Slideshow image

In the early days of Christianity, heated debates raged about the nature of Jesus Christ. Was He merely a great teacher? A created being? Or was He truly God incarnate? These weren't just academic discussions - they cut to the very heart of the Christian faith.

One legendary tale from this era involves Saint Nicholas (yes, the inspiration for Santa Claus) at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. As the story goes, Nicholas became so incensed listening to Arius deny Christ's divinity that he walked across the room and slapped him! While we certainly don't condone physical violence in theological debates today, this anecdote illustrates how passionately early Christians viewed this issue.

But why is the deity of Jesus so crucial? Let's explore three compelling reasons why this truth is worth contending for:

1. If Jesus isn't truly God, His incarnation means nothing.

The miracle of Christmas - God becoming human - loses all significance if Jesus was just another man. The apostle Paul, writing to the Philippians, declares that Christ "though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men" (Philippians 2:6-7).

This isn't saying Jesus ceased to be divine. Rather, it's a profound picture of the eternal Son of God willingly embracing human limitations while retaining His divine nature. As one early church father, Cyril of Alexandria, beautifully expressed it: "The Word endured to be born in human fashion, although in his divine nature, he has no beginning, nor is he subject to time. He who as God is completely perfect, submitted himself to bodily growth."

Only if Jesus is truly God does the incarnation become the earth-shattering, history-altering event we celebrate. Otherwise, it's just another birth in Bethlehem.

2. If Jesus isn't truly God, His crucifixion does nothing.

The heart of the Christian gospel is that Jesus died for our sins. But here's a crucial point: a mere human sacrifice, no matter how noble, could never atone for the infinite debt we owe to a holy God. Our sin against an eternal being requires an eternal payment.

This is why Jesus had to be both fully human (to die in our place) and fully God (to offer an infinite sacrifice). As Paul writes, God was "canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross" (Colossians 2:14).

Only a divine Savior could bear the full weight of God's wrath against sin and emerge victorious. If Jesus were anything less than God incarnate, His death on the cross - while tragic - would have no saving power.

3. If Jesus isn't truly God, His resurrection proves nothing.

The resurrection is the linchpin of Christian faith. It's God's stamp of approval on everything Jesus claimed about Himself. But if Jesus isn't divine, His rising from the dead becomes just another miraculous event - impressive, perhaps, but not world-changing.

However, because Jesus is God, His resurrection signals the defeat of death itself. It's the guarantee that all who trust in Him will also rise to eternal life. As Paul triumphantly proclaims, "God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:9-11).

The resurrection proves that Jesus is exactly who He claimed to be - the divine Son of God with power over life and death.

So how do we "fight" for this truth today?

1. Know what you believe and why. Dive deep into Scripture, read solid theological works, and understand the historical development of Christian doctrine.

2. Defend the truth when it's under attack. Be prepared to give a reasoned defense of Christ's deity when you encounter challenges or misunderstandings.

3. Make disciples. Share what you know about Jesus with others, whether through formal teaching or everyday conversations.

4. Be humble! Remember, the point of defending Christ's deity isn't to win arguments, but to exalt Him. True theology should always lead to greater humility and worship.

C.S. Lewis famously argued that Jesus leaves us no middle ground. He cannot be merely a great moral teacher. Either He is who He claimed to be - the divine Son of God - or He was a lunatic or a liar. Lewis concludes, "You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."

The deity of Jesus isn't some abstract theological concept. It's the bedrock of our salvation, the source of our hope, and the reason for our worship. Without it, Christianity crumbles. With it, we have a Savior worthy of our complete trust and allegiance.

So let us contend for this truth - not with physical blows like the legendary Saint Nicholas - but with passion, conviction, and lives transformed by the power of the God who became man to rescue us.