The Oriental Orthodox Church teaches that Jesus Christ is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity – One in Essence with The Father and the Holy Spirit. Of all the Three Persons of The Holy Trinity, Only The Word (Jesus Christ) became Incarnate for our sake. This means that as the Eternal Logos (Word) of The Father, He took on flesh from the Virgin Mary – making Him perfect God and Perfect man in One Concrete Nature (More on this in a future post).
To expand on this dogmatic truth, St. Clement of Alexandria says the following: “The Word, then, the Christ, is the cause both of our ancient beginning—for he was in God—and of our well-being. And now this same Word has appeared as man. He alone is both God and man, and the source of all our good things” (Exhortation to the Greeks 1:7:1 [A.D. 190]).
Throughout Church history, heterodox ideas and opinions were crafted by heretics; teaching that Jesus Christ is not Fully Divine/Fully Human and Equal with The Father. This was initially taught by the Arians and Nestorians. This form of poisonous theology is unfortunately upheld by the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Muslims, and the like.
The Gospel of St. John
When reading scripture, there are several things that one must consider to understand its proper context. These include the author, the intention of their message, time period, culture, audience, and theme.
So, what exactly is the background of this Gospel? This Gospel is believed to have been written in 96 A.D. by St. John the Apostle, hence the name. Given the language used to explain Christ’s Incarnation, we can see that there is not only a goal to teach the audience in this regard, but there is also a goal to refute Gnosticism which was unfortunately present within the early church. This heretical sect, with its roots in paganism, taught that the material world was wicked; as well as the flesh which would mean that the Resurrection of the dead would be foolish according to their view. This was an issue that St. Paul the Apostle addressed (See: Acts 17:16-33, Colossians 1:15-16, and 1 Corinthians Chapter 15). I will be touching on one of his encounters with the gnostics shortly.
John 1:1-4 – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.He was in the beginning with God (The Father). All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.”
This passage of scripture alone proves the Divinity of Jesus Christ. The evidence is abundantly clear since the Holy Apostle is recalling the Creation story of Genesis Chapter 1:1, which says : “In the beginning God made heaven and earth” – therefore implying that Jesus is the Creator as He is One In Essence with The Father and The Holy Spirit. “… the Holy Trinity exists in one divine essence.” – St. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Isiah 1:4.
Heretics, such as the Jehovah’s Witness have gone as far as to not only reject this Divinely Revealed truth, but to even rewrite the very God Inspired words of St. John the Apostle in their abominable NWT version: “In the beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.”
They argue that this is the original translation of this verse – with the aim of diminishing Christ’s Equality with The Father . None the less, The original Greek of this text disproves them and is irrefutable.
“ Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Λόγος καὶ ὁ Λόγος ἦν πρὸς Θεόν καὶ ὁ Λόγος ἦν Θεὸς.” (Word Was God).
Note: The Logos: Specifically means The Divine Expression. Example: Genesis 1: 3 – “Then God SAID” is speaking about the Pre-Incarnate Word of The Father.
ἦν (ēn) = I am, exist. (1) (As we know, God has revealed His name as being I AM, or I AM THE EXISTING ONE (Exodus 3:14). Christ, referencing this chapter, has also identified Himself as I AM (See: Jn:8:59). Θεὸς = the supreme Divinity (Very God).
To extend further on the words “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men”, who can rightly doubt that this is completely parallel to what was recorded by St. Moses the Prophet in the Book of Genesis? “Then God formed man out of dust from the ground, and breathed in his face the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7).
St. Paul’s Combat with the Gnostics
Within Colossians 1:15-16, St. Paul the Apostle wrote this letter to the church of Colosse to combat a form of Gnosticism present amongst them. One of their many errors was the idea that Jesus Christ was not God, but that He was one of many mediators. They also taught that Christ was inferior to those in celestial power (the angels).
Correcting this error, St. Paul taught: “He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.”
This proves the Divinity of Christ, as Scripture makes it clear that God alone is the Creator of all things.
Proof:
Esther 4:17 – “For You have made heaven and the earth, and every wondrous thing under heaven, and You are the Lord of all, and there is no one who shall resist You, Lord.”
Isiah 37:16 – “O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, the One who sits between the cherubim, You alone are the God of all the kingdoms of the world. You made heaven and earth.”
4th kings –“Lord God of Israel, enthroned on the cherubim, You alone are God in all the kingdoms of the earth. You made heaven and earth.”
Judith 13:18 – “Blessed be the Lord God, who created the heavens and the earth..”
Heretical Misinterpretation of Revelations
Revelations 3:14 says: “These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God.”
The word “beginning” has been taken out of context by the Arians and the Jehovah’s Witnesses to “disprove” the Divinity of Jesus Christ, arguing that it “proves” He was God’s first creation. Fortunately for us Orthodox, we can check the original Greek of this text to disprove their position.
The original translation: “Originator of God’s Creation”
Greek: ἀρχὴ (archē) (Originator) Θεοῦ (Theou) (of God’s) κτίσεως (ktiseōs) (creation).
Since Christ throughout scripture is recognized as The Creator of all things, it brings us to our next point:
“Mother of my Lord..”
In Luke 1:43, St. Elizabeth was reported saying to the Theotokos: “But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” This is the same title given to God throughout the entire Old Testament: (Genesis 2:4, Genesis 11:8, Genesis 12:4, Exodus 20:5,7, Proverbs 16:4, etc).
Did Nicea Deify Christ?
The heretics argue that it was not until the Council of Nicea that Jesus Christ was taught to have been God. However, we see from the Scriptures (which were written hundred of years before Nicea of 325 A.D) that such an argument is fallacious. There are also Early Church Fathers, prior to Nicea, whom made it clear that the Catholic (Universal) and Orthodox Church of Christ upheld Him being God. This understanding is necessary for salvation.
St. Ignatius of Antioch: “For our God, Jesus Christ, was conceived by Mary in accord with God’s plan: of the seed of David, it is true, but also of the Holy Spirit” (Letter to the Ephesians 1 [A.D. 110])
St. Hippolytus: “For Christ is the God over all, who has arranged to wash away sin from mankind, rendering the old man new” (Refutation of Heresies., 10:34, 228 AD).
St. Cyprian of Carthage: “One who denies that Christ is God cannot become his temple [of the Holy Spirit]” (Letters 73:12 [A.D. 253]).
Glory to God forever, amen.
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Additional Scripture Verses:
Savior – Judge: 1 Sam 2:10, Ps 50:6, Ecc 12:14 | Jn 5:22,27; 9:39, Acts 10:42, 2 Tim 4:1, Luke 2:11
God sits on His Throne: – 1 Kings 22:19, Ps 11:4; 47:48, | Revelations 7:17, 22:1,3
References:
(1) – Strong’s Concordance , 1510.
Faith Unto Ages 