A searchable, downloadable PDF of the original article appears below. John P. Vaudry is the pastor at the Presbyterian church in Wingham, Ontario, and serves on the Issues Committee of The Renewal Fellowship.
The question Jesus put to the disciples at Caesarea Philippi – “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” (Matthew 16:13), continues to receive a variety of answers. There have always been differing assessments of the person and mission of Jesus Christ. Some have viewed him as a prophet or a religious genius, or even as the greatest and best man who ever lived. A few have dismissed him as a fanatic. Many have felt compelled by the witness of the New Testament to call him God and Saviour.
What seems new in our day is that voices within the church are openly declaring that Jesus is not the eternal Son of God who for us and for our salvation came down from heaven and was made man. The corroding acids of modem theology have destroyed Christ’s crown for many of today’s church leaders. In the year I was ordained a book was published by some noted British theologians entitled The Myth of God Incarnate. Today, a little over a decade later, theologians and missionaries in our denomination question the uniqueness of Christ, and suggest that people can be saved apart from faith in him. We are told that mission and evangelism must be redefined totally.
We as Presbyterians need to see clearly that this attitude is diametrically opposed to the teaching of the Word of God. We need to respond to it by re-affirming the testimony of the New Testament.
Jesus: God and Man
The Bible presents Jesus Christ as a unique person: he is human and divine. This is the mystery of the Incarnation. We cannot comprehend how God and Man can be united in one person. We can only believe and adore.
That Jesus was truly Man is obvious on almost every page of the Gospels. He was born; developed physically; increased in knowledge; was hungry, thirsty, tired; shared the human emotions of joy, sorrow, love and anger; was tempted, prayed, and meditated on Scripture. He suffered intense pain of body and spirit and then died (Luke 2:7,52; Matthew21:18; 11:19; John4:6; Luke 10:21; Matthew 26:37; John 11:5; Mark 3:5; Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 6:12; Luke 24:27; Mark 14:33-36).
It is the deity of Christ that people find hard to accept. Yet this, too, is clearly made known in Scripture. He is the Word who was with God and was God; he is “our great God and Saviour”; he is “God over all, forever praised”; he is the Son who is worshipped by all God’s angels (John 1:1; Titus 2:13; Romans 9:5; Hebrews 1:6).
The first three Gospels (sometimes said to portray a merely human Jesus) are full of testimony to his deity. For example, Matthew 11:27 asserts that Jesus has a unique, exclusive knowledge of “the Lord of heaven and earth”: “No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son ..
It is striking that the New Testament writers apply the word Lord (kyrios) to Jesus. This is the word used in the Greek version of the Old Testament to refer to God. In Luke 2:9-11 “an angel of the Lord” (kyrios) appears and the glory of the Lord (kyrios) shines as the message is given that a Saviour has been born, “Christ the Lord” (kyrios). How amazing! Jesus is Lord.
This fact sets Christ apart from all others. Socrates, Buddha, and Mohammed directed people to what they felt was truth. Jesus alone could say, “I am the truth” (John 14:6). Indeed, his stupendous claims for himself set up a trilemma: is he liar, lunatic or Lord?
Jesus: Saviour and Lord
Jesus Christ is also unique because of what he did. He did far more than teach ethics or confront wrong. He came to be our Saviour.
The Bible’s focus is on his death at the cross as a “sacrifice of atonement” (Roman 3:25). Our sin creates real guilt that a righteous God cannot condone or ignore. We are incapable of making amends for our sin. The Gospel’s astounding message is that God in Christ has done for us what we could never hope to do. He has atoned for the guilt of sin and met all the demands of justice so that all who trust in Jesus are set free from condemnation (Romans 5:8-11; 8:1; John 3:16).
Jesus also gives his believing people hope for he not only died for our sin, but he rose from death. “Risen and ascended, he is alive now, the living Lord” (Living Faith 3.5.1).
The world has seen many gurus, moralists and religious leaders. It has seen only one Saviour. Jesus Christ is unique because of his Person and his Work. His church is called to witness to him and lead others to trust and know him (Luke 24:45-47).
Ours is a difficult challenge – to make known the uniqueness of Christ in a secular, pluralistic society. But with love, boldness and wisdom, in the power of the Holy Spirit, it can be done.