(Full Writing and Defense): Early Church, N.T, O.T on the Divinity of the Son, Trinity, and the Chalcedonian defense,
EMPHASIS IS ALL MINE - Meaning I claim that. (not for all parts, some are from scripture.)
But first i want to explain, what do i mean by The Early Church? some say before Nicaea (325. A.D), I am using the First millennia of Church Writers including the Fathers and Ecclesiastical writers.
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Hypostasis as defined in Christianity - refers to the distinct, individual existence or "person" of the Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) and the single, unified personhood of Jesus Christ in the hypostatic union. It signifies a "subsistence" or "individual reality," distinguishing the three persons of God while upholding their shared divine essence (ousia)
I assert what is communicated is that there is one “divine hypostasis of God the Word” (Saint John of Damascus, Exposition, Book 3, Chap 9) in which is “assumed” (Saint Maximus, Ambiguum 3:3) “the flesh of the Lord in His beginless hypostasis.” (Damascene, Contra Jacobitas, Chap 11) God the Word is the same “in all respects” as the Father and Spirit other in the mode of His origination, “that of being begotten.” (Damascene, Exposition, Book 1, Chap 2) Damascene emphatically asserts that it is “in these hypostatic or personal properties alone do the three holy subsistences differ from each other” (Ibid., Chap 12) and that we “recognise the difference of the subsistences only in the three properties of independence of cause and Fatherhood, of dependence on cause and Sonship, of dependence on cause and procession.” (Ibid., Book 3, Chap 5, Emphasis; Mine)
Yet, “one may piously speak of one composite hypostasis of God the Word” existing “each [divine and human] nature, both in the divine [nature], in which he existed in respect of who exists in the form of God, and in the human [nature] in respect of ‘taking on the likeness of men’.” (Edict of Saint Justinian, Constantinople II, Volume 1, p. 141) Therein exists the “completeness of divine nature and the completeness of human nature.” (ibid., p. 132) “[T]he human nature of Christ…received the beginning of existence in the” beginless “hypostasis of the Word.” (Ibid., p. 141, Emphasis; Mine)
Human nature was assumed into His pre-existent, “beginless hypostasis.” There is no “day 1” for His hypostasis approximately on December 25th, 4 BC. His hypostasis does not lose the “divine” or relational quality of being only-begotten of God the Father, as this is the “only” criteria of hypostatic difference within the Holy Trinity.
However, “the very hypostasis of God the Word was changed into the hypostasis of the flesh, and the hypostasis of the Word, which was formerly simple, became compound.” (Damascene, Exposition, Book 3, Chap 7) Therefore, His hypostasis is eternally relationally divine but since the incarnation is compound according to the natures He has. The “Who” does not change, but what He is like does. So, the hypostasis is “without beginning” and “uncreated” according to the former, but “having beginning” and having created nature according to the latter. (Damascene, De Duabus in Christos Voluntatibus, Section 2, Emphasis Mine)
In short, Christ’s hypostasis is divine relationally, but has “properties” according to both of the natures post-incarnation He has now as a compound being (Ibid., Book 4, Chap 7) One can speak of what something “has” as being that something. Christ’s hypostasis is composite, but this means “has a composite nature, meaning two natures.”
Yet, “one may piously speak of one composite hypostasis of God the Word” existing “each [divine and human] nature, both in the divine [nature], in which he existed in respect of who exists in the form of God, and in the human [nature] in respect of ‘taking on the likeness of men’.” (Edict of Saint Justinian, Constantinople II, Volume 1, p. 141) Therein exists the “completeness of divine nature and the completeness of human nature.” (ibid., p. 132) “[T]he human nature of Christ…received the beginning of existence in the” beginless “hypostasis of the Word.” (Ibid., p. 141, Emphasis; Mine)
Human nature was assumed into His pre-existent, “beginless hypostasis.” There is no “day 1” for His hypostasis approximately on December 25th, 4 BC. His hypostasis does not lose the “divine” or relational quality of being only-begotten of God the Father, as this is the “only” criteria of hypostatic difference within the Holy Trinity.
However, “the very hypostasis of God the Word was changed into the hypostasis of the flesh, and the hypostasis of the Word, which was formerly simple, became compound.” (Damascene, Exposition, Book 3, Chap 7) Therefore, His hypostasis is eternally relationally divine but since the incarnation is compound according to the natures He has. The “Who” does not change, but what He is like does. So, the hypostasis is “without beginning” and “uncreated” according to the former, but “having beginning” and having created nature according to the latter. (Damascene, De Duabus in Christos Voluntatibus, Section 2, Emphasis Mine)
In short, Christ’s hypostasis is divine relationally, but has “properties” according to both of the natures post-incarnation He has now as a compound being (Ibid., Book 4, Chap 7) One can speak of what something “has” as being that something. Christ’s hypostasis is composite, but this means “has a composite nature, meaning two natures.”
Concerning God’s personhood, the Scriptures are relatively silent. The issue is generally inferred from the Persons speaking to one another or They being referred to in a mutually exclusive sense. However, three basic Scriptures come to mind:
The virgin will conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Is 7:14)
The Word became flesh, and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)
Jesus said to them, “Most certainly, I tell you, before Abraham came into existence, I AM.” (John 8:58)
In the preceding, the Scriptures affirm something simple: God is a “He,” a Person. This Person, called “Word,” became flesh. His name metaphorically speaking is “Immanuel,” God with us. The Person born from the Virgin is divine. He did not become something other than the Word of God rather He was not a different Person. The Lord, in response to the accusation He was not around in Abraham’s time, asserts that indeed He, the same person, was. He is the God (“I Am”) who pre-existed Abraham.
An objection. One may assert an extremely basic objection: Session 6 of Nicea II asserts in more or less words that, “For hypostasis we affirm [to be] essence with certain peculiarities" (p. 351 of 1849 translation) Hypostasis is basically Natures + Properties. Therefore, Christ’s hypostasis does not merely have a divine and human nature, but He is His divine and human natures and that’s all He is. Hypostases, such as Christ’s, are only natures with their respective properties. He has divine and human natures with divine and human properties. A hypostasis, being only what it has, is what it has.
Now, the preceding would defy common sense. How can a person become a different person, but still be the same person? However, the strict Hypostasis= Essence + Properties definition is the most straightforward interpretation of the passage from Nicea II as the conciliar fathers offer no qualification as I do in the above (such as the distinction between what a person is relationally and what he has).
Additionally, what do the fathers usually refer to when they speak of Christ’s hypostasis’ properties vis a vis the other Persons? His relational differences pertaining to His divine origination vis a vis the other Persons of the Holy Trinity. Above Damascene explicitly makes this point in Exposition, Book I, Chap 12 and elsewhere asserts that “The Son is from the Father, and derives from Him all His properties.” (Ibid., Chap 13; cf Hormisdas; Letter 80, Par 16, Emphasis; Mine)
The Son is “One and the Same” Hypostasis. The fathers have a phraseology which we need to tackle in order to address the issue: The Son’s hypostasis after the incarnation is “one and the same.” The following are some sources (not as above)
Sentence of Constantinople III; Letter of Saint Agatho in Constantinople III; Lateran 649, Session 1, p. 120 and 129; Ibid., Session 2, p. 156; Ibid., Session 3, p. 208 and 222; Ibid., Session 5, p. 376; Damascene, Exposition, Book 3, Chap 11; Ibid., Book 4, Chap 7; Justinian’s Edict on the Orthodox Faith, Constantinople II, Vol 1, p. 133. (Emphasis; MIne)
Let’s unpack what “one and the same” means. As one shall see, it is clear that the point of this phraseology is to emphasize the “Who” that is Christ never changes from the incarnation. For example, Damascene asserts that:
[T]he Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are one in all respects, except in that of not being begotten, that of being begotten, and that of procession,” he asserts that it was that the Only-begotten Son and Word of God *and God*, in His bowels of mercy, for our salvation, by the good pleasure of God and the co-operation of the Holy Spirit, being conceived without seed, was born uncorruptedly of the Holy Virgin and Mother of God, Mary, by the Holy Spirit, and became of her perfect Man; and that the Same is at once perfect God and perfect Man. (Expos, Book 1, Chap 2, Emphasis; Mine)
Clearly, “the Same” is a reference to “the Only-begotten Son and Word of God and God.” He has not “changed” in a specific sense, as He is still “Only-begotten Son and Word of God and God.” This is so patently obvious it should not need repeating, but for emphasis the redundancy should make the issue clear. The Hypostasis of the “Only-begotten Son and Word of God and God” remained the “same” according to the “Who” being discussed, as Damascene elsewhere clarifies:
The subsistence of God the Word before the Incarnation was simple and uncompound, and incorporeal and uncreate: but after it became flesh, it became also the subsistence of the flesh, and became compounded of divinity which it always possessed, and of flesh which it had assumed…the one same subsistence is both uncreate in divinity and create in humanity, visible and invisible. (Ibid., Book 4, Chap 4, Emphasis; Mine)
Constantinople II, Lateran 649, and Constantinople III all use the terminology “one and the same” or “the same,” as referenced above. Nicea II teaches the idea
The virgin will conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Is 7:14)
The Word became flesh, and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)
Jesus said to them, “Most certainly, I tell you, before Abraham came into existence, I AM.” (John 8:58)
In the preceding, the Scriptures affirm something simple: God is a “He,” a Person. This Person, called “Word,” became flesh. His name metaphorically speaking is “Immanuel,” God with us. The Person born from the Virgin is divine. He did not become something other than the Word of God rather He was not a different Person. The Lord, in response to the accusation He was not around in Abraham’s time, asserts that indeed He, the same person, was. He is the God (“I Am”) who pre-existed Abraham.
An objection. One may assert an extremely basic objection: Session 6 of Nicea II asserts in more or less words that, “For hypostasis we affirm [to be] essence with certain peculiarities" (p. 351 of 1849 translation) Hypostasis is basically Natures + Properties. Therefore, Christ’s hypostasis does not merely have a divine and human nature, but He is His divine and human natures and that’s all He is. Hypostases, such as Christ’s, are only natures with their respective properties. He has divine and human natures with divine and human properties. A hypostasis, being only what it has, is what it has.
Now, the preceding would defy common sense. How can a person become a different person, but still be the same person? However, the strict Hypostasis= Essence + Properties definition is the most straightforward interpretation of the passage from Nicea II as the conciliar fathers offer no qualification as I do in the above (such as the distinction between what a person is relationally and what he has).
Additionally, what do the fathers usually refer to when they speak of Christ’s hypostasis’ properties vis a vis the other Persons? His relational differences pertaining to His divine origination vis a vis the other Persons of the Holy Trinity. Above Damascene explicitly makes this point in Exposition, Book I, Chap 12 and elsewhere asserts that “The Son is from the Father, and derives from Him all His properties.” (Ibid., Chap 13; cf Hormisdas; Letter 80, Par 16, Emphasis; Mine)
The Son is “One and the Same” Hypostasis. The fathers have a phraseology which we need to tackle in order to address the issue: The Son’s hypostasis after the incarnation is “one and the same.” The following are some sources (not as above)
Sentence of Constantinople III; Letter of Saint Agatho in Constantinople III; Lateran 649, Session 1, p. 120 and 129; Ibid., Session 2, p. 156; Ibid., Session 3, p. 208 and 222; Ibid., Session 5, p. 376; Damascene, Exposition, Book 3, Chap 11; Ibid., Book 4, Chap 7; Justinian’s Edict on the Orthodox Faith, Constantinople II, Vol 1, p. 133. (Emphasis; MIne)
Let’s unpack what “one and the same” means. As one shall see, it is clear that the point of this phraseology is to emphasize the “Who” that is Christ never changes from the incarnation. For example, Damascene asserts that:
[T]he Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are one in all respects, except in that of not being begotten, that of being begotten, and that of procession,” he asserts that it was that the Only-begotten Son and Word of God *and God*, in His bowels of mercy, for our salvation, by the good pleasure of God and the co-operation of the Holy Spirit, being conceived without seed, was born uncorruptedly of the Holy Virgin and Mother of God, Mary, by the Holy Spirit, and became of her perfect Man; and that the Same is at once perfect God and perfect Man. (Expos, Book 1, Chap 2, Emphasis; Mine)
Clearly, “the Same” is a reference to “the Only-begotten Son and Word of God and God.” He has not “changed” in a specific sense, as He is still “Only-begotten Son and Word of God and God.” This is so patently obvious it should not need repeating, but for emphasis the redundancy should make the issue clear. The Hypostasis of the “Only-begotten Son and Word of God and God” remained the “same” according to the “Who” being discussed, as Damascene elsewhere clarifies:
The subsistence of God the Word before the Incarnation was simple and uncompound, and incorporeal and uncreate: but after it became flesh, it became also the subsistence of the flesh, and became compounded of divinity which it always possessed, and of flesh which it had assumed…the one same subsistence is both uncreate in divinity and create in humanity, visible and invisible. (Ibid., Book 4, Chap 4, Emphasis; Mine)
Constantinople II, Lateran 649, and Constantinople III all use the terminology “one and the same” or “the same,” as referenced above. Nicea II teaches the idea
[T]he two natures united without change to each other in one person of God the Word have manifested to us one Son and Lord, the same both visible and invisible, mortal and immortal, circumscribed and uncircumscribed, perfect God and perfect Man, to be in two natures and to be worshipped in two self energies and wills. (Nicea 2, Session 3, p. 105-106 in 1849 translation, Emphasis; Mine)
The Person who “is at once perfect God and perfect Man” is “the Same” as “the Only-begotten Son and Word of God and God.” One notices the obvious references to “the Same” always being specifically pertaining to a Person, “God the Word.” And so, God the Word, Who according to Damascene is “in all respects” identical to the Father and Son other than in hypostatic properties relating to origin, is the same particular hypostasis after the incarnation
For the subsistence of God the Word in itself became the subsistence of the flesh, and accordingly the Word became flesh [John 1:14] clearly without any change, and likewise the flesh became Word without alteration, and God became man. For the Word is God [by eternal generation], and man is God [through the assumption of human nature], through having one and the same subsistence….[T]he very subsistence of the Word became *without change* the [composite] subsistence of the flesh. (Exposition., Book 3, Chap 11, Emphasis; Mine)
And so, Damascene says Christ’s hypostasis “changes” in reference to the natures He has (Ibid., Chap 7), but in reference to Who He is “the very hypostasis of the Word became without change the [composite] hypostasis.” (Ibid., Chap 11) Hence, the hypostatic doctrine I expound above, with the differentiating between Who Christ is and what He has is precisely what makes sense of Damascene’s words in both parts of the Exposition. While the natures and their properties of course change, what does not change is the Hypostasis (not according to natures obviously, but according to literally “Who” the Word is, the Person begotten of the Father).
In another place, the Damascene puts it very plainly that during the incarnation, the Son “abode in an uncircumscribed manner in the womb of the Holy Virgin…causing the flesh derived from the holy Virgin to subsist in the very subsistence that was before all the ages.” (Ibid., Chap 7) Clearly, there is a sense where His hypostasis is not merely reducible to natures and properties, as “the very hypostasis” in which human nature and properties exists is “the very [same] subsistence” that lacked human nature and properties. How can it be the very same unless we can speak of hypostasis in a sense beyond that of His reduction into natures and properties alone? By that reduction He is a new Person, a new hypostasis with a new nature and related properties.
Without making this too complicated, the hypostasis/person of Christ during the incarnation was the very same on a personal level, but not on a natural level. This understanding is important, because it is precisely why Orthodox Christians worship the Eucharist:
Him we worship along with the Father and the Spirit, with one obeisance, adoring even His immaculate flesh and not holding that the flesh is not meet for worship: for in fact it is worshipped in the one subsistence of the Word, which indeed became subsistence for it. But in this we do not do homage to that which is created. For we worship Him, not as mere flesh, but as flesh united with divinity, and because His two natures are brought under the one person and one subsistence of God the Word. (Book 3, Chap 8)
Hence, Christians do not worship a created hypostasis, as this would make us polythesists. We worship an eternal, divine hypostasis made visibly and chronologically apparent in His human nature.
Conclusion. I will end this article on a personal note. To those who make syllogisms and focus on singular statements of the fathers to the undoing of the whole Scriptural and Patristic witness, I would caution to take a step back and use common sense. Saint Gregory Palamas warns: “Let us flee from those who reject patristic interpretations and attempt by themselves to deduce the complete opposite.” (Homily 34:2, Emphasis; Mine)
One must harmonize the Scriptures as well as Sacred Tradition. The truth is what is the common thread between everything.
And so, one can become hyper-focused on a sentence from Nicea II which appears to promise an easy, logical solution (Hypostasis = Natures + Properties) all the while losing sight of the context of the equation as a critique of Eutychianism. While Eutychians say Hypostasis = Nature and thereby conclude that if the Hypostasis is God the nature can only be God, the Orthodox have some sort of understanding of “Algebra.”
Contrary to the Eutychians, Orthodox recognize that if Christ demonstrates the properties of human nature, then there must be also a human nature within His hypostasis. Hence, there must be a “properties” variable as well as a “nature” variable in the hypostasis equation. That’s the point.
The preceding was not intended to undo the “Ecumenically defined” and thoroughly Patristic formula of His hypostasis being “one and the same” before and after the incarnation. And so, one can both affirm Nicea II’s “hypostatic equation” while at the same time affirming the eternity of the changless, beginless, divine hypostasis of God the Word. This can be done easily and without contradiction by simply affirming that Christ’s hypostasis is composite pertaining to the natures He has and is divine pertaining to Who He is, the Only-begotten of the Father.
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Early Church and Bible on Christ's Divinity (Emphasis is NOT Mine, I Don't Claim Scripture, Only Fathers.)
In his epistle to the Romans, Paul laments the fact that humans have turned to worshiping and serving the creation as opposed to glorifying and thanking the Creator, who is to be praised forever:
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, both His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not glorify Him (edoxasan) as God or give thanks (eucharistesan), but they became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the likeness of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped (esebasthesan) and served (elatreusan) the creature (te ktisei) rather than the Creator (ktisanta), who is blessed forever. Amen.” Romans 1:18-25
Note that the Apostle condemns the worship of corruptible man as foolish and a sign of human depravity. Paul is clearly against the worship of any creature, which means that he would never worship or allow others to worship Christ if he thought that Jesus was a mere human creature, and not the unique divine Son of God who became Man for our salvation.
Therefore, if the inspired Apostle did not think that Christ was only a human being then we would expect to find him ascribing to the risen Jesus the very worship, glory and honor, which God alone is to receive. And, amazingly, this is exactly what we find Paul doing, namely, glorifying Christ as God Incarnate!
To begin with, Paul identifies himself as the slave of Christ and describes Jesus as the Lord of all believers, being also the Lord of both the living and the dead:
“Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus (doulos Christou, Slave also in this can mean servant.), called as an apostle, having been set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, who was designated as the Son of God in power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we received grace and apostleship for the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;” Romans 1:1-6
Paul’s reference to Jesus being of the seed of David according to the flesh, meaning in relation to his human nature, presupposes that Christ is more than a mere man. It assumes that the risen Jesus has another nature, which Paul expresses in terms of Christ’s unique Sonship to God. More on this point later on.
Elsewhere, the Apostle speaks of Christ coming to judge mankind, and cites an OT text to prove this:
“For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you view your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God (to bemata tou theou). For it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, to Me every knee shall bow, And every tongue shall confess to God.’ So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather judge this—not to put a stumbling block or offense before a brother. I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is defiled in itself; but to him who considers anything to be defiled, to him it is defiled. For if because of food your brother is grieved, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be slandered; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who in this way serves Christ (douleuon to Christo) is pleasing to God and approved by men.” (Romans 14:9-18, Emphasis; Not mine)
Paul quotes the Greek version of Isaiah 45:23, where YHWH swears that all humanity will worship and acknowledge him:
“By myself I swear, righteousness shall surely proceed out of my mouth; my words shall not be frustrated; that to me every knee shall bend, and every tongue shall swear by God,”
What makes this so remarkable is that the Apostle preaches that everyone will stand before Jesus’ judgment seat since he is the One who comes to judge:
“on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.” Romans 2:16
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ (tou bematou tou Christou), so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” 2 Corinthians 5:10
Paul even goes so far as to ascribe the worship, which the text in Isaiah says YHWH receives, to Christ himself!
“Therefore, God also highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11
It is Jesus that every created thing will bow to and confess as Lord, meaning YHWH, since this is what brings glory to the Father. I.e., God is delighted when every creature recognizes Jesus his Son to be YHWH Incarnate.
According to Paul, this universal recognition and worship of Jesus as YHWH takes place when every individual stands before Christ on the day when he physically descends to judge the world.
Another way that the Apostle sets forth the Deity of Jesus is by referring to himself as a priest of Christ to the Gentiles in order to present them as a spiritual offering/sacrifice to the risen Lord:
“But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given me by God for me to be a minister of Christ Jesus (leitourgon Christou Iesou) to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest (hierougounta) the gospel of God, so that my offering (he phosphora) of the Gentiles may become acceptable, having been sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Therefore in Christ Jesus I have reason for boasting in things pertaining to God. For I will not be bold to speak of anything except what Christ has brought about through me, leading to the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed, in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and all around as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.” Romans 15:15-19
The term employed by Paul is used in the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible for the service, which the priests and the Levites rendered to God in his Temple:
“And the sound of Aaron shall be audible when he ministers (leitourgein), as he goes into the sanctuary before the Lord, and has he goes out, that he die not. And thou shalt make a plate [of] pure gold, and thou shalt grave on it [as] the graving of a signet, Holiness of the Lord. And thou shalt put it on the spun blue cloth, and it shall be on the mitre: it shall be in the front of the mitre. And it shall be on the forehead of Aaron; and Aaron shall bear away the sins of their holy things, all that the children of Israel shall sanctify of every gift of their holy things, and it shall be on the forehead of Aaron continually acceptable for them before the Lord. And the fringes of the garments [shall be] of fine linen; and thou shalt make a tire of fine linen, and thou shalt make a girdle, the work of the embroiderer. And for the sons of Aaron thou shalt make tunics and girdles, and thou shalt make for them tires for honour and glory. And thou shalt put them on Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, and thou shalt anoint them and fill their hands: and thou shalt sanctify them, that they may minister (hierateuosi) to me in the priest’s office. And thou shalt make for them linen drawers to cover the nakedness of their flesh; they shall reach from the loins to the thighs. And Aaron shall have them, and his sons, whenever they enter into the tabernacle of witness, or when they shall advance to the altar of the sanctuary to minister (leitourgein), so they shall not bring sin upon themselves, lest they die: [it is] a perpetual statute for him, and for his seed after him. Exodus 28:31-39 LXX
Note that the word hierateuosi refers to individuals that minister as priests: Strong's Greek: 2407. ἱερατεύω (hierateuó).
“And Moses and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel, did to the Levites as the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so the sons of Israel did to them. So the Levites purified themselves and washed their garments; and Aaron presented them as a gift before the Lord, and Aaron made atonement for them to purify them. And afterwards the Levites went in to minister (leitourgein) in their service (ten leitourgian) in the tabernacle of witness before Aaron, and before his sons; as the Lord appointed Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, This is the [ordinance] for the Levites; From five and twenty years old and upward, they shall go in to minister in the tabernacle of witness. And from fifty years old [the Levites] shall cease from the ministry (tes leitourgias), and shall not work any longer. And his brother shall serve (leitourgesei) in the tabernacle of witness to keep charges, but he shall not do works: so shalt thou do to the Levites in their charges.” Numbers 8:20-26 LXX
“At that time the Lord separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand near before the Lord, to minister (leitourgein) and bless in his name to this day.” Deuteronomy 10:8 LXX
The phrase is also used in respect to the service rendered to God by his angelic host:
“The Lord has prepared his throne in the heaven; and his kingdom rules over all. Bless the Lord, all ye his angels, mighty in strength, who perform his bidding, [ready] to hearken to the voice of his words. Bless the Lord, all ye his hosts; [ye] ministers (leiturgoi) of his that do his will.” Psalm 102:19-21 LXX
Interestingly, these very angels are commanded to worship Jesus since, unlike them, he is the Lord who created and sustains all things, and who rules forever as God!
“And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, ‘And let ALL the angels of God worship Him.’ And of the angels He says, ‘Who makes His angels winds, And His ministers (leitourgous) flaming fire.’
“But of the Son He says, ‘Your throne, O God (ho theos), is forever and ever, And the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness above Your companions.’ And, ‘You, Lord, in the beginning founded the earth, And the heavens are the works of Your hands; They will perish, but You remain; And they all will wear out like a garment, And like a mantle You will roll them up; Like a garment they will also be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not come to an end.’
“But to which of the angels has He ever said, ‘Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies As a footstool for Your feet’? Are they not all ministering spirits (leitourgika pneumata), sent to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?” Hebrews 1:6-14
This letter, which has traditionally been attributed to Paul, has God taking the following Psalm, which magnifies YHWH as the immutable Creator and Sustainer of all creation,
“But You, O Yahweh, abide forever, And the remembrance of Your name from generation to generation… Of old You founded the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. Even they will perish, but You will remain; And all of them will wear out like a garment; Like clothing You will change them and they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not come to an end.” Psalm 102:12, 25-27
And attributing it to his glorious Son!
Seeing that Paul describes himself as a priest of Jesus, it makes sense that he could refer to his converts as his spiritual offering presented to the risen Lord, or portray them as first-fruits of Christ, as in the following case:
“Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my well-beloved Epænetus, who is the firstfruits (aparche) of Achaia unto Christ.” Romans 16:5 (AKJV)
First-fruits were the portion, which Israel had to present to YHWH God in their worship of him. And yet here we see that the first-fruits of Christian believers were presented to Jesus himself!
Paul wasn’t the only inspired Apostle that spoke of the risen Jesus having priests offering him service, or who described converts as being first-fruits to Christ:
“Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection. Over these the second death has no authority, but they will be priests of God AND OF Christ and will reign with HIM for a thousand years.” Revelation 20:6
“Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. And no one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been purchased from the earth. These are the ones who are not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been purchased from among men as first fruits (aparche) to God AND TO the Lamb. And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless.” Revelation 14:1-5
Astonishingly, John describes the 144,000 Israelites as first-fruits to both God and the Lamb, whereas in the OT Israel is said to be YHWH’s first-fruits!
“Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “I remember concerning you the loyal love of your childhood, the love of your betrothal-time, your going after me in the desert, in the land not sown. Israel was holy to Yahweh, the first fruit of his produce. All those who ate it were held guilty; disaster came to them,”’ declares Yahweh.” Jeremiah 2:2-3 Lexham English Bible (LEB)
Could these inspired authors have been any clearer in describing both the Father and the Son as the one true God YHWH?
Another way in which priests ministered to God was to call upon his name. Calling on God’s name refers to invoking and thanking him in prayer:
“Moses and Aaron were among His priests, And Samuel was among those who called on His name; They would call upon Yahweh and He would answer them. He would speak to them in the pillar of cloud; They kept His testimonies And the statute that He gave them. O Yahweh our God, You answered them; You were a forgiving God to them, And yet an avenger of their evil deeds.” Psalm 99:6-8
Here’s the English rendering of the LXX:
“Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among them that call upon his name (tois epikaloumenois to onoma autou); they called upon the Lord, and he heard them.” Psalm 98:6 LXX
Remarkably, this is the same exact worship which Paul and the early Christians gave to Jesus!
“To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called as saints, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (tois epikaloumenois to onoma ‘Kyriou hemon ‘Iesou Christou), their Lord and ours:.” 1 Corinthians 1:2
The Apostle even quoted the following OT passage, which speaks of calling upon the name of YHWH for salvation,
“Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, And that I am Yahweh your God, And there is no other; And My people will never be put to shame. And it will be afterwards That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; Your old men will dream dreams; Your young men will see visions. Even on the male slaves and female slaves I will in those days pour out My Spirit. And I will put wonders in the sky and on the earth, Blood, fire, and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood Before the great and awesome day of Yahweh comes. And it will be that everyone who calls on the name of Yahweh Will be delivered; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem There will be those who escape, As Yahweh has said, Even among the survivors whom Yahweh calls.” Joel 2:27-32
To make his case that individuals must confess Jesus as Lord in order to be saved:
“that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, leading to righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, leading to salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes upon Him will not be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him, for ‘Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” Romans 10:9-13
Paul has basically identified Jesus as that very YHWH whom individuals must pray to and acknowledge for salvation!
This is further confirmed by the Apostle describing YHWH’s Spirit, which the prophecy in Joel said God would pour out upon all who call on his name, as the Spirit of both God and Christ Jesus!
“However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brothers, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die, but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the practices of the body, you will live. For as many as are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons by whom we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, also heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.” Romans 8:9-17
“But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God. Galatians 4:4-7
A monotheistic Jew, as Paul certainly was, could never identify the Holy Spirit as the Spirt of a mere finite creature.
Since the service, which Paul says only God is to receive, i.e., latreuo, is connected with the worship given by priests, this proves that Jesus is being given this exact same worship.
This brings me to my next point.
Paul begins and ends his letters by praying that the recipients/readers be granted specific divine graces from both the Father and the Son:
“to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father AND the Lord Jesus Christ. For God, whom I serve (ho latreuo) in my spirit in the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how without ceasing I make mention of you, always in my prayers earnestly asking, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you.” Romans 1:7-10
“And the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.” Romans 16:20
“Grace to you and peace from God our Father AND the Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 1:3
“If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed. Maranatha (Aramaic – Our Lord Come!). The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.” 1 Corinthians 16:22-23
Again, Paul wasn’t the only one to invoke Christ in this manner:
“Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father AND FROM Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.” 2 John 1:3
“John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, FROM the One who is and who was and who is to come, AND FROM the seven Spirits who are before His throne, AND FROM Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood—and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the might forever and ever. Amen.” Revelation 1:4-6
“He who bears witness to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.” Revelation 22:20-21.
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, both His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not glorify Him (edoxasan) as God or give thanks (eucharistesan), but they became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the likeness of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped (esebasthesan) and served (elatreusan) the creature (te ktisei) rather than the Creator (ktisanta), who is blessed forever. Amen.” Romans 1:18-25
Note that the Apostle condemns the worship of corruptible man as foolish and a sign of human depravity. Paul is clearly against the worship of any creature, which means that he would never worship or allow others to worship Christ if he thought that Jesus was a mere human creature, and not the unique divine Son of God who became Man for our salvation.
Therefore, if the inspired Apostle did not think that Christ was only a human being then we would expect to find him ascribing to the risen Jesus the very worship, glory and honor, which God alone is to receive. And, amazingly, this is exactly what we find Paul doing, namely, glorifying Christ as God Incarnate!
To begin with, Paul identifies himself as the slave of Christ and describes Jesus as the Lord of all believers, being also the Lord of both the living and the dead:
“Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus (doulos Christou, Slave also in this can mean servant.), called as an apostle, having been set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, who was designated as the Son of God in power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we received grace and apostleship for the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;” Romans 1:1-6
Paul’s reference to Jesus being of the seed of David according to the flesh, meaning in relation to his human nature, presupposes that Christ is more than a mere man. It assumes that the risen Jesus has another nature, which Paul expresses in terms of Christ’s unique Sonship to God. More on this point later on.
Elsewhere, the Apostle speaks of Christ coming to judge mankind, and cites an OT text to prove this:
“For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you view your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God (to bemata tou theou). For it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, to Me every knee shall bow, And every tongue shall confess to God.’ So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather judge this—not to put a stumbling block or offense before a brother. I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is defiled in itself; but to him who considers anything to be defiled, to him it is defiled. For if because of food your brother is grieved, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be slandered; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who in this way serves Christ (douleuon to Christo) is pleasing to God and approved by men.” (Romans 14:9-18, Emphasis; Not mine)
Paul quotes the Greek version of Isaiah 45:23, where YHWH swears that all humanity will worship and acknowledge him:
“By myself I swear, righteousness shall surely proceed out of my mouth; my words shall not be frustrated; that to me every knee shall bend, and every tongue shall swear by God,”
What makes this so remarkable is that the Apostle preaches that everyone will stand before Jesus’ judgment seat since he is the One who comes to judge:
“on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.” Romans 2:16
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ (tou bematou tou Christou), so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” 2 Corinthians 5:10
Paul even goes so far as to ascribe the worship, which the text in Isaiah says YHWH receives, to Christ himself!
“Therefore, God also highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11
It is Jesus that every created thing will bow to and confess as Lord, meaning YHWH, since this is what brings glory to the Father. I.e., God is delighted when every creature recognizes Jesus his Son to be YHWH Incarnate.
According to Paul, this universal recognition and worship of Jesus as YHWH takes place when every individual stands before Christ on the day when he physically descends to judge the world.
Another way that the Apostle sets forth the Deity of Jesus is by referring to himself as a priest of Christ to the Gentiles in order to present them as a spiritual offering/sacrifice to the risen Lord:
“But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given me by God for me to be a minister of Christ Jesus (leitourgon Christou Iesou) to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest (hierougounta) the gospel of God, so that my offering (he phosphora) of the Gentiles may become acceptable, having been sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Therefore in Christ Jesus I have reason for boasting in things pertaining to God. For I will not be bold to speak of anything except what Christ has brought about through me, leading to the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed, in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and all around as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.” Romans 15:15-19
The term employed by Paul is used in the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible for the service, which the priests and the Levites rendered to God in his Temple:
“And the sound of Aaron shall be audible when he ministers (leitourgein), as he goes into the sanctuary before the Lord, and has he goes out, that he die not. And thou shalt make a plate [of] pure gold, and thou shalt grave on it [as] the graving of a signet, Holiness of the Lord. And thou shalt put it on the spun blue cloth, and it shall be on the mitre: it shall be in the front of the mitre. And it shall be on the forehead of Aaron; and Aaron shall bear away the sins of their holy things, all that the children of Israel shall sanctify of every gift of their holy things, and it shall be on the forehead of Aaron continually acceptable for them before the Lord. And the fringes of the garments [shall be] of fine linen; and thou shalt make a tire of fine linen, and thou shalt make a girdle, the work of the embroiderer. And for the sons of Aaron thou shalt make tunics and girdles, and thou shalt make for them tires for honour and glory. And thou shalt put them on Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, and thou shalt anoint them and fill their hands: and thou shalt sanctify them, that they may minister (hierateuosi) to me in the priest’s office. And thou shalt make for them linen drawers to cover the nakedness of their flesh; they shall reach from the loins to the thighs. And Aaron shall have them, and his sons, whenever they enter into the tabernacle of witness, or when they shall advance to the altar of the sanctuary to minister (leitourgein), so they shall not bring sin upon themselves, lest they die: [it is] a perpetual statute for him, and for his seed after him. Exodus 28:31-39 LXX
Note that the word hierateuosi refers to individuals that minister as priests: Strong's Greek: 2407. ἱερατεύω (hierateuó).
“And Moses and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel, did to the Levites as the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so the sons of Israel did to them. So the Levites purified themselves and washed their garments; and Aaron presented them as a gift before the Lord, and Aaron made atonement for them to purify them. And afterwards the Levites went in to minister (leitourgein) in their service (ten leitourgian) in the tabernacle of witness before Aaron, and before his sons; as the Lord appointed Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, This is the [ordinance] for the Levites; From five and twenty years old and upward, they shall go in to minister in the tabernacle of witness. And from fifty years old [the Levites] shall cease from the ministry (tes leitourgias), and shall not work any longer. And his brother shall serve (leitourgesei) in the tabernacle of witness to keep charges, but he shall not do works: so shalt thou do to the Levites in their charges.” Numbers 8:20-26 LXX
“At that time the Lord separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand near before the Lord, to minister (leitourgein) and bless in his name to this day.” Deuteronomy 10:8 LXX
The phrase is also used in respect to the service rendered to God by his angelic host:
“The Lord has prepared his throne in the heaven; and his kingdom rules over all. Bless the Lord, all ye his angels, mighty in strength, who perform his bidding, [ready] to hearken to the voice of his words. Bless the Lord, all ye his hosts; [ye] ministers (leiturgoi) of his that do his will.” Psalm 102:19-21 LXX
Interestingly, these very angels are commanded to worship Jesus since, unlike them, he is the Lord who created and sustains all things, and who rules forever as God!
“And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, ‘And let ALL the angels of God worship Him.’ And of the angels He says, ‘Who makes His angels winds, And His ministers (leitourgous) flaming fire.’
“But of the Son He says, ‘Your throne, O God (ho theos), is forever and ever, And the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness above Your companions.’ And, ‘You, Lord, in the beginning founded the earth, And the heavens are the works of Your hands; They will perish, but You remain; And they all will wear out like a garment, And like a mantle You will roll them up; Like a garment they will also be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not come to an end.’
“But to which of the angels has He ever said, ‘Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies As a footstool for Your feet’? Are they not all ministering spirits (leitourgika pneumata), sent to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?” Hebrews 1:6-14
This letter, which has traditionally been attributed to Paul, has God taking the following Psalm, which magnifies YHWH as the immutable Creator and Sustainer of all creation,
“But You, O Yahweh, abide forever, And the remembrance of Your name from generation to generation… Of old You founded the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. Even they will perish, but You will remain; And all of them will wear out like a garment; Like clothing You will change them and they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not come to an end.” Psalm 102:12, 25-27
And attributing it to his glorious Son!
Seeing that Paul describes himself as a priest of Jesus, it makes sense that he could refer to his converts as his spiritual offering presented to the risen Lord, or portray them as first-fruits of Christ, as in the following case:
“Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my well-beloved Epænetus, who is the firstfruits (aparche) of Achaia unto Christ.” Romans 16:5 (AKJV)
First-fruits were the portion, which Israel had to present to YHWH God in their worship of him. And yet here we see that the first-fruits of Christian believers were presented to Jesus himself!
Paul wasn’t the only inspired Apostle that spoke of the risen Jesus having priests offering him service, or who described converts as being first-fruits to Christ:
“Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection. Over these the second death has no authority, but they will be priests of God AND OF Christ and will reign with HIM for a thousand years.” Revelation 20:6
“Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. And no one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been purchased from the earth. These are the ones who are not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been purchased from among men as first fruits (aparche) to God AND TO the Lamb. And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless.” Revelation 14:1-5
Astonishingly, John describes the 144,000 Israelites as first-fruits to both God and the Lamb, whereas in the OT Israel is said to be YHWH’s first-fruits!
“Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “I remember concerning you the loyal love of your childhood, the love of your betrothal-time, your going after me in the desert, in the land not sown. Israel was holy to Yahweh, the first fruit of his produce. All those who ate it were held guilty; disaster came to them,”’ declares Yahweh.” Jeremiah 2:2-3 Lexham English Bible (LEB)
Could these inspired authors have been any clearer in describing both the Father and the Son as the one true God YHWH?
Another way in which priests ministered to God was to call upon his name. Calling on God’s name refers to invoking and thanking him in prayer:
“Moses and Aaron were among His priests, And Samuel was among those who called on His name; They would call upon Yahweh and He would answer them. He would speak to them in the pillar of cloud; They kept His testimonies And the statute that He gave them. O Yahweh our God, You answered them; You were a forgiving God to them, And yet an avenger of their evil deeds.” Psalm 99:6-8
Here’s the English rendering of the LXX:
“Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among them that call upon his name (tois epikaloumenois to onoma autou); they called upon the Lord, and he heard them.” Psalm 98:6 LXX
Remarkably, this is the same exact worship which Paul and the early Christians gave to Jesus!
“To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called as saints, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (tois epikaloumenois to onoma ‘Kyriou hemon ‘Iesou Christou), their Lord and ours:.” 1 Corinthians 1:2
The Apostle even quoted the following OT passage, which speaks of calling upon the name of YHWH for salvation,
“Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, And that I am Yahweh your God, And there is no other; And My people will never be put to shame. And it will be afterwards That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; Your old men will dream dreams; Your young men will see visions. Even on the male slaves and female slaves I will in those days pour out My Spirit. And I will put wonders in the sky and on the earth, Blood, fire, and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood Before the great and awesome day of Yahweh comes. And it will be that everyone who calls on the name of Yahweh Will be delivered; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem There will be those who escape, As Yahweh has said, Even among the survivors whom Yahweh calls.” Joel 2:27-32
To make his case that individuals must confess Jesus as Lord in order to be saved:
“that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, leading to righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, leading to salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes upon Him will not be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him, for ‘Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” Romans 10:9-13
Paul has basically identified Jesus as that very YHWH whom individuals must pray to and acknowledge for salvation!
This is further confirmed by the Apostle describing YHWH’s Spirit, which the prophecy in Joel said God would pour out upon all who call on his name, as the Spirit of both God and Christ Jesus!
“However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brothers, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die, but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the practices of the body, you will live. For as many as are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons by whom we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, also heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.” Romans 8:9-17
“But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God. Galatians 4:4-7
A monotheistic Jew, as Paul certainly was, could never identify the Holy Spirit as the Spirt of a mere finite creature.
Since the service, which Paul says only God is to receive, i.e., latreuo, is connected with the worship given by priests, this proves that Jesus is being given this exact same worship.
This brings me to my next point.
Paul begins and ends his letters by praying that the recipients/readers be granted specific divine graces from both the Father and the Son:
“to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father AND the Lord Jesus Christ. For God, whom I serve (ho latreuo) in my spirit in the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how without ceasing I make mention of you, always in my prayers earnestly asking, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you.” Romans 1:7-10
“And the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.” Romans 16:20
“Grace to you and peace from God our Father AND the Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 1:3
“If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed. Maranatha (Aramaic – Our Lord Come!). The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.” 1 Corinthians 16:22-23
Again, Paul wasn’t the only one to invoke Christ in this manner:
“Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father AND FROM Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.” 2 John 1:3
“John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, FROM the One who is and who was and who is to come, AND FROM the seven Spirits who are before His throne, AND FROM Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood—and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the might forever and ever. Amen.” Revelation 1:4-6
“He who bears witness to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.” Revelation 22:20-21.
JOHN on The Divinity of Jesus
The Lord himself plainly stated that it is the Father’s express will for everyone to give the Son the exact same honor, which is to be given to the Father:
“For the Father judges no one, but he has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, EVEN AS they honor the Father. He who doesn’t honor the Son doesn’t honor the Father who sent him.” John 5:22-23
Previously our Lord proclaimed that the kind of honor that the Father is to receive is worship that is done in the Spirit, and in accord with the truth or proper manner of worship, which the Spirit has revealed in the Word:
“But a time is coming, and it is already here! Even now the true worshipers are being led by the Spirit to worship the Father according to the truth. These are the ones the Father is seeking to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship God must be led by the Spirit to worship him according to the truth.” John 4:23-24 Contemporary English Version (CEV)
Seeing that the Son is to receive this same exact honor, this means that the Son must also be worshiped in Spirit and truth.
Note the logic behind this:
A. The Son is to be given the same honor that the Father receives.
B. True believers are to worship the Father in Spirit and truth, meaning by the regenerating work and energizing grace of the Holy Spirit in accord with the Spirit’s revelation.
C. Since the Son is to receive the exact same honor, this means that believers are to also worship him in Spirit and truth.
This demonstrates that the Father and the Son are essentially coequal, a fact that is further confirmed by their mutual glorification of each other:
“Jesus answered, ‘I don’t have a demon, but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. But I don’t seek my own glory. There is one who seeks and judges. Most certainly, I tell you, if a person keeps my word, he will never see death.’ Then the Jews said to him, ‘Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, as did the prophets; and you say, “If a man keeps my word, he will never taste of death.” Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died. Who do you make yourself out to be?’
“Jesus answered, ‘If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say that he is our God. You have not known him, but I know him. If I said, ‘I don’t know him,’ I would be like you, a liar. But I know him and keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it and was glad.’
“The Jews therefore said to him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old! Have you seen Abraham?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Most certainly, I tell you, before Abraham came into existence, I AM.’ Therefore they took up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple, having gone through the middle of them, and so passed by’” John 8:49-59
“When he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him immediately.” John 13:31-32
“Jesus said these things, then lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, ‘Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may also glorify you; even as you gave him authority over all flesh, so he will give eternal life to all whom you have given him… Now, Father, glorify me with your own self with the glory which I had with you before the world existed.’” John 17:1-2, 5
The Hearer of Prayers
Another way that John depicts Jesus as receiving the worship due to God is by his depiction of Christ being the Object of prayers:
“Most certainly I tell you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and he will do greater works than these, because I am going to my Father. Whatever you will ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you will ask anything in my name, I will do it.” John 14:12-14
Christ explains that the reason why his followers will perform a greater number of works that he himself had done while on earth is because once he goes to be with the Father in heaven, the disciples could then pray to him and invoke his authority, and he would be the One who would personally do the miracles for them.
Jesus claims to do what the Hebrew Bible says YHWH does from heaven:
“Praise waits for you, God, in Zion. Vows shall be performed to you. You who hear prayer, all men will come to you. Sins overwhelmed me, but you atoned for our transgressions.” Psalm 65:1-3
Interestingly, not only does Jesus answer prayers from heaven but he also grants salvation from sins, just like YHWH does, and grants everlasting life to all who believe on his name:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only born Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him. He who believes in him is not judged. He who doesn’t believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only born Son of God.” John 3:16-18
“They said to the woman, ‘Now we believe, not because of your speaking; for we have heard for ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.’” John 4:42
“If anyone listens to my sayings and doesn’t believe, I don’t judge him. For I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.” John 12:47
“Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will not be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But I told you that you have seen me, and yet you don’t believe. All those whom the Father gives me will come to me. He who comes to me I will in no way throw out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. This is the will of my Father who sent me, that of all he has given to me I should lose nothing, but should raise him up at the last day. This is the will of the one who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.’ The Jews therefore murmured concerning him, because he said, ‘I am the bread which came down out of heaven.’ They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then does he say, “I have come down out of heaven”?’ Therefore Jesus answered them, ‘Don’t murmur among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up in the last day.’” John 6:35-44
“‘This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, that anyone may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down out of heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. Yes, the bread which I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’ The Jews therefore contended with one another, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ Jesus therefore said to them, ‘Most certainly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you don’t have life in yourselves. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on me will also live because of me. This is the bread which came down out of heaven—not as our fathers ate the manna and died. He who eats this bread will live forever.” John 6:50-58
The Divine Son of Man
Related to Jesus’ being worshiped is his self-identification as the Son of Man:
“Jesus answered him, ‘Are you the teacher of Israel, and don’t understand these things? Most certainly I tell you, we speak that which we know and testify of that which we have seen, and you don’t receive our witness. If I told you earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended out of heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.’” John 3:10-15
“Then what if you would see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?” John 6:62
“Jesus answered them, ‘The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified… And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ But he said this, signifying by what kind of death he should die. The multitude answered him, ‘We have heard out of the law that the Christ remains forever. How do you say, “The Son of Man must be lifted up”? Who is this Son of Man?’” John 12:23, 32-34
Jesus wasn’t claiming to be a mere mortal figure, but was referring to himself as that very Divine Being whom the prophet Daniel saw appearing as a Man:
“I saw in the night visions, and behold, there came with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man, and he came even to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before him. Dominion was given him, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him (yipelachun). His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away, and his kingdom one that will not be destroyed.” Daniel 7:13-14
What makes Daniel’s figure so glorious is that he rides the clouds of heaven like God does,
“Sing to God! Sing praises to his name! Extol him who rides on the clouds: to Yah, his name! Rejoice before him!…to him who rides on the heaven of heavens, which are of old; behold, he utters his voice, a mighty voice. Ascribe strength to God! His excellency is over Israel, his strength is in the skies.” Psalm 68:4, 33-34
“He lays the beams of his rooms in the waters. He makes the clouds his chariot. He walks on the wings of the wind.” Psalm 104:3
“Yahweh is slow to anger, and great in power, and will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. Yahweh has his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.” Nahum 1:3
And receives the exact same worship that God does, and does so from all nations in every language as he rules over them forever and ever!
“The kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole sky, will be given to the people of the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions will serve (yipelachun) and obey him.” Daniel 7:27
“There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, have not respected you. They don’t serve your gods, and don’t worship the golden image which you have set up.’… Nebuchadnezzar answered them, ‘Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you don’t serve my gods and you don’t worship the golden image which I have set up?’… ‘If it happens, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.’… Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said, ‘Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and have yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god except their own God.’” Daniel 3:12, 14, 17-18, 28
“Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. The king spoke and said to Daniel, ‘Your God whom you serve continually, he will deliver you.’… When he came near to the den to Daniel, he cried with a troubled voice. The king spoke and said to Daniel, ‘Daniel, servant of the living God, is your God, whom you serve continually, able to deliver you from the lions?... I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For he is the living God, and steadfast forever. His kingdom is that which will not be destroyed. His dominion will be even to the end.’” Daniel 6:16, 20, 26
Most remarkably, the Greek rendering of Daniel has the nations granting this divine Son of Man latreuo, which is the very worship that Jesus says is to be given only to YHWH God!
“Jesus answered him, ‘Get behind me, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only (kai auto mono latreuseis).”’” Luke 4:8 – Cf. Matt. 4:10
Now compare this with the following quotation of Daniel 7:9-28 taken from the writing of the 2nd Christian apologist Justin Martyr:
“But if so great a power is shown to have followed and to be still following the dispensation of His suffering, how great shall that be which shall follow His glorious advent! For He shall come on the clouds as the Son of man, so Daniel foretold, and His angels shall come with Him. These are the words: 'I beheld till the thrones were set; and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool. His throne was like a fiery flame, His wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him. Thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The books were opened, and the judgment was set. I beheld then the voice of the great words which the horn speaks: and the beast was beat down, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. And the rest of the beasts were taken away from their dominion, and a period of life was given to the beasts until a season and time. I saw in the vision of the night, and, behold, one like the Son of man coming with the clouds of heaven; and He came to the Ancient of days, and stood before Him. And they who stood by brought Him near; and there were given Him power and kingly honour, and all nations of the earth by their families, and all glory, serve Him (latreuousa). And His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not be taken away; and His kingdom shall not be destroyed. And my spirit was chilled within my frame, and the visions of my head troubled me. I came near unto one of them that stood by, and inquired the precise meaning of all these things. In answer he speaks to me, and showed me the judgment of the matters: These great beasts are four kingdoms, which shall perish from the earth, and shall not receive dominion for ever, even for ever and ever.
“Then I wished to know exactly about the fourth beast, which destroyed all [the others] and was very terrible, its teeth of iron, and its nails of brass; which devoured, made waste, and stamped the residue with its feet: also about the ten horns upon its head, and of the one which came up, by means of which three of the former fell. And that horn had eyes, and a mouth speaking great things; and its countenance excelled the rest. And I beheld that horn waging war against the saints, and prevailing against them, until the Ancient of days came; and He gave judgment for the saints of the Most High. And the time came, and the saints of the Most High possessed the kingdom. And it was told me concerning the fourth beast: There shall be a fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall prevail over all these kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall destroy and make it thoroughly waste. And the ten horns are ten kings that shall arise; and one shall arise after them; and he shall surpass the first in evil deeds, and he shall subdue three kings, and he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall overthrow the rest of the saints of the Most High, and shall expect to change the seasons and the times. And it shall be delivered into his hands for a time, and times, and half a time. And the judgment sat, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom, and the power, and the great places of the kingdoms under the heavens, were given to the holy people of the Most High, to reign in an everlasting kingdom: and all powers shall be subject to Him, and shall obey Him. Hitherto is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was possessed with a very great astonishment, and my speech was changed in me; yet I kept the matter in my heart.' (Dialogue with Trypho, Chapter 31. If Christ's power be now so great, how much greater at the second advent!; emphasis mine)
Since Jesus as the Son of Man receives pelach/latreuo this merely reinforces the fact that Christ in John’s Gospel is indeed being worshiped as God Almighty.
The God Whom Isaiah Saw
As if this weren’t enough proof that John depicts Jesus as being the object of divine honors, the Evangelist goes so far as to identify Christ as that very glorious Divine Being that Isaiah saw in his vision:
“Then Jesus told them, ‘You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.’ When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.
“Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: ‘Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?’
“For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere: ‘He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn—and I would heal them.’ Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.
“Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved human praise more than praise from God.
“Then Jesus cried out, ‘Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.’” John 12:35-46 New International Version (NIV)
The Evangelist quotes Isaiah to show that the prophet had already foretold of the Jewish opposition to Jesus, and explains the reason he did so is because he had actually seen the glory of Jesus beforehand.
The text that John quotes to prove this is Isaiah 6:10, where in context the prophet beheld YHWH God in visible form seated on a visible throne:
“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each one had six wings. With two he covered his face. With two he covered his feet. With two he flew. One called to another, and said, “Holy, holy, holy, is Yahweh of Armies! The whole earth is full of his glory!’ The foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.
“Then I said, ‘Woe is me! For I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips, for my eyes have seen the King, Yahweh of Armies!’ Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar. He touched my mouth with it, and said, ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin forgiven.’
“I heard the Lord’s voice, saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for US?’ Then I said, ‘Here I am. Send me!’ He said, ‘Go, and tell this people, “You hear indeed, but don’t understand. You see indeed, but don’t perceive.” Make the heart of this people fat. Make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and turn again, and be healed.’” Isaiah 6:1-10
According to John, this was the time that Isaiah actually saw the glory of the prehuman Jesus!
In other words, Jesus is that very God whom the prophet beheld with his very own physical eyes!
No wonder that Christ could say that seeing him is to see the One who sent him since both the Father and he are essentially one in nature and glory.
Seeing YHWH’s Glory
Nor is this the only passage from Isaiah, which John associates with Christ.
The Evangelist has John the Baptist identifying himself with the emissary that Isaiah announced would be sent ahead of YHWH in order to prepare Israel for his coming:
“This is John’s testimony, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ He declared, and didn’t deny, but he declared, ‘I am not the Christ.’ They asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the prophet?” He answered, ‘No.’ They said therefore to him, ‘Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’ He said, ‘I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.’ The ones who had been sent were from the Pharisees. They asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?’ John answered them, “I baptize in water, but among you stands one whom you don’t know. He is the one who comes after me, who is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I’m not worthy to loosen.’ These things were done in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.” John 1:19-28
Here is the prophecy in question:
“The voice of one who calls out, ‘Prepare the way of Yahweh in the wilderness! Make a level highway in the desert for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The uneven shall be made level, and the rough places a plain. Yahweh’s glory shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken it.” Isaiah 40:3-5
Carefully note that the voice who is said to be the Baptist isn’t sent to herald the coming of another envoy or creature. Rather, the agent in Isaiah is explicitly stated to prepare Israel for the appearance of YHWH their God. And yet remarkably, John himself expressly testifies that he had been sent ahead of Jesus Christ in order to make him known to the people of Israel!
“The Word became flesh and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the only born Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. John testified about him. He cried out, saying, ‘This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me has surpassed me, for he was before me.”’” John 1:14-15
“The next day, he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, “After me comes a man who is preferred before me, for he was before me.” I didn’t know him, but for this reason I came baptizing in water, that he would be revealed to Israel.’ John testified, saying, ‘I have seen the Spirit descending like a dove out of heaven, and it remained on him. I didn’t recognize him, but he who sent me to baptize in water said to me, “On whomever you will see the Spirit descending and remaining on him is he who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.” I have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.’ Again, the next day, John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God!” John 1:29-36
In other words, Jesus is YHWH God Almighty who has become a flesh and blood human being!
This now brings me to my final point.
The Lord God of Believers
With the foregoing in view, it should come as no surprise that the climax of John’s Gospel is the confession of doubting Thomas when he beholds the risen Christ approximately eight days after his physical, bodily resurrection:
“Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.’ A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’ Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God (ho kyrios mou kai ho theos mou)!’ Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’” John 20:24-29 NIV
The Greek is unambiguously clear that the Apostle is directing his confession to Jesus, and not to the Father.
Thomas’ statement of faith is virtually identical to David’s praise of YHWH:
“Awake, and rise to my defense! Contend for me, my God and Lord.” Psalm 35:23 NIV
This is especially so when we examine the Greek rendering of this verse:
“Awake, O Lord, and attend to my judgment, [even] to my cause, my God and my Lord (ho theos mou kai ho kyrios mou).” Psalm 34:23 LXX
Jesus is to Thomas, and by extension to all true believers, what YHWH is to David and Israel. I.e., the risen Christ is the Lord God of all Christians, in fact of all creation:
“looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ (tou megalou theou kai soteros hemon ‘Iesou Christou), who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good works” Titus 2:13-14
“Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained a like precious faith with us in the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ (tou theou hemon kai soteros ‘Iesou Christou):… For thus you will be richly supplied with the entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (tou kyriou hemon kai soteros ‘Iesou Christou).” 2 Peter 1:1. 11 – Cf. 2:20; 3:2, 18
Such a confession could never be uttered of a mere created being by a monotheistic Jew, no matter how exalted. That Jesus accepts and blesses all who would make this same declaration of faith is an explicit testimony that Christ is no mere creature. Rather, he is the uniquely begotten Son of God who is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit in essence, glory, majesty and honor.
Hence, Thomas’ declaration serves as the height and epitome of what it means to honor the Son in the same way that the Father is honored. Since believers are to honor the Father by virtue of being truly God in essence, as even our Lord declared,
“This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ.” John 17:3
“Jesus said to her, ‘Don’t hold me, for I haven’t yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brothers and tell them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”’” John 20:17
The Son, likewise, is to be honored for being the God who entered into human flesh in order to save the world from sin:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (theos). He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people… He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into being through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth… No one has ever seen God. It is the only Son, himself God (monogenes theos), who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.” John 1:1-4, 8-14, 18 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)
Unless indicated otherwise, scriptural citations taken from the World English Bible (WEB).
ADDENDUM
The Expositors
I conclude this post by citing the commentaries of a select few biblical interpreters, scholars and/or theologians in relation to the key Johannine texts that deal with Jesus being worshiped as God.
John 5:23
In these verses Jesus’ equality with God is revealed with the result (v. 23, hina) that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Here their complete equality is expressed in terms of people’s proper attitude toward Jesus: the very same honor given to the Father is to be given to the Son. Again the Jewish idea of agent is used and transcended (see note on 5:21). An agent was to be received as the one who sent him would be received. But here God is the one sending, and no one sent by God in the Old Testament ever claimed equal honor with God! Unless Jesus is wholly and completely God this verse promotes blasphemy. Indeed, the last part of the verse makes the point even more strongly: failure to honor the Son is failure to honor the Father. Honoring God, which was at the heart of the Jewish religion, is said to be dependent on honoring Jesus as the Son of God.
This keynote section states clearly the scandal of particularity that some Christians find discomforting today. The complex language of these verses shows the struggle to guard the truth of monotheism while claiming that Jesus is God. The concerns of monotheists such as Jews and Muslims are legitimate, and this Gospel reveals that God is indeed One, though not in the way these other religions understand. This Gospel encourages monotheists to understand their truth in light of what has now been revealed by the Son of God about himself and the Holy Spirit. This Gospel, however, offers no encouragement to Christians who wish to say that Jesus is not the unique Son of God with exclusive and ultimate authority over every person on earth. All judgment has been given to him, and all are to honor the Son just as they honor the Father. John allows for no syncretism, for that would deny the uniqueness and exclusivity of Jesus. (Rodney A. Whitacre, John, vol. 4, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series [Westmont, IL: IVP Academic, 1999], pp. 129–130; emphasis mine)
5:23. The reason why the Father has entrusted all judgment to the Son is now disclosed: it is so that all may honour the Son just as they honour the Father. Whatever functional subordination may be stressed in this section, it guarantees, as we have seen, that the Son does everything that the Father does (cf. notes on vv. 19–20); and now Jesus declares that its purpose is that the Son may be at one with the Father not only in activity but in honour. This goes far beyond making Jesus a mere ambassador who acts in the name of the monarch who sent him, an envoy plenipotentiary whose derived authority is the equivalent of his master’s. That analogue breaks down precisely here, for the honour given to an envoy is never that given to the head of state. The Jews were right in detecting that Jesus was ‘making himself equal with God’ (vv. 17–18). But this does not diminish God. Indeed, the glorification of the Son is precisely what glorifies the Father (cf. notes on 12:28), just as in Philippians 2:9–11, where at the name of Jesus every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord, and all this is to the glory of God the Father. Because of the unique relation between the Father and the Son, the God who declares ‘I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another’ (Is. 42:8; cf. Is. 48:11) is not compromised or diminished when divine honours crown the head of the Son.
Granted that the purpose of the Father is that all should honour the Son, it is but a small step to Jesus’ conclusion: He who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father, who sent him. In a theistic universe, such a statement belongs to one who is himself to be addressed as God (cf. 20:28), or to stark insanity. The one who utters such things is to be dismissed with pity or scorn, or worshipped as Lord. If with much current scholarship we retreat to seeing in such material less the claims of the Son than the beliefs and witness of the Evangelist and his church, the same options confront us. Either John is supremely deluded and must be dismissed as a fool, or his witness is true and Jesus is to be ascribed the honours due God alone. There is no rational middle ground.
Such a statement also betrays a strong salvation-historical perspective (as the church Fathers of the first three centuries understood). Jesus is not saying that Abraham, Moses and David were not truly honouring the Father because they failed to honour the Son who had not yet been sent. Rather, he is focusing on the latest development in the history of redemption: the incarnation of the Word, the sending of the Son. Just as there were many who did not listen to the prophets of old, leaving but a remnant who faithfully obeyed Yahweh’s gracious disclosures, so now with the coming of the Son there will be some who think they honour God while disowning God’s Word, his gracious Self-Expression, his own Son. But they are deluded. Now that the Son has come, the person who withholds the honour due the Son similarly dishonours the Father (cf. 14:6; Acts 4:12). The statement not only makes an unyielding Christological claim, but prepares the way for the obduracy motif that dominates ch. 12. (D. A. Carson, The Gospel according to John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary [Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans, 1991], pp. 254–255; emphasis mine)
John 14:13-14
14:13–14. The reason why the ‘greater things’ are done consequent upon Jesus’ going to the Father (v. 12) is now clarified further: the disciples’ fruitful conduct is the product of their prayers, prayers offered in Jesus’ name. Whether this prayer is directed to the Father or to Jesus (cf. ‘You may ask me’, v. 14–but cf. Additional Note, below), it is offered in Jesus’ name, and he is the one who grants the request (I will do it, v. 14). This demonstrates that the contrast in v. 12 is not finally between Jesus’ works and his disciples’ works but between the works of Jesus that he himself performed during the days of his flesh, and the works that he performs through his disciples after his death and exaltation. Glorified with the glory he had with the Father before the world began (17:5), the Son is no longer limited by the pre-death humanness that characterized his ministry. At that point redemption is won, the kingdom of God is triumphantly invading the nations with saving and transforming power, the locus of the covenant community stretches outward from its Jewish confines to embrace the world, and the disciples themselves are empowered and equipped to engage in far-reaching ministry. The latter turns on the gift of the Holy Spirit, which gift is about to be introduced into the discussion (vv. 15ff.).
In the post-Easter situation, the Son’s mediatorial role extends even to the prayers of his followers. Prayers in his name are prayers that are offered in thorough accord with all that his name stands for (i.e. his name is not used as a magical incantation: cf. 1 Jn. 5:14), and in recognition that the only approach to God those who pray enjoy, their only way to God (cf. vv. 4–6), is Jesus himself (cf. H. Bietenhard, TDNT 5. 258–261, 276). Such prayer is never abstracted from the Father; for the Son’s purpose, even as he answers the prayers of his followers, is to bring glory to the Father (v. 13). During his ministry on earth, the Son’s consistent aim, and his achievement, was to bring glory to his Father (5:41; 7:18; 8:50, 54). That was, no less, the Son’s purpose in completing his mission by going to the cross (12:28)—which was simultaneously the means by which the Son would be supremely glorified (12:23). Now in the splendour of his exaltation, the Son’s purpose does not change: he enables his own to do ‘greater things’ in order that he may bring glory to the Father.
Additional note
14:14. This verse is omitted by a minority of witnesses, some of them important, including a substantial number of ancient versions. Nevertheless the verse is almost certainly original. Reasons why it was omitted may have included the following: (1) A copyist’s eye may have inadvertently dropped from the first word of v. 14 (ean) to the first word of v. 15 (ean), an accidental error called ‘haplography’. (2) Alternatively, a copyist might have thought, wrongly, that the verse contradicts 16:23, and decided to drop it. (3) Someone may have omitted it on the ground that it was too repetitive of truth already expressed in v. 13a. Amongst the witnesses that support the verse are a minority that drop the me in the first clause, thereby giving the impression that the prayer is addressed to the Father in Jesus’ name, rather than to Jesus in Jesus’ name. Textual evidence favours the inclusion of the pronoun. The seeming awkwardness of ‘ask me in my name’ is paralleled elsewhere (Pss. 25:11; 31:3; 79:9). In any case, it is very doubtful that the Evangelist would be interested in drawing overly fine distinctions in the proper object of prayer, since he can happily refer to the gift of the Spirit as the result of the Son’s request to the Father (vv. 16, 26), or as the Son’s own emissary (15:26; 16:7). Cf. notes on 15:6–7, 16. (Carson, The Gospel according to John, pp. 496–498; emphasis mine)
The works founded upon the “going” of Jesus to the Father (14:12) can, therefore, only involve the post-Easter mission of the church. To gain some insight in this matter we turn briefly to Luke. In writing the introduction to his exciting Book of Acts, in which he details the powerful works involving the early Christians, Luke also reminds us of a similar crucial perspective. In the introduction to Acts he asserted that the “former book,” namely, the Gospel of Luke, detailed “all that Jesus began to do and teach” until his exaltation to heaven (Acts 1:1–2). The implication of the statement in Acts is not that Jesus ceased to work at that point but that Luke’s second volume implied that Jesus continued to work through the early Christians. Accordingly, when Peter heals Aeneus, Peter says, “Jesus Christ heals you” (Acts 9:34). Moreover, when the pre-Christian Saul/Paul is on the way to persecute the Christians in Damascus and he is struck blind, he hears the voice saying, “Why do you persecute me?” When he asks who the voice is, the reply comes, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” Saul was in fact persecuting Christians, but the voice identified the persecuted one as Jesus (Acts 9:1–5). The conclusion can only be that for Luke, Jesus was still active in mission; but although he was with God, he was now working in and through the church.
Although John does not express himself in the same way as Luke, there is a commonality of viewpoints. John’s postresurrection perspective is enunciated in the words of Jesus to the disciples, “I will do whatever you ask in my name” (14:13). These words, as Brown argued, suggest a prayer context because asking either God or the departed Jesus can hardly be accomplished in a face-to-face conversation. But the coordinating idea here with Luke is that Jesus continues to act, which is expressed in the future verb “I will do” (poiēsō).
But even more significant is the implication of v. 14. The construction here is a conditional sentence, which is not fully evident in the NIV but is much clearer in the KJV, RSV, NRSV, and others. The setting is once again to be seen as referring to a pattern of prayer, and Jesus promises to act in response to prayer (“ask”). What is most intriguing is that the most likely reading of the Greek text here would have the prayer addressed not to the Father but to Jesus.
In dealing with this anomaly of praying to Jesus, some manuscripts simply omit the entire verse whether purposefully or accidently. It if were accidental, it would be a variant of sight whereby the scribe’s eye moved accidentally from ean (“if”) of v. 14 to ean of v. 15. If it were purposeful, the copyist may have considered the verse to be either inconsistent with the focus of asking in v. 14 or theologically inconsistent with a church tradition concerning the one to whom prayer should be addressed. The other variant in 14:14 is merely the deleting of the Greek me. (“me”), which would deal with the theological idea of praying to Jesus and assume the praying is to God. Both these variants, however, are suspect. The most likely reading of the text here that can explain the presence of the other readings and has the weight of the strongest manuscript history would be “if you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it.” Although such a translation seems to be both a little clumsy and at variance with the way systematic theologians might wish to discuss prayer from a theocentric perspective, the style is a typical Semitic redundancy that here has been applied to asking me in my name. Such a writing style of asking God for the sake of his name is found elsewhere in the Bible (cf. Pss 25:11; 31:3), and it agrees with the Johannine idea that the Holy Spirit will be sent in the name of Jesus (cf. 14:26).
This meaning of the expression here of asking me in my name, as H. Bietenhard has suggested, probably means praying both “according to his will” and “with the invocation of his name.”
Excursus 16: John’s Gospel on the Trinity
The fact that John can here speak of praying both to Jesus (14:14) and to the Father in Jesus’ name (cf. 15:16 and 16:23) would not likely trouble this Gospel writer because he would clearly see an intertwining of the two ideas in his thinking about God (cf. 1:1 and 20:28). The problem for Western Christians is that we usually define things by mean of distinction whereas the Semitic mind defines things by description or in picture-thinking. The overlap of Jesus and God in the statements of John may trouble us, but John was apparently not troubled. Therefore the Semite had no trouble in his Trinitarian formulation of speaking of God as the one who is, was, and is to come, the Spirit as the seven spirits, and Jesus as the firstborn from the dead (Rev 1:4–5)—and in that order. But we have come to speak of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—and in that order.
There is a freedom in Johannine picture-thinking that irritates our mind-set and has led to a number of church arguments. For example, in the next section on the Holy Spirit the text of 14:16 reads, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor [Paraclete].” This text has been used by the Western church to argue that the Holy Spirit must be the third “persona” of the Trinity and that the Holy Spirit must have proceeded from the Father and the Son. Accordingly, the Western creed reads “and the son” (filioque). But the Eastern church has consistently argued that the filioque clause is totally unnecessary. The arguments over this expression have been intense with bishops deciding to excommunicate each other from their fellowships.
Although theological formulations are intensely important, one still has to wonder whether the argument was really worth it, especially since it could be argued that the pre-Chalcedonian formulation of the Trinity in Rev 1:4–5 might not fully support such precision, to say nothing of the fact that the order of the Trinitarian formulation in 1 Pet 1:2 is exactly the same as that in the opening words of Revelation.
Matthew’s order of the Godhead is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (28:19), but the fact that there are different patterns in the New Testament should warn us against an absolutist approach to the subject. The reality of the Godhead is clear. Yet there is no question that the early Christians were struggling to describe the relationship between the members or persona of what we today call the Trinity. So we must be exceedingly careful in our theological formulations not to treat some inspired biblical statements as illegitimate because they do not fit our Western style of formulations. We must always remember that God is bigger than our formulations, and we will never pour the ocean of God’s truth into the teacups of our minds or completely encapsulate truth in our neat little formulations about God. On the other hand, it should not stop us from trying to describe this divine reality as long as we maintain our humility concerning our attempts at comprehending the incomprehensible (cf. Paul at Rom 11:33–36).
14:14 (Cont.) Having thus introduced the intense feeling of loss by the disciples, John has in this final subsection sought to give his readers a sense of hope in the promise of the coming power that will be experienced through the believer’s relationship to Jesus. But the invitation to pray for “anything” (14:14) in this context is not, in fact, to be understood as “anything” in the absolute sense because the guiding principle of the believer’s prayer must be the same principle that Jesus followed throughout his life. That principle was the glorification of the Father in and through everything done by the Son (14:13). To read this promise of Jesus concerning asking in any other way would be a complete misunderstanding of the promise.
Jesus lived in the will of the Father, and the Christian is duty bound to live in the will of Jesus. Appropriate praying/asking here, therefore, must follow the same model Jesus exemplified. Mere reciting of the name of Jesus must not be understood as a mantra of magical power that provides the petitioner with his heart’s desire. A “name” in the Semitic context carries a special sense of the nature of the name bearer. Accordingly, from Adam and Eve through Abram/Abraham to Jacob/Israel and Joshua/Jesus, names are purposive designations of important realities. So to pray in the name of Jesus implies that in the praying one recognizes the nature of the name the praying person is using.137
In discussing the subject of prayer in this manner as a crucial aspect of the believer’s reliance on divine power, the stage is thus set for the introduction of the next major section of the Farewell Cycle—namely, Part I of the texts related to the Paraclete, or the Holy Spirit. (Gerald L. Borchert, John 12–21, vol. 25B, The New American Commentary [Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2002], pp. 116–119; emphasis mine)
John 20:28
Jesus Appears to Thomas (20:24–29) John now tells us that Thomas had not been present on that first day of the resurrection (v. 24). The disciples tell him they have seen the Lord, but he does not believe them. Perhaps they have only seen a ghost (cf. Mt 14:26 par. Mk 6:49). In fact, Luke tells of a meeting between Jesus and the disciples at which the disciples think they are seeing a ghost (Lk 24:37). So to convince them he is not a ghost, Jesus invites them to touch him and he eats a piece of broiled fish (Lk 24:39–43). Perhaps Thomas is simply saying he needs to see the same evidence that they have seen (Westcott 1908:2:353).
John’s description of Thomas touching the wounds is quite dramatic (v. 25). Thomas wants to shove his hand into Jesus’ side! On the assumption that the disciples have told Thomas about Jesus’ wounds, some have taken Thomas’s statement as evidence that Jesus’ wound was large enough for one to put one’s hand in and that it was not closed over. But more likely Thomas is simply being dramatic, as he was earlier in the Gospel (11:16). Similarly, the language he uses when he says he will not believe is very emphatic (ou mē pisteusō).
A week later, the next Sunday after the resurrection, the disciples (including Thomas) were again in a locked room (v. 26). Jesus’ appearances on Sundays, along with the timing of the resurrection itself, contributed to the church’s making that the primary day of worship (cf. Beasley-Murray 1987:385). The expression John uses is literally “after eight days,” since Jews counted the beginning and the ending of a period of time. This term itself was taking on special meaning at the time John is writing. In Barnabas (from about A.D. 96–100) the eighth day represents “the beginning of another world” (15:8). The author links it with Jesus’ resurrection: “That is why we spend the eighth day in celebration, the day on which Jesus both arose from the dead and, after appearing again, ascended into heaven” (Barnabas 15:9).
Faith throughout the Gospel is depicted as progressive, renewed in the face of each new revelation of Jesus. The other disciples have moved on to the next stage, but Thomas has not been able to. To not move on when Jesus calls us to do so is to shift into reverse and move away. Both believing and unbelieving are dynamic—we are growing in one direction or the other. Thus, when Jesus appears in their midst he challenges Thomas to move on ahead in the life of faith, to stop doubting and believe (v. 27). The actual expression used may capture the dynamic quality, since ginomai often has the sense of “becoming” and the present tense “marks the process as continually going on” (Westcott 1908:2:355). Translated woodenly this reads, “Stop becoming unbelieving and get on with becoming believing” (mē ginou apistos alla pistos). To get Thomas moving in the right direction again Jesus offers him the chance to feel his wounds. His offer echoes Thomas’s own graphic language from verse 25, suggesting that Jesus was actually present when Thomas was making his protest or that he could at least perceive what was going on, an ability Jesus had even before he was raised from the dead (cf. 1:48).
John does not say whether Thomas actually did touch Jesus’ wounds. The impression is that he did not, for John says, “Thomas answered and said to him …” That is, Thomas’s confession is an immediate response to seeing Jesus and hearing his offer. Furthermore, in Jesus’ response to Thomas he mentions seeing but not touching (v. 29).
Thomas’s confession of Jesus as my Lord and my God is yet another climax in this Gospel. Jesus has invited him to catch up with the others in their new stage of faith, and he shoots past them and heads to the top of the class. His confession is climactic not only as part of the Gospel’s story line, but also as an expression of the core of John’s witness to Jesus in this Gospel. Thomas confesses Jesus as God when he sees that the crucified one is alive. It is in the crucifixion that God himself is made known, for he is love, and love is the laying down of one’s life (1 Jn 4:8; 3:16). But God is also life. In John, this God is revealed perfectly in the death of the Son, but this death would be nothing without the life. When Thomas finds death and life juxtaposed in Jesus he realizes who the one standing before him really is.
Thomas has accepted the revelation, but he gets no commendation from Jesus. Rather, Jesus looks ahead to those who will believe through the witness of these disciples who have seen (cf. 15:27; 17:20): blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed (v. 29). This beatitude, like others Jesus had spoken, is a shocking reversal of common expectations (cf. Mt 5:3–12; Lk 6:20–26). It suggests that if seeing is believing, as it was for Thomas, believing is also seeing. What matters is the relationship established by faith. But this faith is not a vague or general feeling, nor is it merely an intellectual assent to a position. It is openness and acceptance and trust directed toward God in Jesus. In John, as in the rest of the New Testament, the concern is not simply with various conceptions of God or various ideas, but with events in history that demand an interpretation and a response. If John is the “spiritual Gospel,” as Clement of Alexandria said (Eusebius Church History 4.14.7), it is so not in the sense of being nonmaterial or ahistorical, for in John there is no sharp dichotomy between spirit and matter, though the two are not confused with one another. Rather, this Gospel is spiritual in the sense that it interprets historical events in the light of divine reality. As E. C. Hoskyns and Noel Davey have said, “The Fourth Gospel persuades and entices the reader to venture a judgment upon history” (Hoskyns and Davey 1947:263). Thomas’s confession was such a judgment, and now Jesus challenges all who come after to venture a judgment upon this history, that is, upon his person, his presence through the Spirit in this particular community and through the life he offers. Peter later describes such believers: “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Pet 1:8–9). (Whitacre, John, vol. 4, pp. 484–486; emphasis mine)
20:28. The historicity of both the confession itself and the incident as a whole has come under grave suspicion. The issues are too complex to be addressed in detail here, but a few observations should be made. Are we to think that the church made up a story that pictures one of the Twelve as incredulous to the point of unreasonable obstinacy (v. 25), and that reports the Lord’s public reproof of that apostle (vv. 27, 29)? Even if the narrative has an apologetic purpose, that is scant reason for assessing it as unhistorical: it is surely as justifiable to conclude that the account was chosen precisely because it was so suitable. At least one part of the story (v. 25) finds a parallel elsewhere (Lk. 24:39); and the portrait of Thomas is in thorough agreement with what we learn of him from 11:16 and 14:5. The speed with which Thomas’ pessimistic unbelief was transformed into joyful faith is surely consistent with the experience of the other witnesses (e.g. vv. 16, 20).
If it be objected that this Christological confession is too ‘high’ or ‘developed’ at this early date, several points must be observed: (1) The view which insists on this point does so on the basis of a slow evolutionary development of the rise of Christological titles, and this reconstruction, so far as the sources go, is not unassailable (cf. Introduction, § III). (2) Thomas, like most Jews, was doubtless familiar with Old Testament accounts of believers who conversed with what appeared to be men, only to learn, with terror, that they were heavenly visitors, possibly Yahweh himself. Moreover it is arguable that as Judaism developed after the Exile, the reaction against idolatry and the punishments it attracted generated a view of God that made him more and more transcendent, but correspondingly less personal; and into the vacuum left by this shift rushed a mounting number of intermediaries, angels and other ill-defined beings (Carson, esp. pp. 41–121). Within two hundred years of this Thomas episode, and probably much earlier, one of these could actually be referred to as ‘little Yahweh’. This is not to suggest that Johannine Christology is indistinguishable from the angelology of Judaism. Christianity, by definition, is messianic.
But it does suggest that Thomas was not devoid of categories to begin to make sense of the resurrection of Jesus. (3) The use of kyrios (‘lord’) for both common courtesy (e.g. v. 15) and in addressing God himself facilitated the development of Christological understanding. (4) In any case, kyrios is an early post-resurrection title (e.g. Rom. 10:9; 1 Cor. 12:3; Phil. 2:9–11), and because it is used of God himself in the lxx, in many of its occurrences it cannot be considered less elevated than theos (‘God’). (5) It is hard to see why my Lord, an exceedingly rare pairing of words, should be ruled out of court, when the Aramaic marana (‘our Lord’) was early used as an invocation even in Greek-speaking churches (1 Cor. 16:22; cf. notes on Jn. 16:20).
Finally, if the Evangelist is none other than the apostle John, or even if the Evangelist is someone else who derives his information from the apostle John, then we are dealing with eyewitness testimony.
Thomas’ utterance cannot possibly be taken as shocked profanity addressed to God (if to anyone), a kind of blasphemous version of a stunned ‘My word!’ Despite its popularity with some modern Arians, such profanity would not have been found in first-century Palestine on the lips of a devout Jew. In any case, Thomas’ confession is addressed to him, i.e. to Jesus; and Jesus immediately (if implicitly) praises him for his faith, even if it is not as notable as the faith of those who believe without demanding the kind of evidence accorded Thomas. Nor are Thomas’ words most easily read as a predicative statement addressed to Jesus: ‘My Lord is also my God.’ The overwhelming majority of grammarians rightly take the utterance as vocative address to Jesus: My Lord and my God!—the nouns being put not in the vocative case but in the nominative (as sometimes happens in vocatival address) to add a certain sonorous weight.
The repeated pronoun my does not diminish the universality of Jesus’ lordship and deity, but it ensures that Thomas’ words are a personal confession of faith. Thomas thereby not only displays his faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but points to its deepest meaning; it is nothing less than the revelation of who Jesus Christ is. The most unyielding sceptic has bequeathed to us the most profound confession.
The thoughtful reader of this Gospel immediately recognizes certain connections: (1) Thomas’ confession is the climactic exemplification of what it means to honour the Son as the Father is honoured (5:23). It is the crowning display of how human faith has come to recognize the truth set out in the Prologue: ‘The Word was God …; the Word became flesh’ (1:1, 14). (2) At the same time, Jesus’ deity does not exhaust deity; Jesus can still talk about his God and Father in the third person. After all, this confession is set within a chapter where the resurrected Jesus himself refers to ‘my Father … my God’ (v. 17). This is entirely in accord with the careful way he delineates the nature of his unique sonship (5:16–30). (3) The reader is expected to articulate the same confession, as the next verse implies. John’s readers, like Thomas, need to come to faith; and this is what coming to faith looks like. Clearly this has critical bearing on how vv. 30–31 are interpreted.
20:29. The editors of the Greek text (NA26) take the first part of Jesus’ response to Thomas as rebuke cast as a question: ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed?’ So also Lindars (p. 646), who compares 1:50 and 16:31. But the point of the latter passages is that the people involved do not really believe, whereas here Thomas has truly come to faith. It is better to understand the first part of Jesus’ response as a statement (and to that extent a confirmation of Thomas’s faith)—one that prepares the way for the beatitude that follows: blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.
The Fourth Gospel reports only one other beatitude (13:17), and, like most beatitudes (e.g. Mt. 5:3–12), both strike a note of admonition. The word makarios (‘blessed’) does not simply declare ‘happy’ those who meet the conditions, but pronounces them accepted by God. Thomas, like all the witnesses of the resurrection, ‘saw and believed’, to use the language applied to the beloved disciple (v. 8)—though all the latter saw, at least until the Sunday evening (vv. 19–20), were the grave-clothes, not the resurrected Lord. But Jesus here foresees a time when he will not provide the kind of tangible evidence afforded the beloved disciple and Thomas; in short, he will ascend to his Father permanently, and all those who believe will do so without the benefit of having seen their resurrected Lord. That is as true today as it was for those who first believed after the ascension. This does not (or should not) mean that our faith is diminished or our joy truncated: ‘Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls’ (1 Pet. 1:8–9).
The major commentaries cite the saying of Rabbi Simeon ben Laqish (c. ad 250), who reportedly said (Tanḥuma § 6 [32 a]: cf. SB 2. 586):
The proselyte is dearer to God than all the Israelites who stood by Mount Sinai. For if all the Israelites had not seen the thunder and the flames and the lightnings and the quaking mountain and the sound of the trumpet they would not have accepted the law and taken upon themselves the kingdom of God. Yet this man has seen none of all these things yet comes and gives himself to God and takes on himself the yoke of the kingdom of God. Is there any who is dearer than this man? (tr. Barrett, p. 574)
Yet for Rabbi Simeon the contrast is stark, while Jesus’ words in v. 29 are cautious and balanced. Thomas’ faith is not depreciated: rather, it is as if the step of faith Thomas has taken, displayed in his unrestrained confession, triggers in Jesus’ mind the next step, the coming-to-faith of those who cannot see but who will believe—and so he pronounces a blessing on them. Within the context of the Fourth Gospel as a whole, however, ‘but for the fact that Thomas and the other apostles saw the incarnate Christ there would have been no Christian faith at all. Cf. 1:18, 50f.; 2:11; 4:45; 6:2; 9:37; 14:7, 9; 19:35’ (Barrett, p. 573). The witness theme in the book has not been lost to view; later believers come to faith through the word of the earlier believers (17:20). Blessed, then, are those who cannot share Thomas’ experience of sight, but who, in part because they read of Thomas’ experience, come to share Thomas’ faith. For us, faith comes not by sight, but from what is heard (or read!), and what is heard comes by the word (i.e. the declaration) of Christ (Rom. 10:17). Indeed, that is why John himself has written, as he proceeds to make explicit. (Carson, The Gospel according to John, pp. 657–660; emphasis mine)
“For the Father judges no one, but he has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, EVEN AS they honor the Father. He who doesn’t honor the Son doesn’t honor the Father who sent him.” John 5:22-23
Previously our Lord proclaimed that the kind of honor that the Father is to receive is worship that is done in the Spirit, and in accord with the truth or proper manner of worship, which the Spirit has revealed in the Word:
“But a time is coming, and it is already here! Even now the true worshipers are being led by the Spirit to worship the Father according to the truth. These are the ones the Father is seeking to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship God must be led by the Spirit to worship him according to the truth.” John 4:23-24 Contemporary English Version (CEV)
Seeing that the Son is to receive this same exact honor, this means that the Son must also be worshiped in Spirit and truth.
Note the logic behind this:
A. The Son is to be given the same honor that the Father receives.
B. True believers are to worship the Father in Spirit and truth, meaning by the regenerating work and energizing grace of the Holy Spirit in accord with the Spirit’s revelation.
C. Since the Son is to receive the exact same honor, this means that believers are to also worship him in Spirit and truth.
This demonstrates that the Father and the Son are essentially coequal, a fact that is further confirmed by their mutual glorification of each other:
“Jesus answered, ‘I don’t have a demon, but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. But I don’t seek my own glory. There is one who seeks and judges. Most certainly, I tell you, if a person keeps my word, he will never see death.’ Then the Jews said to him, ‘Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, as did the prophets; and you say, “If a man keeps my word, he will never taste of death.” Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died. Who do you make yourself out to be?’
“Jesus answered, ‘If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say that he is our God. You have not known him, but I know him. If I said, ‘I don’t know him,’ I would be like you, a liar. But I know him and keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it and was glad.’
“The Jews therefore said to him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old! Have you seen Abraham?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Most certainly, I tell you, before Abraham came into existence, I AM.’ Therefore they took up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple, having gone through the middle of them, and so passed by’” John 8:49-59
“When he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him immediately.” John 13:31-32
“Jesus said these things, then lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, ‘Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may also glorify you; even as you gave him authority over all flesh, so he will give eternal life to all whom you have given him… Now, Father, glorify me with your own self with the glory which I had with you before the world existed.’” John 17:1-2, 5
The Hearer of Prayers
Another way that John depicts Jesus as receiving the worship due to God is by his depiction of Christ being the Object of prayers:
“Most certainly I tell you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and he will do greater works than these, because I am going to my Father. Whatever you will ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you will ask anything in my name, I will do it.” John 14:12-14
Christ explains that the reason why his followers will perform a greater number of works that he himself had done while on earth is because once he goes to be with the Father in heaven, the disciples could then pray to him and invoke his authority, and he would be the One who would personally do the miracles for them.
Jesus claims to do what the Hebrew Bible says YHWH does from heaven:
“Praise waits for you, God, in Zion. Vows shall be performed to you. You who hear prayer, all men will come to you. Sins overwhelmed me, but you atoned for our transgressions.” Psalm 65:1-3
Interestingly, not only does Jesus answer prayers from heaven but he also grants salvation from sins, just like YHWH does, and grants everlasting life to all who believe on his name:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only born Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him. He who believes in him is not judged. He who doesn’t believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only born Son of God.” John 3:16-18
“They said to the woman, ‘Now we believe, not because of your speaking; for we have heard for ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.’” John 4:42
“If anyone listens to my sayings and doesn’t believe, I don’t judge him. For I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.” John 12:47
“Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will not be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But I told you that you have seen me, and yet you don’t believe. All those whom the Father gives me will come to me. He who comes to me I will in no way throw out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. This is the will of my Father who sent me, that of all he has given to me I should lose nothing, but should raise him up at the last day. This is the will of the one who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.’ The Jews therefore murmured concerning him, because he said, ‘I am the bread which came down out of heaven.’ They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then does he say, “I have come down out of heaven”?’ Therefore Jesus answered them, ‘Don’t murmur among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up in the last day.’” John 6:35-44
“‘This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, that anyone may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down out of heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. Yes, the bread which I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’ The Jews therefore contended with one another, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ Jesus therefore said to them, ‘Most certainly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you don’t have life in yourselves. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on me will also live because of me. This is the bread which came down out of heaven—not as our fathers ate the manna and died. He who eats this bread will live forever.” John 6:50-58
The Divine Son of Man
Related to Jesus’ being worshiped is his self-identification as the Son of Man:
“Jesus answered him, ‘Are you the teacher of Israel, and don’t understand these things? Most certainly I tell you, we speak that which we know and testify of that which we have seen, and you don’t receive our witness. If I told you earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended out of heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.’” John 3:10-15
“Then what if you would see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?” John 6:62
“Jesus answered them, ‘The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified… And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ But he said this, signifying by what kind of death he should die. The multitude answered him, ‘We have heard out of the law that the Christ remains forever. How do you say, “The Son of Man must be lifted up”? Who is this Son of Man?’” John 12:23, 32-34
Jesus wasn’t claiming to be a mere mortal figure, but was referring to himself as that very Divine Being whom the prophet Daniel saw appearing as a Man:
“I saw in the night visions, and behold, there came with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man, and he came even to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before him. Dominion was given him, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him (yipelachun). His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away, and his kingdom one that will not be destroyed.” Daniel 7:13-14
What makes Daniel’s figure so glorious is that he rides the clouds of heaven like God does,
“Sing to God! Sing praises to his name! Extol him who rides on the clouds: to Yah, his name! Rejoice before him!…to him who rides on the heaven of heavens, which are of old; behold, he utters his voice, a mighty voice. Ascribe strength to God! His excellency is over Israel, his strength is in the skies.” Psalm 68:4, 33-34
“He lays the beams of his rooms in the waters. He makes the clouds his chariot. He walks on the wings of the wind.” Psalm 104:3
“Yahweh is slow to anger, and great in power, and will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. Yahweh has his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.” Nahum 1:3
And receives the exact same worship that God does, and does so from all nations in every language as he rules over them forever and ever!
“The kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole sky, will be given to the people of the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions will serve (yipelachun) and obey him.” Daniel 7:27
“There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, have not respected you. They don’t serve your gods, and don’t worship the golden image which you have set up.’… Nebuchadnezzar answered them, ‘Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you don’t serve my gods and you don’t worship the golden image which I have set up?’… ‘If it happens, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.’… Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said, ‘Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and have yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god except their own God.’” Daniel 3:12, 14, 17-18, 28
“Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. The king spoke and said to Daniel, ‘Your God whom you serve continually, he will deliver you.’… When he came near to the den to Daniel, he cried with a troubled voice. The king spoke and said to Daniel, ‘Daniel, servant of the living God, is your God, whom you serve continually, able to deliver you from the lions?... I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For he is the living God, and steadfast forever. His kingdom is that which will not be destroyed. His dominion will be even to the end.’” Daniel 6:16, 20, 26
Most remarkably, the Greek rendering of Daniel has the nations granting this divine Son of Man latreuo, which is the very worship that Jesus says is to be given only to YHWH God!
“Jesus answered him, ‘Get behind me, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only (kai auto mono latreuseis).”’” Luke 4:8 – Cf. Matt. 4:10
Now compare this with the following quotation of Daniel 7:9-28 taken from the writing of the 2nd Christian apologist Justin Martyr:
“But if so great a power is shown to have followed and to be still following the dispensation of His suffering, how great shall that be which shall follow His glorious advent! For He shall come on the clouds as the Son of man, so Daniel foretold, and His angels shall come with Him. These are the words: 'I beheld till the thrones were set; and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool. His throne was like a fiery flame, His wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him. Thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The books were opened, and the judgment was set. I beheld then the voice of the great words which the horn speaks: and the beast was beat down, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. And the rest of the beasts were taken away from their dominion, and a period of life was given to the beasts until a season and time. I saw in the vision of the night, and, behold, one like the Son of man coming with the clouds of heaven; and He came to the Ancient of days, and stood before Him. And they who stood by brought Him near; and there were given Him power and kingly honour, and all nations of the earth by their families, and all glory, serve Him (latreuousa). And His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not be taken away; and His kingdom shall not be destroyed. And my spirit was chilled within my frame, and the visions of my head troubled me. I came near unto one of them that stood by, and inquired the precise meaning of all these things. In answer he speaks to me, and showed me the judgment of the matters: These great beasts are four kingdoms, which shall perish from the earth, and shall not receive dominion for ever, even for ever and ever.
“Then I wished to know exactly about the fourth beast, which destroyed all [the others] and was very terrible, its teeth of iron, and its nails of brass; which devoured, made waste, and stamped the residue with its feet: also about the ten horns upon its head, and of the one which came up, by means of which three of the former fell. And that horn had eyes, and a mouth speaking great things; and its countenance excelled the rest. And I beheld that horn waging war against the saints, and prevailing against them, until the Ancient of days came; and He gave judgment for the saints of the Most High. And the time came, and the saints of the Most High possessed the kingdom. And it was told me concerning the fourth beast: There shall be a fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall prevail over all these kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall destroy and make it thoroughly waste. And the ten horns are ten kings that shall arise; and one shall arise after them; and he shall surpass the first in evil deeds, and he shall subdue three kings, and he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall overthrow the rest of the saints of the Most High, and shall expect to change the seasons and the times. And it shall be delivered into his hands for a time, and times, and half a time. And the judgment sat, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom, and the power, and the great places of the kingdoms under the heavens, were given to the holy people of the Most High, to reign in an everlasting kingdom: and all powers shall be subject to Him, and shall obey Him. Hitherto is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was possessed with a very great astonishment, and my speech was changed in me; yet I kept the matter in my heart.' (Dialogue with Trypho, Chapter 31. If Christ's power be now so great, how much greater at the second advent!; emphasis mine)
Since Jesus as the Son of Man receives pelach/latreuo this merely reinforces the fact that Christ in John’s Gospel is indeed being worshiped as God Almighty.
The God Whom Isaiah Saw
As if this weren’t enough proof that John depicts Jesus as being the object of divine honors, the Evangelist goes so far as to identify Christ as that very glorious Divine Being that Isaiah saw in his vision:
“Then Jesus told them, ‘You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.’ When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.
“Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: ‘Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?’
“For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere: ‘He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn—and I would heal them.’ Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.
“Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved human praise more than praise from God.
“Then Jesus cried out, ‘Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.’” John 12:35-46 New International Version (NIV)
The Evangelist quotes Isaiah to show that the prophet had already foretold of the Jewish opposition to Jesus, and explains the reason he did so is because he had actually seen the glory of Jesus beforehand.
The text that John quotes to prove this is Isaiah 6:10, where in context the prophet beheld YHWH God in visible form seated on a visible throne:
“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each one had six wings. With two he covered his face. With two he covered his feet. With two he flew. One called to another, and said, “Holy, holy, holy, is Yahweh of Armies! The whole earth is full of his glory!’ The foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.
“Then I said, ‘Woe is me! For I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips, for my eyes have seen the King, Yahweh of Armies!’ Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar. He touched my mouth with it, and said, ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin forgiven.’
“I heard the Lord’s voice, saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for US?’ Then I said, ‘Here I am. Send me!’ He said, ‘Go, and tell this people, “You hear indeed, but don’t understand. You see indeed, but don’t perceive.” Make the heart of this people fat. Make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and turn again, and be healed.’” Isaiah 6:1-10
According to John, this was the time that Isaiah actually saw the glory of the prehuman Jesus!
In other words, Jesus is that very God whom the prophet beheld with his very own physical eyes!
No wonder that Christ could say that seeing him is to see the One who sent him since both the Father and he are essentially one in nature and glory.
Seeing YHWH’s Glory
Nor is this the only passage from Isaiah, which John associates with Christ.
The Evangelist has John the Baptist identifying himself with the emissary that Isaiah announced would be sent ahead of YHWH in order to prepare Israel for his coming:
“This is John’s testimony, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ He declared, and didn’t deny, but he declared, ‘I am not the Christ.’ They asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the prophet?” He answered, ‘No.’ They said therefore to him, ‘Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’ He said, ‘I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.’ The ones who had been sent were from the Pharisees. They asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?’ John answered them, “I baptize in water, but among you stands one whom you don’t know. He is the one who comes after me, who is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I’m not worthy to loosen.’ These things were done in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.” John 1:19-28
Here is the prophecy in question:
“The voice of one who calls out, ‘Prepare the way of Yahweh in the wilderness! Make a level highway in the desert for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The uneven shall be made level, and the rough places a plain. Yahweh’s glory shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken it.” Isaiah 40:3-5
Carefully note that the voice who is said to be the Baptist isn’t sent to herald the coming of another envoy or creature. Rather, the agent in Isaiah is explicitly stated to prepare Israel for the appearance of YHWH their God. And yet remarkably, John himself expressly testifies that he had been sent ahead of Jesus Christ in order to make him known to the people of Israel!
“The Word became flesh and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the only born Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. John testified about him. He cried out, saying, ‘This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me has surpassed me, for he was before me.”’” John 1:14-15
“The next day, he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, “After me comes a man who is preferred before me, for he was before me.” I didn’t know him, but for this reason I came baptizing in water, that he would be revealed to Israel.’ John testified, saying, ‘I have seen the Spirit descending like a dove out of heaven, and it remained on him. I didn’t recognize him, but he who sent me to baptize in water said to me, “On whomever you will see the Spirit descending and remaining on him is he who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.” I have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.’ Again, the next day, John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God!” John 1:29-36
In other words, Jesus is YHWH God Almighty who has become a flesh and blood human being!
This now brings me to my final point.
The Lord God of Believers
With the foregoing in view, it should come as no surprise that the climax of John’s Gospel is the confession of doubting Thomas when he beholds the risen Christ approximately eight days after his physical, bodily resurrection:
“Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.’ A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’ Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God (ho kyrios mou kai ho theos mou)!’ Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’” John 20:24-29 NIV
The Greek is unambiguously clear that the Apostle is directing his confession to Jesus, and not to the Father.
Thomas’ statement of faith is virtually identical to David’s praise of YHWH:
“Awake, and rise to my defense! Contend for me, my God and Lord.” Psalm 35:23 NIV
This is especially so when we examine the Greek rendering of this verse:
“Awake, O Lord, and attend to my judgment, [even] to my cause, my God and my Lord (ho theos mou kai ho kyrios mou).” Psalm 34:23 LXX
Jesus is to Thomas, and by extension to all true believers, what YHWH is to David and Israel. I.e., the risen Christ is the Lord God of all Christians, in fact of all creation:
“looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ (tou megalou theou kai soteros hemon ‘Iesou Christou), who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good works” Titus 2:13-14
“Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained a like precious faith with us in the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ (tou theou hemon kai soteros ‘Iesou Christou):… For thus you will be richly supplied with the entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (tou kyriou hemon kai soteros ‘Iesou Christou).” 2 Peter 1:1. 11 – Cf. 2:20; 3:2, 18
Such a confession could never be uttered of a mere created being by a monotheistic Jew, no matter how exalted. That Jesus accepts and blesses all who would make this same declaration of faith is an explicit testimony that Christ is no mere creature. Rather, he is the uniquely begotten Son of God who is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit in essence, glory, majesty and honor.
Hence, Thomas’ declaration serves as the height and epitome of what it means to honor the Son in the same way that the Father is honored. Since believers are to honor the Father by virtue of being truly God in essence, as even our Lord declared,
“This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ.” John 17:3
“Jesus said to her, ‘Don’t hold me, for I haven’t yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brothers and tell them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”’” John 20:17
The Son, likewise, is to be honored for being the God who entered into human flesh in order to save the world from sin:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (theos). He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people… He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into being through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth… No one has ever seen God. It is the only Son, himself God (monogenes theos), who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.” John 1:1-4, 8-14, 18 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)
Unless indicated otherwise, scriptural citations taken from the World English Bible (WEB).
ADDENDUM
The Expositors
I conclude this post by citing the commentaries of a select few biblical interpreters, scholars and/or theologians in relation to the key Johannine texts that deal with Jesus being worshiped as God.
John 5:23
In these verses Jesus’ equality with God is revealed with the result (v. 23, hina) that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Here their complete equality is expressed in terms of people’s proper attitude toward Jesus: the very same honor given to the Father is to be given to the Son. Again the Jewish idea of agent is used and transcended (see note on 5:21). An agent was to be received as the one who sent him would be received. But here God is the one sending, and no one sent by God in the Old Testament ever claimed equal honor with God! Unless Jesus is wholly and completely God this verse promotes blasphemy. Indeed, the last part of the verse makes the point even more strongly: failure to honor the Son is failure to honor the Father. Honoring God, which was at the heart of the Jewish religion, is said to be dependent on honoring Jesus as the Son of God.
This keynote section states clearly the scandal of particularity that some Christians find discomforting today. The complex language of these verses shows the struggle to guard the truth of monotheism while claiming that Jesus is God. The concerns of monotheists such as Jews and Muslims are legitimate, and this Gospel reveals that God is indeed One, though not in the way these other religions understand. This Gospel encourages monotheists to understand their truth in light of what has now been revealed by the Son of God about himself and the Holy Spirit. This Gospel, however, offers no encouragement to Christians who wish to say that Jesus is not the unique Son of God with exclusive and ultimate authority over every person on earth. All judgment has been given to him, and all are to honor the Son just as they honor the Father. John allows for no syncretism, for that would deny the uniqueness and exclusivity of Jesus. (Rodney A. Whitacre, John, vol. 4, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series [Westmont, IL: IVP Academic, 1999], pp. 129–130; emphasis mine)
5:23. The reason why the Father has entrusted all judgment to the Son is now disclosed: it is so that all may honour the Son just as they honour the Father. Whatever functional subordination may be stressed in this section, it guarantees, as we have seen, that the Son does everything that the Father does (cf. notes on vv. 19–20); and now Jesus declares that its purpose is that the Son may be at one with the Father not only in activity but in honour. This goes far beyond making Jesus a mere ambassador who acts in the name of the monarch who sent him, an envoy plenipotentiary whose derived authority is the equivalent of his master’s. That analogue breaks down precisely here, for the honour given to an envoy is never that given to the head of state. The Jews were right in detecting that Jesus was ‘making himself equal with God’ (vv. 17–18). But this does not diminish God. Indeed, the glorification of the Son is precisely what glorifies the Father (cf. notes on 12:28), just as in Philippians 2:9–11, where at the name of Jesus every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord, and all this is to the glory of God the Father. Because of the unique relation between the Father and the Son, the God who declares ‘I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another’ (Is. 42:8; cf. Is. 48:11) is not compromised or diminished when divine honours crown the head of the Son.
Granted that the purpose of the Father is that all should honour the Son, it is but a small step to Jesus’ conclusion: He who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father, who sent him. In a theistic universe, such a statement belongs to one who is himself to be addressed as God (cf. 20:28), or to stark insanity. The one who utters such things is to be dismissed with pity or scorn, or worshipped as Lord. If with much current scholarship we retreat to seeing in such material less the claims of the Son than the beliefs and witness of the Evangelist and his church, the same options confront us. Either John is supremely deluded and must be dismissed as a fool, or his witness is true and Jesus is to be ascribed the honours due God alone. There is no rational middle ground.
Such a statement also betrays a strong salvation-historical perspective (as the church Fathers of the first three centuries understood). Jesus is not saying that Abraham, Moses and David were not truly honouring the Father because they failed to honour the Son who had not yet been sent. Rather, he is focusing on the latest development in the history of redemption: the incarnation of the Word, the sending of the Son. Just as there were many who did not listen to the prophets of old, leaving but a remnant who faithfully obeyed Yahweh’s gracious disclosures, so now with the coming of the Son there will be some who think they honour God while disowning God’s Word, his gracious Self-Expression, his own Son. But they are deluded. Now that the Son has come, the person who withholds the honour due the Son similarly dishonours the Father (cf. 14:6; Acts 4:12). The statement not only makes an unyielding Christological claim, but prepares the way for the obduracy motif that dominates ch. 12. (D. A. Carson, The Gospel according to John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary [Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans, 1991], pp. 254–255; emphasis mine)
John 14:13-14
14:13–14. The reason why the ‘greater things’ are done consequent upon Jesus’ going to the Father (v. 12) is now clarified further: the disciples’ fruitful conduct is the product of their prayers, prayers offered in Jesus’ name. Whether this prayer is directed to the Father or to Jesus (cf. ‘You may ask me’, v. 14–but cf. Additional Note, below), it is offered in Jesus’ name, and he is the one who grants the request (I will do it, v. 14). This demonstrates that the contrast in v. 12 is not finally between Jesus’ works and his disciples’ works but between the works of Jesus that he himself performed during the days of his flesh, and the works that he performs through his disciples after his death and exaltation. Glorified with the glory he had with the Father before the world began (17:5), the Son is no longer limited by the pre-death humanness that characterized his ministry. At that point redemption is won, the kingdom of God is triumphantly invading the nations with saving and transforming power, the locus of the covenant community stretches outward from its Jewish confines to embrace the world, and the disciples themselves are empowered and equipped to engage in far-reaching ministry. The latter turns on the gift of the Holy Spirit, which gift is about to be introduced into the discussion (vv. 15ff.).
In the post-Easter situation, the Son’s mediatorial role extends even to the prayers of his followers. Prayers in his name are prayers that are offered in thorough accord with all that his name stands for (i.e. his name is not used as a magical incantation: cf. 1 Jn. 5:14), and in recognition that the only approach to God those who pray enjoy, their only way to God (cf. vv. 4–6), is Jesus himself (cf. H. Bietenhard, TDNT 5. 258–261, 276). Such prayer is never abstracted from the Father; for the Son’s purpose, even as he answers the prayers of his followers, is to bring glory to the Father (v. 13). During his ministry on earth, the Son’s consistent aim, and his achievement, was to bring glory to his Father (5:41; 7:18; 8:50, 54). That was, no less, the Son’s purpose in completing his mission by going to the cross (12:28)—which was simultaneously the means by which the Son would be supremely glorified (12:23). Now in the splendour of his exaltation, the Son’s purpose does not change: he enables his own to do ‘greater things’ in order that he may bring glory to the Father.
Additional note
14:14. This verse is omitted by a minority of witnesses, some of them important, including a substantial number of ancient versions. Nevertheless the verse is almost certainly original. Reasons why it was omitted may have included the following: (1) A copyist’s eye may have inadvertently dropped from the first word of v. 14 (ean) to the first word of v. 15 (ean), an accidental error called ‘haplography’. (2) Alternatively, a copyist might have thought, wrongly, that the verse contradicts 16:23, and decided to drop it. (3) Someone may have omitted it on the ground that it was too repetitive of truth already expressed in v. 13a. Amongst the witnesses that support the verse are a minority that drop the me in the first clause, thereby giving the impression that the prayer is addressed to the Father in Jesus’ name, rather than to Jesus in Jesus’ name. Textual evidence favours the inclusion of the pronoun. The seeming awkwardness of ‘ask me in my name’ is paralleled elsewhere (Pss. 25:11; 31:3; 79:9). In any case, it is very doubtful that the Evangelist would be interested in drawing overly fine distinctions in the proper object of prayer, since he can happily refer to the gift of the Spirit as the result of the Son’s request to the Father (vv. 16, 26), or as the Son’s own emissary (15:26; 16:7). Cf. notes on 15:6–7, 16. (Carson, The Gospel according to John, pp. 496–498; emphasis mine)
The works founded upon the “going” of Jesus to the Father (14:12) can, therefore, only involve the post-Easter mission of the church. To gain some insight in this matter we turn briefly to Luke. In writing the introduction to his exciting Book of Acts, in which he details the powerful works involving the early Christians, Luke also reminds us of a similar crucial perspective. In the introduction to Acts he asserted that the “former book,” namely, the Gospel of Luke, detailed “all that Jesus began to do and teach” until his exaltation to heaven (Acts 1:1–2). The implication of the statement in Acts is not that Jesus ceased to work at that point but that Luke’s second volume implied that Jesus continued to work through the early Christians. Accordingly, when Peter heals Aeneus, Peter says, “Jesus Christ heals you” (Acts 9:34). Moreover, when the pre-Christian Saul/Paul is on the way to persecute the Christians in Damascus and he is struck blind, he hears the voice saying, “Why do you persecute me?” When he asks who the voice is, the reply comes, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” Saul was in fact persecuting Christians, but the voice identified the persecuted one as Jesus (Acts 9:1–5). The conclusion can only be that for Luke, Jesus was still active in mission; but although he was with God, he was now working in and through the church.
Although John does not express himself in the same way as Luke, there is a commonality of viewpoints. John’s postresurrection perspective is enunciated in the words of Jesus to the disciples, “I will do whatever you ask in my name” (14:13). These words, as Brown argued, suggest a prayer context because asking either God or the departed Jesus can hardly be accomplished in a face-to-face conversation. But the coordinating idea here with Luke is that Jesus continues to act, which is expressed in the future verb “I will do” (poiēsō).
But even more significant is the implication of v. 14. The construction here is a conditional sentence, which is not fully evident in the NIV but is much clearer in the KJV, RSV, NRSV, and others. The setting is once again to be seen as referring to a pattern of prayer, and Jesus promises to act in response to prayer (“ask”). What is most intriguing is that the most likely reading of the Greek text here would have the prayer addressed not to the Father but to Jesus.
In dealing with this anomaly of praying to Jesus, some manuscripts simply omit the entire verse whether purposefully or accidently. It if were accidental, it would be a variant of sight whereby the scribe’s eye moved accidentally from ean (“if”) of v. 14 to ean of v. 15. If it were purposeful, the copyist may have considered the verse to be either inconsistent with the focus of asking in v. 14 or theologically inconsistent with a church tradition concerning the one to whom prayer should be addressed. The other variant in 14:14 is merely the deleting of the Greek me. (“me”), which would deal with the theological idea of praying to Jesus and assume the praying is to God. Both these variants, however, are suspect. The most likely reading of the text here that can explain the presence of the other readings and has the weight of the strongest manuscript history would be “if you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it.” Although such a translation seems to be both a little clumsy and at variance with the way systematic theologians might wish to discuss prayer from a theocentric perspective, the style is a typical Semitic redundancy that here has been applied to asking me in my name. Such a writing style of asking God for the sake of his name is found elsewhere in the Bible (cf. Pss 25:11; 31:3), and it agrees with the Johannine idea that the Holy Spirit will be sent in the name of Jesus (cf. 14:26).
This meaning of the expression here of asking me in my name, as H. Bietenhard has suggested, probably means praying both “according to his will” and “with the invocation of his name.”
Excursus 16: John’s Gospel on the Trinity
The fact that John can here speak of praying both to Jesus (14:14) and to the Father in Jesus’ name (cf. 15:16 and 16:23) would not likely trouble this Gospel writer because he would clearly see an intertwining of the two ideas in his thinking about God (cf. 1:1 and 20:28). The problem for Western Christians is that we usually define things by mean of distinction whereas the Semitic mind defines things by description or in picture-thinking. The overlap of Jesus and God in the statements of John may trouble us, but John was apparently not troubled. Therefore the Semite had no trouble in his Trinitarian formulation of speaking of God as the one who is, was, and is to come, the Spirit as the seven spirits, and Jesus as the firstborn from the dead (Rev 1:4–5)—and in that order. But we have come to speak of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—and in that order.
There is a freedom in Johannine picture-thinking that irritates our mind-set and has led to a number of church arguments. For example, in the next section on the Holy Spirit the text of 14:16 reads, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor [Paraclete].” This text has been used by the Western church to argue that the Holy Spirit must be the third “persona” of the Trinity and that the Holy Spirit must have proceeded from the Father and the Son. Accordingly, the Western creed reads “and the son” (filioque). But the Eastern church has consistently argued that the filioque clause is totally unnecessary. The arguments over this expression have been intense with bishops deciding to excommunicate each other from their fellowships.
Although theological formulations are intensely important, one still has to wonder whether the argument was really worth it, especially since it could be argued that the pre-Chalcedonian formulation of the Trinity in Rev 1:4–5 might not fully support such precision, to say nothing of the fact that the order of the Trinitarian formulation in 1 Pet 1:2 is exactly the same as that in the opening words of Revelation.
Matthew’s order of the Godhead is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (28:19), but the fact that there are different patterns in the New Testament should warn us against an absolutist approach to the subject. The reality of the Godhead is clear. Yet there is no question that the early Christians were struggling to describe the relationship between the members or persona of what we today call the Trinity. So we must be exceedingly careful in our theological formulations not to treat some inspired biblical statements as illegitimate because they do not fit our Western style of formulations. We must always remember that God is bigger than our formulations, and we will never pour the ocean of God’s truth into the teacups of our minds or completely encapsulate truth in our neat little formulations about God. On the other hand, it should not stop us from trying to describe this divine reality as long as we maintain our humility concerning our attempts at comprehending the incomprehensible (cf. Paul at Rom 11:33–36).
14:14 (Cont.) Having thus introduced the intense feeling of loss by the disciples, John has in this final subsection sought to give his readers a sense of hope in the promise of the coming power that will be experienced through the believer’s relationship to Jesus. But the invitation to pray for “anything” (14:14) in this context is not, in fact, to be understood as “anything” in the absolute sense because the guiding principle of the believer’s prayer must be the same principle that Jesus followed throughout his life. That principle was the glorification of the Father in and through everything done by the Son (14:13). To read this promise of Jesus concerning asking in any other way would be a complete misunderstanding of the promise.
Jesus lived in the will of the Father, and the Christian is duty bound to live in the will of Jesus. Appropriate praying/asking here, therefore, must follow the same model Jesus exemplified. Mere reciting of the name of Jesus must not be understood as a mantra of magical power that provides the petitioner with his heart’s desire. A “name” in the Semitic context carries a special sense of the nature of the name bearer. Accordingly, from Adam and Eve through Abram/Abraham to Jacob/Israel and Joshua/Jesus, names are purposive designations of important realities. So to pray in the name of Jesus implies that in the praying one recognizes the nature of the name the praying person is using.137
In discussing the subject of prayer in this manner as a crucial aspect of the believer’s reliance on divine power, the stage is thus set for the introduction of the next major section of the Farewell Cycle—namely, Part I of the texts related to the Paraclete, or the Holy Spirit. (Gerald L. Borchert, John 12–21, vol. 25B, The New American Commentary [Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2002], pp. 116–119; emphasis mine)
John 20:28
Jesus Appears to Thomas (20:24–29) John now tells us that Thomas had not been present on that first day of the resurrection (v. 24). The disciples tell him they have seen the Lord, but he does not believe them. Perhaps they have only seen a ghost (cf. Mt 14:26 par. Mk 6:49). In fact, Luke tells of a meeting between Jesus and the disciples at which the disciples think they are seeing a ghost (Lk 24:37). So to convince them he is not a ghost, Jesus invites them to touch him and he eats a piece of broiled fish (Lk 24:39–43). Perhaps Thomas is simply saying he needs to see the same evidence that they have seen (Westcott 1908:2:353).
John’s description of Thomas touching the wounds is quite dramatic (v. 25). Thomas wants to shove his hand into Jesus’ side! On the assumption that the disciples have told Thomas about Jesus’ wounds, some have taken Thomas’s statement as evidence that Jesus’ wound was large enough for one to put one’s hand in and that it was not closed over. But more likely Thomas is simply being dramatic, as he was earlier in the Gospel (11:16). Similarly, the language he uses when he says he will not believe is very emphatic (ou mē pisteusō).
A week later, the next Sunday after the resurrection, the disciples (including Thomas) were again in a locked room (v. 26). Jesus’ appearances on Sundays, along with the timing of the resurrection itself, contributed to the church’s making that the primary day of worship (cf. Beasley-Murray 1987:385). The expression John uses is literally “after eight days,” since Jews counted the beginning and the ending of a period of time. This term itself was taking on special meaning at the time John is writing. In Barnabas (from about A.D. 96–100) the eighth day represents “the beginning of another world” (15:8). The author links it with Jesus’ resurrection: “That is why we spend the eighth day in celebration, the day on which Jesus both arose from the dead and, after appearing again, ascended into heaven” (Barnabas 15:9).
Faith throughout the Gospel is depicted as progressive, renewed in the face of each new revelation of Jesus. The other disciples have moved on to the next stage, but Thomas has not been able to. To not move on when Jesus calls us to do so is to shift into reverse and move away. Both believing and unbelieving are dynamic—we are growing in one direction or the other. Thus, when Jesus appears in their midst he challenges Thomas to move on ahead in the life of faith, to stop doubting and believe (v. 27). The actual expression used may capture the dynamic quality, since ginomai often has the sense of “becoming” and the present tense “marks the process as continually going on” (Westcott 1908:2:355). Translated woodenly this reads, “Stop becoming unbelieving and get on with becoming believing” (mē ginou apistos alla pistos). To get Thomas moving in the right direction again Jesus offers him the chance to feel his wounds. His offer echoes Thomas’s own graphic language from verse 25, suggesting that Jesus was actually present when Thomas was making his protest or that he could at least perceive what was going on, an ability Jesus had even before he was raised from the dead (cf. 1:48).
John does not say whether Thomas actually did touch Jesus’ wounds. The impression is that he did not, for John says, “Thomas answered and said to him …” That is, Thomas’s confession is an immediate response to seeing Jesus and hearing his offer. Furthermore, in Jesus’ response to Thomas he mentions seeing but not touching (v. 29).
Thomas’s confession of Jesus as my Lord and my God is yet another climax in this Gospel. Jesus has invited him to catch up with the others in their new stage of faith, and he shoots past them and heads to the top of the class. His confession is climactic not only as part of the Gospel’s story line, but also as an expression of the core of John’s witness to Jesus in this Gospel. Thomas confesses Jesus as God when he sees that the crucified one is alive. It is in the crucifixion that God himself is made known, for he is love, and love is the laying down of one’s life (1 Jn 4:8; 3:16). But God is also life. In John, this God is revealed perfectly in the death of the Son, but this death would be nothing without the life. When Thomas finds death and life juxtaposed in Jesus he realizes who the one standing before him really is.
Thomas has accepted the revelation, but he gets no commendation from Jesus. Rather, Jesus looks ahead to those who will believe through the witness of these disciples who have seen (cf. 15:27; 17:20): blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed (v. 29). This beatitude, like others Jesus had spoken, is a shocking reversal of common expectations (cf. Mt 5:3–12; Lk 6:20–26). It suggests that if seeing is believing, as it was for Thomas, believing is also seeing. What matters is the relationship established by faith. But this faith is not a vague or general feeling, nor is it merely an intellectual assent to a position. It is openness and acceptance and trust directed toward God in Jesus. In John, as in the rest of the New Testament, the concern is not simply with various conceptions of God or various ideas, but with events in history that demand an interpretation and a response. If John is the “spiritual Gospel,” as Clement of Alexandria said (Eusebius Church History 4.14.7), it is so not in the sense of being nonmaterial or ahistorical, for in John there is no sharp dichotomy between spirit and matter, though the two are not confused with one another. Rather, this Gospel is spiritual in the sense that it interprets historical events in the light of divine reality. As E. C. Hoskyns and Noel Davey have said, “The Fourth Gospel persuades and entices the reader to venture a judgment upon history” (Hoskyns and Davey 1947:263). Thomas’s confession was such a judgment, and now Jesus challenges all who come after to venture a judgment upon this history, that is, upon his person, his presence through the Spirit in this particular community and through the life he offers. Peter later describes such believers: “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Pet 1:8–9). (Whitacre, John, vol. 4, pp. 484–486; emphasis mine)
20:28. The historicity of both the confession itself and the incident as a whole has come under grave suspicion. The issues are too complex to be addressed in detail here, but a few observations should be made. Are we to think that the church made up a story that pictures one of the Twelve as incredulous to the point of unreasonable obstinacy (v. 25), and that reports the Lord’s public reproof of that apostle (vv. 27, 29)? Even if the narrative has an apologetic purpose, that is scant reason for assessing it as unhistorical: it is surely as justifiable to conclude that the account was chosen precisely because it was so suitable. At least one part of the story (v. 25) finds a parallel elsewhere (Lk. 24:39); and the portrait of Thomas is in thorough agreement with what we learn of him from 11:16 and 14:5. The speed with which Thomas’ pessimistic unbelief was transformed into joyful faith is surely consistent with the experience of the other witnesses (e.g. vv. 16, 20).
If it be objected that this Christological confession is too ‘high’ or ‘developed’ at this early date, several points must be observed: (1) The view which insists on this point does so on the basis of a slow evolutionary development of the rise of Christological titles, and this reconstruction, so far as the sources go, is not unassailable (cf. Introduction, § III). (2) Thomas, like most Jews, was doubtless familiar with Old Testament accounts of believers who conversed with what appeared to be men, only to learn, with terror, that they were heavenly visitors, possibly Yahweh himself. Moreover it is arguable that as Judaism developed after the Exile, the reaction against idolatry and the punishments it attracted generated a view of God that made him more and more transcendent, but correspondingly less personal; and into the vacuum left by this shift rushed a mounting number of intermediaries, angels and other ill-defined beings (Carson, esp. pp. 41–121). Within two hundred years of this Thomas episode, and probably much earlier, one of these could actually be referred to as ‘little Yahweh’. This is not to suggest that Johannine Christology is indistinguishable from the angelology of Judaism. Christianity, by definition, is messianic.
But it does suggest that Thomas was not devoid of categories to begin to make sense of the resurrection of Jesus. (3) The use of kyrios (‘lord’) for both common courtesy (e.g. v. 15) and in addressing God himself facilitated the development of Christological understanding. (4) In any case, kyrios is an early post-resurrection title (e.g. Rom. 10:9; 1 Cor. 12:3; Phil. 2:9–11), and because it is used of God himself in the lxx, in many of its occurrences it cannot be considered less elevated than theos (‘God’). (5) It is hard to see why my Lord, an exceedingly rare pairing of words, should be ruled out of court, when the Aramaic marana (‘our Lord’) was early used as an invocation even in Greek-speaking churches (1 Cor. 16:22; cf. notes on Jn. 16:20).
Finally, if the Evangelist is none other than the apostle John, or even if the Evangelist is someone else who derives his information from the apostle John, then we are dealing with eyewitness testimony.
Thomas’ utterance cannot possibly be taken as shocked profanity addressed to God (if to anyone), a kind of blasphemous version of a stunned ‘My word!’ Despite its popularity with some modern Arians, such profanity would not have been found in first-century Palestine on the lips of a devout Jew. In any case, Thomas’ confession is addressed to him, i.e. to Jesus; and Jesus immediately (if implicitly) praises him for his faith, even if it is not as notable as the faith of those who believe without demanding the kind of evidence accorded Thomas. Nor are Thomas’ words most easily read as a predicative statement addressed to Jesus: ‘My Lord is also my God.’ The overwhelming majority of grammarians rightly take the utterance as vocative address to Jesus: My Lord and my God!—the nouns being put not in the vocative case but in the nominative (as sometimes happens in vocatival address) to add a certain sonorous weight.
The repeated pronoun my does not diminish the universality of Jesus’ lordship and deity, but it ensures that Thomas’ words are a personal confession of faith. Thomas thereby not only displays his faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but points to its deepest meaning; it is nothing less than the revelation of who Jesus Christ is. The most unyielding sceptic has bequeathed to us the most profound confession.
The thoughtful reader of this Gospel immediately recognizes certain connections: (1) Thomas’ confession is the climactic exemplification of what it means to honour the Son as the Father is honoured (5:23). It is the crowning display of how human faith has come to recognize the truth set out in the Prologue: ‘The Word was God …; the Word became flesh’ (1:1, 14). (2) At the same time, Jesus’ deity does not exhaust deity; Jesus can still talk about his God and Father in the third person. After all, this confession is set within a chapter where the resurrected Jesus himself refers to ‘my Father … my God’ (v. 17). This is entirely in accord with the careful way he delineates the nature of his unique sonship (5:16–30). (3) The reader is expected to articulate the same confession, as the next verse implies. John’s readers, like Thomas, need to come to faith; and this is what coming to faith looks like. Clearly this has critical bearing on how vv. 30–31 are interpreted.
20:29. The editors of the Greek text (NA26) take the first part of Jesus’ response to Thomas as rebuke cast as a question: ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed?’ So also Lindars (p. 646), who compares 1:50 and 16:31. But the point of the latter passages is that the people involved do not really believe, whereas here Thomas has truly come to faith. It is better to understand the first part of Jesus’ response as a statement (and to that extent a confirmation of Thomas’s faith)—one that prepares the way for the beatitude that follows: blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.
The Fourth Gospel reports only one other beatitude (13:17), and, like most beatitudes (e.g. Mt. 5:3–12), both strike a note of admonition. The word makarios (‘blessed’) does not simply declare ‘happy’ those who meet the conditions, but pronounces them accepted by God. Thomas, like all the witnesses of the resurrection, ‘saw and believed’, to use the language applied to the beloved disciple (v. 8)—though all the latter saw, at least until the Sunday evening (vv. 19–20), were the grave-clothes, not the resurrected Lord. But Jesus here foresees a time when he will not provide the kind of tangible evidence afforded the beloved disciple and Thomas; in short, he will ascend to his Father permanently, and all those who believe will do so without the benefit of having seen their resurrected Lord. That is as true today as it was for those who first believed after the ascension. This does not (or should not) mean that our faith is diminished or our joy truncated: ‘Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls’ (1 Pet. 1:8–9).
The major commentaries cite the saying of Rabbi Simeon ben Laqish (c. ad 250), who reportedly said (Tanḥuma § 6 [32 a]: cf. SB 2. 586):
The proselyte is dearer to God than all the Israelites who stood by Mount Sinai. For if all the Israelites had not seen the thunder and the flames and the lightnings and the quaking mountain and the sound of the trumpet they would not have accepted the law and taken upon themselves the kingdom of God. Yet this man has seen none of all these things yet comes and gives himself to God and takes on himself the yoke of the kingdom of God. Is there any who is dearer than this man? (tr. Barrett, p. 574)
Yet for Rabbi Simeon the contrast is stark, while Jesus’ words in v. 29 are cautious and balanced. Thomas’ faith is not depreciated: rather, it is as if the step of faith Thomas has taken, displayed in his unrestrained confession, triggers in Jesus’ mind the next step, the coming-to-faith of those who cannot see but who will believe—and so he pronounces a blessing on them. Within the context of the Fourth Gospel as a whole, however, ‘but for the fact that Thomas and the other apostles saw the incarnate Christ there would have been no Christian faith at all. Cf. 1:18, 50f.; 2:11; 4:45; 6:2; 9:37; 14:7, 9; 19:35’ (Barrett, p. 573). The witness theme in the book has not been lost to view; later believers come to faith through the word of the earlier believers (17:20). Blessed, then, are those who cannot share Thomas’ experience of sight, but who, in part because they read of Thomas’ experience, come to share Thomas’ faith. For us, faith comes not by sight, but from what is heard (or read!), and what is heard comes by the word (i.e. the declaration) of Christ (Rom. 10:17). Indeed, that is why John himself has written, as he proceeds to make explicit. (Carson, The Gospel according to John, pp. 657–660; emphasis mine)
EARLY CHURCH
Hippolytus
60. To grasp this divine mystery we must see the God in Him without ignoring the Man; and the Man without ignoring the God. We must not divide Jesus Christ, for the Word was made flesh: yet we must not call Him buried, though we know He raised Himself again: must not doubt His resurrection, though we dare not deny He was buried. Jesus Christ was buried, for He died: He died, and even cried out at the moment of death, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Yet He, Who uttered these words, said also: Verily I say unto you, This day shall you be with Me in Paradise Luke 23:43, and He Who promised Paradise to the thief cried aloud, Father, into Your hands I commend My Spirit; and having said this He gave up the Ghost. (On the Trinity, Book X)
John Chrysostom
Ver. 3. Blessed be the God, he says, and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Observe; The God of Him that was Incarnate. And though you will not, The Father of God the Word. (Homilies on Ephesians, Homily 1)
Athanasius
Chapter 26. Introductory to Texts from the Gospels on the Incarnation. Enumeration of texts still to be explained. Arians compared to the Jews. We must recur to the Regula Fidei. Our Lord did not come into, but became, man, and therefore had the acts and affections of the flesh. The same works divine and human. Thus the flesh was purified, and men were made immortal. Reference to I Peter 4:1.
26. For behold, as if not wearied in their words of irreligion, but hardened with Pharaoh, while they hear and see the Saviour's human attributes in the Gospels , they have utterly forgotten, like the Samosatene, the Son's paternal Godhead , and with arrogant and audacious tongue they say, 'How can the Son be from the Father by nature, and be like Him in essence,' who says, 'All power is given unto Me;' and 'The Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment unto the Son.' and 'The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand; he that believes in the Son has everlasting life;' and again, 'All things were delivered unto Me of My Father, and no one knows the Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him;' and again, 'All that the Father has given unto Me, shall come to Me.' On this they observe, 'If He was, as you say, Son by nature, He had no need to receive, but He had by nature as a Son.' Or how can He be the natural and true Power of the Father, who near upon the season of the passion says, 'Now is My soul troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour; but for this came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Your Name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again John 12:27-28.' And He said the same another time; 'Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me;' and 'When Jesus had thus said, He was troubled in spirit and testified and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray Me.' Then these perverse men argue; 'If He were Power, He had not feared, but rather He had supplied power to others.' Further they say; 'If He were by nature the true and own Wisdom of the Father,' how is it written, 'And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man?' In like manner, when He had come into the parts of Cæsarea Philippi, He asked the disciples whom men said that He was; and when He was at Bethany He asked where Lazarus lay; and He said besides to His disciples, 'How many loaves have ye?’ How then,' say they, 'is He Wisdom, who increased in wisdom and was ignorant of what He asked of others?' This too they urge; How can He be the own Word of the Father, without whom the Father never was, through whom He makes all things, as you think, who said upon the Cross 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?' and before that had prayed, 'Glorify Your Name,' and, 'O Father, glorify Thou Me with the glory which I had with You before the world was.' And He used to pray in the deserts and charge His disciples to pray lest they should enter into temptation; and, 'The spirit indeed is willing,' He said, 'but the flesh is weak.' And, 'Of that day and that hour knows no man, no, nor the Angels, neither the Son.' Upon this again say the miserable men, ‘If the Son were, according to your interpretation , eternally existent with God, He had not been ignorant of the Day, but had known as Word; nor had been forsaken as being coexistent; nor had asked to receive glory, as having it in the Father; nor would have prayed at all; for, being the Word, He had needed nothing; but since He is a creature and one of things originate, therefore He thus spoke, and needed what He had not; for it is proper to creatures to require and to need what they have not.’
27. This then is what the irreligious men allege in their discourses; and if they thus argue, they might consistently speak yet more daringly; 'Why did the Word become flesh at all?' and they might add; 'For how could He, being God, become man?' or, 'How could the Immaterial bear a body?' or they might speak with Caiaphas still more Judaically, 'Wherefore at all did Christ, being a man, make Himself God ?' for this and the like the Jews then muttered when they saw, and now the Ario-maniacs disbelieve when they read, and have fallen away into blasphemies. If then a man should carefully parallel the words of these and those, he will of a certainty find them both arriving at the same unbelief, and the daring of their irreligion equal, and their dispute with us a common one. For the Jews said; 'How, being a man, can He be God?' And the Arians, 'If He were very God from God, how could He become man?' And the Jews were offended then and mocked, saying, 'Had He been Son of God, He had not endured the Cross;' and the Arians standing over against them, urge upon us, 'How dare ye say that He is the Word proper to the Father's Essence, who had a body, so as to endure all this?' Next, while the Jews sought to kill the Lord, because He said that God was His own Father and made Himself equal to Him, as working what the Father works, the Arians also, not only have learned to deny, both that He is equal to God and that God is the own and natural Father of the Word, but those who hold this they seek to kill. Again, whereas the Jews said, 'Is not this the Son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then is it that He says, Before Abraham was, I am, and I came down from heaven?' The Arians on the other hand make response and say conformably, 'How can He be Word or God who slept as man, and wept, and inquired?' Thus both parties deny the Eternity and Godhead of the Word in consequence of those human attributes which the Saviour took on Him by reason of that flesh which He bore…
Chapter 29. Texts Explained; Twelfthly, Matthew 26:39; John 12:27, etc. Arian inferences are against the Regula Fidei, as before. He wept and the like, as man. Other texts prove Him God. God could not fear. He feared because His flesh feared.
54. Therefore as, when the flesh advanced, He is said to have advanced, because the body was His own, so also what is said at the season of His death, that He was troubled, that He wept, must be taken in the same sense. For they, going up and down , as if thereby recommending their heresy anew, allege; Behold, 'He wept,' and said, 'Now is My soul troubled,' and He besought that the cup might pass away; how then, if He so spoke, is He God, and Word of the Father? Yea, it is written that He wept, O God's enemies, and that He said, 'I am troubled,' and on the Cross He said, 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani,' that is, 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?' and He besought that the cup might pass away. Thus certainly it is written; but again I would ask you (for the same rejoinder must of necessity be made to each of your objections ), If the speaker is mere man, let him weep and fear death, as being man; but if He is the Word in flesh (for one must not be reluctant to repeat), whom had He to fear being God? Or wherefore should He fear death, who was Himself Life, and was rescuing others from death? Or how, whereas He said, 'Fear not him that kills the body Luke 12:4,' should He Himself fear? And how should He who said to Abraham, 'Fear not, for I am with you,' and encouraged Moses against Pharaoh, and said to the son of Nun, 'Be strong, and of a good courage,' Himself feel terror before Herod and Pilate? Further, He who succours others against fear (for 'the Lord,' says Scripture, 'is on my side, I will not fear what man shall do unto me '), did He fear governors, mortal men? Did He who Himself had come against death, feel terror of death? Is it not both unseemly and irreligious to say that He was terrified at death or hades, whom the keepers of the gates of hades saw and shuddered? But if, as you would hold, the Word was in terror wherefore, when He spoke long before of the conspiracy of the Jews, did He not flee, nay said when actually sought, 'I am He?' for He could have avoided death, as He said, 'I have power to lay down My life, and I have power to take it again;' and 'No one takes it from Me.'
55. But these affections were not proper to the nature of the Word, as far as He was Word; but in the flesh which was thus affected was the Word, O Christ's enemies and unthankful Jews! For He said not all this prior to the flesh; but when the 'Word became flesh,' and has become man, then is it written that He said this, that is, humanly. Surely He of whom this is written was He who raised Lazarus from the dead, and made the water wine, and vouchsafed sight to the man born blind, and said, 'I and My Father are one.' If then they make His human attributes a ground for low thoughts concerning the Son of God, nay consider Him altogether man from the earth, and not from heaven, wherefore not from His divine works recognise the Word who is in the Father, and henceforward renounce their self-willed irreligion? For they are given to see, how He who did the works is the same as He who showed that His body was passible by His permitting it to weep and hunger, and to show other properties of a body. For while by means of such He made it known that, though God impassible, He had taken a passible flesh; yet from the works He showed Himself the Word of God, who had afterwards become man, saying, ‘Though you believe not Me, beholding Me clad in a human body, yet believe the works, that you may know that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me. ' And Christ's enemies seem to me to show plain shamelessness and blasphemy; for, when they hear 'I and the Father are one,' they violently distort the sense, and separate the unity of the Father and the Son; but reading of His tears or sweat or sufferings, they do not advert to His body, but on account of these rank in the creation Him by whom the creation was made. What then is left for them to differ from the Jews in? For as the Jews blasphemously ascribed God's works to Beelzebub, so also will these, ranking with the creatures the Lord who wrought those works, undergo the same condemnation as theirs without mercy. (Discourse III Against the Arians)
Gregory of Nazianzen
V. Take, in the next place, the subjection by which you subject the Son to the Father. What, you say, is He not now subject, or must He, if He is God, be subject to God? You are fashioning your argument as if it concerned some robber, or some hostile deity. But look at it in this manner: that as for my sake He was called a curse, Who destroyed my curse; and sin, who takes away the sin of the world; and became a new Adam to take the place of the old, just so He makes my disobedience His own as Head of the whole body. As long then as I am disobedient and rebellious, both by denial of God and by my passions, so long Christ also is called disobedient on my account. But when all things shall be subdued unto Him on the one hand by acknowledgment of Him, and on the other by a reformation, then He Himself also will have fulfilled His submission, bringing me whom He has saved to God. For this, according to my view, is the subjection of Christ; namely, the fulfilling of the Father's Will. But as the Son subjects all to the Father, so does the Father to the Son; the One by His Work, the Other by His good pleasure, as we have already said. And thus He Who subjects presents to God that which he has subjected, making our condition His own. Of the same kind, it appears to me, is the expression, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" It was not He who was forsaken either by the Father, or by His own Godhead, as some have thought, as if It were afraid of the Passion, and therefore withdrew Itself from Him in His Sufferings (for who compelled Him either to be born on earth at all, or to be lifted up on the Cross?) But as I said, He was in His own Person representing us. For we were the forsaken and despised before, but now by the Sufferings of Him Who could not suffer, we were taken up and saved. Similarly, He makes His own our folly and our transgressions; and says what follows in the Psalm, for it is very evident that the Twenty-first Psalm refers to Christ.
VI. The same consideration applies to another passage, "He learnt obedience by the things which He suffered," and to His "strong crying and tears," and His "Entreaties," and His "being heard," and His" Reverence," all of which He wonderfully wrought out, like a drama whose plot was devised on our behalf. For in His character of the Word He was neither obedient nor disobedient. For such expressions belong to servants, and inferiors, and the one applies to the better sort of them, while the other belongs to those who deserve punishment. But, in the character of the Form of a Servant, He condescends to His fellow servants, nay, to His servants, and takes upon Him a strange form, bearing all me and mine in Himself, that in Himself He may exhaust the bad, as fire does wax, or as the sun does the mists of earth; and that I may partake of His nature by the blending. Thus He honours obedience by His action, and proves it experimentally by His Passion. For to possess the disposition is not enough, just as it would not be enough for us, unless we also proved it by our acts; for action is the proof of disposition.
And perhaps it would not be wrong to assume this also, that by the art of His love for man He gauges our obedience, and measures all by comparison with His own Sufferings, so that He may know our condition by His own, and how much is demanded of us, and how much we yield, taking into the account, along with our environment, our weakness also. For if the Light shining through the veil upon the darkness, that is upon this life, was persecuted by the other darkness (I mean, the Evil One and the Tempter), how much more will the darkness be persecuted, as being weaker than it? And what marvel is it, that though He entirely escaped, we have been, at any rate in part, overtaken? For it is a more wonderful thing that He should have been chased than that we should have been captured;-at least to the minds of all who reason aright on the subject. I will add yet another passage to those I have mentioned, because I think that it clearly tends to the same sense. I mean "In that He has suffered being tempted, He is able to succour them that are tempted." But God will be all in all in the time of restitution; not in the sense that the Father alone will Be; and the Son be wholly resolved into Him, like a torch into a great pyre, from which it was reft away for a little space, and then put back (for I would not have even the Sabellians injured by such an expression); but the entire Godhead when we shall be no longer divided (as we now are by movements and passions), and containing nothing at all of God, or very little, but shall be entirely like.
VII. As your third point you count the Word Greater; and as your fourth, To My God and your God. And indeed, if He had been called greater, and the word equal had not occurred, this might perhaps have been a point in their favour. But if we find both words clearly used what will these gentlemen have to say? How will it strengthen their argument? How will they reconcile the irreconcilable? For that the same thing should be at once greater than and equal to the same thing is an impossibility; and the evident solution is that the Greater refers to origination, while the Equal belongs to the Nature; and this we acknowledge with much good will. But perhaps some one else will back up our attack on your argument, and assert, that That which is from such a Cause is not inferior to that which has no Cause; for it would share the glory of the Unoriginate, because it is from the Unoriginate. And there is, besides, the Generation, which is to all men a matter so marvellous and of such Majesty. For to say that he is greater than the Son considered as man, is true indeed, but is no great thing. For what marvel is it if God is greater than man? Surely that is enough to say in answer to their talk about Greater.
VIII. As to the other passages, My God would be used in respect, not of the Word, but of the Visible Word. For how could there be a God of Him Who is properly God? In the same way He is Father, not of the Visible, but of the Word; for our Lord was of two Natures; so that one expression is used properly, the other improperly in each of the two cases; but exactly the opposite way to their use in respect of us. For with respect to us God is properly our God, but not properly our Father. And this is the cause of the error of the Heretics, namely the joining of these two Names, which are interchanged because of the Union of the Natures. And an indication of this is found in the fact that wherever the Natures are distinguished in our thoughts from one another, the Names are also distinguished; as you hear in Paul's words, "The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory." The God of Christ, but the Father of glory. For although these two terms express but one Person, yet this is not by a Unity of Nature, but by a Union of the two. What could be clearer? (Oration 30 Fourth Theological Oration)
Cyril of Alexandria
Therefore, to her honour and glory and perpetual renown, the Saviour vouchsafed unto Mary the duty of proclaiming to the brethren the tidings contained in His words: I ascend unto My Father and your Father, and My God and your God; and do thou for thy part accept this great and profound mystery, not suffering thine heart to vault over the measure of the truth of the Divine doctrines. Observe how the Only-begotten Word of God came among us, that we also might be even as He is, so far as is possible for our nature to attain thereto, and so far as relates unto our new creation by grace. For He humbled Himself that He might exalt that which was by nature lowly to His own high station; and wore the form of a servant, though He was by Nature Lord and Son of God, that He might uplift that which was by nature enslaved to the dignity of Sonship, in conformity with His own Likeness, and in His Image. How, and in what sense, then, He, becoming one of us as Man, in order that we also might be like Him, that is, Gods and Sons, receives our attributes into Himself, and gives back unto us His own, you may well be anxious to inquire. I will explain, then, as far as I am able: In the first place, then, though we are servants by rank and nature (for creatures are subject to their Creator), He calls us His brethren, and designates God the common Father of Himself and us; and, making humanity His own, by taking our likeness upon Him, He calls our God His God, though He is His Son by Nature; that, as we mount up to His exceeding great dignity of station by likeness to Him (for it is not because we are by nature sons of God that we are so called, for He cries in our hearts by His own Spirit, Abba, Father), so also He, since He took our form-—for He became Man, according to the Scriptures-—might have God for His God, though He was truly God by Nature, and proceeded from Him. Be not, therefore, offended, |664 though you hear Him calling God His God, but rather contemplate His words in a teachable spirit, and attentively consider their true meaning. For He says that God is both His Father and our God; and both sayings are true. For, in very truth, the God of the universe is Christ's Father, but not ours by nature; but rather our God as our Creator and Sovereign Lord. But the Son, as it were, blending Himself with us, vouchsafes to our nature the dignity that is in a special and peculiar sense His own, calling Him That begat Him the common Father of us all; while, on the other hand, He receives into Himself, by taking upon Him our likeness, that which belonged to our nature. For He calls His Father His God, being unwilling, through His inherent love and mercy toward mankind, to dishonour our likeness that He had taken upon Himself. If, then, you choose in ignorance to cavil at this saying, and it seem intolerable to you that the Lord should say that God the Father was His God, you will then, in your perversity, be bringing a charge against the scheme for your own redemption; and when you ought to be offering up thanksgiving you will be dishonouring your Benefactor, and be foolishly objecting to the manner in which He manifested His love towards you. For if He humbled Himself, despising shame, and became a Man for your sake, on your head is the charge of humiliation, and to Him Who chose to undergo this for your sake, exceeding great is the honour due. And I am amazed that you have ears merely for the eclipse of glory (for He humbled Himself for our sake), and consider not its restoration, and, regarding only the degradation, reflect not upon the exaltation. For how was He humiliated, if you do not regard Him as perfect, as being God? And in what sense was He degraded, if you do not take into account the lofty attributes of His ineffable Nature? Therefore, when He was perfect and all-sufficient as God, He humbled Himself for your sake, transforming Himself to your likeness; and though He was high |665 exalted as the Son of God, and of the very Essence of the Father, He degraded Himself, being mulcted of the attributes of Divine glory, so far as His Nature admitted. As therefore, now, He is at the same time God and Man, being high exalted because of His parentage (for He is God of God and truly Begotten of His Father), and also made lowly for our sake (for He became Man for us); be of a tranquil mind when you hear Him saying: I ascend unto My Father and your Father, and My God and your God. For it was very meet and right that, as being by Nature God and Son of God, He should call Him That begat Him His Father; and that, as being Man, even as we are men. He should call God His God. (Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on John, LFC 43, 48 (1874/1885). Book 12. Vol. 2 pp. 589-708. , CHAPTER I. That the Son is by Nature God, even though we find Him calling the Father His God. xx. 17. But go unto My brethren, and say to them, I ascend unto My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.)
Ambrose of Milan
Chapter 14. That the Son of God is not a created being is proved by the following arguments: (1) That He commanded not that the Gospel should be preached to Himself; (2) that a created being is given over unto vanity; (3) that the Son has created all things; (4) that we read of Him as begotten; and (5) that the difference of generation and adoption has always been understood in those places where both natures — the divine and the human — are declared to co-exist in Him. All of which testimony is confirmed by the Apostle's interpretation.
86. It is now made plain, as I believe, your sacred Majesty, that the Lord Jesus is neither unlike the Father, nor one that began to exist in course of time. We have yet to confute another blasphemy, and to show that the Son of God is not a created being. Herein is the quickening word that we read as our help, for we have heard the passage read where the Lord says: Go into all the world, and preach the Gospel to all creation. Mark 16:15 He Who says all creation excepts nothing. How, then, do they stand who call Christ a creature? If He were a creature, could He have commanded that the Gospel should be preached to Himself? It is not, therefore, a creature, but the Creator, Who commits to His disciples the work of teaching created beings.
87. Christ, then, is no created being; for created beings are, as the Apostle has said, given over to vanity. Romans 8:20 Is Christ given over unto vanity? Again, creation— according to the same Apostle — groans and travails together even until now. What, then? Does Christ take any part in this groaning and travailing — He Who has set us miserable mourners free from death? Creation, says the Apostle, shall be set free from the slavery of corruption. Romans 8:21-22 We see, then, that between creation and its Lord there is a vast difference, for creation is enslaved, but the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 2 Corinthians 3:17
88. Who was it that led first into this error, of declaring Him Who created and made all things to be a creature? Did the Lord, I would ask, create Himself? We read that all things were made by Him, and without Him was nothing made. John 1:3 This being so, did He make Himself? We read — and who shall deny?— that in wisdom has God made all things. If so, how can we suppose that wisdom was made in itself?
89. We read that the Son is begotten, inasmuch as the Father says: I brought you forth from the womb before the morning star. We read of the first-born Son, Colossians 1:15 of the only-begotten John 1:14 — first-born, because there is none before Him; only-begotten, because there is none after Him. Again, we read: Who shall declare His generation? Isaiah 53:8 Generation, mark you, not creation. What argument can be brought to meet testimonies so great and mighty as these?
90. Moreover, God's Son discovers the difference between generation and grace when He says: I go up to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God. He did not say, I go up to our Father, but I go up to My Father and your Father. This distinction is the sign of a difference, inasmuch as He Who is Christ's Father is our Creator.
91. Furthermore He said, to My God and your God, because although He and the Father are One, and the Father is His Father by possession of the same nature, while God began to be our Father through the office of the Son, not by virtue of nature, but of grace— still He seems to point us here to the existence in Christ of both natures, Godhead and Manhood — Godhead of His Father, Manhood of His Mother, the former being before all things, the latter derived from the Virgin. For the first, speaking as the Son, He called God His Father, and afterward, SPEAKING AS MAN, NAMED HIM AS GOD.
92. Everywhere, indeed, we have witness in the Scriptures to show that Christ, in naming God as His God, DOES SO AS A MAN. My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? And again: From My mother's womb You are My God. In the former place He suffers as a man; in the latter it is a man who is brought forth from his mother's womb. And so when He says, From My mother's womb You are My God, He means that He Who was always His Father is His God FROM THE MOMENT WHEN HE WAS BROUGHT FORTH FROM HIS MOTHER’S WOMB.
93. Seeing, then, that we read in the Gospel, in the Apostle, in the Prophets, of Christ as begotten, how dare the Arians to say that He was created or made? But, indeed, they ought to have bethought them, where they have read of Him as created, where as made. For it has been plainly shown that the Son of God is begotten of God, born of God — let them, then, consider with care where they have read that He was made, seeing that He was not made God, but born as God, the Son of God; afterward, however, He was, according to the flesh, made man of Mary.
94. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son, made of a woman, made under the Law. His Son, observe, not as one of many, not as His in common with another, but His own, and in saying His Son, the Apostle showed that it is of the Son's nature that His generation is eternal. Him the Apostle has affirmed to have been afterwards made of a woman, in order that the making might be understood not of the Godhead, but of the putting on of a body — made of a woman, then, by taking on of flesh; made under the Law through observance of the Law. Howbeit, the former, the spiritual generation is before the Law was, the latter is after the Law. (Exposition of the Christian Faith, Book I)
60. To grasp this divine mystery we must see the God in Him without ignoring the Man; and the Man without ignoring the God. We must not divide Jesus Christ, for the Word was made flesh: yet we must not call Him buried, though we know He raised Himself again: must not doubt His resurrection, though we dare not deny He was buried. Jesus Christ was buried, for He died: He died, and even cried out at the moment of death, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Yet He, Who uttered these words, said also: Verily I say unto you, This day shall you be with Me in Paradise Luke 23:43, and He Who promised Paradise to the thief cried aloud, Father, into Your hands I commend My Spirit; and having said this He gave up the Ghost. (On the Trinity, Book X)
John Chrysostom
Ver. 3. Blessed be the God, he says, and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Observe; The God of Him that was Incarnate. And though you will not, The Father of God the Word. (Homilies on Ephesians, Homily 1)
Athanasius
Chapter 26. Introductory to Texts from the Gospels on the Incarnation. Enumeration of texts still to be explained. Arians compared to the Jews. We must recur to the Regula Fidei. Our Lord did not come into, but became, man, and therefore had the acts and affections of the flesh. The same works divine and human. Thus the flesh was purified, and men were made immortal. Reference to I Peter 4:1.
26. For behold, as if not wearied in their words of irreligion, but hardened with Pharaoh, while they hear and see the Saviour's human attributes in the Gospels , they have utterly forgotten, like the Samosatene, the Son's paternal Godhead , and with arrogant and audacious tongue they say, 'How can the Son be from the Father by nature, and be like Him in essence,' who says, 'All power is given unto Me;' and 'The Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment unto the Son.' and 'The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand; he that believes in the Son has everlasting life;' and again, 'All things were delivered unto Me of My Father, and no one knows the Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him;' and again, 'All that the Father has given unto Me, shall come to Me.' On this they observe, 'If He was, as you say, Son by nature, He had no need to receive, but He had by nature as a Son.' Or how can He be the natural and true Power of the Father, who near upon the season of the passion says, 'Now is My soul troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour; but for this came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Your Name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again John 12:27-28.' And He said the same another time; 'Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me;' and 'When Jesus had thus said, He was troubled in spirit and testified and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray Me.' Then these perverse men argue; 'If He were Power, He had not feared, but rather He had supplied power to others.' Further they say; 'If He were by nature the true and own Wisdom of the Father,' how is it written, 'And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man?' In like manner, when He had come into the parts of Cæsarea Philippi, He asked the disciples whom men said that He was; and when He was at Bethany He asked where Lazarus lay; and He said besides to His disciples, 'How many loaves have ye?’ How then,' say they, 'is He Wisdom, who increased in wisdom and was ignorant of what He asked of others?' This too they urge; How can He be the own Word of the Father, without whom the Father never was, through whom He makes all things, as you think, who said upon the Cross 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?' and before that had prayed, 'Glorify Your Name,' and, 'O Father, glorify Thou Me with the glory which I had with You before the world was.' And He used to pray in the deserts and charge His disciples to pray lest they should enter into temptation; and, 'The spirit indeed is willing,' He said, 'but the flesh is weak.' And, 'Of that day and that hour knows no man, no, nor the Angels, neither the Son.' Upon this again say the miserable men, ‘If the Son were, according to your interpretation , eternally existent with God, He had not been ignorant of the Day, but had known as Word; nor had been forsaken as being coexistent; nor had asked to receive glory, as having it in the Father; nor would have prayed at all; for, being the Word, He had needed nothing; but since He is a creature and one of things originate, therefore He thus spoke, and needed what He had not; for it is proper to creatures to require and to need what they have not.’
27. This then is what the irreligious men allege in their discourses; and if they thus argue, they might consistently speak yet more daringly; 'Why did the Word become flesh at all?' and they might add; 'For how could He, being God, become man?' or, 'How could the Immaterial bear a body?' or they might speak with Caiaphas still more Judaically, 'Wherefore at all did Christ, being a man, make Himself God ?' for this and the like the Jews then muttered when they saw, and now the Ario-maniacs disbelieve when they read, and have fallen away into blasphemies. If then a man should carefully parallel the words of these and those, he will of a certainty find them both arriving at the same unbelief, and the daring of their irreligion equal, and their dispute with us a common one. For the Jews said; 'How, being a man, can He be God?' And the Arians, 'If He were very God from God, how could He become man?' And the Jews were offended then and mocked, saying, 'Had He been Son of God, He had not endured the Cross;' and the Arians standing over against them, urge upon us, 'How dare ye say that He is the Word proper to the Father's Essence, who had a body, so as to endure all this?' Next, while the Jews sought to kill the Lord, because He said that God was His own Father and made Himself equal to Him, as working what the Father works, the Arians also, not only have learned to deny, both that He is equal to God and that God is the own and natural Father of the Word, but those who hold this they seek to kill. Again, whereas the Jews said, 'Is not this the Son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then is it that He says, Before Abraham was, I am, and I came down from heaven?' The Arians on the other hand make response and say conformably, 'How can He be Word or God who slept as man, and wept, and inquired?' Thus both parties deny the Eternity and Godhead of the Word in consequence of those human attributes which the Saviour took on Him by reason of that flesh which He bore…
Chapter 29. Texts Explained; Twelfthly, Matthew 26:39; John 12:27, etc. Arian inferences are against the Regula Fidei, as before. He wept and the like, as man. Other texts prove Him God. God could not fear. He feared because His flesh feared.
54. Therefore as, when the flesh advanced, He is said to have advanced, because the body was His own, so also what is said at the season of His death, that He was troubled, that He wept, must be taken in the same sense. For they, going up and down , as if thereby recommending their heresy anew, allege; Behold, 'He wept,' and said, 'Now is My soul troubled,' and He besought that the cup might pass away; how then, if He so spoke, is He God, and Word of the Father? Yea, it is written that He wept, O God's enemies, and that He said, 'I am troubled,' and on the Cross He said, 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani,' that is, 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?' and He besought that the cup might pass away. Thus certainly it is written; but again I would ask you (for the same rejoinder must of necessity be made to each of your objections ), If the speaker is mere man, let him weep and fear death, as being man; but if He is the Word in flesh (for one must not be reluctant to repeat), whom had He to fear being God? Or wherefore should He fear death, who was Himself Life, and was rescuing others from death? Or how, whereas He said, 'Fear not him that kills the body Luke 12:4,' should He Himself fear? And how should He who said to Abraham, 'Fear not, for I am with you,' and encouraged Moses against Pharaoh, and said to the son of Nun, 'Be strong, and of a good courage,' Himself feel terror before Herod and Pilate? Further, He who succours others against fear (for 'the Lord,' says Scripture, 'is on my side, I will not fear what man shall do unto me '), did He fear governors, mortal men? Did He who Himself had come against death, feel terror of death? Is it not both unseemly and irreligious to say that He was terrified at death or hades, whom the keepers of the gates of hades saw and shuddered? But if, as you would hold, the Word was in terror wherefore, when He spoke long before of the conspiracy of the Jews, did He not flee, nay said when actually sought, 'I am He?' for He could have avoided death, as He said, 'I have power to lay down My life, and I have power to take it again;' and 'No one takes it from Me.'
55. But these affections were not proper to the nature of the Word, as far as He was Word; but in the flesh which was thus affected was the Word, O Christ's enemies and unthankful Jews! For He said not all this prior to the flesh; but when the 'Word became flesh,' and has become man, then is it written that He said this, that is, humanly. Surely He of whom this is written was He who raised Lazarus from the dead, and made the water wine, and vouchsafed sight to the man born blind, and said, 'I and My Father are one.' If then they make His human attributes a ground for low thoughts concerning the Son of God, nay consider Him altogether man from the earth, and not from heaven, wherefore not from His divine works recognise the Word who is in the Father, and henceforward renounce their self-willed irreligion? For they are given to see, how He who did the works is the same as He who showed that His body was passible by His permitting it to weep and hunger, and to show other properties of a body. For while by means of such He made it known that, though God impassible, He had taken a passible flesh; yet from the works He showed Himself the Word of God, who had afterwards become man, saying, ‘Though you believe not Me, beholding Me clad in a human body, yet believe the works, that you may know that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me. ' And Christ's enemies seem to me to show plain shamelessness and blasphemy; for, when they hear 'I and the Father are one,' they violently distort the sense, and separate the unity of the Father and the Son; but reading of His tears or sweat or sufferings, they do not advert to His body, but on account of these rank in the creation Him by whom the creation was made. What then is left for them to differ from the Jews in? For as the Jews blasphemously ascribed God's works to Beelzebub, so also will these, ranking with the creatures the Lord who wrought those works, undergo the same condemnation as theirs without mercy. (Discourse III Against the Arians)
Gregory of Nazianzen
V. Take, in the next place, the subjection by which you subject the Son to the Father. What, you say, is He not now subject, or must He, if He is God, be subject to God? You are fashioning your argument as if it concerned some robber, or some hostile deity. But look at it in this manner: that as for my sake He was called a curse, Who destroyed my curse; and sin, who takes away the sin of the world; and became a new Adam to take the place of the old, just so He makes my disobedience His own as Head of the whole body. As long then as I am disobedient and rebellious, both by denial of God and by my passions, so long Christ also is called disobedient on my account. But when all things shall be subdued unto Him on the one hand by acknowledgment of Him, and on the other by a reformation, then He Himself also will have fulfilled His submission, bringing me whom He has saved to God. For this, according to my view, is the subjection of Christ; namely, the fulfilling of the Father's Will. But as the Son subjects all to the Father, so does the Father to the Son; the One by His Work, the Other by His good pleasure, as we have already said. And thus He Who subjects presents to God that which he has subjected, making our condition His own. Of the same kind, it appears to me, is the expression, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" It was not He who was forsaken either by the Father, or by His own Godhead, as some have thought, as if It were afraid of the Passion, and therefore withdrew Itself from Him in His Sufferings (for who compelled Him either to be born on earth at all, or to be lifted up on the Cross?) But as I said, He was in His own Person representing us. For we were the forsaken and despised before, but now by the Sufferings of Him Who could not suffer, we were taken up and saved. Similarly, He makes His own our folly and our transgressions; and says what follows in the Psalm, for it is very evident that the Twenty-first Psalm refers to Christ.
VI. The same consideration applies to another passage, "He learnt obedience by the things which He suffered," and to His "strong crying and tears," and His "Entreaties," and His "being heard," and His" Reverence," all of which He wonderfully wrought out, like a drama whose plot was devised on our behalf. For in His character of the Word He was neither obedient nor disobedient. For such expressions belong to servants, and inferiors, and the one applies to the better sort of them, while the other belongs to those who deserve punishment. But, in the character of the Form of a Servant, He condescends to His fellow servants, nay, to His servants, and takes upon Him a strange form, bearing all me and mine in Himself, that in Himself He may exhaust the bad, as fire does wax, or as the sun does the mists of earth; and that I may partake of His nature by the blending. Thus He honours obedience by His action, and proves it experimentally by His Passion. For to possess the disposition is not enough, just as it would not be enough for us, unless we also proved it by our acts; for action is the proof of disposition.
And perhaps it would not be wrong to assume this also, that by the art of His love for man He gauges our obedience, and measures all by comparison with His own Sufferings, so that He may know our condition by His own, and how much is demanded of us, and how much we yield, taking into the account, along with our environment, our weakness also. For if the Light shining through the veil upon the darkness, that is upon this life, was persecuted by the other darkness (I mean, the Evil One and the Tempter), how much more will the darkness be persecuted, as being weaker than it? And what marvel is it, that though He entirely escaped, we have been, at any rate in part, overtaken? For it is a more wonderful thing that He should have been chased than that we should have been captured;-at least to the minds of all who reason aright on the subject. I will add yet another passage to those I have mentioned, because I think that it clearly tends to the same sense. I mean "In that He has suffered being tempted, He is able to succour them that are tempted." But God will be all in all in the time of restitution; not in the sense that the Father alone will Be; and the Son be wholly resolved into Him, like a torch into a great pyre, from which it was reft away for a little space, and then put back (for I would not have even the Sabellians injured by such an expression); but the entire Godhead when we shall be no longer divided (as we now are by movements and passions), and containing nothing at all of God, or very little, but shall be entirely like.
VII. As your third point you count the Word Greater; and as your fourth, To My God and your God. And indeed, if He had been called greater, and the word equal had not occurred, this might perhaps have been a point in their favour. But if we find both words clearly used what will these gentlemen have to say? How will it strengthen their argument? How will they reconcile the irreconcilable? For that the same thing should be at once greater than and equal to the same thing is an impossibility; and the evident solution is that the Greater refers to origination, while the Equal belongs to the Nature; and this we acknowledge with much good will. But perhaps some one else will back up our attack on your argument, and assert, that That which is from such a Cause is not inferior to that which has no Cause; for it would share the glory of the Unoriginate, because it is from the Unoriginate. And there is, besides, the Generation, which is to all men a matter so marvellous and of such Majesty. For to say that he is greater than the Son considered as man, is true indeed, but is no great thing. For what marvel is it if God is greater than man? Surely that is enough to say in answer to their talk about Greater.
VIII. As to the other passages, My God would be used in respect, not of the Word, but of the Visible Word. For how could there be a God of Him Who is properly God? In the same way He is Father, not of the Visible, but of the Word; for our Lord was of two Natures; so that one expression is used properly, the other improperly in each of the two cases; but exactly the opposite way to their use in respect of us. For with respect to us God is properly our God, but not properly our Father. And this is the cause of the error of the Heretics, namely the joining of these two Names, which are interchanged because of the Union of the Natures. And an indication of this is found in the fact that wherever the Natures are distinguished in our thoughts from one another, the Names are also distinguished; as you hear in Paul's words, "The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory." The God of Christ, but the Father of glory. For although these two terms express but one Person, yet this is not by a Unity of Nature, but by a Union of the two. What could be clearer? (Oration 30 Fourth Theological Oration)
Cyril of Alexandria
Therefore, to her honour and glory and perpetual renown, the Saviour vouchsafed unto Mary the duty of proclaiming to the brethren the tidings contained in His words: I ascend unto My Father and your Father, and My God and your God; and do thou for thy part accept this great and profound mystery, not suffering thine heart to vault over the measure of the truth of the Divine doctrines. Observe how the Only-begotten Word of God came among us, that we also might be even as He is, so far as is possible for our nature to attain thereto, and so far as relates unto our new creation by grace. For He humbled Himself that He might exalt that which was by nature lowly to His own high station; and wore the form of a servant, though He was by Nature Lord and Son of God, that He might uplift that which was by nature enslaved to the dignity of Sonship, in conformity with His own Likeness, and in His Image. How, and in what sense, then, He, becoming one of us as Man, in order that we also might be like Him, that is, Gods and Sons, receives our attributes into Himself, and gives back unto us His own, you may well be anxious to inquire. I will explain, then, as far as I am able: In the first place, then, though we are servants by rank and nature (for creatures are subject to their Creator), He calls us His brethren, and designates God the common Father of Himself and us; and, making humanity His own, by taking our likeness upon Him, He calls our God His God, though He is His Son by Nature; that, as we mount up to His exceeding great dignity of station by likeness to Him (for it is not because we are by nature sons of God that we are so called, for He cries in our hearts by His own Spirit, Abba, Father), so also He, since He took our form-—for He became Man, according to the Scriptures-—might have God for His God, though He was truly God by Nature, and proceeded from Him. Be not, therefore, offended, |664 though you hear Him calling God His God, but rather contemplate His words in a teachable spirit, and attentively consider their true meaning. For He says that God is both His Father and our God; and both sayings are true. For, in very truth, the God of the universe is Christ's Father, but not ours by nature; but rather our God as our Creator and Sovereign Lord. But the Son, as it were, blending Himself with us, vouchsafes to our nature the dignity that is in a special and peculiar sense His own, calling Him That begat Him the common Father of us all; while, on the other hand, He receives into Himself, by taking upon Him our likeness, that which belonged to our nature. For He calls His Father His God, being unwilling, through His inherent love and mercy toward mankind, to dishonour our likeness that He had taken upon Himself. If, then, you choose in ignorance to cavil at this saying, and it seem intolerable to you that the Lord should say that God the Father was His God, you will then, in your perversity, be bringing a charge against the scheme for your own redemption; and when you ought to be offering up thanksgiving you will be dishonouring your Benefactor, and be foolishly objecting to the manner in which He manifested His love towards you. For if He humbled Himself, despising shame, and became a Man for your sake, on your head is the charge of humiliation, and to Him Who chose to undergo this for your sake, exceeding great is the honour due. And I am amazed that you have ears merely for the eclipse of glory (for He humbled Himself for our sake), and consider not its restoration, and, regarding only the degradation, reflect not upon the exaltation. For how was He humiliated, if you do not regard Him as perfect, as being God? And in what sense was He degraded, if you do not take into account the lofty attributes of His ineffable Nature? Therefore, when He was perfect and all-sufficient as God, He humbled Himself for your sake, transforming Himself to your likeness; and though He was high |665 exalted as the Son of God, and of the very Essence of the Father, He degraded Himself, being mulcted of the attributes of Divine glory, so far as His Nature admitted. As therefore, now, He is at the same time God and Man, being high exalted because of His parentage (for He is God of God and truly Begotten of His Father), and also made lowly for our sake (for He became Man for us); be of a tranquil mind when you hear Him saying: I ascend unto My Father and your Father, and My God and your God. For it was very meet and right that, as being by Nature God and Son of God, He should call Him That begat Him His Father; and that, as being Man, even as we are men. He should call God His God. (Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on John, LFC 43, 48 (1874/1885). Book 12. Vol. 2 pp. 589-708. , CHAPTER I. That the Son is by Nature God, even though we find Him calling the Father His God. xx. 17. But go unto My brethren, and say to them, I ascend unto My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.)
Ambrose of Milan
Chapter 14. That the Son of God is not a created being is proved by the following arguments: (1) That He commanded not that the Gospel should be preached to Himself; (2) that a created being is given over unto vanity; (3) that the Son has created all things; (4) that we read of Him as begotten; and (5) that the difference of generation and adoption has always been understood in those places where both natures — the divine and the human — are declared to co-exist in Him. All of which testimony is confirmed by the Apostle's interpretation.
86. It is now made plain, as I believe, your sacred Majesty, that the Lord Jesus is neither unlike the Father, nor one that began to exist in course of time. We have yet to confute another blasphemy, and to show that the Son of God is not a created being. Herein is the quickening word that we read as our help, for we have heard the passage read where the Lord says: Go into all the world, and preach the Gospel to all creation. Mark 16:15 He Who says all creation excepts nothing. How, then, do they stand who call Christ a creature? If He were a creature, could He have commanded that the Gospel should be preached to Himself? It is not, therefore, a creature, but the Creator, Who commits to His disciples the work of teaching created beings.
87. Christ, then, is no created being; for created beings are, as the Apostle has said, given over to vanity. Romans 8:20 Is Christ given over unto vanity? Again, creation— according to the same Apostle — groans and travails together even until now. What, then? Does Christ take any part in this groaning and travailing — He Who has set us miserable mourners free from death? Creation, says the Apostle, shall be set free from the slavery of corruption. Romans 8:21-22 We see, then, that between creation and its Lord there is a vast difference, for creation is enslaved, but the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 2 Corinthians 3:17
88. Who was it that led first into this error, of declaring Him Who created and made all things to be a creature? Did the Lord, I would ask, create Himself? We read that all things were made by Him, and without Him was nothing made. John 1:3 This being so, did He make Himself? We read — and who shall deny?— that in wisdom has God made all things. If so, how can we suppose that wisdom was made in itself?
89. We read that the Son is begotten, inasmuch as the Father says: I brought you forth from the womb before the morning star. We read of the first-born Son, Colossians 1:15 of the only-begotten John 1:14 — first-born, because there is none before Him; only-begotten, because there is none after Him. Again, we read: Who shall declare His generation? Isaiah 53:8 Generation, mark you, not creation. What argument can be brought to meet testimonies so great and mighty as these?
90. Moreover, God's Son discovers the difference between generation and grace when He says: I go up to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God. He did not say, I go up to our Father, but I go up to My Father and your Father. This distinction is the sign of a difference, inasmuch as He Who is Christ's Father is our Creator.
91. Furthermore He said, to My God and your God, because although He and the Father are One, and the Father is His Father by possession of the same nature, while God began to be our Father through the office of the Son, not by virtue of nature, but of grace— still He seems to point us here to the existence in Christ of both natures, Godhead and Manhood — Godhead of His Father, Manhood of His Mother, the former being before all things, the latter derived from the Virgin. For the first, speaking as the Son, He called God His Father, and afterward, SPEAKING AS MAN, NAMED HIM AS GOD.
92. Everywhere, indeed, we have witness in the Scriptures to show that Christ, in naming God as His God, DOES SO AS A MAN. My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? And again: From My mother's womb You are My God. In the former place He suffers as a man; in the latter it is a man who is brought forth from his mother's womb. And so when He says, From My mother's womb You are My God, He means that He Who was always His Father is His God FROM THE MOMENT WHEN HE WAS BROUGHT FORTH FROM HIS MOTHER’S WOMB.
93. Seeing, then, that we read in the Gospel, in the Apostle, in the Prophets, of Christ as begotten, how dare the Arians to say that He was created or made? But, indeed, they ought to have bethought them, where they have read of Him as created, where as made. For it has been plainly shown that the Son of God is begotten of God, born of God — let them, then, consider with care where they have read that He was made, seeing that He was not made God, but born as God, the Son of God; afterward, however, He was, according to the flesh, made man of Mary.
94. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son, made of a woman, made under the Law. His Son, observe, not as one of many, not as His in common with another, but His own, and in saying His Son, the Apostle showed that it is of the Son's nature that His generation is eternal. Him the Apostle has affirmed to have been afterwards made of a woman, in order that the making might be understood not of the Godhead, but of the putting on of a body — made of a woman, then, by taking on of flesh; made under the Law through observance of the Law. Howbeit, the former, the spiritual generation is before the Law was, the latter is after the Law. (Exposition of the Christian Faith, Book I)
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Even then scripture calls Jesus God in The O.T
The Hebrew Bible presents YHWH as the Divine King who has been ruling from the start of his creation and will continue to do so throughout eternity. This is because YHWH is eternal by nature, and therefore abides forever and ever:
“Yahweh shall reign forever and ever.” Exodus 15:18
“But Yahweh abides forever; He has established His throne for judgment,” Psalm 9:7
“Yahweh is King forever and ever; Nations have perished from His land.” Psalm 10:16
“Yahweh sat enthroned over the flood; Indeed, Yahweh sits as King forever.” Psalm 29:10
“God will hear and answer them—Even the one who sits enthroned from of old— Selah. Because they do not change, And do not fear God.” Psalm 55:19
“He rules by His might forever; His eyes keep watch on the nations; Let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah.” Psalm 66:7
“Yahweh reigns, He is clothed with majesty; Yahweh has clothed and girded Himself with strength; Indeed, the world is established, it will not be shaken. Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting.” Psalm 93:1-2
“But You, O Yahweh, abide forever, And the remembrance of Your name from generation to generation.” Psalm 102:12
“Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And Your dominion endures from generation to every generation.” Psalm 145:13
“Yahweh will reign forever, Your God, O Zion, from generation to generation. Praise Yah!” Psalm 146:10
“But Yahweh is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth quakes, And the nations cannot endure His indignation.” Jeremiah 10:10
“You, O Yahweh, sit enthroned forever; Your throne is from generation to generation.” Lamentations 5:19
“I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom, men are to fear and be in dread before the God of Daniel; For He is the living God and enduring forever, And His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed, And His dominion will be unto the end.” Daniel 6:26
The God-Man Who Rules Forever
This is where it gets interesting.
The prophet Isaiah foretold the birth of a Child who would reign on David’s throne as the Mighty God in the flesh, and who would shine forth from Galilee:
“But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in the land of the shadow of death, The light will shine on them… For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will accomplish this.” Isaiah 9:1-2, 6-7
Keep in mind that Isaiah calls YHWH the Mighty God in the very next chapter!
“Now it will be in that day, that the remnant of Israel and those of the house of Jacob who have escaped, will never again rely on the one who struck them, but will truly rely on Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel. A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.” Isaiah 10:20-21
According to the NT, Jesus is this Child born to rule upon David’s throne forever and who began ministering in/from Galilee, just as the prophet predicted:
“Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, ‘Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was very perplexed at this statement, and was pondering what kind of greeting this was. And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and there will be no end of His kingdom.’” Luke 1:26-33
“But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people. For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.’” Luke 2:10-11
“Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He departed into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth, He came and lived in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, in order that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled, saying, ‘The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light, And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, Upon them a Light dawned.’ From that time Jesus began to preach and say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” Matthew 4:12-17
Hence, Jesus is the Davidic Christ who rules for all eternity:
“Then the seventh angel sounded, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.’” Revelation 11:15
Isaiah wasn’t the only prophet who foresaw and spoke of a divine King whose kingdom would engulf the world. Note what Daniel wrote:
“You continued looking until a stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed all at the same time and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth… And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will cause a kingdom to rise up which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself stand forever. Inasmuch as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will happen in the future; so the dream is certain, and its interpretation is trustworthy.” Daniel 2:34-35, 44-45
This Stone which destroys all other kingdoms is none other than Christ himself:
“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers and elders of the people, if we are being examined today for a good deed done to a sick man, as to how this man has been saved from his sickness, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health. He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.’” Acts 4:8-12
“For no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 3:11
“if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord. And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 2:3-8
Daniel further sees a human figure who rules over all peoples forever and ever, and whom all nations and languages worship in the same way that they worship the Most High:
“I kept watching the night visions, and there, in the clouds of heaven, I saw one like a son of man coming. He came to the Ancient of Days, and he was brought before him. To him was given dominion, honor, and a kingdom. All peoples, nations, and languages will worship (yipelachun) him. His dominion is an eternal dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will not be destroyed… But the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under all the heavens will be given to the people, to the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an eternal kingdom, and all dominions will worship (yipelachun) and obey him.” Daniel 7:13-14, 27 Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)
Both Jesus and his followers identify Christ as this very heavenly, divine Son of Man:
“For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay each one according to his deeds. Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” Matthew 16:27-28
“‘But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom, which has been prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’… Now it happened that when Jesus had finished all these words, He said to His disciples, ‘You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is to be delivered over for crucifixion.’” Matthew 25:31-34; 26:1-2
“But He kept silent and did not answer. Again the high priest was questioning Him and said to Him, ‘Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?’ And Jesus said, ‘I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.’” Mark 14:61-62
“and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood—and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the might forever and ever. Amen. Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. Yes, amen.” Revelation 1:5-7
“Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. And His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters, and having in His right hand seven stars, and a sharp two-edged sword which comes out of His mouth, and His face was like the sun shining in its power. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, ‘Do not fear; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.’” Revelation 1:12-18
“Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. And another angel came out of the sanctuary, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sits on the cloud, ‘Put in Your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.’ Then He who sits on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.” Revelation 14:14-16
The NT also depict the risen Jesus as ruling in heaven over all creation on God’s own throne:
“So then, the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed.” Mark 16:19-20
“Men, brothers, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. And so, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to set one of the fruit of his body on his throne, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither forsaken to Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this which you both see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies as a footstool for Your feet.”’ Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.” Acts 2:29-36
“But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said, ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”” Acts 7:55-56
“and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe according to the working of the might of His strength, 20 which He worked in Christ, by raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, FAR ABOVE ALL rule and authority and power and dominion, and EVERY NAME that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put ALL THINGS in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head OVER ALL THINGS to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” Ephesians 1:19-23
“Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal of a good conscience to God—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.” 1 Peter 3:21-22
Remarkably, Jesus is seated in the very position which the Hebrew Bible ascribes to YHWH alone:
“Yahweh has established His throne in the heavens, And His kingdom rules over all.” Psalm 103:19
“The heavens are the heavens of Yahweh, But the earth He has given to the sons of men.” Psalm 115:16
Only YHWH sits enthroned in the heavens above, and yet Jesus is presented as being exalted to that status which YHWH does not grant to any creature:
“who is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power; who, having accomplished cleansing for sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high (en hypselois),” Hebrews 1:3
Paul, here, has employed the very words of the Greek version of the following Psalm to describe Jesus’ heavenly enthronement:
“Who is like Yahweh our God, The One who sits on high,” Psalm 113:5
“Who is as the Lord our God? who dwells in the high places (en hypselois).” Psalm 112:5 LXX
The Bible explains why Jesus has been elevated to this divine position of authority, which is not permitted for any creature. Christ is no mere human being, but is God Almighty who became flesh and now reigns forever as the God-Man.
This is what Isaiah foretold according to his prophecy which we cited earlier, where the prophet spoke of the Mighty God being born as a male child in order to rule upon David’s throne. And here is what the Psalmist wrote when mentioning a King who would reign as God forever and ever:
“Your throne, O God (elohim), is forever and ever; A scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of joy above Your companions.” Psalm 45:6-7
Hebrews applies this very Psalm to the risen Son of God:
“But of the Son He says, ‘Your throne, O God (ho theos), is forever and ever, And the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness above Your companions.’” Hebrews 1:8-9
Jesus is, therefore, YHWH God the Son that humbled himself to become a human being and who has now been exalted to his rightful position of authority:
“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:5-11 New International Version (NIV)
This explains why his own followers began worshiping and glorifying him as their Lord, God and Savior, being worthy to receive everlasting praise and honor:
“They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.” Romans 9:4-5 English Standard Version (ESV)
“Certainly you are aware of this: No immoral, impure, or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ, who is God (tou Christou kai theou).” Ephesian 5:5 EHV
“while we wait for the blessed hope, that is, the glorious appearance of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ (tou megalou theou kai soteros hemon ‘Iesou Christou). He gave himself for us, to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are his own chosen people, eager to do good works.” Titus 2:13-14 EHV
“Simeon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received the same kind of faith as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ (tou theou hemon kai soteros ‘Iesou Christou)… for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (tou kyriou hemon kai soteros ‘Iesou Christou) will be abundantly supplied to you.” 2 Peter 1:1, 11
“but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (tou kyriou hemon kai soteros ‘Iesou Christou). To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” 2 Peter 3:18
Unless stated otherwise, scriptural references taken from the Legacy Standard Bible (LSB).
“Yahweh shall reign forever and ever.” Exodus 15:18
“But Yahweh abides forever; He has established His throne for judgment,” Psalm 9:7
“Yahweh is King forever and ever; Nations have perished from His land.” Psalm 10:16
“Yahweh sat enthroned over the flood; Indeed, Yahweh sits as King forever.” Psalm 29:10
“God will hear and answer them—Even the one who sits enthroned from of old— Selah. Because they do not change, And do not fear God.” Psalm 55:19
“He rules by His might forever; His eyes keep watch on the nations; Let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah.” Psalm 66:7
“Yahweh reigns, He is clothed with majesty; Yahweh has clothed and girded Himself with strength; Indeed, the world is established, it will not be shaken. Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting.” Psalm 93:1-2
“But You, O Yahweh, abide forever, And the remembrance of Your name from generation to generation.” Psalm 102:12
“Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And Your dominion endures from generation to every generation.” Psalm 145:13
“Yahweh will reign forever, Your God, O Zion, from generation to generation. Praise Yah!” Psalm 146:10
“But Yahweh is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth quakes, And the nations cannot endure His indignation.” Jeremiah 10:10
“You, O Yahweh, sit enthroned forever; Your throne is from generation to generation.” Lamentations 5:19
“I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom, men are to fear and be in dread before the God of Daniel; For He is the living God and enduring forever, And His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed, And His dominion will be unto the end.” Daniel 6:26
The God-Man Who Rules Forever
This is where it gets interesting.
The prophet Isaiah foretold the birth of a Child who would reign on David’s throne as the Mighty God in the flesh, and who would shine forth from Galilee:
“But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in the land of the shadow of death, The light will shine on them… For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will accomplish this.” Isaiah 9:1-2, 6-7
Keep in mind that Isaiah calls YHWH the Mighty God in the very next chapter!
“Now it will be in that day, that the remnant of Israel and those of the house of Jacob who have escaped, will never again rely on the one who struck them, but will truly rely on Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel. A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.” Isaiah 10:20-21
According to the NT, Jesus is this Child born to rule upon David’s throne forever and who began ministering in/from Galilee, just as the prophet predicted:
“Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, ‘Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was very perplexed at this statement, and was pondering what kind of greeting this was. And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and there will be no end of His kingdom.’” Luke 1:26-33
“But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people. For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.’” Luke 2:10-11
“Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He departed into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth, He came and lived in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, in order that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled, saying, ‘The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light, And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, Upon them a Light dawned.’ From that time Jesus began to preach and say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” Matthew 4:12-17
Hence, Jesus is the Davidic Christ who rules for all eternity:
“Then the seventh angel sounded, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.’” Revelation 11:15
Isaiah wasn’t the only prophet who foresaw and spoke of a divine King whose kingdom would engulf the world. Note what Daniel wrote:
“You continued looking until a stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed all at the same time and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth… And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will cause a kingdom to rise up which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself stand forever. Inasmuch as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will happen in the future; so the dream is certain, and its interpretation is trustworthy.” Daniel 2:34-35, 44-45
This Stone which destroys all other kingdoms is none other than Christ himself:
“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers and elders of the people, if we are being examined today for a good deed done to a sick man, as to how this man has been saved from his sickness, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health. He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.’” Acts 4:8-12
“For no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 3:11
“if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord. And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 2:3-8
Daniel further sees a human figure who rules over all peoples forever and ever, and whom all nations and languages worship in the same way that they worship the Most High:
“I kept watching the night visions, and there, in the clouds of heaven, I saw one like a son of man coming. He came to the Ancient of Days, and he was brought before him. To him was given dominion, honor, and a kingdom. All peoples, nations, and languages will worship (yipelachun) him. His dominion is an eternal dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will not be destroyed… But the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under all the heavens will be given to the people, to the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an eternal kingdom, and all dominions will worship (yipelachun) and obey him.” Daniel 7:13-14, 27 Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)
Both Jesus and his followers identify Christ as this very heavenly, divine Son of Man:
“For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay each one according to his deeds. Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” Matthew 16:27-28
“‘But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom, which has been prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’… Now it happened that when Jesus had finished all these words, He said to His disciples, ‘You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is to be delivered over for crucifixion.’” Matthew 25:31-34; 26:1-2
“But He kept silent and did not answer. Again the high priest was questioning Him and said to Him, ‘Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?’ And Jesus said, ‘I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.’” Mark 14:61-62
“and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood—and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the might forever and ever. Amen. Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. Yes, amen.” Revelation 1:5-7
“Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. And His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters, and having in His right hand seven stars, and a sharp two-edged sword which comes out of His mouth, and His face was like the sun shining in its power. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, ‘Do not fear; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.’” Revelation 1:12-18
“Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. And another angel came out of the sanctuary, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sits on the cloud, ‘Put in Your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.’ Then He who sits on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.” Revelation 14:14-16
The NT also depict the risen Jesus as ruling in heaven over all creation on God’s own throne:
“So then, the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed.” Mark 16:19-20
“Men, brothers, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. And so, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to set one of the fruit of his body on his throne, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither forsaken to Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this which you both see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies as a footstool for Your feet.”’ Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.” Acts 2:29-36
“But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said, ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”” Acts 7:55-56
“and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe according to the working of the might of His strength, 20 which He worked in Christ, by raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, FAR ABOVE ALL rule and authority and power and dominion, and EVERY NAME that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put ALL THINGS in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head OVER ALL THINGS to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” Ephesians 1:19-23
“Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal of a good conscience to God—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.” 1 Peter 3:21-22
Remarkably, Jesus is seated in the very position which the Hebrew Bible ascribes to YHWH alone:
“Yahweh has established His throne in the heavens, And His kingdom rules over all.” Psalm 103:19
“The heavens are the heavens of Yahweh, But the earth He has given to the sons of men.” Psalm 115:16
Only YHWH sits enthroned in the heavens above, and yet Jesus is presented as being exalted to that status which YHWH does not grant to any creature:
“who is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power; who, having accomplished cleansing for sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high (en hypselois),” Hebrews 1:3
Paul, here, has employed the very words of the Greek version of the following Psalm to describe Jesus’ heavenly enthronement:
“Who is like Yahweh our God, The One who sits on high,” Psalm 113:5
“Who is as the Lord our God? who dwells in the high places (en hypselois).” Psalm 112:5 LXX
The Bible explains why Jesus has been elevated to this divine position of authority, which is not permitted for any creature. Christ is no mere human being, but is God Almighty who became flesh and now reigns forever as the God-Man.
This is what Isaiah foretold according to his prophecy which we cited earlier, where the prophet spoke of the Mighty God being born as a male child in order to rule upon David’s throne. And here is what the Psalmist wrote when mentioning a King who would reign as God forever and ever:
“Your throne, O God (elohim), is forever and ever; A scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of joy above Your companions.” Psalm 45:6-7
Hebrews applies this very Psalm to the risen Son of God:
“But of the Son He says, ‘Your throne, O God (ho theos), is forever and ever, And the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness above Your companions.’” Hebrews 1:8-9
Jesus is, therefore, YHWH God the Son that humbled himself to become a human being and who has now been exalted to his rightful position of authority:
“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:5-11 New International Version (NIV)
This explains why his own followers began worshiping and glorifying him as their Lord, God and Savior, being worthy to receive everlasting praise and honor:
“They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.” Romans 9:4-5 English Standard Version (ESV)
“Certainly you are aware of this: No immoral, impure, or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ, who is God (tou Christou kai theou).” Ephesian 5:5 EHV
“while we wait for the blessed hope, that is, the glorious appearance of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ (tou megalou theou kai soteros hemon ‘Iesou Christou). He gave himself for us, to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are his own chosen people, eager to do good works.” Titus 2:13-14 EHV
“Simeon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received the same kind of faith as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ (tou theou hemon kai soteros ‘Iesou Christou)… for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (tou kyriou hemon kai soteros ‘Iesou Christou) will be abundantly supplied to you.” 2 Peter 1:1, 11
“but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (tou kyriou hemon kai soteros ‘Iesou Christou). To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” 2 Peter 3:18
Unless stated otherwise, scriptural references taken from the Legacy Standard Bible (LSB).
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