The Lord Jesus Christ is The Eternal One….that means He is God!
by Miles McKee

"The eternity of Christ is the ground of the Christian religion"

(Stephen Charnock:Works, Vol.1, p.361)

Only God Himself is Eternal. If Christ can be clearly seen to be eternal then our case for His Deity is once more proved. On the other hand, if He had a beginning, He who was Christ cannot be God. If there ever was a time when he who was Christ was not, then he is not the Eternal God. We have already seen that He is the eternal Word, so strictly speaking nothing more needs to be said. However, let’s ask the prophet Micah if he has anything to add to this matter. He replies in Micah 5:2, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though you be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”

Of course, the critics say this is evidently not Jesus who is spoken of here. ‘When Jesus came to earth‘, they reason, ‘He did not rule in Israel’ . ‘He was not‘, they assert, ‘the King of the Jews, that position being occupied by Herod‘.

Actually, the truth is, that in spite of Herod reigning in Israel at that time, Christ Jesus was the true King of the Jews. However, they rejected Him saying, “We will not have this man to rule over us.” They knew His claims were claims of royal rulership for they protested, “We have no King but Caesar”. And while it is true that Israel, as a nation, rejected His rulership and put Him on the shameful cross, even there at the cross, we see Christ’s majesty and Kingship shining through. Remember how Pilate affixed the sign to the cross that read, “Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews.” Perhaps he did this to annoy the Jews, perhaps he had more insight than we credit him for, but regardless of why he did it, he gave us a declaration of Christ’s true identity.

At the cross we see the Kingship of Christ! Christ Jesus turned that which looked like shame and failure into His very throne. He was every inch a King! The cross instead of being a monumental failure was transformed into Christ’s greatest victory! It was a victory for light over darkness, it was a victory of love, it was a triumph of Justice whereby God can now righteously acquit all who believe. From the cross King Jesus routed his satanic majesty (Col.2:15). Through the blood of the cross He made peace (Col 1:20) and reconciled all things to Himself (Col 1:20).Jesus our King, dying on the cross demonstrated the victory of truth, of righteousness, of grace and mercy.

Indeed, as Christ hung upon the cross with the life blood dripping from his body he transformed the cross into a throne from which He ruled and reigned. To one thief He gave mercy and granted eternal life; to the other (by His silence) banishment and doom. He decided who lived and who died. This is the prerogative a King. As Dr Desmond Ford writes,

“It is from the cross that Christ sways the hearts of men and conquers them. Conquering is a king’s business! It is when we see him hanging there writhing in tortured agony for our sins that he overcomes our resistance to His love. Israel according to the flesh may have rejected Him but through the centuries there has been a spiritual Israel composed of all who believe over whom He rules and reigns and exercises His gracious Kingdom government” (Dr. Desmond Ford: a Kaleidoscope of Diamonds).