In these days of increasing apostasy as to the Person of Christ, it is indeed refreshing to read the solid testimony of one who contended for the faith well over a century ago.
Early in the nineteenth century, Unitarianism appeared and became very articulate in the religious writings of New England leaders. God raised up an able champion against them in the person of Samuel Green (1792-1834), who wrote a most able defense of the truth of the deity of Christ. It was in the form of a pamphlet, printed and circulated (1848) by the American Tract Society of New York City, under the title,
"More than One Hundred Scriptural and Incontrovertible Arguments for Believing in the Supreme Divinity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
The present publishers have felt it would be timely to make this treatise available for use today in combating the fatal delusion of Arius (280-336 A.D.). His heresy in denying the deity of Christ caused a great schism in the Church, and the false doctrine has never been eradicated. While it was pushed with vigor a century ago, by the Unitarians, and is still held by them, its most active propagators today are Jehovah's. Witnesses. It is also currently found in Modernism of many denominations, and more subtly in Neo-orthodoxy. Accordingly, we present to our readers this reprint. We have felt free to make some slight changes in the text of this article, but such alterations in no way affect or color the author's basic thesis.
While we commend the author's able presentation of the
basic truth of the deity of Christ as co-joined with His humanity, we would caution our readers against any allowance of human ' speculation about the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ. To try to ferret out the mysteries of His Person or to seek to draw a line of demarcation between His deity and His humanity may only lead one into error or, at best, produce barrenness of soul. There is a verse which is important in this connection: "No man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him." Matt. 11:2727All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. (Matthew 11:27). The Son has revealed the Father, but it is not said that the Father reveals the Son. The statement stands, "No man knoweth the Son, but the Father." The mysteries of the Son of God, that One who was both God and man in one Person, are inscrutable. They are not to be known by the keenest human perception.
When Moses was in the presence of God at the burning bush, he was instructed, "Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet; for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." Exod. 3:55And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. (Exodus 3:5). Let us realize that when we are discussing the Person of the Lord Jesus we are treading on holy ground, and that the unshod foot of reverence alone becomes us. May we feed upon Him as the bread which came down from heaven (John 6:5656He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. (John 6:56)), and have God's thoughts about His Son (1 John 1:33That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:3)), and never allow any human speculation to enter into our thoughts or discussions of Him.
May the Lord be pleased to use the testimony of this servant as of one "who being dead yet speaketh."
(After this refutation of errors, with the presentation of positive truth, has been run serially in Christian Truth, we purpose, the Lord willing, to publish it in pamphlet form for wider distribution.)
Deity Of Christ
Inconsistency Of Unbelief
Do you say, I cannot comprehend God as existing in three persons—FATHER, SON, and HOLY SPIRIT? But can you comprehend His existence in one person? In what consists the unity of that Being who is personally present in millions of worlds at the same instant of time? Grant that He exists in perfect unity—what then? can you comprehend one of the attributes of this
infinite Being? Can you conceive of His eternity, that existence which had no beginning? Can you comprehend His omnipresence? or how He could create a world where before there was nothing?
You reply, Though I cannot explain these things, yet to represent God as existing in three persons is to represent Him as being wholly unlike any other being. True, He is unlike any other being, and this too in His eternity, self-existence, and omnipresence, as well as in His triune nature: "Canst thou by searching find out God?" Job 11:77Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? (Job 11:7). "To whom then will ye liken God?" Isa. 40:1818To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? (Isaiah 40:18). You say, there is so much more simplicity in the belief that He is one without any distinctions in the Godhead—but is there therefore more truth? Is simplicity in such a case evidence of truth? How various and incomprehensible the attributes of Deity! How complex and mysterious His works of creation and providence! You say, The terms Trinity and Trinitarianism are not found in the Bible. Where in the Bible are the words Unity and Unitarianism to be found? That is, in the sense of the Unitarian error which speaks of the "unity of God" to the denial of the deity and personality of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
But, you say, It is impossible that Christ should be both God and man. Why so? Do we not say of man that he is mortal and immortal? But he cannot be mortal and immortal in the same sense. No more is Christ God and man in the same sense. As to His divine nature, He is God; as to His human nature, He is man. Still you say, It is a great mystery, that God and man should be united in one person, and I cannot comprehend it. Your good sense, however, will not permit you to urge this as a reason why you should reject the truth. Are you not a mystery to yourself? Can you comprehend how a thought moves your arm? or how the blades of grass under your feet grow? or what are the properties of a single pebble you may take in your hand?
There is no more confusion or inconsistency in speaking of Christ sometimes as God, and other times as man, than in speaking of man sometimes as mortal, and other times as immortal. The humble Christian, in his seasons of near and holy communion with the Son of God, feels no difficulty on this point. Because we hear it said of man, "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou
return" (Gen. 3:1919In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. (Genesis 3:19)), we do not disbelieve those passages that speak of the spirit that shall "return unto God who gave it." Eccles. 12:77Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. (Ecclesiastes 12:7). Could a thousand texts be arrayed in an argument asserting expressly man's earthly origin and mortality—what then? Are not those likewise true which speak of the immortality of his spiritual existence? How then does proving the humanity of Christ disprove His deity? While in the humble form of a servant, assumed that He might make an atonement for our sins, what then is more natural than that He should be generally spoken of according to that humble form? Was not His humiliation real?
That He is truly man, we entertain not one doubt; and equally certain are we that He is the Word become flesh, God manifest in flesh. In His divine nature, He is God (not that we would try to separate His being, but rather bow in adoration). For this belief, we urge, among others, the following reasons.
THE WORD BECAME FLESH
1. Because there is no evidence to the contrary, a hundred arguments to prove that Jesus Christ is a man, and as a man inferior to the Father, do not prove that a superior and divine nature does not exist in alliance with the human.
"My Father is greater than I." John 14:2828Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I. (John 14:28). What does this prove but that which Trinitarians readily admit? that in His human nature and mediatorial office He is inferior to the Father. It surely was never intended to contradict another text, which declares that in His original divine nature He "thought it not robbery to be equal with God."
"But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father." Mark 13:3232But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. (Mark 13:32). This is a matter of course, if He be truly man. But does this disprove His deity? Man "fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not" (Job 14:22He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not. (Job 14:2)). Does this disprove man's immortality? Is it not expressly said of Christ, that He knoweth all things? and that He is to preside over all the decisions of judgment? He says (John 8:1515Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man. (John 8:15)), "I judge no man." Shall we thence infer that He is not to be the final judge?
"If He called them gods, unto whom the word of God came...; say ye of Him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?" John 10:35, 3635If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; 36Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? (John 10:35‑36). Some have alleged that the Savior here denies His deity. But how do His words bear such a construction? The Jews accused Him of making Himself God. He does not deny that in so speaking He made Himself God, but denies that He blasphemed, and this on a ground that might fully justify Him even in claiming the honors of deity; namely, that He was the Messiah, the Son of God, Immanuel. That the Jews did not consider Him as in the least receding from His lofty claims, is evident from the continued enmity that was manifested. See verse 39—"Therefore they sought again to take Him."
"Why callest thou Me good? there is none good but one, that is, God." Matt. 19:1717And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. (Matthew 19:17). The Savior's object seems to be to test the young man's view of Himself, whether he applied this significant epithet as a mere compliment, or in the exercise of faith in Him as Immanuel. "Why callest thou Me good?" Do you intend, indeed, to acknowledge My deity?
"All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth." Matt. 28:1818And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. (Matthew 28:18). As mediator, He acts in a subordinate capacity; the Father is the bestower, and He is the recipient; but then, could He be the recipient of all power in heaven and earth, unless He possess the attributes of deity to sustain and exercise it? A finite being who is the recipient of all power is a far greater mystery than the doctrine of the Trinity; it is a contradiction in terms.
Jesus was made "a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death." He was made lower for the accomplishment of a specific object—what was He originally? This is perfectly consistent with His being God, and "all the angels" being commanded to "worship Him." Ungrateful mortals, because you behold your Lord in the form of a servant, and suffering death for your redemption, will you take occasion from this very expression of His condescending love, to rob Him of His divine glories?
"To sit on My right hand, and on My left, is not Mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of My Father." Matt. 20:2323And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father. (Matthew 20:23). It is a sufficient explanation of this text to observe that our blessed Savior has elsewhere promised to bestow this very reward in His own right. "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne." Rev. 3:2121To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. (Revelation 3:21).
We have been surprised to see those texts which represent Christ as sent and instructed by the Father, and as offering prayer to Him., alleged over and over again as proof incontrovertible that He was not deity, whereas they are wholly irrelevant. If the Son of God actually took our nature (albeit, not in its sinful state), it was befitting Him in that condition, like a perfectly holy man, to pray and exhibit an example of obedience and submission, to seek not His own glory, but the glory of His Father. Nor were His prayers offered to Himself; there is not only a real distinction between the Father and the Son, as all allow, but it was the Son in human nature that prayed to the Father.
"This is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent." John 17:33And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. (John 17:3). In this and similar passages, the Father is called the only true God, in opposition to idols, and not to Christ or the Holy Spirit. Nothing is said which intimates that there are no personal distinctions in the Supreme Deity. And such passages were never intended to exclude the deity of Christ, because the Scriptures expressly call Him God, the true God, God, beside whom there is none else, as we shall hereafter see.
All these expressions of inferiority, therefore, relate to Him in His humanity, and in His official character as Savior. The kingdom which He is to resign is a mediatorial and inferior kingdom; His subjection to the Father, then to take place, is an official subjection. The tears which He shed were human. In short, was Christ's humiliation only in pretense, or was it real? If real, why should He not manifest it in words and actions? The question is not whether the Son of God appeared in human nature—this is admitted—but whether He possessed deity with which humanity was combined—a question in which the whole plan of salvation is essentially involved. Texts to prove the existence of His human nature we have seen adduced, but not one that even intimates that He did not possess a divine nature, or that in that divine nature He is inferior to the Father.