THE DEITY OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST

· Revelation 1:8 (AV 1611)

· “The mighty God” (Isaiah 9:6)

· VIRGIN BIRTH PREDICTED & FULFILLED: “Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14) & “Emmanuel” (Matthew 1:23)

· Virgin Birth—Rev. 12:5; Is. 66:7

· The 1st great prophecy—Genesis 3:15

o The fulfillment of prophecy—Galatians 4:4

· The word “begotten” (John 1:14, 18, 3:16, 18; 1 John 4:9) doesn’t merely imply preexistence (like Jehovah’s Witnesses, Arians, and other antichrists suppose Jesus Christ was created being.) But it simply refers to Jesus’ Virgin Birth. (The term was nothing to do with a creation taking place some time long ago.) And the Virgin Birth is completely opposite from a ‘creationist’ standpoint—it means that His birth was miraculous, and of course it had to be miraculous and conceived of the Holy Ghost (see Luke 1:35), for the Lord Jesus Christ, the Eternal God to manifest Himself in the flesh. (see 1 Tim. 3:16; John 1:14; Micah 5:2; Matt. 2:6)

· See the ‘JESUS CHRIST, LORD’ entry (pages 54-56) and the ‘CHRIST, MILLENNIAL NAME AND TITLES’ (pages 19-20) in the ‘A-Z Index to Prophecy’ by Dr. Jack Van Impe in the JVI KJV Prophecy Bible.

· Psalm 45:6 and the Apostle Paul’s quotation of the verse in Hebrews 1:8 is one of the greatest and clearest proofs of the Lord Jesus Christ’s Deity. Here the Son is directly called “God”. Period. Bottom line. Enough said. And He’s here holding His Divine scepter 1000 years before Christ’s virgin birth (~1000 B.C.). Let me remind you: there’s no sharing of God Almighty’s Divinity or rule. Such Scriptures provide colossal evidence supporting our Dear Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ’s Godhood. The next verse (Ps. 45:7; Heb. 1:9) shows the Trinity. The Father and the Son are the two ‘Gods’ in these Scriptures; and the Holy Spirit inspired David (the prophet) and Paul (the apostle) to utter these prophetical sentences. (cf. 2 Sam. 23:2)

· The Trinity can also be seen in Matthew 22:43-44. Here the Lord Jesus Christ quotes Psalm 110:1. First He says, “...David in spirit...” (v. 43): there’s the Holy Ghost; David was a prophet (cf. Matt. 27:35; Acts 2:30); “All scripture is given by inspiration of God...” (2 Tim. 3:16). Regarding the quotation of Psalm 110:1 in Matthew 22:44, “The LORD” is Jehovah or the Father, “my Lord” is Adoni or the Son. So here again, all 3 Distinct Persons of the Godhead are in this passage. Not to forget the Image of God is quoting the Scripture!!! Amen.

· Yes, the Holy Trinity consists of three distinct Persons. (The Father, The Son, and The Holy Ghost.) And these three Persons are so unified that they are all One. They are all three equal in Divinity. Yet, the Lord Jesus Christ is not only equal in divinity, but He is also the full expression of the Godhead. (see 2 Cor. 4:4; Col. 1:15, 19, 2:9; Heb. 1:3) For example: consider the study concerning Christ’s full title: “The Lord Jesus Christ” (see ‘Lord Jesus Christ.doc’), even His title is a picture of the Triune Godhead. Moreover, any divine attribute you can list, is also an attribute of the Lord Jesus Christ.

· When explaining or defending the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, explain the following: (1) The Holy Trinity. [see 1 John 5:7] (2) Christ’s preexistence. [see Ps. 90:2; Mic. 5:2; Matt. 2:5-6; John 1:1-2; 1 Pet. 1:11] (3) His role in creation. [see John 1:3; Eph. 3:9; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2] (4) His holy incarnation. [see Gen. 3:15; John 1:14; Gal. 4:4; 1 Tim. 3:16] (5) His omnipotence. [see Matt. 28:18; Rev. 1:8, 19:6] (6) His Spirituality. (cf. John 4:24; 1 Cor. 15:45) Also remember to beware of antichrist spirits (see Prov. 24:5-6); therefore be sober, steadfast, and vigilant. (see 1 Pet. 5:8)

· I don’t know why it’s so hard for some (antichrists and reprobates) to see and believe Jesus Christ was God manifested in the flesh (see 1 Tim. 3:16; 2 John 7). It’s not like they ever knew who God was in the first. [What happened is that they first just (in their own depraved ignorance) formed some vain image of God in their own mind (see 1st Commandment) without consulting the Holy Scriptures; so when they heard the truth, it conflicted with their vanity; so then in their pride and self-flattery they rejected the truth and gloried in their lie. This was what Apostle Paul was dealing with the Athenian philosophers in Acts 17. I assume the moral of their collapse is that they never received righteous instruction, but rather despised it. (see Prov. 13:13, 15:10)] And if they had known God, like the Old Testament prophets (see 1 Pet. 1:10-11), they’d recognize that He was God manifest in the flesh, and is “...the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” (Col. 2:9)

· The Pharisees, scribes, elders, chief priests, and other Christ-rejecters falsely claimed the Lord Jesus Christ was robbing God of His glory by claiming to be His Son. (see John 5:18, 10:33) They were accusing Him of blasphemy and robbery. (see Matt. 26:65) That’s why they had Him crucified between two thieves. (see Matt. 27:38) That’s what the antichrist spirit leads to: murdering God’s Son. (see 1 Thess. 2:15) The Pharisees blasphemed God by accusing His Son of blasphemy. Charles Taze Russell would have been right in there with them putting the Son of God to death for blasphemy. (see Matt. 26:65-66; Phil. 3:18) BUT PHILIPPIANS 2:6 TELLS US IT WAS NOT ROBBERY. Amen. But how did these antichrists claim Christ Jesus was robbing God? Because their “god” (2 Cor. 4:4) wasn’t the true God, they never had a true revelation of the true God. If they did, God Almighty would have revealed Himself to them as Jesus Christ the Son of God. (see Matt. 11:27, 16:17) Because they presumed they knew God, (yet they didn’t) that’s the same reason why they didn’t accept Jesus as the Christ, and it’s the same reason why they falsely accused and had Him slain.

· God never said in the Old Testament He wasn’t a Triune Deity (rather, He hinted to it—see Gen. 1:26; Ps. 2:7, 110:1; Prov. 30:4); but He just simply chose to wait to reveal it until the New Testament. The Bible teaches patience; as you read from Genesis to Revelation many doctrines are ‘progressive revelations’—the same is true about this most expedient doctrine: “the doctrine of Christ” (2 John 9).

· What do the reprobate stumble at? The Holy Spirit says in 2 Peter 2:8 they, “...stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.” (2 Pet. 2:8) They stumble at the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ; they stumble at the Word of God (KJV Bible): because the Holy Bible (KJV) conveys and defends the Lord Jesus Christ’s Divinity far above all other books or ‘bibles’. Now this is an important point, because this is just one of many similarities between “...the word of God...” (2 Thess. 2:13) and “...The Word of God.” (Rev. 19:13) In other words, if your Bible isn’t right, and your understanding isn’t right: neither is your revelation of the Godhead. If your revelation of the Godhead isn’t right then you are unsaved or backslidden. ¶ God reveals Himself to Who He wants, how He wants, when He wants (see Matt. 11:27, 16:17). That’s why Jehovah’s Witnesses will never understand the Lord Jesus Christ’s Deity. Much of Biblical doctrine is a progressive revelation; which is rewarded to those who’ve faithfully, earnestly, and diligently obeyed Him. (see Heb. 5:9, 11:6) A JW demises Christ’s Deity because they haven’t humbled themselves, they haven’t earnestly sought the Truth, and they haven’t repented of their sinfully willful ignorance—and rather they’ve chosen to listen to a few of their own false prophets and teaches, skim over a NWT based on Westcott and Hort’s perverted, antichrist Greek text; and then toss up their hands and come to a conclusion that Jesus Christ wasn’t Divine. It doesn’t work like that.

· Do you know what the Holy Spirit does with His Scriptures? He takes Old Testament passages such as Psalm 102:25-27 written about the God of the Old Testament, and applies them directly to the God of the New Testament in the New Testament (see Heb. 1:10-12). Why? Because they are the same God. The Holy Spirit is demonstrating that to you right before your face. ¶ The Holy Ghost does the same thing with Psalm 45. (cf. Ps. 45:6-7; Heb. 1:8-9)

· All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Except the Lord Jesus Christ. He’s the only man (God-man) who ever lived a sinless life, perfecting keeping all the Scriptural commandments. Only God’s only begotten Son did that.

· To prove He had power to forgive sins (which the Pharisees accused Him of blasphemy for claiming such power), the Lord Jesus Christ healed a sick man at the same time. Power to forgive sins is a sure attribute of Divinity. (see Matt. 9:1-8; Mark 2:1-12; Luke 5:17-26) ¶ James L. Melton states this concisely in his ‘The Plain Truth about the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ tract: ‘Jesus forgave sins (Mark 2:5), which only God can do (Mark 2:7).’

· The Transfiguration of the Lord Jesus Christ was a brief glimpse into Jesus’ glorious Deity. (see Matt. 17:2; Mark 9:2; Luke 9:29)

· Who is being worshipped in Revelation Chapters 5 and 7? The Lord Jesus Christ is “the Lamb of God” (John 1:29, 36).

· The Revelation of Jesus Christ is the revelation of His Deity.  In Acts 3:15 Christ is called "the Prince of life" (note the capital "P").

· Christ Jesus=God (see Philippians 2:5-6) ¶ Christ didn’t think it was robbery to take anything away from God the Father because He is “appointed heir of all things” (Heb. 1:2).

· The Lord Jesus Christ possesses the Keys of Hell & Death. (see Rev. 1:18) I’d say that qualifies for Divinity. [Note: Revelation 1:18 are words of Christ in red.]

· In St. Paul’s Epistle to Titus, God is called “our Saviour” (Titus 1:3, 2:10, 3:4) three times, and the Lord Jesus Christ is called “our Saviour” (Titus 1:4, 2:13, 3:6) three times. That’s a total of six times. But which one is it? God or Jesus Christ? Remember, God’s not the author of confusion (see 1 Cor. 14:33), and there’s only one saviour (see Is. 43:11; Hos. 13:4). Answer: The Lord Jesus Christ is “God” AND “our Saviour”. Amen. In the Blessèd Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen & Amen. I quote Luke 2:10, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a SAVIOUR, which is Christ the Lord.”

· Isaiah 45:23 is an exclusive prophecy concerning God. And two verses earlier the Scripture saith, "...and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me." (Is. 45:21) Now these statements are completely true. There’s no question about that. Scripture is infallible. And the New Testament Scripture is infallible too. So when we come to the New Testament Book of Philippians, the Apostle Paul attributes the prophecy of Isaiah 45:23 to the Lord Jesus Christ in Phil. 2:10-11. And in Phil. 3:20 Paul gives Jesus Christ God’s exclusive “Saviour” title from Is. 45:21. Anybody therefore who excepts the Holy Bible (both Testaments) as infallible must clearly see Jesus Christ has not imposed Himself upon God; but rather God has revealed Himself as the Lord Jesus Christ. Hallelujah! Amen. In other words, what appears to be a Biblical contradiction to an unsaved man; is actually a prophetic fulfillment and revelation. And really it’s not that hard to see. You just need to open up and quit being an antichrist. God chose to reveal Himself as Jesus Christ when it suited Him, or as Paul saith “the fulness of time” (Gal. 4:4). Read the prophecies! Christ is all throughout the Old Testament. (see John 5:39, 46) God simply chose to keep His identity secretive for a while, there’s nothing wrong with that: just accept it and enjoy Him—enjoy JESUS CHRIST THE LORD!

· Here’s a list of references where the Lord Jesus Christ is specifically called “God” in the Holy Scriptures: Isaiah 9:6, 40:3; Matthew 1:23; John 1:1, 20:28; Acts 7:59, 20:28; Rom. 9:5, 14:10-12; Phil. 2:6; 1 Tim. 3:16; Titus 1:3-4; Heb. 1:8-9 (cf. Ps. 45:6-7); 1 John 3:16, 5:20; Jude 25; Rev. 1:6. Also, see Psalms 102:24-27 where “God” is the antecedent (see v. 24): and then the creation of Genesis, and eternality is described in verses 25-27—then in the New Testament, Apostle Paul picks up the same verses of Scripture in Hebrew 1:10-12 and applies then to God’s Son—therefore “God” is God’s Son and God’s Son is God—you must understand the Trinity to understand this subject: viz. the Deity or Divinity of Jesus Christ.

· God is called the “God of truth” in Ps. 31:5 and Jesus said in John 14:6 that He is THE TRUTH—put that together and you have to admit that Jesus Christ is the God of truth.

· If you didn’t catch Christ’s CLEAR declarative statement in Rev. 1:8 in words of Christ in red that he is “THE ALMIGHTY”, you have another huge doctrinal passage on His Deity in verses 11 and 17 of the same chapter (Rev. Ch. 1). In verse 17 Jesus says (again, these are words of Christ in red), “Fear not; I am the first and the last” (Rev. 1:17). Jesus is quoting a divine title that the LORD (Jehovah) of the Old Testament gave Himself in Isaiah 41:4, 44:6. Only Jesus can make such a claim. If Jesus wasn’t God, he wouldn’t have been able to make such a claim because of the statements made in the same Book (Isaiah) in Is. 42:8, 48:11. The truth is Jesus was the God and the LORD of Old Testament; but He hadn’t yet revealed Himself as a man (see 1 Tim. 3:16) with a man’s name (see Matt. 1:21), until His first coming with Mary’s virgin birth in the New Testament. Here are the ‘First & Last’ Scripture references: Is. 41:4, 44:6, 48:12; Rev. 1:11, 17, 2:8, 22:13. ¶ "Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God." (Isaiah 44:6)

· In Roman 9:33 and 1 Peter 2:8 the Holy Spirit makes application of the “stone of stumbling” and “rock of offence” of Isaiah 8:14 to Jesus Christ. But who is antecedent of “he” in Is. 8:14? Go to verse 13: it is “the LORD of hosts” or Jehovah. Therefore the Bible says about the Lord Jesus Christ, “...let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.”

· I know not all printings of the King James Bible include Revelation 21:5-8 in Christ’s words in red. But Dr. Jack Van Impe is possibly the greatest expert on prophecy there has ever been: and his 3^rd Edition Prophecy Bible includes Rev. 21:5-8 as Christ’s words printed in red ink. In verses 7 our Lord Jesus Christ says, “...I will be his God, and he shall be my son.” Did you see that??? Christ Jesus clearly called Himself “God” in this passage of holy Scripture! Amen.

· Let me ask you a question: do you think POWER & WISDOM are attributes of the Supreme Deity? Oh course—so now read this verse of Scripture: "But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God." (1 Cor. 1:24) Amen & Amen! To the great “Amen” (Rev. 3:14)!