Never before had mankind experienced
something so shockingly profound: God in the flesh; the fullness of deity
taking on the appearance of a human and walking among mere mortals. His name
was Immanuel, “God with us”. Those who knew Him called Him “Jesus”. His disciples called Him “teacher”, “master”,
and “Lord”. Still, there were those who denied His claims to deity, calling Him
a fraud. Others called him demon possessed. Ultimately, He was tried and put to
death on a Roman cross as punishment for a crime He never committed—blasphemy—only
to prove Himself by rising from the dead three days later, leaving those who
mocked Him to stand in the spotlight of their own shame.
Going to the history, it is seen that
many have tried to debunk this story, adamantly accusing Jesus of being a
fraud. Some go as far as claiming He never existed, while others claim that
Scripture does not at all support Jesus as being deity. This paper will address
the issue of Jesus’ deity as shown in Scripture; both before and after His time
on earth, with a special focus on the book of Hebrews, whose theme is the
supremacy of Jesus. Claims to deity which will be addressed are Jesus’
pre-existence (existing before the
beginning of the world), His resurrection
from the dead, His power and
dominion, His Sonship to God, and
His likeness to God (being in the image of God).
Give but a momentary glance into the
book of Hebrews, and one will find that it is rank with claims to Jesus’ deity.
The book opens up by making three claims to Jesus’ deity in the first sentence.
“God…in these
last days…has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all
things, through whom also he created the world”
(Hebrews 1:1-2). The first claim is that of His Sonship to God, the second is
His power, and the third is His pre-existence. [1]The
two verses which follow go on to make five more claims to His deity. Two claims
are of His likeness to God, while three are of His power and dominion.
“You are my Son. Today I
have begotten You.” This poetic phrase which God spoke was never spoken to
angels, but only to Jesus. [2]God
Himself is recorded as calling Jesus His Son multiple times throughout scripture,
and it is echoed throughout the book of Hebrews. Heb 1:6 speaks of Jesus’ power
and dominion, as well as His Sonship to God by saying that the angels worship
Jesus. Verses 8 and 10-12 attests to Jesus’ dominion, pre-existence, and
likeness to God. Hebrews speaks of Jesus as being the founder of Salvation,
being greater than Moses, and able to give us rest. Chapter four, however,
makes an even further claim to Jesus’ deity in verse fourteen in saying “…we
have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of
God…”
Up until Jesus’ death,
only the high priest could be a mediator between God and man by going behind the
curtain into the Holy of Holies once a year and sprinkling blood on the mercy
seat. However, immediately after Jesus died, He tore the curtain in half and
went in Himself, thus forever becoming the high priest (Heb 6:19-20) mediator
between God and man. The apostle Paul also claims this in Romans 8:34 by
stating that Jesus is our mediator who is constantly interceding for us. Hebrews
7:21-22 affirms that Jesus is a priest forever, and thus the guarantor and (as
chapter eight affirms) high priest of a better covenant.
Never, in
all of history, have any such claims been made about any person that has walked
this earth. However, one must remember that Jesus was not only fully man, but
is also fully God. Hebrews claims that Jesus is our high priest. If only the
high priest could go behind the curtain, and Jesus tore the curtain, then Jesus
is today, as William Barclay stated, “our only entrance to the presence of God”.[3]
This is why Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man goes to the
Father except through Me.” In other words, He laid stake to His own deity. The
author of Hebrews simply attests to what Jesus has already said, showing how
the Old Testament supports and validates these claims.[4]
Going to
the rest of the New Testament, one finds that the Apostle Paul wrote much about
Jesus in his epistles, and a lot of it was pertaining to His deity. In his
letter to the Romans, he states that Jesus is the Son of God (1:3-4), that
Christ is able to judge the secrets of men’s hearts (2:16), that redemption is
found in Him (3:24), that His blood is the purification for our sins (3:25;
5:10-11), that He is our peace with God (5:1), and that Jesus is all over, God
blessed forever (9:5). [5]William
S. Plumer commented on this phrase (all over, God blessed forever) in Romans
9:5, stating: "Three things are here said respecting Christ, either of
which should settle the question of our Lord's divinity. One is that he is
called God. Another is that he is supreme - he is over all. The third is that
he is blessed forever"[6]
“Let the dead bury their own. Just go
proclaim the Kingdom of God.” The man must have been stunned to hear such a
harsh, seemingly uncaring statement come from the mouth of Jesus. Yet this
theme was recurrent with what Jesus told His disciples over and over. In fact,
it can be summed up in one statement: “If you don’t love me so much that every
other relationship in your life looks like hate by comparison, you cannot be my
follower.” Why would Jesus make such a harsh claim? The reason is because He is
far superior to everything else in existence. The author of Hebrews states over
and over that Jesus is supreme, whether directly or indirectly. If Jesus is so
supreme, then one must be fully devoted to Him in order to be His follower.
There is simply no other way. Jesus is the only way to God.
“You are so
foolish and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!” Those are the
very words Jesus spoke to two of His disciples on the road to Emmaus after His
resurrection, as recorded in Luke 24:25. Though they had no idea who he was
when they saw him (they didn’t even recognize Him), He went on to tell them
everything the Old Testament had claimed about Him. The psalmist states in 2:7 “I
will declare the decree: the Lord has said to me, ‘You are My Son, today I have
begotten You.” 45:6 states “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever…” Again,
68:18 states “You have ascended on
high, you have led captivity captive. You have received gifts among men,
even from the rebellious, that the Lord God might dwell there.” The
prophet Isaiah spoke much about Christ, saying “A child will be born, and His
name is called Emmanuel, God with us… His name is called Mighty God, Eternal
Father, Prince of Peace” (Isa 7:14; 9:6). [7]
There were many other Old Testament prophecies pertaining to Jesus, but these
are a few that attest to His deity. To ignore what was foretold of Jesus long
before He walked the earth would be foolish.
Down throughout history, many have tried
to debunk claims to Jesus’ deity, saying He is a fraud and a liar, or that He
was simply a good man and a wise teacher. Others have claimed that Scripture
makes no claims to Jesus’ deity. However, as seen clearly in this paper, Jesus
Himself claimed to be the only way to God. The Old Testament prophets spoke of
His deity hundreds and even thousands of years before He was born. Now, almost
two thousand years later, the human race is still experiencing the shockwaves
of Jesus’ triumphant victory over death on the cross at Calvary. Today, Jesus
is sitting at the right hand of the throne of God, praying and interceding to
the Father on our behalf, longing and desiring for us to know Him in a deep and
intimate way. He already made propitiation for our sins and purified us with
His blood. It is now up to us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow
Him.
Bibliography
Barclay, William. The Letter To the Hebrews.
Edinburgh, Scotland: The Saint Andrew Press, 1955.
Cooper, Dr. David L. STUDIES IN THE BOOK OF HEBREWS.
n.d. http://www.biblicalresearch.info/page431.html (accessed September 10,
2012).
Guthrie, Donald. New Testament Indtroduction: Hebrews to
Revelation. Chicago: Inter-Varsity Press, 1962.
Plumer, William S. Commentary on Romans. Kregel
Reprint Library, 1993.
Robinson, John A. T. Redating the New Testament.
Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1976.
The Deity of Jesus Christ. 2012. http://christiandefense.org/jw_deity.htm (accessed
September 9, 2012).
The Son in the Book of Hebrews. n.d. http://www.letusreason.org/trin14.htm (accessed
September 10, 2012).
Willis, Mike. "The Deity of Christ." TruthMagazine,
December 6, 1990.
