THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST
The
Doctrine of Christ consists of what the Bible tells us about Christ, to the
exclusion of opinion and conjecture. One aspect of this doctrine deals with the
fact that He is both true God and true man, another with His states of
humiliation and exaltation, and the third with His threefold office as our
Prophet, Priest, and King.
CHRIST
IS TRUE GOD
1John
John 20:28, Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord
and my God.
John 1:1,14, In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word was
made flesh, and dwelt among us.
1Timothy
Titus 1: 3, According to the commandment of God our
Savior.
Matthew
Isaiah 9:6, For unto us a
child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his
shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God,
The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
[Comment: Since a
true son will be made of the same substance as his father, while a created son
(puppet/statue) will not, the ancient creeds speak of Christ as being "God
of the substance of the Father," in order to highlight the fact that He is
true God.]
AS GOD
HE HAS ALWAYS EXISTED
Isaiah 63:16, You, O LORD, are
our father, our redeemer; your name is from everlasting.
Micah 5:2, You, Bethlehem Ephratah,
though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of
you will He come forth to me who is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings
forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
John 8:58, Jesus said to them, Truly,
truly, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
CHRIST
IS ALSO TRUE MAN
1Timothy 2:5, For there is
one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
Romans 5:15, The gift by
grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, has abounded to many.
2Timothy 2:8, Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed
of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel.
Hebrews
John 7:42, Has not the
scripture said, That Christ comes of the seed of David?
Romans 1:3, Concerning his
Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was made of the seed of David according to the
flesh.
BORN OF
THE VIRGIN MARY
Matthew
Luke 1:27, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name
was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin‘s name was Mary.
Luke 1:34-35, Then Mary said to the angel, How will this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel
answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of
the Highest will overshadow you: therefore also that holy thing that will be
born of you will be called the Son of God.
AS GOD
CHRIST IS EQUAL TO THE FATHER
John 5:18, Therefore the Jews
sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath, but
also said that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.
Philippians 2:6, Who, being
in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God.
John 14:9, Jesus said to him, Have
I been so long time with you, and yet you have not known me, Philip? he who has seen me has seen the Father?
YET AS
MAN HE IS INFERIOR TO THE FATHER
1Corinthians 15:28, And when all things shall be
subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put
all things under him, that God may be all in all.
John 14:28, My Father is greater than I.
AT THE
SAME TIME THERE IS ONLY ONE CHRIST, NOT TWO
1Corinthians 8:6, But to us there is but one
God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord
Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
1Timothy 2:5, For there is
one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
[To these verses
we could add every passage that speaks of Christ in the singular.]
SOME
ERRORS THAT CHRISTIANS REJECT
Since
there is only one God, Bible believers reject the idea that Christ is half man
and half God. Such a being would not be truly God or truly man, therefore, that
idea contradicts the passages that tell us that Christ is God, as well as the
passages that tell us that He is man. Furthermore, since God said, "I
change not" we reject the idea that He changed into man (during the time
Christ was on earth) and then changed back (Malachi 3:6). Instead the words
"He took on him the seed of Abraham" tell us that Christ took
the nature of man into His divine nature through the virgin birth (Hebrews
CHRIST'S
HUMILIATION AND EXALTATION
While
Christ has always been true God, during the time He was on earth he humbled
Himself in that He did not make full use of the divine knowledge and power that
were at His disposal. As it is written, "Being found in fashion as a man,
he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the
cross" (Philippians 2:8).
Since
His humiliation ended, all of the attributes of deity are His, even according
to His human nature. As it is written, "All power is given unto me in
heaven and in earth" (Matthew 28:18). [See also Philippians 2:9-10.]
CHRIST,
AS PROPHET, PRIEST, AND KING
The
following passages reveal Christ as our Prophet, Priest, and King. The Doctrine
of His Vicarious atonement deals with what he accomplished as our High Priest.
Acts
Hebrews 10:14, By one
offering he has perfected forever those who are sanctified.
Hebrews 1:8, But unto the Son
he says, Your throne, O God, is forever and ever: a scepter of
righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom.
CONCLUSION
While
I could add many other passages, they would only repeat and enlarge upon what
has been said. However, I do want to stress the fact that the true
Gary Ray Branscome