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Divinity of Christ, book by H. H. Pope Shenouda III

3- Christ Is a God

 

(A) Christ Is a God

(1) (Rom. 9:5): St. Paul the Apostle said in his discourse about the Jews: "and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God Amen. " The phrase 'over al' gives power to Christ's Divinity; He is not God of certain people only, as the pagan gods are. And the expression 'eternally' signifies the continuity of His worship and the infinity of His Divinity.

 

(2) (Jn. 20:28): When Thomas said to the Lord: "My Lord and my God!" the Lord Jesus Christ accepted the title and reproached Thomas for believing only after seeing when he should have believed without seeing.

 

St-Takla.org         Image: An icon of Jesus Christ sitting on the throne of glory surrounded in a symbolic form by the four apostles.In Christ’s left hand is a scroll, which bears a verse from the Bible. Inside the nimbus around Christ’s head is another verse from the Bible, surmounted with a third verse in red ink. The icon was created by Ibrahim and Uhanna the Armenian in 1464 Coptic calendar (1748 AD) - An icon at Alexandria Library, Egypt صورة: أيقونة تمثل السيد المسيح وهو جالس على عرش المجد ومحاط بطريقة رمزية بالأربع حواري. وفي اليد اليسرى للسيد المسيح لفافة من الورق تحمل مقطعًا من الإنجيل، ومحاط بلفافة أخرى من الورق بالحبر الأحمر. صنع الأيقونة إبراهيم وأوهان الأرمني عام 1464 بالتقويم القبطي (1748 ميلادية). - محفوظة في متحف المقتنيات في مكتبة الإسكندرية، مصر

St-Takla.org Image: An icon of Jesus Christ sitting on the throne of glory surrounded in a symbolic form by the four apostles.In Christ’s left hand is a scroll, which bears a verse from the Bible. Inside the nimbus around Christ’s head is another verse from the Bible, surmounted with a third verse in red ink. The icon was created by Ibrahim and Uhanna the Armenian in 1464 Coptic calendar (1748 AD) - An icon at Alexandria Library, Egypt

صورة في موقع الأنبا تكلا: أيقونة تمثل السيد المسيح وهو جالس على عرش المجد ومحاط بطريقة رمزية بالأربع حواري. وفي اليد اليسرى للسيد المسيح لفافة من الورق تحمل مقطعًا من الإنجيل، ومحاط بلفافة أخرى من الورق بالحبر الأحمر. صنع الأيقونة إبراهيم وأوهان الأرمني عام 1464 بالتقويم القبطي (1748 ميلادية). - محفوظة في متحف المقتنيات في مكتبة الإسكندرية، مصر

(3) (Jn. 1: 1): "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God " Although Jehovah's Witnesses, in their heterodoxy, say: 66 and the Word was a God", yet they do not deny the Divinity of Christ and consider Him second to Jehovah. In order not to enter into translation controversies with them, we say that their mere belief that He is a God leads to the fact that He is God, because there is only One God.

 

(4) (Matt. 1:23): The angel was referring to Isaiah's prophecy: "'Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel'. Which is translated, 'God with us"' (Is. 7:14). The fact that Christ is 'God with us' is an obvious profession of His Divinity. That is why the prophet Isaiah explains this meaning when he says:

 

(5) (Is. 9:6): "For unto us 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" (v.6). It is probably the phrase 'Mighty God in this verse that has made Jehovah's Witnesses say that Christ is a Mighty God, although in their opinion, He is not God. Strangely enough, this verse is from the Book of Isaiah in which the clauses: "I am the Lord and there is no other; there is no God besides Me" are repeated many times (Is.45:5,6,21,22).

 

(6) (Heb.1:7,8): When St. Paul the Apostle explained how the Lord Jesus Christ is greater than the angels, he said: "And of the angels He says: 'Who makes His angels spirits and His ministers aflame offire. 'But to the Son He says: 'Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. ' " St. Paul quoted this verse from Psalm 45, verse 6, where the reference to the Divinity of Christ is very clear.

 

(7) (1 Tim.3:16): "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory. " It is obvious, from this verse, that Christ is God who was manifested in the flesh, and we have discussed this issue before here on st-takla.org in other pages. But the heresy of Jehovah's Witnesses presents another translation: "Great is the mystery of godliness which was manifested in the flesh", which is incompatible with the continuation of the same verse. Because how could the mystery of godliness be seen by angels? Or how was it received up in glory? Was it not Christ who was seen by angels, ascended to heaven in glory, preached among the Gentiles and believed on in the world? However, the theological facts are not based upon one verse: (I Tim.3:16) is similar to another verse:

 

(8) (Col 2:9): St. Paul the Apostle says about the Lord Jesus Christ: "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." The phrase "all the fullness of the Godhead' adds to the power of this verse. If all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in the Lord Jesus Christ, then He lacks nothing and He is God, and there is no other God but Him, because there is nothing outside the fullness. The expression 'bodily' signifies that This Godhead took a body or was manifested in the flesh as the previous verse (1 Tim.3:16) explains, and as is explained in the following verse:

 

(9) (Acts 20:28): "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood" It is known that God is Spirit (Jn.4:24) and a spirit has no blood. So, God did not purchase the Church with His blood unless He had taken flesh and sacrificed His blood for her. Here, we reach the same meaning of "God was manifested in the flesh".


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