Evening journal., 1916-01-31
The Deity of Christ
preached Tabernacle yesterday morning by Lyon


was What with others would seem
the rankest absurdlty and inccngru-
ity. appears perfectly natural and
right with Jesus. Well does the apos-
tie John begin his gospel with the
statement, "In the beginning was the
Word. 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 Him,
tho only begotten of the Father. full
OF grace and truth
The next fact that separates Jesus
from all others who ever trod this
earth. is His sinlessness. He said,
(Which one OF you convinceth Me Of
sin?' Other men have spoken great
truths. but their lives and their words
did not correspond. Rousseau, for. eX-
ample. gave many excellent sugges-
tions regarding the training OF chill
dren. and yet he himself put his chill
dren in an orphan asylum and never
went to see them But with Jesus.
His words and works were the nat
ural outflow o. His life. II He had
said He was a sinner. He would have
falsiiied, and then He would have
been a sinner. Moreover Jesus claim
ed omnipotence. He said. "All power
is given to Me in heaven and on
earth" He declared He could bring
10 His aid. II He desired, twelve le-
gions Of angels
Someone says. But what difference
does il make who Jesus was, as long
as He spoke great truths and per-
formed wonderful miraclesY Now,
let MS see about that. A few years
ago an explorer returned from the
Arctic regions declaring that he had
discovered the north pole. When he
arrived in Denmark the people ac-
corded him great honors. and when
he reached New York he was greeted
with great enthusiasm. Afterwards
he stated that It was a matter Of
doubt whether he discovered the
north pole or not. Supposing a man
would come TO this city claiming to
be the crown prince of Germany. and
the German American citizens would
receive him most Hospitality and give
him a royal welcome and a great ban
quet in his honor. This man might
utter many great truths. but suppos-
ing after he left the city they would
find that he was the son of a black
smith down in southern Missouri.
How long could he hold the conf
dence and the admiration Of the peo-
nj 10 81 30.
possible to separate the personality
OF the man himself from his words
and deeds?
Now, either these claims are true,
or else they are false If they are
true. then Jesus was no mere man.
He was indeed and in truth very God
OF every God. But II He is not what
He claimed to be then He was one Of
the worst humbugs and impostors
the world has ever seen, Between
these two positions there is no neu-
tral ground.
Note furthermore, that Jesus
claimed unity with the Father He
said II and My Father are one.
Philip uttered a universal longing OF
human hearts when he exclaimed,
show us the Father and It sufficeth
u.s." We can detect a tinge of sad
ness and surprise In the answer Of
Jesus. Have / been so long with you
and hast thou not known Me, Philip
"He that has seen Me hath seen the
Father" Could you imagine Shakes
peare. or Bacon. or Victor Hugo, or
Emerson. or any other person who
ever lived. say. He that seen me
has seen God Himself?" The thought
would be so unreasonable as to be ri
diculous. Yet with Jesus it appears
perfectly natural and right If you
hold to the hypothesis that Jesus was
merely a man. by that you are not
going to satisfy the demands Of rea-
son. for you will find yourself con-
fronted with a hundred difficulties
and problems, where you would meet
but one in accepting Jesus. according
to His own claims and terms.
The next line OF evidence OF the
deity OF Christ which we would bring
is from his works. Every great mir
acle which Jesus performed in the
material world has a spiritual signifi-
cance and also a beneiicent purpose.
Each act is a type OF some great work
OF grace which He performs in the
inner life. For example, as He stilled
the tempest on the sea, so Jesus
calms the storm OF the human heart.
As He fed the hungry with the loaves
and fishes. so also He gives 10 men
the bread OF life. Each act OF physi-
cal healing is a clear type of some
form OF spiritual disease. which IL
illustrates how He heals the maladies
OF the soul. There are three instances
recorded where Christ raised the
dead to life The first was the daugh-
ter Of Jairus, the second was the son
Of the widow at Main. and the third
was Lazarus. In the first instance
the breath had just left the body. This
was typical OF those who have only
begun the life OF sin. In the second
instance they had already started to
the cemetery when Jesus met them,
laid His hand on the coffin and said,
Young man. ! say unto thee, arise. "
This is the type Of those who have
started and proceeded some way on
the downward career. In the third
case. that Of Lazarus. the body had
for a long time been dead and in the
grave four days This is an exam
pie OF those who have a long time
been dead in their trespasses and
sins. Jesus healed and raised them
all.
Now, we come to the greatest mir
acle OF Jesus, His own resurrection.
Paul throws down the challenge and
is content TO rest the claims of
Christ's deity upon this one fact. He