Christ and His Righteousness- E.G. Waggoner
'The fact of the Divinity of Christ will also appear very distinctly as we proceed to consider:
Christ As Creator
Immediately following the oft-quoted text which says that Christ, the Word, is God, we read that “all things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.” John 1:3. Comment cannot make this statement any clearer than it is, therefore we pass to the words of Heb. 1:1-4, “God...hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high; being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.”
Still more emphatic than this are the words of the apostle Paul to the Colossians. Speaking of Christ as the One through whom we have redemption, he describes Him as the One “who is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of every creature; for by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by him, and for him; and he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” Col. 1:15-17.
This wonderful text should be carefully studied and often contemplated. It leaves not a thing in the universe that Christ did not create. He made everything in heaven and everything on earth. He made everything that can be seen and everything that cannot be seen--the thrones and dominions and the principalities and the powers in heaven, all depend upon Him for existence. And as He is before all things and their Creator, so by him do all things consist or hold together. This is equivalent to what is said in Heb. 1:3, that He upholds all things by the word of His power. It was by a word that the heavens were made, and that same word holds them in their place and preserves them from destruction.
We cannot possibly omit in this connection Isa. 40:25, 26: “To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number; he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.” Or, as the Jewish translation more forcibly renders it, “from him, who is great in might, and strong in power, not one escapeth.” That Christ is the Holy One who thus calls the host of heaven by name and holds them in their place is evident from other portions of the same chapter. He is the One before whom it was said, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” He is the One who comes with a strong hand, having His reward with Him; the One who, like a shepherd, feeds His flock, carrying the lambs in His bosom.
One more statement concerning Christ as Creator must suffice. It is the testimony of the Father Himself. In the first chapter of Hebrews, we read that God has spoken to us by His Son; that He said of Him, “Let all the angels of God worship him” that of the angels He saith, “Who maketh his angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire,” but that He says to the Son, “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Thy kingdom.” And God says further, “Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of thine hands.” Heb. 1:8-10. Here we find the Father addressing the Son as God, and saying to Him, Thou hast laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Thy hands. When the Father Himself gives this honor to the Son, what is man, that he should withhold it? With this we may well leave the direct testimony concerning the Divinity of Christ and the fact that He is the Creator of all things.
A word of caution may be necessary here. Let no one imagine that we would exalt Christ at the expense of the Father or would ignore the Father. That cannot be, for their interests are one. We honor the Father in honoring the Son. We are mindful of Paul's words, that “to us 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 Cor. 8:6); just as we have already quoted, that it was by Him that God made the worlds. All things proceed ultimately from God, the Father; even Christ Himself proceeded and came forth from the Father, but it has pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell, and that He should be the direct, immediate Agent in every act of creation. Our object in this investigation is to set forth Christ's rightful position of equality with the Father, in order that His power to redeem may be the better appreciated.'
My Thoughts-
Again, this is truth! All truth!
God with God, God decreed to be the Son, henceforth God the Father, God the Son. The Son in the flesh upon His incarnation. The Son the creator God having not taken on flesh yet, but decreed to be the only begotten Son of the Father. As Melchizedek having no father, no mother. From everlasting to everlasting. Self-existent, ever existent. We can comprehend this only by the grace of our LORD through the Holy Spirit. Does it matter if we comprehend it? It does.
There will be those who will confuse things, those who will so work things that they make Christ inferior to God by stripping away His self existence, His ever existence. When you strip away this most important truth you lose just that...the truth. When you lose the truth you are building upon a false foundation. If you build upon a false foundation then all things you hold to as truth, are tainted by the lie. We must believe in ALL truth and only the truth!
Please Lord, help us to continue to learn more and more of ONLY Your truth! Open our hearts and minds to only truth and no lies! Guide us, Lord, protect us, love us, live in us!
All by Your grace!
Forgive us, Lord, save us!
'The fact of the Divinity of Christ will also appear very distinctly as we proceed to consider:
Christ As Creator
Immediately following the oft-quoted text which says that Christ, the Word, is God, we read that “all things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.” John 1:3. Comment cannot make this statement any clearer than it is, therefore we pass to the words of Heb. 1:1-4, “God...hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high; being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.”
Still more emphatic than this are the words of the apostle Paul to the Colossians. Speaking of Christ as the One through whom we have redemption, he describes Him as the One “who is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of every creature; for by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by him, and for him; and he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” Col. 1:15-17.
This wonderful text should be carefully studied and often contemplated. It leaves not a thing in the universe that Christ did not create. He made everything in heaven and everything on earth. He made everything that can be seen and everything that cannot be seen--the thrones and dominions and the principalities and the powers in heaven, all depend upon Him for existence. And as He is before all things and their Creator, so by him do all things consist or hold together. This is equivalent to what is said in Heb. 1:3, that He upholds all things by the word of His power. It was by a word that the heavens were made, and that same word holds them in their place and preserves them from destruction.
We cannot possibly omit in this connection Isa. 40:25, 26: “To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number; he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.” Or, as the Jewish translation more forcibly renders it, “from him, who is great in might, and strong in power, not one escapeth.” That Christ is the Holy One who thus calls the host of heaven by name and holds them in their place is evident from other portions of the same chapter. He is the One before whom it was said, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” He is the One who comes with a strong hand, having His reward with Him; the One who, like a shepherd, feeds His flock, carrying the lambs in His bosom.
One more statement concerning Christ as Creator must suffice. It is the testimony of the Father Himself. In the first chapter of Hebrews, we read that God has spoken to us by His Son; that He said of Him, “Let all the angels of God worship him” that of the angels He saith, “Who maketh his angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire,” but that He says to the Son, “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Thy kingdom.” And God says further, “Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of thine hands.” Heb. 1:8-10. Here we find the Father addressing the Son as God, and saying to Him, Thou hast laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Thy hands. When the Father Himself gives this honor to the Son, what is man, that he should withhold it? With this we may well leave the direct testimony concerning the Divinity of Christ and the fact that He is the Creator of all things.
A word of caution may be necessary here. Let no one imagine that we would exalt Christ at the expense of the Father or would ignore the Father. That cannot be, for their interests are one. We honor the Father in honoring the Son. We are mindful of Paul's words, that “to us 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 Cor. 8:6); just as we have already quoted, that it was by Him that God made the worlds. All things proceed ultimately from God, the Father; even Christ Himself proceeded and came forth from the Father, but it has pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell, and that He should be the direct, immediate Agent in every act of creation. Our object in this investigation is to set forth Christ's rightful position of equality with the Father, in order that His power to redeem may be the better appreciated.'
My Thoughts-
Again, this is truth! All truth!
God with God, God decreed to be the Son, henceforth God the Father, God the Son. The Son in the flesh upon His incarnation. The Son the creator God having not taken on flesh yet, but decreed to be the only begotten Son of the Father. As Melchizedek having no father, no mother. From everlasting to everlasting. Self-existent, ever existent. We can comprehend this only by the grace of our LORD through the Holy Spirit. Does it matter if we comprehend it? It does.
There will be those who will confuse things, those who will so work things that they make Christ inferior to God by stripping away His self existence, His ever existence. When you strip away this most important truth you lose just that...the truth. When you lose the truth you are building upon a false foundation. If you build upon a false foundation then all things you hold to as truth, are tainted by the lie. We must believe in ALL truth and only the truth!
Please Lord, help us to continue to learn more and more of ONLY Your truth! Open our hearts and minds to only truth and no lies! Guide us, Lord, protect us, love us, live in us!
All by Your grace!
Forgive us, Lord, save us!
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