Sermon
Christ's Claim To Deity (Part 1)
April 28-29, 2001
Pastor Donald Sheley

Father, for these moments that remain ours now to study Your Word, I pray that Your precious Holy Spirit will be our teacher. We open our hearts, we open our minds, and we've come to church today so that we might grow in the grace and in the knowledge of You O wonderful Christ. Please help us. Amen.

Let's take our Bibles and together let's turn to a portion of Scripture. If you're going to use the red pew Bible today it's page 717. We've arrived in our study here in the gospel of John at what I think and what I believe to be the most profoundest portion of the entire gospel; because in this portion that we're going to read Jesus very emphatically and very clearly claims His deity. So let's read, beginning to read at verse 16:

"For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working." Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. "For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. "For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. "For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, "that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. "Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. "For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, "And has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. "Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice "and come forth--those who have done good, to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me."

A profound portion of Scripture. Now in this particular passage, John brings once more to our attention his basic theme for his gospel. Go with me to John's gospel chapter 20, and John tells us the reason why he wrote his gospel. He's very clear. John chapter twenty verses 30 and 31; he says, And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples which are not written in this book, but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God. Johns says the reason why wrote this gospel is because I want you to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that in believing you may have life in His name. That's his theme. And thus, the words of Christ here in John, as we've just read them, is one of those great proofs that John places to present his theme, and that is the deity of Christ. Now the very heart, the very core, the very foundation of our Christian faith is built upon this truth, and that is, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the divine Son of God. He's deity. We believe that.

Now if one does not believe it then they're not of God. Let's go to the back of our Bible and let's start from Revelation and then we'll back up from Revelation and there's the little book of Jude. That's only one chapter long, 25 verses. Then there's III John. It's just one little short chapter, and then there's II John. It's, again, a short chapter. And we arrived at I John chapter 4. It's right there in the back part of your Bible. Are you there with me? What's the page in your red pew Bible? 820. Chapter 4 beginning at verse 1, he says, Beloved, do not believe every Spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. And by this you know the Spirit of God. In other words, he's going to set up the criteria and the test. Every Spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every Spirit the does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. What's his premise? Anyone that denies the deity that God came in human flesh in the person Jesus Christ, the incarnation, if someone denies that, they are not of God and their message is the message of the Antichrist. It's that clear. So it's vitally important that we understand this great theme of the deity of Christ.

If you were to visit my library you would find that dozens, and dozens, and dozens of my books are on the subject of Christology, or the study of Christ, because I realize that here is the foundation which we establish the great doctrines of our faith. And if any way this is obliterated or fuzzed, or changed, then our Christianity falls apart. Ladies and gentlemen as I've said before, the attack of the cults is always on Christology, at the person of Christ. And you can tell heresy from truth when you ask one simple question, What do you believe about Jesus Christ? Now I tell you as a pastor that because this subject is so important this is often the point where I feel the greatest grief. Let me explain.

Some years ago we went to a home in West Winston Manor and the ladies in the area there wanted to start a Bible study, so we did. And I remember the home, I'll not give you the street, but the house number was 116. And the lady who lived there was Laura. And she invited us to come, and so we went there week after week sharing a Bible study was Laura. And she seemed to be so open and her heart was so hungry, and it really was a joy. She was a wonderful host. Week after week we studied the Scriptures together, but after a few weeks I noticed something very suspicious. When I left the house I look down the street and saw a car full of people parked. I got in my car. They got out of their car. They made their way to Laura's house, and I was suspicious that others were seeking to also influence them as far as the Scriptures. A few weeks later we came to the door and Laura said, we'll not have any more Bible studies Pastor. Why? Because I've chosen to follow the teachings of the Jehovah's Witnesses, and you're not welcome in my house anymore. Now that happened in the late '60s and the memory is still vivid because the pain is still there. And unless Laura changes, Laura because of her disbelieve in Jesus will go to hell.

Well you say, Pastor, what is that they believe? Take your notes and I've just gone just a short distance into their writings, page 4, and I'm at the bottom of page 4. Their literature is massive. Their evangelism is intense, and I've pulled just some words from their own literature. You'll notice it says that I have noted above many religious people refuse to accept the biblical teaching of the deity of Christ. I'm down there at the bottom of page 4. Are you there with me? The teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses adamantly reject the deity of Christ. In their writings, they make the following statements: "Jesus was the "Son of God," but not God himself. The very fact that he was sent proves he was not equal with God but was less than God the Father. The Bible shows that there is only one God...'greater than His Son'...And that the Son, as the First-born, Only-begotten and 'the creation by God," had a beginning. You see, they wipe out the eternity of Jesus without one statement. That the Father is greater than the Son is reasonable, easy to understand and that is what the Bible teaches." I only picked out that one sentence or two to show you that they immediately reject the deity of Christ and His eternity. That's wipe out.

If you're reading their new world translation of their manipulated translation of Scripture, they take John 1:1 and where the word God appears with a capital they put a little "g". They reduce Jesus to a created being, not the creator of all the universe and I've added, One can immediately detect the heresy of this kind of teaching because it is direct conflict with the very words of Jesus. Even that we've read today.

Let me tell you another story. Sitting in this congregation for some time was a lovely family, and they seemed to be making progress in their spiritual growth. And I watched them and then finally a couple of years ago I noticed that they were not here with us anymore. And I was concerned about it and tried to search them out, and then one day I was down at the auto shop getting my car fixed and I met the man, and I said to him I said, Sir, I've been missing you from church. And he said, I don't go to your church anymore. And I said, I'm sorry. He said, yes, we've decided to change and he said now I'm following the teachings of Mormonism. So I'm now a Mormon. You could have driven a sword through my chest, the pain of realizing that one of our very own had been duped into believing a lie spawned in the mind of Satan from the pit of hell. You say, those are very strong words Pastor. Let me show you why.

Go back to your notes. Page 6. And I've gone into the writings of Mormonism. You say, Pastor, why are you so blunt today? Because I'm realizing that we're face to face with cults that are on the march, and spending millions to deceive even those who have been in Christianity for long, long time. And I think it's time we mark the heretics, and I'm doing it today. Look at page 6. The Mormon Church teaches the following, and I've pulled this right out of their writings folks. Mormonism teaches that Jesus Christ was a created being, not eternal God as the Father clearly instructs and that He was the first and foremost of subsequent billions of spirit children created through sexual intercourse between the male and female earth gods. Now I tell you, I read that and to think that someone who sits in this congregation can swallow that, I get sick to my stomach.

In Mormonism Jesus is also seen as the brother of Satan. As one Mormon writer states: "As for the devil and his fellow spirits, they are brothers to men and also to Jesus and sons and daughters to God in the same sense that we are." In essence then, the difference between Christ and the devil in Mormonism is not one of a kind, but only one in degree. Mormonism also teaches that Jesus is a saved being. Because Jesus was only one of more spirit offspring of the male and female earth gods. It wipes out the virgin birth, doesn't it? He too had to earn His salvation. That means He came in as a sinner. Here is what we find in their writings: "Jesus Christ is the Son of God...He came to earth to work out His own salvation...After His resurrection, He gained all power in Heaven." And "by obedience and devotion to the truth, He, that is Jesus, attained that pinnacle of intelligence which ranked Him as a God.

The Some Mormons have also taught that Jesus Christ was a polygamist having several wives, another unbiblical doctrine. The early Mormon apostle Orson Pratt claimed that Jesus Christ was married at Cana of Galilee, that Mary and Martha and others were His wives, and that He had children. Thus, Jesus "was a Polygamist" who proved it by marrying many honorable wives." Now in television campaigns, parachurch events and clergy fellowships all across the United States today, Mormons are presenting themselves as mainstream Christians. So, is it unloving or backward to say that they aren't real Christians? In contrast to Christian monotheism--the belief in one God--Mormonism teaches that God was once a man who lived on another planet and was exalted to the status of God, and that Mormon men can also become gods upon death and resurrection.

Some months ago one of my elders gave me a book written by John White, and the book is entitled' Is The Mormon My Brother?' The implied is does Mormonism create Christians? Are Mormons Christians? Look at what his answer is: "Mormonism is not Christianity. It is fundamentally different. Christianity worships one God. Christianity knows that there is one God who has eternally been God and is the Creator of all things--exhaustively. Everything else in the Christian faith, from the Trinity to the Atonement to the Gospel of the Resurrection, flows from and is defined by this fundamental truth. You can't wipe out the deity of Christ and have Christianity. It isn't Christian anymore. Mormonism is a false religion with a false god. And choosing to worship a false god is a fearful choice. The true God takes His sole rights to worship very seriously. God said, I'll share My glory with none other. So when speaking to the idols, God says, "He who chooses you is an abomination. The teaching that God was once a man and that men can become gods involves simple idolatry, for it makes God something that He is not and it lowers Him to the level of His creation. There is no salvation is such a god. That's clear, isn't it?

So, then we say where are the verses that we can use when we are confronted with that kind of heresy? That's a good question, isn't it? I suggest you just cut out this page of your notes, Scotch tape them in the Bible. Let's turn to page 7. I've only taken a few. You could literally have scores of verses that prove the deity of Christ, but I've only taken a few. Down at the bottom of page 7. Are you there with me? In the closing of this lesson, let us consider some of the clear and unmistakable claims made in the Scriptures of the deity of Christ. In John chapter 8 when Jesus told his Jewish opponents that Abraham had seen His day, they challenged Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham". Now here a sufficient response to prove Jesus' eternity would have been, "Before Abraham was, I was." But Jesus did not say this. Instead, He made a much more startling assertion: "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM". And thus, Jesus combined two assertions whose sequence seemed to make no sense: "Before something in the past happened, that is Abraham was, something in the present happened, I am."

Now the Jewish leaders recognized at once that He was not speaking in riddles or uttering nonsense; for when He said, "I AM," He was repeating the very words that God used when He identified Himself to Moses as the "I AM WHO I AM". Remember? Back in Exodus God says to Moses I want you to go down and set My people for He. Well Moses is out there by the burning bush and he's having this conference with God, this conversation, and God is saying Moses I want you to go, and Moses asked a very good question; When I go who will I tell them sent me? Where's my authority for what I'm going to do? Good question, and look at what God says, you tell them I AM WHO I AM sent you. Now those are strange words to us, but Jesus was claiming for Himself the title, "I AM," by which God designates Himself as the eternal existing One, the God who is the source of His own existence and who always has been and always will be. Moses, you tell them that the eternal One who always is and will always be is the one who's giving you the authority to set them free. What a title. Tell them the I AM sent you.

And when the Jews heard this unusual, emphatic, solemn statement, they knew He was claiming to be God. That's why they picked up stones and started trying to stone Him. Another strong statement in Jesus' claim to deity is found in the end of Revelation, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." And when this is combined with the statement of God the Father in Revelation 1:8, "I am the Alpha and the Omega," it also constitutes a strong claim to equal deity with God the Father. Sovereign over all of history and all of creation, Jesus is the beginning and the end of everything. Now further evidence of claims to deity can be is the found in the fact that Jesus calls Himself "THE SON OF MAN." Now this title is used eighty-four times in the four gospels, but only by Jesus and only to speak of Himself. This unique term has as its background the vision in Daniel 7, where Daniel saw one like unto the "SON OF MAN" who "came to the Ancient of Days" and was given "dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him; His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away" (Daniel 7:13-14).

Now this passage clearly speaks of someone who had heavenly origin and who was given eternal rule over the whole world. And the high priest did not miss the point of this passage when Jesus said, remember at His trial Jesus said, "Hereafter you will see the Son of man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven". The reference to Daniel 7:13-14 was unmistakable, and the high priest and his council knew that Jesus was claiming to be the eternal world ruler of heavenly origin spoken of by Daniel in his vision. Immediately they said, "He has uttered blasphemy...He deserves death". What's blasphemy? It's claiming deity. And Jesus died on the cross because He proclaimed Himself to be God. That's why He died. Immediately they said blasphemy and He deserves death. Here Jesus finally made explicit the strong claims to eternal world rule that were earlier hinted at in His first frequent use of the title "SON OF MAN" to apply to Himself.

The first three verses of Hebrews are emphatic in saying that the Son is the One whom God "appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world". Jesus is not the created one, He is the Creator. Amen? This Son, says the writer, reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp, the exact duplicate, of His nature, upholding the universe by His word of power. Jesus is the exact duplicate of the "nature" of God, making Him exactly equal to God in every attribute. And our lesson today has brought us to the very heart, the very foundation, of our Christian faith. Jesus Christ was God in human flesh, and when we see Christ we see God.

Now what were going to do in the next few weeks were going to go through these statements of Christ where He claims His deity. And my prayer is that once we have finished our lesson, completed the task of learning what Jesus said, our faith will be so deep and we'll have such an emphatic knowledge that when the heretics come our way we'll have an answer to give them. Amen?

Father, we're aware that there are 1000 voices of false prophets preaching doctrines that originate in hell, spawned in the very mind of Satan himself, and yet, millions of people are being deluded and seduced into these lies. Our hearts grieve for them. As I have preached throughout the morning, dear God, I have had many people come to me with great grieve because someone within their family have been drawn away into this heresy of rejecting Your deity Lord Jesus. And surely as I speak even to this congregation there are some of us who grieve because friends and family are being drawn away from traditional Christianity to these false teachings. I ask You dear Lord Jesus to help us as a congregation to have such a deep and strong biblical foundation for Your deity that when the heretics come we can take our Bible and defend Your eternity and Your godhead. Here's where we stand dear God. Our feet are firmly fixed upon the rock, and You are that rock O Christ. We believe everything the Bible says that You are, and we believe Your words explicitly dear Jesus, and we love You with all of our heart, and we bow in reverence before You. And everybody said, amen. God bless you.