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THE KING’S BUSINESS
they talk o f the atonement, but they do not mean at all by the atonement the substitu tionary death of Jesus Christ in our place, by which eternal life; is secured for us. And oftentimes when they talk about Christ they do not mean at all our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the actual historic Jesus of the four gospels, they mean an ideal Christ, or a Christ principle. So our subject this morning is not the Divinity of Christ, but the Deity o f Christ, and our question is not is Jesus Christ Divine, but is Jesus Christ God? Was that person who was born at Bethlehem nineteen hundred and twenty- one years ago, and who lived thirty-three o r ' thirty-four years here upon earth as recorded in the four gospels o f Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, who was crucified on Calvary’s cross, who rose from the dead the third day, and was exalted from earth to heaven, to the right hand o f the Father, was He God manifested in the flesh, was He God embodied in a human being? Was He and is He a being worthy of our abso lute faith, and supreme love, and our unhes itating obedience, and our whole-hearted worship, just as God the Father is worthy o f our absolute faith and supreme love and unhesitating obedience and our whole hearted worship? Should all men honor Jesus., Christ even as they honor God the Father (John 5;23). Not merely is He an example that we can wisely follow, or a Master whom we can wisely serve, but is He a God Whom we can rightly worship? I presume that most o f us do believe that He tyas God manifested in the flesh, and that He is God today at the right hand o f the Father, but why do you believe so? Are you so intelligent in your faith, and therefore so well grounded in your faith that no glib talker or reasoner, no Unitar ian or Russellite or Christian Scientist or Theosophist, or other errorist can confuse you and upset you and lead you astray? It is important that we be thoroughly sound in our faith at this point, and thoroughly well-informed, wherever else we may be in ignorance or error, for we are distinctly told in John 20:31 that “ These are writ
ten, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son o f God; and that believing, ye may have life in His name.” It is evi dent from these words o f the inspired Apostle John that- this question is not merely a matter of theoretical opinion, that it is a matter that concerns our salvation. It is to confirm and instruct you in your blessed faith, your saving faith in Jesus Christ as a Divine person, that I speak this morning. When I studied the subject o f the Divinity o f Christ in the theological seminary I got the impression that there were a few texts in the Bible that con clusively proved that He was Divine. Years later I found that there were not merely a few proof texts that proved this, but that the Bible in many ways and in countless passages clearly taught that Jesus Christ was God manifest in the flesh. Indeed I found that the Doctrine o f the Deity o f Jesus Christ formed the very warp and w oof o f the Bible. I. Divine Names. The first line o f proof o f the absolute Deity o f our Lord Jesus is that many names and titles clearly implying Deity are used of Jesus Christ in the Bible, some of them over and over again, the total, number o f passages reaching far into the hundreds . O f course, this morning I can only give you a few illustrations. Turn with me first o f all to Rev. 1 :17, “AND WHEN I SAW HIM, I FELL A T HIS FEET A S ONE DEAD. AND HE LAID H IS RIGHT HAND UPON ME SAYING, FEAR NO T ; I AM THE FIRST AND THE LAST.” The text shows clearly that our Lord Jesus was the speaker, and here our Lord Jesus distinctly calls Himself “the First and the Last.” Now this beyond 3. Question is a Divine name, for in -Isa. 44:6 we read, “ THUS SAYETH JEHO VAH, THE KING OF ISRAEL, AN D HIS REDEEMER, JEHOVAH OF H O S T S : I AM THE FIRST, AND I AM THE LA S T ; AND BESIDES MR THERE IS NO GOD.” In Rev. 22:12, 13, our Lord Jesus says that He is the Alpha.
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