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JESUS CHRIST: GOD-MAN - Vital Christianity

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128<br />

Yet the writer of Hebrews states that Christ is the One "through whom He made the<br />

worlds" (Heb 1:2). This is corroborated with John's teaching that "all things were made through<br />

Him [Jesus Christ]; and without Him was not anything made" (Jn 1:3; see also Col 1:16 and Ro<br />

11:36). These verses give the reason for Christ being given the title "the first begotten of<br />

all creation" (Col 1:15).<br />

Jesus, then, is the Creator of heaven and earth. Creative power—the ability to create<br />

something by fiat (out of nothing)—only belongs to God. People are able to make things out of<br />

something else, but cannot create by fiat. This is so because man is a created being himself. This<br />

is also why angels cannot create since they are also created beings.<br />

The created cannot create; only the Creator can create. The fact that Jesus is the Creator<br />

means by definition that He is of the divine order.<br />

Thus He is the Creator (Jn 1:3; Col 1:16), Framer of the world (Heb 11:3), and the<br />

Sustainer or Preserver (Col 1:17; Heb 1:3).<br />

The Preincarnate Christ's Relationship to Theophanies<br />

A theophany is an "appearance" of or "manifestation" of God. An appearance of Christ is<br />

called a "Christophany."<br />

The Angel of Jehovah<br />

Practically all of the theophanies appear in the Hebrew Scriptures, with the Angel of<br />

Jehovah (Yahweh) being mentioned any number of times. The meaning of the word "angel" is<br />

"messenger" (Gn 16:10-13; 18:16-22; 22:11-12; 24:40; 48:16; Ex 3:2; 23:20-25; 32:34; 33:21-<br />

23; Jos 5:13-15; Jdg 13:3-20; Isa 63:9; Da 10:13; Zec 1:11,12; Mal 3:1).<br />

In all of the references mentioned above there is manifestation of God. The question<br />

arises, "Is the Angel of Jehovah Jesus Christ?" The contention is made that if the Angel of<br />

Jehovah is God and also distinct from God, then the Angel of Jehovah may well be the Son,<br />

Jesus Christ.<br />

Indications that the Angel of Jehovah may well be Jesus Christ<br />

● The fact that the Angel of Jehovah never appears after the incarnation is a strong<br />

argument that the Angel of Jehovah is Christ.<br />

● The fact that the Angel of Jehovah in the Old Testament is the visible manifestation of<br />

God indicates quite strongly that the Angel of Jehovah is Christ inasmuch as Jesus Christ is the<br />

visible manifestation of God in the New Testament.

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