The nature of Christ is one of the most fundamental aspects of the gospel message. Scripture teaches that within His one person Christ possessed both a divine and human nature. His divine nature has no beginning, being from eternity. His human nature began when Christ was conceived by the Holy Ghost in the virgin Mary.
For the believer, Christ’s divinity ensures that His sacrifice was sufficient. The ransom of a soul is costly—such a price is divine blood! The solution to the infinitude of sin was the infinite value of Christ’s obedience—infinite because of Christ’s divine nature. His sacrifice was of everlasting efficacy because He is the everlasting God.
Scripture presents many proofs of Christ’s divinity:
- Scripture attests His divinity (Matt. 1:23; Phil. 2:5–11; Titus 2:13; Heb. 1:8).
- God the Father attests Christ’s divinity (Matt. 3:17; 17:5; Mark 9:7; 2 Peter 1:17).
- Christ Himself claims divinity. He claims to be one with the Father (John 10:30, 38) as the Son of God (Mark 14:61–62).
- Various other persons testify that Jesus is God, such as Thomas (John 20:28); Peter (Matt. 16:16); Paul (Acts 9:5); and even devils (Matt. 8:29).
- Jesus attests His transcendence over men and angels. He transcends Jonah and Solomon (Matt. 12:41ff; Luke 11:31ff), Moses and Elijah (Matt. 17:3; Mark 9:4), David (Mark 12:36), and John the Baptist (Matt. 11:11); and Christ is superior to angels, who are His servants (Matt. 4:11; Mark 1:13), His army (Matt. 26:53), and those who do His will (Matt. 16:27; 25:31; Mark 8:38).
- Attributes of God are ascribed to Jesus, such as eternity (John 8:58), omnipotence (Rev. 1:8), omnipresence (John 1:48), omniscience (John 2:25), and immutability (Heb. 13:8).
- He is given honor that is only given to God, such as divine baptism (Matt. 28:19), divine benediction (2 Cor. 13:14), divine worship (Heb. 1:6), and divine honor (John 5:23).
- He performs divine tasks, such as forgiveness of sins (Mark 2:10–12), creation (John 1:3), providence (John 5:17), resurrection and judgment (John 5:22), preservation (John 10:28), and redemption and grace (Eph. 1:7).
- He makes divine demands, such as faith in His person (John 14:1; 5:24; 6:40; 8:51) and supreme love (Matt. 10:37, 39; Luke 17:33). He accepts religious worship (Matt. 8:2; 9:18; 14:33; 15:25).
- He is given the names of God: Mighty God and Everlasting Father (Isa. 9:6), the Lord our Righteousness (Jer. 23:6), Lord and God (John 20:28), God blessed forever (Rom. 9:5), Lord of all (Acts 10:36), and true God and eternal life (1 John 5:20).
There are five reasons why Christ must be truly God:
- For the burden that had to be sustained and the battle that had to be fought, He needed divine power to be able to lay down and take up His own life.
- His divinity was necessary to obtain infinite value for His satisfaction to divine justice.
- Christ’s divinity allowed Him to merit everlasting righteousness.
- He needed to be divine to be able to apply the salvation He has merited.
- He must be divine to be an object worthy of our worship.
Thomas Watson in his sermon, “Christ the Mediator of the Covenant,” outlined four applications to the believer’s life of this doctrine of Christ’ divinity .
Use 1: Admire the glory of this God-man. Watson advised us to see Christ’s “Godhead shining through the manhood” (Rev. 1:16). Worship Him in the beauty of His holiness (Ps. 96:9)!
Use 2: Because Christ is divine, the believer must look to Christ alone for salvation. His divinity wrought the righteousness required for salvation. Watson said, “If we could weep rivers of tears, out-fast Moses on the mount, if we were exact moralists, touching the law blameless, if we could arrive at the highest degree of sanctification in this life, all this would not save us, without looking to the merits of him who is God.” Look unto Jesus (Heb. 12:2)!
Use 3: Because He is divine and human in one person, believers can have great comfort in knowing they are closely united to Him. Watson wrote, “All that Christ in either of his natures can do for believers, he will do.” “Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength” (Isa. 26:4).
Use 4: Marvel at the love of Christ, who humbled Himself, though He was equal with God, to become obedient unto death. Believers should embrace Christ as their heavenly husband (Song 1:13). Watson said that every believer “should have Jesus Christ written in his heart.”
