The Deity of Christ
Belgic Confession • Sermon • Submitted
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Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
For to which of the angels did God ever say,
“You are my Son,
today I have begotten you”?
Or again,
“I will be to him a father,
and he shall be to me a son”?
And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,
“Let all God’s angels worship him.”
Of the angels he says,
“He makes his angels winds,
and his ministers a flame of fire.”
But of the Son he says,
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,
the 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 gladness beyond your companions.”
And,
“You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,
and the heavens are the work of your hands;
they will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment,
like a robe you will roll them up,
like a garment they will be changed.
But you are the same,
and your years will have no end.”
And to which of the angels has he ever said,
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?
Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?
Scripture: Hebrews 1:1-14
Belgic Confession: Article 10
Sermon Title: The Deity of Christ
It’s been a little while since we had heard from the Belgic Confession, but we have returned there this afternoon. There really are few topics in the Confession more fitting for us to be looking at during this Advent Christmas season. Just to review where we have been, the Belgic Confession began by looking at our belief that there is one God, and he has revealed himself. One of the ways, particularly important for our salvation, is the revelation through Scripture. Following a series on the Bible, the Confession turns its attention to God. Last time we looked at the big picture of the Trinity. Today, we zoom in on this section we professed together earlier, the Deity of Christ. I encourage you to keep your Bibles open as I’ll be referring to this passage throughout the message.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, if we can sum up briefly what “the deity of Christ” means, we are talking about him being God. Jesus has a divine nature, and we refer to him as the Son of God. He was not created by God the Father, but he is one with him and has existed for all the time that the Father has. If I had to guess, not too many of us really have cause to wrestle with that. I don’t say that to be arrogant nor to put anyone down if they do struggle with believing that Jesus is God, but in the church, particularly Reformed churches, this is one of the essentials of our faith.
While we may or may not struggle with it, others certainly do. People, both in churches as well as looking on, more often are attracted to the human nature side of Jesus. They view him in light of his actions on earth. Jesus was a teacher, a healer, a very good, even perfect man. It’s easier to comprehend and have a grasp on these types of things because they connect with our own lives. Others think of Jesus for the substance of his teachings. They attach his name to ideologies—this is what Jesus would have done, or this is what he wants us to do. Some of those are appropriate, but others make assumptions that are not truly clear. We might even find ourselves talking like this from time to time.
But when it comes to his God-ness or his divine nature, people can really struggle to comprehend that, and if effect, believe it. What does it mean that Jesus existed before he was born as a child? How do we really understand him as one with the Father and the Holy Spirit? Jesus might have died and rose again, even ascended, but how can we comprehend him coming back into this world and sitting as judge over all people? Sometimes the only way we deal with these kinds of questions is avoiding them. Let’s just think of Jesus as a Friend. We will give him credit when things go really well, but otherwise he is just a bit more important than an imaginary friend.
With some of these questions and others, it is difficult to wrap our minds around what it means for Jesus the Christ to be God. How can he possibly be something fully other with the fully human nature that was present when he lived as a man? We may not have a pure or complete grasp on the divine, and yet it is important that we hold on to this part of his character in our faith. To lose this or not view it as vital, may lead us down a path in which we disconnect Jesus from God the Father and the Holy Spirit. What I plan to do this afternoon is to use especially Hebrews 1 and today’s Article to help us have some understanding of what Jesus’ deity entails.
First of all, we find in verses 2 and 5 that Jesus is the Son of God. That term throughout history was used by some cultures in regards to their kings. As leaders, it was believed that they must have some connection to the mythical gods, that they had been chosen. Yet when it comes to Jesus, we see this being used in a much different way. Jesus was not just a chosen of God, but he is of the same essence as God. Who he is cannot be portioned in any neat way. This also has bearing on his being sent into the world, which helps us to see the persons of the Trinity.
The writer of Hebrews begins by engaging his readers about how they had come to know Christ or at least who he is. When we look at our Bibles, we find that much of the writings are from mere people, sinners, that God called and led to write out the history of his people, or their writings with the help of the Spirit were preserved because they point to God’s work in the world. Yet when Jesus came and lived and ministered on earth, he was not just a chosen spokesperson like everyone else. No, he was uniquely God.
This title entails then that he knows the ways, he knows the knowledge and the principles of what God desires. For Jesus to be the Son entails that they are of one essence but also both always existing. This title, then, captures that Christ’s deity factors into his earthly appearance. When we think of the annunciation to Mary of her pregnancy, the voice of God at Jesus’ baptism, of the transfiguration, of the ascension—all of these are scenes in which the divine came in unique ways to make known who Jesus was. He was God incarnate, God in the flesh, dwelling among us. We think of that name Emmanuel, God with us—Jesus is truly the embodiment of that. Understanding all this does not mean that Jesus did not experience the meanness, the lowliness, what is often called the condescension of becoming man. His divine nature did not relieve him of experiencing what we experience, but he was enabled to completely satisfy God’s will.
So first of all, the deity of Christ cannot be forgotten that we do not lose that he is also the Son of God. Secondly, the deity of Christ is important because through this we are drawn to worship him. Verse 3 states, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being…he [sits] at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” Verse 4 highlights that he has a superior name to the angels, whom God declares in verse 6 are to worship him. The other heavenly beings are below him. There is nothing light about this, nothing suggesting worship is a minor task that Christians should do for Jesus. No, we are drawn to things that are lofty, God establishing himself through his Son, receiving praise from the angels—we get to join in on that!
Jesus is not just a good role model for every person on earth, he is to be viewed as the one true God. When we think of the first and second commandments, God declared to his people, “You shall have no other gods before me, and you shall not make for yourselves an image…[to] bow down to them or worship them.” What we see is that there is to be no difference in who receives that worship between when we think of the Lord God and the person of Jesus. They are to be worshiped together.
Because it involves our participation this is vital for us to hold onto. We do not worship Jesus just because he lived a perfect life, or only because he did miracles including rising from the grave after being dead. But he was in existence in the beginning, he is God in every moment that God exists. He truly deserves worship simply because of his divine nature.
The third point this passage makes which continues to expand our understanding of Christ’s deity is that he reigns on the heavenly throne. Sitting on that throne also connects to his worship, but looking at verses 8, 11, and 12, we see this theme that God’s throne “will last for ever and ever…you remain [and] remain the same, and your years will never end.”
This morning in Corsica, we were looking at Isaiah 11, and that vision for which Jesus is the fulfillment of a new king, one who comes out of the lineage of Jesse and David. But he wasn’t the king that they expected who would sit on an earthly throne, hopefully overthrowing the Roman Empire. No, the kingdom of Jesus that he was sent to usher in would be and is different.
Paul describes the true reign of Jesus in Philippians 2 verses 9 through 11, “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 shall bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” That captures the connection of the Son of God to the Father. It captures the characteristic of Jesus being qualified for receiving worship.
But it is even bigger than those things. Jesus exists in the “highest place” and has “the name above every name.” The throne of Jesus was not just meant to be over one nation. It was not just to be one among many kingdoms. But he has been exalted over all, that one day, when Christ returns, all other allegiances will fall away and the true kingdom of God will take over. There is no one, no matter how powerful or rich or influential we might be, that can go over Jesus. There are also no commands that will be able to be given that are against his will and desires. Jesus one day will be known as the true King of Kings. He will receive the praise and honor due to him, and it shall never end.
So far we have covered that the deity of Christ involves him being the Son of God, that he is worthy of worship simply for who he is, and that he reigns on the eternal throne. The fourth and final piece that we will consider regarding his deity and its importance still today is that we are to view Christ as a creation participant. Just as we heard a bit earlier that there is no distinction needing to be made in worship in recognition between God the Father and Jesus, so it applies to who might be viewed as important “in the beginning.”
We commonly think of God the Father as the one who created all things. Article 8 even gives him the attributes of being the “cause, origin, and source of all things.” Yet we see throughout this lesson that the Son was living, present, and active as well—for through him all things were created. He was necessary in the creation of the world. Hebrews 1 verse 10 captures the words of Psalm and deems them to be related to Jesus. “In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.” While in our limited understanding we can’t perfectly articulate the roles and actions of each person in the Trinity, we can say that each person was necessary. God could not have created all things without Jesus.
We conclude this afternoon with a reminder of the final line of Article 10—“So then, he is the true eternal God, the Almighty, whom we invoke, worship, and serve.” Knowing all that we have heard this afternoon, and whatever else we may be familiar with about the deity of Christ, it’s not just to fill our heads. But having our faith developed should have an impact on the relationship we live out with God. All of this can help us better be able to call on him, to praise him, to bring our burdens before him, and to serve him. When we understand that the Son of God has existed through all of time and will continue to throughout eternity, we truly are able to trust him.