II.

EVIDENCE OF CHRIST'S DIVINITY FROM THE SCRIPTURE.

It is my desire on this occasion to place in the hands of the Elders of Israel 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 that 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 blasphemy, and who roundly denounce the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for teaching it.

I call your attention 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",[A] the interpretation of which name is, according to Matthew, "God with us".[B] 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:

[Footnote A: Isaiah 7:14.]

[Footnote B: Matt. 1:23.]

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, _The Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace_.[A]

[Footnote A: Isaiah 9:6.]

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 his 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."[A]

[Footnote A: Since the delivery of the above discourse 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. and Cov. Sec. 93.) That is, it appears that Messiah was called the "Word" because He was the "Messenger"--"the Messenger of Salvation."]

Jesus Declares Himself to be God--the Son of God:

Jesus was crucified on the charge that he was an impostor--that he, being a man, said that "God was his Father, making himself equal with God" (John 5:18).

And again: "For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy, and because that thou being a man, makest thyself God" (John 10:33).

Again: when accused before Pilate, who declared he could "find no fault in him," the Jews answered him, "We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God." Moreover, the high priest, in the course of his trial before the Sanhedrim of the Jews, directly said to Jesus, "I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus said unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless, I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven" (Matt 27:63, 64).

And finally, when Jesus appeared to the eleven disciples after his resurrection, he said unto them, "All power is given unto me, in heaven and in earth, go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" (Matt. 28:18, 19). A clearer proclamation of his divinity could not be made than in the statement, "all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth," especially when it is followed by placing himself on equal footing with the Father and the Holy Ghost, which he does when he commands his disciples to baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Nothing can be added to this, except it be the words of God the Father directly addressed to Jesus, when he says, "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever" (Heb. 1:8).

Jesus Christ to be Worshiped, hence God.

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

[Footnote A: Rev. 19:10.]

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

[Footnote A: Heb. 1:5, 6.]

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.[A]

[Footnote A: Phil. 2:9, 10.]

There are other passages to the same effect, but it is perhaps unnecessary for me to turn to each of these 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.[A]

[Footnote A: John 1:1-4.]

Again in the epistle to the Colossians:

The Father * * * hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of heaven * * who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. 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 principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.[A]

[Footnote A: Col. 1:12-17.]

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, "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. And everywhere the scriptures command that men should worship the Creator. In fact the burden of the cry of that angel who is to restore the gospel in the hour of God's judgment is,

Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven and earth and the seas and the fountains of waters.[A]

[Footnote A: Rev. 14:7.]

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, therefore, 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.[A]

[Footnote A: Matt. 28:18, 19.]

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.[A]

[Footnote A: Phil. 2:6.]

So also is Christ given equal station with the Father and with the Holy Ghost in the apostolic benediction over and over again.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all.

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 Triumvirate 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.[A]

[Footnote A: Heb. 3:3.]

So Paul to the Corinthians:

The God of this world hath blinded the minds of those which believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, _who is the image of God_, should shine unto them.[A]

[Footnote A: II Cor. 4:4.]

So also, in his letter to the Colossians, when speaking of Christ Paul says:

Who is the image of the invisible God, the first born of every creature.[A]

[Footnote A: Col. 1:5.]

Being "the express image of his person," then the "image of the invisible God," Jesus becomes a revelation of the person of God to the children of men, as well as a revelation of his character and attributes. Again, you have the scriptures saying:

For it pleased the Father that in him [Christ Jesus] should all fullness dwell. * * * For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.[A]

[Footnote A: Col. 1:19, 2:9.]

All there is, then, in God, there is in Jesus Christ. All that Jesus Christ is, God is, And Jesus Christ is an immortal man of flesh and bone and spirit, and with his Father and the Holy Spirit will reign eternally in the heavens.