Jesus being God has always been a topic of discussion in the world after Jesus. It’s interesting to note that, as a Jewish rabbi, Jesus was accepted as an exceptional teacher by his fellow-Jews. But even those closest to him, including his closest disciples did not fully understand him. This helps us to understand how this subject could be one of serious debate three hundred years after his death and resurrection.

In the fourth century A.D., after Constantine gained power and allowed for Christians to assemble and work out their beliefs, they began to debate the nature of Jesus, his identity, and his connection to God the Father.

There were apposing views and beliefs about the deity of Jesus that actually brought Christians to the point of verbal and physical fights among one another.

To the Jew, the Messiah would not have to be God, but only a person anointed and chosen to lead God’s people. For Jews, King Saul and King David were two messiahs, for they were anointed and chosen to lead God’s people. This should help us to understand why this issue was not a topic of debate until Christianity was firmly in the depths of Western thought (modern scholars are discovering that the deity of Christ was actually accepted even in th first century A.D.).

As differing opinions of who Jesus was as the son of God began to surface, the universal church knew that there was a need to bring a systemized understanding among believers; this task was accomplished through councils. The first council was the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325, the second was the Council of Constantinople in A.D. 381, the third was the Council of Ephesus in A.D. 431, and finally the Council of Chalcedon was held in A.D. 451.

The major subjects of discussion among these councils included their understandings of the Trinity and Christology.

Christ’s deity was a matter of many discussions as some thought Jesus to be subordinate to the Father, while others thought of him as only appearing to be a man. Still others believed that the Christ came upon Jesus at his birth and left him before his death.

In the end, it was decided that God is One in those distinct and separate persons as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

God revealing himself to the world in the form of His son gave the world an opportunity to experience His word clarified through Jesus; God’s ways and will were exemplified as God himself called the world to follow him here on earth.

Jesus says to us,”Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17). In this passage Jesus uses the terms “abolish” and “fulfill”, which are used idiomatically in Hebrew as words meaning to “misinterpret” and “clearly interpret”. Jesus came to “clearly interpret” the Word of God, according to the Kingdom of Heaven. There is no clearer interpretation of God’s word lived out than for God himself to live it out before us in the form of his son Jesus.

The four councils from A.D. 325-451 allowed for the leaders of God’s people to articulate the truth of Jesus’ divinity for all of the ecclesia, which was justified by Jesus himself when he gave Peter the “Keys to the Kingdom” and the ability to “bind” and “lose”, more rabbinic idioms, which mean the leaders of the Church have Christ’s support in how they define the rights and wrongs of the Church (see Matthew 16:19). To “bind” and “lose” is literally translated, “to forbid and permit”. The leaders of the Church were given the authority to choose what would be forbidden and permitted as practices of believers; this would include the decision to form a canon (the books that would be included in the Bible).

Understanding that Jesus is God, just as the Father and the Holy Spirit are persons of God, gives us an understanding that the Messiah was more than just a Jewish man anointed and chosen to lead God’s people, as many had been before. But Jesus is God personified, calling himself to the task of leading His people into His Kingdom.

During the councils there were those who relegated Jesus to being less than God or a part of God, as Dr. Garth Rosell says, somewhat like an egg with three distinct parts, which are all part of an egg, but under close scrutiny the different parts of an egg are very different. Jesus is exactly God; He is the perfect image and form of God, not simply a part or portion of God.

He is God incarnate.

In His dust,
Johnny

© 2010 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved

Different generations express their loyalties in different ways and to different entities. Generations of the past were loyal to organizations and corporate entities. It is more common today to see people more loyal to people than to corporate structures. For example, decades ago, people were more likely to lift up the organization and insist that others do the same for the good of the organizations survival, which, in turn, will benefit the individuals. Today people are more likely to encourage an individual to leave an organization, if leaving will be more beneficial for the individual, even if the organization will lose a great employee or member.

For example, John Maxwell said that when he goes to many dying companies to help them grow, one of the focuses of his research is on how much the company invests in the education of its employees. Many who do not place an emphasis on education will respond, “We don’t want to invest in their education only to have them leave after they are educated.” To which John responds, “Would you prefer your employees not get educated and stay?”

Organizational loyalty also happens within denominations, where the members of a denomination prefer to lift up the denomination and preserve its traditions rather than place an emphasis on the benefits of people and their effective walk with Christ, even at the expense of denominational traditions and values. This is one reason why denominations are on a rapid decline all over the Western world.

Paul urged the believers in Philippi to stand firm together for their faith. They lived in a Roman city with citizens who were fiercely loyal to their citizenship and their emperor. In a city whose patriotism considered Jesus to be a traitor and Paul to be a threat worthy of imprisonment, the Philippian Christians were finding themselves in the midst of a horrifying reality—they may also be beaten, imprisoned, and even killed for their loyalty to another Lord, and another nation (see Philippians 3:20).

And what does Paul call them to do? Does he call them to stand up for their denomination? No. He calls them to stand together as citizens of heaven and for Christ.

It is not the “churches” that Paul left as a legacy to his faithfulness, but his devotion to building strong disciples. Whether they remained in Philippi or went off to become powerful teachers in Rome or Corinth, and whether they joined an existing congregation or began a brand new movement of faithful Christians, was not an interest of Paul. Paul was concerned with their faithfulness to Christ and to one another as believers, not as a denomination.

In order for believers to build strong and lasting Christian communities, the first order must be to invest in strong, lasting believers. If the organization is valued above the organizers, then the temptation will be to honor the structures and traditions above the believers. This will always end in confused loyalties and weakened values.

“Your exclusive concern should be to live as citizens worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Phi 1:27 MIT)

In His dust,
Johnny

© 2010 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved