Jesus Christ Possesses the Attributes of God
God is unique. Only He is uncreated. He is the creator and sustainer of the whole universe – the source of creation rather than a part of creation. We can see God s handiwork or imprint on created things, but His handiwork is not a part of God or the same as God Himself. For example, human beings are personal – we can think, decide, imagine, love. We are in the image of God, who is personal, but we are not God. If Jesus Christ is truly God, then He must possess the attributes of God, not just mirror them In this chapter we will examine five exclusive attributes of God and see that Jesus Christ possesses those attributes.
Omnipresence
God is "in' ' everything; all of God is everywhere present at each point in the universe. That is what being omnipresent means. But to believe that God is "in'' everything does not mean that He "is'' everything. By saying that God is everywhere at once, we are not saying that God is in everything in the Hindu sense that all creation is in some way a part of God. For example, although God made the trees, a tree is not a part of God.'
Just as God is omnipresent in a personal sense (Psalm 139:7; Proverbs is:3), and thus is able to help, deliver, love, defend and meet His people's deepest longings and needs, so the New Testament describes Christ also as omnipresent. Paul said that "He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things" (Ephesians 4:10). Christ told His disciples, "For where two or three have gathered together in My Name, there I am in their midst (Matthew 18:20). He told them Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20). Christ is said to indwell the hearts of all who place their faith in Him (Romans 8:9 Galatians 2:20, Ephesians 3:17, Colossians 1:27, Revelation 3:20) ". do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? " (2 Corinthians 13:5) . How could a mere mortal, glorified or not, claim to indwell the hearts of believers around the world?
Omniscience
When we say that God is omniscient, we mean that God knows everything that can be known, actual and potential, throughout eternity.
God has a perfect and eternal knowledge of all things. Everything that is able to be known, is known by God. The omniscience of God does not come in the same way that knowledge comes to [us]. We arrive at knowledge by learning. God does not go through the learning process to know The omniscience of God does not come through reasoning, inference, the senses, imagination, or induction or deduction. His knowledge is direct, sharp and distinct, true to the reality of things. Whatever can be known, is known, by God.'
The New Testament pictures Christ as possessing omniscience: cognizance of all – past, present, and future. In John 2:24-25 it is stated that Jesus knew all men'' and ''knew what was in man.'' The disciples bore witness, Now we know that You know all things. ° (John 16,30). Peter declared, .Lord, You know all things (John 21,17). In keeping with His omniscience, Christ was said to have foreknown those who would betray Him (John 6:64).
Speaking of Christ's omniscience, Dr. John
Walvoord states:
In a similar way Christ's foreknowledge is affirmed in other passages (John 13:1, 11; 18:4, 19:28). In keeping with His omniscience, He is declared to have the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:30). Such qualities could not be ascribed to even the wisest of prophets, and they constitute another proof that He possessed all of the divine attributes. 3
Thomas Schultz observes that:
The knowledge of Christ is far beyond any mortal knowledge. He is not just a genius, not just the wisest of all humans. His wisdom far exceeds all human limitations and could only be classified as perfect knowledge. First, He knows the inward thoughts and memories of man, an ability peculiar to God (1Kings 8:39; Jeremiah 17:9-16). He saw the evil in the hearts of the scribes (Matthew 9:4), He knew beforehand those who would reject Him (John 10:64) and those who would follow Him (John 10:14). He could read the hearts of every man and woman (Mark 2:8; John 1:48; 2:24, 25; 4:16-19; Acts 1:24; 1 Corinthians 4:5; Revelation 2:18-23). A mere human can no more than make an intelligent guess as to what is in the hearts and minds of others. Second, Christ has a knowledge of other facts beyond the possible comprehension of any man. He knew just where the fish
were in the water (Luke 5:4-6; John 21:6-11), and He knew just which fish contained the coin (Matthew 17:27). He knew future events (John 11:11; 18:4), details that would be encountered (Matthew 21:2-4), and He knew that Lazarus had died (John 11:14). Third, He possessed an inner knowledge of the Godhead showing the closest possible communion with God as well as perfect knowledge. He knows the Father as the Father knows Him (Matthew 11:27; John 7:29; 8:55; 10:15; 17:25). The fourth and consummating teaching of Scripture along this line is that Christ knows all things (John 16:30; 21:17), and that in Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3). 4
Omnipotence
The Hebrew words El Shaddai can be translated "God Almighty." God is omnipotent or all-powerful. Christ's miracles evidenced His power over the physical world. But His words and His resurrection proclaim an authority and power over all creation.
Dr. John Walvoord has written:
The evidence for the omnipotence of Christ is as decisive as proof for other attributes. Sometimes it takes the form of physical power, but more often it refers to authority over creation. Christ has the power to forgive sins (Matt. 9:6), all power in heaven and in earth (Matt. 28.18), power over nature (Luke 8:25), power over His own life (John 10:18), power to give eternal life to others (John 17.2), power to heal physically, as witnessed by His many miracles, as well as power to cast out demons (Mark i:29-34), and power to transform the body (Phil. 3:21). By virtue of His resurrection He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him' ' (Heb. 7:25). He is "able to keep that which I have committed unto you against that day" (2 Tim 1:12). He is "able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy" (Jude 24, cf. Eph. 5:27). The Greek text of Jude 25 seems to imply that this is ' 'through Jesus Christ our Lord," that is, by God the Father; but in any case the power of Christ is needed. It will be observed that the incarnation, death and resurrection of Christ permitted Christ to act in regard to sin and salvation. His omnipotence in any case is restricted to that which is holy, wise and good. 5
Pre-existence
Another attribute that Jesus and God share is preexistence. Many passages in Scripture support Jesus' existing prior to His birth, not as a mere idea in the foreknowledge of God, but in actuality.
Jesus said, "I came forth from the Father, and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again, and going to the Father' (John 16:28). Many times ', Jesus said that He had been "sent' ' into the world, J implying that His origin had been outside the world ¿ (John 3:32-34; 4:34; 5:23, 24, 36-38; 6:29, 33, 38; 7: 16, 18, 28, 29, 33; 8:18, 29, 38, 42; 13:20; 16:30; 17:8, etc.) He told Nicodemus, "... no one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven, even the Son of Man ° (John 3:13). He said, I am (ego eimi] the living bread that came down out of heaven..." (John 6:51; see also v.58). Jesus said, "What then if you should behold the Son of Man ascending where He was before? » (John 6:62). John the Baptist said concerning Christ, "He who comes from heaven (Jesus) is above all. What He has seen and heard, of that He bears witness... " (John 3:31, 32) .
On another occasion Jesus prayed, "... glorify Thou Me... with the glory which I ever had with
Thee before the world was' ' (John17:5). The writer of Hebrews assumed the pre-existence of Christ when he wrote that Moses considered the "reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt' ' (Hebrews 11:26). Jesus is said to have possessed the ''book of life' ' from the "foundation of the world' ' (Revelation 13.8).
John the Baptist, who was humanly six months older than Jesus, said, "He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me" (John 1:15, 30) . Verse 30 clearly shows that John was referring to Jesus, not God. " John the Baptist could not have been referring to Jesus' existing in the foreknowledge of God either, as some believe, since God, who is all-knowing, would have foreknown John too.
Thus Scripture speaks with a unified voice. Jesus is a pre-existent being. This is in keeping with Old Testament theophanies (that is, times when God appeared in a physical form). For example, Genesis
18:1 – 19:1; 16:7-13; 22:15, 16; 31:11-13; 32:30; 48:15, 16;
Exodus 4:2-4 (cf. 3:2), 1 Chronicles 21:15-19; Psalm 34:6, 7; Zechariah 12:10 (cf. John 19:37); and 14 3, 4 (cf. Acts 1:9-12) are a few of the main passages showing that God has appeared physically. 6
Eternalness
The God of the Bible is eternal. He is both beyond time and the source of time. There was never a time when He was not: there never will be a time when He is not (Exodus 3.14; Habakkuk 3:6; Deuteronomy 33:26, 27). Only God is eternal.
Jesus Christ is also eternal. He did not have a "beginning,'' as the Jehovah's Witnesses and members of The Way International assert (and even, in a sense, also the Mormons).
In foretelling the birth of Jesus the Messiah, the prophet Micah said, "His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity " (Micah 5:2). Isaiah, also speaking of Christ s birth, said that among other designations, the child would be called ''Eternal Father (Isaiah 9:6). Jesus said, "Before Abraham was born, I AM ' (John 8:58). The Greek text clearly uses the present tense, ''I am " not "I was.' ' F. F. Bruce points out, « Had he been merely a pre-existent being then He would have had to say, 'Before Abraham was I was.''' Jesus went a long step further, speaking of Himself as the eternal, ever-present "I AM.' '
G. Campbell Morgan has stated " I AM claims the eternity of existence, antedating the whole of the Hebrew economy, existing in eternal Being.
William Barclay's comment is also important:
Jesus is timeless. There never was a time when He came into being; there never will be a time when He is not in being. We cannot say of Jesus, He was. We must always say, "He is."... in Jesus we see the timeless God, who was the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, who was before time and who will be after time, who always is.9
Immutability
Webster s Dictionary defines immutability as "not being capable of or susceptible to change." God is immutable in his person. Although He acts in time, and establishes and changes relationships in time, His essence, which includes his attributes, never changes (Malachi 3:6; James 1:l7; Psalm 33:11; Isaiah
46:9 10). we can rely on Him to love us eternally and keep His promises. Jesus obviously went through human developmental changes. Yet, concerning His divine nature, Scripture boldly asserts that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). Jesus and the Father stand as immutably one is essence.
Thus we see how many verses in Scripture reveal that Jesus Christ possesses all of the attributes of the eternal God.
God is unique. Only He is uncreated. He is the creator and sustainer of the whole universe – the source of creation rather than a part of creation. We can see God s handiwork or imprint on created things, but His handiwork is not a part of God or the same as God Himself. For example, human beings are personal – we can think, decide, imagine, love. We are in the image of God, who is personal, but we are not God. If Jesus Christ is truly God, then He must possess the attributes of God, not just mirror them In this chapter we will examine five exclusive attributes of God and see that Jesus Christ possesses those attributes.
Omnipresence
God is "in' ' everything; all of God is everywhere present at each point in the universe. That is what being omnipresent means. But to believe that God is "in'' everything does not mean that He "is'' everything. By saying that God is everywhere at once, we are not saying that God is in everything in the Hindu sense that all creation is in some way a part of God. For example, although God made the trees, a tree is not a part of God.'
Just as God is omnipresent in a personal sense (Psalm 139:7; Proverbs is:3), and thus is able to help, deliver, love, defend and meet His people's deepest longings and needs, so the New Testament describes Christ also as omnipresent. Paul said that "He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things" (Ephesians 4:10). Christ told His disciples, "For where two or three have gathered together in My Name, there I am in their midst (Matthew 18:20). He told them Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20). Christ is said to indwell the hearts of all who place their faith in Him (Romans 8:9 Galatians 2:20, Ephesians 3:17, Colossians 1:27, Revelation 3:20) ". do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? " (2 Corinthians 13:5) . How could a mere mortal, glorified or not, claim to indwell the hearts of believers around the world?
Omniscience
When we say that God is omniscient, we mean that God knows everything that can be known, actual and potential, throughout eternity.
God has a perfect and eternal knowledge of all things. Everything that is able to be known, is known by God. The omniscience of God does not come in the same way that knowledge comes to [us]. We arrive at knowledge by learning. God does not go through the learning process to know The omniscience of God does not come through reasoning, inference, the senses, imagination, or induction or deduction. His knowledge is direct, sharp and distinct, true to the reality of things. Whatever can be known, is known, by God.'
The New Testament pictures Christ as possessing omniscience: cognizance of all – past, present, and future. In John 2:24-25 it is stated that Jesus knew all men'' and ''knew what was in man.'' The disciples bore witness, Now we know that You know all things. ° (John 16,30). Peter declared, .Lord, You know all things (John 21,17). In keeping with His omniscience, Christ was said to have foreknown those who would betray Him (John 6:64).
Speaking of Christ's omniscience, Dr. John
Walvoord states:
In a similar way Christ's foreknowledge is affirmed in other passages (John 13:1, 11; 18:4, 19:28). In keeping with His omniscience, He is declared to have the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:30). Such qualities could not be ascribed to even the wisest of prophets, and they constitute another proof that He possessed all of the divine attributes. 3
Thomas Schultz observes that:
The knowledge of Christ is far beyond any mortal knowledge. He is not just a genius, not just the wisest of all humans. His wisdom far exceeds all human limitations and could only be classified as perfect knowledge. First, He knows the inward thoughts and memories of man, an ability peculiar to God (1Kings 8:39; Jeremiah 17:9-16). He saw the evil in the hearts of the scribes (Matthew 9:4), He knew beforehand those who would reject Him (John 10:64) and those who would follow Him (John 10:14). He could read the hearts of every man and woman (Mark 2:8; John 1:48; 2:24, 25; 4:16-19; Acts 1:24; 1 Corinthians 4:5; Revelation 2:18-23). A mere human can no more than make an intelligent guess as to what is in the hearts and minds of others. Second, Christ has a knowledge of other facts beyond the possible comprehension of any man. He knew just where the fish
were in the water (Luke 5:4-6; John 21:6-11), and He knew just which fish contained the coin (Matthew 17:27). He knew future events (John 11:11; 18:4), details that would be encountered (Matthew 21:2-4), and He knew that Lazarus had died (John 11:14). Third, He possessed an inner knowledge of the Godhead showing the closest possible communion with God as well as perfect knowledge. He knows the Father as the Father knows Him (Matthew 11:27; John 7:29; 8:55; 10:15; 17:25). The fourth and consummating teaching of Scripture along this line is that Christ knows all things (John 16:30; 21:17), and that in Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3). 4
Omnipotence
The Hebrew words El Shaddai can be translated "God Almighty." God is omnipotent or all-powerful. Christ's miracles evidenced His power over the physical world. But His words and His resurrection proclaim an authority and power over all creation.
Dr. John Walvoord has written:
The evidence for the omnipotence of Christ is as decisive as proof for other attributes. Sometimes it takes the form of physical power, but more often it refers to authority over creation. Christ has the power to forgive sins (Matt. 9:6), all power in heaven and in earth (Matt. 28.18), power over nature (Luke 8:25), power over His own life (John 10:18), power to give eternal life to others (John 17.2), power to heal physically, as witnessed by His many miracles, as well as power to cast out demons (Mark i:29-34), and power to transform the body (Phil. 3:21). By virtue of His resurrection He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him' ' (Heb. 7:25). He is "able to keep that which I have committed unto you against that day" (2 Tim 1:12). He is "able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy" (Jude 24, cf. Eph. 5:27). The Greek text of Jude 25 seems to imply that this is ' 'through Jesus Christ our Lord," that is, by God the Father; but in any case the power of Christ is needed. It will be observed that the incarnation, death and resurrection of Christ permitted Christ to act in regard to sin and salvation. His omnipotence in any case is restricted to that which is holy, wise and good. 5
Pre-existence
Another attribute that Jesus and God share is preexistence. Many passages in Scripture support Jesus' existing prior to His birth, not as a mere idea in the foreknowledge of God, but in actuality.
Jesus said, "I came forth from the Father, and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again, and going to the Father' (John 16:28). Many times ', Jesus said that He had been "sent' ' into the world, J implying that His origin had been outside the world ¿ (John 3:32-34; 4:34; 5:23, 24, 36-38; 6:29, 33, 38; 7: 16, 18, 28, 29, 33; 8:18, 29, 38, 42; 13:20; 16:30; 17:8, etc.) He told Nicodemus, "... no one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven, even the Son of Man ° (John 3:13). He said, I am (ego eimi] the living bread that came down out of heaven..." (John 6:51; see also v.58). Jesus said, "What then if you should behold the Son of Man ascending where He was before? » (John 6:62). John the Baptist said concerning Christ, "He who comes from heaven (Jesus) is above all. What He has seen and heard, of that He bears witness... " (John 3:31, 32) .
On another occasion Jesus prayed, "... glorify Thou Me... with the glory which I ever had with
Thee before the world was' ' (John17:5). The writer of Hebrews assumed the pre-existence of Christ when he wrote that Moses considered the "reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt' ' (Hebrews 11:26). Jesus is said to have possessed the ''book of life' ' from the "foundation of the world' ' (Revelation 13.8).
John the Baptist, who was humanly six months older than Jesus, said, "He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me" (John 1:15, 30) . Verse 30 clearly shows that John was referring to Jesus, not God. " John the Baptist could not have been referring to Jesus' existing in the foreknowledge of God either, as some believe, since God, who is all-knowing, would have foreknown John too.
Thus Scripture speaks with a unified voice. Jesus is a pre-existent being. This is in keeping with Old Testament theophanies (that is, times when God appeared in a physical form). For example, Genesis
18:1 – 19:1; 16:7-13; 22:15, 16; 31:11-13; 32:30; 48:15, 16;
Exodus 4:2-4 (cf. 3:2), 1 Chronicles 21:15-19; Psalm 34:6, 7; Zechariah 12:10 (cf. John 19:37); and 14 3, 4 (cf. Acts 1:9-12) are a few of the main passages showing that God has appeared physically. 6
Eternalness
The God of the Bible is eternal. He is both beyond time and the source of time. There was never a time when He was not: there never will be a time when He is not (Exodus 3.14; Habakkuk 3:6; Deuteronomy 33:26, 27). Only God is eternal.
Jesus Christ is also eternal. He did not have a "beginning,'' as the Jehovah's Witnesses and members of The Way International assert (and even, in a sense, also the Mormons).
In foretelling the birth of Jesus the Messiah, the prophet Micah said, "His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity " (Micah 5:2). Isaiah, also speaking of Christ s birth, said that among other designations, the child would be called ''Eternal Father (Isaiah 9:6). Jesus said, "Before Abraham was born, I AM ' (John 8:58). The Greek text clearly uses the present tense, ''I am " not "I was.' ' F. F. Bruce points out, « Had he been merely a pre-existent being then He would have had to say, 'Before Abraham was I was.''' Jesus went a long step further, speaking of Himself as the eternal, ever-present "I AM.' '
G. Campbell Morgan has stated " I AM claims the eternity of existence, antedating the whole of the Hebrew economy, existing in eternal Being.
William Barclay's comment is also important:
Jesus is timeless. There never was a time when He came into being; there never will be a time when He is not in being. We cannot say of Jesus, He was. We must always say, "He is."... in Jesus we see the timeless God, who was the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, who was before time and who will be after time, who always is.9
Immutability
Webster s Dictionary defines immutability as "not being capable of or susceptible to change." God is immutable in his person. Although He acts in time, and establishes and changes relationships in time, His essence, which includes his attributes, never changes (Malachi 3:6; James 1:l7; Psalm 33:11; Isaiah
46:9 10). we can rely on Him to love us eternally and keep His promises. Jesus obviously went through human developmental changes. Yet, concerning His divine nature, Scripture boldly asserts that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). Jesus and the Father stand as immutably one is essence.
Thus we see how many verses in Scripture reveal that Jesus Christ possesses all of the attributes of the eternal God.
No comments:
Post a Comment