The Christian Rationalist: The Divinity Of Christ

Monday, May 1, 2017

The Divinity Of Christ

A core difference between Christianity and Judaism is the position each takes with regards to the person and nature of Christ. Without the doctrine of the divinity of Christ, Christianity would lose many of the doctrines that distinguish it from Judaism. The doctrine possesses severe gravity, as Christianity conforms to reality or doesn't based upon the truth of that claim. Thinking about this recently, I realized that the Biblical affirmations that Christ is a deity (I say a deity because Jesus and Yahweh are clearly distinct logically and in the Biblical texts [1]) aren't quite as common as some Christians may think.

Nowhere that I can think of do the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) ever explicitly reveal that Jesus has a divine nature. In fact, passages like Mark 10 when the rich young ruler consults Jesus can even seem to strongly imply that Jesus is not divine, as when the ruler calls Jesus good Jesus objects by saying, "Why do you call me good? . . . No one is good--except God alone." Hold on--I'm not claiming that the Bible does not say that Jesus is not a deity, only that the first three gospels do not ever actually assert this. Those claims are not synonymous!

Although the divinity of Christ stands as a central concept in Christian doctrine, it is
objectively unclear from a reading of Matthew, Mark, and Luke alone that Jesus is God.

No, the miracles in the other gospels alone don't count as evidence for Christ's divinity because men and women of God performed all sorts of spectacular miracles in the Old Testament without any of them being more than mere humans. The fact that Matthew and Mark and Luke present Jesus as performing miracles demonstrates that the Bible views Jesus as a servant of Yahweh, but nothing more on its own, and the same applies to the relational closeness Jesus shares with Yahweh throughout the synoptic gospels. Although those three books are consistent with the concept of Christ's divinity--meaning they do not legitimately contradict the notion of Christ's divinity--they do not actually ever directly affirm that Jesus is God.

The book of John contains multiple references to the divinity of Christ. The first chapter in particular opens with the declaration of Christ's identity.

John 1:1-3--"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made."

John 8:58--"'I tell you the truth,' Jesus answered, 'before Abraham was born, I am!'"

John 1:1 undeniably identifies the Word as divine, continuing to say that the Word "became flesh and made his dwelling among us" as Jesus (John 1:14). While the testimony of an apostle in the book of John does not quite have the same level of directness as Jesus openly declaring himself God, Peter expresses the belief that Jesus was God in John 21:17 (see also John 21:12). Even certain Messianic prophecies state that the Messiah would be not just a human individual but divine (Isaiah 9:6, for instance). With this knowledge, passages in Matthew, Mark, and Luke that affirm Christ as the Messiah indirectly confirm his divinity by recognizing him as the redemptive figure prophesied in the Old Testament, but without awareness of this no one can ever reach the sound conclusion that any of those three gospels actually demonstrate that Jesus had a divine nature.

Please note that I have only said that the synoptic gospels alone do not prove that the Bible affirms the divinity of Jesus, as I have specified--quite explicitly--that the gospel of John and certain Messianic prophecies do plainly assert this doctrine! But if one reads the synoptic gospels apart from these other books of the Bible, it is objectively true that the material present remains inconclusive about that issue. Have I denied that Jesus is a divine being? Not at all! I have just commented on an underreported textual reality.

If Jesus was not a divine figure, then he could not have
redeemed anyone by his death.

Major ramifications to the doctrine of Christ's divinity exist. If Jesus were not God, then his death could in no way secure the salvation of humans, for if no human can save himself or herself from sin, how could that person save others from sin? Even apart from the veracity of the Bible or Christian philosophy--even if Christianity was untrue--it would remain objectively impossible from a logical standpoint for someone who has violated even a single moral obligation to save himself or herself from the ontological guilt associated with an act of evil. No one needs to profess Christianity to recognize the logical truth of this point. If someone lived a wholly morally perfect life other than even a moment of internal transgression, no amount of good deeds after that moment would actually nullify the fact that he or she had sinned.

Though the doctrine of Christ's divine nature possesses extreme importance, Christians need to exercise more caution when they proclaim that the Bible obviously states that Jesus is God. Yes, it is obvious from a reading of the Bible that Jesus is divine--but only from a reading of certain passages. The book of John especially informs us with great clarity that Jesus is God. Because of this, relying on the synoptic gospels to persuade Muslims, for instance, of Christ's divine nature will probably not yield the desired results. When reflecting on the divine nature of Jesus, contemplate the book of John in particular, and when evangelizing with Muslims or other sects that deny this doctrine, tailor your approach accordingly.