The Deity of Christ and the Resurrection of Christ - The Foundation of Our Faith

The Deity of Christ and the Resurrection of Christ – The Foundation of Our Faith

I want to discuss two of the most important Christian doctrines. They are the Deity of Christ and the Resurrection of Christ. Both of these doctrines are very crucial to one’s salvation and the foundation of our Christian faith.

It is very crucial to believe in the deity of Christ in order to be saved. Jesus said in John 8:24, “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am [He], you will die in your sins” (John 8:24). The word “He” in this verse is italicized and therefore is not in the original. In this verse, Jesus is claiming to be Yahweh, the “I AM” of the Old Testament (Exod. 3:14). Jesus states that if we do not believe Him to be God, the “I AM” of the Old Testament than we shall die in our sins.

The Deity of Christ is clearly seen throughout the Bible both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. The prophet Isaiah prophesied about Jesus hundreds of years before He was born. In Isaiah 9:6 he says: “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 (Isaiah 9:6). In this verse, Isaiah calls the coming Christ “Mighty God” and “Everlasting Father.” The prophet Micah mentions that Christ existed from all eternity. In Micah 5:2 he says, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.”

In the New Testament, the apostle John declares that Christ, the living Word was “in the beginning with God” and that He “was God” (John 1:1-2). Christ was the creator of all things “and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:3). In Genesis 1:1, we read that “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Yet we read in Colossians 1:16-17 that “By Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”

Doubting Thomas after seeing the resurrected Christ and seeing proofs of His resurrection, proclaimed the deity of Christ by saying: “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). The apostle Paul calls Christ “the eternally blessed God” (Rom. 9:5). In his first Epistle, John states that Christ is “the true God and eternal life” (1 John 5:20). Over and over, Christ in the Gospel of John claims to be God. In John 10:30 Jesus says, “I and My Father are one.” He told the Jews in John 8:58, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” Jesus told Philip: “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?” (John 14:9-10).

The Deity of Christ is one of the foundations of our Christian faith. If Jesus was not God but merely a human, then He could not save us from our sins. Only the sinless and spotless one can atone for sin. John the Baptist declares: “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). If you put your faith in Christ, He will give you eternal life and you shall never perish and no one will be able to snatch you out of His hand (John 10:28). Jesus declares: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Believing in the resurrection of Christ is also very crucial for one’s salvation. The Bible says: "That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" (Rom. 10:9-10).

The doctrine of the Resurrection of Christ is one of the foundation of our Christian faith. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:17 that, “If Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!” In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul declares the resurrection of Christ as a fact. He says: "For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve" (1 Cor. 15:3-5).

Christianity is the only religion that has a risen leader which proves that Christ is the only way to God and the only saviour. All the other leaders of the world’s religions are dead and are still in the grave. Muhammad, Buddha, and Confucius are dead and are still in the grave. But Christ, who is the second Person of the Trinity, overcame death. John the Baptist declares: “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4). Jesus told Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live” (John 11:25).

To the believer, the doctrine of the Resurrection of Christ is of great comfort. The believer ought not to fear death. “Death is swallowed up in victory” (1 Cor. 15:54). Death is not the end for the believer but it is our entry into eternity to be with Christ forevermore. John declares in his first epistle: “And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life” (1 John 2:25). Have you put your faith in Christ? The Bible says: “The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23).

In conclusion, I must greatly stress the importance of believing in the Deity of Christ and the Resurrection of Christ. If Christ was not God, then our salvation would not be eternal and secure. Only God can keep us and preserve us forever. If we do not believe in the resurrection of Christ, what hope do we have? This life would be all that there is. But Christ, has risen from the dead. The tomb could not keep Him! If you put your faith in Christ, then you shall live also and death will not be the end. Jesus said in John 14:19, “Because I live, you will live also.”