The Chalcedon Creed of 451 stated it rather plainly.
Therefore, following the holy fathers, we all with one accord teach men to acknowledge one and the same Son, our lord Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man, consisting also of a reasonable soul and body; of one substance with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with us as regards his manhood; like us in all respects, apart from sin; as regards his Godhead, begotten of the Father before the ages, but yet as regards his manhood begotten, for us men and for our salvation, of Mary the Virgin, the God-bearer; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person and subsistence, not as parted or separated into two persons, but one and the same Son and Only-begotten God the Word, Lord Jesus Christ; even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of him, and our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the creed of the Fathers has handed down to us.
Henry Bettenson, "DOCUMENTS OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH," New York: Oxford University Press, 1947, pp 72-73.
Someone once observed about Jesus Christ that either He was a lunatic, a liar, or Lord; there are no other choices. Perhap Jesus was crazy, suffering from delusions of grandeur. He wasn't the first man whoever claimed to be God, nor the last. Maybe Jesus was a religious zealot with an elaborate scheme to rally the Jews in revolt against the Romans by a spurious claim to be the Messiah. After all, the Jews were looking for a political Messiah to break the yoke of Roman bondage. If Jesus wasn't a lunatic and if Jesus wasn't a liar, what other choices are remaining? Only one, He is who He actually claimed to be - the Lord!
The Jews had their fill of religious charlatans pretending to be the Messiah. The spiritual leadership of Israel was not looking for spiritual reform but political change. They were so snug in their self-righteousness as sons of Abraham that their hearts were hardened and darkened to the claims of Jesus Christ. Jesus didn't fit into their Messiah mold. Jesus taught righteousness and repentance; the Jews were more interested in rebellion against Rome and rejection of His message and miracles. Miracles were a source of aggravation because they couldn't be ignored; people were being healed! Jesus performed miracles because of His compassion to relieve suffering, but more importantly, it validated that He was indeed the true Messiah sent by the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Note what Jesus told John the Baptist's disciples to tell John who was in prison for the faith (Lk 7:20-23),
(20) When the men had come to Him, they said, "John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, 'Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?'" (21) And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight. (22) Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. (23) And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me."
I love the story of the blind man in John 9:1ff after receiving his sight from Jesus and testifying before the prideful Pharisees,
(30) The man answered and said to them, "Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! (31) Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. (32) Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. (33) If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing." (34) They answered and said to him, "You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?" And they cast him out.
What say you concerning Jesus? Was He a lunatic, a liar, or Lord? These are pressing choices for which there are no other alternatives. A decision has to be made. No one can claim to be neutral concerning Jesus; no one can refuse to answer due to a lack of knowledge. We know people do this all the time. Religion being a private affair, right? Christianity is personal but far from private! We have all heard of the old saying like a worn out old shoe, ignorance of the law is no excuse. If you ever paid a fine from a judge's ruling, who pontificates, Mr. or Ms. so and so, ignorance of the law is no excuse, ignorance can be costly. The gavel striking the desk reverberates in your ears, "Judgment is for ... $$." Ugh.
But can mankind claim ignorance of God in light of general or natural revelation of God (Creation), and we are not referring to special or supernatural revelation which is the Word of God? No. But what law are we talking about? Perhaps I could reword it another way. Ignorance of natural revelation is no excuse. In fact ignorance is really a moot point in light of natural revelation. Why? Because mankind is already under condemnation which suggests that ignorance had no effect whatsoever in the judgment.
Since the creation of the world, ignorance has never circumvented the penalty for sin, physical and spiritual death. All die. In fact words like "neutral," "no opinion," "ignorance," "thinking about it," "haven't decided" are all irrelevant words and phrases when it comes to dying. The reason we all die physically is because we are born sinners (Psa 51:5). The reason others die not only physically but spiritually is because all of those words and phrases above all fall under the umbrella of the word "rejection." A non-decision is a decision. Ignorance is a decision. Neutrality is a decision. Getting our life right before committing is a decision. Anyone of these decisions is tantamount to rejection of the truth if this applies to you. Man is condemned because he has rejected the truth of God.
Naturally, the argument ensues that you can't reject what you don't know. I agree with that in principle and even when it comes to Jesus. There are many who do not know of or about Jesus. But what is damaging to man is that man is already condemned, even if he knows nothing about Jesus! Ignorance is not a cure but a cancer. According to natural revelation (Creation) all men are condemned to an eternity without Christ unless they receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. But what about people who have not heard of Jesus? This is addressed in Romans chapter one.
(18) For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of me, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, (19) because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. (20) For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse [emphasis mine], (21) because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Whether man has heard the gospel message or not, the phrase, without excuse, eliminates the notion that ignorance can circumvent the penalty of sin. Rom 1:21 dismisses the idea of any ignorance here. Paul by inspiration of the Holy Spirit declares they knew God. God has revealed Himself to mankind in creation, and man has not responded to this natural revelation in Romans 1:20, His eternal power and Godhead (Deity), but rejected the truth of God. The invisible is being clearly seen and understood by the things that are made. Creation demands a Creator. Anyone looking up into the heavens can know there is evidence of intelligent design which demands a Designer; there is a God.
Condemnation is based on a choice. As far as natural revelation (Creation) is concerned, this literally looms over every man, woman, and child so that the witness of God in nature is so clear, so constant, so compelling that ignorance is an indefensible position. We have been talking about outer space, but this terrestrial sphere we call home declares God's handiwork as well, not by evolution but by Elohim (Gen 1:1).
Universal condemnation is not based upon rejecting a Savior of whom they have never heard of, but sinning against the light they do have, what they could know about God. God gave a two-fold revelation of Himself to man according to Romans 1:19, "in them" (conscience) and "to them" (Creation). Man from the get go witnessed the mighty power and wisdom of God and turned his back on Him so that even people who have never heard the Gospel are still without excuse, even now.
So, rather than seeking the truth they exchanged the truth of God for a lie or literally, "the lie" (Rom 1:25). What was the lie that man exchanged for the truth? The great exchange was worshipping the creature rather than the Creator, worshipping man instead of God, worshipping things in place of God. Idolatry does not have to take on the form of wood or stone or metal; idolatry is about exchanging God for something else.
Whatever competes for the will of God for our lives becomes an idol. Idolatry declares its independence of God, being self-sufficient, self-directing, and self-fulfilling. God is out of the picture, and man is on the throne as a god unto himself. Usually we see the evidences of idolatry in the passionate pursuits of power, pleasure, or possessions at the exclusion of God and all the fruit of the fall away from God who is blessed forever (Rom 1:25).
Natural revelation removes ignorance as an excuse and exposes it for what it is - rebellion and rejection. And now you can see why the Great Commission (Mt 28:18-20) is so relevant and mission critical in the cause of Christ. The world is condemned because the truth of God was rejected. We have the cure, Jesus, our Lord and Savior! Listen to the Apostle John's words, He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God (John 3:18).
As John the Baptist so eloquently and simply put it, Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (Jn 1:29). And Paul after his discourse on sin summed it up this way, There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit (Rom 8:1).
Jesus is Lord! He is God! He is Yahweh! Jesus saves! The world so desperately needs to hear from all of us who claim to know Jesus as Lord and Savior that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (Jn 3:16). This really is good news!
Concerning Jesus, there are only three possibilities of who He is, and you would have to conclude once you studied about Him is that He is either a lunatic, a liar, or Lord. Then what will you do with that information? The demons know Jesus is Lord, and are heading for eternal banishment and everlasting punishment (Jas 2:19). If you don't believe Jesus is Lord, you have only two other opitions from which to choose from, lunatic or liar. Even if you attempt to avoid the question, if He is not your Lord and Savior, the realities of sin and natural revelation still have you in its death grip.
Shifting gears, let us look at the historical Jesus briefly.
People may question the existence of God but very few will challenge the existence of Jesus Christ. For good reason there is more manuscript evidence for Jesus Christ than there is for Julius Caesar, and when was the last time you ever heard someone protesting the existence of Julius Caesar? There are over 25,000 manuscripts of the NT around the world with some dating 40-60 years after the original autographs. There are only 10 manuscripts of the Gallic Wars, a series of campaigns waged by Julius Caesar against the Gallic people. The earliest manuscript is 1,000 A.D. Julius Caesar’s Gallic campaigns lasted approximately 58 B.C. to 51 B.C.
All the major religions teach that Jesus was a prophet, a good teacher, a good moral man. The Bible, on the other hand, reveals that Jesus was not merely these limited descriptions of Him but Jesus was Someone infinitely more! He was fully God and fully man! There are a host of false teachings on Christ that emphasizes His divinity and deemphasizes His humanity or just the opposite where His divinity is deemphasized and emphasis is placed upon His humanity. Or His two natures are fused into a single hybrid nature. These three views of Jesus Christ are contrary to sound biblical teaching.
Now a proper biblical understanding of Jesus Christ is crucial for our salvation for Jesus had to be who He claimed to be for His death to satisfy the just demands of a holy and righteous God; He had to be fully God. He also had to be an unblemished lamb, fully man, in order to die. But one may argue that Jesus is not truly man for He is not sinful. Was Adam not a man before the fall? Sin, therefore, is not essential to being truly human. Jesus became all that we are in every detail except for sin. Jesus is not only 100% God; He is 100% man.
Nobody understands this. No one living has ever seen Deity or a sinless man. No one living has ever seen the God-Man, fully God and fully man, a unique Person possessing two distinct natures. Theologians call this the hypostatic union of Jesus Christ that took place at the incarnation, when Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary. Since the sin nature is transmitted through the seed of sinful man, it was quintessential that Mary had to be impregnated by a holy God. Thus Jesus was clothed in humanity without inheriting the sinful nature of man. He became the second Adam (cf. 1 Cor 15:45).
Jesus had to be the God-Man, fully God and fully man for His sacrifice to be efficacious. If we reject this truth, we are not saved. We are not saying that we have to understand this truth in order to be saved! No one can understand the hypostatic union of Christ (one Person, fully God and fully man or two distinct natures in one Person)! The hypostatic union of Jesus makes Him unique among all of humanity.
Ryrie was well aware of the titanic struggle of grasping the incarnation, that moment when Jesus who was fully God took on a second nature called humanity.
This concept of the hypostatic or one-person union of the divine and human natures in one Person is probably one of the most difficult concepts to comprehend in theology. Not one of us has ever seen Deity except as the Scriptures reveal God, and not one of us has ever seen perfect humanity except as the Scriptures reveal pre-fallen Adam and our Lord. To try to relate these two concepts to the person of Christ adds complexities to ideas that are in themselves difficult to comprehend.There are many incomprehensible truths in Scripture. Our lack of understanding does not invalidate the truth nor does our rejection of truth nullify it either. This is where faith enters the picture without blowing a head gasket. Believe it because this is what the Scriptures teach about Jesus Christ. Jesus warned the Jews in John 8:24 …if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins. He in this verse was added by the translators, if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins.
Ryrie, Charles C.; "BASIC THEOLOGY"; Wheaton: Victor Books, 1986, p 250
The I am catapults the listener back to when Moses learned of God’s name in Exodus 3:14, the I AM. The Jews had a rough time with accepting their Messiah as suffering on a Roman cross like a common criminal, and, therefore, rejected Jesus’ claim to be their long awaited Messiah.
In the incarnation of the Son of God, a human nature was inseparably united forever with the divine nature in the one person of Jesus Christ, yet with the two natures remaining distinct, whole, and unchanged, without mixture or confusion so that the one person, Jesus Christ, is truly God and truly man.HE was FULLY God, not half God: For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Col. 2:9
Walter A. Elwell, Ed., "EVANGELICAL DICTIONARY OF THEOLOGY," Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1984, p 540.
HE was FULLY Man, not half Man: Then Joseph … took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS. Mt 1:24-25
A. H. Strong states,
Distinctly as the Scriptures represent Jesus Christ to have been possessed of a divine nature and of a human nature, each unaltered in essence and undivested of its normal attributes and powers, they with equal distinctness represent Jesus Christ as a single undivided personality in whom these two natures are vitally and inseparably united, so that he is properly, not God and man, but the God-man.
Augustus H. Strong, SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY, Valley Forge, PA: The Judson Press, 1907, pp 683-84.
Jesus is God (in eternity past, present, and future)
C.S. Lewis in his book Mere Christianity writes the following:
I am trying here to prevent anyone from saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him [Jesus Christ]: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with a man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that option open to us. He did not intend to.”So who did Jesus claim to be?
· From His enemies point of view, John 10:30-33
· From Jesus, John 8:58-59 (the direct application of the OT name for God in Ex 3:14, I AM)
The Jews wanted to stone Jesus because He claimed to be God!
· John 1:1, the Word was God
· John 1:14, the Word became flesh (Jesus is God in the flesh)
· John 20:28 Thomas declared to Jesus, My Lord and my God.
· The apostle Paul describes Him as, “…our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” Titus 2:13
· The apostle Peter says the same, “…our God and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet 1:1)
· According to God the Father, But to the Son He says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.’ Heb 1:8
- Old Testament prophecies of Christ announced His deity, For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isa 9:6
· The most important reason that Jesus has to be God is that if He is not God, His death would not have been sufficient to pay the penalty for the sins of the whole world – 1 John 2:2, And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. Only God could pay such an infinite penalty
· Rom 5:8, But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
· 2 Cor 5:21 is the doctrinal foundation for our reconciliation. The Lord Jesus Christ never became sinful in Himself, rather our sins were placed on Him, but they were not in Him. God made Him to be a sin-offering on our behalf. God's wrath was exhausted on Jesus on the cross for us. This is a beautiful picture of substitution.
You see a similar idea in Philemon where Paul told Philemon to put what Onesimus owed him on his account. Paul would repay the debt. Paul didn't steal and run away from his master, but he was going to pay the price for Onesimus' misdeeds. This is what our Lord did for you and me at the cross. By trusting in Jesus, we are imputed with the righteousness of Christ. Christ never sinned in His walk or in His death. He was sinless to the end; He did, however, pay the debt we could not pay. He never became a sinner; He became our Substitute. Glory be to God for His unspeakable gift of grace and mercy shown toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us!
· The fact that Jesus is God was continually recognized by all of His followers and questioned only by His enemies. The deity of Jesus Christ is an unmistakable fact of Scripture.
Jesus is a Man (in the incarnation, clothed in flesh, Jn 1:14, and forever, Heb 13:8).
Below are some examples of His humanity.
· Isa 7:14 (the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son)
· Isa 53:3 (a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief)
· Mt 4:2 (hungry)
· Mt 8:24 (asleep)
· Mt 23:37 (his compassion)
· Mk 3:1-5 (His anger)
· Lk 2:52 (increased in wisdom and stature – growth)
· Lk 19:10 (Son of Man, favorite expression)
· Jn 1:14 (the Word became flesh and dwelt among us)
· Jn 8:40 (but now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth)
· Jn 11:35 (Jesus wept)
· Jn 19:28 (thirst)
· Rom 9:5 (according to the flesh Christ came)
· Php 2:8 (being found in appearance as a man)
· 1 Tim 2:5 (the Man Christ Jesus)
· Heb 2:17, Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
Here are some examples of Jesus’ deity and humanity in action.
| GOD | MAN |
| He is worshiped (Mt 2:2, 11; 14:33). | He worshiped the Father (Jn 17:1ff). |
| He was called God (Jn 20:28; Heb 1:8) | He was called man (Mk 15:39; Jn 19:5). |
| He was called Son of God (Mk 1:1) | He was called Son of Man (Jn 9:35-37). |
| He is prayed to (Acts 7:59). | He prayed to the Father (Jn 17:1ff). |
| He is sinless (1 Pet 2:22; Heb 4:15). | He was tempted (Mt 4:1). |
| He knows all things (Jn 21:17). | He grew in wisdom (Lk 2:52). |
| He gives eternal life (Jn 10:28). | He died (Rom 5:8). |
| All the fullness of deity dwells in Him (Col 2:9). | He has a body of flesh and bones (Lk 24:29). |
| (Chart borrowed!) |
1 Pet 2:21, For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps. Jesus is our pattern for living.
Jesus became a human being in order to identify with us in our struggles (Heb 2:17) and, more importantly, so that He could die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins (Php 2:5-11).
Postscript
In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1 Jn 4:9-11
Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins. Jn 8:24
For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Heb 4:15-16
For God to die He had to become a man (Mt 20:28). For that death to satisfy for sin He had to be God (1 Jn 4:10, Rom 5:1; the physical resurrection was absolute proof that God accepted Jesus’ sacrifice for sin (1 Cor 15:3-4; 13-17). Are you satisfied with the sacrifice that satisfied the just demands of a holy and righteous God? Or are you still vacillating on whether Jesus was a lunatic, a liar, or Lord?
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