Habib Jamil Khoury WHO IS THE BIBLE’S JESUS CHRIST? The deceptive tongues of some Muslims claim that the Lord Jesus never claimed that He is God; but only a human prophet. But the Bible asserts His perfect Deity as well as His perfect humanity. Take a look at His claims: HIS CLAIMS TO PERFECT DEITY We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, during His time on earth, was always conscious of His own perfect Deity. Three of the Gospels recorded some of His claims to Deity: we believe that at age 12 the Child Jesus recognized the claims His Father had on Him (Luke 2:49); that at His baptism the world was assured of His special Sonship (Matt. 3:17); that He set Himself over as the absolute authority against the ancients (Matt. 5:21-36); that He gave His disciples the power to perform miracles (Matt. 10:1, 8; Luke 10: 9, 19); that He asserted His own pre-existence (John 8:58; 17:5); that He requested that prayers would be made in His name (John 16:23-24); that He claimed that He and the Father are one substance (John 10:30; 14:9; 17:11); that He and the Father act together (John 14:23; I Thess. 3:11); that whatever the Father has, also belongs to Jesus Christ (John 16:15; 17:10); that the believer sustains the same relationship to the Son as he does to the Father (Eph. 5:5; Rev. 20:6); that He claimed He is the Son of God (John 10:36); that He claimed that He is the beginning and the end (Rev. 22:13); and that He claimed that He is the Jehovah of the Old Testament (John 8:58; cf. Exod. 3:14). We also believe that in John 14:7-11 the Lord Jesus claimed His Perfect Deity: God dwells in Jesus Christ and the Lord Jesus Christ lives eternally in God (vv. 10-11). Therefore: a. He who knows Jesus Christ knows God (v. 7; cf. 8:19); and, b. He who has seen Jesus Christ has seen God (v. 9). This fact is supported both by the claims (words) that the Lord Jesus made, as well as by the works He did (v.11). We likewise believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is to be given the same honor that must be given to God the Father (John 5:23). He is to be worshiped in the same manner that God the Father must be worshiped (Matt. 14:33; 28:9; Luke 5:8; I Cor. 1:2). In contrasting His acceptance of worship with His assertion that God alone is to be worshiped (Exod. 34:14; Matt. 4:10), we reassert our belief that the Lord Jesus is the Lord God in human flesh. THE UNITY OF HIS PERSON We believe that the perfect Deity and the perfect Humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ are united in one Person, the God-Man. We believe that this hypostatic union constitutes one personal substance. We thus believe that the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity assumed humanity with all its attributes. We therefore believe that the Personality of the Lord Jesus Christ resides in His Divine Nature, and that His Human Nature (a complex of attributes) was impersonal apart from the incarnation. We consequently believe and assert that the Lord Jesus Christ is simultaneously eternal and historical, infinite and finite, omnipresent and localized, omniscient and increasing in knowledge, omnipotent and weak. Therefore, we believe that the unique Personality of the Lord Jesus Christ does not yield itself to an accurate psychoanalysis. It is far beyond the possibility of finite human scrutiny. Thus, we believe in the complete unity of His Theoanthropic Person, without confusion or alteration of His two natures. We thus reject Nestorianism claiming two personalities in Christ. We further condemn the heresies ascribing to Jesus Christ one single nature and denying Him the other, including diabolic Islam. We also reject the notion of two wills, which notion necessarily implies the existence of two split personalities in the Blessed Savior. In addition, we reject the Lutheran dogma attributing omnipresence to His human nature. We assert our belief that the attributes of both natures belong to the one Person without mixing the two natures or dividing the one Person. Islam does not believe in the Jesus Christ of the Bible. The Arabic Qur’an speaks of a fictitious creature named `Isa who Muslims claim was a prophet. But the filthy Arabic Qur’an never mentions the Lord Jesus Christ. Islam is a pagan religion that is at once pantheistic and deistic. I call on you to reject the darkness and the bondage of Islam and to come to the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Sincerely and earnestly pray and sign this prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, I declare to You my personal rejection of Islam, its deity, its prophet, its Qur’ān and its immorality. I thank You for coming to earth and dying for my personal salvation. I sincerely confess to You my lost sinful condition, which calls for Your righteous judgment upon me. Often I have disobeyed Your Precious Word and frequently I have broken Your Perfect Laws. Helplessly, I am deeply enslaved to sin. Therefore, I know that I deserve Your just condemnation of me to everlasting punishment in the Lake of Fire. However, now and in this place, I come to You accepting Your death and resurrection on my behalf and for my benefit, as my own Substitute. I ask You, as You have promised in Your Infallible Word, to become my personal Savior and Lord of my lifestyle. I ask You to turn me away from my life of sin, enabling me to make generous restitution to all against whom I have sinned, forgiving all my sins, making me a new creature in Christ, giving me the new birth into the Family of God, and granting me eternal life. I also ask You to help me from now on to live the Christian life pleasing to You. I thank You for answering this my sincere and earnest prayer, by saving me at this moment and in this place. Amen. My Signature _________________________________ Your friend, praying for your salvation, Dr. Habib J. Khoury, B.A., M.A., M.DIV., TH.D. For my Bible-teaching articles, please follow this link ► blog.bamicounseling.org To register for my free Bible-teaching monthly BAMI ONLINE NEWSLETTER, please follow this link ►app.expressemailmarketing/Survey.aspx?SFID=171290 then go to your email inbox and confirm your registration. Confirmation is necessary for subscription. 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Posted on: Sat, 01 Feb 2014 11:08:40 +0000
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