Jesus Christ: The Revelation of God

JESUS CHRIST: THE REVELATION OF GOD.* BY B. H. ROBERTS.

II.

It is my desire on this occasion to place in the hands of the young men of our Mutual Improvement Associations such tangible proofs from the scriptures concerning Jesus Christ being "God manifested in the flesh," that they will be able hereafter to maintain the doctrine taught upon this subject by the Church; it

is my desire to cite you evidence from which our young men may maintain the doctrine \ hat God is an exalted man. For be it known unto you, that plain and from the scriptures indisputable as this doctrine of ours is, there are those who scorn it, who call it blas- phemy, and who roundly denounce the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for teaching it. I call your attenti m then, first of all, to the. fact that

Jesus Christ is called God in the Scriptures.

The first proof I offer for this statement is from the writings of Isaiah. You remember perhaps my former quotation from Isaiah, wherein that prophet says, "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel," the interpreta- tion of which name is, according to Matthew, "God with us." So that this man-child, born of a woman, and called "Immanuel," is God; and, moreover, is — "God with us" that is, with men. The same prophet also says this :

*A discourse delivered in the Tabernacle, Ogden, Utah, Tuesday evening, April 22, 1902, under the auspices of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association of the Weber Stake of Zion.

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For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the govern- ment shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

All concede that this is in plain allusion to Jesus Christ, and the scriptures here directly call Him "The Mighty God." He is also called God in the testimony of John. Mark this language, for it is a passage around which many ideas center, and to which we shall have occasion to refer several times. In the preface to his Gospel, John says:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. * * * And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld hia glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

There can be no question but direct reference is here made to the Lord Jesus Christ, as being the "Word;" and the "Word," or Jesus, being with the Father in the beginning; and the "Word," or Jesus Christ, also being God. The "Word," then, as used here by John, is one of the titles of Jesus in his pre-existent estate. Why called the "Word" I know not, unless it is that by a word we make an expression; and since Jesus Christ was to be the expression of God, the revelation of God to the children of men, He was for that reason called "The Word."*

Jesus Oirist to be worshiped, hence God.

Jesus Christ is t;> be worshiped by men and angels; and worship is an honor to be paid only to true Deity. The angels of heaven refuse the adoration we call worship. You remember when the Apostle John was on the isle of Patmos, and God sent a heavenly messenger to him, how the Apostle overawed by the brightness of his glory fell upon his face to worship him, and the angel said: "See thou do it not: for I am thy fellow servant, and

Since the delivery of the above I note the following in a revelation to Joseph Smith: "In the beginning the Word was, for he [Christ] was the Word, even the Messenger of Salvation." (Doc. & Cov. Sec. xciii.) That is, it appears that Messiah was called the "Word" because He wai the "Messenger" —"the Messenger of Salvation." R. —

of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keap the sayings of this book: Worship God."* So you see the angels refuse divine honors. But the scriptures prove that Jesus was especially to be worshiped; hence he must be Deity:

For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my son, this day have I And again, I will be to him a begotten thee? Father, and he shall be to me a Son. And again, when he bringeth in the First Begotten into the world, he saith, and let all the angels of God worship him.

The same doctrine is taught in the epistle to the Philippians: Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is

Lord, to the glory of God the Father.t

There are other passages to the same effect, but it is perhaps unnecessary for me to turn to each of these passages, since the ones here quoted will be sufficient to establish in your minds the fact contended for.

Jesus Christ is the Creator, hence God.

Jesus Christ is the Creator. Evidence of this is found in the testimony of John from which I have already quoted.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

Again, in Hebrews:

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets, 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.

Now we begin to see the relation of the Father and the Son; for though the "Word" be God, though "Immanuel" is God, that is,

*Rev. xix: 10. tPhil. ii: 9, 10.

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"God with us," He does not displace God the Father, but stands in the relationship of a Son to him. Under the direction of the Father, he created worlds, and in this manner is the Creator of our earth, and the heavens connected with the earth.

Jesus Christ equal with God the Father, hence God.

After the resurrection, Jesus appeared unto his disciples, and said to them, as recorded in the closing chapter of Matthew:

All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye, there- fore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.

Observe that the Lord Jesus Christ is placed upon a footing of equal dignity with God the Father, and with the Holy Ghost. This brings to mind the Scripture of Paul, where he says, speaking of Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God.*

In these several passages we have Jesus Christ, after his resurrection, asserting that all power had been given unto him, both in heaven and in earth; he is "placed upon a footing of equal dignity with God the Father in the holy Trinity — in the Grand Tri-

umvirate which constitutes the Presiding Council or Godhead reigning over our heavens and our earth — hence God. I now wish to give you the proof that Jesus Christ is the express image of the Father; the express image of his person, as well as the revelation of the attributes of God. Following that language in Hebrews where Jesus is spoken of as having created worlds under the direction of the Father, it is said: Who being the brightness of his [the Father's] 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 at the right hand of the Majesty on high.f

So Paul to the Corinthians: The god of this world hath blinded the minds of those which believe

• Phil, ii: 6.

f Heb. iii: 3.