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Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate
Bishopric of Youth Bookstore

FIVE PROOFS OF THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST
(Number 10)

HG Bishop Moussa

Bishop of Youth

Five Proofs of the Divinity of Christ
Ever since our Lord descended to us and took our human nature, Satan has tried hard to cast doubt on the wonderful mystery of the Incarnation.

Although a thousand heresies have attempted to deny the divinity of the Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ, to Him be all glory was "declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." (Rom. 1: 4).
A short article such as this one is not adequate for this important subject, but is only a simple introduction we present to our blessed youth, after which we direct them to the writings of the church and of the fathers which are full of explanations of this important mystery.

Introduction:
We do not elevate a man called Jesus to the level of a god, but, on the contrary, we believe in the Person of the Word Who condescended to take our flesh and to appear to us in the person of Jesus Christ. The Lord is not a man we are trying to deify and worship, but He is God Who condescended and appeared to us in the flesh.

Therefore, all the efforts of the opponents of Christianity to prove the humanity of Christ do not harm us in any way. On the contrary, we believe that our Christ is the Word made flesh, perfect Divinity and perfect humanity united in one nature.

When Eutychus tried to dissolve the humble human nature in the glorious divinity saying that the body of Christ was merely ephemeral, the Church excommunicated him.

We differ from them in our belief that the humanity of our Lord was without sin, whereas they expend their energy in a desperate attempt to distort this image that is purer than the sun with imaginings prompted by their impure thoughts. Christ is holy and without sin; His enemies witness to that.

The real human nature that is tired, hungry, and sleeps is a basic purpose of the Incarnation. How can Christ represent humanity if He does not take its nature and how can salvation be accomplished unless the Lord conceals His divinity in the
humility of humanity. Otherwise, man would not have crucified Him and we would have lost our salvation!

The problem is not that Christ is perfect humanity; we believe this. The problem resides in the question: Is this perfect human the true God at one and the same time?

The answer is: Definitely, He is Incarnate God. And these are some of the proofs.

The First Proof: 'His Infinite Holiness':

1. Our glorious Lord lived among us without sin, for He is "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate form sinners, and has become higher than the heavens" (Heb. 7: 26), "Who knew no sin" (2 Cor. 5: 21), and He once defied the Jews saying: "Which of you convicts Me of sin?"(Jn. 8: 46). Their mouths were then closed and their tongues tied.
2. All the prophets and apostles "have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3: 23), for "There is none righteous, no not one" (Rom. 3: 10). Even righteous David, of whose heart the scriptures say that it was after God's own heart, says: "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me" (Ps. 51: 5).

Therefore, although Christ is perfect humanity, he is without sin since the Holy Spirit had purified the matter that the Person of the Word took from the body of the pure Virgin Mary to be His flesh.
Long ago, Pascal said: "If we find a perfect human, he must be God."
The Second Proof: 'His Infinite Authority':
He was not only a man, but He had infinite authority:

1. Authority over matter: this appears in the miracle of the feeding of the multitudes (Mk. 6: 35-44).
2. Authority over water: this appears when He walks on water and makes Peter walk on it too (Mk. 6: 48-51).
3. Authority over plants: this appears when He curses the barren fig tree (Mt.21:18-23).
4. Authority over animals: this is evident in His allowing the evil spirits to enter the pigs (Mt. 8: 28-34).
5. Authority over humans:
a. In sickness: He healed by touch (Mt. 9: 20-23), by word (Jn. 5: 1-9), and from a distance (Jn. 4: 43-54).
b. In death: He raised the daughter of Jarius who had just died (Lk. 6: 49-56), the son of the widow of Nain when he was on his way to be buried (Lk. 7: 11-15), and Lazarus, after he had been in the grave and already stank (Jn. 11: 38-44).
6. Authority over nature: we see this in His calming of the sea and wind (Mk. 4: 37-39).
7. Authority over thoughts: He revealed the thoughts of Simon, the Pharisee (Lk. 7: 39, 40), and of the crowds when He forgave the sins of the paralytic (Mt. 9: 4).
8. Authority over the future: He prophesied about the destruction of Jerusalem (Mk.13:14-23), about Peter's denial of Him (Lk.22:34), and about His death on the cross (Jn.21:18,19).
9. Authority over the spirits: they used to be afraid when they saw Him (Mk. 1: 22), and left people at a word from Him (Mk. 1: 34).

Authority over sin:He forgave sin and only God has the authority to do so(Mk.2:7-10)
The Third Proof: 'His Witnessing to Himself':
As long as the Lord is holy and without sin, His witnessing to Himself is acceptable and true: "Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true: (Jn. 8: 14).
He told the man who was born blind after He healed him: "Do you believe in the Son of God?" The man asked: "Who is He Lord, that I may believe in Him?" Jesus answered: "It is He who is talking to you." Then he said: "'Lord, I believe.' And he worshipped Him." (Jn. 9: 35-37).
The Jews understood from Jesus' calling Himself the Son of God that He was equal with God for He "said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God." (Jn. 5:18). They had a great conflict with Him when He told them:
"before Abraham was, I AM." (Jn. 8: 58). They tried to stone Him saying: "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a man, make Yourself God." (Jn. 10: 33).
The basic problem in our understanding of the Lord Jesus Christ lies in His uniting two natures in the one nature of the Incarnate Word of God.
The Lord of Glory used the expression : "I AM" a number of times and this is the same expression God used to Moses about Himself in the Old Testament. Look at John 6: 20, 35, 41, 51; 8: 12, 18; 11: 25; 14: 6; 18: 5.
The sonship of the Son to the Father does not have the same meaning as human sonship, neither is there a time difference, or is there more than one God, as some people imagine. It means the unity of nature and substance. "I am in the Father, and the Father in Me: (Jn 14: 10), and "he who has seen Me, has seen the Father" (Jn. 14: 9), and "I and the Father are one" (Jn. 10: 30).
Our great God is of Himself, uttering the Living Word through His Spirit. The Father is inner Love; the Son is manifest Love; and the Spirit is Love working in our hearts.
As light is born of light without any time difference or separation, so is the Son Light from Light, true God from true God.
The Fourth Proof: 'the Witnessing of Others of Him':
The Lord, during His life on earth, heard many people witnesses to His Divinity and accepted them all, such as:
+ John the Baptist said: "And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God." (Jn. 1: 34).
+ Peter said: "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." (Mt. 16: 16).
+ Martha said: "I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world." (Jn. 11: 27).
The Fifth Proof: 'His Work in hearts':
In fact, this is the strongest proof we can offer others. The Lord of glory has been able to make celibates out of adulterers, lions who faced hungry lions with amazing courage out of weak women and small children. In a few minutes with the Samaritan woman, he made of her a saint who witnessed to him. A simple visit to the house of Zachias who loved money changed him into a giving individual who loved the poor.
O what millions followed You, O Lord! O how many hearts loved You., and You enslaved them with Your sweet love!
How many spirits refused to live among men in order to be filled
with Your love in the deserts and caves!
What sword did you use, Lord? What war did You wage to win all these supporters and followers?
It is the sword of sacrificial Love, even to the cross!
It is the war of Light which conquers the bonds of darkness in hearts!
O Anointed of God, of Whom all those anointed of God, whether kings, priests, or prophets were only symbols!
O You Who were the desire of the men of the Old Testament, You have become the only hope of man in the New Testament! "For there is no other name under heaven, given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4: 12). Accept our faith in You, our Lord and God, for ever! Establish Your children in You, O Eternal Rock of Ages! Open eyes blinded by the god of this age lest You shine on them with your radiant Face!
Come, let us bow to our God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and give Him all our life, to the last drop of blood!!

END

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