ISAIAH AND THE DEITY OF CHRIST

It has become popular in recent years to consider the divine nature of Christ as simply a doctrine invented by Christians long after Jesus’ death. In his blockbuster book The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown alleged that Jesus’ deity was concocted 300 years after His crucifixion (2003, pp. 233-234).

Jehovah’sWitnesses also frequently distribute literature espousing that Christ’s divine nature is a trumped-up teaching of men, rather than an actual doctrine of God (see “What Does...”, 1989, pp. 12-16). Although many New Testament passages could be consulted to demonstrate the deity of Christ (e.g., John 1:1-5,14; 20:28; Philippians 2:6; Hebrews 1:5-13; etc.), of particular interest is the fact that long before Jesus appeared on Earth in the form of man in the first century, the Old Testament prophet Isaiah foretold His Godhood.

In approximately 700 B.C., Isaiah prophesied about many things concerning the Christ. Hebrew scholar Risto Santala wrote: “The Messianic nature of the book of Isaiah is so clear that the oldest Jewish sources, the Targum, Midrash and Talmud, speak of the Messiah in connection with 62 separate verses” (1992, pp. 164-165), including Isaiah 9:6. “For unto us”, Isaiah foretold, “a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (9:6, emp. added). The Messiah, Isaiah wrote, would be not only the “Prince of Peace”, and the “Wonderful Counselor” (NASB), but also “Mighty God” and “Everlasting Father”. [NOTE: “The Targum elucidates this verse, saying: ‘His name has been from ancient times...’ and, regarding the ‘Everlasting Father’ part, that ‘the Messiah has been for ever’” (Santala, 1992, p. 196), or that He is “the Father of eternity” (see Jamieson, et al., 1997)]. What’s more, Isaiah also prophesied of the virgin birth of the Messiah, and that His name would be “Immanuel” (7:14), which means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23, emp. added). Why would Isaiah call the Messiah “Mighty God”, “Everlasting Father”, and “Immanuel”, if He was not God?

Interestingly, more than 100 years before Jesus allegedly was “made God” at the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325 (cf. Brown, pp. 233-234), Irenaeus quoted from Isaiah 9:6 and applied the divine names to Christ, Who “is Himself in His own right...God”.

...this is Christ, the Son of the living God. For I have shown from the Scriptures, that no one of the sons of Adam is as to everything, and absolutely, called God, or named Lord. But that He is Himself in His own right, beyond all men who ever lived, God, and Lord, and King Eternal, and the Incarnate Word, proclaimed by all the prophets, the apostles, and by the Spirit Himself, may be seen by all who have attained to even a small portion of the truth. Now, the Scriptures would not have testified these things of Him, if, like others, He had been a mere man. But that He had, beyond all others, in Himself that pre-eminent birth which is from the Most High Father, and also experienced that pre-eminent generation which is from the Virgin, the divine Scriptures do in both respects testify of Him: ...that He is the holy Lord, the Wonderful, the Counsellor, the Beautiful in appearance, and the Mighty God, coming on the clouds as the Judge of all men—all these things did the Scriptures prophesy of Him (Book III, Chapter 19, emp. added).

Isaiah not only referred explicitly to Jesus as “Mighty God” in 9:6, he also alluded to the Messiah’s divine nature in a prophecy about John the Baptizer in 40:3. “The voice of one that crieth, prepare ye in the wilderness the way of Jehovah; make level in the desert a highway for our God” (ASV, emp. added; cf. Malachi 3:1). According to the New Testament, this “preparer” (or forerunner) was John the Baptizer (John 1:23). He prepared the way for Jesus, as all four gospel accounts bear witness (Matthew 3:1-17; Mark 1:1-8; Luke 3:1-23; John 1:15-34). Notice that Isaiah wrote that John would prepare “the way of Jehovah...our God” (40:3, emp. added). Thus, Isaiah claimed that the Messiah is God.

Truly, long before the Christian age, even long before the birth of Christ, the prophet Isaiah provided inspired testimony of the nature of Christ. He is Jehovah, Mighty God, Immanuel (“God with us”), Everlasting Father, “the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End” (Revelation 1:8; cf. Isaiah 44:6).

REFERENCES

Brown, Dan (2003), The Da Vinci Code (New York: Doubleday).

Irenaeus (1973 reprint), “Irenaeus Against Heresies”, The Ante-Nicene Fathers (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans).

Jamieson, Robert, et al. (1997), Jamieson, Fausset, Brown Bible Commentary (Electronic Database: Biblesoft).

Santala, Risto (1992), The Messiah in the Old Testament: In the Light of Rabbinical Writings, trans. William Kinnaird (Jerusalem, Israel: Keren Ahvah Meshihit).

“What Does the Bible Say About God and Jesus?” (1989), Should You Believe in the Trinity? (Brooklyn, NY: Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society).

THE KING WHO BECAME POOR TO MAKE OTHERS RICH

“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes be became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich”—2 Corinthians 8:9.

It's absurd to suppose that all the worlds which on a cold winter's night make the heavens one great glitter are inhabitantless. There is a great world swung somewhere, vast beyond imagination, and that it is the headquarters of the universe, and the metropolis of immensity, and has a population in numbers vast beyond all statistics, and appointments of splendor beyond the capacity of canvas, or poem, or angel to describe, is as certain as the Bible is authentic. Perhaps some of the astronomers with their big telescopes have already caught a glimpse of it, not knowing what it is. We spell it with six letters, and pronounce it—HEAVEN.

A GLIMPSE OF HEAVEN

That is where Prince Jesus lived. He was the King's Son. It was the old homestead of eternity, and all its castles were as old as God. Not a frost had ever chilled the air. Not a tear had ever rolled down the cheek of one of its inhabitants. There had never been in it a headache, or a sideache, or a heartache. There had not been a funeral in the memory of the oldest inhabitant. There had never in all the land been woven a black veil, for there had never been anything to mourn over. The passage of millions of years had not wrinkled or crippled or bedimmed any of its citizens. All the people there were in a state of eternal adolescence.

What floral and pomological richness! Gardens of perpetual fruitage. Had some spirit from another world entered and asked: “What is sin? What is bereavement? What is sorrow? What is death?” the brightest of the intelligences would have failed to give definition, though to study the question there was silence in Heaven for half an hour.

The Prince of whom I spoke had honors, emoluments, acclamations, such as no other prince, celestial or terrestrial, ever enjoyed. As He passed the street, the inhabitants took from their brows garlands of white lilies and threw them in the way. When He entered any of the temples, all the worshipers arose and bowed in obeisance. In all the processions of the high days, He was the one who evoked the loudest welcome. Sometimes on foot, walking with the humblest of the land; but at other times, He took chariot, and among the 20,000 that David spoke of His was the swiftest and most flaming; or as when John described Him, He took white palfrey, with what prance of foot and arch of neck and roll of mane and gleam of eye is only dimly suggested in the Apocalypse. He was not like other princes, waiting for the Father to die and then take the throne.

When, a few years ago, an artist in Germany made a picture for the Royal Gallery, representing Emperor William on the throne and the Crown Prince as having one foot on the step of the throne, Emperor William ordered the picture changed, and said: “Let the Prince keep his foot off the throne till I leave it”.

THE WEALTH OF THE PRINCE

Already throned was the Heavenly Prince side by side with the Father. What a circle of dominion! What myriads of admirers! What unending round of glories! All the towers chimed the Prince's praises. Of all the inhabitants, from the center of the city on over the hills and clear down to the beach against which the ocean of immensity rolls its billows, the Prince was the acknowledged favorite. No wonder Paul says that “He was rich”.

Set all the diamonds of the earth in one sceptre, build all the palaces of the earth into one Alhambra, gather all the pearls of the sea in one diadem, put all the values of the earth in one coin, the aggregate would not express His affluence. Yes, Paul was right. Solomon had in gold $3,400,000,000; and in silver $5,145,001,885. But a greater than Solomon is here. Not the millionaire, but the quadrillionaire of Heaven. To describe His celestial surroundings the Bibles uses colors, gathering them in a rainbow over the throne and setting them as agate in the temple window and hoisting twelve of them into a wall from striped jasper at the base to transparent amethyst in the capstone, while between are green of emerald and snow of pearl and blue of sapphire and yellow of topaz and gray of chrysoprase and flame of jacinth. All the loveliness of landscape in foliage and river and rill, and all enchantment aquamarine, the sea of glass mingled with fire as the sun sinks in the Mediterranean. All the thrill of music, instrumental and vocal, harps, trumpets, doxologies. There stood the Prince, surrounded by those who had under their wings the velocity of millions of miles in a second, rich in love, rich in adoration, rich in power, rich in worship, rich in holiness, rich as God.

A FALLEN WORLD 

But one day there was a big disaster in a department of God's universe. A race fell! A world was in ruins! Our planet was the scene of a catastrophe. A globe was swinging out into darkness, with mountains and seas and islands —an awful centrifugal of sin seeming to overpower the beautiful centripetal of righteousness, and from it a groan reached Heaven. Such a sound had never been heard there. Plenty of sweet sounds were forever familiar, but never an outcry of distress or an echo of agony. At that one groan the Prince rose from all the blissful circumstances, started for the outer gate and descended into the night of this world—out of what a bright harbor into what rough sea!

“Stay with us”, cried angel after angel and potentate after potentate.

“No”, said the Prince. “I cannot stay; I must be off for that wreck of a world. I must stop that groan. I must hush that distress. I must fathom that woe. I must redeem those nations. Farewell, thrones and temples, companions cherubic, seraphic, archangelic! Excuse this absence, for I will come back again carrying one My shoulder the ransomed world. Till this is done I choose earthly scoff to heavenly acclamation and a cattle pen to a king's palace and the frigid zone of earth to the atmosphere of celestial radiance. I have no time to lose, for hark ye to the groan that grows mightier while I wait. Farewell! Farewell!”

CHRIST'S ARRIVAL ON EARTH

Was there ever a contrast so overpowering as that between the noonday of Christ's celestial departure and the midnight of His earthly arrival? Sure enough, the angels were out that night in the sky and especial meteors acts as escort, but all of that was from other worlds and not from this world. The earth made no demonstration of welcome. If one of the great princes of this world steps out at a depot, cheers resound, and the bands play, and the flags wave. But for the arrival of this missionary Prince of the skies not a torch flared, not a trumpet blew, not a plume fluttered. All the music and the pomp were overheard. Our world opened for Him nothing better than a barn door.

The Rajah of Cashmere sent to Victoria a bedstead of carved gold and a canopy that cost a million dollars; but the world had for the Prince of Heaven and earth a little of straw. The Crown jewels in the Tower of London amount to hundreds of millions of dollars; but this member of eternal royalty had nowhere to lay His head.

To know how poor He was, ask the camel drivers, ask the shepherds, ask Mary, ask the Three Wise Men of the East who afterward came there.

To know how poor He was, examine all the records of real estate in that Oriental country and see what vineyard or what house or what field He owned. Not one! Of what mortgage was He the mortgagee? Of what tenement was He the landlord? Of what lease was He the lessee? Who ever paid Him rent? He did not own the boat on which He sailed or the beast on which He rode or the pillow on which He slept. He had so little estate that in order to pay His tax He had to perform a miracle, putting the amount of the assessment in a fish's mouth and having it hauled ashore. And after His death, the world rushed in to take an inventory of His goods; and the entire aggregate was the garments He had worn—sleeping in them by night and traveling in them by day, bearing on them the dust of the highway and the saturation of the sea. Paul hit the mark when he said of the missionary Prince: “For your sakes he became poor!”

A CHILLING RECEPTION

The world could have treated Him better if it had so chosen. It had all the means for making His earthly condition more comfortable. Only a few years before, when General Pompey returned in triumph, he was greeted with arches and a costly column which celebrated the 12,000,000 people whom he killed or conquered; and he was allowed to wear his triumphal robe in the senate. The world had applause for imperial butchers, but buffeting for the Prince of Peace; plenty of golden chalices for the favoured to drink out of, but our Prince must put His lips to the bucket of the well by the roadside after He had begged for a drink.

Poor? Born in another man's barn and eating at another man's table and cruising the lake in another man's fishing smack and buried in another man's mausoleum. Our inspired authors wrote His biography; and innumerable lives of Christ have been published; but He composed His autobiography in the most compressed way when He said, “I have trodden the wine press alone”.

Poor in the estimation of nearly all the prosperous classes. They called Him Sabbath-breaker, wine-bibber, traitor, blasphemer, and ransacked the dictionary of opprobrium from lid to lid to express their detestation. I can think now of only two well-to-do men who espoused His cause, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea.

His friends for the most part were people who, in that climate where opthalmia or inflammation of the eyeball swept ever and anon as a scourge, had become blind, sick people who were anxious to get well, and troubled people in whose family there was someone dead or dying. If He had a purse at all, it was empty; or we would have heard what was done with the contents at the post-mortem.

Poor? The pigeon in the dovecote, the rabbit in its burrow, the silkworm in its cocoon, the bee in its hive is better provided for, better off, better sheltered. Ay, the brute creature has a home on earth, which Christ had not.

But the Crown Prince of all heavenly dominion had less than the raven, less than the chamois, for He was homeless. Ay, in the history of the universe there is no other instance of such coming down. Who can count the miles from the top of the throne to the bottom of the cross?

Cleopatra, giving a banquet to Anthony, took a pearl worth $100,000 and dissolved it in vinegar and swallowed it. But when our Prince, in His last hours, took the vinegar, in it had been dissolved all the pearls of His heavenly royalty. He descended until there was no other depth for Him to touch; He was troubled until there was no other harassment to suffer and poor until there was no other pauperism to endure. Billions of dollars are spent in wars to destroy men. Who will furnish the statistics of the value of that precious blood that was shed to save us?

THE GRACE OF GOD

One of John Bunyan's great books is entitled GRACE ABOUNDING. “It is all of grace that I am saved” has been on the lips of hundreds of dying Christians.

Oh! the height of it, the depth of it, the length of it, the breadth of it—the grace of God!

Mr. Fletcher had a pamphlet that pleased the king; and the king offered to compensate him. But Fletcher answered, “There is only one thing I want, and that is more grace”.

Yes, blood-bought readers, grace to live by and grace to die by. Grace that saved the publican, that saved Lydia, that saved the dying thief, that saved the jailer, that saved me. But the riches of that grace will not be fully understood until Heaven breaks in upon the soul. An old Scotchman, who had been a soldier in one of the European wars, was sick and dying in an American hospital. His one desire was to see Scotland, his old home, and once again walk the heather of the highlands and hear the bagpipes of the Scotch regiments. The night that the old Scotch soldier died, a young man, somewhat reckless but kindhearted, got a company of musicians to come and play under the old soldier's window; and among the instruments was a bagpipe. The instant that the musicians began, the dying man said: “What's that, what's that? Why, it's the regiment coming home. That's the tune, yes that's the tune. Thank God, I'm home once more!

“Bonny Scotland and Bonny Doon” were the last words he uttered as he passed up to the highlands of the better country.

When Artaxerxes was hunting, Tirebazus, who was attending him, showed the kind a rent in his garment. The king said: “How shall I mend it?”

“By giving it to me”, said Tirebazus.

Then the king gave him the robe, but commanded him never to wear it, as it would be inappropriate.

See the startling and comforting fact! While our Prince laid aside His heavenly garment, He not only allows us to wear it, but commands us to wear it; and it will become us well; and for the poverties of our spiritual state, we may put on the splendors of heavenly regalement. For our sakes! Oh, the personality of this grand salvation.

Not an abstraction, not an arch under which we walk to behold elaborate masonry, not an ice castle like that which Empress Elizabeth of Russia over a hundred years ago ordered constructed, but a Father's house with a wide hearth crackling a hearty welcome. Ours is a religion of warmth and inspiration and light and cheer; something we can take into our hearts and homes, our business and recreation, our joys and sorrows.

Not an unmanageable gift, like the galley presented to Ptolemy, which required 4,000 men to row and its draught of water was so great that it could not come near the shore; but something you can run up any stream of annoyance, however shallow; and it gives enrichment now, enrichment forever.

The seven wise men of Greece were chiefly known each for one apothegm: Solon for the saying “Know thyself”; Periander for the saying, “Nothing is impossible to industry”; Chilo for the saying, “Consider the end”; Thales for the saying, “Suretyship is the precursor of ruin”. And Paul, distinguished for a thousand utterances, might well afford to be memorable for the saying, “Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich”.

—TDT

ETERNAL QUESTIONS

Life is full of questions. Some are trivial, some more serious—and some tremendously important.

Even as you read these words you may have questions about your health, your financial situation, your job, your family or your future.

But the greatest, the eternal questions, are about God and your relationship to him. Nothing in life is more important than this. Good health, financial stability, secure employment, a contented family and a hopeful future are things that people want. Yet even these are temporary and eventually pointless unless you have a living relationship with God, one that is clear and certain—and that will last for ever.

In the following pages you will discover why such a relationship is so urgently needed—and how it is possible.

The questions that follow are the most serious and important that anyone could ask. The answers are those that everyone needs.

Please read these pages thoroughly and carefully—and if necessary more than once.

You cannot afford to miss their message.

IS ANYONE THERE?

This is the fundamental question. If God does not exist, searching for Him is pointless: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is (Hebrews 11:6). While it is impossible to ‘prove’ God in a mathematical sense, the evidence is very convincing.

Take the existence of the universe. To call it the result of an ‘accident’ raises many questions–and answers none. The same is true of the ‘Big Bang’ theory. Where, for instance, did the raw materials come from? Not even a ‘big bang’ can make something out of nothing! The evolutionary idea is widespread, but just as weak; how can ‘nothing’ evolve into ‘something’, let alone earth’s amazingly complex life forms?

All other theories are equally fragile. The only satisfactory explanation is this: In the beginning God created the heaven and earth (Genesis 1:1). Our world is not the random result of a gigantic fluke involving ingredients that were ‘always there’. Instead, the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear (Hebrews 11:3). Creation had a beginning, and it was God who brought it into being. For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast (Psalm 33:9).

This is reinforced by the amazing order and design seen everywhere and by the universal laws which hold everything together, from the vastness of outer space to microscopic organisms. But design demands a designer and laws a law-giver—and God is both! God made the world and all things therein, seeing he is Lord of heaven and earth (Acts 17:24).

But the strongest ‘creation evidence’ is man himself. Unlike other living creatures, man has something we call ‘personality’; he makes intelligent choices, has a conscience and can distinguish between right and wrong. He is capable of love and compassion. Above all, he has an instinct to worship. Where did he get these qualities? Neither evolution nor an avalanche of accidents could have produced them. The clearest answer is this: And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul (Genesis 2:7) Man is not an accident; he is fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14) by the Creator of the universe.

IS GOD SPEAKING?

The question is vital. Left to ourselves we are totally ignorant of God. Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? (Job 11:7) God is beyond our understanding and we need him to reveal himself to us.

Creation is one of the main ways in which he does so. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork (Psalm 19:1). The sheer size of the universe and its amazing balance, variety and beauty reveal a great deal about the God who made it. In creation God shows His stupendous power, awesome intelligence and brilliant imagination. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse (Romans 1:20).

When we communicate with one another we rely heavily on words. God also speaks to men through words—the words of the Bible. Nearly 4,000 times in the Old Testament alone (500 times in the first five books) you will find phrases like ‘the Lord spoke’, ‘the Lord commanded’ and ‘the Lord said’. This is why it is claimed that Scripture came not in old time by the will of man; but only men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost (2 Peter 1:21).

In no other literature can we find scores of clear and detailed prophecies made by men claiming to speak from God, and later fulfilled to the letter. The odds against this happening by chance are too vast to be taken seriously.

Then there is Bible’s impact on people’s lives. No other book has had such a life-changing power. Millions of people, over thousands of years, have proved by personal experience that the law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes (Psalm 19:7-8).

After 2,000 years no expert in any field has ever disapproved a single statement in the Bible. The reason is this: All scripture is given by inspiration of God (2 Timothy 3:16). We should therefore accept it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God (1 Thessalonians 2:13).

WHAT IS GOD LIKE?

This is obviously the next question to be faced. To acknowledge that God exists is one thing, and to acknowledge Him in the general sense that God speaks to us in creation and through the pages of the Bible is another. But we need to know more. What is God actually like?

The Bible gives us many clear and positive answers to this tremendously important question. Here are some of them.

God is personal. God is not a ‘thing’, power or influence. He thinks, feels, desires and acts in ways that show Him to be a living personal Being. But He is not just ‘the man upstairs’ or some kind of ‘superman’. But the LORD is the true God, He is the living God, and an everlasting king (Jeremiah 10:10).

God is one. There is only one true God. He says, I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is not God (Isaiah 44:6). Yet God has revealed Himself as a ‘trinity’ of three Persons—the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit, each of whom is truly, fully and equally God. The Bible speaks of the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:11); it says that the Word (Jesus Christ) was God (John 1:1); and it speaks of the Spirit of the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:18). While there is only one God, there are three Persons in the Godhead.

God is spirit. He has no physical dimensions. He does not have a body, nor does He have any characteristics that can be defined in terms of size and shape. God is a spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). This means that God is invisible. No man hath seen God (John 1:18). It also means that He is not confined to one place at a time, but is everywhere all the time: ‘Do not I fill the heaven and earth? saith the LORD’ (Jeremiah 23:24). Quite apart from anything else, this means that God is fully aware of everything that happens everywhere. This includes not only everything you do and say, but every thought that passes through your mind.

God is eternal. God has no beginning. In the Bible’s words, from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God (Deuteronomy 33:27). There never was a time when God did not exist and there never will be a time when He will not exist. God describes Himself as the one which is, and which was, and which is to come (Revelation 1:8). And He remains eternally the same: For I am the LORD, I change not (Malachi 3:6). All that God ever was He is still and always will be.

God is independent. Every other living being is dependent on people or thing, and ultimately on God—but God is totally independent of His creation. He can survive on His own. He is not worshipped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, seeing He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things (Acts 17:25).

God is holy. Glorious in holiness, fearful in praises (Exodus 15:11). There can be no comparison with the holiness of God. There is none holy as the LORD (1 Samuel 2:2) who is utterly without fault or defect. The Bible says of Him, Thou are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity (Habakkuk 1:13). And this holy God demands holiness from every one of us. His command to us today is: Be ye holy; for I am holy (1 Peter 1:16).

God is just. The Bible says that the LORD is a God of judgment (Isaiah 30: 18): and that righteousness and judgment are the habitation of His throne (Psalm 97:2). God is not only our creator and sustainer; He is also our Judge, rewarding and punishing, in time and eternity, with a justice that is perfect and beyond any appeal of dispute.

God is perfect. His knowledge is perfect. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do (Hebrews 4:13). God knows everything in the past, present and future, including all our thoughts, words and deeds. His wisdom is perfect and utterly beyond our understanding. O depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out! (Romans 11:33)

God is sovereign. He is the sole and supreme ruler of the universe, and nothing whatever is outside of his control. Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did hH in heaven, and in earth (Psalm 135:6). With God there are no accidents or surprises. He writes all the world’s history and worketh all things after the counsel of His own will (Ephesians 1:11). God needs no advice or consent for anything He chooses to do. Nor can anyone prevent Him doing what He pleases: none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest thou? (Daniel 4:35).

God is omnipotent. He is all-powerful. In His own words Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for Me? (Jeremiah 32:27) This does not mean that God can do anything (He cannot lie, or change, or make mistakes, or sin, or deny Himself) but that He can do anything He wishes consistent with His character.

These are just brief sketches of some of the things God has revealed in the Bible about His own nature and character. There are other truths about God in the Bible (and we will look at one of these on page 22) though there are many things about Him we cannot possibly understand. He doeth great things and unsearchable; marvelous things without number (Job 5:9). In that sense, we cannot find Him out (Job 37:23) and no amount of human intelligence or reasoning can change that. This should hardly surprise us. If we could understand God He would be unworthy of our fellowship.

WHO AM I?

The pressures and problems of modern living are driving many people to a restless search for meaning and purpose in life. We have seen something of who God is; what about us? Why do we exist? Why are we here? Does human life have any meaning or purpose?

The first thing to get clear is that man does not merely ‘exist’. He is more than accidental accumulation of atoms which all happen to fit together into a convenient package we call ‘a human being’. The Bible tells us the he was specifically created by a wise and holy God. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them (Genesis 1:27). Man is more than a highly developed animal or refined ape. He is as different from other creatures as animals are from vegetables and vegetables are from minerals. In terms of size, man is minute compared with the sun, moon and stars, but God has given him a unique and honored place in the universe.

This is seen in one of God’s first commands to man: Have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living creature that moveth upon the earth (Genesis 1:28). Man became God’s personal representative on earth, with authority over all other living creatures.

But man was also given special dignity. Being created ‘in the image of God’ does not mean that he was made the same size or shape as God (we have seen that God does not have ‘size’ or ‘shape’), nor that man was a miniature of God, possessing all his qualities in small quantities. It means that man was created as a spiritual, rational, moral and immortal being, with a nature that was perfect. In other words he was a true reflection of God’s holy character.

What is more, man gladly and constantly chose to obey all God’s commands and as result lived in perfect harmony with Him. Man had no ‘identity crisis’ then! He knew exactly who he was and why he was in the world, and he obediently took his God-given place.

But not only was man totally fulfilled and completely satisfied with his position in the world. God was satisfied with man! We know this because the Bible tells us that when his work of creation was complete, with man as its crowning glory, God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good (Genesis 1:31). At that point in history, perfect people lived in a perfect environment in a perfect relationship with each other and in perfect harmony with God.

That is hardly the situation today! What happened?

WHAT WENT WRONG?

The straightforward answer to the question is this: by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin (Romans 5:12).

The first man and woman (Adam and Eve) were given great freedom, but also one serious warning: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die (Genesis 2:17). This was an ideal test of man’s willingness to obey what God said simply because God said it. But the devil tempted Eve to disbelieve and disobey God’s words, and she did. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat (Genesis 3:6).

At the moment ‘sin entered the world’. By his deliberate disobedience man cut himself off from God. Instead of loving God, Adam and Eve were terrified of him: Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden (Genesis 3:8). Instead of being assured, confident and happy, their sin had made them ashamed, guilty and afraid.

But God had said that man would die if he disobeyed, and he did. Death means separation, and in one terrible moment man became separated from God; he died spiritually. He also began to die physically, and now had a dead soul and a dying body. But that was not all: the children of Adam and Eve inherited their corrupt nature and sinful character. From them on, like pollution at the source of a river, the poison of sin has flowed to all Adam’s descendants, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned (Romans 5:12).

Notice that important word ‘all’, which obviously includes the writer and the reader of this page. We may never meet on this earth, but we have this in common: we are sinners and we are dying. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8); and if we claim not to be dying we are being ridiculous. Fooling around with the facts does nothing to change them.

Many of today’s newspaper, television and radio headlines remind us of the fact that the world is in a mess. It is easy to condemn violence, injustice, disorder and wrongdoing in society, but before criticizing others ask yourself whether you are perfect and living a life pleasing to a holy God. Are you absolutely honest, pure, loving and selfless? God knows the answers to these questions—and so do you! For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). You are a sinner by birth, by nature, by practice and by choice, and you urgently need to face the facts—and the consequences.

IS SIN SERIOUS?

When disease is diagnosed, it is important to ask the question: ‘Is it serious?’ It is even more important to ask that question about the spiritual disease of sin. Many people will almost cheerfully admit to being sinners, because they have no idea what this means. They treat it as being ‘just human nature’, or they shelter behind the fact that ‘everybody does it’. But those statements dodge the real issue: is sin serous? Here are some of the things the Bible says about you as a sinner.

You are debased. This does not mean that you are as bad as you can possibly be, not that you are constantly committing every sin. Nor does it mean that you cannot tell right from wrong, or do things that are pleasant and helpful. But it does mean that sin has invaded every part of your nature and personality—your mind, will, affections, conscience, disposition and imagination. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperate wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). The root of your trouble is not what you do but what you are! You sin because you are sinner.

You are defiled. The Bible pill no punches here: For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornication, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, and evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness (Mark 7:21-22). Notice that list includes thoughts, words and actions. This shows that in God’s sight all sin is equally serious. Some people limit their idea of sin to things like murder, adultery and robbery, but the Bible makes it clear that we have no right to think of sin in this way. Sin is anything that fails to meet God’s perfect standards. Anything we say, think or do that is less than perfect is sin. Now face up to this question: Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin? (Proverbs 20:9) Can you? If not, you are defiled.

You are defiant. The Bible teaches that sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4); deliberate rebellion against God’s authority and law. No civil law forces you to lie, cheat, have impure thoughts, or sin in any other way. You choose to sin. You choose to break God’s holy law. You deliberately disobey him and that is serious, because God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day (Psalm 7:11). God can never be ‘soft’ about sin, and you can be sure that not even one sin will go unpunished.

Some small part of God’s punishment of sin comes in this life (though we may not recognize it). But the final punishment will be inflicted after death, when on the Day of Judgment every one of us shall give account of himself to God (Romans 14:12).

WHERE DO I GO FROM HERE?

There are many ideas about what happens when we die. Some say we are annihilated, some that we all go to heaven. Others believe in a place where sinful souls are prepared for heaven. But nothing in the Bible supports any of these ideas.

Instead, we read this: it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). Those in a right relationship with God will then be welcomed into heaven, to spend eternity in His glorious presence. All others will be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the LORD, and from the glory of His power (2 Thessalonians 1:9). The Bible’s most common word for this is ‘hell’. Here are four important truths about it:

Hell is factual. It is not something ‘invented by the church’. The Bible says more about hell than it does about heaven and leaves no doubt about its reality. It speaks of the damnation of hell (Matthew 23:33) and of those who will be cast into hell (Matthew 5:29).

Hell is fearful. It is described in the Bible as a place of torment (Luke 16:28): a furnace of fire (Matthew 13:42); a place of everlasting burnings (Isaiah 33:14) and unquenchable fire (Matthew 3:12). It is a place of suffering, with weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 22:13) and in which there is no rest day nor night (Revelation 14:11). These are terrible words, but they are true. Those in hell are cut off from all good, cursed by God and banished from even the smallest help or comfort that His presence brings.

Hell is final. All the roads to hell are one-way streets. There is no exit. Between hell and heaven there is a great gulf fixed (Luke 16:26). The horror, loneliness and agony of hell are not in order to purify but to punish—for ever!

Hell is fair. The Bible tells us that God will judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17:31) and He is perfectly just in sending sinners to hell. After all, He is giving them what they have chosen. They reject God here; He rejects them there. They choose to live ungodly lives; He confirms their choice—for ever. God can hardly be accused of injustice or unfairness!

In the light of these terrible truths, you need to think very carefully about a question once put to a group of people in the New Testament: how can ye escape the damnation of hell? (Matthew 23:33)

CAN RELIGION HELP?

Man has been called a religious animal. The Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics lists hundreds of ways in which men have tried to satisfy their religious longings and feelings. They have worshipped the sun, moon and stars; earth, fire and water; idols of wood, stone and metal; fish, birds and animals. They have worshipped countless gods and spirits which have been the products of their own perverted imagination. Others have attempted to worship the true God through a vast variety of sacrifices, ceremonies, sacraments and services. But ‘religion’, however sincere, can never solve man’s sin problem, for at least three reasons.

Religion can never satisfy God. Religion is man’s attempt to make himself right with God, but any such attempt is futile because even man’s best efforts are flawed and so are unacceptable to God. The Bible could not be clearer: all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). God demands perfection: religion fails to meet the demand.

Religion can never removed sin. Your virtues can never cancel out your vices. Good deeds can never removed bad ones. If a person gets right with God it is not of works, lest any man should boast (Ephesians 2:9). No religious efforts or experiences—christening, confirmation, baptism, holy communion, churchgoing, prayers, gifts, sacrifices of time and effort, Bible reading or anything else—can cancel out a single sin.

Religion can never change man’s sinful nature. A person’s behavior is not the problem, only the symptom. The heart of man’s problem is the problem of man’s heart, and by nature man’s heart is corrupt and depraved. Going to church and taking part in religious ceremonies may make you feel good, but they cannot make you good. Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one (Job 14:4)

Some of the religious activities mentioned above are obviously ‘good’ in themselves. For example, it is right to go to church, to read the Bible and to pray, because God tells us to do these things. But you dare not rely on them to make you right with God. Not only are they powerless to do so; trusting in them actually adds to your sin and to your condemnation.

IS THERE AN ANSWER?

Yes there is!—and God has provided it. The central message of the Bible is summed up in these words: For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

We saw earlier that a just and holy God must punish sin. But the Bible also tells us that God is love (1 John 4:8). While God hates sin He loves sinners and longs to forgive them. But how can a sinner be justly pardoned when God’s law demands his spiritual and physical death? Only God could solve that problem, and He did so in the person of Jesus Christ. The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world (1 John 4:14).

God the Son became a man by taking upon Himself human nature. Although Jesus became fully man, He remained fully God. The Bible says that in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9). He remained as completely God as if He had not become man; He became as completely man as if he were not God. Jesus Christ is therefore unique and the Bible confirms this in many ways. His conception was unique; He had no human father but was conceived in a virgin’s womb by the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit. His words were unique: people were astonished at his doctrine; for His word was with power (Luke 4:32). His miracles were unique: He went about healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people (Matthew 4:23); and on several occasions even raised the dead. His character was unique: He was tempted like as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15) so that God the Father could say of Him, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Matthew 3:17).

Notice the last sentence! This means that as a man Jesus kept the law of God in every part and therefore was not subject to sin’s double death penalty. Yet He was arrested on a trumped-up charge, sentenced on false evidence, and eventually crucified at Jerusalem. But His death was not a ‘freak’ or an unavoidable accident. It was all part of the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God (Acts 2:23). The Father sent the Son for the very purpose of paying sin’s death penalty, and Jesus willingly came. In his own words, the purpose of His coming into the world was to give His life a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28). His death, like His life, was unique.

This make it vital that you understand what happened when Jesus died, and what His death can mean to you.

WHY THE CROSS?

All the Bible’s teaching points to the death of Jesus. Neither his perfect life nor His marvelous teaching nor his powerful miracles are the focus of the Bible’s message. These are all important, but above all else Jesus came into the world to die. What makes His death so important? The answer is that He died as a Substitute, a Sin-bearer and a Saviour.

Jesus the Substitute. This demonstrates the love of God. Sinners are guilty, lost and helpless in the face of God’s holy law, which demands punishment for every sin. How can they possible escape God’s righteous wrath? The Bible’s answer is this: God commendeth His love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). As part of an amazing rescue plan God the Son volunteered to take the place of sinners and bear the just penalty for their sin. The sinless Son of God willingly suffered and died for them, the Just for the unjust (1 Peter 3:18).

Jesus the Sin-bearer. This demonstrates the holiness of God. There was nothing ‘faked’ about Christ’s death. The penalty for the sins of others was paid in full by the death of God’s sinless Son. As He hung on the cross He cried out: My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Mark 15:34). At that terrible moment God the Father turned his back on His beloved Son, who then endured the penalty of separation from God. Notice how this shows God’s perfect holiness. All sin, every sin, must be punished—and when Jesus took the place of sinners He became as accountable for their sins as if He had been responsible for them. The one man who lived a perfect life suffered the double death penalty of the guilty.

Jesus the Saviour. This demonstrates the power of God. Three days after His death, Christ was declared to be the Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:4). He showed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs (Acts 1:3) and Christ dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over Him (Romans 6:9). In raising Christ from the dead, God powerfully demonstrated that He accepted His death in the place of sinners as the full and perfect payment of sin’s penalty and as the basis on which He can offer a full and free pardon to those who would otherwise be doomed to spend eternity in hell.

But does all this apply to you? How can you get right with God? How can Christ become your Savior?

HOW CAN I BE SAVED?

Having read this far, do you genuinely want to be saved? Do you want to get right with God—whatever the cost or consequences? If not, you have not grasped the importance of the pages you have read. You should therefore read them again, slowly and carefully, asking God to show you the truth.

If God has shown you your need, and you do want to be saved, then you must have repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21).

You must repent. This means a complete change regarding sin. There must be a change of mind. You must admit that you are a sinner, a rebel against a holy and loving God. There must be a change of heart—genuine sorrow and shame at the vileness and filthiness of your sin. Then you must be willing to forsake it and change the direction of your life. God challenges people to do works meet for repentance (Acts 26:20). You must do this. God will not forgive any sin you are not willing to forsake. To repent is to go in a new direction, seeking wholeheartedly to live in a way that pleases God.

You must have faith in Christ. First of all, this means accepting that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16) and that Christ died for the ungodly (Romans 5:6). Secondly, it means believing that in His power and love Christ is able and willing to save you. Thirdly, it means actually putting your trust in Christ, relying upon Him and Him alone to make you right with God. Your proud, sinful nature will fight against abandoning trust in your own ‘goodness’ or religion. Yet you have no alternative. You must stop trusting in anything else and trust only in Christ, who is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him (Hebrews 7:25).

The Bible says that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved (Romans 10:9), and that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13). If you truly trust Christ as your Saviour and acknowledge Him as your Lord, you can claim these promises as your own. 

WHICH WAY NOW?

If you are now trusting in Christ there are many wonderful things in which you can rejoice. For instance, you are now in a right relationship with God: the Bible calls this being ‘justified’ and says that being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1). Through Christ, your sins have been dealt with: through His name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins (Acts 10:43). You are now a member of God’s family: all who trust in Christ are given the power to become the sons of God (John 1:12). You are eternally secure: there is now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). God Himself has come into your life in the person of the Holy Spirit: the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead (Romans 8:11) dwells in you. What great truths these are!

Now you need to grow in your spiritual life. Here are four important things to which you will need to give close attention.

Prayer. You are now able to speak to God as your Father, something you have never been able to do before. You can worship Him, praising Him for His glory, power, holiness and love. You can ask for daily forgiveness. Not even those who become children of God are perfect, but if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). You can thank Him every day for his goodness to you. There are so many things for which you will want to thank Him, including the everyday benefits of life that we can easily take for granted. But you will specially want to thank Him for saving you, for accepting you into His family, and for giving you eternal life. You should never find it difficult to do this! You can also ask for His help, strength and guidance in your own life and in the lives of others. In particular, you will want to pray for other people you know you are away from God as you once were.

Bible reading. In prayer, you speak to God; in the Bible, God speaks to you. It is therefore very important that you read it every day, to find out what is acceptable unto the Lord (Ephesians 5:10). As you do this, ask Him to enable you to understand its meaning and to obey its teaching, so that ye may grow thereby (1 Peter 2:2). If you need help in beginning to study the Bible, just reply to this post and we will help you.

Fellowship. Now that you have become a member of God’s family, He wants you to meet regularly with your brothers and sisters: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together,... but exhorting one another (Hebrews 10:25). This mean joining a local church, so make sure that you do this as soon as possible. Choosing the right church is not always easy, and you will want to find one which clearly believes and teaches the biblical truths you have been reading in these pages. We could help you. Email us using the Contact Form and we will reply to you without delay. In your local church you will find out more about God; you will benefit from the experience of others; you will learn the importance of God’s special directions about baptism and holy communion; and you will discover the joy of sharing with others the gifts and abilities God has given you. You need the church, and the church needs you!

Service. It will now be your privilege to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul (Deuteronomy 10:12). Always remember that God has saved us, and called us with an holy calling (2 Timothy 1:9). Make holiness an absolute priority; this is the will of God, even your sanctification (1 Thessalonians 4:3). Then, seek to use your particular gifts in God’s service; bear in mind that you were created in Christ Jesus unto good works (Ephesians 2:10). Finally, be alert for opportunities of telling others how great things the Lord hath done for thee (Mark 5:19). Telling others about Christ is not only the duty of those who trust Him, it is an exhilarating experience!

From now on seek to live in such a way that in every part of your life you should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9).

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