The Theology of Christ
The Theology of Christ
Since the doctrine of the divinity of Christ is considered the foundational basis in Christianity, and because of its grave importance and its direct effect on the salvation of humanity, it was necessary for it to be a strong, solid, and steadfast doctrine—steadfast as God Himself—divinely inspired and revealed, and supported by many decisive proofs and conclusive evidences that admit no doubt, and in which every person—if not obstinate—can find rest and complete assurance. The most important principal evidences may be summarized as follows:
First: The prophecies of the prophets concerning the divinity of Christ before His coming by hundreds and thousands of years.
Second: The declaration of the Lord Christ concerning His divinity and the fulfillment of all the prophecies in His person.
Third: The testimony of the Holy Scripture concerning the exalted divine status of Christ above angels, prophets, and all humankind.
Fourth: The significance of the divine names and titles of Christ.
Fifth: The attributes of Christ are the attributes of God.
Sixth: The divine works of Christ by His own inherent authority.
Seventh: The confession of angels and demons to the divinity of Christ.
Eighth: The divine honor that is rendered to Christ.
Ninth: The testimony of history and personal experience.
The First Evidence
The prophecies of the prophets concerning the divinity of Christ before His coming by many centuries
Introduction: Truly spoken is the saying that if we were to disregard what is written in the Gospel, and even what is written in the entire New Testament about the Lord Christ, His divine person would still shine like the sun in the Old Testament—whether in symbolic references or in the words and the many astonishing, detailed prophetic utterances of the prophets concerning Him. We shall presently mention twelve examples as follows:
Any human being—no matter how great his status—cannot have the history of his life, his attributes, and his works known before his birth, but only after his birth, necessarily. It is self-evidently impossible to know any of that before he is born.
But the Lord Christ, to Him be glory, is the unique and singular exception to this rule. For we are able to read, by unanimous agreement in the prophecies of the prophets in the Old Testament, the history of His life in its most precise details, spoken by the Holy Spirit through their mouths, before His coming by hundreds and thousands of years.
They spoke in the spirit of prophecy about His miraculous birth from a virgin (Isa. 7:14; 9:6), the place of His birth (Mic. 5:2), and its timing (Dan. 9:24), and the signs accompanying it such as the appearance of the star (Num. 24:17).
They spoke of John the Baptist preparing the way before Him (Isa. 40:3; Mal. 3:1), and of the gifts of the Magi kings to Him (Ps. 72:10–11).
They spoke of King Herod’s massacre of the children of Bethlehem in order to destroy Him (Jer. 31:15).
They spoke of His movements between Palestine and Egypt (Hos. 11:2).
Then of His choosing His disciples and teaching in parables (Ps. 78:2).
They described Him as the Good Shepherd, as the everlasting righteousness, and as the Most Holy (Dan. 9:24).
As the Light of the world (Isa. 9:2; 6:1; Ps. 84:11; Ps. 27:1; Mal. 2:2).
As the Desire of all nations (Hag. 2:7).
As the Son of God, more excellent in beauty than the sons of men (Ps. 45; Ps. 80:15; Prov. 30:4; Ps. 2:7; Isa. 9:6).
As the Son of Man who sits upon the clouds, to whom all the peoples of the earth worship, and whose kingdom shall not pass away (Dan. 7:13–15).
As the Word of God (Ps. 107:20).
As the Wonderful Counselor and the Mighty God (Isa. 9:6).
As the Maker of salvation, the Redeemer of mankind, and the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, as we read also of His meekness, gentleness, and compassion (Isa. 41:1–4).
They spoke of His authority and His miracles, such as opening the eyes of the blind, healing the ears of the deaf, making the lame and the paralyzed leap like deer, and causing the tongues of the mute to sing (Isa. 35).
They spoke of the enjoyment of freedom by the servants of sin and the captives of Satan at His hands, and of the consolation of broken hearts (Isa. 61).
They spoke of His judging the poor of the people, of kings bowing down to Him, of His name enduring forever, and of the whole earth being filled with His glory (Ps. 72).
The prophecies also deal with a description of His sufferings, the betrayal of Judas for thirty pieces of silver, His unjust trials, and His complete silence before the judiciary and the rulers (Isa. 53); His scourging, the casting of lots for His garments, the mocking of Him, His crucifixion among transgressors and thieves, the offering of vinegar to Him in His thirst, the literal recording of three of His seven words on the cross, and His being pierced with a spear (Ps. 68; 31; 22; Zech. 12:10).
They spoke of His death while bearing the sins of humanity, the darkening of the sun at midday following His being lifted up on the cross, His burial in the tomb of a rich man, His resurrection from the dead on the third day, His ascension into heaven, His sitting at the right hand of the Father, and His second coming on the clouds of glory to judge the world, and so forth.
Is it conceivable that these prophecies could apply to a mere human being, whoever he may be?
And is it possible that all this multitude of prophets would unanimously concern themselves with foretelling more than one hundred astonishing prophecies, in different periods over one thousand five hundred years before the birth of Christ, whose subject matter objectively goes back to the beginning of creation, about a Savior and Redeemer of humanity—described with the perfection of attributes such as sinlessness, holiness, absolute power, creation, wisdom, justice, the ability to redeem the world, and eternal, everlasting existence everywhere—and then that promised person, the subject of these prophecies, should be a human being? Certainly not—absolutely not. For even the weakest of minds can immediately perceive that this promised person in the prophecies is none other than God Himself, and that God, in His wisdom, intended to prepare and ready the minds of human beings across generations, through the prophets and their prophecies, to receive the greatest event in existence—namely, His divine incarnation and His coming into the world to save humanity from sin, Satan, death, and eternal hell, and to restore it to the bliss of the first Paradise.
The subject of the prophecies is of great importance, because it shows that our doctrine concerning Christ is not a novelty, and that it did not even begin with His birth two thousand years ago.
Nor is it built upon inference, nor upon theories made by Christians, nor upon inventions of the apostles of Christ, the writers of the Gospels—so that it might be said of them that perhaps they were deceived or deceivers or exaggerators. No.
Rather, it was known beforehand, thousands of years before Christ came into the world, who the Christ was, or who the Christ would be—the One who would come from heaven in the fullness of time, in the form of a human being, to redeem humanity, and then return to heaven again.
There is no doubt that what greatly strengthens our faith is our verification that the issue of the divinity of Christ is firmly established, known, and recorded in the books of the Old Testament, before Christ was born, and before the apostles were born, or knew anything about the Lord Christ.
It goes without saying that the prophets could not have spoken all these prophecies concerning the divinity of Christ, before His coming into the world by thousands of years, without seeing Him or hearing Him, and then have all their wondrous prophecies be fulfilled with astonishing precision, unless God Himself was the One who inspired them and revealed this to them by the Holy Spirit.
Accordingly, it can be said that these prophecies, which decisively prove the divinity of Christ, are themselves what demonstrate the validity and truthfulness of the inspiration of the Holy Scripture from God, and its inerrancy from every error or alteration.
For human beings do not know the unseen or the future, nor can forty prophets and apostles, over sixteen hundred years, without any of them seeing another, agree upon prophecies that are fulfilled and realized literally, unless their source is God Almighty.
In this regard, the Apostle Peter says: “To Him all the prophets witness, that through His name whoever believes in Him will receive forgiveness of sins” (Acts 10:43).
He also says in another place: “For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. And so we have the prophetic word confirmed”—and in another translation: “And we have something more sure, the words of the prophets”—“which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place… knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:16–21).
Here we find that the Apostle Peter, after speaking about his personal testimony and what he saw with his own eyes on the Mount of Transfiguration, returns to confirm to the believers that there is a proof and testimony greater and more certain than his own testimony, one that inspires complete assurance and removes every doubt—namely, the testimony of the prophets in their prophetic words by the Holy Spirit concerning the divinity of Christ and His glory before His coming by many centuries, despite their not seeing Him or hearing Him, and yet they were in complete agreement with the apostles, the witnesses of sight and experience, concerning His divinity.
An article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III – Al-Keraza Magazine – Seventh Year (Issue No. 5), 30-1-1976.
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