In this study we will examine what I call some indirect or sometimes incidental testimonies in Scripture which speak to the Divinity of Christ. These testimonies which represent, and direct us in this subject, are under the following headings.
1. When names and titles of the Father, are given to Christ.
2. The attributes and perfections of the Father’s holiness have been ascribed to Christ.
3. The highest and most characteristic works of the Father are declared as the works of Christ.
4. When the highest of worship given to the Creator of heaven and earth, are rendered unto the Son.
When we lose sight of the glory given to Christ by the Father, we lose to a large extent the grace and the benefits a Father would give His children.
Isaiah gives us his testimony of the Son of God.
Isaiah 9:6, “His (Jesus) name shall be called, — the everlasting Father.” Here Isaiah ascribes this title, “Everlasting Father,” to the Son of God. Note upper case God, and the definite article “The,” giving us conformation to its true, and only meaning. Concerning mankind, and the creation, Jesus Christ is our Everlasting Father, to the glory of His Father in heaven.
Why can this title of, “Everlasting Father” be applied to Jesus?
What is meant when we speak of Jesus Christ, as our Father? He is one who exercises care, feeds, and clothes his children. He is the foundation stone of the Christian family. He saves, teaches, and counsels His sons and daughters, is patient, and merciful to his children.
Our Father is one who begets sons or daughters.
1 John 5:1, “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him”
Our Father exercises paternal care over his children.
Matthew 23:37, Jesus said, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou the killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings.”
Jerusalem here represents the people of that great city. Jesus is speaking of the Sanhedrim, or the great council, they determining the causes and actions of all matters. He is also speaking to the mobs of people who turned their fury and then stoned the prophets; such as Stephen and Paul.
These would have yet gained mercy from the Lord had they believed, come in humility, and sought forgiveness. God’s grace here is evidently the idea that lies on the face of these words, the compassion of our Savior willing to gather beneath His wings, all men, even the killers of the prophets.
Jesus Christ our Father feeds his family, and supports them.
Matthew 7:9-11, Jesus said, “What man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? — how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him.” Jesus is speaking of Himself here, and through His Holy Spirit gives us all good things.
John 6:32-33, Jesus said, “My Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread = (manna) of God is He which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.” Here Jesus speaks of Himself,
Verse 35, “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger.”
John 4:13, Jesus said, “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”
When Christians pray, who do we ask for our blessings? John 14:14, Jesus said, “If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.”
Our Father is one who invents, or Creates. John 1:3, “All things were made by Him = (Jesus) and without Him was not any thing made that was made.”
Colossians 1:16, “For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible.”
Jesus is the Father of the Creation.
Hebrews 1:3, Jesus upholds “All things by the word of his power.”
Our Father is He who makes, or composes any thing, as in an author.
Hebrews 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus the author = (originator) and finisher = (perfecter) of our faith.” He is the author and perfecter of the Christian faith.
Our Father is merciful to his children.
Jude 21, “Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”
Our Father is a founder, one who establishes, or who lays a foundation. The best foundations are laid upon natural rocks. Paul wrote,
1 Corinthians 3:11, “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
1 Corinthians 10:4, “For that Rock was Christ.” You can know that your faith in Christ Jesus is as solid as a Rock.
Our Father is a director, or one who governs, or prescribes to his sons and daughters by virtue of authority.
Isaiah 9:6, “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder.”
Psalms 67:4, “Let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth.”
Matthew 17:5, The Father said of His Son, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: hear = (give heed, obey) ye Him.”
Deuteronomy 18:15, “The LORD God = (the Father) will raise up unto thee a Prophet — unto him ye shall hearken.”
Our Father is an instructor, a counselor, a teacher, as one who imparts knowledge.
Isaiah 9:6, “His = (Jesus) name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor.”
Matthew 23:8, Jesus said, “For one is your Master = (Teacher,) even Christ.”
John 20:16, Mary Magdalene turned to Jesus calling Him “Rab-bo’-ni; which is to say, Master = (Teacher.)”
1 Corinthians 4:15, “For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I = (Paul) have begotten you = (the church) through the gospel.”
So on what foundation does Paul call the Corinthians his sons? verse 14. “I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you,” Jesus being the instrument of Paul’s new birth, so also Paul claims the same relationship as Christ to the Corinthian church, a father.
I am updating Jesus relationship with his Father.
Part 2:
Let’s look at what appear to be conflicting verses.
John 14:28, Jesus said, “I go unto the Father (in heaven:) for my Father is greater than I.” Compare with,
John 14:8-9, “Shew us the Father,” Jesus responds, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” Again is there equality in these words between the Father and Son? Jesus himself acknowledges equality with His Father.
Philippians 2:6, Jesus, “Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God.”
How can these two very different thoughts be reconciled by the Scriptures?
I believe an interesting comparison can be made between Joseph, Pharaoh, and Jesus Christ, and His Father. The story can be found in Genesis 41:40 thru 45. This is a wonderful example of parallel relationships.
Joseph a Jew had been elevated by Pharaoh to be lord over the whole house of Pharaoh, that being all of Egypt.
Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Thou shalt be over my house = (kingdom of Egypt,) and according unto thy (Joseph’s) word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.”
Notice Pharaoh said, “My people,” yet he gave authority to Joseph to rule over them.
God said in Job 41:11, “Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.” Compare with,
Matthew 11:27, Jesus said, “All thing are delivered unto me of my Father.”
John 16:15, “All things that the Father hath are mine.” The creation and all that are therein, are ruled by the Son of God, yet in the throne of heaven, the Father is Greater than the Son. We see the unity of will, word, and work in the name of God,
Elohim, a compound Hebrew word, formed from the Hebrew, “ail.” Elohim describes the eternal Father, who possesses all power in heaven and in earth. It means, God is, God was, and God shall always be.
It is remarkable that Jesus, like His Father, assumes these very characteristics.
Revelation 1:8, Jesus said, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending…which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”
Hebrews 1:3, speaks of the Lord Jesus, “Who being the brightness of His = (The Father’s) glory, and the express image of His = (The Father’s) person, and upholding all things by the word of His = (Jesus) power.”
Brightness, gives the idea of a flood of light, great, luster, brightness as of Divine glory. The phrase, “Express image” is used only once in the Bible, and is applied only to Jesus. It implies that Jesus is the counterpart of the Father’s essence, or being. He, alone possesses the qualities of the Father. Who can be like God the Father, no-one except God the Son.
Back to the story. Pharaoh said to Joseph after giving him headship over his kingdom,
“Only in the throne will I be greater than thou.” Compare what Jesus said of His Father in John 14:28. He tells the apostles that He is going away. to ascend into heaven to His Father’s throne. “I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.” With,
John 13:16, “The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent great than he that sent him.” So when we compare what Pharaoh said to Joseph, and what Jesus said of His Father, it is, “Only in the throne that the Father is greater.”
Another striking comparison: Joseph was given a new name by Pharaoh. In Egypt, Joseph is call Zaphnathpaaneah, when interrupt means, “Revealer of secrets, or, to one secrets are revealed.”
Pharaoh honored Joseph. Joseph’s new name was to show Pharaoh’s authority over him, yet it spoke of the honor Pharaoh gave Joseph.
Jesus is elevated to be Lord over the church. He is the, “Lord of lords.” He was given a new name, as was Joseph. In the O.T. Jesus was called the Word, and Wisdom of God, the Angel of the Lord, the I Am, Jehovah, etc.
Judges 13:16-17-18, Manoah the father of Sampson asked the angel of God (Jesus,) “What is thy name?” The angel of the Lord responded, “Why asketh thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?” secret here is the same Hebrew word for, “wonderful,” used in Isa.9:6. Comp. with,
Isaiah 9:6, speaks of a child, a Son given, “His name shall be called Wonderful.”
When born of men, Jesus was given a new name by His Father, Matthew 1:25, “He shall be called Jesus,” when interpreted means in Hebrew, “Jehovah His Help.”
Pharaoh seals Joseph with his own ring, just a Jesus was sealed by the Father’s Holy Spirit. Pharaoh arrayed Joseph in fine cloths putting gold chains around his neck.
Revelation 1:12-13, Jesus is seen clothed in fine linen down to his feet. He wore gold about his chest. Pharaoh had two like chariots. Joseph rode through the land in his chariot, the people were told to bow a knee to Joseph as they would to Pharaoh. The Egyptians were to honor Joseph who was a Jew, as they would Pharaoh himself, and no man was to raise a hand against him.
So also Christ, John 13:31 32, “Jesus said; Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If the Father be glorified in Him = (Jesus) in himself, and shall straightway = (immediately) glorify Him.”
Joseph was in a strange land, so also Jesus came down from heaven to a strange land, to an evil generation of people. They rejected Him, glorified him not, and then killed Him.
Genesis 42:8, Joseph is about to reveal himself to his brothers, who years earlier had sold him into slavery. Joseph said to them,
1. “It was not you that sent me hither, but God;”
2. That God, “Hath made me = (Joseph) a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.” Pharaoh gave Joseph great power to be the lord and ruler (a father) over the whole house of Egypt, to care for his people as any father would provide for his children. Jesus is “Our Everlasting Father.”
Pharaoh appointed Joseph to execute the plan of salvation, for both the people and the land. Jesus is the manna sent from heaven. Joseph as Prime Minister, his ring containing the royal signet (which was the seal of office,) was to be duly reverenced and acknowledged as a father to the people.
The phrase, “Bow the knee,” is a Hebrew term, does not mean to prostrate ones self, but signifies, “Blessed father, or, native prince.” Joseph had been naturalized by proclamation, this in order to remove any dislike for him as a foreigner.
Joseph is called the “Interpreter of dreams.” This distinguished him from the magicians. It was as if Pharaoh was saying of the magicians, your nothing but pretenders. Joseph is “The man to whom secrets are revealed;” or, as he had said before, “This is a man in whom the Spirit of God is.” The Egyptians, especially the magicians had always boasted of their knowledge and wisdom in supernatural matters.
In ancient days, in all kingdoms, heralds were sent ahead of a king, this to announce the coming. 1 Thes.4:16, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God.”
Joseph gave life to the Egyptians. Jesus gave life to all mankind.
John 1:4, “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.”
Joseph was the revealer of secrets, so also Jesus.
Matthew 13:34-35, “All these things spake Jesus — that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept SECRET from the foundation of the world.”
Part 3
Does Jesus have a Father?
1 John 4:14, “The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.”
John 1:1, Jesus as the Word,” was with God,” meaning His Father.
John 1:18, Jesus said, “No man hath seen God at any time,” it is Jesus alone who can/will declares the Father. The Son, “Which is in the bosom of the Father,” bosom in Greek is, “Kolopos,” and means to be in the embrace of anyone, to be cherished by him as the object of intimate care and dearest affection.
John 5:36, “For the works which the Father hath given me (Jesus) to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.”
John 6:27, “For him = (Jesus) hath God the Father sealed.” This word sealed means to attest, to confirm, to establish.
John 8:54, “If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me,” The term “honour,” means to ascribe glory, to praise, to celebrate, to magnify anyone.
John 8:28, “As the Father hath taught me, I speak these things.”
The last words our Lord spoke on the cross are found in,
Luke 23:46, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” From the above we are informed through the Scriptures that the Lord was sent, anointed, bears witness to, and is witnessed of by His Father, both Father and Son, without beginning, and without end.
Is there equality in the creation between the Father and Son?
John 10:30, “I and the Father are one,” one meaning unity of will, unity of purpose, unity in result and conclusion. Yes there is a oneness in the Father and Son.
Philip requests of the Lord,
John 14:8-9, “Shew us the Father,” Jesus responds, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” Again is there equality in these words between the Father and Son? Jesus himself acknowledges equality with His Father.
Yet Jesus honors, glorifies, and gives authority to His Father,
John 14:28, Jesus said, “I go unto the Father, for my Father is greater than I.” Jesus was to be taken up into heaven, to sit at the right hand of His Father, and in heaven, acknowledges that the Father greater than He.
But concerning the literal creation, space, time, and matter, Jesus has been given all power and all authority to rule, to govern, and to judge. Why, because he is the Creator, the Light, Life, and the reason of it, all to the will and glory of the Father in heaven.
Matthew 11:27, “All things are delivered unto me of my Father.” This includes the created angels in heaven, demons on earth, in hell, including Satan and his future.
1 Corinthians 15:24, When He returns to judge all things, and all evil has been cast into the lake of fire, “Then cometh the end, when He (Jesus) shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father;” Jesus saves His children, bringing them with Him. Yes, Jesus has a Father, and He is our Father, and both will share in the glory.
I hope this can help some of you to sort out a difficult, and sadly to say a dividing contrivicial subject. Next I will discuss the Lord’s pray, and how it plays a role in understanding this matter.
Part 4
The Lord’s prayer!
In the previous articles above, I spoke of a chain of command. This chain of command is played out beginning with the Father in Heaven, the resurrected Christ, who is man’s Father, and the Holy Spirit. We pray, the Holy Spirit as man’s mediator, brings that prayer to Jesus Christ, and Jesus as our Saviour, High Priest, and mediator, brings the pray to His Father in heaven.
Several verses support this reasoning.
Romans 8:26, “For we (all men) know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession (a mediator) for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
1 Timothy 2:5, “There is one God (unity in purpose and goal) and one mediator between God and men, and the man Christ Jesus.”
Galatians 3:20, “Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.” Here again we show the three are one in unity, and purpose.
The disciples said to Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray.” Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say, Our Father which art in Heaven Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; — lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
I will break down the prayer;
Luke 11:1-2-3-4, “Our Father,” Jesus is our everlasting Father, Isa 9:6, “His name shall be called, — everlasting Father.” Note upper case, “Father.”
“Which art in Heaven,” Colossians 3:1, “Christ sitteth on the right hand of God = (the Father).” Ephesians 1:20, “Christ, when He = (the Father) raised Him from the dead, and set = (seated) Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places.”
“Hollowed be thy name.” Christ is,
Ephesians 1:21, “Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.”
Philippians 2:10, “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”
“Thy kingdom come!”
John 18:36, Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world.”
Ephesians 5:5, “No whoremonger, nor unclean person, — hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.”
Colossians 1:13, The Father, “Hath translated = (transferred us) into the kingdom of His dear Son = (Jesus).”
2 Timothy 4:1, “The Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick = (living) and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom.”
2 Peter 1:11, “The everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”
John said, Revelation 1:9, “I John, who also am your brother, and — in the kingdom and patience = (perseverance) of Jesus Christ.”
“Thy will be done.” The Father’s will is the will of both Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. He is King of kings.” It is His kingdom by inheritance.
“As in heaven, so on earth.” Jesus will establish His kingdom here on earth for 1000 years.
“Give us day by day our daily bread.” As our Father, he cares for his children, he feeds us the food of men, and He himself is our spiritual manna from heaven.
“Forgive us our sins.”
“By faith in Jesus Christ are we saved!”
“We also forgive every one that is indebted to us.” Jesus gave us another commandment, the commandment to love all men.
“Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,” meaning lead us away from the evil one. This is done through His Holy Spirit working not through our flesh, but through our spirit.
Phillip LaSpino www.seekfirstwisdom.com