Jesus the Christ Part 3

[36] See "Articles of Faith," iii:21-32.

[37] 1 Tim. 2:14; see also 2 Cor. 11:3.

[38] Note 3, end of chapter.

[39] See page 7.

[40] Note 4, end of chapter.

[41] Note 5, end of chapter.

[42] Rom. 5:12, 18.

[43] 1 Cor. 15:21, 22.

[44] Lev. 22:20; Deut. 15:21; 17:1; Mal. 1:8, 14; compare Heb. 9:14; 1 Peter 1:19.

[45] John 10:17-18

[46] John 5:26

[47] John 6:38

[48] John 4:34

[49] John 5:30; see also verse 19; also Matt. 26:42; compare Doc. and Cov. 19:2; 20:24.

[50] New Standard Dictionary under "propitiation."

[51] 1 Cor. 15:20; see also Acts 26:23; Col. 1:18; Rev. 1:5.

[52] Matt. 27:52, 53.

[53] John 5:25, 28, 29. A modern scripture attesting the same truth reads: "They who have done good in the resurrection of the just; and they who have done evil in the resurrection of the unjust."--Doc. and Cov. 76:17.

[54] For instances see Acts 24:15; Rev. 20:12, 13.

[55] For instances see B. of M., 2 Nephi 9:6, 12, 13, 21, 22; Helaman 14:15-17; Mosiah 15:20-24; Alma 40:2-16; Mormon 9:13, 14.

[56] For instances see Doc. and Cov. 18:11, 12; 45:44, 45; 88:95-98.

[57] Doc. and Cov. 45:54.

[58] B. of M., 2 Nephi 9:6-13; read the entire chapter.

[59] P. of G.P., Moses 6:52; compare B. of M., 2 Nephi 25:20; Mosiah 3:17; 5:8; Doc. and Cov. 76:1.

[60] Rom. 3:23; see also verse 9; Gal. 3:22.

[61] 1 John 1:8.

[62] Heb. 5:9.

[63] Rom. 2:6-9.

[64] No special treatment relating to the Fall, the Atonement, or the Resurrection has been either attempted or intended in this chapter. For such the student is referred to doctrinal works dealing with these subjects. See the author's "Articles of Faith," lectures iii, iv, and xxi.

[65] A comparison related to that given in the text is treated at length by Henry Drummond in his essay, "Biogenesis," which the reader may study with profit.

[66] P. of G.P., Moses 1:39.

CHAPTER 4.

THE ANTEMORTAL G.o.ds.h.i.+P OF CHRIST.

It now becomes our purpose to inquire as to the position and status of Jesus the Christ in the antemortal world, from the period of the solemn council in heaven, in which He was chosen to be the future Savior and Redeemer of mankind, to the time at which He was born in the flesh.

We claim scriptural authority for the a.s.sertion that Jesus Christ was and is G.o.d the Creator, the G.o.d who revealed Himself to Adam, Enoch, and all the antediluvial patriarchs and prophets down to Noah; the G.o.d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the G.o.d of Israel as a united people, and the G.o.d of Ephraim and Judah after the disruption of the Hebrew nation; the G.o.d who made Himself known to the prophets from Moses to Malachi; the G.o.d of the Old Testament record; and the G.o.d of the Nephites. We affirm that Jesus Christ was and is Jehovah, the Eternal One.

The scriptures specify three personages in the G.o.dhead; (1) G.o.d the Eternal Father, (2) His Son Jesus Christ, and (3) the Holy Ghost. These const.i.tute the Holy Trinity, comprizing three physically separate and distinct individuals, who together const.i.tute the presiding council of the heavens.[67] At least two of these appear as directing partic.i.p.ants in the work of creation; this fact is instanced by the plurality expressed in Genesis: "And G.o.d said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness"; and later, in the course of consultation concerning Adam's act of transgression, "the Lord G.o.d said, Behold, the man is become as one of us."[68] From the words of Moses, as revealed anew in the present dispensation, we learn more fully of the G.o.ds who were actively engaged in the creation of this earth: "And I, G.o.d, said unto mine Only Begotten, which was with me from the beginning: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." Then, further, with regard to the condition of Adam after the fall: "I, the Lord G.o.d, said unto mine Only Begotten: Behold, the man is become as one of us."[69] In the account of the creation recorded by Abraham, "the G.o.ds" are repeatedly mentioned.[70]

As heretofore shown in another connection, the Father operated in the work of creation through the Son, who thus became the executive through whom the will, commandment, or word of the Father was put into effect.

It is with incisive appropriateness therefore, that the Son, Jesus Christ, is designated by the apostle John as the Word; or as declared by the Father "the word of my power".[71] The part taken by Jesus Christ in the creation, a part so prominent as to justify our calling Him the Creator, is set forth in many scriptures. The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews refers in this wise distinctively to the Father and the Son as separate though a.s.sociated Beings: "G.o.d, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time 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."[72] Paul is even more explicit in his letter to the Colossians, wherein, speaking of Jesus the Son, he says: "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 princ.i.p.alities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: and he is before all things, and by him all things consist."[73] And here let be repeated the testimony of John, that by the Word, "who was with G.o.d, and who was G.o.d even in the beginning, all things were made; and without him was not anything made that was made."[74]

That the Christ who was to come was in reality G.o.d the Creator was revealed in plainness to the prophets on the western hemisphere. Samuel, the converted Lamanite, in preaching to the unbelieving Nephites justified his testimony as follows: "And also that ye might know of the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of G.o.d, the Father of heaven and of earth, the Creator of all things, from the beginning; and that ye might know of the signs of his coming, to the intent that ye might believe on his name."[75]

To these citations of ancient scripture may most properly be added the personal testimony of the Lord Jesus after He had become a resurrected Being. In His visitation to the Nephites He thus proclaimed Himself: "Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of G.o.d. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name."[76] To the Nephites, who failed to comprehend the relation between the gospel declared unto them by the Resurrected Lord, and the Mosaic law which they held traditionally to be in force, and who marveled at His saying that old things had pa.s.sed away, He explained in this wise: "Behold I say unto you, that the law is fulfilled that was given unto Moses. Behold, I am he that gave the law, and I am he who covenanted with my people Israel: therefore, the law in me is fulfilled, for I have come to fulfil the law; therefore it hath an end."[77]

Through revelation in the present or last dispensation the voice of Jesus Christ, the Creator of heaven and earth, has been heard anew: "Hearken, O ye people of my church to whom the kingdom has been given--hearken ye and give ear to him who laid the foundation of the earth, who made the heavens and all the hosts thereof, and by whom all things were made which live, and move, and have a being."[78] And again, "Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of the living G.o.d, who created the heavens and the earth; a light which cannot be hid in darkness."[79]

The divinity of Jesus Christ is indicated by the specific names and t.i.tles authoritatively applied to Him. According to man's judgment there may be but little importance attached to names; but in the nomenclature of the G.o.ds every name is a t.i.tle of power or station. G.o.d is righteously zealous of the sanct.i.ty of His own name[80] and of names given by His appointment. In the case of children of promise names have been prescribed before birth; this is true of our Lord Jesus and of the Baptist, John, who was sent to prepare the way for the Christ. Names of persons have been changed by divine direction, when not sufficiently definite as t.i.tles denoting the particular service to which the bearers were called, or the special blessings conferred upon them.[81]

_Jesus_ is the individual name of the Savior, and as thus spelled is of Greek derivation; its Hebrew equivalent was _Yehoshua_ or _Yeshua_, or, as we render it in English, _Joshua_. In the original the name was well understood as meaning "Help of Jehovah", or "Savior". Though as common an appellation as John or Henry or Charles today, the name was nevertheless divinely prescribed, as already stated. Thus, unto Joseph, the espoused husband of the Virgin, the angel said, "And thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."[82]

_Christ_ is a sacred t.i.tle, and not an ordinary appellation or common name; it is of Greek derivation, and in meaning is identical with its Hebrew equivalent _Messiah_ or _Messias_, signifying the _Anointed One_.[83] Other t.i.tles, each possessing a definitive meaning, such as _Emmanuel_, _Savior_, _Redeemer_, _Only Begotten Son_, _Lord_, _Son of G.o.d_, _Son of Man_, and many more, are of scriptural occurrence; the fact of main present importance to us is that these several t.i.tles are expressive of our Lord's divine origin and G.o.ds.h.i.+p. As seen, the essential names or t.i.tles of Jesus the Christ were made known before His birth, and were revealed to prophets who preceded Him in the mortal state.[84]

_Jehovah_ is the Anglicized rendering of the Hebrew, _Yahveh_ or _Jahveh_, signifying the _Self-existent One_, or _The Eternal_. This name is generally rendered in our English version of the Old Testament as LORD, printed in capitals.[85] The Hebrew, _Ehyeh_, signifying _I Am_, is related in meaning and through derivation with the term _Yahveh_ or _Jehovah_; and herein lies the significance of this name by which the Lord revealed Himself to Moses when the latter received the commission to go into Egypt and deliver the children of Israel from bondage: "Moses said unto G.o.d, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The G.o.d of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And G.o.d said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you."[86] In the succeeding verse the Lord declares Himself to be "the G.o.d of Abraham, the G.o.d of Isaac, and the G.o.d of Jacob." While Moses was in Egypt, the Lord further revealed Himself, saying "I am the LORD: and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of G.o.d Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them."[87] The central fact connoted by this name, _I Am_, or _Jehovah_, the two having essentially the same meaning, is that of existence or duration that shall have no end, and which, judged by all human standards of reckoning, could have had no beginning; the name is related to such other t.i.tles as _Alpha and Omega_, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.[88]

Jesus, when once a.s.sailed with question and criticism from certain Jews who regarded their Abrahamic lineage as an a.s.surance of divine preferment, met their abusive words with the declaration: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am".[89] The true significance of this saying would be more plainly expressed were the sentence punctuated and pointed as follows: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham, was I AM;" which means the same as had He said--Before Abraham, was I, Jehovah. The captious Jews were so offended at hearing Him use a name which, through an erroneous rendering of an earlier scripture,[90] they held was not to be uttered on pain of death, that they immediately took up stones with the intent of killing Him. The Jews regarded _Jehovah_ as an ineffable name, not to be spoken; they subst.i.tuted for it the sacred, though to them the not-forbidden name, _Adonai_, signifying _the Lord_. The original of the terms _Lord_ and _G.o.d_ as they appear in the Old Testament, was either _Yahveh_ or _Adonai_; and the divine Being designated by these sacred names was, as shown by the scriptures cited, Jesus the Christ. John, evangelist and apostle, positively identifies Jesus Christ with Adonai, or the Lord who spoke through the voice of Isaiah,[91] and with Jehovah who spoke through Zechariah.[92]

The name _Elohim_ is of frequent occurrence in the Hebrew texts of the Old Testament, though it is not found in our English versions. In form the word is a Hebrew plural noun;[93] but it connotes the plurality of excellence or intensity, rather than distinctively of number. It is expressive of supreme or absolute exaltation and power. _Elohim_, as understood and used in the restored Church of Jesus Christ, is the name-t.i.tle of G.o.d the Eternal Father, whose firstborn Son in the spirit is _Jehovah_--the Only Begotten in the flesh, Jesus Christ.

Jesus of Nazareth, who in solemn testimony to the Jews declared Himself the _I Am_ or _Jehovah_, who was G.o.d before Abraham lived on earth, was the same Being who is repeatedly proclaimed as the G.o.d who made covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the G.o.d who led Israel from the bondage of Egypt to the freedom of the promised land, the one and only G.o.d known by direct and personal revelation to the Hebrew prophets in general.

The ident.i.ty of Jesus Christ with the Jehovah of the Israelites was well understood by the Nephite prophets, and the truth of their teachings was confirmed by the risen Lord who manifested Himself unto them shortly after His ascension from the midst of the apostles at Jerusalem. This is the record: "And it came to pa.s.s that the Lord spake unto them saying, Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the G.o.d of Israel, and the G.o.d of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world."[94]