Part 8 (1/2)

Acte 4:33; 16:31; Luke 2:11; Acts 9:17; Matt. 22:43-45. It is true that this term is used of men, e.g., Acts 16:30--”Sirs (Lords), what must I do to be saved?” John 12:21--”Sir (Lord), we would see Jesus.” It is not used, however, in this unique sense, as the connection will clearly show. In our Lord's day, the t.i.tle ”Lord”

as used of Christ was applicable only to the Deity, to G.o.d. ”The Ptolemies and the Roman Emperors would allow the name to be applied to them only when they permitted themselves to be deified. The archaeological discoveries at Oxyrhyncus put this fact beyond a doubt. So when the New Testament writers speak of Jesus as Lord, there can be no question as to what they mean.” --_Wood._

d) Other Divine Names are Ascribed to Him:

”The first and the last” (Rev. 1:17). This t.i.tle used of Jehovah in Isa. 41:4; 44:6; 48:12. ”The Alpha and Omega” (Rev. 22:13, 16); cf. 1:8 where it is used of G.o.d.

2. DIVINE WORs.h.i.+P IS ASCRIBED TO JESUS CHRIST.

The Scriptures recognize wors.h.i.+p as being due to G.o.d, to Deity alone: Matt. 4:10--”Wors.h.i.+p the Lord thy G.o.d, and him only.” Rev.

22:8, 9--”I fell down to wors.h.i.+p before the feet of the angel...Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not:.... wors.h.i.+p G.o.d.” John was not allowed even to wors.h.i.+p G.o.d at the feet of the angel. Acts 14:14, 15; 10:25, 26--Cornelius fell down at the feet of Peter, and wors.h.i.+pped him. ”But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man.” See what an awful fate was meted out to Herod because he dared to accept wors.h.i.+p that belonged to G.o.d only (Acts 12:20-25). Yet Jesus Christ unhesitatingly accepted such worsnip, indeed, called for it (John 4:10). See John 20:28; Matt. 14:33; Luke 24:52; 5:8.

The homage given to Christ in these scriptures would be nothing short of sacrilegious idolatry if Christ were not G.o.d. There seemed to be not the slightest reluctance on the part of Christ in the acceptance of such wors.h.i.+p. Therefore either Christ was G.o.d or He was an imposter. But His whole life refutes the idea of imposture.

It was He who said, ”Wors.h.i.+p G.o.d only”; and He had no right to take the place of G.o.d if He were not G.o.d.

G.o.d himself commands all men to render wors.h.i.+p to the Son, even as they do to Him. John 5:23, 24--”That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father.” Even the angels are commanded to render wors.h.i.+p to the Son. Heb. 1:6--”And let all the angels of G.o.d wors.h.i.+p him.” Phil. 2:10--”That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.”

It was the practice of the apostles and the early church to render wors.h.i.+p to Christ: 2 Cor. 12:8-10--”I besought the Lord.” Acts 7:59--”And they stoned Stephen, calling upon G.o.d, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 1 Cor. 1:2--”Them that...call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.”

The Christians of all ages have not been satisfied with admiring Christ, they have adored and wors.h.i.+pped Him. They have approached His person in the att.i.tude of self-sacrifice and wors.h.i.+p as in the presence of and to a G.o.d.

Robert Browning quoted, in a letter to a lady in her last illness, the words of Charles Lamb, when in a gay fancy with some friends as to how he and they would feel if the greatest of the dead were to appear suddenly in flesh and blood once more--on the first suggestion, and ”if Christ entered this room?” changed his tone at once, and stuttered out as his manner was when moved: ”You see --if Shakespeare entered, we should all rise; if Christ appeared, we must kneel.”

3. HE POSSESSES THE QUALITIES AND PROPERTIES OF DEITY.

a) Pre-Existence.

John 1:1--”In the beginning”; cf. Gen 1:1 John 8:58--”Before Abraham was, I am.” That is to say: ”Abraham's existence presupposes mine, not mine his. He was dependent upon me, not I upon him for existence.

Abraham came into being at a certain point of time, but I am.”

Here is simple being without beginning or end. See also John 17:5; Phil. 2:6; Col. 1:16, 17.

b) Self-Existence and Life-Giving Power:

John 5:21, 26--”For as the Father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.” ”For as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself.” 1:4--”In him was life.” See also 14:6; Heb. 7:16; John 17:3-5; 10:17, 18. These scriptures teach that all life--physical, moral, spiritual, eternal--has its source in Christ.

c) Immutability:

Heb. 13:8--”Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.” See also 1:12. All nature, which like a garment He throws around Him is subject to change and decay; Jesus Christ is the same always, He never changes. Human teachers, such as are spoken of in the context, may change, but He, the Christ, never.

d) All the Fulness of the G.o.dhead Dwelt in Him:

Col. 2:9--Not merely the divine perfections and attributes of Deity, but _(theotes)_ the very essence and nature of the G.o.dhead.

He was not merely G.o.d-like; He was G.o.d.

4. DIVINE OFFICES ABE ASCRIBED TO HIM.

a) He is the Creator:

John 1:3--”All things were made by Him.” In the creation He was the acting power and personal instrument. Creation is the revelation of His mind and might. Heb. 1:10 shows the dignity of the Creator as contrasted with the creature. Col. 1:16 contradicts the Gnostic theory of emanations, and shows Christ to be the creator of all created things and beings. Rev. 3:14--”The beginning of the creation of G.o.d,” means ”beginning” in the active sense, _the origin,_ that by which a thing begins to be. Col. 1:15--”first-born,” not made; compare with Col. 1:17, where the ”for” of v. 16 shows Him to be not included in the ”created things,” but the origin of and superior to them all. He is the Creator of the universe (v. 16), just as He is the Head of the church (v. 18).

b) He is the Upholder of All Things: