"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."

Psalm 119:105

THE ONE LORD FOR THE ONE WORLD

April 20, 1952

         For two-thousand years no one has held a more important position in the hearts and lives of men than has Jesus Christ. The questions of two millenniums ago, that were ask concerning Him are as fresh and challenging today as they were then. "What think ye of Christ?" "Whose son is he?" "What shall I then do with Jesus which is called Christ?"

         These are vital questions. These are questions that must be answered by every man. To. Fail to answer them is but to answer them. I cannot answer them for. You, yet I can assist you in arriving at a correct answer by considering with you some of the evidences and revelations we have concerning Him. 

         The purpose of this study is to assemble in a simple and brief manner the evidences and revelations we have concerning the Christ. In this way you might have an adequate knowledge of Him whom is life eternal.

         Let us begin our study by affirming that Jesus Christ is the one Lord for the one world, for we believe that though there are many gods in the world and though there are. Many lords, yet in reality "there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him" (1 Corinthians 8:6) and we shall establish this conviction by a careful study of Christ's origin, nature, and work.

THE ORIGIN OF JESUS CHRIST

         Jesus Christ is unlike every other man in that there is a difference between his origin and his birth. No one wonders about my origin, for my life began as the natural climax of common biological procedures. This is equally true of every other man who has ever been born except in the case of Jesus the Christ. His origin is not related to his birth, for it is written of Him "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.... And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-3, 14). This being true, the coming of Jesus to Bethlehem of Judea was not His origin, it was his incarnation! For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. (Hebrews 2:16-17).

THE NATURE OF CHRIST

         Christ, therefore, is unlike every other man in that he has life inherent. He has existed from eternity. His birth was not his origin, but the bringing together of the human and the divine: He was the son of man, and he was the son of God at the same time. From Mary He inherited his human characteristics, and as God he had his attributes of Deity. Were it not for the fact that he was both human and divine, not necessarily the comprehension of that fact, we could not be saved. For since God only can save us -Isaiah 45:22, Jesus Christ becomes our Savior only if the virgin birth of the Redeemer is true. We may not be able to comprehend the fact, nevertheless, if it were not a fact, we could not be saved! To deny the fact of the virgin birth is to deny a fact that is essential to our salvation.

         Right here I am reminded of two extreme views that are entertained concerning the Christ, and I would like to briefly consider them here. I am of the persuasion that the truth, though found in neither of them, lies between them.

         The one view is: Christ is the very and eternal God. This we call Trinitarianism. The other view is Christ was entirely human - a very good an, but simply and only human. This view we call Unitarianism. I do not believe that either of these extreme views is true. Nowhere does God require us to believe either; neither does he promise us any blessing for believing either; neither are we threatened with punishment if we fail to believe either. On the contrary he who fails to believe that Jesus Christ is the "Son of God" will be lost forever! "Except ye believe that I am He, ye shall die in your sins." (John 8:24.) That Jesus was either "the very and eternal God," or "entirely human." We have no evidence! However, that He is the Son of God, we have overwhelming evidence. I therefore urge you to accept Him as the one Lord for the one world, for apart from this faith you shall die in your sins! I wish here to again to reiterate the words of our Lord: "I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins." I trust that these words shall weigh heavily upon your minds and consciences as we consider further testimonial and circumstantial evidences of Deity of our Lord.

         That Jesus Christ is the Son of God can be proven by testimony from both friend and foe. Also, that He is the Son of God can be demonstrated by unusual circumstantial evidences.

         Jesus was born at the right time, for at the time of His birth the Jews were keenly anticipating the advent of the Messiah. Further, to reject Him as the Savior of the world, is to create for ourselves a greater problem than man can satisfactorily solve, for that he fulfilled all Old Testament prophecies regarding the Messiah that was to come is evident. Further, the psychology of Mary at Calvary is unmistakable evidence that Jesus Christ is God's Son. Mary was the one person that either knew He was the Son of God, or that He was not the Son of God. Just one word or gesture from Mary could have saved her son from death. All she would have had to do was to point out the an who was his father if he had had such a father, but no, that pure, innocent, heart-broken mother could not point to such a man, for no such man existed! No psychologist, after studying the conduct of Mary at the cross of Calvary, could honestly deny that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. It is upon such evidence as this that I ask you to accept Him as the one Lord for the one world.

         Next consider the testimony of His friends and of his foes. This testimony I believe will be sufficient to convince any honest heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

         First, listen to God Himself. God has declared that Jesus is His Son. "...This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:17). This statement was made at the scene of Christ's baptism, when He was baptized by John in the Jordan River. Concerning such testimony, John has this to say: "If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son." (1 John 5:9-10). No one can believe God to be a truthful God who denies the virgin birth of His Son, for such a denial would be equal to a denial of his Deity---of His divine Sonship.

         But let us hear others. This time we shall hear the testimony of his disciples. These were men who were intimately associated with Him, the most part of which died early and unnatural deaths because they would not deny His divine Sonship. Their testimony is: "Of a truth thou art the Son of God." (Matthew 14:33). How could these men give up their lives for their faith in His divine Sonship, unless they knew for a fact that He was the true Son of God?

         Furthermore, His miracles are a testimony of His Deity. It is written: "Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me." (John 10:24-25). Again, "Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me; or else believe Me for the very works' sake." (John 14:11).

         This is not all. We shall next hear his enemies. In Mark 3:11 it is recorded how that unclean spirits cried out before Him: "And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God." Too, those wicked men who took an active part in his crucifixion, when they saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly saying "Truly this was the Son of God." (Matthew 27:54). [EDITOR'S NOTE, Read what the commentator Albert Barnes said about this text: "The centurion was a pagan, and had probably no very distinct notions of the phrase "the Son of God" - perhaps understanding by it only that he was like the pagan heroes who had been deified; but he certainly regarded these wonders as proof that he was "what he professed to be." In the original it is "a son of a god;" an expression perfectly suitable to a polytheist, who believed in the existence of many gods. Mark 15:39 says that they affirmed that "this man was the Son of God." Luke 23:47, that they said, "Certainly this was a righteous man.' These things were said by "different persons," or at different periods of his sufferings - one evangelist having recorded one saying, and another another."] Also, Josephus that reliable Jewish historian, though he did not accept Jesus as his Savior, that in order to give his history accuracy, testified of the many wonderful works of Christ and confirmed his resurrection from the dead. Such evidence should be convincing. [EDITOR'S NOTE: I INSERTED THE QUOTE TO WHICH MY FATHER REFERRED.]

Antiquities of the Jews:  Book 18 Chapter 3

         Nevertheless, we have yet to consider His work as another evidence of His Deity.

         Jesus Christ is our mediator. For it is written again: "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave himself for all to be testified in due time." Having a mediator suggests at least three parties: (1) The mediator and (2) two parties between which the mediation is made. In this instance God was one party, man was another, and Jesus Christ the mediator between them. But in order to be competent a mediator must be entirely disconnected from both parties, or equally related to both so that no charge of partiality can be brought against him. Jesus was just such a character. He was human and divine, He was Son of man and Son of God. In him humanity and divinity met-pre-eminently fitting Him to be mediator between God and men.

         Furthermore, being the Christ, which means the anointed, suggests too that he is prophet, priest, and king. As prophet, he saves men from ignorance. As priest he saves from sin. As king he saves from misrule. I ask you therefore to accept him as your prophet, priest, and your king.