TheosGuy

The following outline is from Dr. David Hocking’s class on Christology. Dr. Hocking’s materials are available at his ministry website, The Hope for Today.

Primary Texts: John 1:1-18; 1 Timothy 3:16

A. HIS NAMES PROVE THAT HE IS GOD!

1. He is called “GOD” – Jhn 1:1; 20:28; Act 28:28; Rom 9:5; Tts 2:13; Hebr 1:8; 1 John 5:2-8; cf. Isa 9:6
2. He is called the “SON OF GOD” – uses huios (G5207) for son, which refers to position, not origin (word for “born one” in Greek, teknon, (G5043) is never used of Jesus Christ) – cf. John 5:18; 10:30-36; 19:7
3. He is called the “LORD” (Greek – kurios) – used in LXX for the Hebrew YAHWEH (Jehovah) – Isa 45:22-23; Joe 2:32; Act 2:21-36; Rom 10:9-10; Phl 2:5-11 (fbr: “christos” used in LXX for Hebrew word translated “Messiah”)
4. He is called the “LORD OF GLORY” – Psa 24:7-10; 1 Cor 2:8
5. He is called the “HOLY ONE” – Isa 48:17; Act 3:14
6. He is called “THE FIRST AND THE LAST” – Isa 44:6; 48:12-16; Rev 1:17-18; 2:8; 22:12-13, 16
7. He is called the “LORD OF HOSTS” – Isa 44:6 (Hebrew word is YHWH not adonai)—Redeemer is YHWH.

B. HIS ATTRIBUTES PROVE THAT HE IS GOD!

1. He is ETERNAL – Isaiah 9:6; 1 John 5:11
2. He is UNCHANGEABLE – Mal 3:6; Hebr 1:8-12; 13:8
3. He is OMNIPRESENT – Mat 18:28; 28:20; Col 3:11
4. He is OMNISCIENT – Jhn 2:23-25; 16:38; Col 2:3
5. He is OMNIPOTENT – Phl 3:20-21; Rev 1:8; 22:12-13
6. He is PERFECT – Colossians 1:19; 2:9-10
7. He is INCOMPREHENSIBLE – Isa 9:6; 55:8-9; Mat 11:27; Rom 11:33-36; Eph 3:8, 19

C. HIS ABILITIES PROVE THAT HE IS GOD!

1. He CREATED all things – John 1:3, 10; Col 1:16
2. He CONTROLS all things – Col 1:17; Hebr 1:2-3
3. He CURES all diseases – Mat 4:23-24
4. He CALMS the sea – Mark 6:47-51
5. He CONQUERS death – John 11:25-26
6. He CLAIMS to forgive sins, answer prayer, and give eternal life – Mar 2:1-12; Jhn 10:27-33; 14:13-14

The above outline is copyrighted material, from The Hope for Today.

Tags: Christ, Deity, God, Jesus Christ

Following are some key texts on the Sovereignty of God:

Exodus 15:18
Deuteronomy 4:39; 10:14, 17
2 Kings 19:15
1 Chronicles 29:11-12
2 Chronicles 20:6
Job 25:2; 40:6; 41:11
Psalm 5:2; 10:16; 22:27-28; 24:1, 10; 29:10; 44:4; 45:6; 47:2, 8-9; 66:7; 67:4; 74:12; 83:18; 84:3; 89:14; 93:1-2; 95:3; 97:1-2, 9; 98:6; 99:4-5; 103:19; 113:4; 115:3; 145:1, 13; 146:10; 149:2
Isaiah 6:5; 33:22; 37:16; 43:15; 44:6; 66:1
Jeremiah 10:10
Lamentations 5:19
Ezekiel 18:1, 4
Daniel 2:20-21, 47; 4:34-35; 6:26
Malachi 1:14
Romans 11:36
1 Timothy 1:17; 6:15
Revelation 19:6

Following are some key texts on the doctrine of imputation:

Following are some additional related texts:

Tags: Cross, Imputation, Righteousness, Salvation

The following verses show that the initiator of our faith is the Holy Spirit. For apart from the Holy Spirit we could not call upon the name of the Lord.

For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”
Romans 10:13 (NKJV)

Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:3 (NKJV)

There is a certain view in theology that believes God decrees every event that has or will occur. This view is taken from verses such as the following:

(Eph 1:11 ESV) In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,

Granted that Ephesians 1:11 does indicate that God works all things to His purpose and according to the counsel of His will.  But, is it the same to say “that God works all things” and ” that God decrees all things.”  I have to say quite unequivocally “NO!”  The reason is nothing less than the Word of God.  Let’s take a look at these verses.

(Jer 19:3-6 ESV) ³You shall say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing such disaster upon this place that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. ⁴Because the people have forsaken me and have profaned this place by making offerings in it to other gods whom neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah have known; and because they have filled this place with the blood of innocents, ⁵and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command or decree, nor did it come into my mind– ⁶therefore, behold, days are coming, declares the LORD, when this place shall no more be called Topheth, or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.

(Jer 7:30-31 ESV) ³⁰“For the sons of Judah have done evil in my sight, declares the LORD. They have set their detestable things in the house that is called by my name, to defile it. ³¹And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, nor did it come into my mind.

(Jer 32:35 ESV) They built the high places of Baal in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, though I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.

How do we explain these apparent differences?  Well, I can only surmise that when the word tells us “God ordains something,” there is a difference than to say “God decrees something.”  The explanation might be in our concept of what God’s sovereignty means.  Theology recognizes a “meticulous sovereignty” versus a more “general sovereignty.”   C. Michael Patton has provided a detailed analysis of at least four views of the sovereignty of God, at his Parchment and Pen blog.  Maybe our difference is properly explained in the differentiations noted therein.

1. Meticulous sovereignty: God is the instrumental cause behind every action and reaction there has ever been. For this view, in order for God to be truly sovereign, he must be the ultimate and instrumental cause for everything, including sin.
2. Providential sovereignty: God is bringing about his will in everything (Eph 1:11). However,  his will is not the instrumental cause of all that happens. God’s will plays a providential role in “causing” all things, using secondary causes as instruments. What God wills is not always what he would want in a perfect world, but all he has is sin to work with. Therefore, in this sense, even evil is the will of God.
3. Providential oversight: Here God’s sovereignty is expressed in active oversight. He has a general plan, but is not married to the details. God can and often does intervene in the affairs of humanity to bring about his purpose. In this case he never “wills” evil; he only uses it.
4. Influential oversight: Here God limits his own sovereignty. God could control things, but to preserve human freedom, he will not intervene in the affairs of men to the degree that human freedom is effected. He is hopeful that his influence will be persuasive to change a person’s heart or to guide them to his will. Here God never wills evil, but only allows it.

Tags: Decree, Sovereignty

Following are some of the Biblical references noted in the Thompson Chain Reference Bible under the heading:

Control, Divine:

• Manifested in the Control of Men
  • 2 Kings 19:28
  • Job 12:19
  • Proverbs 21:1
  • Isaiah 37:29
  • Isaiah 44:25
  • Ezekiel 29:4
  • Ezekiel 38:4
  • Ezekiel 39:2

Here are some additional verses that apply that were not included in Thompson:

• Genesis 11:9
• Exodus 14:4
• Psalm 37:23
• Proverbs 16:9
• Isaiah 40:23
• Jeremiah 15:11; 16:21; 17:4
• Revelation 17:17

Tags: Control, Free Will, Sovereignty, Thompson

The following is taken from William Tyndale’s Prologue to his New Testament translation printed in 1525 A.D. As shown, William Tyndale held a very strong view of God’s sovereignty in the salvation of believers.

When the evangelion is preached, the Spirit of God entereth into them which God hath ordained and appointed unto eternal life; and openth their inward eyes, and worketh such belief in them.

Tags: Bible, Sovereignty

From John Calvin’s commentary on John 3:16

[Two] points are distinctly stated to us: namely, that faith in Christ brings life to all, and that Christ brought life, because the Father loves the human race, and wishes that they should not perish…[St. John] has employed the universal term whosoever, both to invite all indiscriminately to partake of life, and to cut off every excuse from unbelievers. Such is also the import of the term world, which he formerly used; for though nothing will be found in the world that is worthy of the favor of God, yet he shows himself to be reconciled to the whole world, when he invites all without exception to the faith of Christ, which is nothing less than an entrance into life. Let us remember, on the other hand, that while life is promised universally to all who believe in Christ, still faith is not common to all, but the elect alone are they whose eyes God opens, that they may seek him by faith.

Here are some thoughts of B. B. Warfield on John 3:16

Certainly here ‘the world’ and ‘believers’ do not seem to be quite equipollent terms: there seems, surely, something conveyed by the one which is not wholly taken up by the other. How, then, shall we say that ‘the world’ means just ‘the world of believers,’ just those scattered through the world, who, being the elect of God, shall believe in His Son and so have eternal life? There is obviously much truth in this idea: and the main difficulty which it faces may, no doubt, be avoided by saying that what is taught is that God’s love of the world is shown by His saving so great a multitude as He does save out of the world. The wicked world deserved at His hands only total destruction. But He saves out of it a multitude which no man can number, out of every nation, and of all tribes, and peoples and tongues. How much must, then God love the world! This interpretation, beyond question, reproduces the fundamental meaning of the text…The key to the passage lies—you see, in the significance of the term ‘world.’ It is not here a term of extension so much as a term of intensity. Its primary connotation is ethical, and the point of its employment is not to suggest that it takes a great deal of love to embrace it all, but that the world is so bad that it takes a great kind of love to love it at all, and much more to love it as God has loved it when He gave His Son for it.

God promises to guide His people. He promises this over and over again in His written revelation to us.

In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. (Pro 3:6 NKJV)

The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, And He delights in his way. (Psa 37:23 NKJV)

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. (Psa 32:8 NKJV)

He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. (Psa 23:3 NKJV)

You will guide me with Your counsel, And afterward receive me to glory. (Psa 73:24 NKJV)

He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. (Psa 23:2 NKJV)

“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. (John 16:13 NKJV)

“For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery for burnt offering; I will direct their work in truth, And will make with them an everlasting covenant.” (Isa 61:8 NKJV)

A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps. (Pro 16:9 NKJV)

The LORD will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. (Isa 58:11 NKJV)

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. (James 1:5 NKJV)

Who walk to go down to Egypt, And have not asked My advice, To strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, And to trust in the shadow of Egypt! (Isa 30:2 NKJV)