The Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ Vindicated -- By: J. B. Rowell
Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 114:453 (Jan 1957)
Article: The Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ Vindicated
Author: J. B. Rowell
BSac 114:453 (Jan 57) p. 70
The Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ Vindicated
[J. B. Rowell is Pastor of the Central Baptist Church, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.]
There are those who seek to discover some weakness in Scripture translation, something they may classify as error, and then, on this single point, to attempt to discredit the entire teaching of Scripture concerning the deity of Christ. Thus, they disregard the combined testimony of many Scriptures which teach the deity of Christ, and make a mountain out of a single point, even though the rest of the verse, or context, contradicts their unsound conclusion.
An illustration of this is found in 1 Timothy 3:16, where the Authorized Version reads: “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” It is around the word God that the controversy rages. The Jehovah’s Witnesses comment is: “The claim which the clergy make that Almighty God was manifested in the flesh to men on this earth brings up the text at 1 Timothy 3:16, which states: ‘God was manifest in the flesh.’ Says a footnote in The Emphatic Diaglott by Benjamin Wilson, on the said verse : ‘Nearly all the ancient manuscripts, and all the versions have “He who,” instead of “God,” in this passage’“ (Let God Be True, p. 105). For this reason, in their New World Translation they render this verse, “He was made manifest in the flesh.”
By substituting the pronoun he for the name God, this Scripture is used as an argument for the denial of the deity of Christ. This denial leads to the refusal to recognize the deity of our Lord in any of the great Christological passages where His deity is plainly taught. It further leads to statements which are derogatory to His person and claims. One such statement reads: “…after God had created him as
BSac 114:453 (Jan 57) p. 71
his firstborn Son, then God used him as his working Partner…” (ibid., p. 33).
A Battleground for Research
Regarding the words “God manifest in the flesh,” there are able scholars who claim that the name God should be retained. There are also able scholars who claim that the reading should be who, i.e., “Who was manifest [or manifested] in the flesh.”
Barnes, in his commentary, says: “Probably there is no passage in the New Testament which has excited so much discussion among critics as this, and none in reference to whic...
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