Divinity of Christ (11)

1 Peter 3:15
but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.

Isaiah 8:13
But the LORD of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.

Notes

Peter, the apostle, urges believers experiencing persecution to honor Christ in their hearts and to explain their hope in Him. The believers must present the gospel with reason and with gentleness and respect.

1 Peter 3:15, ESV: but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.

Peter quotes a verse for YHWH and applies it directly to the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a pattern that we see other apostles use, such as Paul and John. YHWH must be honored in the heart as holy, and Christ the Lord must be honored in the heart as holy.

Isaiah 8:13, ESV: But the LORD of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.

Throughout church history, the deity of Christ has been a central doctrine under repeated attack. From early heresies to modern reinterpretations, assaults on Christ’s divine identity come in various forms. Some claim that Jesus never explicitly declared Himself to be God. Others argue that the doctrine of His divinity was a later development, imposed by Church councils long after Christ’s earthly ministry. Still others, such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, INC, and certain liberal theologians, deny the full deity of Christ based on a misreading of Scripture or extrabiblical claims. A modern expression of religious pluralism denies the exclusive claims of Christ’s divinity and salvific role, asserting instead that Jesus is merely one of many valid spiritual guides to the ultimate reality.

False Claim 1: Jesus never said, ‘I am God.’

1. He did say that He is God in a way that was more explicit in the Jewish context. That’s why the Jews picked up stones to stone Him. They said He made Himself equal with God. When did this happen? When Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I AM” (Jn 8:58). “I AM” is not just a phrase; it’s the name God revealed to Moses at the burning bush (Ex 3:14). To the Jews, it was sacred. For Jesus to say it of Himself was to claim He is the God who delivered Israel. That why they called it blasphemy. But He wasn’t lying. He was telling the truth.

2. That was not the only time that Jesus said He was God. When Jesus said, “I and the Father are one,” the Jews picked up stones to stone Him. Their reason is “because you, being man, make yourself God” (Jn 10:30-33).

3. The Lord Jesus received worship, which shows His claim as God. Unlike the angels and the apostles, He did not refuse worship (Rev 19:10 & Ac 14:14- 15). After walking on water, the disciples worshiped Him, and Jesus accepted it (Mt 14:33). After healing the blind man, Jesus received His worship without objection (Jn 9:38).

False Claim 2: The divinity of Christ was invented at the Council of Nicaea.

1. Early Church Fathers such as Ignatius of Antioch (c. 110 AD)1 wrote, “For our God, Jesus Christ.”

2. Justin Martyr (c.100-165) echoed that the Word is God, “the Father of the universe has a Son; who also, being the first-begotten Word of God, is even God.”2

3. Irenaeus (c. 130-202); book three, chapter sixteen, of his book, Against Heresies, “Proofs from the Apostolic Writings, That Jesus Christ Was One and the Same, the Only Begotten Son of God, Perfect God and Perfect Man.”3 Irenaeus affirmed that Jesus is the perfect God and perfect man.

4. Tertullian (c. 155-240) affirmed as well that Jesus is God and man, “We see plainly the twofold state, which is not confounded, but conjoined in One Person. Jesus is God and Man.”4

5. All of the above authors wrote before Nicaea (325 AD). They affirmed Christ’s deity of Christ. The Council of Nicaea did not create the doctrine of the deity of Christ. They clarified it against the Arian controversy. The Council used Scripture to affirm what the Church had long believed:

False Claim 3: Jesus said, “the Father is greater than I” (Jn 14:28).

1. When Jesus said these words, He was speaking as the incarnate Son, in His human nature, not in His divine essence. We affirm that Christ is fully God and fully man. During the incarnation, He was functionally subordinate to the Father. But His divine status remained.

2. In His essence (ontological being), Jesus is fully equal with the Father. He is true God of true God. However, in the economic Trinity (differing roles in redemptive history), Jesus voluntarily submitted to the Father’s will. This functional subordination does not imply inferiority but reflects His role in the mission of salvation.5

3. Therefore, between the incarnation and resurrection, Jesus operated in a role of functional subordination to the Father. During this time, He voluntarily humbled Himself, submitting to the Father’s will. In this sense, the Father was “greater” in position, not in essence (Phil 2:6-8).

4. However, in His essence, Jesus remained fully God. He did not cease to be divine but assumed a true human nature. This humanity was subject to weakness and suffering, yet without sin. After His resurrection, that same humanity was glorified and exalted (Phil 2:9-11).

False Claim 4: Christ was a created being, “the ‘firstborn’ of all creation” (Col 1:15).

1. Firstborn does not mean first created. In biblical usage, firstborn (Greek: πρωτότοκος, prōtotokos) often refers to rank or status, not order of origin. In the ancient Jewish context, the firstborn held a place of preeminence and inheritance, even if not literally born first, “And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth” (Ps 89:27).

2. The context of the cited verse explains the meaning of the firstborn, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Col 1:15-17). The context shouts that Christ preexists all created things. He is the agent of creation, which would make it impossible for Him to be part of it.

3. This false teaching is nothing new. Arius propagated this teaching in Alexandria, which Alexander countered. The Council of Nicea affirmed Alexander and, through the Scriptures, wrote the Nicene Creed of 325 AD, later to be improved in 381 AD in Constantinople.

4. Therefore, Colossians 1:15 does not teach that Christ is the first created being. Instead, it affirms His supremacy over all creation as its source and sustainer, showng His sovereignty.

False Claim 5: Jesus is just one of many valid paths to God.

1. This false claim directly contradicts the claim of Jesus, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn 14:6). The statement of Christ excludes all alternatives.

2. The apostles confirmed that He is the only way, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Ac 14:12).

3. Religious pluralism in all its forms is incoherent and illogical. Anyone who says all beliefs are true hasn’t done the work. They haven’t examined what each religion claims. Different faiths contradict one another, so they cannot all be right.

4. Jesus backed His claims with the resurrection. Unlike all others, Jesus rose from the dead—confirmed by eyewitnesses. Every other religious leader died and stayed dead. Only Christ, fully God and fully man, conquered the grave.

1. Application:

   1. Believe in the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ.

   2. Proclaim the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ.

   3. Defend the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ

Reflection & Discussion

1. Enumerate the false claims in the manuscript.

2. Answer the false claims without looking at the manuscript.

3. What are other false claims about His divinity that are not listed? Try to answer with the Scriptures.