We come now to the New Testament. The first thing we must do is to find out who Christ is and what Christ is. Does it sound rather strange to speak of what Christ is? Because Christ is so wonderful and all-inclusive, we must know not only who He is, but also what He is. When we say that Christ is God and man, we are speaking of who Christ is. But when we say that Christ is the light and the door, we are speaking of what Christ is. In this message we need to see who Christ is in His divinity. In the following message, we shall see who Christ is in His humanity.
Regarding who Christ is in His divinity, there are seven items. First, Christ is God. Certain so-called Christians do not believe that Christ is God. Among them are the Children of God and the modernists. Approximately twenty-five years ago a certain group of so-called Christians in Manila who did not believe that Christ was God sent four representatives to visit me. Two were medical doctors, one was an attorney, and one was an accountant. They came to see me with the intention of proving that Christ was not God. I referred them to John 1:1, which says, “In the beginning was the Word...and the Word was God,” and to John 1:14, which says, “And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us.”
Throughout the centuries, there have been many debates concerning the Person of Christ, especially concerning His divinity. Some who denied that Jesus was God argued that Christ was a good man who was made God after His resurrection. This is heresy. The Bible says that in the beginning, that is, in eternity past, our Christ was God. He is nothing less than God Himself. Although Christ is God, this does not mean that we have two Gods. We have one God, the unique God. Christ is our unique God. The unbelieving Jews in their stubbornness do not believe that Christ is God. If they believed this, they would be converted. Although the unbelieving Jews refuse to admit that Christ is God, we believe that He is God because the Bible says so. Romans 9:5 says, “Christ, Who is over all, God blessed forever.” Our Christ is the very God who is over all.
Second, Christ is the Creator. Hebrews 1:10 says, “You in the beginning, Lord, have founded the earth, and the heavens are the works of Your hands.” The very God our Creator, the One who created heaven and earth, is Christ.
Third, Christ is the Lord. Heaven and earth belong to Him. We also belong to Him. Everything has an owner, a possessor. The owner of the universe is Jesus the Lord. He owns the heavens, He owns the earth, and He owns you and me. If you do not believe in Jesus, then you are a person without an owner. How pitiful that would be! Anyone who does not have an owner has no care and protection. If you do not believe in Jesus, you do not have the Lord as your owner. Your parents are not your owner; neither is your husband, or wife. The Lord Jesus must become your owner. If you receive Him, He will become your owner. You will become His possession, and He will take care of you. How good it is to have One to possess us!
Consider the example of my watch. If my watch had no owner, it would have no care or protection. Because I own my watch, I take good care of it. If it is not in its proper place, I do not have the peace to sleep at night. If I take such care of my little watch, how much more does the Lord take care of those whom He possesses. Who is taking care of you? If you do not have Jesus, you do not have a Lord, and you do not belong to anyone. How thankful I am that I have Jesus! He is my Lord, and He is taking care of me.
Fourth, Christ is Jehovah, the everlasting One. From eternity to eternity, He is Jehovah. The name Jehovah means He who was, He who is, and He who will be. The name Jehovah is included in the name Jesus, which means Jehovah the Savior.
Fifth, Christ as the Son is the Father. Those who hold to the traditional teachings are troubled when we say that Christ the Son is the Father. However, I do not care for tradition or for history; I care only for the pure word in the Bible. Isaiah 9:6 says, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given...and his name shall be called...The mighty God, The everlasting Father.” In this verse we see the child and the Son. The child is born to us, and the Son is given to us. As we all know, the child was Jesus born in the manger at Bethlehem, and the Son is the Son of God given to us. The child born in the manger is called the mighty God, and the Son is called the everlasting Father. This certainly indicates that the Son is the Father. But according to traditional teachings, it is heresy to say that the Son is the Father. Thus, because I quote Isaiah 9:6, pointing out that the Son is called the everlasting Father, I have been accused of teaching heresy. Some of the critics may say, “The Son is the Son, and the Father is the Father. How can you say that the Son is the Father? To say this is heretical.” Nevertheless, I do not care for tradition or for man’s teaching; I care only for the Bible, for Isaiah 9:6. Is the Father not spoken of in Isaiah 9:6? Certainly He is. Is the Father in this verse different from the holy Father in the Godhead? If you say that the Father in Isaiah 9:6 is different from the Father in the Godhead, then you have two divine Fathers, and you yourself are heretical. In your mentality you may still cling to the concept that the Son is the Son, that the Father is the Father, and that we should not say that the Son is the Father. If you claim that it is wrong to say that the Son is the Father, then you do not fully believe Isaiah 9:6.
Recently, in their writings, the opposers have said, “We must follow the historic church. Throughout the centuries, the church has always said that the Son is the Son and that the Father is the Father. To say something else is to deviate from the historic church. The local churches and Witness Lee have deviated from the teaching of the historic church.” However, we are not the first to deviate from the historic church. What about Martin Luther? In his time the church did not believe in justification by faith. When Luther saw the matter of justification by faith in the Scriptures, he turned from the historic church. If he had not deviated from the historic church, there would not have been any recovery. Without that deviation, how could there have been the reformation? Every time the Lord recovers a certain matter, that recovery is a deviation from the historic church.
Those who say that the historic church has never taught that the Son is the Father are the ones who hold on to the creed formulated at the Council of Nicaea. They say, “The Nicene creed does not teach that the Son is the Father.” This reminds me of a proverb which says, “If your shoes are smaller than your feet, will you buy a new pair of shoes, or will you cut your feet to fit your shoes?” If your feet are too big for your shoes, you should not cut your feet to match your shoes; you should buy a new pair of shoes. But today’s opposers are trying to cut their feet to match their shoes. What they have is a short, narrow creed, a creed that is shorter and narrower than the Bible. However, unwilling to throw away their creed, they prefer to cut the Bible to fit their creed. Because I keep the whole Bible, I have been condemned. Do you believe the whole Bible, including Isaiah 9:6? Do you believe what Isaiah 9:6 says regarding the name of the Son being called the everlasting Father? If you do not, it means that you are cutting the Bible to fit your creed. I advise you to throw away those small shoes and buy a larger pair. Do not suffer by trying to cut your feet to match your shoes. Today those who follow the traditional teachings are cutting the Bible. Nevertheless, we praise the Lord for Isaiah 9:6. The child is the mighty God, and the Son is the eternal Father. Our Christ is God, the Creator, the Lord, Jehovah, and the eternal Father.