The Son of the Father
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The Son of the Father

A Study on the Doctrine of Christ

Michael D. McCubbins

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eBook - ePub

The Son of the Father

A Study on the Doctrine of Christ

Michael D. McCubbins

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About This Book

Do you have a desire to really know our Lord in a greater way? Do you ever wish that someone would organize the Bible's teaching about Christ in such a way that you could understand it? Do you feel intimidated by people who constantly challenge your belief in the Son God? THE SON OF THE FATHER by Pastor Michael D. McCubbins, Th.D., an internationally-known Bible scholar, provides a map for your journey to know Christ.

Jesus said, "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent" (John 17: 3). That must be the desire of every person in the world. The Apostle Paul expressed it this way: "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death" (Philippians 3: 10). With this book you will learn:

• The proofs of the perfect humanity of Christ

• The proofs of the deity of Christ

• The proofs of the physical resurrection of Christ

• The nature of the Hypostatic Union

• The relationship of the Son to God the Father

Far too many people know some facts about the Son of God, without really knowing Him. My hope is that this book will aid in your personal quest to know Him.

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Chapter One
THE DEITY OF JESUS CHRIST
In this study of Christology, the very first topic that we will cover is the deity of Christ. Some people are more accustomed to using the word “divinity,” but we will avoid using the word “divinity” in that sense. The word “divinity” merely affirms that something is “God-like,” while the word deity affirms that He IS God. Many false cults have no problem saying that Jesus Christ is like God, but they would never accept that He is God.
Before we go any further, let’s answer the question of what a false cult is. The Random House Dictionary3 defines a false cult as:
Cult – noun: 1. a particular system of religious worship, especially with reference to its rites and ceremonies. 2. an instance of great veneration of a person, ideal, or thing, especially as manifested by a body of admirers: the physical fitness cult. 3. the object of such devotion. 4. a group or sect bound together by veneration of the same thing, person, ideal, etc. 5. Sociology. a group having a sacred ideology and a set of rites centering around their sacred symbols. 6. a religion or sect considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist, with members often living outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader. 7. the members of such a religion or sect. 8. any system for treating human sickness that originated by a person usually claiming to have sole insight into the nature of disease, and that employs methods regarded as unorthodox or unscientific.
Cult – adjective 9. of or pertaining to a cult. 10. of, for, or attracting a small group of devotees: a cult movie.
Origin: L cultus habitation, tilling, refinement, worship, equiv. to cul-, var. s. of colere to inhabit, till, worship + -tus suffix of v. action
The definition given in the dictionary is a typical secular definition of a cult, but does little to help the believer understand what a cult actually is. Let me therefore give a few characteristics of a cult.
1. All false cults say that they are Christian.
2. All false cults change the doctrine of Christ (diminishing or denying His deity, or substituting its founder for Christ, or changing some other aspect of the doctrine of Christ).
3. All false cults were founded by a Gentile.
4. All false cults claim to be the true Israel.
5. All false cults were started by a man who had trouble with women, or directly by a woman.
6. All false cults claim to have some new truth (only their founder knew the truth, or only his books explain the Bible, only they can interpret the Scriptures, their books are superior to the Scriptures, etc.).
7. All false cults add something to faith in Christ for salvation. Faith in Christ alone is not sufficient for salvation.
Since all false cults change the doctrine of Christ, we must be able to defend it. To do this we need to understand Christology. The attacks against the doctrine of Christ always end up having a detrimental effect on the definition of the deity of the Son of God, and for that reason we will begin with eight Biblical proofs of the deity of Christ.
A. The first proof of the deity of Christ: the Bible directly declares that Jesus Christ is God.
The first way that the Bible directly calls Jesus Christ God is that the Scripture writers called Him God.
In Hebrews 1:7–8, Paul compared and contrasted the angels with the Son of God. In this passage, he stated that the angels are servants or ministers, while God the Father directly spoke to the Son, directly calling Him “God.”
And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. But unto (πρὸς with the accusative case 1) of a place. to, unto, between) the Son he saith, Thy throne (θρόνος), O God (ὁ Θεός – masculine, vocative), is for ever (αἰῶνος of a coming time, that has no end, also eternity) and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
Hebrews 1:7–8 in the original Greek says:
καὶ πρὸς μὲν τοὺς ἀγγέλους λέγει, Ὁ ποιῶν τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ πνεύματα, καὶ τοὺς λειτουργοὺς αὐτοῦ πυρὸς φλόγα· πρὸς δὲ τὸν υἱόν, Ὁ θρόνος σου, ὁ Θεός, εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος, ῥάβδος εὐθύτητος ἡ ῥάβδος τῆς βασιλείας σου.
God spoke about the angels (πρὸς μὲν τοὺς ἀγγέλους). God called them servants, “a flame of fire.” God spoke directly to the Son (πρὸς δὲ τὸν υἱόν). God called the Son, “O God.”
The Apostle John also called Jesus God in John 1:1.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The Russellites translate John 1:1 saying, at the end, “and the word was a god,” trying to minimize the deity of Jesus Christ. But, look at the Greek at the end of John 1:1.
Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος.
The very last words of the verse in the Greek are, “καὶ Θεὸς ἦνλόγος,” which literally means, “and God was the Word.” This is even more emphatic than the King James Version. There can be no doubt that John was absolutely affirming the deity of Jesus Christ.
In Romans chapter nine, the Apostle Paul wrote about his love for the Jewish people. He listed some of the things that God had given to the Jewish people such as the Bar-mitzvah, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises. The greatest thing that God gave to Israel is mentioned in Romans 9:5. God gave His Son, Who was born Jewish.
Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
Paul stated that Christ “... is over all, God blessed for ever.” Paul did not say that Christ is blessed of God, but rather that He is the blessed or the praised God. He is over all. Scriviner’s Textus Receptus (1881) says: ὢν ἐπὶ πάντων, Θεὸς εὐλογητὸς εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας. ἀμήν [ho on epi panton, Theos eulogetos eis tous aionas, amen]. This literally means, “Who is over all, blessed God in eternity. Amen.”
Paul again affirmed the deity of Jesus Christ in I Timothy 3:16. Several statements are made about Christ which separately and all together show the deity of the Son of God.
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
First, Paul stated that Christ is “God” revealed “in the flesh.” What man saw in the real fleshly body of Christ was not just a man, but God in human flesh. Second, Paul said he was justified, that is, declared righteous in the Spirit. Third, the invisible God was “seen” by angels. Fourth, God was preached unto the Gentiles. Fifth, He was believed in the world. Sixth, He was received up into glory. All of these statements are proof of His deity.
The last verse that we will look at where the writers of Scripture call Christ God is Titus 2:13. As Paul talks about the “... blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of ... our Savior Jesus Christ,” he calls Him “... the great God.”
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Now let’s look at another way that ...

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