What Are the Claims of Christ?

Many Christians, mostly Evangelicals, speak of “the claims of Christ.” They usually mean that Jesus claimed things about his identity that are recorded in the New Testament (NT) people, called “traditionalists,” assert that the greatest claim Jesus ever made about himself was that he was God. But NT evidence reveals that this is their claim, not that of Jesus. Strong traditionalist Brian Hebblethwaite concedes, “it is no longer possible to defend the divinity of Jesus by reference to the claims of Jesus.”

Indeed, NT support for Jesus claiming to be God is extremely thin. In fact, there isn’t anything in the four NT gospels in which Jesus says expressly that he is God, such as, “I am God” or the like. And the main verse traditionalists cite is John 10:30, in which Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.” They interpret “one” to mean one in essence, so that the Father and the Son are two Persons but essentially one God.

On the contrary, Jesus meant no more than that he and the Father were united in relationship and purpose. This is confirmed in Jesus’ prayer in John 17. In it, five times he uses the word “one,” which is hen in the Greek NT. He asked the Father concerning his disciples, “that they may (all) be one, even/just as We are one” (vv. 11, 22, cf. 21). If Jesus meant in John 10:30 that he and the Father were essentially one, then he must have meant the same here, that he and his disciples were organically one, which is ludicrous. Besides, Jesus explained he meant “that they may be perfected in unity” (v. 23).

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Author: Kermit Zarley

Keywords: Trinity, Triunity, Trinitarianism, Trinitarian, Arianism, Arian, Three in one, Three gods, Three gods one person, Arius, Arias, Nicene Creed, Nicaea, Nicea, Athanasian Creed, Athanasius, Father son holy spirit, Father son holy ghost, Triune, Three persons in one God, Socinian, Socinianism, Socinian heresy, Jesus God, God the Son, Nicene, Nicean Creed, Council of Nicaea, Council of Nicea, homoiousios, Homoousios, Homoiousian

Bible reference(s): Matthew 9:8, Matthew 16:16, Matthew 21:24, Matthew 28:18, Luk 22:67, John 1:49, Joh 5:18-19, Joh 5:21-27, Joh 5:39, Joh 8:12, Joh 8:14, Joh 8:24-25, Joh 8:28, Joh 10:24, John 10:30, John 10:33-36, John 11:27, Joh 13:13, John 17:2

Source: “What Are the Claims of Christ?” The Restitution of Jesus Christ, 2008.

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