The Case for Christmas - Did Jesus Fulfil The Attributes of God? (part 3 of 4) - 17 December 2006

scripture focus

Luke 3:7-18

theme

the joy of christmas

summary

knowing that Jesus perfectly reveals God to us should fill us with joy incomparable

With the help of Lee Strobel, law-trained editor with the Chicago Tribune newspaper and author of “The Case for ...” series of books, we have been using insights from the art and science of investigation and jurisprudence to help us identify and appreciate better the identity of the child in the manger, whose birth two thousand years ago we continue to celebrate each year with the festivities of Christmas.

So far we have explored the trustworthiness of the eyewitness testimony to Jesus’ life and teaching which has been recorded in the biographies included in the Bible. We have found that those biographies —or “gospels” as they are more regularly called— are indeed trustworthy and accurate, to a high degree, as historical documents.

We have also explored the credibility of the testimony about Jesus by exploring the scientific evidence available. Indeed, archeology is a scientific tool used to ascertain the credibility of the biographies of Jesus by confirming the details recorded. Again, we have discovered that the biographies and letters of the New Testament are accurate as historical documents. Thus, we can be confident in their portrayal of Jesus, as well as the life and times in which he lived.

In this third part of this series, since we are confident of the compelling testimony about Jesus, we are going to consider the profile evidence. Indeed, profiling is an investigative tool we hear much about these days, particularly the myriad of television shows that incorporate profiling into their crime and punishment story-lines. According to Lee Strobel,

Ever since Scotland Yard first turned a witness’ recollections into a sketch of a murder suspect in 1889, forensic artists have played an important role in law enforcement. Today more than three hundred sketch artists work with U.S. police agencies.

Of course, he doesn’t even begin to mention the increasing prevalence of law enforcement agents in using the details of a crime to sketch a probable personality of the perpetrator.

“What does all this have to do with Jesus?”, you may be thinking. In Lee Strobel’s words,

The Old Testament provides numerous details about God that sketch out in great specificity what he’s like [...] Now, Jesus claims to be the Son of God. But does he fulfil these characteristics of deity?

Jesus, and his biographers, claimed to be God. We may reasonably dismiss his claim if he does not, in fact, fit the sketch of what we know God’s nature to be. For instance,

God is described as omnipresent, or existing everywhere in the universe; as omniscient, or knowing everything that can be known throughout eternity; as omnipotent, or all-powerful; as eternal, or being both beyond time and the source of all time; and as immutable, or unchanging in his attributes. He’s loving, he’s holy, he’s righteous, he’s wise, he’s just.

If Jesus were all these things, then he would perfectly reveal God to us because he would be, in fact, God. I don’t know about you, but that realisation fills my heart with joy. Knowing that Jesus is God confirms to me that God is intimately concerned with my life, and so much so that he would condescend to dwell here on earth with sinful humanity. Such a God “does not deal with us according to our sins” (Ps. 103:10),

but desires to be in relationship with us and will do whatever it takes to be in relationship with us. He even sent his son to be born in a manger and angels to bring us this “good news of great joy for all the people” (Lk. 2:10).

To determine whether or not Jesus exhibited the attributes that we know of God, Lee Strobel interviewed Dr. Donald Carson, research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He has written or edited more than forty books, and earned his doctorate at Cambridge University.

1. Lee began his interview with Dr. Carson by asking what convinces him that Jesus is divine.

“One could point to such things as his miracles, but other people have done miracles, so while this may be indicative, it’s not decisive. Of course, the resurrection was the ultimate vindication of his identity. But of the many things he did, one of the most striking to me is his forgiving of sin [...] The only person who can [forgive sin] is God himself, because sin, even if it is against other people, is first and foremost a defiance of God and his laws.”

It was on this point that Jesus got himself into so much trouble. In the gospel of Mark, Jesus healed a paralytic man, who was let down into Jesus’ midst through a hole in the roof by his friends, by forgiving his sins (Mk. 2:1ff). Of course, the gathered administrators ask, “Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (:7) Through such behaviour and such talk, Jesus claimed to be God, not just to be one who taught about him.

During a debate with local scholars and religious leaders, Jesus asked, “Which of you convicts me of sin?” (Jn. 8:46) He is here, as in other places, claiming to be without sin. Who can do such but God? If I were to make such a claim, I would be naive to not expect my family and friends to not recount tales of when I have been less than godly. Yet, Jesus makes such a claim confidently and no one challenges him on this point.

Although moral perfection and the forgiveness of sin are undoubtedly characteristics of deity, there are several additional attributes that Jesus must fulfil if he is to match the sketch of God.

3. While God is omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, how do we reconcile that Jesus the man seems to be none of these?

Jesus certainly could not be in two places at once; he admits that not even he knows when he will return for the final judgment (Mt. 24:36); and, he was unable to do many miracles in his hometown (Mt. 13:58). These are all signs that suggest the omni- attributes of God were not fully present in Jesus. This problem has troubled theologians for centuries.

They are questions of the nature of Jesus’ incarnation. As Dr. Carson identified,

“All the confessional statements have insisted that both Jesus’ humanity and his deity remained distinct, yet they combined in one person.”

While, in some places, the Bible seems to argue against Jesus’ deity, in other places, it is affirmed without question:

• Omniscience? In John 16:30 the apostle John affirms of Jesus, “Now we can see that you know all things [...]”

• Omnipresence? Jesus said in Matthew 28:20, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age”.

• Omnipotent? “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me”, Jesus said in Matthew 28:18.

These questions have no simple answers. After all, they strike at the very heart of the incarnation, which is what Christmas is all about —God becoming man, spirit taking on flesh, the infinite entering the finite, the eternal becoming time-bound.

While the incarnation is a troubling mystery of the gospel, the testimony about Jesus is consistent, as is the teaching based on that testimony: Jesus was fully God and fully man. Praise be to God!

4. There is no question that “God is an uncreated being who has existed from eternity past” (cf. Isa 57:15).

But there are some verses, like John 3:16 and Colossians 1:15, that suggest that Jesus was created.

Considering first the phrase of John 3:16 translated as “only-begotten son” in the King James Version and “one and only son” in the New International Version, we discover that there are sometimes nuances in translation which convey subtle differences depending on the translator’s approach to a passage. John 3:16 is an important passage of scripture. Dr. Carson, an expert in Greek grammar, highlights that the Greek word monogenē, although translated as “begotten” in the KJV, is better rendered as “unique one”, or “unique and beloved” when compared to contemporary usage.

The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament agrees when it states,

In compounds with genē, adverbs describe the nature rather than the source of derivation. Hence monogenē is used for the only child. More generally it means “unique” or “incomparable.”

The problem is that the apostle John elsewhere uses language connotational of birth in referring to Jesus (cf. 1 Jn. 5:18). Overall, John is trying to highlight for his readers that all Christians are part of the family of God, but that Jesus enjoys a much higher relationship with God, which acts as a symbol for our relationship. There is no doubt for John that “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (Jn 1:1), but “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” (:14). The metaphor of a father to a son describes something of God’s relationship with Jesus as well as God’s relationship with us.

Colossians 1:15 is similarly difficult, when the apostle Paul describes Jesus as, “the firstborn of all creation” (cf. Rom. 8:29). We assume that implies Jesus came into being after God. Yet, as Dr. Carson points out, “the firstborn [...] was the one ultimately with all the rights of the father”.

Thus, the word prōtótokos of Colossians 1:15 is more of a reference to succession and inheritance, than of origin.

We can support this translation by highlighting that the same author also describes of Jesus that “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Col. 2:9). Paul was nothing but consistent in his theology. “The term firstborn cannot exclude Jesus’ eternality, since that is part of what it means to possess the fulness of the divine.”

Again, we see that the testimony of Jesus is forthright is attributing to Jesus the characteristics of God:

• Eternality? John 1:1 declares of Jesus, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

• Immutability? Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever”.

Also, the Old Testament paints a portrait of God by using such titles and descriptions as Alpha and Omega, Lord, Saviour, King, Judge, Light, Rock, Redeemer, Shepherd, Creator, giver of Life, forgiver of sin, and speaker with divine authority. It’s fascinating to note that in the New Testament each and every one is applied to Jesus.

Religion guides us in experiencing and appreciating the divine reality that exists all around. How can we presume to comprehend something so far beyond our imagination? Yet, Jesus said, “If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him” (Jn 14:7). Wow ... can you begin to imagine and grasp the implications of that statement? Perhaps not. Indeed, God is a mystery, but in his mystery he wants to be known and has revealed himself to us.

The companions of Jesus also struggled to appreciate the fulness of Jesus’ nature, teaching, and ministry. Insofar as we do not understand the incarnation, we know, without a doubt, that was the consistent testimony of Jesus’ biographers: He perfectly revealed God because he was/is God!

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son” (Jn. 3:16a). Jesus reveals God and reveals God’s love for us. What joy there this Christmas in knowing and celebrating the birth of Jesus because “everyone who believes in him [will] not perish but [will] have eternal life”.

sermon delivered by Ian Forest-Jones
at Hurstville Church of Christ
on Sunday, 17 December 2006 at 10am
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