THE PERSON OF

CHRIST

IN THE GOSPEL

AND THE KORAN

ABD AL-FADI

THE GOOD WAY RIKON/SWITZERLAND

CONTENTS

1. Christ in Islam 3

2. Distinctive characteristics of

Christ in the Qur'an 7

3. The miracles of Christ in the Qur'an 17

4. The sonship of Christ in the Qur'an 23

5. The deity of Christ in the Qur'an 31

6. The humanity of Christ in the Qur'an 39

7. Christ in the Holy Bible 45

8. The deity of Christ and his humanity 55

9. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity 69

10 The oneness of the three persons of

the Trinity 79

11 A reply to objections 85

AH Rights Reserved

Order Number: RPB 4301 ENG

First English edition: 1975

English title: The Person of Christ in the Gospel and the Qur'an

All Scripture quotations are taken from the

New King James Version, Holy Bible.

All Qur'an quotations are taken from The Koran Interpreted, by

Arthur J. Arberry

The Good Way »P.O. Box 66»CH-8486 Rikon • Switzerland

Internet://www.the-good-way.com

e-mail: info@the-good-way.com

CHRIST IN ISLAM

Christ is mentioned 93 times in 15 verses of the

Koran. Muslim thinking reverts to these verses,

whenever the Person of Christ comes under

discussion.

Most of the time Muslim theologians resorted to

the Christian text in their interpretation of these

verses. Whoever considers their writings, observes

that they accepted from this text only that which

seemed to agree with Muslim thought, and always

refused any attempt to find agreement between the

Gospel and the Koran due to the differences between

the basic beliefs and traditional stories set forth in the

two books. In their endeavour to uphold the validity

of the Koran, they allege the alteration (corruption) of

the Gospel whenever its text contradicts the Koran.

In this discussion I will try to show Koranic

thought in its gradual development when it opposes

the Christian doctrines. It is possible for me to begin

with the statement that anyone who investigates the

text of the Koran will notice that the first Koranic

verses from the Meccan period were very sympathetic

to Christianity and were favourably disposed to Christ

and His followers, to clergymen and monks. By the

end of Muhammed's period in Medina the verses had

become harsh, being hostile to Christians and entirely

rejecting the deity of Christ. No doubt the reason was

purely doctrinal because Muhammad saw, in the

dogma of the Trinity, that which conflicts with the

unity of God which Islam proclaims and on which its

message is based. In repudiating any toleration of this

subject there are a number of verses in the Koran

which criticise severely the doctrine of the Trinity,

accuse the Christians of Polytheism, of associating

partners with God and of exaggeration in their

religion.

Perhaps Muhammad was disturbed by the idea of

the Trinity held by some heretical Christian sects

which were scattered throughout the Arabian

peninsula, and whose trinity consisted of God and His

partner Mary, and her son Fsa. Even though no true

Christian has ever stated such an idea, the Muslims

have made a great issue of it which they have never

abandoned, inspite of all the explanations given by

Christians on every possible occasion.

There is also another deep-rooted problem. The

reason for this is a verse in the Koran which says,

"Remember I'sa, Son of Mary, said 'O: children of

— 4 —

Israel! Lo! I am the Emissary (Apostle, Ambassador)

of Allah unto you, confirming that which is in My

Hands from the Torah, and proclaiming good tidings

of an Emissary who cometh after Me whose name is

Ahmad (the Most Praised One). Yet when He came to

them with proofs they said 'This is pure magic'"

(Surat As Saff - The Ranks - 6).

In a conversation Abu Jaafar al Tabari quoted

from Muawiyeh ben Salih and Sa'id ben Suwaid and Al

Ala bin Hilal al Sulami and I'rbäd bin Sariah, saying:

"I heard the Emissary of Allah say, 'With God I

am foreordained to be the seal of the prophets. Really

Adam is mixed with the earth. I will inform you first

that my father Abraham prayed and Fsa also

proclaimed about me and there was the vision which

my mother saw. Likewise the mothers of the prophets

saw that when my mother bore me, a great light issued

from her, enough to light the palaces of Damascus."

Muslims take this statement literally, and as the

Gospel is devoid of any indication of a prophecy

concerning Muhammed, or any statement that Christ

spoke of him, they say the Injil is corrupted.

There is a third difficulty. The reason for it is the

belief of Christians in the Gospel account of Christ's

suffering and his crucifixion, as a basic truth of their

religion. The Koran denies the crucifixion because it

says the following about the Jews: "Because of their

saying 'We slew the Messiah, I'sa the Son of Mary' -

they slew him not nor crucified him but it appeared to

them as if it was so, and lo! those who disagree

concerning him are themselves in doubt about him;

they have no knowledge of him other than the

following of an opinion; they definitely did not slay

him, but Allah took him up unto Himself. Allah was

ever mighty, wise" (Surat an Nisa - Women - 157).

— 6 —

There is a fourth difficulty. The reason for this is

the belief of Christians that Christ is the Son of God.

The Koran has condemned this belief in a series of

verses which I will mention in their appropriate places

in this booklet, along with the interpretations and

comments of scholars.

DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF

CHRIST IN THE KORAN

In spite of the opposition of Islam to the basic

Christian doctrines the Koran acknowledges Christs'

attributes and dignity which put him on a higher level

than human beings. These characteristics were

manifested in his way of life and conduct, his

message and his person. When we compare these

characteristics with those which the Koran mentions

concerning the prophets and apostles, we see that it

does not give any of them, not even Muhammad

himself, those special characteristics pertaining to

Christ.

1) His Miraculous Conception.

We read in the Koran, "And Mary, daughter of

Imran, whose womb was chaste, therefore We

breathed therein from Our Spirit. And she put faith in

the words of her Lord and His Scriptures, and was

from the obedient." (Surat El Tahrim - Banning - 12.

See also Surat El Anbiya - The Prophets - 91.)

Al Fakhr al Razi says, "We breathed therein of our

Spirit" means "in Fsa", as Fsa was in her abdomen.

— 7 —

There is disagreement over who breathed. Some say

the breathing was from Allah - as Allah says, "We

breathed therein of Our Spirit," by which it appears it

was Allah himself who breathed. Others say that the

one who breathed was Gabriel, because it is said in a

statement attributed to Gabriel, "I grant to you."

There is also disagreement over the manner of this

breathing. (1) There is the saying of Wahb that

Gabriel breathed into her breast and it reached her

womb.

2. Another version is that he breathed into the hem of

her garment and she conceived.

3. Al Saddi said, "He took hold of her sleeve and

breathed into her side, and it entered her breast and

she conceived. Then Mary's sister, the wife of

Zachariah, came to visit and help her, and while she

was assisting her she knew that Mary was pregnant,

and Mary mentioned her state to her. The wife of

Zachariah said 'I find the child in my womb worships

that which is in yours.'" Thus the statement (believing

in the Word of Allah). (4) The breathing was in her

mouth and reached her womb and immediately she

conceived.

Ibn Abbas said, "Gabriel opened the inner

garment with his fingers and breathed inside." The

saying, "whose body was chaste" means she kept

herself chaste and maintained her virtue, and, "We

breathed therein of our Spirit" means the breathing

was into the opening of her garment. It is also said,

"We (i. e. Allah) created whatever appears in it (womb

of Mary)."

Mu'qatil, in his explanation of the words, "She

believed in the words of her Lord" said they mean, "in

I'sa" and al Hasan, when reading the Koran,

indicated this by substituting "Word" of her Lord,

instead of "Words"; and I'sa is called the "Word of

Allah" in a number of places in the Koran.

2) His Miraculous Birth.

The Koran mentions this conversation between

the virgin Mary and the angel of the Lord when he

came with the announcement of Christ's birth. "He

said, 'I am a messenger of the Lord, that I may bestow

on thee a faultless boy'; she said 'How can I have a boy

when no mortal hath touched me, neither have I been

unchaste'. He said, 'So it will be'. Thy Lord says, 'It is

easy for me. And we will make him a revelation to

mankind and a mercy from us, and it is a thing

ordained'" (Surat Mariam-Mary - 19 to 21).

Al Baidawi has commented on the miraculous

birth of Jesus saying, "That distinction sets Christ

apart from other humans and messengers, because he

was born without any human embrace or relationship."

9

But AI Fakhr el Razi comments on the subject thus:

1. Concerning the words "I bestow on thee a

faultless boy," he said, "Faultless means three

things: First, that he is without sin; secondly that he

grew in integrity, as it is said that he who has no sin is

chaste and in the growing plant there is purity; thirdly,

he was above reproach and pure.

2. The words, "We make him a revelation for

mankind" mean we make his birth a sign to mankind,

as he was born without a father; and, "a mercy from

Us" means mankind will be blessed by the

manifestation of these signs for they will be

overwhelming indications of his truthfulness and will

make the acceptance of his word more likely.

Al Imam Abu Jaafar al Tabari said in explanation

of the words "faultless boy", - and basing it on the

saying of Abu Amr, - "the chaste boy is pure from

sin." Thus the Arabs say, "a youth pure and chaste,

outstanding and excellent."

3) He was Blessed of God.

We read in Surat Mariam these words as spoken by

Christ, "He hath made Me blessed wherever I may be"

(Surat Mariam - Mary - 30).

At Tabari, quoting Yunus ibn Abd al Ala and

Sufyan said that the explanation of "hath made Me

— 10 —

blessed" means "He hath made me a 'teacher of

good'".

Suleiman bin Abd al Jabbar, quoting Muhammed

bin Yazid bin Hunais al Makhzoumi, said, "I heard

Ibn al Ward, a slave of the Bani Makhzoum say. A

scholar encountered another more learned than

himself and, after greeting him, said 'What should be

manifested from my knowledge?' He said 'The doing

of good and the refraining from the forbidden. This is

the religion of Allah, which he sent through his

prophets to mankind.'" Scholars have agreed on the

saying of Allah "He hath made Me (i.e. I'sa) blessed,

wheresoever I be."

4) He was supported by the Holy Spirit.

We read in Surat al Baqarah - the Cow - 253, "We

gave I'sa, son of Mary, clear proofs and we

supported him with the Holy Spirit."

Ibn Abbas said, "The Holy Spirit is the name by

which I'sa was raising the dead." Abu Muslim said,

"The Holy Spirit by whom he was supported was

probably the pure Spirit, which Allah breathed into

him, and by which he distinguished him from those

whom he created in a normal manner from man and

woman."

We read in Surat an Nisa - Woman - 170, "The

Messiah, I'sa, son of Mary, is a messenger of Allah,

— 11 —

and his Word which he conveyed unto Mary and a

spirit from him. So believe in Allah and his

messengers."

The substance of these verses is that Allah gave

I'sa, in his person, a spirit, and this spirit supported

him in his personality. But Muslim scholars have

differed in the explanation of the Holy Spirit by whom

he was supported.

Ibn Ines said, "He is the Spirit which was breathed

into Christ. Allah related him to himself, honouring

him (Christ) and setting Him apart. The "Holy" is

God, and the saying 'We breathed in him of our

Spirit' is indicative of this."

Al Suddi and Kaab said, "The Holy Spirit is

Gabriel, and his support of I'sa consisted in being

his companion and friend, helping and

accompanying him wherever he went, until he was

taken up into heaven."

Ibn Jubair said, "Spirit of the Holy is the supreme

name for Allah and by it I'sa was raising the dead."

Al Qashani said, "Allah purposed to cleanse the

body of I'sa from inherent impurities and he was an

incarnate spirit in an ideal and spiritual body, he

(Allah) cleansed his spirit and purified him from

being influenced by natural instincts and

environmental characteristics, so that he could be

— 12 —

supported by the Holy Spirit on whose form he was."

Ibn A'ta said, "The most excellent plants are those

whose fruits are like I'sa, the Spirit of God."

Ibn Abbas said, "As it was the Spirit which was

breathed into him and the Holy One is Allah so he is

the spirit of Allah."

5) His Ascension at the time of His Death.

We read that, "Allah said 'O I'sa, lo, I am gathe-

ring You and causing You to ascend to me and am

cleansing You of those who disbelieve'" (Surat al

Imran 55).

Al Fakhri al Razi said, "There are many

interpretations of this verse", of which we quote two:

a) The meaning of 'I will cause you to ascend' is

that Allah would take him to the place of his honour

and make that ascension honour and exaltation to

I'sa."

Similar to this is the saying, "I go to My Lord"

(this statement is taken from the Gospel).

b) "The interpretation of 'causing you to ascend

unto me' means that Allah was raising him to a place

where no one could judge him, for on earth men pass

various kinds of judgement on one another, but in

heaven there is no true or omniscient Judge except

Allah."

— 13 —

6) His Infallibility in His Message and His Way of Life.

Some people imagine that infallibility of message

is definitely linked with infallibility of conduct, but the

verses of the Koran contradict this idea. We read many

verses which make it clear that the prophets' lives were

not without blame, neither before nor after their

message. But in the Koran Christ's life was infallible,

as was his message. The angel witnessed to that when

he said to his mother, "I am the messenger of your

Lord and I bestow on you a faultless child." El

Baidawi said in his comments on the word "faultless"

that Fsa advanced intellectually from year to year.

7) Signs proved the uniqueness of His message.

As his message was made unique by the support of

the Holy Spirit so was it also unique in the multiplicity

and character of the signs attending it, which exceeded

those given to any other messenger. We read, "We

gave I'sa, son of Mary, clear proofs" (Surat al

Baqara: the Cow; 253). The proofs being the miracles.

Al Baidawi said, "Allah bestowed on him a

special assignment and made His miracles a reason for

his preference above other messengers. They were

clear signs and great wonders unequalled in number

by any other."

— 14 —

8) His Omniscience.

The Koran says, "When the Son of Mary is quoted

as an example, your people alienate themselves from

Him. Surely he is a sign for the hour (i.e. day of

Judgement)" (Surat al Zukhruf: Ornaments of Gold;

57 and 61).

Al Jalalan said in his explanation of the phrase 'a

sign for the Hour' "seeing as I'sa was a Sign for the

hour, he knew when it (the day of Judgement) would

come. When we remember that people generally recog-

nize that Allah is separate from his creation in that he

alone knows the times, we comprehend the distinction

which the Koran assigns especially to Christ."

9) He is the Mediator near to Allah.

When we consider verse 44 of Surat al Zumar: the

Troops; we find that the Koran confines the work of

intercession to Allah alone, when it says: "Unto Allah

belongs all intercession". Another verse of the Koran

hints that intercession is also one of the privileges of

Christ, when it says, "Remember when the angel said

'O Mary, lo, Allah gives you glad tidings of a word

from him, whose name is the Messiah, I'sa, Son of

Mary, an outstanding personality in the world and in

the hereafter, and one of those brought near" (Surat al

Imran 44).

Al Jalalan said in explanation of this verse, "Out-

— 15 —

Standing in this world by the ministry of prophecy and

in the hereafter by intercession and position and being

one of those brought near unto Allah."

Al Tabari, quoting Ibn Humaid and Salama and Ibn

Ishaq and Muhammed bin Jaafar, said," 'outstanding

in the world' means possessor of dignity and living

close to Allah in the world. The words 'in the hereafter

and among those brought near' mean that he is one of

those whom Allah brings near to himself on the Day of

Resurrection, and who will dwell close to him."

Al Razi said concerning I'sa, "He was out-

standing in the world because he obeyed the call of

Allah, and raised the dead, healed the blind and the

leper; and will be outstanding in the hereafter because

Allah will make him an intercessor for his people."

However the saying, "one brought near" has

various viewpoints.

First, that Allah had made the position of being

near to him a great privilege for the angels and would

admit I'sa to their rank and dignity. Secondly, this

description is an announcement that he would be

raised to heaven and associated with angels.

Thirdly, not every outstanding person in the

hereafter would be close to Allah, because those in

paradise are of various ranks and degrees.

— 16 —

THE MIRACLES OF CHRIST

IN THE KORAN

1) His Power to Create.

In the Koran there is the following statement:

"When Allah saith 'O I'sa, son of Mary! Remember

My favour unto Thee... and how I taught Thee the

Scripture and Wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel:

and how Thou didst shape of clay as it were the likeness

of a bird and didst blow into it and it was a bird, by my

permission'" (Surat al Maidat-The Table Spread -

109).

Ibn Arabi in his interpretation of this verse said,

"Allah bestowed on I'sa a Spirit, and added the power

to breathe life into what he had made of clay. To none

other than I'sa has Allah given this power to impart

life."

2) He spoke at His birth.

When Mary gave birth to her son, her people blam-

ed her, thinking that she had born him out of wedlock.

"Then she pointed to him and they said 'How can

we talk to one who is in the cradle, a young boy?'

27

He said 'Lo! I am a slave of Allah. He hath given me

the scripture and hath appointed me a prophet'"

(Surat Mariam [Mary] 28-29).

It has been said by trustworthy scholars that when

Mary's people went too far in reproaching her she was

silent and pointed to her child as if she would say to

them, "He will answer you."

As Suddi said, "When she pointed to him they

were very angry, and said, 'Her mockery of us is worse

than her adultery'".

Another story relates that I'sa was feeding at his

mother's breast, and when he heard the complaint

against Mary he stopped feeding, turned his face to the

people, and resting on his left hand, pointed with his

finger and spoke to them.

There is also another story, told by Al Razi which

says Zachariah came to her during this debate among

the Jews concerning her, and said to I'sa, "Speak for

yourself if you have been commanded so to do" and

I'sa said, "I am the servant of Allah. He has given me

wisdom and made me a prophet".

3) He raised the dead and healed the blind and the leper.

The Koran states, in the words of Christ, "I heal

him who was born blind, and the leper, and I raise the

dead by the permission of Allah" (Surat al Imran: 49).

— 18 —

It is known that the word "blind" in this quotation

means those who were born in that condition. It is also

a fact that leprosy is a dangerous disease, and both

ailments are beyond the power of man to cure.

AI Muthanna, quoting Ibn Ishaq and Hafs ibn

Umar and Ikrima, mentioned that Allah told I'sa to

repeat this verse to the Jews by way of proving he was

a prophet because blindness and leprosy have no cure.

Concerning the phrase "I raise the dead"; Wahb

ibn Munabbih related that while I'sa was playing with

some boys, a youth sprang on one and striking him

with his foot killed him, then threw him bleeding into

the arms of I'sa. People were told of this and accused

I'sa, then seized him, took him to a judge, and said,

"This boy has killed another boy". The judge question-

ed him and I'sa replied, "I do not know the one who

killed him neither am I one of his friends". Then they

wanted to strike I'sa so he said to them, "Bring the

boy to me", and they asked him, "Why?" He replied,

"I will ask him who killed him." They asked, "How

can he speak to you if he is dead?" Then they took him

to the dead boy and I'sa began to pray for him and

Allah restored him to life.

From Wahb comes another story, which says, "A

great number of sick people, possibly some fifty thou-

sand, once crowded around him. Those who were able

— 19 —

to do so reached him, but for those who could not do

so Jesus walked amongst them and cured them by

prayer".

Another from Kalbi, who says, "Jesus used to raise

the dead by the cry 'O Thou Who art alive-0 Everlas-

ting One'. He raised Lazarus his friend and he called

Shem, the son of Noah, from his grave and he came

forth alive. He passed by the dead son of an old

woman and invoked Allah for him, and the deceased

descended from his bier, returned to his family, and

continued his normal life."

4) He had knowledge of things hidden and invisible.

The Koran mentions Christ as saying: "I announce

to you what you eat and what you store up in your

houses" (Surat Al Imran 49).

In regard to this scholars see two factors. The first,

that I'sa, from the beginning, could discern hidden

matters. As Suddi relates; "While he was playing with

the children he told them what their mothers and

fathers did. He told one boy, 'Your mother has hidden

something for you', so the boy went home and cried

until he received it. Then the people said to their

children 'Don't play with this magician' and they

collected them into a home. I'sa came to look for

them and the people said to him, 'They are not in the

— 20 —

house' so he asked, 'Who then is in this house?' They

replied; 'pigs'. I'sa said, 'Thus they will be for they

are pigs'".

The second factor is that discernment of hidden

matters is miraculous. Astrologers who tell the future

and reveal hidden matters can only do so by question-

ing. They also confess they often make mistakes. But

knowledge of the unknown, without recourse to aids,

or previous knowledge, cannot be without inspiration.

5) He brought a table spread with food from heaven.

The Koran says; "When the disciples said, 'O

I'sa, son of Mary! Is Thy Lord able to send down for

us a table spread with food from heaven?' He said,

'Reverence Allah, if you are true believers'. They said,

'We wish to eat thereof, that we may satisfy our hearts,

and know that Thou hast spoken truth to us, and that

we may be witnesses thereof. I'sa, son of Mary, said

'O Allah, send down a table spread with food from

heaven, that it may be a feast for us, for the first of us,

and the last of us, and a sign from Thee. Give us

sustenance, for Thou art the best of Sustainers'"

(Surat al Maidat — The Table Spread — 112-114).

The religious leaders (Imams) have disagreed in

describing the descent of the 'table'; also how it looked

and what was on it. Qatada, quoting from Jabir and

Yasir ibn Ammar and Muhammed, says, "The table

— 21 —

was sent down spread with bread and meat. The

disciples had asked I'sa for food they could eat, and

which would not cease. He said to them 'I will do this

for you and it will remain, if you do not hide it nor

cheat. If you do you will be punished'. But before the

day had passed they cheated and hid food, so the

'table' was taken up and they were transformed into

monkeys and pigs".

— 22 —

lbs Abbas said, "I'sa said to the children of

Israel, 'Fast for thirty days, then ask Allah what you

will and he will give it'. They fasted thirty days and

when they had finished they said, 'O I'sa, we have

fasted and are hungry. Call upon God to send down a

table of food from heaven'. Then I'sa put on a coarse

woolen garment covered with ashes and called upon

Allah and angels came with a 'table' on which were

seven loaves and seven huge fish. This was placed

among them and there was sufficient for all".

THE SONSHIP OF CHRIST IN THE

KORAN

Whoever considers the person of Christ as reveal-

ed in the Koran discovers that the subject of his

"Sonship" raises much controversy. There are five

theories concerning it.

1) It is blasphemy.

The Koran states, "It is not fitting to the majesty

of Allah that he decreeth a thing. He saith only unto it

'Be!' and it is" (Surat mariam 34).

It also says, "They say, 'The Beneficent hath

taken unto Himself a son'. Assuredly ye utter a

disastrous thing, whereby the heavens are almost

torn, and the earth is split asunder, and the mountains

fall in ruins, that ye ascribe unto the Beneficent a son.

It is not meet for (the majesty of) the Beneficent that

he should take a son. There is none in the heavens

and in the earth but cometh unto the Beneficent as a

slave" (Surat Mariam: 89-94).

— 23 —

It says in Al Fakhri al Razi's commentary, "I know

that Allah, when he replied to the idolaters, spoke to

those who asserted that he had a son. The Jews said

that Azer was the son of God, and the Christians said

that Christ was the Son of God; and the Arabs said the

angels were the daughters of God, and all of them are

included in the verse, "They say 'The Beneficent hath

taken unto Himself a son...'."

The words, "a disastrous thing" mean it was a

shocking denial of truth. Thus the tearing of the heav-

ens and the splitting of the earth and the collapse of

mountains mean that the wrath of Allah is on him who

says, "The Beneficent has taken to himself a son".

2) It is a uniting of part of creation with the Creator.

In Surat az Zukhruf-Ornaments of Gold - 15, we

read, "They allot to him a portion of his bondmen.

Lo! man is an obvious blasphemer. Does he take

daughters from that which he created and honoureth

you with sons?"

Here there arises the question: "What relationship

is there between Creator and created that a part of

creation can be joined to the Creator?" It is physically

and mentally impossible. Also they (the Muslims) go

on from the statement, "There is none in the heavens

and in the earth but cometh unto him as a slave" to

say, "It is not possible for a slave to become a lord", and

— 24 —

from the words, "the Creator of heaven and earth"

they affirm it is not possible for the created to be a

creator.

We, as Christians, affirm that it is not possible to

join anything to Allah from his creatures, but accord-

ing to our belief, this cannot be applied to any

relationship between the Father and the Son, as the

"Son" is one in essence with the "Father", and the

Koran itself says that Christ is the Word of God, and a

Spirit from Him. So the uniting of part of God's

creation with Him has nothing to do with the matter of

the Sonship of Christ.

3) A "Son" can only be born from male and female.

Here there is a problem in the understanding of

Islam concerning sonship, seeing as the Koran states

"How can he (Allah) have a child, when there is for

him no consort?" (Surat An'am - Cattle - 102).

Al Baidawi has commented on this verse saying,

"It is only rational to say that a child is one born of

male and female, of the same kind and nature, and

Allah is far above homogeneousness".

This is the concept of Islam, with regard to the

inconceivability of God as having a son. He does not

have a consort and it is impossible that there could be

one. This is the secret of their denial to God's father-

— 25 —

hood of Christ, for there is no "sonship", in the

opinion of the Koran, except in a physical sense.

That which is written in Tabari's "Jami al Bayan"

supports this opinion. It is quoted by Wahb and Abi

Zeid who say "A child must be born of male and

female, and it cannot be that Allah has a consort and a

child. It is he who has created all things and if there is

nothing except that which Allah has created how

could he have a son?"

Some scholars resort to the verse given concerning

certain heretics who were originally heathen and after

joining the church sought to introduce in it a heresy

which claimed that Mary, the virgin, was a god.

Perhaps they took her as a substitute for the goddess

Venus, whom they used to worship before. They are

alluded to by the learned Ahmad al Maqrizi, in his

book "Al Qoul al Ibrizi" page 26, and also mentioned

by Ibn Hazm in his book "Al Milal wa Al Ahwa wa Al

Nihal", page 48. Their heresy suggests that Allah had a

consort and a son by her, and is obviously rejected by

the Koran. But this idea is entirely foreign to

Christianity. No Christian believes it. It is an insult

directed against a Holy God who is free from bodily

characteristics.

In fact anyone considering the Christians' belief,

which is based on the Gospel, finds that they never

look upon Christ as Son of God in a physical sense, but

— 26 —

believe he is the Son of God, coming out from the

divine presence, as in the description of Him being

"the Word who was with God in the beginning", and

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit.

The great apostle Paul points to this truth when he

says in Romans 1:1-4, "Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus,

called to be an apostle, and set apart for the gospel of

God - the Gospel he promised his prophets in the

Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his

human nature was a descendant of David, and who

through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power

to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the

dead."

4) He used to partake of food.

It is recorded in Surat al Maidat 75: "The Messiah,

son of Mary, was not other than a messenger, like

those who had passed away before him. His mother

was a saintly woman. They both used to eat (earthly)

food. See how we make the revelations clear to the

people and see how they are turned away." According

to Islamic thinking the impossibility of there being

divinity in Christ is clear from his humanity, for he

who partakes of food, how can he be Allah?

Al Razi says in explanation of this verse, a) "Every-

one who has had a mother has come from a non-

— 27 —

existence into being and all such were created and not

Allah, b) They were poor and in need. They were in

desperate need of sustenance but Allah is he who is in

need of nothing so how could Christ be Allah? c) The

saying "they both ate food" alludes to their humanity;

for everyone who partakes of food is mortal". (Al Razi

commented that he considered this third point to be

weak.)

5) The created is incapable of benefiting or harming.

Surat al Maidat 76 says, "Serve ye in place of Allah

he who possesseth for you neither hurt nor use? Allah

is the Hearer, the Omniscient". Commentators have

taken this verse to refer to perverted Christian claims

and have said it contains a number of arguments.

a) The Jews continually opposed Fsa and sought

to do him harm, but he was not able to hurt them. His

friends and followers loved him, but he was unable to

bring to them good or worldly gain. If one is unable to,

harm his enemies or bring worldly benefits, how can

the mind accept that he be Allah?

In addition to this interpretation Al Baidawi said

"I'sa, even if he possessed special privileges did so

because God took possession of him; he did not pos-

sess them in himself. But we say that if Jesus was

merely the I'sa of the Koran — I'sa the slave — we

would admit that he did not possess these powers, (to

— 28 —

benefit his followers or harm his enemies). But Jesus,

as Isaiah the prophet said, is "Mighty God" (Isaiah

9:6) and we thank him because his message was neither

for harming, nor for giving material benefit, but was

for salvation. The Koran itself says that he came as a

"mercy to the world".

— 29 —

2. There is a sect of Christians who say that the

Jews crucified him and wounded his side and when he

was thirsty and asked for water, they poured vinegar

in his nostrils. How could anyone as weak as this be

considered Allah?

3. The God of the world cannot be in need of any

other being, but all others are in need of him. If I'sa

had been Allah, he would not have been occupied in

worship, for an Allah does not worship anything. It is

man who worships Allah. It was generally

acknowledged that he (I'sa) continued in obedience to

God and worshipped him, and it was understood he

did so because he was in need of obtaining benefits

himself, and the ability to do harm to others. He who

is thus, how can he convey benefits to others and

defend them from evil? If he was like this, he was a

man as other men.

— 30 —

THE DEITY OF CHRIST IN ISLAM

Probably the greatest controversy in the dialogue

between Christianity and Islam is that which arises

from the Christian belief in the divinity of Christ,

which in the opinion of the Koran is blasphemy and

unbelief. It is contradicted in many verses, the most

important of which are four mentioned in Surat al

Maidat (The Table), and a fifth in Surat an Nisa'

(Woman).

1) It is stated in the Koran that, "They have disbe-

lieved who say 'Lo! Allah is the Messiah, son of Mary'.

Who can do anything against Allah, if he had willed

to destroy the Messiah, Son of Mary, and his mother,

and everyone on earth?" (Surat al Maidat 17)

Al Razi, in his comments on this verse, claims it

contains a question. If none of the Christians say that

Allah is Christ, Son of Mary, why did Allah speak like

that about them, seeing as they do not say it? His

answer is that many of those who believe in "incarna-

tion" say that Allah may have become incarnate in the

body of a designated person, or in his spirit and if that

is so, it isn't improbable to say that some of the

— 31 —

Christians hold this doctrine. Yet this is not far from

what Christians do maintain, because they say that the

person of the Word was united with the person of Fsa.

The element of "the Word" is either a "Being" or an

attribute. If he is a Being, then the personality of Allah

has become incarnate in Fsa, and is one with him, and

thus, according to this saying, Fsa is Allah. If we say

the element of "the Word" is an expression of an

attribute then the transition of an attribute from one

personality to another is illogical.

Then the supposition of the transfer of the element

of knowledge from Allah to Fsa necessitates that Al-

lah himself is emptied of knowledge and he who is not

omniscient is not Allah. According to their belief I'sa

is Allah and it is certain that even if the Christians do not

clearly state this doctrine, the result of their ideology is

nothing less than that.

Allah-his name be praised-remonstrated against

the corruption of this belief when he said, "Who can do

anything against Allah, if He had willed to destroy the

Messiah, Son of Mary, and His mother?" These words,

in the opinion of commentators, mean that I'sa was

the same as any other on earth in his physical

appearance, nature, physique, character and conditions.

2) The Koran states, "They surely disbelieve who

say: 'Lo! Allah is the Messiah, Son of Mary.' The

— 32 —

Messiah himself said 'O children of Israel, worship

Allah, my Lord and your Lord. Lo! Whoso ascribeth

partners unto Allah, for him Allah hath forbidden

Paradise. His abode is the Fire. For evil doers there

will be no helpers'" (Surat al Maidat 72).

The Imam al Razi says in explaining this verse:

"Allah, when he inquired about some sayings of the

Jews, began here with a statement to the Christians,

and spoke of a sect that said, 'God became incarnate in

I'sa and was united in his person'".

3) Surat al Maidat 73 states, "They surely

disbelieve who say 'Lo! Allah is the third of three;

when there is no Allah save One. If they do not desist

from so saying a painful doom will fall on those who

disbelieve". Muslims start from this verse and accuse

the Christians of worshipping three gods, Allah, Mary

and Jesus.

Al Razi looks at the belief of the Christians in the

following way: "It is said about the Christians that

they claim "One Essence", and Three Persons, Father,

Son and Holy Spirit, and these Three are One God,

even as the sun contains a disk, rays and heat. They

mean by "The Father" the Personality; by "The Son"

the Word; and by "The Spirit" the Life. They assert the

Personality, the Word, and the Life, saying 'The Word

which is the Words of God, merged with the body of

— 33 —

I'sa, as water mixes with wine, and water with milk',

and allege that the Father is God, and the Son is God,

and the Holy Spirit is God". Al Razi concludes his

explanation with this addition, "Now this is known to

be false by instinct of the mind, for three cannot be one

and one cannot be three".

4) The Koran says "And when Allah saith, 'O

I'sa, Son of Mary! Didst Thou say unto mankind,

'Take me and my mother for two gods beside Allah?'

he saith 'Be glorified! It was not mine to utter that to

which I had no right. If I used to say it then, Thou

knowest it. Thou knowest what is in my soul and I

know not what is in Thyself. Thou only art the

Knower of things hidden'" (Surat al Maidat 116).

Al Razi finds problems in this saying:

The first is linked with the meaning of the state-

ment of Allah, "O I'sa, son of Mary remember my

grace is upon you". He relates this to the distinction

Christ will have on the day of resurrection.

The second; if Allah, being omniscient, knew that

I'sa did not say "take me and my mother for two

gods" - and it is not fitting that the omniscient

should ask the question - why did he address him? If

it be said that the purpose of it was to reprimand and

rebuke the Christians, then we say that no Christian

has believed the statement that I'sa and Mary were

— 34 —

two gods besides Allah. Therefore, how is it possible to

link this statement with them seeing as no one has ever

made it?

The answer given to the first point, "Why did he

address him?", is that it was a question stated in the

form of a denial.

The answer given to the second is that Allah is the

Creator. However, Christians believe that the Creator

of the miracles performed by I'sa and Mary was

I'sa and Allah did not create them at all. If that is so

then the Christians have said that the Creator for those

miracles is I'sa and Mary and not Allah. So truly

they have asserted to some extent that I'sa and Mary

are two gods beside Him. Thus Allah is no longer

God. Al Razi believes that various statements and

stories agree with this interpretation.

However, commentators on the Koran disagree

about the exact time as to when God asked Jesus this

question.

Al Suddi for instance says that God, when he

raised Jesus, Son of Mary, unto himself, asked him,

"Didst Thou say unto mankind 'Take me and my

mother for two gods?'"

But Qatada says "This question has not yet been

asked. It will be asked at the Resurrection". Ibn Jarih

and Maisara agree with this opinion.

— 35 —

5) "O people of the Scriptures! Do not exaggerate

in your religion, nor say anything about Allah save the

truth. The Messiah, I'sa, Son of Mary, is a messenger

of Allah, and his Word, which he conveyed unto

Mary, and a Spirit from Him. So believe in Allah and

his messenger and say not 'Three'. Cease! It is better

for you! Allah is only One God" (Surat an Nisa'

- Women - 170).

Abu Jaafar at Tabari in commenting on this verse

said "O people of the Gospel, you Christians! Do not

go beyond the truth in your religion or exaggerate, and

do not say about I'sa what is not true. Stop, O you

speakers, saying that Allah is 'Third of Three'. You are

speaking lies and upholding polytheism. The ceasing

from stating it will be better for you for there will be

sudden punishment for you from Allah for this saying,

if you continue, and do not return to the truth which

you have been authorized to defend".

The knotty problem in Islam is the belief that the

Trinity means three Gods: Allah and I'sa and Mary;

but Christianity, throughout the centuries has proclaim-

ed, before Islam and after, that the word "Trinity" (as

indicating there are three gods) is never mentioned. It is

a delusion of heretics whom the Church disowned and

whose heresies it condemned.

The heretics belonged to the Arabs in the days of

— 36 —

ignorance in pre-Islamic times. From them Islam has

taken this distorted idea of Christianity.

THE HUMANITY OF CHRIST IN ISLAM

In the teaching of Islam, Christ is:

1) A servant, not Lord.

According to the word of the Koran, quoting the

saying of Christ, "I am the slave of Allah. He hath given

me the Scripture, and hath blessed and made me where-

soever I may be, and hath enjoined upon me prayer and

almsgiving so long as I remain alive, and hath made me

dutiful towards her who bore me, and hath not made me

arrogant or unblest" (Surat Mariam 30—34).

Al Imam al Razi commenting on this verse says,

"In this phrase 'slave of Allah' there are four points to

note.

"The first, that it does away with the erroneous

belief of the Christians that Fsa is God.

"The second, if Christ, when he confessed his

servitude was truthful in his statement, then truly he

was Allah's slave. If he was lying, the power he used

would not have been divine, but satanic, and both

suppositions would render void his being a god.

— 39 —

"The third, that which was the pressing need for

him at that time was to remove the accusation of

adultery from his mother Mary. However Fsa did

not clearly deny that, but laid emphasis on the fact of

his servitude, as if he made the removal of the accu-

sation that he was equal with Allah more important

than removing the accusation from his mother.

"The fourth, the removal of this accusation from

Allah assists the removal of the accusation from his

mother, because Allah would not choose an adulteress

to bear a child for this great and high position."

Then he comments on the Christian belief in the

divine nature of Christ and says, "The belief of

Christians is very confused. They have agreed that

God is not in a body nor confined, yet we can put

forth an argument which makes void their belief from

every direction. We say that if they believe he is

confined we annul their statement with the argument

that all bodies are created. If they believe he is not

confined then their statement that the Word merged

with humanity as water mixes with wine, and fire

blends with coal, is made void, because this is not

reasonable except there be a physical element".

I believe the concept of the Koran with regard to

the person of Christ is based upon two truths containing

a mystery which the natural man cannot comprehend.

— 40 —

The first truth is that Jesus, as being the Son of

Mary, was the Servant of God, and this is expressed in

the language of the prophets. Isaiah 52:13, and 53:11

says, "See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised

and lifted up and highly exalted... by his knowledge

my righteous servant will justify many, and he will

bear their iniquities."

The second truth: this attribute of "servant" is not

incompatible with the Koranic statement that he is a

"Word, bestowed upon Mary and a Spirit from him".

Anyone who ponders carefully the twofold mean-

ing of this verse in the Koran sees within it the declara-

tion of Paul in Romans 1:1-4, "as to his human

nature Jesus was a descendant of David, and who

through the Spirit of holiness was declared with

power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from

the dead".

2) Christ is in the likeness of Adam.

It is written in the Quran; "Lo! the likeness of Fsa

with Allah, is as the likeness of Adam. He created him

of dust and then said unto him 'Be!' and he is" (Surat

al Imran 59).

In Abi Jaafar al Tabari's book "Jami al Bayan" it

reports that Allah said "O Muhammed! tell the

Christians of Najran that my creation of I'sa without

41

a male progenitor was similar to that of Adam to

whom I said, 'Be!', and he was; without a progenitor

male or female. My creation of I'sa from his mother,

without a male, is no greater miracle than my creation

of Adam".

It is related that Muhammed ibn Saad, quoting his

father and Ibn Abbas said "A group of people from

Najran came to Muhammed, among whom were As

Sayyid and Al Aqib. They said to Muhammed 'Why

do you speak about our Friend?' He said 'And who is

he?' They said 'I'sa. You allege he is a servant of

Allah'. Muhammed replied 'Surely he is a servant of

Allah'. Then they said 'Have you ever seen or been

informed about I'sa?' and forthwith they left him.

Then came Gabriel sent by our Lord, the Hearer and

the Omniscient, and said 'Tell them, if they come to

you, that the likeness of I'sa (in His creation) with

Allah is like that of Adam'".

Another story from Muhammed ibn Husain, and

Ahmed ibn al Mufaddal, and As Suddi, says, "When

Muhammed was sent, and the people of Najran heard

of him, four of their leaders, Al Aqib, and As Sayyid

and Masirjus, and Jarijus, came to him and asked him

what he thought of I'sa. He said, 'He is a servant of

Allah and his Spirit and his Word'. They said 'No!

He is Allah. He descended from his dominion and

entered into Mary, was born and manifested himself.

— 42 —

Have you ever seen a man who was born without a

father?' It was then that Allah sent to Muhammed

this verse, Tsa is in the eyes of Allah the same as

Adam'".

A third story, from Al Qisam and Ibn Juraij and

Ikrima, said, "We heard that the Christians of

Najran sent a deputation to Muhammed, among

them Al Aqib and As Sayyid, who said 'O

Muhammed, why do you revile our Friend?' He

replied 'Who is your Friend?' They said Tsa, Son of

Mary. You allege he is a servant', to which

Muhammed replied 'Truly, he is a servant of Allah

and his Word, bestowed on Mary and a Spirit from

him'".

"Then they were angry with him and said, 'If you

are truthful show us a servant who can raise the dead

and heal the blind and the leper and who, creating

from clay the form of a bird, will breathe into it so

that it becomes a bird - isn't he Allah?' Muhammed

said nothing until Gabriel came to him and said 'O

Muhammed! They have blasphemed who said that

Allah is Christ the Son of Mary'. Then Muhammed

replied 'O Gabriel! they asked me to tell them to

whom I'sa is similar', and Gabriel said Tsa is just

as Adam'".

— 43 —

CHRIST IN THE HOLY BIBLE

1) The Deity of Christ.

No doubt the enquirer into Christianity will find

himself confronted by many serious questions. Probab-

ly the most difficult is the deity of Christ. By this I

mean the firm belief of Christians that Jesus, who was

born of the virgin Mary in Palestine, and lived on our

earth for some time, is the Son of God, and God the

Son.

It may seem that this belief is difficult for many,

although the difficulty does not alter the fact of Chris-

tianity being the only true religion. The belief of Chris-

tians in the existence of three persons in the person of

the one God, does not necessitate that one preceded

the other in time, or that one is greater than the other,

in any sense whatever. God is one but reveals himself

by these names in order to show the plan of redemp-

tion.

Before starting to consider the deity of Christ, it is

necessary to consider the statements in the Bible

concerning the Fatherhood of God to Christ.

— 45 —

2) Revelations from the Father.

In the Gospel of Luke 1:31, 32 we read that the

Angel of the Lord said to the virgin Mary, "You will be

with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give

him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called

the Son of the Most High." When Jesus was born the

prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled. "Therefore the Lord

himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with

child and will give birth to a son, and will call him

Immanuel - which means, 'God with us'." (Isaiah

7:14 and Matthew 1:22-23)

Then we read, at the time of the baptism of Jesus,

"As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the

water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he

saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and

lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, 'This is

my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased'"

(Matthew 3:16-17).

Furthermore while Jesus was with three of his

disciples on Mount Hermon, he spoke with Moses and

Elijah, and "He was still speaking when lo, a bright

cloud overshadowed them and a voice from the cloud

said "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well

pleased. Listen to him!" (Matthew 17:5).

3) Declarations of Christ.

Christ said in one of his parables, "I am the true

— 46 —

vine and my Father is the gardener" (John 15:1). Then

in the Gospel of John 10:27 to 30, he declared, "My

sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow

me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish;

no one can snatch them out of my hand... no one can

snatch them out of my Father's hand." In his parting

message he said, "I am going to the Father. And I will

do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may

bring glory to the Father." (John 14:12, 13).

When the Jews boasted to Christ because Moses

had given them manna in the wilderness, he said to

them, "I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has

given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father

who gives you the true bread from heaven" (John 6:32).

He also said to others, "I tell you the truth, the Son

can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees

his Father doing, because whatever the Father does

the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and

shows him all he does... just as the Father raises the

dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to

whom he is pleased to give it. Moreover, the Father

judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the

Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the

Father." Then he added, "I tell you the truth, a time is

coming and has now come when the dead will hear the

voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live"

John 5:19-25).

— 47 —

Then later, while teaching the people, he said, "I tell

you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a

slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son

belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will

be free indeed" (John 8:34-36).

In a dialogue with others he stated, " 'My Father is

always at work to this very day, and I, too, am

working'. For this reason the Jews tried all the harder

to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but

he was even calling God his own Father, making

himself equal with God" (John 5:17-18). And one day

he said to his listeners, "All things have been committ-

ed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except

the Father... and those to whom the Son chooses to

reveal him. Come to me all you who are weary and

bürdend, and I will give you rest" (Matthew

11:27-28).

When we consider this profound declaration, it is

clear that neither an ordinary man, nor prophet, nor

apostle, nor angel from heaven, nor chief of angels can

comprehend the secret of the wonderful person of

Jesus Christ. It clearly means that the nature of Christ

is unlimited, for no one can comprehend Him other

than the Father. Surely, if Christ is only an ordinary

man it is not right that this statement be made.

Without any doubt, this glorious declaration teaches

— 48 —

us that one of the functions of Christ, in his eternal

oneness with the Father, is to reveal to us the Father

who is described as "The Invisible".

This revelation, which Christ declared, may ap-

pear to be a mystery and difficult to understand. But

the Holy Spirit inspired the writer of the Gospel of

John to clarify it for us in a series of verses, of which

the clearest is: "No one has ever seen God; but God the

only Son, who is at the Father's side, has made him

known" (John 1:18). This verse assures us that no

human or angel has ever seen God, or knows him with

the knowledge which makes him fully acquainted with

his divine attributes. What was revealed to them came

by inspiration or "Vision". Moses, and others of the

prophets, never saw God. They received their reve-

lations by inspiration and the source of them was the

Second "Person" of the Godhead, Jesus Christ, the

Son of God, for he alone of his own accord knows the

thoughts of God - the Three in One - and his

purposes, for he is God who "appeared in a body" (1

Timothy 3:16).

When Jesus said to His disciples, "I and the Father

are one. He who has seen me has seen the Father. I am

in the Father and the Father is in me", he was assuring

them of the unity between himself and his Father,

namely that he and the Father are one in essence and

glory, rank and ability, will and purpose.

— 49 —

4) The Testimony of the Apostles.

1. When Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do you say I

am?"

2. When Jesus asked his disciples," 'Who do you say I

am?' Simon Peter answered, 'You are the Christ, the

Son of the living God!" (Matthew 16:15, 16).

3. John said, "We know also that the Son of God has

come and has given us understanding, so that we may

know who is true - even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is

the true God and eternal life" (1 John 5:20).

4. Paul said, "But when the time had fully come, God

sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under law,

to redeem those under law, that we might receive the

full rights of sons" (Galatians 4:4, 5).

5) The Testimony of the Prophets.

1. Solomon the wise: "Who has wrapped up the

waters in his cloak? Who has established all the ends

of the earth? What is his name, and the name of his

son? Tell me if you know! Every word of God is

flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him"

(Proverbs 30:4-5).

2. Daniel: "In my vision at night I looked, and there

before me was one like a son of man, coming with the

— 50 —

clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days

and was led into his presence. He was given authority,

glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and

men of every language worshiped him. His dominion

is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and

his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed"

(Daniel 7:13, 14).

c) John the Baptist: "You yourselves can testify that I

said, 'I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him'.

... The one who comes from above is above all... He

testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one

accepts his testimony... The Father loves the Son and

has placed everything in his hands. Whoever believes

in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son

will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him"

(John 3:28-36).

After the testimony of these verses we must keep in

mind that Christ is called "Son of God" because of his

being the "Second person" of the Godhead. So it must

be understood that the words "son" and "father",

according to the Christian belief, has no connection

whatever with the human idea of fatherhood and

sonship.

The Son, in the Bible, is called the "Word", the

"likeness of the invisible God", the brightness of

His glory", the "express image of His person", and

— 51 —

His glory", the "express image of His person", and

"Emmanuel (which means God with us)". All these

titles explain the word "Son". As the word manifests

the thought, revealing what is in the mind, even so the

"Incarnate Word" reveals God and expresses His

thought towards humanity. As the picture portrays a

likeness, so Jesus portrays God, and as the light of the

sun reveals its glory and is an element of the sun itself,

so is Jesus the brightness of God's glory, reflecting the

glories of the spiritual nature of deity. But he, in the

greatness of his love, veiled this behind the garment of

the flesh, during his existence in our world, that we

might see God and hear him.

From what has been said, we know that the Son

was the agent who revealed the deity, and he was also

the means of revealing God to the feelings of man in a

very sensitive way. So also the Holy Spirit, the third

"Person" of the Godhead is the mediator of God to

the conscience of man, for we cannot comprehend the

true nature of the revelation apart from the work of

the Holy Spirit, who guides us to an understanding of

the mysteries of divine revelations. Inspired by this

truth, Paul the apostle said, "No one can say Jesus is

Lord except by the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:3).

Possibly the word "Son" disturbs some people's

minds, because they immediately imagine, through its

relationship with the word "Father", that the Father

— 52 —

preceded the Son in time, so there must be a difference

in time and of status between them. We, however, wish

to assure you here that the word "Son" does not in any

way indicate any inequality or precedence between

them, because the word "Father" cannot be used of

God unless there be the "Son", and the word "Son"

requires the word "Father".

We can conclude from the Bible that God, from

eternity, has had the title of "Father", so this necessi-

tates the existence of the "Son" from eternity also.

Perhaps this has originated the confusion and disa-

greement which most people fall into over the subject

of "equality", and which is traceable to the idea that

the Father must precede the Son, and the thought of

there being a difference in time between the two. A

more correct way of expressing it is that no one

becomes a "father" until the moment when the "son"

comes into being. The time, difference in this case, is

imaginary and a delusion, in regard to God and his

Son Jesus Christ. If we add to this, that God neither

begets nor is begotten, as human beings on earth

understand it, we must disassociate this idea from

God and think more rationally.

We use the terms "son of truth" or "son of light"

indicating the resemblance between them and truth or

light. In this way, Jesus has been called "Son of God",

because of the complete resemblance between Father

— 53 —

— 54 —

and Son in the person of the one God. Jesus has been

called thus because he is the only complete and eternal

revelation of the person of God to mankind, or, as we

read in Hebrews, 1:1-2, "In the past God spoke to our

forefathers through the prophets at many times and in

various ways, but in these days he has spoken to us by

his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and

through whom he made the universe." In the Gospel

of John 1:14 we read that Jesus revealed the glory of

God. "The Word became flesh and lived for a while

among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one

and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace

and truth."

THE DEITY OF CHRIST AND HIS

HUMANITY

"Who do people say that I am?" This question was

asked by Jesus of his disciples some twenty centuries

ago. It is an extremely important question which has

continued to be asked until the present day. Perhaps it

is the greatest question ever asked throughout history,

for it contains the most critical and important issue for

the whole of mankind. This question will remain as

long as time remains. It is the decisive dividing line

between various beliefs and mentalities and civili-

zations and cultures. The destiny of every man

depends on a decisive and complete answer to this

question.

One of the distinguishing features of Christianity is

that it is not afraid or worried about what is said of

Christ, its Lord. He built its imposing structure and

made it firm, so that the "gates of hell" shall not

prevail against it. Christ himself encouraged freedom

of thought to the last degree. It never appeared that he

forced or commanded anyone to accept any doctrine,

— 55 —

or to do anything against his will. Carnegie Simpson

said that Christianity, throughout its long history, has

never accepted from man a faith in the person of Christ

at the point of the sword, but rather a faith based on a

complete assurance, which controls heart and mind

alike. With this principle before us, we say today that we

do not wish men to believe in the deity of Christ by

constraint, or to accept in advance an opinion and be

fanatical concerning it and angry at hearing any other

view. Instead, we set forth before all various opinions

concerning Christ which we will discuss, both their

weakness and strength, with all consideration, until we

arrive finally at the truth.

1) Perfect Deity.

Perhaps one of the strangest concepts was that of

the Gnostics, who denied the idea of the incarnation,

adhered to by the vast majority of Christians of their

time. The Gnostics acknowledged the deity of Christ,

but denied his humanity. They said that Christ

appeared in the likeness of a man without having a real

human body, and thus he was not born. He neither

suffered nor actually died, because his body was a

phantom or apparition visible to men. One sect among

them said that the body of Christ was not material, as

the bodies of other men, but that he was of special

heavenly substance.

— 56 —

However this idea cannot be maintained in the light

of the truth, which was set forth in the inspired Word

from God. We read in 1 John 4:1-4; "Dear friends, do

not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see

whether they are from God, because many false

prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you

can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that

acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is

from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge

Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the

antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even

now is already in the world".

2) Human Only.

This idea is no less strange than the above. The

adherents of this sect claim the humanity of Christ, but

not his Deity. They say that Christ is the perfect man,

i.e. the greatest man in the world, and must be honour-

ed as the greatest leader and most wonderful and

glorious hero, and martyr. Probably the clearest

answer refuting the opinion of these heretics is the

statement of Dr. Conrad when he said, "These who

have come to this conclusion are completely mistaken,

for it is not possible for them to maintain that Christ is

a leader, or a hero, after they have refused to accept

what he affirmed about himself. In this case Christ is

one of two things; either he is the greatest deceiver, or

deceived and therefore needs to be pitied. It would

— 57 —

then be foolish to give him a place of honour. Actually,

if Christ is not worthy of worship, he is not worthy of

any respect, for he demanded for himself that which

would not be justified, namely, worship and majesty.

3) Unity of Deity and Humanity in the Person of Christ.

This is the correct teaching that has prevailed in

the Church. There it is destined for victory, dominion

and universality. The confession of the Church

continues to be proclaimed in the whole world,

through every generation and age. The substance of

this opinion is that Christ has two perfect natures, for

he is perfect God and perfect Man.

The question might be asked: "What are the incen-

tives and reasons which have caused people and the

Church Councils to believe in the Deity of Christ?"

and "How have these incentives and convictions been

able to make progress, and become so firmly rooted in

the mind that they have reached the status of being a

doctrine, for which people have lived and have

suffered martyrdom?" Also, "Why do people, and

amongst them some of the greatest of human thinkers

and geniuses in every generation and age, believe in his

deity, and what are the irrefutable and conclusive

proofs on which they rely?" These questions have to

be answered before we can have faith, or convince

people of the truth of our faith in the deity of Christ

— 58 —

and his incarnation, and makes it necessary for us to

produce convincing and conclusive proofs on the

subject.

First - Proof taken from the prophecies.

The many successive verses of prophecy have ex-

tended from the beginning of history up to the last

books of the Old Testament, that is, during some four

thousand years. It is not possible that these verses

have been tampered with, fabricated or altered by

Christians, for they were written in the scrolls of

inspiration before Christianity. The last of them were

written approximately four hundred years before the

coming of Christ. The sum of what these prophecies is

that a divine person will come from heaven in the

form of human nature, to be the Saviour of the world.

This person will be born of a woman, and will be of the

seed of Abraham, from the tribe of Judah, and the

family of David. He will be born of a virgin without

blemish or defilement and the place of his birth will be

the town of Bethlehem, the city of David. At the same

time he is the mighty and eternal God. This cannot

come to pass except by incarnation and the uniting of

deity with humanity. The texts which give assurance

of this truth are many and what follows are the clearest

and most conspicuous of them.

a) From the prophecy of Isaiah (Isaiah 9:6).

— 59 —

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and,

and the government will be on his shoulder. And he

will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Also in Isaiah

7:14, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign:

The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a

son, and will call him Immanuel". Matthew 1:23, also

tells us that the word "Immanuel" means "God with

us".

b) From the Psalms. Psalm 110:1.

"The Lord says to my Lord, 'Sit at my right hand

until I make your enemies a footstool for your

feet'". This expression is very significant, and we

cannot find for it any explanation except to believe in

the eternal dialogue between the Father and the Son,

and to be sure that God is the one who spoke.

c) From Micah 5:2.

"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah though you are

small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come

for me one who will rule over Israel, whose origins are

from of old, from ancient times."

Secondly - Proofs taken from the sayings of Christ.

The famous preacher and man of God, Spurgeon,

said: "Christ is the great central fact in the history of

the world. All lines of history converge in him, and all

— 60 —

the issues of providence run according to his will; all

the greatest aims in life are fulfilled in his person".

When I add to all this the fact that his miracles and the

wonder of his acts witnessed to the truth of every letter

or words he spoke, it must be recognized there is

conclusive proof and irrefutable evidence to be drawn

from his statements. The Messiah attributed to himself

at least twenty truths which cannot be ascribed except

to God alone. Some of the most important of these are:

a) His Eternal Being.

Perhaps this is one of the most momentous things

he ever stated, when, speaking to Jewish religious

leaders, He said, "I tell you the truth, before Abraham

was born, I am!" (John 8:58). This word "I am" is the

same which God used of himself when Moses asked,

"Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The

God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask

me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?"

God said to Moses, "I am who I am. This is what you

are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you'"

(Exodus 3:13, 14). This teaches that Christ reveals in

himself the same God who appeared to Moses in the

burning bush on Mount Horeb.

Also in John 17:5, it is recorded that Christ, in His

intercessory prayer said, "And now, Father, glorify

me in your own presence with the glory which I had

— 61 —

with you before the world began", and verse 24,

"Father, I want those you have given me to be with me

where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have

given me because you loved me before the creation of

the world". These words give assurance of the eternal

existence of Christ and silence all tongues which allege

that this is not so.

b) His coming from heaven.

In His dialogue with some of the Jews, Jesus said,

"You are from below; I am from above. You are of this

world, I am not of this world" (John 8:23).

Then in his discussion with the religious leader

Nicodemus, he said, "No one has ever gone into

heaven except the one who came from heaven - the

Son of man" (John 3:13). Furthermore, we read, "I am

the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the

Beginning and the End" (Revelation 22:13).

We note here that Jesus not only speaks of his

coming from heaven, but of his existence in Heaven,

while he was on earth.

c) His presence in all places and at all times.

In Matthew 18:20 it is stated that he said, "For

where two or three come together in my name, there

am I with them", and after His resurrec-

tion He said to His disciples, "Go therefore and make

— 62 —

disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of

the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

teaching them to obey everything I have commanded

you. And surely I will be with you always, to the very

end of the age" (Matthew 28:19—20).

d) His unlimited power.

He said at his appearing to John on the island of

Patmos, "I am the Alpha and the Omega", says the

Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come,

the Almighty" (Revelation 1:8).

Thirdly - Proof from His titles and Divine acts,

a) His power to create.

The following verses make this clear. "Through

him all things were made; without him nothing was

made that has been made. In him was life, and that life

was the light of men" (John 1:3, 4).

"For by him all things were created: things in

heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether

thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things

were created by him and for him" (Colossians 1:16).

"To make plain to everyone the administration of

this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in

God, who created all things" (Ephesians 3:9).

— 63 —

b) His power to raise the dead.

"As he approached the town gate, a dead person

was being carried out, the only son of his mother

mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from

the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his

heart went out to her and he said, 'Don't cry'. Then he

went up and touched the coffin and those carrying it

stood still. He said, 'Young man, I say to you, get up!'

And the dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus

gave him to his mother" (Luke 7:12-14).

"When he said this, Jesus called in a loud voice,

'Lazarus, come out!' The dead man came out, his

hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a

cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, 'Take off the

grave clothes and let him go'" (John 11:43, 44).

c) He will be the Judge of the whole world.

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all

the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in

heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before

him, and he will separate the people one from another

as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats"

(Matthew 25:31, 32).

"The Father judges no one, but has entrusted all

judgement to the Son" (John 5:22).

— 64 —

d) He is worthy of worship.

"That all may honour the Son, just as they honour

the Father" (John 5:23).

The worship of the Son with the Father was known

to godly men in the Old Testament. David said, "Serve

the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the

Son lest he be angry and you be destroyed in the your

way" (Psalm 2:11, 12).

e) He forgives sins.

The Jews were always convinced that God alone

had the authority to forgive sins and they were asto-

nished when they were present at one of Jesus'

miracles and he said to the paralysed man, "My son,

your sins are forgiven" (Mark 2:5). When their

thoughts were disturbed by his behaviour, he said to

them, "Why are you thinking these things? Which is

easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,'

or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? But that

you may know that the Son of Man has authority on

earth to forgive sins... "He said to the paralytic, "I

tell you, get up, take your mat and go home". He got

up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them

all. This amazed everyone and they praised God,

saying, 'We have never seen anything like this!'"

(Mark 2:8-12).

— 65 —

f) He gives eternal life.

He said in John 10:27-38, "My sheep listen to my

voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them

eternal life, and they shall never perish".

g) He is equal with the Father.

He himself stated, "I and the Father are one"

(John 10:30), and, "Anyone who has seen me has seen

the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?

Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the

Father is in me?... Or at least believe on the evidence

of the miracles themselves" (John 14:8-11).

h) He accepted worship and adoration.

There is no doubt that Christ accepted worship

and adoration, which is not permissible for a mortal

being ever to accept. This happened with the man who

was born blind. When Jesus asked, "Do you believe in

the Son of Man?" "Who is he sir?" the man asked.

"Tell me so that I may believe in him." Jesus said,

"You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one

speaking with you." Then the man said, "Lord, I

believe," and he worshiped him (John 9:35-38).

Fourthly-Proof from the testimony of His Disciples.

The testimony of these, who saw his glory, was

clear, complete and free from uncertainty.

— 66 —

The following are not exhaustive but are given by

way of example.

a) Thomas.

This disciple, after the resurrection, when he saw

the marks of the nails in the hands of Jesus, and the

wound in his side which was pierced by a sword said,

"My Lord and my God" (John 20:28).

b) John.

This inspired disciple said in John 5:20, "We are in

him who is true - even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the

true God and eternal life".

c) Paul.

— 67 —

The great apostle said in Romans 9:5, "...from

them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is

God over all, forever praised!"

THE DOCTRINE OF THE HOLY

TRINITY

Christianity believes that God is a living person,

not a material body which it is possible to see or to

touch, or to be comprehended by the senses. He is, as

Jesus said, "...a spirit and his worshipers must

worship in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). He is also

the Father of the spirits of men for he created them in

his image, and in his likeness, for we read in the Bible,

"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in

our likeness'" (Genesis 1:26). This God is one person

containing three elements, the Father, the Son, and the

Holy Spirit.

When we meditate upon this article of faith, doubt-

less we confess that we are face to face with a mystery

of the deepest kind, a mystery of life and existence.

Saint Augustine confessed, and after him the great

reformer Calvin, that the Latin language, rich as it is in

words and beauty, is completely unable to express the

depths of this mystery.

— 69 —

One thing is sure, that Christians did not take this

belief of the 'unity in diversity' (the Trinity in the God-

head), from any human source, but they have believed

in it as a fact, revealed from God, and consistent

throughout the Bible, from beginning to end.

Maybe it would be better, before we commence the

study of this subject, to gather up that which is clear of

its history in the Church of Christ, and the thinking

which encompassed it, until it became a permanent,

final and unchangeable belief.

Christians in the time of the apostles, and even up

to the second century A.D., were not thinking of

laying down a definite formula of Christian beliefs,

seeing as they were adhering to these beliefs and

practising their principles as set forth in the Bible,

without reducing them to definite unified doctrines. If

problems or difficulties hindered them they referred to

the apostles and to their disciples who succeeded them.

However, when heresies arose which stirred up

disagreements over some points, the most important

being the "status" of Christ, or the coming of the Holy

Spirit from the Godhead, there became an urgent need

for the church to state her views over these controver-

sies, especially when the views of Sabellius and Arius

were being spread abroad. The first held that in the

one God there was no trinity. The Word, the Father,

— 70 —

the Son, and the Holy Spirit were only "Theophanies"

and manifestations of God. The second declared that

there was no equality; the Son and the Holy Spirit

were not equal with the Father as both were, according

to his claims, "created" and thus, on this basis, were

inferior to him, and the Father has made them in the

likeness of his divine nature.

The Church rejected these views because they were

contrary to the Bible which teaches clearly that there

never was a time when all three members of the Trinity

did not exist. The Son was with the Father from

eternity, as we read in Psalm 110:1, "The Lord says to

my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand until I make your

enemies a footstool for your feet.'" Psalm 16:8, was

spoken in connection with the Son, "I saw the Lord

always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will

not be shaken" (Acts 2:25-28).

One of the outstanding men of the Church who

combated the heresies and defended the faith was

Saint Athanasius, who confuted the heretical

doctrines and issued the well known Athanasian

Creed, which I shall summarise as follows:

1. Whoever desires salvation must, before every-

thing else, abide by the universal faith of the Chris-

tian church.

2. This universal faith is the worship of God who

— 71 —

is one in three and three in one.

3. We do not mingle the three, nor separate them

in essence.

4. The Father is one, the Son is one and the Holy

Spirit is one, but the Father, the Son and the Holy

Spirit are one in deity and equal in glory and

eternal majesty.

5. As is the Father, so is the Son and so is the Holy

Spirit.

6. The Father is uncreated, the Son is uncreated

and the Holy Spirit is uncreated. They are not three

uncreated but One uncreated.

7. The Father is unlimited, the Son is unlimited and

the Holy Spirit is unlimited. They are not three

unlimited but One unlimited.

8. The Father is from eternity, the Son is from

eternity and the Holy Spirit is from eternity. They

are not three from eternity, but one from eternity.

9. The Father controls all things, the Son controls

all things and the Holy Spirit controls all things, but

they are not three controllers but one.

10. The Father is God, the Son is God, and the

Holy Spirit is God, but they are not three gods, but

one God.

11. The Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, and the

Holy Spirit is Lord, but they are not three lords, but

One Lord.

12. Even as Christian truth commands us not to

— 72 —

confess that each of the persons is by himself God

or Lord, so also our religion forbids the saying that

there exist three gods and three lords.

13. We have one Father, not three Fathers: one

Son, and not three sons; one Holy Spirit and not

three holy spirits.

14. No one of these three persons existed before or

after the other. Neither is one greater or less than

the other. All three Persons are eternal and equal.

15. Thus, from all that has been said, we must

worship the "One in three and the three in one".

16. The true faith is that we believe and assert that

our Lord Jesus Christ is God from the essence of

the Father, begotten from eternity, and that he is

man from the nature of his mother, begotten in this

age.

17. And he, though he is God and Man, is one

Christ, not two, and he became man not by chang-

ing his deity to humanity, but by blending human-

ity with deity.

Perhaps the questions are asked, "What is there to

support this truth, and what is its basis? What is the

proof of its genuineness and certainty? How did it

attain this degree of influence, stability and perma-

nancy in history?"

The answer is that the prinicple and only support is

the Bible. It is not possible for man, however great a

— 73 —

thinker he may be, to comprehend the nature of God

without an unveiling and a revelation from God Him-

self. Whatever comes from outside the Bible,

regarding the Trinity, of philosophic thinking, or

logical argument is nothing but an explanation or

exposition by means of analogy. Is it likely to be

otherwise, seeing we are contemplating one of the

most incomprehensible mysteries that man has ever

faced?

What is quite certain is that the unity in the nature

of God, which the Bible proclaims and which is

beyond all contention or argument, - and the Old

Testament as well as the New has likewise testified to it

- is a complete unity which unveils the nature of the

Holy Trinity which Christians believe in.

Scholars in their study of this belief in the Bible

have believed it, have firmly established it, and have

recorded it in the status of the Church. The most

important of these in the Nicene Creed of Faith, the

text of which is:

"I believe in One God, the Father Almighty,

maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible

and invisible; and in One Lord Jesus Christ, the only

begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before

the worlds, God of God, Light of light, Very God of

Very God, begotten not created, being of one sub-

— 74 —

stance with the Father by whom all things were made;

who for us men and for our salvation came down from

heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the

virgin Mary, and was made man, and was crucified

also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was

buried and the third day he rose again, according to

the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven and sitteth

on the right hand of the Father. And he shall come

again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead;

whose kingdom shall have no end.

I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and giver of

Life, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son,

who spoke by the prophets. I believe one Holy

universal and apostolic church. I acknowledge one

baptism for the remission of sins and look for the

resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to

come. Amen."

It is true the Bible says, "The Lord our God is one

God. I am the Lord. That is my name and my glory

will I not give to another", but it is also full of verses

showing that in the person of God there is "unity in

plurality".

Also, from study of the Holy Books, we under-

stand that God is spoken of as having certain

characteristics, such as possessing hearing, sight,

words, knowledge, will, and love, for he is a person.

— 75 —

There is a bond between him and his creatures who

also have these characteristics. It is sure that these

qualities were not inoperative in eternity; i.e. before

he created man. This leads us to conclude that God

used to exercise these qualities and it is self-evident

that such could only be between more than one

intelligent person. This makes inevitable, the existence

of three persons in the Unity of God.

There is no doubt that the one who meditates

deeply on this Christian belief will discover the

following facts:

1. That each of the three persons, the Father, the

Son, and the Holy Spirit, are given the titles and

attributes of deity, and that each of the Father, the

Son, and the Holy Spirit are worthy of honour and

trust and worship.

2. It is clear from the Bible the Son is divine, even as

the Father. Jesus said in John 5:23; "that all may

honour the Son just as they honour the Father".

3. The deity of the Holy Spirit is also clear from the

Bible text, even as is the deity of the Father and the

Son. "God is spirit, and his worshipers must

worship in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24).

Also when we study Christian doctrine we see that

the names of the Holy Trinity, i. e. the Father, the Son,

and the Holy Spirit, are not expressions of differing

— 76 —

relationships between God and his creatures such as

is indicated in the terms "Creator", or "Guardian", or

"Benefactor". Though this is alleged by some, it is an

assertion which is refuted by the following points:

1. Each of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit speak of

themselves as "I".

2. Each One, when speaking to the other directly says

"Thou", and indirectly "He".

3. The Father loves the Son and the Son loves the

Father, and the Holy Spirit witnesses to the Son and

glorifies Him.

Thus, the natural result of all these facts and Bible

truths is that Christians have brought to the world

their great doctrine; the doctrine of their belief in One

God, and the Holy Trinity, the Father, Son and Holy

Spirit.

Many may say that this teaching is beyond our

comprehension. But such a statement does not eluci-

date Christian teaching, even as it does not elucidate

scientific facts which are difficult to understand. We

have to confess that our limited minds were not

created to gauge what is possible or impossible

concerning that which is beyond our comprehension.

— 77

THE ONENESS OF THE THREE

PERSONS OF THE TRINITY

1) In Deity.

The scriptures, given by the inspiration of God,

state concerning:

1. The Father - that he is God our Father. "May

our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father,

who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal

encouragement and good hope" (2 Thessalonians

2:16).

2. The Son - "About the Son he says, 'Your throne,

O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness

will be the scepter of your kingdom'" (Hebrews 1:8).

3. The Holy Spirit - "Ananias, how is it that Satan

has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy

Spirit... You have not lied to men but to God" (Acts

5:3-5).

2) In Lordship.

1. About the Father - that he is Lord. "At that time

Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said 'I praise

you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth'" (Luke 10:21).

2. About the Son - that he is Lord, "This is the

— 79 —

message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the

good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord

of all" (Acts 10:36).

c) About the Holy Spirit, "Now the Lord is the

Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is

freedom" (2 Corinthians 3:17).

3) In Eternity.

1. The Father is eternal, "Reverence the God of

Daniel. For he is the living God and he enduring

forever" (Daniel 6:26).

2. The Son is eternal, "I am the Alpha and the

Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was,

and who is to come, the Almighty" (Revelation 1:8).

3. The Holy Spirit is eternal, "How much more,

then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal

Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse

our conscience from acts that lead to death, so that we

may serve the living God!" (Hebrews 9:14).

4) In Their Omnipresence.

a) The Father. "One God and Father of all, who is

over all and through all and in all" (Ephesians 4:6).

b) The Son. "For where two or three come

together in my name, there am I with them them"

(Matthew 18:20).

c) The Holy Spirit. "Where can I go from your

— 80 —

Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up

to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the

depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the

dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there

your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me

fast" (Psalm 139:7-10).

5) In Their Worthiness of Worship.

1. The Father. "Yet a time is coming and has now

come when the true worshipers will worship the

Father in spirit and in truth" (John 4:23).

2. The Son. "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

2:10-11).

3. The Holy Spirit, who prepares the believers to

worship. "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our

weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray, but

the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that

words cannot express" (Romans 8:26-28).

6) In the Quality of Truth.

1. The Father is Truth. "Sanctify them by the truth;

your word is truth" (John 17:17).

2. The Son is Truth. "Jesus answered, I am the way

— 81 —

and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father

except through me" (John 14:6).

c) The Holy Spirit is truth. "I will ask the Father,

and he will give you another Counselor to be with you

forever - the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept

him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But

you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you"

(John 14:16-17).

7) In the Quality of Love.

1. The Father is love. Jesus said, "The Father

himself loves you because you have loved me and have

believed that I came from God" (John 16:27).

2. The Son is love. "You are my friends if you do

what I command. I no longer call you servants,

because a servant does not know his master's business.

Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I

have learned from my Father I have made known to

you" (John 15:14, 15).

c) The Holy Spirit is love. "For God did not give us

a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of

self-discipline" (2 Timothy 1:7).

8) In Holiness.

a) The Father is holy. In his intercessory prayer

Jesus said, "Holy Father, protect by the power of your

name - the name you gave me" (John 17:11).

— 82 —

b) The Son is holy. The angel said to the virgin

Mary, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the

power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the

holy one to be born will be called the Son of God"

(Luke 1:35).

— 83 —

c) The Holy Spirit is holy. "Do not grieve the Holy

Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day

of redemption" (Ephesians 4:30).

A REPLY TO OBJECTIONS

1) The objection to the Deity of Christ.

Perhaps someone will object to the deity of Christ

and support his objection with the saying of Christ in

John 5:30, "By myself I can do nothing... for I seek

not to please myself but him who sent me." Also John

14:28, "For the Father is greater than I."

To this objection we say that these statements do

not disprove the deity of Christ, with regard to the fact

of his relationship to the Father within the Trinity, for

it was necessary for man's redemption that the second

person of the Trinity should become incarnate, to

carry out the divine will by offering himself to atone

for the sin of mankind. After he had completed this

divine work he ascended to heaven and sat on the right

hand of God in heavenly places "far above all rule and

authority, power and dominion, and every title that

can be given, not only in the present age but also in the

one to come. And God placed all things under his feet

and appointed him to be head over everything for the

— 85 —

church,' which is his body, the fulness of him who fills

everything in every way" (Ephesians 1:21-23).

We understand from the teaching of the apostles

that the work of redemption necessitated that the

redeemer should be a man in order to share the nature

of those whom he had come to redeem. Also to be God

that he might have supreme power to overcome sin

and set free from its authority all who believe in him.

All who study the Bible find the shadow of this

redeemer throughout its lines, from the book of

Genesis to the end of the book of Revelation.

Sometimes he is seen "as man, born of a woman, born

under the law, to redeem those under law, that we

might receive the full rights of sons" (Galatians 4:4).

Sometimes he is seen as God, that he might be the

centre for worship of his chosen ones and the object of

their faith.

Christ is an amazing person: he is God and Man in

One. He filled the vision of the prophets throughout

the generations before his incarnation. Isaiah pointed

to his coming in the flesh as the greatest of God's

wonders and signs, when he says, "the Lord himself

will give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive and

bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel (which

menas God with us)". Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew

1:22-23). Isaiah also described him with the words,

— 86 —

"He will be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty

God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6).

2) The objection to the Deity of the Holy Spirit.

Some say that the Holy Spirit is not a person of the

Trinity, but rather that he is the power of God,

carrying out his work in the universe and in the hearts

of men. But the texts of the Bible make it clear that the

Holy Spirit is a person and not merely a divine power

at work in us. Mere power cannot be said to be the

possessor of holiness, truth, wisdom or will, neither

can it speak or be spoken to.

It is recorded in the Bible that at the baptism of

Christ the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily

form as a dove, and there was a voice from heaven

which said, "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I

am well pleased" (Luke 3:22). This reveals the three

persons at one time, for the Holy Spirit descended

from heaven, from the Father who spoke from heaven,

upon the Son who was on earth.

Likewise the promise of Christ to his disciples of

another Comforter, the apostolic blessing, "The grace

of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the

fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all", and the

apostle Paul's declaration, "For through him (Jesus)

— 87 —

we have access in one Spirit to the Father" all indicate

three persons of the Godhead.

All who study the Bible find many passages which

show the falsity of the claim that the Holy Spirit is

merely divine power. One of them is the apostle's

statement that through the Spirit the church was given

many gifts, one of which was the working of miracles

(see I Corinthians 12:4-11). If the Holy Spirit is merely

"power", the meaning would be that the Spirit is just

one of the "gifts".

There are other passages also which show he is a

person, and not a mere "gift" or "power" among

them.

Luke 4:14; "Jesus returned in the power of the

Spirit".

Acts 10:38; "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with

the Holy Spirit and power".

Romans 15:13; "That you may over flow with hope

by the power of the Holy Spirit".

Romans 15:19; "By the power of signs and

miracles, through the power of the Holy Spirit".

If this assertion of objectors were true, we should

have to say "Jesus returned by the power of the

power" or "that you may abound in hope by power of

the holy power". The apostolic blessing would read

like this - "the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the

love of God, and the fellowship of the "holy power" be

with you all". No sensible person could accept such

renderings.

3) The objection to the doctrine of the Trinity.

Many times the question is asked, "What are your

evidences for the plurality of the Godhead?" The

answer is that the unity of God is prominent in the

Bible, and the acknowledgement that the universe has

no place for another like unto God does not necessarily

prevent there being three persons, who are one in

essence.

We conclude this from the texts of the Bible. The

expression generally used in the Old Testament for

God is the plural "Elohim", as is also the pronoun

"We". The most outstanding of these texts is found in

Deuteronomy 6:4; "Hear O Israel: The Lord our God,

the Lord is one". Here, the word "our God" is in the

plural, though the purpose of it is to show the unity of

God. There are many other texts also which mention

the name of God in the plural form, such as:

Genesis 1:26; "Let us make man in our image, in

our likeness".

Genesis 3:22; "The Lord God said 'The man has

now become like one of us'".

— 89 —

Genesis 11:7; "Come, let us go down and confuse

their language."

Isaiah 6:8; "I heard the voice of the Lord saying,

'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?'"

Some say that in this way God's purpose was to

glorify himself-as some kings do. But the word God

spoke in Genesis 3:22; "the man has now become like

one of us" refutes this, as the purport of this expression

indicates the existence of speaker and hearers.

Though the mystery of the Trinity is beyond our

comprehension, this does not mean we must reject it

because of our limitations. The revelations of the

divine are many and their comprehension is beyond

our capacity. There is for example his self-existence,

his eternal existence, his being the first Cause of all

things, as well as his omnipresence and his omnis-

cience from eternity to eternity and through all time.

It is submitted that the doctrine of the Trinity, even

if it is beyond our understanding, does not exclude

unity, nor is there in it anything to compel us to reject

it, nor anything which is inconceivable to faith or

reason, because it does not mean the existence of three

gods.

Some may ask, "Is the doctrine of the Trinity any

advantage to the Christian religion?" To this I would

— 90 —

reply that the benefit of the teaching of the Trinity

appears in assisting the explanation of other

important teachings. For example:

1) It enhances the deity and reveals its perfections.

The "unity" without the Trinity limits it and leaves

it devoid of every content of happiness and love. We

find in the counsel of the Trinity the love of one for

another, which gives the deity all the requirements of

eternal happiness.

2) The Trinity is a means by which God reveals

himself to his creatures.

Each one, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit

are of one substance. The Son has full knowledge of

the Father and can reveal him perfectly. The Holy

Spirit is of the essence of deity and can thus reveal it to

mankind.

By means of the three persons, God draws near to

his creatures, and without this approach God remains

far from us and veiled from our understanding, and

cut off from our experience.

3) The Trinity is the means by which God completed

the work of redemption in all its requirements.

The second person became flesh, and atoned for

our sins. He interceded and mediated for us and

— 91 —

provided a means of justification, reconciliation and

salvation. The apostle says, "God was reconciling the

world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins

against them" (2 Corinthians 5:19). It is also said

concerning the work of the third person, the Holy

Spirit, that he renews our hearts and enlightens our

minds and sanctifies us with the holiness which

enables us to enter the presence of God. Of a truth,

without the Trinity, God could not become Redeemer

and Saviour, Sanctifier and Judge, in a way which

fulfills the sinner's need of redemption from the curse

of the law which condemns him because of sin.

4) The Trinity presents God as a pattern for human

life.

In loving social relations and family harmony we

see the true quality of Fatherhood in the first person,

and true Sonship in the second person, which elevates

both the aspect of fatherhood and sonship among

men.

Unquestionably, if we empty the deity of all feel-

ings of love, God would become a mighty and severe

Lord to us, whose might and severity would separate

us from him.

— 92 —

TEST YOURSELF!

THE PERSON OF CHRIST

in the Gospel and the Koran

If you have read this booklet carefully, you will be

able to answer these questions easily:

1. What are some points where Islam and Christianity

touch on identical views in regard to the

personality of Christ?

2. What are the reasons which led the Muslims to

refuse the Christian teaching of the Trinity?

3. In your opinion, do the Muslims have sufficient

reason for saying that the gospels are distorted

because they do not mention Muhammed as being

a prophet?

4. What is the distinguishing characteristic of Christ

in the Koran?

5. Which miracle does Islam accredit to Christ, but

does not occur in the gospel?

— 93 —

6. Is one able to perceive the deity of Christ in the

Koranic texts?

7. In your opinion, what are the reasons which led

Islam to deny the Fatherhood of God?

8. What conclusions does Islam make about the

deity of Christ?

9. How would you answer the Imam Arrazi in his

denial of the teachings of Christ?

10. How would you refute the statement of Islam that

"Christ was just a slave"?

11. Briefly state the evidence from the Holy Bible

about the divinity of Christ.

12. Did Christ mention his relationship to the

Godhead in the Gospel? Give references.

13. What evidence is given from the Old Testament

prophets and the New Testament Apostles about

the deity of Christ?

14. Did Christ ask the people to honour him as they

honour the Father?

94 —

15. How would you specify the views of the agnostics

and aruists which show their denial of the person

of Christ?

16. Is there a Psalm which reveals the acceptance of

Christ in the Godhead?

17. How would you, personally, explain the truth that

God is a Trinity?

18. How would you answer those who say that the

Holy Trinity is three Gods?

19. Does the expression, "The Holy Trinity" have

roots in the holy books (Koran and Bible)?

20. Give a text from the Holy Bible which shows the

uniqueness of the Holy Trinity.

If you answered 15 out of these 20 questions

correctly, we will send you one of our books. Please

write your answers on a separate sheet of paper with

your address written clearly on it. Send to:

THE GOOD WAY

CH-8486 RIKON/P.O.BOX 66

SWITZERLAND

— 95 —

THE GOOD WAY

P, O. BOX 66, CH-8486 RIKON

SWITZERLAND

BOOKSAND CASSETTES

FOR MUSLIMS

IN ENGLISH

Order

No.

Title

First

Edition

Author

Pages

Lang.

Price

SFr.

BOOKS

RB4001

No Distortion in the Torah and the Gospel

(Balance of Truth, parti, reprint)

1993

C. G. Pfander

87

Engl.

8.—

RB4003

The Infallibility of the Torah and the Gospel

1974

Iskander Jadeed

64

Engl.

6.—

RB4030

TheGospelof Barnabas IsaFalseTestimony

1978

Iskander Jadeed

24

Engl.

3.—

RB4050

No! The Religion of Christ Has Not Been

Abrogated

1990

Iskander Jadeed

29

Engl.

3.—

RB 4101

God Is One in the Holy Trinity

1981

Butrus Zacharia

56

Engl.

5.—

RB 4103

RB4115

Trinity and Unity

Did God Appear in the Flesh?

1988

1971

Pope

Shenuda III

Iskander Jadeed

12

48

Engl.

Engl.

3.—

5.—

RB 4301

The Person of Christ in the Gospel and the

Koran

1975

Iskander Jadeed

96

Engl.

8.—

RB4355

What Do You Think About Christ?

1978

Abd al-Masih

32

Engl.

3

RB 4358

A Question That Demands an Answer!

1993

Abd al-Masih

56

Engl.

5.—

RB 4370

The Light of the World

1984

George Ford

88

Engl.

7.—

RB 4380

How Can We Know the Truth of the Gospel?

1987

Iskander Jadeed

40

Engl.

4.—

RB4401

Sin and Atonement in Islam and Christianity

1979

Iskander Jadeed

56

Engl.

5.—

RB4430

How Can You Be Saved, O Man?

(Balance of Truth, part II)

1993

C. G. Pfander

98

Engl.

9.—

RB4480

The Cross in the Gospel and the Koran

1969

Iskander Jadeed

48

End.

5.—

Order Title

No.

RB4665 How Do We Pray?

rb 4905 Themes for the Diligent

rb 4920 Victory of the Truth

RB4930 Teach Me Your Way, 0 Lord!

rb 4940 Test Everything, Hold On to the Good!

RT 4999 TraCtS (one thousand)

rb 7801 For the Sake of Truth

rb 7825 In Search of Assurance

rb 7830 God Has Chosen for Me Everlasting Life

RB7835 Sweet Firstfruits

rb 7840 My Grace Is Sufficient for You

rb 7845 Why I Became a Christian

Cassettes

rc 4003 Jhe Infallibility of the Torah and the Gospel

(parti)

rc 4004 The Infallibility of the Torah and the Gospel

(part 2)

RC 43oi The Person of Christ in the Gospel and the

Koran (pan i)

Rc 4302 The Person of Christ in the Gospel and the

Koran (pan 2)

Rc 4355 What Do You Think About Christ?

Rc 4480 The Cross in the Gospel and the Koran

RC4665 How Do We Pray?

First

Edition

Author

Pages

Lang.

Price

SFr.

1977

Iskander Jadeed

32

Engl.

3.—

1989

Nicola Ghabriel

128

Engl.

10.—

1988

Iskander Jadeed

132

Engl.

11.—

1982

Iskander Jadeed

40

Engl.

4 —

1980

Iskander Jadeed

112

Engl.

9.—

1974

1991

Servants of the

Lord

Iskander Jadeed

4

292

Engl.

Engl.

50.—

25.—

1983

K. K. Alavi

56

Engl.

5.—

1992

Hamran Ambrie

96

Engl.

8.—

1993

1990

1990

Servants of the

Lord

Ghulam Masih

Naaman

Sultan M. Paul

135

80

48

Engl.

Engl.

Engl.

12 —

7 —

5 —

Min.

1986

Iskander Jadeed

C62

Engl.

9.—

1986

Iskander Jadeed

C38

Engl.

6.—

1986

Iskander Jadeed

C88

Engl.

12.—

1986

Iskander Jadeed

C60

Engl.

g

1982

Iskander Jadeed

C42

Engl.

6 —

1986

Iskander Jadeed

C72

Engl.

12.—

1982

Iskander Jadeed

C60

Engl.

9 —

Table of Contents

The Person of Christ in the Gospel and the Koran