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The first item to teach the young people related to spiritual knowledge is Christ. Concerning Christ, we need to pay attention to ten points: His divinity, His relation to all things, His incarnation (including His humanity), His crucifixion, His resurrection from the dead, His becoming the life-giving Spirit, His ascension, His giving of the Holy Spirit, His second coming and the establishment of the kingdom, and His centrality in eternity.
In this chapter we will look at some important verses concerning the divinity of Christ. Christ exists from eternity past. His nature is eternal and divine. We cannot separate Christ’s divinity from His eternal being. We must help the young people to see that our Savior is the unique God, who is without beginning and without end and who is self-existing and eternally existing.
There are several important verses that speak of His eternal, divine nature, which we can use as material, but we must be flexible in our use of them. Of these verses, most are appropriate for junior high-students. A few more of them can be added for high-school students, and all the verses can be used with college students. This is a big topic that will require more than one meeting to cover.
Micah 5:2 says, “You, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, / So little to be among the thousands of Judah, / From you there will come forth to Me / He who is to be Ruler in Israel; / And His goings forth are from ancient times, / From the days of eternity.” This verse is quoted in Matthew 2:5-6 to prove that Christ as the Savior, the Ruler, would be born in Bethlehem of Judea. When Micah 5:2 says that Christ would be born in Bethlehem, it is referring to His birth in time and space. However, the last part of the verse says, “His goings forth are from ancient times, / From the days of eternity.” Hence, although our Savior was born in time and space, He exists from ancient times and from the days of eternity. Ancient times and days of eternity denote eternity past, before time even existed. These words are equal to the phrase in the beginning in John 1:1, which is different from the phrase in the beginning in Genesis 1:1. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word,” but Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” In the beginning in John refers to the eternal existence of the Lord Jesus, which is from eternity past, without a beginning. In the beginning in Genesis refers to the creation of the universe, which occurred at the beginning of time. This explanation has levels of complexity that need to be considered when speaking to junior-high, high-school, and college students.
John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Verse 14 says, “The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us.” These verses show that the Word who was in the beginning, who was God, and who became flesh and tabernacled among us is Christ. The Christ who was in the beginning was not only God but also the Word. This Word is God spoken, God expressed. Word indicates that God, who was in the beginning, would be expressed.
John’s words are rather philosophical. He was not a simple man. When he wrote this Gospel, John was dealing with philosophical problems that were current at that time. In particular, there were many issues being debated concerning the divinity of the Lord Jesus. John wrote this book to deal with this particular problem. He began by saying that Christ is the Word, that is, God expressed. If Christ is God, God is the Word. This means that God can be expressed. As the Word, Christ is God expressed. This expressed God was in the beginning. Although His expression was not visible to others, He existed, and He desired to speak Himself forth, to express Himself more fully. In the beginning He was both God and the Word. God is His essence, and the Word is His expression. In essence He is God, whereas in expression He is the Word. This content, which is more philosophical in nature, is more appropriate for college students.
Isaiah 9:6 says, “A child is born to us, / A Son is given to us... / And His name will be called... / Mighty God, / Eternal Father.” Although He is the Son given to us, He is the Father. Mighty God is in contrast to child. Although He is the child born to us, He is the mighty God. Hence, this verse speaks first of a child and Son and then of the mighty God and eternal Father. Son and Eternal Father are a pair, just as child and Mighty God are a pair. This truth is presented in the way of contrast, and when we point out this contrast, it is not too difficult for even a junior-high student to understand. This is a wonderful portion of the Bible that refers to the Lord Jesus.
When the Lord Jesus was on the earth, He was called the Son. John 3:36 says, “He who believes into the Son has eternal life; but he who disobeys the Son shall not see life.” John 5:22 says, “Neither does the Father judge anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son.” Furthermore, 3:16 says, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” From these verses we see that the Son given to us is the Lord Jesus; He is the only begotten Son given to us. Then in verse 36 John says, “He who believes into the Son has eternal life; but he who disobeys the Son shall not see life.” Furthermore, according to 10:30, the Son and the Father are one. Hence, the Son given to us is called Eternal Father; He is the Father from ancient times (Micah 5:2). If we are speaking to students in junior high or high school, Isaiah 9:6 is sufficient. If we are speaking to college students, we can include the verses from the Gospel of John.
Psalm 102:24-27 says, “My God,... / Your years are throughout all generations. / Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, / And the heavens are the work of Your hands. / They will perish, but You endure; / Indeed all of them will wear out like a garment; / Like clothing You will change them, / And they will be changed. / But You are the same, / And Your years are without end.” God’s years are without end, and He will never change. These verses are quoted in Hebrews 1:10-12, which say, “You in the beginning, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of Your hands; they will perish, but You remain perpetually; and they all will become old like a garment, and like a mantle You will roll them up; like a garment they will also be changed; but You are the same, and Your years will not fail.” These verses, which refer to Christ, show two points. First, Christ existed before the heavens and the earth were created. He existed before the heavens and the earth came into being because He laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of His hands. This proves that He is without beginning. Second, even if the heavens and the earth perish, He would remain the same. This proves that He is without end. Hence, He is the eternal One.
Psalm 90:2 says, “Before the mountains were brought forth, / And before You gave birth to the earth and the world, / Indeed from eternity to eternity, You are God.” The first eternity refers to eternity past, and the second eternity refers to eternity future. From eternity past to eternity future Christ is God. Based on the quotation of Psalm 102:24-27, which speaks of God being eternal, and Hebrews 1:10-12, which refers to Christ, we know that God in Psalm 90:2 refers to Christ. Christ is God from eternity to eternity.
Exodus 3:14 says, “God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM. And He said, Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.” The divine title I AM denotes that God is the One who is self-existing and ever-existing. Self-existing denotes that He is without beginning, and ever-existing denotes that He is without end. This is the equivalent of saying that He is from eternity to eternity. God said, “I AM WHO I AM,” indicating that He is God without beginning and without end and from eternity to eternity. This verse also is a reference to Christ, who is eternal in His divinity.
Revelation 1:8 says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, He who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty.” Alpha is the first of the twenty-four letters of the Greek alphabet, and omega is the last letter. This denotes that the Lord is the First and the Last. At the same time, He is also the Almighty, the One who is, who was, and who is coming. Who was refers to the past, who is refers to the present, and who is coming refers to the future. Christ is such a One; He is the Almighty, He who is from eternity past to eternity future.
Hebrews 7:3 says, “Being without father, without mother, without genealogy; having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but likened to the Son of God, abides a priest perpetually.” This is a depiction of Christ as the eternal Son of God, who, having no genealogy in time, has neither beginning of days nor end of life.
The first seven references mentioned above can be used all or in part with students in junior high and high school, but the last reference is entirely for college students. We should lead the young people to memorize these verses, but the younger ones can memorize important phrases in the verses rather than memorizing the whole verse or the whole section. In this way they will have a basic understanding of the divinity of Christ and the eternal nature of Christ.
