One Lord, Jesus Christ

by Richie Temple

Cary, North Carolina

There is no better time of the year to contemplate the purpose for which God sent our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ into the world than the Christmas holiday season which is already upon us.  Certainly, the great majority of Christian believers realize that Christmas, if it is to have any useful meaning at all, must be a time to celebrate Christ's birth and the reasons for which he came.

There are many verses in the New Testament which summarize the meaning and significance of what Christ came to accomplish by his life, death, resurrection and future return (e.g. John 3:16; I John 3:8b; Mark 10:45; Gal. 4:4-7).  Each of these verses emphasizes one or another aspect of God's plan of salvation because Jesus is, above all else, our "Savior, Christ the Lord."  This, of course, was the "good news" that was announced almost two thousand years ago to the shepherds who were watching their flocks at night in the fields of Judea:

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:10-11).

Unfortunately, this simple message of "great joy" has long since been engulfed by an avalanche of century upon century of pagan tradition and now by an ever increasing tide of commercialization.  There are however two very important truths contained in the angel's announcement to those shepherds that still resonate with tremendous meaning and urgency for a world in need today.

The first truth is the meaning of the words a "Savior, Christ the Lord."  Inherent in these words is the central - and simple - message of the Bible itself.  As with all words used in the Bible we must understand these titles "Savior," "Christ" and "Lord" based upon their original biblical meaning as found in the scriptures of both the Old and New Testaments.  Since biblical revelation is progressive and moves forward from the Old Testament to the New, each of these terms takes on added clarity and depth of meaning as the biblical plan of salvation unfolds in ever greater detail.

All three of the titles above are Messianic titles which describe the mission and role of the Messiah of Old Testament prophecy.  Jesus our Savior is "Christ the Lord" because he is also "the Lord's (God's) Christ"  (Acts 4:26).  In other words, Jesus is God's anointed Messiah, as foretold in Old Testament prophecy.  He is God's agent through which God's plan of salvation is accomplished.  As the Messiah of God, Jesus had to first be "obedient unto death" as the "suffering servant" of Isaiah 53 so as "save his people from their sins" (Matt. 1:21).  Only after his "sufferings" and then his victorious resurrection could he "enter into his glory" (Luke 24) as the exalted "Lord" and "Christ" in fulfillment of Psalm 110 (cf. Acts 2:22-36).  It is from his exalted position in heaven that he will one day return in power and glory to "bring salvation to those who are waiting for him" (Heb. 9:28).  This will be the time of the "restoration of all things" as "foretold by all the prophets" (Acts 3:18-26).  The time when all of God's people and creation will enjoy "the glorious liberty of the children of God" (Rom. 8:18-22; cf. Phil. 3:20-21).

This brings us to the second great truth of the angel's announcement because this "good news of great joy" about our Savior, Christ the Lord is meant to be for "all people."  This is later spelled-out in greater detail in the book of I Timothy:

This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men - the testimony given in its proper time (I Tim. 2:3-6).

In Christ Jesus, God has acted to break down every barrier that separates mankind from God as well as mankind from his fellowman.  For the Jewish people of Jesus' day a "crucified Messiah" (I Cor. 2:23) was a contradiction in terms - even a scandal!  Their understanding of the Messiah was focused on looking for a delivering king who would free the Jewish nation from its political bondage.  How then could such a Messiah be crucified?  Especially since to hang on a tree was nothing less than a curse according to the Old Testament scriptures.  And yet contrary to all expectations it was through "becoming a curse for us" that Jesus "redeemed us" in order that "the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles [all people, not just Jews] through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit" (Gal. 3:13-14).

It is this simple gospel message that is the "good news of great joy" announced by the angel.   And it is in this simple gospel message that "the wisdom of God hidden in a mystery" (I Cor. 2:6-8) has now been revealed and displayed in all its fullness.  God's "plan of the ages" (Eph. 3:11) has been put into effect through Christ.  He has broken down all barriers so as to make true reconciliation and peace available to all people through faith in Christ:

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, ... His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility (Eph. 2:13-16). 

The result is a new family of God's people - irrespective of ethnic race, religious past or worldly status - bound together by the Spirit of God in the one church of the body of Christ:

You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise (Gal. 3:26-29).

Jesus is our "Savior, Christ the Lord" because as God's unique Son by divine conception he has fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies concerning the coming Messiah.  He is the true "seed of Abraham" and now he awaits the time in the future when "the mystery of God's will" which he "purposed in Christ" will reach its final fulfillment - "to bring all things in heaven and earth together under one head, even Christ" (Eph. 1:9-10).

This is truly good news of great joy for all people!

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by Richie Temple

Cary, North Carolina

At this time of the year we often hear the joyous Christian message as set forth by Paul in Galatians: 

But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons (Gal. 4:4-5). 

How beautiful these words are, and yet, rather than understanding the message that "God sent his Son" in the light of post-biblical creeds it is important to remember its original biblical meaning.  This meaning was set forth by Peter in the first Christian "sermon" on the day of Pentecost:

"Men of Israel, listen to this:  Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.  This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.  But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. David said about him:

 'I saw the Lord always before me.  Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.  You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.' 

Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the Patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day.  But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne.  Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay.  God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.  Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.  For David did not ascend to heaven and yet he said,

The Lord said to my Lord,  "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."

Therefore, let all Israel be assured of this:  God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:22-36).

Several things are immediately obvious in this message which Peter proclaimed.  First, the message and the language were simple and direct.  Second, the message was rooted and grounded in Old Testament prophecies about the coming Messiah.  Third, these prophecies were said to be fulfilled in what "Jesus of Nazareth, a man accredited by God" had accomplished.  Fourth, this fulfillment had taken place according to "the set purpose and foreknowledge of God."  Fifth, the great culminating truth to be understood and believed was that "God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

Luke had no trouble presenting this message in the simple language of every day use and without the complications of post biblical traditions. He presents a human Jesus, born by the power of the holy spirit, and who for that reason was "called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35).  For Luke, Jesus is the anointed Messiah  - the fulfillment of OT prophecies and promises - not, "God, the Son."  In the plainest of language he states:

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him (Acts 10:38). 

The distinction between God and Jesus in the above verses could not be more clearly stated.  Nor could Jesus' mission as the Messiah of God. 

The original Christian message as stated by Peter on Pentecost and as confirmed by him in his first epistle is that Jesus was "foreknown  before the foundation of the world, but was manifested in these last days for you" (I Peter 1:20 KJV).  As the suffering servant of Isaiah 53, Jesus was "a lamb without spot and blemish"  (I Pet. 1:18-19) sent by God for the redemption of the world.

But does not the "sending/coming" language of the NT imply that Jesus was "pre-existent" in some form in heaven before God "sent him into the world?"  Possibly, and most Christians have assumed that this was "obviously" the case for most of the last two thousand years of Christian history.  However, the abridged version of the highly respected Theological Dictionary of the NT (p. 68) emphasizes that the popular idea that the word "send" in Gal. 4:4 "denotes a prior existence with the sender finds no support ... the term finds its christological flavor only from the context, and the emphasis is on God the sender."  

What we must always ask is, "what did the original biblical writers mean by this language?"  Does the fact that John the Baptist was "a man sent from God" (John 1:6) mean that he also pre-existed with God in heaven before his "coming into the world?"  And if other human beings are spoken of as being "born into the world" (John 16:21), "coming into the world" (John 1:9 KJV), or being "sent into the world" (John 17:18) should we conclude that all humans pre-existed?  Surely, the biblical answer is "no"!  Instead, as most scholars recognize today, biblical "sending" language is based on the Old Testament language of the commissioning of God's prophets. This can be seen with Moses, Aaron, Jeremiah and other OT prophets who were all "sent by God" (Ps. 105:26; Jer. 1:7; 7:21-26; etc.).

The biblical way of thinking and speaking is perfectly reflected in James 1:17: 

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights ...   

This does not mean that every gift from God literally pre-existed with God in heaven before he gave it.  It is simply an emphatic way of saying that all good things come from God.  Though all things can be said to pre-exist in God's foreknowledge, only the context of a verse can determine whether that which "comes down from above" or that which is "sent by God" literally existed with him in heaven before he sent it.  

Simply put, the original biblical message that "God sent his Son" had nothing whatsoever to do with speculations about "pre-existence" nor about a mysterious God who "exists in three persons."  Instead, the original biblical message had to do solely with the purpose for which God sent his Son - i.e. to bring salvation to the world (cp. John 3:16-17).  Let us hear this in Jesus' own words:

Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.  Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent (John 17:1-3).

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by Richie Temple

Cary, North Carolina

It is sometimes stated that the confession "Jesus is Lord" is an acknowledgment of the deity of Christ and, therefore, equivalent to a confession "Jesus is God." Salvation is even said to be dependent on this.  This idea is usually based on the fact that in the OT the personal name for the God of Israel, Yahweh, was translated into the Greek OT (the Septuagint) by the word "kurios", which means "lord."  Since Jesus is called Lord in the NT and since some OT verses speaking of Yahweh are attributed to him, some would say Jesus is equated with Yahweh of the OT.  

This reasoning, however, is clearly fallacious as most Bible scholars recognize.  It was Yahweh, the God of our fathers, who raised up Jesus his Son (Acts 5:30).  The Hebrew text of Psalm 110 reads, "Yahweh said to adoni, sit at my right hand." On this basis "God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36).  It was God himself who gave Jesus "the name that is above every name" (Phil. 2:9).  Obviously, these truths do not mean that Jesus is God; instead, the confession that "Jesus Christ is Lord" is "to the glory of God, the Father" (Phil. 2:11).  As NT scholar I.H. Marshall states in the Tyndale NT Commentaries, Acts (p. 80) "it is simply the attribute of lordship which is given to Jesus; he is not equated with Yahweh."

The application of OT verses about Yahweh to Jesus the Messiah in the NT are based on the Jewish shaliach principle where "one who is sent is as he who sends him" so that the agent, or representative, acts fully in the name of the sender.  As the noted NT scholar G.B. Caird states in his New Testament Theology (p. 340), "Jesus is termed 'Lord' by the New Testament writers ... not because they are offering any ontological statements involving an inherent deity.  It is because, like the other titles, it is an essentially functional idea of agency and function."  In short, Jesus the Messiah is God's supreme representative to the world.  As such he shares in God's titles and acts and speaks fully in God's name.  

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by Tracy Savage

St. Petersburg, Russia

Does Jesus want to make your life miserable?  That is what many Christians must think.  Either that or we would give Jesus total Lordship of our lives.  

Can you say that Jesus, the Messiah, has free and complete reign in your life?  Is He alone Lord?  Does He sit on the throne of your heart alone ... or does He share this place with you?  Who lives in you?  This is a question we must all consider honestly.  Many say, as I did, "Yes, of course Jesus lives in me.  I asked Him into my heart when I heard Him knocking at the door.  He is even first on the throne.  He lives in me."  Paul says,

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me" (Gal. 2:20).

"I" have been crucified with Christ and "I" no longer live, but "Christ" lives in me.  When we can understand this, say this, and live this, we will experience unimaginable freedom.

So what does this mean?  We can compare it to the parable when Jesus was sleeping in the boat with His disciples and the terrible storm came and they all began to panic, worry and cry out.  If Jesus can sleep through the storms without worrying, we certainly can.  Or do we think God would have allowed Jesus to drown?!  Jesus is in our boat!  "Christ lives in me".  If He truly lives in me, do I honestly think God would allow some storm to capsize Jesus' boat?  We then have two choices as to what we can do in the midst of a storm in our life that we cannot control.  We can panic and worry as the disciples did, not making matters better.  Or we can sit back and take a nap as Jesus did, trusting the Father to look out for our best interests.  Which option offers us peace? (Matt. 6:27).

Back to the question of does Jesus live in you alone, or does He share the house with you?  Jesus stands at the door and knocks, option one: don't let Him in;  option two: let him in, but I am still the owner of the house;  option three: let Him in and give Him first place;  option four: let Him in and give Him complete ownership.  Which option have you chosen?  Which option will you choose today?

It is obvious due to much strife in churches, seeing few people walking in peace and seeing few Christians committed to living in obedience of His Word, that we can say that few Christians have chosen option four:  let Him come in and have complete ownership.  There are not many who have chosen the complete freedom God offers us in Christ.  Only God's spirit can teach us and reveal this freedom to us in a way that we can really understand the all encompassing nature of it.  But for God to reveal it to us, we must desire it and seek it.

Why do few people choose option number four?  Why are we afraid of giving Jesus total ownership of our lives?  Why do we hesitate to say, "Lord, it is not I who live but YOU in me."?  Why do we fail to say, "Lord, I am yours. How do you want me to serve you?"  Do we honestly think that Jesus wants to make our lives miserable???  Not only does He want to what is best for us, but He knows what is best for us.  Do we think that once we give Jesus total reign God will give us all the dirty work that He doesn't like to do?  God already gave Jesus the dirty work - so we don't have to worry!

If your child came to you and said, "Dad, I trust you and know you love me.  I entrust my life completely to you.  What do you want me to do?  I'll do whatever you say."  How many of you would send him out in the rain without an umbrella?  Or how many would send him off amidst the cruelty of the world without proper protection?  How many would say, "Finally?  Go scrub the toilet, wash the car, shine my shoes, etc.!"?  A truly loving and trustworthy parent would not throw all the dirty work on their child , nor would they not consider where their child's heart is when sending him to do a task.  We can trust and obey because God is a Father of love. He not only loves us, but He loves His Son who now lives in us.

When we give Jesus our "house", it is no longer ours.  It is His responsibility.  We can sit back and nap through the storms.  We can trust Him that the house will not be destroyed.  He most certainly is a better master than we could ever hope to be.  Or do we think otherwise?  

Experience the true freedom we have in Christ.  Get out of the house!

[Tracy Savage, who is from Maple Grove, Minnesota is now a missionary in St. Petersburg, Russia]

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A Slave Bound by Love

by Richie Temple

Cary, North Carolina

According to the New Testament those who have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord stand in relationship to him as a servant, or slave.  Though once a "slave to sin" the believer in Christ has been "bought with a price" - the price of the life of Jesus Christ - and becomes the free-will "slave" of his new lord, Jesus Christ.  Biblically, the servant, or slave, is bound to serve while the master, or lord, is responsible for the care of his servant.  The Greek word that expresses most specifically this relationship of a servant, or slave, to our Lord Jesus Christ is the Greek word "doulos".  E.W. Bullinger explains its meaning:

doulos, a slave, one bound to serve ... one whose will and capacities are wholly at the service of another ... doulos is used of the lowest scale of servitude, but when transferred to Christian service it expresses the highest devotion of one who is bound by love. 

[A Critical Lexicon and Concordance to the English and Greek New Testament, p. 683].

A thorough study of this Greek word "doulos" in the NT will bear much fruit for anyone who desires to be "great in the kingdom of God" (Matt. 20:20-28).  For as Jesus himself stated, "whoever wants to be first must be slave (doulos) of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve (douleo), and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mk. 10:44-45).

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"... whose origin is from  ..."

"everlasting" (KJV) or "ancient days" (NRSV)?

One of the most beautiful verses in the Old Testament concerns a prophecy in Micah 5:1-2 about the "coming forth" of the "Messiah." This prophecy is referred to in Matt. 2:1-6 as regards his place of birth - i.e. Bethlehem.  Though Matthew gives no hint of a pre-existence of the Messiah, the KJV translation of Micah 5:2 "from .. everlasting" has had an enormous, and, unfortunately, erroneous influence on the thinking of millions of Christians in this regard. But as J.D. Dunn states, there is nothing in the Hebrew text of this verse "to suggest the idea of pre-existence" (Christology in the Making p. 71).  Most modern versions translate similar to the NRSV: 

But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.  

The Hebrew words translated "from of old, from ancient days" are, according to most OT scholars,

referring to the times of Jesse ... The addition of "days" shows this to be a historical reference [New Bible Commentary, p. 828].

The appearing of this ruler is to be validated by hereditary right ... He is to come ... of kingly lineage and this constitutes the guarantee of his coming ... allusion is being made to a finite time in history ... This time can only be the days of David ... [NICOT, Micah, p. 343].

In short, the reference in Micah 5:2 is  to the fact that the Messiah would be a descendant of David.

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by Wanda Shirk

The Greek scriptures use the term theos, God, over 1300 times in reference to the Father.  The term is used only twice with certainty in reference to Jesus.  In a handful of debatable texts theos may apply to Jesus.  Even if we grant (the highly unlikely possibility) that every one of the debatable texts is an actual application of theos to Christ, still fewer than one percent of uses of theos in the New Testament refer to Jesus.  The doctrines of the trinity and the deity of Christ are actually based on about one-half of one percent (.005) of uses of the word theos.

1.  Where Jesus is called God - John 20:28 and Hebrews 1:8.

John 20:28 - "Thomas answered and said to Him, 'My Lord and my God!"

Hebrews 1:8 - "But of the son He says, 'Thy throne, O God is forever and ever ..."

These are the only two texts in which theos is applied with certainty to Jesus.  We make the following observations:

A.  Levels of Meaning:  The word god, like the word president, has levels of meaning.  "I went to the bank and met the president" does not mean that I met the President of the United States.  There are many presidents  (of clubs, companies, banks, universities, etc.), but at a given time there is only one President of the U.S.

B.  Variety of application:  The English god, the Latin deus, the Greek theos, and the Hebrew elohim are all broad terms, not necessarily referent to the one God Almighty.  As Paul said, "there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is one God, the Father ... (I Cor. 5:5-6) Like lord, god can be a title that is given to national heroes, sports idols, etc. or others held in high regard.

C.   Scripture uses:  Scripture uses the term god in other than the absolute sense., It is applied to judges of Israel (Ex. 22:8,9,28), to angels (Ps. 8:5, Heb. 2:7), to Moses ("See, I make you elohim to Pharaoh" - Ex. 7:1), to God's chosen people (Ps. 82:6, John 10:34), and even to Satan ("the god of this age" - 2 Cor. 4:4).  Only the most immature of interpreters would understand the meaning to be "Absolute God," whose name is Yahweh, every time he saw the word god.

D.   Messianic application:  The title God is applied to the Messiah in Ps. 45:6,7.  This passage is quoted in Heb. 1:8.  Thomas, like the writer of Hebrews, was recognizing that Jesus was truly the promised Messiah.  His exclamation does not mean that he suddenly believed his master to be the supreme deity but that he recognized Jesus as truly God's anointed one.  It was the highest compliment he could pay his master.  He had finally recognized the truth in the resurrection, that God had raised Jesus from the dead and made Him, in a unique sense, God, now immortal.

2.   The Logos verses - John 1:1ff.

      Three interpretations are commonly proposed for these verses.

A.  Logos = Jesus.  "The Word/Logos was God" is most commonly understood today as Jesus = God.  We need to keep in mind that this is an interpretation, that the text does not say "Jesus is/was God."  This interpretation is Greek/gnostic in origin.

B.   "The God/"God".  John wrote that the logos was with ho theos, "the God," and the logos was theos, God.  Without getting deeply into the Greek here, we could roughly say that "the logos was with 'the God' and the logos was [a] God.' "

C.   Logos = Wisdom, God's creative purpose.  This interpretation is Jewish in origin, following the wisdom personification of Proverbs 8.  This view of John's poem reads "In the beginning was God's wisdom/plan, and the wisdom/plan was with God, and it was fully expressive of God."  In this view, Jesus appears when "the wisdom/plan became flesh and dwelt among us" (v. 14).  Jesus, thus, is the "fleshing out" of God's ultimate design.

Conclusion:  In light of the distinctions made between God and Jesus throughout the gospel written by John, it seems highly unlikely that John opened his book by stating that Jesus was the supreme God.  The rest of the book does not support this thesis, and in fact John's closing statement argues against it.  He had set out to demonstrate that Jesus was "the Christ, the Son of God," (John 20:31), whom he distinguished from "the only true God" (John 17:3).

3.  "The Only Begotten God" - John 1:18.

The KJV, following the majority manuscripts at this point, speaks of "the only begotten Son" in this verse, but better manuscripts, such as those used in the translation of the NASB and NIV, give us "only begotten God."This is an interesting concept, because while it applies the title "God" to Jesus, it places him in a unique category as "begotten God" as opposed to the unbegotten Father.  The NIV rendering "One and Only" also places Jesus in a unique category distinct from the Father.

[Editor's note:  It seems highly unlikely that the writer of the Gospel of John would have written the words "monogenes theos" ("the unique" or "one and only, God").  As G.B. Caird states, "the evidence of Clement [2nd century A.D.] and Irenaeus [2nd century A.D.] makes it clear that monogenes theos arose after the Fourth Gospel had already gone into circulation.  Huios [son], incidentally, conforms to John's usage elsewhere (John 1:14; 3:16, 18; cf. 1 John 4:9), and is therefore to be preferred" (NT Theology, p. 321, n. 79)].

4.   The Punctuation Problem - Romans 9:5.

Seven different ways of punctuating this verse have been proposed.  The basic choice is between an ending of 

"... Christ, who is over all.  God be blessed forever" or "Christ, who is God over all, forever blessed."  

Interestingly, this text was never used by trinitarians in the Nicene era debate.  Its form is similar to the doxologies to the Father in Rom. 1:25 and Gal. 1:4,5.  That interpretation seems truer to Paul.

5.   The Granville Sharp verses - Titus 2:13 and 2 Peter 1:1.

Titus 2:13 - "Looking for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ" (KJV).

2 Peter 1:1 - "..through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ" (KJV).

The KJV renderings of each of these verses indicate that God and Jesus are two distinct persons, as we always find otherwise in the writings of Paul (e.g. Titus 1:1) and Peter (e.g. 2 Pet. 1:2).  In the 1790's a trinitarian by the name of Granville Sharp put forth the proposition, now known in Greek grammars as the Granville Sharp Rule, that when "the" appears before the first of two nouns joined by kai ("and"), but not before the second noun, the two nouns refer to the same thing, and the second is a description of the first.  Thus, modern translations such as the NASB and NIV have translated these two verses as "Our God and Savior Jesus Christ."  This translation makes theos applicable to Jesus.  We would note the following:

A.  The decisiveness of the rule's applicability to the koine Greek of the time of the writing of the New Testament is acknowledged even by some trinitarians to be uncertain (Question:  Are the NASB and NIV the same since I didn't use the before NIV?).

B.  Exceptions to the rule have been established in other, similar constructions.

C.  Even if the title God is given to Jesus here, contrary to all other uses of Paul and Peter, we have to establish the level of meaning and the specific type of application, remembering the scriptural use of the term as a Messianic title.

6.  "Church of God" or "Church of the Lord" - Acts 20:28.

The textual apparatus gives theos a "C" rating here [Editor's note: this means that the compilers of the United Bible Society's textual apparatus had "great difficulty in deciding which variant [i.e. "God" or "Lord"] to place in the text."].  If we were to grant that theos is the authentic reading, we would translate not "church of God which he purchased with his own blood" but "church of God which He purchased with the blood of His own [Son]."

7.  "He is the true God" - I John 5:20.

The pronoun "He" in the last line of this verse can be applied to Jesus (the nearest antecedent) or to the Father.  Twice previously in the verse the phrase "Him who is true" clearly refers to the Father, because it refers first to the One whom the Son of God came to show us, and second to the one who has a Son Jesus Christ.  Few interpreters apply "He" to Jesus in this verse. 

8.  "Immanuel" - "God with us" - Matthew 1:23, Isaiah 7:14.

These are simply names.  Though significant in denoting God's presence via Christ (Matt. 1:23) it is obvious that the name itself doesn't mean that Jesus is God any more than the original Immanuel of Isaiah 7:14 was God.  The name "Ithiel", for example, in Proverbs 30:1 means "God is with me," but Ithiel wasn't God!

Conclusion:  There are no other verses in the Greek Scriptures in which theos (God) refers to Jesus.  This gives us a minimum of two, a likelihood of three (John 20:28, Hebrews 1:8 and John 1:18 [but see editor's note above on this verse]), and a very maximum of ten verses in which theos applies to Jesus - out of 1,300 uses of the word.  Exegetically, theos applies to God the Father only in more than 99% of its uses.  It is almost always impossible to substitute the words "the trinity" or "Jesus" for the Greek word theos and have the scriptures make sense.

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by Wanda Shirk

Answers to the question "Who is Jesus?" fall into four main categories among those who profess to be believers:

1.  Eternal God the Son - the traditional Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Protestant view.

2.  A created being, an angel, possibly Michael the Archangel - Jehovah's Witnesses view.

3.  Son of God, Begotten before time - "Preexistent Begotteness" view.

4.  Christ/Messiah, Begotten in time - "Conception Christology" view.

Arguments for "Conception Christology"

1.  The Hebrew scriptures (Old Testament) give no clue that the Messiah pre-existed with God in eternity past.

2.  Think Jewish!  As a corollary of the above, the Jews did not believe that their Messiah dwelt in eternity past with God.  They expected one like Moses (Deut. 18:15-18), a prophet, to rise up from the line of David.  It is from history that they accepted other human beings as potential Messiahs.  If, therefore, the Messiah was a pre-existent spiritual being, the Gospel writers and apostles should clearly have corrected Jewish thinking on this.  They did not.

3.  The synoptic Gospels and Acts give not the faintest hint that anyone thought Jesus to have pre-existed his birth.  There is no hint of incarnation.  Conception, for Matthew and Luke, is the begetting or beginning of Jesus.

4.  Luke 1:35 - "The angel answered and said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God.' "There is a causal clause here;  Jesus is "Son of God" because, or the reason that, he was uniquely conceived in history by the Holy Spirit, not because he had preexisted as somehow begotten in the heavenlies in eternity past.

5.  The point of John's prologue (John 1:1-18) and "the Word became flesh" is that the impersonal became personal n the birth of Christ, that is, "an impersonal personification became embodied as a human being."  Logos was not understood by the Jews as a person but as a plan, as the wisdom of God (cf. Prov. 8:1-36), His counsel, His self-expressive activity.  The meaning of John 1:1-3 is thus as follows:

"In the beginning was the creative purpose of God.  It was with God and was fully expressive of God.  All things came into being through it ..."

Like a building constructed from an architect's idea, Jesus is the plan of God "fleshed out."

6.  The pre-existence of Christ is only in the foreknowledge of God. I Pet. 1:20 - "He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you who through Him are believers in God who raised Him from the dead ..."  The few references in scripture that indicate previous existence or glory of Christ (e.g. John 17:5, 24) are "prophetic pasts" (i.e. future at the time spoken, but past in the sense that they are determined in the counsels of God) much like God's words to Abraham "To your descendants I have given this land," (Gen. 15:18) when Abraham at that time had neither descendants nor a square inch of soil).

7.  John's statements about Jesus having "descended from heaven" (3:13) or "coming down from heaven" (6:38) are no more literal than the idea that the manna from heaven which the Israelites ate fell down through the skies.

Cf. James 1:17 "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of ... lights" (NIV).

8.  The "sending" or commissioning of Jesus to do what was required of the Messiah does not require pre-existence.  The prophets and John the Baptist were also "sent from God" (cp. John 1:6).

9.  Jesus being "before" John the Baptist (John 1:15) or Abraham (8:58) reflects his superiority in the plan of God, not his chronological place in human history.

10.  Allusions to the role of Christ in creation mean that Jesus was the central purpose for all creation, even though he did not yet exist.  In some passages, the spiritual creation (God's people) rather than physical creation is in view.  The Old Testament teaches that the Father alone created the world (Is. 44:24). 

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(PDF version)

by Richie Temple

Cary, North Carolina

Does the biblical message about the birth of the Messiah have anything at all to do with an eternally pre-existent 2nd person of the Trinity who comes down from heaven so as to become flesh and save the world?  If so, the New Testament scriptures are strangely silent about any such concepts.  The only two accounts of the announcement of Jesus' birth recorded in the Bible are set forth in Matthew and Luke.  Let's let them speak for themselves:

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about:  His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.  Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins" (Matt. 1:18-21).

In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David.  The virgin's name was Mary.  The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored!  The Lord is with you."

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.  But the angel said to her.  "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.  You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.  The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"

The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.  So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:26-35).

These records are beloved by "all who call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, their Lord and ours" (I Cor. 1:2).  They speak of the miraculous conception of God's unique Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  They also point to the significance of who God's Son is:  the one who is named "Jesus" because he will "save his people from their sins", and the one who will be given "the throne of his father David" and  whose "kingdom will never end."  All of this is set forth by Matthew and Luke as being the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy about the coming human Messiah.

Speaking from the perspective of almost two thousand years of Christian history gone by it is also important to point out what these passages of scripture clearly do not teach.  Raymond Brown, in his widely acclaimed book The Birth of the Messiah, confirms what is plainly obvious to many when he says in regards to these accounts,

Matthew and Luke show no knowledge of preexistence;  seemingly for them the conception was the becoming (begetting) of God's Son ... there is no suggestion of an incarnation whereby a figure who was previously with God takes on flesh [p. 33,141].

It is certainly not unreasonable to ask that if neither Luke nor Matthew ever once mentions the pre-existence of Christ and never once hint at a mysterious doctrine of one God in three persons, how it could have come to be held by so many Christians today that the doctrine of the Trinity is the foundational truth of Christianity?  Does it make sense that the writer of Luke and Acts, who recorded all of Christ's life, death, resurrection and ascension, as well as the foundational years of the Christian church, would have failed to mention this "truth" if it was really so important?  Or should we simply say that by the standards of today Luke was simply "unorthodox" or, at best, had a "low" christology!!  Certainly, he, as well as all the NT churches about which he writes, would have failed to pass the one critical test that is set down today for becoming a member of the World Council of Churches: the belief that Jesus is both Savior and God!

The Humanity of Jesus the Messiah

G.B. Caird states, in his book NT Theology, a simple fact that should be obvious to us all:

New Testament Christology should start from where the first disciples of Jesus started.  They knew him first as a man, and whatever other staggering affirmations they may have later come to make about him, they never ceased to think of him as a man ... Perhaps the most arresting piece of evidence is to be found in Luke ... Luke's interest from start to finish is the human Jesus, 'a man singled out for you by God' (Acts 2:22), and 'anointed with the Holy Spirit and power' (Acts 10:38 [p. 280, 282].

One thing that is agreed upon by most serious NT scholars today is that at the time of Jesus, in the early 1st century A.D., there was no inkling among the Jewish people that the expected Messiah already "pre-existed" as a personal divine being in heaven before his "coming into the world" (John 6:14).  Phrases in the Bible that are often thought to indicate pre-existence such as "sent from God", "sent into the world" or "come into the world" are used in the Gospel of John to describe not only Jesus but also other human beings as well (e.g. John 1:6; 1:9 KJV; 17:18;  16:21, etc.).  As has been well documented by many NT scholars, the "sending" language of the Bible is the language of the commissioning of prophets and has nothing at all to do with the place of origin of the one who is "sent."  Instead, such language emphasizes God, the sender, and the purpose for which the messenger is sent.

Two NT passages (Phil. 2:5-8, II Cor. 8:9) that are often pointed to to prove Christ's pre-existence are thought by many, including many trinitarian scholars, to be instead a portrayal of the human self-giving Jesus in contrast with Adam who "grasped for equality with God".  They are also presented in the light of the suffering servant of Isaiah 53.  Luke Timothy Johnson speaks for many, when he states in his book, The Real Jesus, in regards to Phil. 2:5-11: 

Some scholars argue that the passage describes the incarnation of a preexistent one.  But with other scholars, I hold that the entire passage describes the "messianic outlook" of Jesus in his human life ... the "way Jesus thought" is explicitly recommended to the Philippians as the measure of how they should "think" in community:  they are to follow the pattern of a Messiah whose servantlike obedience to God is the paradigm for mutual service within the community (2:1-4) ... [p. 162].   

Here is a section of scripture that more than any other that is often presented as "proof" of Christ's deity or pre-existence is dependent for our understanding on translation.  Some versions (e.g. NIV in contrast to the better NAB, REB, NJB) have bent over backwards to translate in a way that makes Christ's so-called deity or pre-existence "self-evident" to the reader.  However, as the notes of the New Jerusalem Bible state, instead of speaking of a pre-existent being, 

More probably Jesus is here contrasted as the second with the first Adam (Rm. 5:12f; I Co. 15:22f).  The first Adam, being in the form or image of God attempted to grasp equality with God and, by his pride, fell.  By contrast, Jesus, through his humility, was raised up by God to the divine glory ... [p. 1941 note d.  Cp. notes d-h].

It then adds that the "traditional" understanding regarding pre-existence, 

is not only less scriptural but also anachronistic for the development of christology at this moment of Paul's thinking [ibid., note g.]

Most scholars agree that these passages do contrast Christ with Adam.  The only question is do they speak of a pre-existent Christ as well.  In this regard James Dunn points out the crucial factor that Paul "explicitly denies" that "the second man, from heaven" (I Cor. 15:47) is "the spiritual, pre-existent prototype of Adam."  Instead,

the spiritual comes after the natural; it is the risen Christ who is the prototype of resurrected humankind [Anchor Bible Dictionary, Vol. 3, p. 402]. 

In regards to Philippians 2:5-11 Dunn emphasizes the fact that nowhere else in the NT is Adam christology ever used in relationship to a pre-existent being:

Adam Christology elsewhere in Paul focuses on Christ's death and resurrection, not on his birth, as the decisive moments of epochal significance (Rom. 5:15-19; I Cor. 15:20-22, 45-50).  And the distinctiveness of Adam christology from the gnostic redeemer myth lies precisely in the fact that the life, and death, of a historic individual (Jesus) is perceived as imbued with suprahistorical significance for humankind as a whole, rather than that a preexistent divine being entered the alien territory of the human form.  Moreover, the regular link between Psalm 110:1 and Ps. 8:6 elsewhere in earliest christology (I Cor. 15:25-27; Eph. 1:20-22; Heb. 1:13-2:8; I Pet. 3:22; cf. Phil. 3:21) suggests that Christ's exaltation to lordship following his Adamic death was also seen in Adamic terms; that is, not as a restoration to a heavenly status previously enjoyed, but as the fulfillment of God's purpose in creating man in the first place ("to put all things under his feet") "to the glory of God the Father" [ibid.].

To "read into" verses like Phil. 2:5-11 and II Cor. 8:9 the idea of pre-existence is to say something that the text itself does not say.  In each case, these verses are presented by Paul as a pattern for  believers to imitate.  Surely, the portrayal of a self giving human Messiah is much more consistent with the rest of scripture and, without any doubt, more capable of being imitated than a pre-existent divine being about which the scriptures speak nothing. 

"Jesus" is what God's Word/Wisdom "Became"

Nowhere does the NT ever say that "Jesus became flesh."  Nor does it ever say "the Son of God became flesh."  For the first readers of the Greek New Testament it was the "logos" i.e. God's wise, creative and self-revealing "Word" - through which God created the world and through which he revealed his purposes to OT believers - which "became flesh" -in the person of Jesus the Messiah.  Paul specifically states that Christ is "the power of God and the wisdom of God" (I Cor. 1:24) and that Christ Jesus "has become for us wisdom from God" (I Cor. 1:30).  In a similar way John states in the prologue of his Gospel that "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14).  In each case the point that is being dramatically made is this:  Jesus, the Messiah, is what God's wise, creative and self-revealing Word "became."

This is simply the language and thinking of the OT and early Judaism.  Nowhere in the writings of the Old Testament or in the writings of the Judaism until the time of Jesus is the Word or Wisdom of God ever portrayed as a pre-existent divine "person."  Instead, both the Word and Wisdom of God are always attributes of the one true living God which can at times be personified and given a capital "W" so as to emphasize the Word or Wisdom of God himself in creating or in relating to his creation.  Prime examples of this personification are Proverbs 8, Isa. 55 and the writings of early Judaism.

It is within this OT and Jewish background of the wise, creative and personified power of God's Word or Wisdom that John 1:1-18 is set forth.  And, it is in the light of this prologue that the entire Gospel of John is meant to be read and understood.  The opening statement of John 1:1: 

"In the beginning was the logos and the logos was with God and the logos was God" 

does not say that "Jesus" was in the beginning with God nor does it say that either Jesus or "the logos" can be identified with God.  As many scholars have pointed out, this is the language of personification not of a pre-existent divine person.  The person of Jesus comes into existence, as consistent with both Matthew and Luke, in John 1:14 when "the logos became flesh".  

We may translate "logos" as "Word" with a capital "W" if we wish, so as to emphasize the aspect of personification that is being presented, but this is by no means inherent in the text itself.  And we could, with Caird, just as easily translate, 

In the beginning was the purpose, the purpose in the mind of God, the purpose which was God's own being (NT Theology, p. 332).  

This translation would also be in line with Jewish thinking and usage of the word "logos".  As James Dunn states in his book Christology in the Making, 

Initially at least Christ was not thought of as a divine being who had preexisted with God but as the climatic embodiment of God's power and purpose ... God's clearest self-expression, God's last word [p. 205].  

Whichever of these translations we choose - i.e. "Word" or "purpose" - the thought is pretty much the same and the emphasis is, as Dunn describes, the transition from "impersonal personification to actual person."  In Jesus, the logos is "identified with a particular person" (ibid., p. 243).  G.B. Caird in his book NT Theology emphasizes the importance of understanding this concept:

John never uses "Son" of the pre-existent logos, only of the incarnate logos, the human Jesus ... neither the Fourth Gospel nor Hebrews ever speaks of the eternal logos or Wisdom in terms which compel us to regard it as a person ... acute problems arise if "Son" is seen as interchangeable with John's logos.  Throughout  the body of the Gospel Jesus is never called logos, nor is the pre-incarnate logos ever spoken of as "Son."  For John the Son is what the logos becomes by virtue of incarnation ... Indeed, if without support from the Gospel, we were to ascribe sonship to the pre-cosmic or pre-incarnate logos, we would blunt the very point John is attempting to make:  that it is the humanity of Jesus which is the perfect expression of what God intended when his logos created the universe. Jesus is the only one who could express and disclose the ultimate end which God has for men and women: that they should become his children [p. 296, 342-343, 322].

In the same way, Colossians 1:15-20 is speaking of God's purpose in creation.  It is not Paul's intent to tell us of a pre-existent divine being through whom God created the world.  This would clearly contradict the Old and New Testament records that state that God the Father alone created the world (e.g. Isa. 44:24).  It was through his own Word or Wisdom that God himself created the world (Gen. 1:3; Ps. 33:6, 9; 148:5; Prov. 8; John 1:3; Heb. 11:3).  Since this Word or Wisdom of God "became" flesh in the person of God's Son, all that was said of the Word or Wisdom of God can now be said of Christ because Jesus is the embodiment of God's Word or Wisdom.  As Col. 1:19 states, "For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him ..."  

Note that God was the one who was "pleased" to do this - it was not a decision which Jesus made. This  also occurred at a certain point in time - not in an "eternal generation".  To be consistent with other NT passages this must have been when "the logos became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14).

Once again Caird puts his finger on the point that is being made by Paul in these verses,

In Colossians we are told of "the secret design hidden for long ages and through many generations but now disclosed to God's people", because "the secret is Christ himself, in whom lie all God's treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col. 1:26; 2:2).  The ground for those assertions has been given in an earlier paragraph, in which Paul declares that Christ "is the image of the invisible God" (Col. 1:15), and by the one word "image" he combines two of the most important themes of Old Testament theology.  On the one hand, God created the human race to be His image, with supremacy over the rest of creation (Gen. 1:27-28; Ps. 8:6), so that in fulfilling  the human destiny Christ has achieved pre-eminence over the universe.  On the other hand ... Paul's hymn to the cosmic Christ is full of echoes of Wisdom's function as the plan and artificer of creation.  These two themes are held together by the fact that wisdom which shone forth in Creation was also a divine attribute which God always intended  to impart to the human race (Ecclus. 24:7-10), so that the perfect human being is one in whom Wisdom resides, or as Paul puts it, "God in all his fullness has chosen to dwell" (Col. 1:19; 2:9) [p. 46].

William Barclay, the beloved NT commentator, explains the significance for his own life of God's Word/Wisdom becoming flesh in the person of Jesus:

For me the most important single text in the Bible is John 1:14: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us."... for me the supreme truth of Christianity is that in Jesus I see God ... It is not that Jesus is God.  Time and time again the Fourth Gospel speaks of God sending Jesus into the world.   Time and time again we see Jesus praying to God.  Time and time again we see Jesus unhesitatingly and unquestioningly and unconditionally accepting the will of God for himself. Nowhere does the New Testament identify Jesus and God ... There are attributes of God I do not see in Jesus.  I do not see God's omniscience in Jesus, for there are things which Jesus did not know.  I do not see God's omnipotence in Jesus for there are things which Jesus could not do.  I do not see God's omnipresence in Jesus, for in his days on earth Jesus could only be in one place at any given time. But in Jesus I see perfectly and completely and finally, and once for all revealed and demonstrated, the attitude of God to men, the attitude of God to me.  In Jesus there is the full revelation of the mind and heart of God.  And what a difference it means to know that God is like that. [William Barclay: A Spiritual Autobiography, Eerdmans, p. 55-57]. 

James Dunn, in his article "Incarnation" in the new multi-volume Anchor Bible Dictionary sums up the importance of understanding this NT concept that Jesus is what the Word or Wisdom of God "became":

The recognition that Wisdom christology is the most obvious root of incarnation Christology also has an important corollary, particularly when it is recalled that in Jewish thought Wisdom is not a being independent of God but is God's self-manifestation.  The point is that Christ is the incarnation of the Wisdom/Word.  To speak of Christ as himself preexistent, coming down from heaven, and so forth has to be seen as metaphorical, otherwise it leads inevitably to some kind of polytheism ... Whereas what a Wisdom/Word christology claims is that Jesus is the person /individual whom God's word became ... The incarnation doctrine which comes to expression in the NT is properly understood only if it is understood as the incarnation of God's self-revelation, and in that sense, as the incarnation of God himself. [Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 3, p. 404]. 

[For detailed studies on "christology" the place to start is with J.D.G. Dunn's groundbreaking book, Christology in the Making, 2nd edition, SCM Press.  Available through CBD ph. 1-508-977-5050.  Also, Dunn's important articles on "Christology" and "Incarnation" in the new Anchor Bible Dictionary which "correct" his earlier thinking on John.  J.A.T. Robinson's chapter "The Person of Christ" in his book The Priority of John is the best study that I know of on Jesus in the Gospel of John. Though out of print, it can be checked out through the inter-library loan system.  G.B. Caird's works, including his NT Theology (available from CBD), are also helpful. Two recommended books are: the very biblically based The Doctrine of the Trinity: Christianity's Self-inflicted Wound by Anthony Buzzard and Charles Hunting (Atlanta Bible College, P.O. Box 100,000 Morrow, GA. 30260) and the very theological Born Before All Time: The Dispute Over Christ's Origin, by Karl-Joseph Kuschel (English translation from SCM Press and available through bookstores from Crossroad Press.)].

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(PDF Version)

by Chuck LaMattina

Chicago, Illinois

In Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet the question is asked,  “What is in a name?  That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.”  I whole-heartedly agree with Shakespeare’s sentiment here.  It really matters little what we call a rose.  Call it whatever you will and it will still look beautiful and smell beautiful.  But when it comes to spiritual matters the question  “What is in a name?” begs a totally different answer.  The name means everything especially when it comes to the name by which we are saved!  Concerning the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, the apostle Peter proclaims that, 

... there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved  (Acts 4:12, all verses are from the NKJV).

The name and titles of our Lord Jesus Christ are all God given, and they reveal to us much about who Jesus is and what he has accomplished.  In fact God declares what His Son’s name is to be even before he is born.  An angel is sent to Joseph and says to him,

Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:20-21).

Jesus, the name of our Lord, is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew Joshua, meaning “Yahweh is salvation” or “Yahweh saves.”   The very name “Jesus” stamps our Lord as our Savior.  Jesus is God’s divinely sent and appointed Rescuer, whose job it was to deliver us from the power and penalty of our sins.  He came to die on a cross as the payment for our sins, sins that alienated us from God.  Now, through him we have peace with God and victory over the power of sin.  It was no accident that our Lord was called “Jesus.”

Nor was it an accident that he was called “Christ.”  At one point in his ministry Jesus asks his disciples, 

“Who do men say that I, the Son of Man am?” Peter replies, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Matthew 16: 13, 16).

“Christ” is not Jesus’ last name, it is a title.  It is from the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word for “Messiah” which means “the anointed one.”  In the Old Testament the practice of anointing someone set him apart for a special job or office.  The anointing was connected with the role of the prophet, priest and king.

Elijah was instructed to anoint Elisha as prophet in his place (1 Kings 19:16).  The prophet was anointed with oil symbolizing that God’s Spirit was upon him and that he spoke for God. Jesus Christ is God’s ultimate prophet. A prophecy in Isaiah concerning Christ says,

“The Spirit of the LORD GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken hearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives,  And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD…” (Isaiah 61:1, 2).

This is exactly what Jesus Christ did (Luke 4:16-21). The writer to the Hebrews said,

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son … (Hebrews 1: 1, 2).

Jesus is God’s ultimate prophet who brings to us the good news of salvation.

The anointing was also connected to the office of the priest.  God commanded that the priests should be anointed and consecrated, and sanctified so that they should minister to Him (Exodus 28:41). Jesus Christ is God’s final High Priest.  Hebrews 9:11 says,

But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come…

As our High Priest Jesus Christ brought us eternal redemption.  As High Priest he not only offered up a sacrifice to God for sins, he was the sacrifice (Hebrews 9:12-14)!  And even now he constantly intercedes for you and me.

But He, because he continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since he always lives to make intercession for them (Hebrews 7:24, 25).

Jesus Christ is always interceding for you!  What a comforting and encouraging truth.

Above all else, the anointing was connected with the office of the king.  When the prophet Samuel saw young David, God told him, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!" (1 Samuel 16:12).  Our Lord Jesus Christ is “King of Kings and Lord of Lords" (Revelation 19:16).  When the angel went to Mary he said of Jesus,

“He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of his father David … and of His kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:32, 33)

Our Lord Jesus Christ is God’s ultimate prophet, priest and king.  He makes known the way of salvation.  He opens it up to all by his sacrifice on the cross.  And he will return again in glory to set up the kingdom of God forever!

All of the names and titles of Jesus of Nazareth reveal to us his person and work and accomplishments.  Jesus is “the Lamb of God.”  He is “the bread of life.”  He is “the light of the world,” and the “resurrection and the life.”  Jesus is the  “Prince of life,” the “Judge of the living and the dead.”  Our Lord is the “Apostle” and “forerunner” of our faith.  Christ is the “Beloved” and the “Head.” Jesus Christ is the “Mediator” between God and men. He is the “Bright and Morning star,” and so much more!”1 But most of all Jesus Christ is “Lord.”

Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9-11).

What is in a name?  The answer is that in the name and titles of our Lord Jesus Christ there is the knowledge of forgiveness of sins, true love, joy and the hope of eternal life for all who put their trust in him for salvation.  As the song says,

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name I know,

Fills my every longing, keeps me singing as I go.

Footnote

1. John 1:29; 6:35; 8:25; 11:25; Acts 3:15; 10:42; Hebrews 3:1; 6:20; Ephesians 1:6; Colossians 2:19; I Timothy 2:5; Revelation 22:16.

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(PDF version)

by Sarah Waite

Holly Springs, North Carolina

Who is Jesus Christ?  He is many things according to the Bible: Savior, Son of God, Son of Man, the Lamb of God, the King and our High Priest.  In this article I would like to look at just a few of these things.

First, Jesus is our Savior.  He saves us from sin and its consequences.  The Book of Romans states:

For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23).

We have been in the state of sinfulness since Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden.  Adam and Eve were perfect when they were created.  But they did not stay this way.  Eve was tempted by the serpent and ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which God commanded them not to eat of.  Then she gave some of the fruit to Adam and he ate. This was their sin and from that time onward the human race was sentenced to death because, 

“the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23).

To atone for sin and escape the sentence of eternal death, people before the time of Jesus were commanded to sacrifice animals.  But this could only atone for their sins for a short time and had to be done again and again because animals were imperfect. 

But God had a better way.  Jesus was perfect and unblemished.  By dying on the cross he was sacrificed as the final sacrifice. His blood washes our sins away.  He was the final Passover Lamb.  

I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life (John 5:24).

Thanks to Jesus our Savior, we have eternal life even now!

Jesus is our High Priest.  As the Book of Hebrews states:

Every high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.  He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness.  This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people (Hebrews 5:1-3)

The role of the high priest was to represent the people in matters related to God and to atone for sins.  But just as the sacrifices of the Old Testament were imperfect, so the High Priest of the Old Testament, no matter how godly he might be was imperfect.

For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak … (Hebrews 7:28a).

The same verse goes on to say,

… but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever (7:28b).

Jesus is now our high priest.  Because he is perfect and is the Son of God he is able to intercede for us.  He does not have to intercede or atone for himself because he is perfect.  The earthly high priest could only enter God’s presence in the Holy of Holies once a year.  Jesus, however, lives eternally in God’s presence.

Jesus is the Son of God.  Jesus was the Son of God and Mary.

And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased (Luke 3:22b).

That God would send his Son for us shows his great love for us.

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in him might not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

Because we are also God’s children we are Jesus’ brothers and sisters.  We are heirs together with Jesus.

… because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God … Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in  order that we may also share in his glory (Rom. 8:14, 17).

As co-heirs with Christ we share in Jesus’ sufferings and glory.

Jesus is our Savior, High Priest and the atonement for our sins.  He is also the Son of God and our brother.  These are just some of the many things that the Bible says about who Jesus is.  The important thing to remember is that we should always check the Scriptures to see if what people are saying about Jesus is true.

[Sarah Waite, who just turned 14 this past October, attends home school and has a special interest in both the Bible and History.  She has also helped me a great deal on the last few issues of this newsletter, for which I thank her]

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by Richie Temple

Cary, N.C.

When a person believes in Jesus Christ, accepting him as his risen Lord, he is born of God and spiritually created in Christ Jesus. As a result, this new believer identifies with Christ in all of Christ's accomplishments: past, present and future. "In Christ" the believer has already been judged as to his spiritual standing before God and the verdict is "not guilty" (Rom. 8:1; I Cor. 1:30). This is not because of the believer's own righteousness but because of Christ's sacrificial death and the resulting gift of righteousness which God gives, or credits, to believers on the basis of grace (Rom. 3:21-5:17). The Book of Ephesians speaks about this new creation in Christ:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Eph. 2:8-10).

Being created in Christ Jesus is the work of God, not man. It is a spiritual creation, not physical, and is accomplished by a believer being born of God's Spirit and incorporated through that Spirit into the spiritual body of Christ, the church of God. The Letters of Ephesians and I and II Corinthians explain this truth:

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession - to the praise of his glory (Eph. 1:13-14).

The body is a unit, although it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body - whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free - and we were all given the one Spirit to drink (I Cor. 12:12-13).

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: the old has gone, the new has come! (II Cor. 5:17).

For the believer in Christ all things have become new because he is now a new creation in Christ. He has been baptized with the Spirit, not water, into the one body of Christ. As a result, the believer stands before God clothed with the righteousness, holiness and redemption that have been made possible by Christ's death and resurrection. All of this is God's own work of grace which he imparts to us, in Christ, through the Spirit. As Paul says:

You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God (I Cor. 6:11).

It is because of him [God] that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God - that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption (I Cor. 1:30).

Christ died for us and paid the ransom price for the sins of all mankind (I Tim. 2:4-6). When we accept this sacrificial death of Christ for us by believing in him as our risen Lord, we receive the benefits of all that he accomplished for us. The gift of "righteousness" means that we have been justified, or acquitted of our sins, and therefore stand in a new right relationship with God: accepted and at peace with him (Rom. 4:23-5:2). The word "holy" means that we have been set apart for God and are now God’s "saints" or "holy people" with our citizenship in heaven (Eph. 2:19; Phil.3:20).16 The word "redemption" means that we have been bought back and set free from the spiritual bondage of sin and of Satan's realm of darkness and transferred into the dominion of Christ’s kingdom or rule (Col. 1:13-14).

This redemptive work of Christ on our behalf is a truth that every believer should understand. It is through Christ's work that we are redeemed, not through our own work. As a result of believing in Christ and being incorporated into him, we identify with him in all that he did, is doing, and will do on our behalf. The following list shows our spiritual identification with Christ in all of his accomplishments:

"In Christ" we as believers: 

were crucified with him (Gal. 2:20),

died with him (Rom. 6:3),

were buried with him (Rom. 6:4),

were made alive with him (Eph. 2:5),

were raised up with him (Eph. 2:6),

are seated in heaven with him (Eph. 2:6),

will appear with him in glory (Col. 3:4).

It is precisely because of this spiritual identification of the believer with Christ in all of his accomplishments that we now stand before God clothed in the righteousness, holiness and redemption that are ours in Christ. 

Biblically, Christ is the elect or chosen one of God in whom all of God's purposes are accomplished (e.g. Isa. 42:1; Luke 9:35; Eph. 1:1-14). All who are incorporated into Christ - through faith and the Spirit - become a part of God's elect or chosen people and thus share with Christ in all of God's purposes "for those who love him" (Rom. 8:28; I Cor. 2:9; James 2:5). This is all in accordance with God's foreordained plan. In fact, the Book of Ephesians shows that God actually chose us in Christ before the creation of the world in order that we would become his children and live in intimate fellowship with him:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him [Christ] before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ in accordance with his pleasure and will - to the praise of his glorious grace which he has freely given us in the One he loves (Eph. 1:3-6).

God chose and predestined us to be his children before the creation of the world. This was his plan of salvation. God knew that man would sin and in his wisdom and love he prepared a plan so that through his Son, Jesus Christ, we could be redeemed back to him. In his wisdom, God knew that people would believe. Therefore in his love, he made it such that when we did believe we would become his children. God's choice and predestination of us, therefore, is based on his own foreknowledge of a people who would believe but with no interference in our freedom to choose. It was our decision to believe. God simply predestined the results of that belief - for us to become his children! The Book of Romans summarizes these wonderful truths in God's plan of salvation:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What, then shall we say in response to this: If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died - more than that, who was raised to life - is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

'For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.'

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:28-39).

In Christ Jesus we are God's children; foreknown before the creation of the world; called to be his own chosen people; justified so as to be righteous and blameless before him. And, even though Christ has not yet returned, already assured of appearing with him in glory.

The People of God

All true believers in Jesus Christ together make up the one family of God and the one church of the body of Christ. This is a spiritual family and spiritual church which transcends every man-made denomination, division or sect. The Spirit of God binds all believers in Christ into a new people of God united above and beyond all worldly distinctions. This collective sense of being the new people of God is stated in many different ways within the New Testament Letters. Sometimes Old Testament imagery (e.g. the temple of God) is used to describe God's people while at other times completely different and new terminology (e.g. the body of Christ) is introduced to describe the new spiritual realities that exist under the new covenant. Look at the Old Testament imagery used in the Book of I Peter:

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God (I Pet. 2:9-10).

In the Old Testament the nation of Israel was the called and chosen people of God. The New Testament, however, reveals that because of Christ's life, death, resurrection, and his giving of the holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost a new covenant relationship has been established between God and his people. Now all who believe in Christ - irrespective of ethnic, social or religious background - are part of the new covenant people of God (cp. Matt. 21:33-43; I Pet. 2:4-10; etc.). As Paul says:

It is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus and who put no confidence in the flesh (Phil. 3:3; cp. Gal. 6:16).

This is simply Old Testament language being applied to the new covenant people of God. All that was promised in the Old Testament to God's covenant people, Israel, now becomes the rightful inheritance of God's new covenant people in a way far greater than the Old Testament people ever saw or conceived. This is all a result of the work of Christ and the giving of God's gift of holy Spirit to all who believe in Christ. Look at the following verses from the Book of Ephesians:

For through him [Christ] we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him [Christ] the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit (Eph. 2:18-22).

What magnificent truths! We are fellow citizens with all of God's people regardless of ethnic race or national boundaries. We are united together in a citizenship that transcends and supersedes the national citizenships of this world. Our allegiance is therefore first and foremost to God and his kingdom. No national, ethnic or family allegiance can ever take priority over that. We are members of God's household - bound together in God's family by his Spirit of which we are born. In fact, so great is this new relationship with God that the Bible teaches that we, as God's chosen people, are now the temple of the living God. God, the creator of the heavens and the earth, now lives in us by way of his Spirit!

One in Christ

Throughout the New Testament this new special relationship of God with his people is emphasized over and over along with the love and care that God's people are to have for each other. In Old Testament times it was often thought that only Israelites or converts to the religion of Israel could be part of God's people. Gentiles, i.e., all of the other ethnic groups of the world, were thought to be impure and unclean. Though it was foretold in the Old Testament that these Gentiles would one day be blessed by God, it was never thought that they would be accepted as part of the people of God on an equal basis with Israel. However, as a result of the life, death and resurrection of Christ and then his giving of the holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost all barriers dividing God's people have been forever broken down (Eph. 2:11-18). Look at the Letters to the Galatian and Corinthian churches:

You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Gal. 3:26-28). 

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body - whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free - and we were all given the one Spirit to drink (I Cor. 12:12-14).

Water baptism in the name of Christ can be very meaningful and significant but it is only symbolic of a far greater spiritual reality.  For it is only the one Spirit of God in which we are "all baptized" - at the moment we believe in Christ - that truly cleanses us and unites us together in the one body of Christ. This spiritual baptism into Christ is far greater than any kind of water baptism which we may undergo. For it is a baptism in the life-giving power of God's own Spirit which God himself, through Christ, pours out upon all who believe (Titus 3:4-7; cf. John 1:32-34; Acts 1:5; 2:33; 11:15-17; 15:7-9).

As a result of this God-given "unity of the Spirit" (Eph. 4:3) there are no longer any distinctions among the people of God on the basis of ethnic race, social and economic status or national citizenship. It makes absolutely no difference to God whether a believer in Christ is black or white, rich or poor, European or American because God is no respecter of persons - only of conditions (Acts 10:34-35). Anyone - absolutely anyone - who believes in Christ is accepted by God into his family on an equal basis with everyone else because we are "all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:28).

The Mystery Of Christ

This truth concerning the equal composition of the church of the body of Christ - the new covenant people of God - was so revolutionary that it was not immediately understood by the people of New Testament times. In fact, it was not even revealed by God until many years after the original outpouring of the holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Instead, it was a "mystery" or "secret" hidden in God and never before revealed until it was finally made known to the apostle Paul and then to the other New Testament apostles and prophets. Paul’s Letters to the Ephesian and Colossian churches set forth explicitly the wonderful truth regarding this mystery:

Surely you have heard about the administration of God's grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus (Eph. 3:2-6, emphasis added).

This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.....for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in all its fullness - the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (Col. 1:23b-27, emphasis added).

As a result of all that Christ has accomplished, Gentile believers in Christ now share equally with Jewish believers in all that God has promised to his people. All who believe in Christ - whether Jew or Gentile - are now "heirs together," "members together of one body," and "sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus".  In addition, Christ, by way of the Spirit, now lives in each and every believer (Rom. 8:9-10). So incredible are these truths that had "the rulers of this age" known about this mystery "they would not have crucified the Lord of glory" (I Cor. 2:8). In fact, by instigating Christ's crucifixion Satan himself thought that he had accomplished his greatest victory ever over God; but in truth, it was exactly the opposite, because Christ's sacrificial death and his victorious resurrection sealed Satan's doom and gained victory forever for the people of God (Col. 2:9-15; Rom. 16:20). Now a new people of God is being formed made up of all who believe in Jesus Christ from every nation, family and ethnic race of the world. In this new people of God "there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all" (Col. 3:11). What a great truth! For when Christ was personally present on earth he could only be in one place at one time. Today, however, he is present, by way of the Spirit, wherever there is a Christian believer. Therefore, as the church of the body of Christ, with Christ in each and every member, we are his representatives wherever we may be in this world.  The Apostle Paul sums up this wonderful truth in God's plan of salvation: 

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Gal. 2:20).

As God's children, created in Christ Jesus, foreknown and chosen before the creation of the world, it is now our joy, privilege and responsibility to "declare the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light" (I Pet. 2:9), so as to bring others into the blessings of God's salvation as well.

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April 12, 2009

On this Easter Sunday millions of Christians around the world celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord from the dead. This, however, is not just an event to be taken “on faith” in the popular sense of that phrase. Instead, it is an event that is also rooted and grounded in history – a history that is open to be seen by any honest observer of the historical record. In early Christian history the NT believers began a tradition of meeting regularly in their local house churches on the first day of the week, that is, Sunday. They called this day “the Lord’s day” (Rev. 1:10) because it was believed – based on eyewitness accounts from amongst their own members - that the Lord Jesus Christ had been raised from the dead on that day. Believing that Christ was the “firstborn from the dead” and that his resurrection marked him out as “the Son of God in power” this day came to be seen by many as a special day to meet together for “all who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.” (I Cor. 1:2; 16:1-2, Acts 20:7; See NIV Study Bible notes on all of these verses).

Though there is no New Testament requirement that Christian believers are obligated to meet regularly on this day, there can be no doubt as to this historical development of the local Christian church gatherings. The beginnings of this practice are witnessed to in the New Testament itself and it is also documented in many writings of the first few centuries after Christ. In each case they point to the significance of the resurrection of Christ in the early Christian churches. The late NT scholar Bruce Metzger sets forth the historical record about the resurrection of Christ and the beginnings of the Christian Church stemming from it in his comprehensive and outstanding book The New Testament: its Background, Growth and Content:

“The evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ is overwhelming. Nothing in history is more certain than that the disciples believed that after being crucified, dead, and buried, Christ rose again from the tomb on the third day, and that at intervals thereafter he met and conversed with them. The most obvious proof that they believed this is the existence of the Christian church. It is simply inconceivable that the scattered and disheartened remnant could have found a rallying point and a gospel in the memory of him who had been put to death as a criminal had they not been convinced that God owned him and accredited his mission by raising him from the dead."

“It is a commonplace that every event in history must have an adequate cause. Never were hopes more desolate that when Jesus of Nazareth was taken down from the cross and laid in the tomb. Stricken with grief at the death of their Master, the disciples were dazed and bewildered. Their mood was one of dejection and defeat, reflected in the spiritless words of the Emmaus travelers, “We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel” (Luke 24:21). A short time later the same group of disciples was aglow with supreme confidence and fearless in the face of persecution. Their message was one of joy and triumph. What caused such a radical change in these men’s lives? The explanation is that something unprecedented had occurred: Jesus Christ was raised from the dead! Fifty-some days after Crucifixion the apostolic preaching of Christ’s resurrection began in Jerusalem with such power and persuasion that the evidence convinced thousands.” (Bruce Metzger, The New Testament: Its Background, Growth and Content, p. 150ff)

Metzger’s account goes right to the heart of the resurrection of Christ and the formation of the Christian Church. This Church began on Pentecost and the subsequent local Christian churches began at Jerusalem and then spread out throughout much of the Roman Empire during the course of the middle decades of the first century as recorded in the Book of Acts. At first this “good news” or “gospel” message of salvation was spread by word of mouth and presented as the fulfillment of Old Testament themes and promises. Eventually, eyewitness accounts of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ were collected, organized and written down as “Gospels” and sent to either individuals or local Christian churches for the further establishment and propagation of the gospel message. Each of these accounts – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – had their own original audience and was written in a way so as to present the good news about Jesus Christ to that original audience in a way that would be best understood by that audience. Only later were these four Gospels collected and presented together in what became known as the New Testament. Given the original individualized audiences of each Gospel it is impossible today to be sure of the details as to why certain material was chosen to be presented while other material in other Gospels was not and how that material was specifically organized from the point of view of the writers. However, there can be no doubt as to the collective historical testimony of these Gospel writers or about their collective overall purpose.

Luke, for example, states: “Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.” (Luke 1:1-4 NIV).

John also is crystal clear: “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may life in his name.” (John 20:30-31 NIV).

Speaking with respect to the individual, yet united, testimonies of the four Gospels about the resurrection of Christ, Dr. Metzger states the following:

“Divergences in detail are certainly to be found in the accounts of the first Easter, but these are such as one would expect from independent and excited witnesses. If the evangelists had fabricated the resurrection narratives, they would not have left obvious difficulties and [apparent] discrepancies – such as those involving the number of angels at the tomb, the order of Jesus’ appearances, and similar details. That the accounts have been left unreconciled, without any attempt to produce a single stereotyped narrative, inspires confidence in the fundamental honesty of those who transmitted the evidence.

“The evangelists [the Gospel writers], moreover, give the impression of being unconcerned to provide all of the evidence on which the church rested its belief. That is, they offer only a part of the proof by which belief in the Resurrection was created and sustained.” (Metzger p. 150-1)

Of course, the overall presentation of the resurrection of Christ in the four Gospels is also supported by the united testimony of the rest of the NT documents including the Book of Acts, The NT Letters of Paul, Peter, John, and James, and the Book of Revelation. These each present the testimony of eyewitnesses – each in his own way – of the resurrected Christ and their writings set forth not only the historical fact of Christ’s resurrection but also its theological, spiritual and practical significance for Christian believers.

The subsequent history of the Christian church in the early centuries after Christ also supports the same conclusions regarding the truthfulness of the resurrection of Christ and the vitality of the Church of Christ that followed. Christians should never be afraid of the attempts by secular scholars to cast doubts upon the historicity of the events of the Christian faith. Most of these attempts are based on the false assumption that miracles cannot occur, or at least, that written accounts about miracles cannot be trusted as part of the historical record. They, therefore, predetermine and necessarily skew the outcome of their investigation of the historical evidence. This does nothing but bolster their own preconceived opinions – and often lifestyles – that are based on their own biases and choice to not believe in God or in his Son, Jesus Christ. The true historical record, however, is overwhelmingly clear for those who desire to see it. And, it is the NT documents themselves that are, and deserve to be, the most fundamental and reliable historical witnesses of the truth that the historical person, Jesus of Nazareth, is indeed the risen Christ, the Son of God. It is also this victorious “good news” that is indeed “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” (Rom. 1:16)

Richie Temple

For other articles and more detailed information on this topic see:

“The Resurrection of Christ” – the entire Vol. 6 Issue 1 of “The Unity of the Spirit”

“The Lord’s Day” – Wikipedia article

“Easter” – Wikipedia article

Books:

The New Testament Documents. Are They Reliable? By F.F. Bruce

The New Testament: Its Background, Growth and Content by Bruce Metzger

The Resurrection of the Son of God by NT Wright

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by Patrick Navas (2011)

In reference to Thomas addressing Jesus as his “Lord” and his “God” in John 20:28, one question traditional interpreters may want to ask themselves is, is it likely, or even possible, that Thomas had in mind “God” in the sense of “God the Son, the Second Person of the Trinity”? 

Another point to keep in mind is that the word “G/god” had a much broader application in the Bible than many are often inclined to think. In this way the word “God” is very similar to the word “Father” and the word “Lord” or “Savior.” Although these terms are used in the highest possible sense in reference to the Almighty God, the terms are also clearly used of others who are not God.

For example, most would agree that God is the “Father” in the highest possible sense (being the very giver of life and creator of all things). On one occasion, the Jews who were disputing with Jesus in John chapter 8 told him, “we have one Father, God” (John 8:41; Compare Malachi 2:10: ‘Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us?’). But just two verses earlier they told Jesus, “Abraham is our father” (John 8:39). Of course, this was not a contradiction on their part, nor did they mean to imply that Abraham was God. The Jews could claim that God was their “one Father” and still describe Abraham as their “father” because they believed that each was a “father” to them on a different level, in a different sense. To the Jews God was their Father in the highest possible sense (the creator of life and the founder of their nation), but they were still able to recognize Abraham as their “father” in the fleshly sense since they were his literal, physical descendants. In the same essential way, although God is regarded in the Scriptures as the “one Father,” or “Father” in the highest possible sense, others are still rightly called “fathers” without compromising the unique Fatherhood of the one God.

Of course all of us still have a human “father.” For Christians (whether Jew or Gentile), God is our “Father,” but Abraham is also our spiritual or metaphorical “father” — “the father of all those having faith,” according to Paul (Rom. 4:11, 16; Gal. 3:7). The apostle Paul said that he himself had become a “father” to the Corinthian Christians “in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (1 Cor. 4:15). Even Satan is appropriately described as a “father” in the Scriptures. According to Jesus, he is the “father” of the Jews who were trying to kill him and the “father of lies” (John 8:44). In fact the Messiah is prophetically described as “everlasting father” in Isaiah 9:6, and even Trinitarians recognize that this does not mean that he is “the Father,” as in “God the Father.”

Thus, the biblical usage of the term “father” helps to illustrate how certain terms can be applied to God in the highest possible sense and yet still be used of others without any problem or confusion resulting. The same principle holds true in reference to the term “God.” Just as there are varying levels and degrees of Fatherhood, there are likewise varying degrees of Godhood or Godship allowed in the biblical worldview. That is to say, although Jehovah is described as the “Most High God” (Dan. 3:26), the “one God” (1 Tim. 2:5; 1 Cor. 8:6) and as “the only true God” (Jn. 17:3), the Bible still allows for others who are not Jehovah to positively bear the term “God,” only on another level, in a different sense (the same point applies to the term ‘savior’ as well; Compare Is. 43;11 with Jdgs. 3:15; Ob. 1:21; Neh. 9:27).

According to Exodus 7:1, Moses was “God” to pharaoh. The angels are likewise referred to as “gods” (elohim) in the Bible (Psalm 8:5; Compare Heb. 2:7; Ps. 97:7; 138:1). According to Jesus and Psalm 82:6, God called the ancient judges of Israel (possibly angels) “gods” and “the Scripture can’t be broken” (Jn. 10:34-35). Satan himself is called the “god of this age” (2 Cor. 4:4), evidently, because the “whole world” lies in his “power” (1 Jn. 5:19; Compare Jn. 12:31; 14:30; 16:11).

It is therefore no surprise at all, given these biblical precedents, that the Messiah would be given the honorific title “God” in the Bible. In fact, it would have been inconsistent and even surprising for the Bible to have not positively ascribed him with such an honor. After all, if the angels were rightly called “gods,” how much more worthy is the one who became “far superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs”? (Heb. 1:4). As God’s beloved Son and as the supremely-exalted Messiah who was enthroned at the right hand of God and “given all authority in heaven and on earth,” Jesus Christ is far more worthy to bear the dignified “God” status than any who came before him. But contrary to prevailing opinion, he cannot be “God” in the unqualified or highest possible sense. Why not? Because the Father, the Most High, is God to or above him (Jn. 20:17; Heb. 1:9; Rev. 3:12). The Most High God does not and could never have a God to or above him. That’s what makes him the Most High God. The Godship possessed by the Messiah (as lofty and exalted as it is), however, is the kind that allows him to have one who is God to him. In fact, we know for sure that, even in Jesus’ “God” status (Heb. 1:8), the Father is still the God of Jesus (Heb. 1:9).Thus, as Christians, we can accept that Thomas called Jesus his Lord and his God, knowing that the Father is his God, and knowing that the honorific status Jesus rightly possesses and deserves as God’s obedient Son was graciously “given” to him by his loving Father (Matt. 11:27; 20:18; Phil. 2:9).

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