The Thomas Confession
by Miles McKee

Jn 20:28; “And Thomas answered and said unto him, “My Lord and my God.”

Poor old Thomas! He is forever known as the doubter. Today we even refer to the skeptic as a ‘Doubting Thomas’. Although Thomas did not remain a doubter, that is how he is remembered. It just shows how little mercy there is in the church for those who fall. However, in my opinion, there’s a good case for remembering Thomas not as ‘Doubting Thomas’ but as ‘Believing Thomas’. Here, in this verse, he gives a grand and marvelous declaration of his faith and we are all the richer for it. Here he declares Jesus to be both Lord and God. He recognizes Christ’s true identity. “My Lord and my God”---- what could be plainer than that? It’s as plain as the nose on the end of your face! Some foolish people have tried to argue he was really calling on God in a surprised astonishment. Well imagine that! Apart from charging Thomas with profanity they expose the desperation and barrenness of their thinking.

Is Thomas mistaken about the identity of Jesus? Let’s ask Jesus. Let’s see how he responds to Thomas. Surely, if Jesus is merely a good man and not God, He should rebuke His erring disciple. After all, no essentially good man would allow himself to be called God! So how does Jesus respond? Here’s what happened,

‘Jesus said unto him, Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed’. (Jn 20:29)

In other words, Christ declares Thomas to be a true believer. That’s hardly a rebuke!

True believers, therefore, we conclude, hold to the Deity of Christ. Matthew Henry writes,

“We must believe his deity-that he is God; not a man made God, but God made man. The author and head of our holy religion has the wisdom, power, sovereignty, and unchangeableness of God, which was necessary, because he was to be not only the founder of it, but the foundation of it for its constant support, and the fountain of life for its supply’.

(Matthew Henry Commentaries).

It is essential that as followers of Christ we take a stand for who He is. It is not enough to glibly say, “O I believe Jesus is the Son of God but not God.” If that is your position you cannot be considered to be a Christian. You can be a church member, a deacon, a Sunday School teacher but you are not a Christian. You have rejected the Christ of the Bible.

Every Christian must settle this question of Christ’s Deity for himself. The Devil has tried for years, because of malice, to undermine belief in Christ’s Deity and it becomes all who name the name of Christian to defy the Father of Lies and to refuse and refute his falsehoods. Notice how Thomas made his great confession publicly. Henry again comments,

‘He made an open profession of this, before those that had been the witnesses of his unbelieving doubts. He says it to Christ, and, to complete the sense, we must read it, ‘Thou art my Lord and my God’; or, speaking to his brethren, ‘This is my Lord and my God’. Do we accept Christ as our Lord God? We must go to him, and tell him so, ---and tell others so---.Thomas speaks with an ardency of affection, as one that took hold of Christ with all his might, My Lord and my God.”

(Matthew Henry Commentaries)