Every Knee Shall Bow…
You know much has been discussed on the deity of Christ. While the doctrine of Christ’s deity is an absolute essential to orthodox Christianity there continues to be struggles among fringe groups as well as most all “christian” cults such as Jehovah’s Witnesses when it comes to Christ being God in the flesh. Today I had the pleasure of listening to a wonderful preacher lay this issue out for all to see and frankly there is no way around it. Here are my observations as I meditated on the person of Christ after hearing this sermon… Scripture is our ultimate truth. It’s our only truth. God’s word is living and active. The Book of Hebrews testifies to Scripture as follows:
“For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” - Hebrews 4:12 (NAS)
Now I could go into an incredible discourse on Scripture’s ability to act as a mirror - allowing us to see what filthy, rotten sinners we are compared to a holy and perfect God. But for this discussion, the writer of Hebrews as inspired by the Holy Spirit is also saying that God’s word is living. It’s absolute truth. Yes, there is such a thing as absolute truth and Scripture is just that. It’s what God has given us to fully know Him. The amazing part is through repentance and saving faith in His Son we are not only given forgiveness of our sins and the promise of eternity in His presence but also the gift of the Holy Spirit while here in this life to “teach us all things” (John. 14:26) and open our eyes to see the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus through His living word.Ok, now back to the discussion on the deity of Christ. Let’s take a quick look at Phillipians chapter 2:
“who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.” - Phillipians 2:6-7 (NAS)
The greek word for “form” in this text is morphe which does not mean form in the way we think of it today such as “the clouds took on the form of a cat” but rather this word means “substance”. Scripture is plainly saying here that Christ has the full substance of God. He is God. And if that’s not enough take a look at the text again and notice that the words “bond-servant” and “likeness of men” is used.
This indicates Christ is not just man but He is fully man and fully God co-existing at the same time. This is also called the hypostatic union: the theological term that Christ exists as two natures - divine and human equally and at the same time. If Christ were just a man then Scripture would never have to make a point to say that Christ was “made in the likeness of men” - that would of course be assumed.
Now we come to the crossroads of our text. We have to make a determination. Either Jesus is God or Paul is guilty of blasphemy in the highest possible form! Why do I say this? Let’s take a closer look at the second commandment of God:
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them…” Exodus 20:4-5 (NAS)
Here God is clear - we are not to bow down or worship anything other than God Himself - absolutely nothing. Notice the emphasis on heaven above, earth beneath and under the earth. Now, let’s take a look further along in Phillipians…
“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Phillipians 2:9-11 (ESV)
Here, Paul writes to the church in Phillippi that at Jesus’ name every knee will bow in heaven, earth and under the earth in confession of His Lordship. And of course all of this is to the Glory of God the Father. Once you stop and pause to take in this absolutely beautiful image and praise in awe of God then take a minute to compare this to the second commandment.
You’ll quickly see my point here. Either Paul is absolutely right that Christ is God and deserves our worship and humble servitude or Paul is committing the most grievous of blasphemy that every knee will bow to a mere man - a created being. It’s one or the other.There are of course numerous other verses that clearly state the deity of Christ.
Theologically of course if Christ were not God He would not have been able to atone for our sins.Doctrine is so vitally important. Sound doctrine helps us battle in the “truth wars” as John MacArthur puts in.
My friend, in this day and age truth is said to be relative and I will beg to differ to my last breath. There is absolute truth and that truth is the incarnate Word of God who “is the way and the truth and the life”. John 14:6 (emphasis mine)
Oh the joy of having your eyes opened to the glorious truths of God’s word and to have your eyes opened to the rich mercies of His grace in the face of Christ Jesus. It is my prayer that if you do not know about this wonderful Savior Jesus that you click on the link at the top of the page entitled “How to Know God”. Get a good Bible translation (I recommend the English Standard Version or ESV) and ask God to open your eyes to His truths and to give you a burning passion to meditate on and study His word constantly.
Soli Deo Gloria! (Glory to God Alone)
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