The Divinity of Christ
SECTION FIVE
THIRTEEN BIBLE
PROOFS
THAT CHRIST HAS
EXISTED FOREVER
SUMMARY OF VERSES
DESCRIBING
CHRISTS ETERNITY
Let us briefly
review the passages which teach the eternity of Christ:
1 - Christ
existed before all things.The following verse says He existed before all created
matter or beings.
"And He
is before all things, and by Him all things consist."Colossians 1:17.
2 - Christ was
in the beginning.In the beginning of what? The inference in John 1:1 is in the
absolute beginning. God would not be God if there was a time when He did not exist.
"In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in
the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not any thing
made that was made . . And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us . . full of grace
and truth."John 1:1-3, 14.
"That
which was from the beginning . . the Word of life."1 John 1:1.
"The
Lord possessed Me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old."Proverbs
8:22.
3 - Christs
goings forth have been from everlasting in the past.So there never was a time
when He did not exist.
"But
thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of
thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have
been from of old, from everlasting."Micah 5:2.
4 - Christ is the
very image of God.Therefore He has to possess all the Fathers qualities,
including eternity, past, present, and future.
"Who is
the image of the invisible God."Colossians 1:15.
"Who
being the brightness of His glory, and the express image [exact likeness] of His Person,
and upholding all things by the Word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins,
sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high."Hebrews 1:3.
5 - Christ has
the total fullness of all the attributes of God.These attributes would have to
include eternity.
"For in
Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily."Colossians 2:9.
6 - Christ has
the total inner essence of God.That total inner essence would have to include
eternity, or Christ would not be fully God.
"Who,
being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God."Philippians
2:6.
7 - Christ is
the Everlasting Father.This means He has existed from the everlasting past.
"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."Isaiah 9:6.
8 - Christ is
forever blessed.The blessing is foreverforever past, present, and future.
"Christ
. . who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen."Romans 9:5.
9 - Christ
never changes.This unchangeableness is past, present, and future.
"I am
the Lord; I change not."Malachi 3:6.
10 - Christ is
totally immutable!Words could not describe it better than these.
"And,
Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are
the works of Thine hands. They shall perish, but Thou remainest, and they all shall wax
old as doth a garment. And as a vesture shalt Thou fold them up, and they shall be
changed; but Thou art the same, and Thy years shall not fail."Hebrews
1:10-12.
11 - Christ is
not only eternal, but immortal as well."Immortal" means He is not
subject to death or non-existence. One of the attributes of God is that there never has
been a time when He did not, or will not, existpast or future.
"The
King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God."1 Timothy 1:17.
"Jesus
Christ . . who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;
who only hath immortality."1 Timothy 6:14-16.
12 - Christ is
the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.That means He has eternal
self-existence. He is, and was, and is to come.
"I am
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was,
and which is to come, the Almighty."Revelation 1:8.
"I am
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last."Revelation
22:13.
13 - Christ is
the I AM, the self-existent God.What stronger statement could be made about His
eternity?
"And God
said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM. And He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of
Israel, I AM hath sent Me unto you."Exodus 3:14.
Revelation 1:8
and 22:13, quoted above, as well as several "I AM" passages in John, apply the I
AM to Christ in the New Testament.
SECTION SIX
STATEMENTS BY
MODERN ARIANS
AND FELLOW
TRAVELERS
1 - THE
POSITION
OF JEHOVAHS
WITNESSES
During the first
of my three years in attendance at the Seventh-day Adventist Seminary, in Washington D.C.,
prior to entering the ministry, a friend of mine stopped by one day to tell me what
happened the night before.
Taking a
practicum course at the Seminary that quarter, he had been assigned to work under a local
pastor who told him to work in the Rockville area, where the conference was trying to get
a full-fledged church started.
My friend had
been giving Bible studies to a family who, at the same time, were in contact with some
Jehovahs Witnesses. Uncertain which church to unite with, and unknown to my friend,
the mother of the home decided to bring both groups together one eveningand see what
they both would say when together.
So when my friend
arrived for the Bible study,he found two or three Jehovahs Witnesses already
there in the living room with the mother and her family.
After speaking a
few words and uncertain what to do nextfor the atmosphere was tense, he said,
"Before we begin talking together, let us pray."
He knelt down and
began praying. Suddenly, before he could end his prayer, the lady who was the Witness
leader, jumped to her feet, and said, "This is terrible! I cannot remain here!"
and hurriedly went into the next room, with the other Witnesses following her.
Certain he had
done something to destroy his opportunity to reach this family, my friend sat down and
silently prayed while the mother of the home rushed into the next room, closed the door,
and began speaking with the Witness lady.
My friend kept
praying. Within five or ten minutes, the Witnesses all left the home, and the mother came
back into the living room. As I recall it now, this is what she said:
"The woman
told me she was shocked. She said you had mentioned in your prayer that Jesus Christ is
God,and she could not stand to be in a place where that was said! So she has left
with all her group. And I am now convinced that the Seventh-day Adventists are right
after all!"
Soon after the
family joined the church.
Some people do
not want to believe that Christ is fully God. The Witnesses say He is "a god,"
but they really do not believe He is any kind of God.
"Jehovahs
Witnesses . . believe that the son is merely a god by way of
concession."Jehovahs Witnesses: Answered Verse by Verse, by David A.
Reed, 42.
There are
itinerant preachers, traveling around among faithful Advent believers right now, who also
do not believe that Christ is even a lower-level God (if such a thing could be). In their
estimation, He is a created being, not eternal, and not God in the highest sense.
2 - STATEMENTS
BY
TRAVELING
ADVENTIST SPEAKERS
Here are a few
statements by some of these traveling, independent, Adventist preachers. We have many
statements we could quote from them:
FRED
ALABACK"God the Father is the One and only being in the universe that did
not have a beginning of any kind . . One and only supreme being in the universe . . the
one God. "Fred Alaback, Liberty Review, October, 1989.
CALEB
ALONSO"There is one God, and thats the Father, and theres only
one Godtheres no more Gods, but one."Caleb
Alonso, video taped
sermon, Part One, December 21, 1991.
SCOTT
STANLEY, JOHN SMITH, JOHN ENCISCO"The entire gospel is based on the fact
that there is one God, the Father."Scott Stanley, John Smith, and John
Encisco, booklet, 9.
BILL
STRINGFELLOW"Our heavenly Father is the One Supreme Being in the universe.
He is the source from which comes all life and power . . Our heavenly Father is the only
true Godperiod!"Bill Stringfellow, video taped presentation, Part One,
March, 1994.
EDWARD
EDSTROM"And so we see ONE God . . Here we have not three Gods, but one!
Here also we have one God, not two."Edward Edstrom, quoted by Marty
Wold,
newsletter, August 19, 1987.
MARTY
WOLD"My purpose has been . . to establish the Bible truth of One God, the
Father."Marty Wold, newsletter, August 19, 1987, 12.
As usual, the
Spirit of Prophecy reveals that these things would occur in our ranks:
"Again
and again we shall be called to meet the influence of men who are studying sciences of
satanic origin, through which Satan is working to make a nonentity of God and of Christ.
"The Father
and the Son each have a personalty. Christ declared: I and My Father are one.
Yet it was the Son of God who came to the world in human form. Laying aside His royal robe
and kingly crown, He clothed His divinity with humanity, that humanity through His
infinite sacrifice might become partakers of the divine nature and escape the corruption
that is in the world through lust."9 Testimonies 68.
3 - STATEMENTS
BY SPIRITUALISTS
What is it that
the Satanists teach? Let us read their statements. We will find that they echo the
downgrading hatred of their father, the devil, for Christ.
"[Jesus
said] I am not God . . I do not want you to worship me."Helen
Shookman, A
Course in Miracles. (Regarded as a New Age Bible, it was written by Shookman as a
channeler [medium], under the direction of a spirit calling itself Jesus).
"He
[Jesus] was not God, and never claimed to be."Rodney R. Romney, Journey to
Inner Space: Finding God in Us, 30.
"Son of
God, First-Born . . the Second Logos or Higher Self,the first emanation from the
Father, the Absolute, or the First Logos."Dictionary of All Scriptures and
Myths, by G.A. Gaskell, 702. (This dictionary uses the sacredly held philosophic writings
of all religions such as Zoroaster, Philo, Swedenborg, Buddah, Hermes, the
Qabbalah, etc.,
in order to derive the definitions hence givenwhich are mystical and
spiritualistic.)
"The
eternal Birth or generation of the Son or Divine Word . . From our proper Source, that is
to say, from the Father and all that which lives in Him, there shines, says
Ruysbroeck, an eternal Ray, the which is the Birth of the Son . . We are celebrating
the feast of the Eternal Birth which God the Father has borne."Mysticism, by
E. Underhill, 146.
"Holy is
God, the Father of all things, the One who is before the First Beginning."The
Secret Teachings of All Ages, XL, by Manly P. Hall, 33rd Degree Mason. (Hall is quoting
Hermes or Cush who was the interpreter of the mysteries, or basically the founder of
spiritualistic Babylonian religion. Cush was also the father of Nimrod, who founded
Babylon and then based its mystery religion upon the teachings of his father.)
"God
[the great architect of the universe] as the infinite Parent of all . ."Morals
and Dogma, 715, by Albert Pike, 33rd Degree Mason, also The Masonic Report, 20.
"The One
[God] is the term most suitable for defining the Absolute, since the whole precedes the
parts."Hall, XV.
"The
Qabbalists [Qabbala is Jewish witchcraft] conceive of the Supreme Deity as an
incomprehensible Principle to be discovered only through the process of eliminating, in
order, all its conizable attributes. That which remains . . is AIN SOPH, the eternal state
of Being . . all [things are] nourished by AIN SOPH and all with their source in AIN
SOPH,
the only Immortalwhence they came."Hall, CXVII.
"The
terms Father, Son, and Spirit are but symbols which stand for three manifestations of God
. . God goes forth from Himself in the Eternal Son, returning to Himself in the Eternal
Spirit."Gaskell, 770.
"The
Father uttered himself and all creatures in the Word, his Son, and the return of the
Father into himself includes the like return of all creatures into the same Eternal
Source. The logical genesis of the Son furnishes a type of all evolution or creation; the
Son is the unity of all the works of God . . God is in all things, and God is all
things."Gaskell, 770.
"Holy is
God, whose will is performed and accomplished by His own powers which He hath given birth
to out of Himself."Hall, quoting Hermes, the founder of the mysteries of
spiritualism, XL.
"[God]
can unfold His essence in a variety of existences, which, while they are His creatures as
to their origin, are parts of His essence as to their contents."Gaskell,
317.
"The
Absolute [or Godthe One Source of all] . . is the beginning and final goal of the
whole series of essences which exist . . the beginning and end of all things."Gaskell,
317.
SECTION SEVEN
TWENTY-FIVE BIBLE
PROOFS
THAT CHRIST IS
FULLY GOD
Several
years ago, the present writer compiled this overview of what the Bible teaches about the
divinity of Christ:
1Jesus
Christ is called the "Son," or "the Son of God." He was the Son before
He was born into this world (Jn 1:14, 18; Gal 4:4).
2He is the
"only begotten" Son of God (Jn 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18; 1 Jn 4:9; compare 2 Sam
7:14; Ps 2:7; Lk 3:38; Jn 1:12).
3He speaks
of, and to, God as "Father" as One who bears a unique relationship to Him (Matt
6:9; 7:21; Jn 20:17).
4He claimed
a unique knowledge of God (Matt 11:27).
5He spoke
of Himself as "the Son of God" in such a way that the Jews recognized that He
was claiming divinity, making Himself "equal to" God (Matt 26:63; Jn 5:18;
10:36).
6The
Sonship of Christ also applies to Him as our Messiah and Mediator (Matt 8:29; 26:63; Jn
1:49; 11:27).
7He is the
image, the very image of God (2 Cor 4:4; Col 1:15; Heb 1:3).
8He is
called the "firstborn" (Col 1:15; Heb 1:6), and the "only begotten"
(Jn 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18; Heb 11:17; 1 Jn 4:9). In summary, the Bible indicates an
eternal sonship that goes back, without beginning, through all time in the past.
9He had
pre-existence and equality with the Father before He was born into this world (Micah
5:2; Jn 17:5; Col 1:16).
10He has
life in Himself (Jn 5:26).
11He has
full divinity or deity (Jn 1:1; Rom 9:5; Phil 2:6; Titus 2:13; 1 Jn 5:20).
12Divine
names are applied to Him (Isa 9:6; 40:3; Jer 23:5-6; Joel 2:32; compare Acts 2:21 and 1
Tim 3:16).
13He has
eternal existence (Isa 9:6; Jn 1:1-2; Rev 1:8; 22:13). There never was a time when
He did not exist.
14He has
omniscience (Jn 2:24-25; 21:17; Rev 2:23). He has all knowledge in heaven, on
earth, and throughout the universe.
15He has
omnipotence (Isa 9:6; Phil 3:21).
16He is
immutable (Heb 1:10-12; 13:8). He is utterly unchangeable.
17He has
every attribute that the Father has (Col 2:9).
18He is the
Creator (Jn 1:3, 10; Col 1:16; Heb 1:2, 10).
19Divine
Providences come through Christ (Jn 3:35; 17:2; Eph 1:22; Col 1:17).
20Only God
can forgive sin, and Jesus can forgive sin (Matt 9:2-7; Mk 2:7-10; Col 3:13).
21He has a
dominant role both in the Resurrection and Judgment of men (Matt 25:31-32; Jn 5:19-29;
Acts 10:42; 17:31; 2 Tim 4:1).
22He will
have a dominant role in the final destruction of sin and sinners, and the renewal of the
new heavens and the new earth (Heb 1:10-12; Phil 3:21; Rev 21:5).
23Honor as
to One who is Divine and fully God is ascribed to Him (Jn 5:22-23; 14:1; 1 Cor 15:19; 2
Cor 13:13; Heb 1:6; Matt 28:19).
24A basic
pattern appears to be that things come from the Father and through Christ (Jn 1:3, 10).
SECTION EIGHT
WHAT THE
SPIRIT OF PROPHECY
TEACHES ABOUT
THE FULL
GODHOOD AND ETERNITY
OF JESUS
CHRIST
The Spirit
of Prophecy teaches something far different than the Witnesses, the spiritualists, and the
traveling Arian speakers.
The Spirit of
Prophecy teaches what the Bible teachesthat Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, is
fully God and has existed forever.
"Jesus
declared, I am the resurrection and the life. In Christ is life, original,
unborrowed, underived. He that hath the son hath life (1 Jn 5:12). The
divinity of Christ is the believers assurance of eternal life . .
"To the
Saviours words, Believest thou? Martha responded, Yea, Lord: I
believe that Thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.
She did not comprehend in all their significance the words spoken by Christ, but she
confessed her faith in His divinity, and her confidence that He was able to perform
whatever it pleased Him to do."Desire of Ages, 530.
" In
Him [Jesus] was life; and the life was the light of men. It is not physical life
that is here specified, but [immortality], the life which is exclusively the property
of God. The Word, who was with God, and who was God, had this life. Physical life is
something which each individual receives. It is not eternal or immortal; for God, the
life-giver takes it again . . But the life of Christ was unborrowed. No one can take
this life from Him. I lay it down of Myself, He said. In Him was life,
original, unborrowed, underived. This life is not inherent in man. He can possess it
only through Christ."5 Bible Commentary, 1130 (1 Selected Messages,
296-297).
"The Word
existed as a divine being, even as the eternal Son of God, in union and oneness with His
Father. From everlasting He was the Mediator of the covenant . . Before men or
angels were created, the Word was with God, and was God . . Christ was God essentially,
and in the highest sense. He was with God from all eternity, God over all, blessed
forevermore. The Lord Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, existed from eternity, a
distinct Person, yet one with the Father."5 Review & Herald, 227 (1
Selected Messages, 247).
"The world
was made by Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made
(Jn
1:3). If Christ made all things, He existed before all things. The words spoken in
regard to this are so decisive that no one need be left in doubt. Christ was God
essentially, and in the highest sense. He was with God from all eternity, God over
all, blessed forevermore."1 Selected Messages, 247.
"The Lord
Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, existed from all eternity, a distinct person, yet one
with the Father. He was the surpassing glory of heaven. He was the commander of the
heavenly intelligences, and the adoring homage of the angels was received by Him as His
right. This was no robbery of God."5 Commentary, 1126.
"He [Christ]
was equal with God, infinite and omnipotent. He was above all finite requirements.
He was Himself the law in character. Of the highest angels it could not be said that
they had never borne a yoke. The angels all bear the yoke of dependence, the yoke of
obedience . . Not one of the angels could become a substitute and surety for the human
race, for their life is Gods; they could not surrender it. On Christ alone the human
family depended for their existence. He is the eternal, self-existent Son, on whom no
yoke had come . . He could say that which not the highest angel could sayI
have power over My own life. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it
again."12 Manuscript Release 395 (Manuscript 101, 1897).
"In Christ
were united the divine and the humanthe Creator and the creature. The nature of
God, whose law had been transgressed, and the nature of Adam, the transgressor, meet
in Jesusthe Son of God, and the Son of man."Manuscript 141, 1901 (7
Bible Commentary, 926).
"Abraham saw
the incarnate Saviour, and rejoiced . . Before Abraham was, I AM. Christ is
the pre-existent, self-existent Son of God."4 Signs of the Times, 141.
"It was
Christ who from the bush on Mount Horeb spoke to Moses saying, I AM THAT I AM
. . Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent Me unto you (Ex 3:14).
This was the pledge of Israels deliverance. So when He came in the likeness of
men, He declared Himself the I AM, the Child of Bethlehem, the meek and lowly
Saviour, God "manifest in the flesh" (1 Tim 3:16)."Desire of Ages,
24.
"Jesus
speaks of Himself as well as the Father as God, and claims for Himself perfect
righteousness."7 Bible Commentary, 929.
"[John
3:34-36, quoted] In this Scripture, God and Christ are spoken of as two distinct
personalities, each acting in their own individuality."Notebook Leaflets
from Elmshaven Library, Vol. 1, 124.
"Christ is
one with the Father, but Christ and God are two distinct personages. Read the
prayer of Christ in the seventeenth chapter of John, and you will find this point clearly
brought out. How earnestly the Saviour prayed that His disciples might be one with Him as
He is one with the Father. But the unity that is to exist between Christ and His
followers does not destroy the personality of either. They are to be one with Him as He is
one with the Father."Review and Herald, June 1, 1905 (5 Bible
Commentary, 1148).
"The unity
that exists between Christ and His disciples does not destroy the personality of either. They
are one in purpose, in mind, in character, but not in person."Upward
Look, 153 (Manuscript, 58).
"Christ
is the pre-existent, self-existent Son of God . . In speaking of His pre-existence,
Christ carries the mind back through dateless ages. He assures us that there
never was a time when He was not in close fellowship with the eternal God. He to whose
voice the Jews were then listening had been with God as one brought up with
Him."Signs, August 29, 1900 (Evangelism, 615).
"He was
equal with God, infinite and omnipotent . . He is the eternal, self-existent Son."Lift
Him Up, 17 (Evangelism, 615).
"While
Gods Word speaks of the humanity of Christ when upon this earth, it also speaks
decidedly regarding His pre-existence. The Word existed as a divine being, even as the
eternal Son of God, in union and oneness with His Father. From everlasting He was the
Mediator of the covenant, the one in whom all nations of the earth, both Jews and
Gentiles, if they accepted Him, were to be blessed. The Word was with God, and the
Word was God. Before men or angels were created, the Word was with God, and was
God."Review and Herald, April 5, 1906 (Evangelism, 615).
"[Revelation
1:18-20, quoted] These are wonderfully solemn and significant statements. It was the
Source of all mercy and pardon, peace and grace, the self-existent, eternal,
unchangeable One, who visited His exiled servant on the isle that is called
Patmos."7 Bible Commentary, 955 (Manuscript 81, 1900).
"They
retorted with a sneer, as if they would prove Jesus to be a madman, Thou art not yet
fifty years old, and hast Thou seen Abraham?
"With
solemn dignity Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I
AM.
"Silence
fell upon the vast assembly. The name of God, given to Moses to express the idea of the
eternal presence, had been claimed as His own by this Galilean Rabbi. He had
announced Himself to be the self-existent One, He who had been promised to Israel,
whose goings forth have been from of old, from the days of eternity
(Micah 5:2). Again the priests and rabbis cried out against Jesus as a
blasphemer."Desire of Ages, 469-470.
"What
humility was this! It amazed angels. The tongue can never describe it; the imagination
cannot take it in. The eternal Word consented to be made flesh! God became man! It was a
wonderful humility."Review and Herald, June 15, 1905 (5 Bible
Commentary, 1127).
"Jesus
claimed equal rights with God in doing a work equally sacred, and of the same
character with that which engaged the Father in heaven."Desire of Ages, 207.
" I am
the resurrection, and the life. He who had said I lay down my life, that I
might take it again, came forth from the grave to life that was in Himself.
Humanity died: divinity did not die. In His divinity, Christ possessed the power to break
the bonds of death. He declares that He has life in Himself to quicken whom He
will."Youth Instructor, August 4, 1898 (5 Bible Commentary, 1113).
" His
name shall be called Immanuel . . God with us. The light of the knowledge of the
glory of God is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. From the days of
eternity the Lord Jesus Christ was one with the Father; He was the image of
God, the image of His greatness and majesty, the outshining of His
glory. It was to manifest this glory that He came to this world. To this
sin-darkened earth He came to reveal the light of Gods love,to be God
with us. Therefore it was prophesied of Him, His name shall be called
Immanuel. "Desire of Ages, 19.
"The
worlds Redeemer was equal with God. His authority was as the authority of God.
He declared that He had no existence separate from the Father. The authority by which
He spoke and wrought miracles, was expressly His own, yet He assures us that He and
the Father are one."5 Bible Commentary, 1142.
"Was the
human nature of the Son of Mary changed into the divine nature of the Son of God? No; the
two natures were mysteriously blended in one personthe man Christ Jesus. In Him
dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. When Christ was crucified, it was His
human nature that died. Deity did not sink and die; that would have been impossible."Letter
280, 1904 (5 Bible Commentary, 1113).
"The rich
benevolence of God gave Him to our world; and to meet the necessities of humanity, He took
on Him human nature. To the astonishment of the heavenly host, He walked this earth as
the Eternal Word."Fundamentals of Christian Education, 400.
"Christ was
the Son of God; He had been one with Him before the angels were called into existence.
He had ever stood at the right hand of the Father."Patriarchs and
Prophets, 38.
"When Christ
was human on the earth, He was totally reliant upon His Father for life and power to
sustain His human existence. But resurrected from the grave, this was not the case
anymore.
"But
although Christs divine glory was for a time veiled and eclipsed by His assuming
humanity, yet He did not cease to be God when He became man. The human did not take
the place of the divine, nor the divine of the human. This is the mystery of godliness.
The two expressions human and divine were, in Christ, closely and
inseparably one, and yet He had a distinct individuality. Though Christ humbled Himself to
become man, the Godhead was still His own."Signs, May 10, 1899 (5
Bible Commentary, 1129).
"Christ had
not exchanged His divinity for humanity; but He had clothed His divinity in
humanity."Review and Herald, October 29, 1895 (5 Bible Commentary,
1128).
"The
power of the Saviours Godhead was hidden. He overcame in human nature, relying
upon God for power."7 Bible Commentary, 924.
"The Roman
guard fell as dead men before the resplendent glory, and Christ in His Godhead shown
forth as He burst from the tomb and rose triumphant over death and the grave."3
Signs, 211.
"Christ did
not make believe take human nature; He did verily take it. He did in reality possess human
nature. As the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise
took part of the same (Heb 2:14). He was the son of Mary; He was of the seed of
David according to human descent. He is declared to be a man, even the Man Christ Jesus.
This man, writes Paul, was counted worthy of more glory than Moses,
inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house (Heb
3:3)."5 Bible Commentary, 1130.
"Jesus says,
My Father which is in heaven, as reminding His disciples that while by His
humanity He is linked with them, a sharer in their trials, and sympathizing with them in
their sufferings, by His divinity He is connected with the throne of the infinite.
Wonderful assurance!"Desire of Ages, 442.
"The Lord
God came down to our world clothed with habiliments of humanity, that He might work out in
His own life the mysterious controversy between Christ and Satan. He discomfited the
powers of darkness. All this history is saying to man, I, your substitute and surety, have
taken your nature upon Me, showing you that every son and daughter of Adam is privileged
to become a partaker of the divine nature, and through Christ Jesus lay hold upon
immortality."Fundamentals of Christian Education, 379.
SECTION NINE
THE TRUTH ABOUT
ARIANISM
AND UNITARIANISM
Arians in our
time do not like to admit that they are. But here are the facts.
The traveling
preachers in our time, who spread error for their own benefit, are nothing new. Throughout
history, there have been professed Christians who, instead of accepting the Bible as it
reads, have produced cunningly devised fables in order to attract attention themselves
and, hopefully, a following which would provide them financial support.
Arius was a local
church leader of the Christian church in Alexandria, Egypt. About the year 310 A.D., he
devised a strange, new teaching. Here it is:
Christ was
created out of nothing before anything else was created. Therefore He was a finite being,
since He did not earlier exist. Through Him, God created everything. But, although not
God, He could be worshiped since He was such a high-ranking angel (summarized from The
Manual of Church History, Vol. 1, 327, by Albert Henry Newman).
Well, that is
exactly what the traveling Adventist are preaching! They may deny the title, but they are
Arians!
In 321 A.D.,
Alexander, bishop of the Alexandrian Church, took away Arius offices and ejected him
from the church. This produced a split, which gradually broadened.
A key point was
that, according to Arius, Christ was hetoousiosdifferent in essence from God;
while Athanasius, his theological rival, said Christ was homoousiosidentical
in essence to God the Father. We can understand this, since that is basically what we have
been talking about in this study.
We are like
Athanasius; for we say Christ is fully God while the Arian preachers declare Him to not be
God.
So now you know
what an Arian is. And, having read this study, you now know where to turn to, in order to
find the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy passages which disprove this heresy.
However, these
modern Adventist Arians go one step further: They deny the existence of the Holy Spirit as
well! This places them in the same category as the Unitarians. As you may know, the
Unitarian Church is inhabited by atheists who reject Christ and believe that God is so far
away that they can sin in peace, without worrying about a coming judgment. You see, after
rejecting Christ and the Holy Spirit,they threw out the Bible as well!
Dont let
that happen to you.
"UnitarianismThe
view that God is one person only and which therefore denies the doctrines of the divinity
of Christ and of the Holy Spirit (as distinct from the person of God), and therefore also
the doctrine of the Godhead."A Dictionary of Christian Theology, Alan
Richardson 352.
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CONTINUE-
3RD PERSON OF GODHEAD GODHEAD TOC
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