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jettrooper
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There is a soul-transforming power in the knowledge of the nature of Christ. Erroneous views of these foundational principles of faith lead men into a corrupt faith and a worship that dishonors the Lord instead of glorifying Him.
In the beginning the Lord Christ was with God and the Lord Christ was God (John 1:1). Here is the most direct and revealing statement of the apostolic faith found in the scripture about the nature of the Lord Christ. The Apostle John sets ink to parchment to record for eternity, the fact of Christ’s divinity against nay sayers that have been spreading through the Churches of Christ. Groups had begun to emerge in and separate from the established Church. These groups vehemently denied the divinity of Jesus. Jude 1:4 (NASB) reports: “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”
The Cerinthians, Simonians, and the Gnostics all denied this foundational principle from the beginning of the Church. Each of these groups as well simply vanished away from history because of the stance and unity of the Church.http://christianchat.com/#_edn1
What makes the divinity of Christ a necessary doctrine of faith? Any doctrine must be tested and tried to be found valid and true. Judgment, either by God or by man, must be made on any presumed knowledge that man would attest. As Irenaeus wrote in the second century: “God will also judge the vain speeches of the perverse Gnostics, by showing that they are the disciples of Simon Magus.”[ii] Scripture explains in Matthew 12:36-37: “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” Our thoughts, actions, and convictions will receive judgment. The proper understand of the nature of Christ then become imperative.
The scriptures reveal many truths on the divinity of Christ. Jesus himself taught of His divinity and the inspired writers noted this subject on many occasions. Jesus claimed to be equal with God. He applied to Himself titles that were reserved for the Most High God such as “I AM” (John 8:58), “The first and the last” (Isaiah 44:6 and Revelation 1:17), and “the judge of all men” (Joel 3:12 and Matthew 25:32). Jesus assumed the roles that were reserved specifically for the one true God.
Jesus taught that he should be honored as God. John 5:23 (KJV) says “That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.” Matthew 8:2 shows how Jesus accepted worship from a man that He had healed from leperacy. Jesus did not correct his actions as he has notably correct people mistakes on other occasions.
Anyone who fails to see the divinity in Jesus then fails to receive the true revelation of God because it is not possible to be called a Christian if you do not share the doctrine of Christ. To not believe what Christ taught about himself then fails to make you a disciple of Christ. They are then only your personal beliefs and not the beliefs of Christianity. “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” John 8:24 (KJV)
If Christ was divine then how can He be human? Is not the Creator of universe not sovereign over that universe? Does He not transcend that which He has created? Jesus did not subtract anything from His nature when he was born of a woman but instead He added humanity to himself. The question of Christ’s humanity cannot be understood using a logic of opposites. Jesus does not need to be either human or divine; His humanity is added to His nature so that He partake of the salvation of mankind. The salvation of man depends on Christ’s complete humanity for salvation. “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;” 1 Timothy 2:5 (KJV bold added).
http://christianchat.com/#_ednref1 Sisters of Notre Dame de Namu, Compendium of Church History, BiblioBazaar, LLC, 2009, pg 31
[ii] Bercot, David, A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs, Hendrickson Publishing, 2006 pg. 615
In the beginning the Lord Christ was with God and the Lord Christ was God (John 1:1). Here is the most direct and revealing statement of the apostolic faith found in the scripture about the nature of the Lord Christ. The Apostle John sets ink to parchment to record for eternity, the fact of Christ’s divinity against nay sayers that have been spreading through the Churches of Christ. Groups had begun to emerge in and separate from the established Church. These groups vehemently denied the divinity of Jesus. Jude 1:4 (NASB) reports: “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”
The Cerinthians, Simonians, and the Gnostics all denied this foundational principle from the beginning of the Church. Each of these groups as well simply vanished away from history because of the stance and unity of the Church.http://christianchat.com/#_edn1
What makes the divinity of Christ a necessary doctrine of faith? Any doctrine must be tested and tried to be found valid and true. Judgment, either by God or by man, must be made on any presumed knowledge that man would attest. As Irenaeus wrote in the second century: “God will also judge the vain speeches of the perverse Gnostics, by showing that they are the disciples of Simon Magus.”[ii] Scripture explains in Matthew 12:36-37: “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” Our thoughts, actions, and convictions will receive judgment. The proper understand of the nature of Christ then become imperative.
The scriptures reveal many truths on the divinity of Christ. Jesus himself taught of His divinity and the inspired writers noted this subject on many occasions. Jesus claimed to be equal with God. He applied to Himself titles that were reserved for the Most High God such as “I AM” (John 8:58), “The first and the last” (Isaiah 44:6 and Revelation 1:17), and “the judge of all men” (Joel 3:12 and Matthew 25:32). Jesus assumed the roles that were reserved specifically for the one true God.
Jesus taught that he should be honored as God. John 5:23 (KJV) says “That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.” Matthew 8:2 shows how Jesus accepted worship from a man that He had healed from leperacy. Jesus did not correct his actions as he has notably correct people mistakes on other occasions.
Anyone who fails to see the divinity in Jesus then fails to receive the true revelation of God because it is not possible to be called a Christian if you do not share the doctrine of Christ. To not believe what Christ taught about himself then fails to make you a disciple of Christ. They are then only your personal beliefs and not the beliefs of Christianity. “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” John 8:24 (KJV)
If Christ was divine then how can He be human? Is not the Creator of universe not sovereign over that universe? Does He not transcend that which He has created? Jesus did not subtract anything from His nature when he was born of a woman but instead He added humanity to himself. The question of Christ’s humanity cannot be understood using a logic of opposites. Jesus does not need to be either human or divine; His humanity is added to His nature so that He partake of the salvation of mankind. The salvation of man depends on Christ’s complete humanity for salvation. “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;” 1 Timothy 2:5 (KJV bold added).
http://christianchat.com/#_ednref1 Sisters of Notre Dame de Namu, Compendium of Church History, BiblioBazaar, LLC, 2009, pg 31
[ii] Bercot, David, A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs, Hendrickson Publishing, 2006 pg. 615