38), submitted to mocking, scourg- 9 , even crucifix ion at the hands of wicked men! But as God e offered rest to the weary (Matthew 11 :28); the water of life > the 1 hirsty (John 4 : l 0-14); the Bread of Life to the hungry ohn 6:48-58). The winds and the waves obeyed His voice (Luke 25). Demons surrende red to His command (Luke 4 ·31-36). The ead responded to His word (John 11 :43-44). In becoming incarnate a hu,nan body our Lord never laid aside His Deity; only His glory ohn 17:5). He came to do His Father's will (Hebrews 10:4 -7); u e 22 :42), 1,u1 let us never forget that "in Him dwelleth all the Jlness of 1he Godhead bodily" (Colossians 2 9 )1 To J esus Christ have been given titles belonging exclusively to 1ty. let us examine f ive such ti11es found in Isaiah 43: 10- 15. J ovah is spea ing, and H~ says the re is no other God than He erse 10) and ieiterated in Isaiah 45 ·5, 21. But 111 the New Test a- nt Jesus Christ is called God repeatedly. In Matthe w 1:23 the ree te t reads, " .•• and 1hey shall call His Narne lmn1anuel, h,ch being interpre ted is, The C: d with us." In John 1: 1 ihe r e t t reads, "In 1he lleginning was the Word, and rhe Word s with God and God was the Word ." In John 20:28 U1on1as dressed Jesus Chri t w11h a title which our Saviour would have 1r ec1 d ,f not true, 'My Lord, and My God." In II Corinthians 19 w read 1ha1 ' 'God was in Ch,i t , reconciling the world unto If. In Coloss1ans 2.9 we read 1hat in Christ "dwelle1h all fuln s o f th Godh ad bodily.'' fn Titus 3:4 we read, " But ti 1ndnes nd love of God, our Saviour, 1ov. ard ,nan r d In I Jot n 5 20 Je u Christ 1s referred to as " the u God, , d e1 rnal life. ' In Jude 25 He 1s referred 10 as •• onl '15 God, our Sa iour.' ' Cornn on honesty will adrnlf t J Cl r t t call d God, not once but repeatedly. 11 hould t 1t 1 H 1s ti One I ose 1ncarnat 1011 1 call d a t r H God n r 1f t 1n 1he fie h ' ( I u11othy 3 16 . H OHIO D N BAPJI He was the visible manifestation of the Invisible God (John 1:18; John 14 9). Returning to Isaiah 43 we read in verse, 11 , ' 'I, even I, am J e hova h , a nd b esid e Me there is no Savi our." So also in Isa iah 45 :21 b , "And there is no God else beside Me , a just God and a Saviour; There 1s none beside Me. " It should be apparent to any honest reader of God' s Word that either Jesus Chr ist ,s Jehovah Inca rnate, or He could not be the Saviour . Yet in Matthew 1:21 we read that His name was to be called "Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins." In Luke 2 · 10-11 the angel of the Lord calmed the fears of the shepherds with these words, " Fear not; for , behold , I bring you good tid ings of great JOY which shall be _to all p~ople . For un to you is born this day 1n the city of Dav,d a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. " In Acts 4 · 12 we read " Neither ,s there salvatio n in any other; for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. " In Acts 16:31 the Apostle Paul told the Ph ili ppian jatlor, " Believe o~ the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." Either Jesus Christ is Jehovah, or He cannot be the Saviour for Jehovah says there is none beside Him. ' In Isaiah 43 : 14 we read, " This saith Jehovah, You r Re d eemer.' ' The Patriarch Job an ticipated the time when the Redeemer would become incarnate and v isible to h is eyes. See Job 19:25-27. In Luke 1:68 we read the testimony of Zacharias was speak ing of the babe Jesus when he said, " Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He hath vis ited and re d eemed His p e ople . " In Luke 2:38 the prophetess Anna " spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem. " The Apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 1:7 that it is in Christ that we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness cf sins, acco rding to the riches of His grace . " The Apostle Peter tells us f hat we were not redeemed with corr uptible th ings such as s ilver and gold, but w ith the precious b lood of Christ ..." ( I Pe ter l: 18-21 ). And in 1 he Revela t ion the consistent test imony of the redeemed is that it was by the blood of the Lamb. See Revelation 5 :9; 14 :4 . Jehovah-God incarnate is the world ' s only Redeemer. In Isaiah 43 :14 Jehova h declares Himself to be your " Holy One , the creator o f Israel. " This is another of these titles which belong exclusively to Deity. In Psalm 16: l O we read, " For thou wilt not leave my soul in sheol , neithe r w ilt thou suffer th ine Holy One to see corruption. " That this passage is prophetic of Christ is crystal clear from Acts 2 :22-3 l and from Acts 13:33-37. In Isaiah 43: 15 Jehovah d eclares Himself to be Israel ' s King. This truth is s tated again in Zechariah 14.9 . Bu t in Zechariah 9 9 this " King" is seen riding into Jerusalem upon an ass and as the bringer of Salvation . The Holy Spirit led Matthew to apply th is prophecy to Jesus Christ (Ma tthew 21 ·4,5). And in Revelat ion 19· 16 Jesus Christ is exalted as " King of Kings and Lord of Lords. " From the above cited Scriptures it should be evident to any honest student of God ' s Word that J esus of the New Testa"l'lent is the J e hova h of the Old who declared Himself to be God Saviour, Redeemer , Holy One, and King . It is worthy of note, too, that Jesus Christ cla imed three preroga– tives which belong exclusively to Deity : (1) possessing authority to for– give sins (Luke 5:20-21 ); (2) raising the dead (John 5.25-29); (3 and 1udgment of this world (J ohn 5.22 27; Acts 17:30-31). Not only so but He accepted worsh ,p \.\t h,ch belongs exclusively to Deity. See Ma t thew 4:9-10. Then read Mat thew 8:2, 9 18 14 :33; 15 25; 28 9. Even the a nge ls are con,n,anded to worsn1p Him {Hebrews 1:6). No mortal can with Hin1 compare a,nong the sons of men; f a ire r 1s He than all the fa ir who f .. l the heavenly train. Before concluding t his subject let us look at the Boo~ of the Revela t ion . In chapter l :8 we read tht.se words, " I am A..iJha and Ol'nega, the beginning and the end:ng saith the Lord, who is and who was, and who is to corne, the Almighty." Who is prepared to quest ion the fact that whoever ,s speaking is the eternal and Aln1ighty God? In verse l I John hears the \ oice of this Al,nighty One, saying, " I an1 Alpha and O,nega, the first and the last, and wha t thou seest, write in a book ..." In verse 12 John says, "And I turned to see the voice that spoke vith 1ne." Then John proceeds to describe this One \•vho 1dent1fied Hi,nself as the Alph and On,ega, the beginning and the ending, the first and the last, the Almighty. This descript ion 1s recordeel in verses 12-16. And then in verse 17 John tells us the effect of this unveiling And when I saw Hin1, I fell at HI:, feet as dead. And He laid His right hand upon ,ne, saying unto n1e, Fear not; I an1 the first and the last. I an1 He that liveth and was dead; and behold I an, alive for evern10,e A,nen and have the key:, of hades and of death. \A/ho 1s this One who decl res that tie 1s the Aln11ghty yet lnfonns us that He was dead, but 1s now alive for e ermore It would seen1 th t co,nn,ent here 1s superfluous. The Al hd dnd On1ega the beg1nn1ng and the n 1ng the first and ti la t the Alnuglny 1s none other than Jesu Chr1 t ho s a d as and ho 1s to con1e the etern II e 1stent e h f d ros ag 111 and 1s al1 e for ern,ore. (C ,,tinu d on p g 1 ) 9