Truth Magazine

By Mike Willis

The book of Hebrews contains one of the most comprehensive expressions of the doctrine of Jesus to be found in any New Testament book. The book is designed to demonstrate the all-sufficient salvation which is available to men in Jesus Christ, our all-sufficient Savior. The threat which the author was facing was that of some Hebrew Christians who were reverting to Judaism as a means of salvation or as supplemental to faith in Jesus. The author demonstrates the superiority of salvation through Jesus Christ to the priesthood, sacrifices, and promises of the law of Moses. He demonstrates that Jesus Christ is an all-sufficient Savior who is able to save to the uttermost those who call upon Him (Heb. 7:25). We can be benefitted by considering Jesus our Savior.

Jesus Was God With Us

There are a number of declarations of the deity of Christ in the book of Hebrews, some of them conspicuous and some not so conspicuous. I would like to list several of them to remind us that Jesus, who was born to Mary, was no other than Jehovah God of the Old Testament. Let us begin by looking at the opening verses of the book:

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the . right hand of the Majesty on high (Heb. 1:1-3).

We begin our study of Jesus as “God with us” by listing the affirmations of these verses.

1. Jesus the Son of God. The author begins;-by stating that God now speaks to us through “his Son” (1:2). This is placed in contrast to the manner in which God spoke to the fathers byAhe prophets. The prophets of the Old Testament were men who spoke under the direction of the Holy Spirit – inspired men. Jesus is more than a good thinker, a good teacher, or even an inspired man. He is the “son of God.” The Jews understood what “son of God” meant when they heard Jesus state that He was the Son of God. “Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God” (Jn. 5:18). Some sectarian denominations have stated the “son” indicates that Jesus derived His existence from the Father. This is not so.

An eternal relation subsisting between the Son and the Father in the Godhead is to be understood. That is to say, the Son of God, in His eternal relationship with the Father, is not so entitled because He at any time began to derive His being from the Father (in which case He could not be co-eternal with the Father), but because He is and ever has been the expression of what the Father is . . . . Thus absolute Godhead, not Godhead in a secondary or derived sense, is intended in the title . . . . The words, `Father’ and `Son,’ are never in the N.T. so used as to suggest that the Father existed before the Son . . . . (W.E. Vine, Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, Vol. IV, pp. 48-49).

Hence, the statement that Jesus is the “Son of God” indicates that Jesus has the same nature as God the Father. He is deity.

2. Jesus the Heir of all things. In Hebrews.1:2 Jesus is further described as the “heir of all things.” This is also stated about Him in Hebrews 2:10 (“for whom are all things”) and Colossians 1:16 (“all things were created. . . for him”). This implies “all things being subjected to his sway” (Thayer, krronomos, p. 349). Jesus is Lord over all, having dominion over everything which has been created.

3. Jesus the Creator. Jesus is further described in Hebrews 1:2 as the one “by whom also he made the worlds.” Jesus is also asserted in other passages. John wrote, “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (Jn. 1:3). Paul added, “. . . for by him were all things-created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities or powers: all things were created by him, and for him” (Col. 1:16). The only way that this statement can be harmonized with Genesis 1 is to understand that Jesus is the God of Genesis 1:1 who, in the beginning, created all things.

4. Jesus the Brightness of His glory. Jesus is further described in Hebrews 1:3 as “the brightness of His glory.” In commenting on this phrase, Moses Stuart wrote,

If God be represented to us under the image of splendor, or of a luminary or source of light, then is Christ the radiance of that splendor, or the light emitted from that luminary. That is, as a luminous body becomes perceptible in consequence of the light radiated from it, so God has manifested or exhibited himself to us in the person of his Son. To the same purpose John says, “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath revealed him, John 1:18.” So again, “He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father, 14:9;” and again, “He that seeth me, seeth him that sent me, 12:45.” In Col. 1:15, Christ is called “the image of the invisible God,” i.e. he by whom the invisible God is, as it were, presented to our inspection. In him God has exhibited to man the perfections of his character, i.e. has exhibited ten doxan autou (the glory of him,-. MW), which word is figuratively used to designate the divine perfections (Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, p. 285).

5. Jesus the Express Image of His Person. Hebrews 1:3 also describes Jesus as the express image of God’s person. The word “express image” is translated from charakter which was used; first of all, to describe the instrument used in engraving and carving and then to describe the mark stamped upon that instrument. Hence, it means “the exact expression (the image) of any person or thing, marked likeness, precise reproduction in every respect” (Thayer, p. 665). Jesus is the exact expression of God’s hupostasis – “the substantial quality, nature, of any person or thing” (Thayer, p. 645). “The phrase then teaches that Christ was the representation of very God, so to speak; and finds its best parallel and illustration in Col. 1:15, which has been already adduced, image of the invisible God (translated from Greek by me, mw)” (Francis S. Sampson, A Critical Commentary On The Epistle To The Hebrews, p. 49).

6. Jesus the Sustainer of Creation. The Son of God is also described as the one “upholding all things by the word of his power” in Hebrews 1:3. This phrase describes the work of Jesus Christ as the one who sustains the creation which He had made. “Even as He is the effluent brightness and image of God, so is He also the ground of existence to the world: He upholds all things, i.e. God, who is . . . `the Sustainer of the worlds’ . . ., upholds all things by Him: not only was the world originally created, but its government is still carried on through His mediation” (Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, Vol. 1, p. 53). Paul wrote, “. . . by him all things consist” (Col. 1:17).

7. Jesus is God. As the epistle develops in chapter one, the author of Hebrews wrote, “But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom (Heb. 1:8).” Jesus is here expressly called “God.” This reminds us of the opening verse of John’s gospel: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” This is not an affirmation that Jesus is the Father; it is a statement of the deity of Jesus Christ. He has every attribute characteristic of deity. The contrast of the passage is between the angels who are God’s ministers (Heb. 1:7) and the Son who is here called “God.”

8. Jesus is Jehovah. The next reference to the deity of Jesus is not so obvious as the preceding one. However, the implication is there nonetheless. In Hebrews 1:10, the author continues to describe the Son, citing several Old Testament texts as having reference to Him. In verse 10, he began a quotation which continues through verse 12 which relates to this and the next two points. He wrote,

And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: they shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail (Heb. 1:10-12).

This usage of this quotation of Psalm 102:25-27 is to show the superiority of Jesus to the angels. Hence, the words of this psalm are here applied by the author to Jesus. In the original psalm, the “Lord” being discussed is Jehovah (see Psa. 102:21, 22; the AV designates that Jehovah appears in the original by writing the word “lord” by LORD instead -of Lord). Hence, to apply this passage to Jesus, the author had to believe that Jesus is the one known as Jehovah of the Old Testament. This simply means that the word Jehovah, like the word God, is applied to all members of the Godhead.

9. Jesus is Eternal. The purpose of the quotation was to indicate that Jesus possesses divine attributes. In the psalm quoted by the author of Hebrews, Jesus is contrasted with the heavens. In the first place, he said, “They shall perish; but thou remainest” (Heb. 1:11). Jesus is an eternal being. Before the heavens were created, He existed (Heb. 1:2) and He will continue to exist after they are destroyed. Elsewhere in the epistle His eternity is described (7:16-17, 24-25).

10. Jesus is Immutable. The psalm also presents Jesus as an immutable person (one who never changes). He is described as follows: “. . . and they (the heavens) shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail” (Heb. 1:12). Elsewhere in the epistle Jesus is described as being the same “yesterday, today and forever” (Heb. 13:8). This is another characteristic of deity.

11. The Word of Scripture Is The Word of Jesus. In two places in the book of Hebrews, the words of the Old Testament Scripture are quoted as the words of Jesus (Heb. 2:11, 13; 10:5ff). When one remembers that the words of the Old Testament were considered to be the “word of God” (Matt. 15:3-9; cf. Heb. 1:5, 7), the affirmation that Jesus spoke these words of Scripture can be nothing less than a statement of the deity of Jesus, as identification of Jesus with Jehovah of the Old Testament.

These references do not exhaust what the book of Hebrews has to say about Jesus. However, they are sufficient to prove that Jesus is “God with us.” There can be no doubt that Jesus was the Jehovah of the Old Testament, the Creator and Sustainer of our universe. He was of the same nature as the Father, possessing every attribute of Godhood even as I possess every attribute of humanity.

Even as I possess every attribute of humanity (I am a man) just as does my father, though I am not my father, Jesus has every attribute of God, although He is not God the Father.

Any concept of Jesus which makes Him less than on an equality with God (Phil. 2:6) results in this false concept: it creates a system of polytheism. The polytheism of the Old Testament was one which believed that there were levels of godhood. One god controlled the sun, another the moon, another the stars, another rain, another controlled the mountains, etc. Each god was different in nature from the other gods. A doctrine of God which has levels of deity is nothing but polytheism. The doctrines of God as taught by the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormonism, which treat God as a created being, are polytheistic to the core.

Let us remember that Jesus who died for us was none other than “Immanuel” – the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6). He is worthy of our adoration, worship, and praise (Rev. 5:12-13), in spite of the fact that no created being is worthy of worship (neither man [Acts 10:25-26] nor angel [Rev. 22:8-9]). He is worthy of our worship because He is God! (Continued next week.)

Guardian of Truth XXVII: 14, pp. 418-420
July 21, 1983

By Daniel H. King

Mark’s account of the life of Jesus tells of a meeting between Jesus and a young man who was puzzled over one of life’s most difficult questions. He confronted Jesus with these words: “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mk. 10:17). It is not Christ’s answer which interests us here, but his response to what He had been called. he said “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.” Some have been surprised at this reply, thinking that Jesus somehow robs Himself of His dignity. But, if you will read more carefully than they, you will find there is more here then meets the eye. By so answering, He made it clear for all time that Jesus of Nazareth must not be confused with a mere man, not even a good man. This young fellow felt that he was addressing Jesus with a complimentary title, and for most people it would have been such; but for Jesus it was unacceptable. In the first place, the Lord understood that all men fall short of God’s glory on account of sin. All men, that is, except Himself. Too, if we assume that He was much more than an ordinary man, we can understand that he would not appreciate being classified as this and nothing beyond. It was His plan to challenge the rich young ruler, and you, to look more closely at Him and decide whether He was more than a “Good Teacher.”

In the world today, there are many people who look at Him as a great man, a first-rate teacher, a prophet, a “super-star,” etc. But will this do? Let me challenge your thinking in the following paragraphs and you decide for yourself. I will do so by presenting to you five things that I have found to be powerful proofs that He is God’s Son.

Nobody Ever Talked Like That!

When the Jewish ruling counsel, the Sanhedrin, sent officers to arrest Jesus, they returned empty-handed. In dismay, the leadership inquired of them, “Why did you not bring him?” The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like this man!” (Jn. 7:32ff.). What they said was true. No one had ever talked quite the way He did. In this respect, Jesus fits in a category all by Himself! The people were astounded at the way He spoke simply because He spoke as though He possessed authority, resident within himself (Mt. 7:29). All of their scribes and teachers (rabbis) had to cite Sacred Scripture to command the attention and demand the respect of their hearers. Jesus talked as though his words were Scripture. He spoke as God would speak if He were to walk among men.

Furthermore, He made all sorts of claims about Himself, which if true make Him the central figure of the human race, but if false brand Him a liar or a lunatic. For example, He claimed to be the Messiah or Christ which the Old Testament prophets had foretold (Jn. 4:24-26; Mk. 14:61-62); He claimed to be the Son of God – not a son of God, but God’s very own Son (Jn. 10:30-36; Mt. 16:13-17); He asserted His personal equality with God (Jn. 5:17-18); He therefore claimed to be eternal, as only God could be (Jn. 8:56-59) and spoke of Himself as the judge of all mankind (Jn. 8:56-59) and spoke of Himself as the judge of all mankind (Jn. 5:21-27). He also boldly laid claim to the most elusive of all traits for man – perfection! He even charged those who were His examiners to find some sin in Him (Jn. 8:46). That charge applies as much for you today as for them then. All of His most intimate associates and even one of His worst enemies (who became His follower) had to admit that they had not been able to find any fault with Him or taint of sin in Him (1 Pet. 2:19-24; 1 Jn. 3:5; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15). This alone should be enough to make you take a careful look at Him.

But, whatever you do, don’t be satisfied with “he’s a good man.” Why not? Because, if a man made such claims as did Jesus and they were not true, then you should not consider a fellow like that “good.” He was either a liar or a lunatic, but in neither case was He “good.” If, on the other hand, He was what He claimed to be, then you cannot be satisfied with putting Him there and leaving Him. He must sit upon a throne in your heart and reign as King in your life!

Before we leave this matter of His extraordinary claims, let me make one final point. Jesus sealed His claims with His blood. Now, before you pass that off too lightly, consider another man who made great claims: Savanarola, a reformer of the Catholic church, claimed direct communication with God, and was subsequently tortured to elicit the truth from Him. Under such pressure, he retracted all he had said of himself. In contrast, Jesus was beaten brutally by the authorities, condemned in a public tribunal, and tortured to death, yet He maintained to the end His integrity and His claims!

What Others Said About Him

How did those closest to Jesus react to the fantastic things He said about Himself? Actually, they acted much like we would behave if someone close to us began to say such things. His brothers, for example, at first did not believe Him. They reacted with the same attitude that we would have under similar circumstances (Jn. 7:5). They wanted to see proof! But something truly miraculous happened after the stories of His resurrection from the dead began to circulate: they suddenly became His disciples! How are we to explain the fact that thereafter they followed Him, confessed Him as their Lord, urged others to believe in Him, and finally died as martyrs for His cause. The Bible simply explains that “He appeared to James” (1 Cor. 15:7). Who would have been better qualified to know whether it was really Jesus risen from the tomb, or some imposter, than His own brother (Mt. 13:55; Gal. 1:19)? This powerful evidence apparently swayed all of His brethren (Acts 1:3, 14). Both of His brothers who contributed to the literature of the New Testament later saw themselves as His bond servants (Jas. 1:1; Jude l: l).

His mother never questioned the veracity of His assertions. In fact, she was confident that His power was without limit (Jn. 2:1-11). Unlike His brothers, she never needed to be convinced. She believed Him from the start. Her stonelike silence at His crucifixion will forever remain one of the powerful evidences that her Son was telling the truth. Had He been a pretender, she could have stepped in at any moment and halted the ugly proceedings with: “Son, give this pretension up!” She could have ruined Him. How so? She was the only one who could know beyond the shadow of a doubt that He was born of a virgin, conceived directly by God. Knowing what she did, she could never, ever doubt Him. To her more than to anyone else he was the Son of God! She stood silent as they crucified Him (Jn. 19:25), watched Him as He died, and was numbered among His faithful disciples when He rose again to life (Acts 1:14).

Those who were the closest to Him as He went about His task of teaching and performing signs were also totally convinced of His divinity. This was not a conviction reached out of logic or persuasion, either. It was forced upon them by what they saw, heard, and themselves experienced (1 Jn. 1:1-4). “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,” said Peter (Mt. 16:16). John was so thoroughly convinced of this that he wanted to tell the world. He did just that in his record of the gospel, concluding with this impressive thought: “Many other signs therefore Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in his name” (Jn. 20:30-31). Many of His disciples, most in fact, sealed their faith with their blood. That in itself is impressive, for they lived and died bounded by an ethic of absolute and unequivocal honesty. To die for a lie? For them it was unthinkable!

Objective Facts Of History

Certain objective historical factors, when closely studied, show Jesus was none other than the Christ, the Son of God. First, there is the fact that He was a person in history, not a mythical or legendary character. Pagan writers from the early centuries mention both the man and His movement. Tacitus, Roman orator, public official, and unsympathetic historian, in his Annals 15:44 (dated 56-120 AD) wrote about a certain “Christ,” brought to capital punishment by. the procurator Pontius Pilate. The Jewish historian Josephus (38-100 AD) in his Antiquities 18.3.3; 20.9.1, calls him “Jesus, surnamed Christ.” Suetonius, the Roman biographer and historian (69-122 AD) in his Lives of the Caesars, “Claudius,” 25 refers to him as “Christ” (Chrestus). Pliny, another Roman, in his Letter to Trajan, 96, records that this “Christ” was worshiped by the Christians of Pontus and Bithynia as their God. This early evidence attests that He was a real person, a man of history, not a figment of imagination or a figure from legend or myth.

One of the greatest pieces of historical evidence, though, is seen in the conversion of Saul of Tarsus (who came to be called Paul) in about 34-35 AD. Here is a man who at first led in the opposition to Christianity. He killed its adherents and persecuted their cause even beyond the borders of the Jewish homeland. His conversion to Christ is an unexplainable event, unless we accept his own story of how it happened. He relates it on two occasions in the book of Acts (chaps. 22 and 26). Luke the historian recounts it directly in Acts 9. The amazing story he tells is that the resurrected Jesus met him on the road to Damascus, confronted him with the truth of His resurrection, and chided him for his obstinance. Now if this story had been told by some fanatical follower of Jesus, it might be conceivable that it was fabricated to lend some credence to the story of the empty tomb. Instead, it happened to the leader in the opposition, the mortal enemy of Christianity! What he endured on account of this change in his thinking makes us even more sure that he actually did meet the risen Lord on the road to Damascus (2 Cor. 11:22-28). He became a leading figure among Christians, wrote numerous works in defense of his faith, and finally died at the hands of a Roman executioner. He refused to give up this faith in Jesus even when he knew it would cost him his life! He was happy to surrender his life for the one who had died for him (Gal. 2:20; Phil. 1:20-21; 2 Tim. 4:6-8), and so became one of the early martyrs of a movement which viewed death a happy alternative to denying that Jesus was the Son of God.

Prophets Spoke Of Him Long Before

No other religion ever attempted to establish itself on the grounds of miracle or fulfilled prophecy. Yet the religious movement started by Jesus validated itself on both points. You can no doubt see how this could be a most dangerous, even precarious, basis upon which to stand. If. the prophets really did not so speak or if Jesus did not really fulfill them, then His followers would have been vulnerable on this count ever afterward. But the friends of Christ were bold to declare that Jesus had fulfilled the utterances of men who spoke hundreds of years before. In direct prophecies, types and figures, etc., the disciples saw Him not as a mere fulfillment of a few forecasts, but as the personal culmination of all that the Law and Prophets intended to say. God had completed that segment of His dealings with men by speaking through his own Son (Heb. 1:1-3; 8). This bold habit of citing the prophets they borrowed from Jesus Himself (Jn. 5:46; Lk. 24:44).

The amazing fact is that men hundreds of years previous described almost every facet of his life, at times doing so plainly, and on occasion through veiled references. He is to be seen almost at every turn on the pages of the Old Testament, even in the incidents and words which relate to those figures from Israel’s sacred past. Things which seem only to be incidental and of little importance thus come to testify that He is far more than any mere man. Here we will give you a bare outline of the hundreds that we could offer if space would permit: (1) His birthplace to be Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2); (2) He was to be Divine (Isa. 7:14; 9:6); (3) A forerunner was to herald His arrival (Mal. 3:1; 4:5); (4) His ministry was to begin in Galilee (Isa. 9:1-2); (5) He was to be a prophet like Moses (Dent. 18:15-19; 34:10-12; Acts 3:22-23); (6) He was to be king like David, but a heavenly king who was also a priest like Melchizedek (2 Sam. 7:16; Psa. 110:1-4); (7) His kingdom was to see its origin in the days of the Roman Empire (Dan. 2:44); (8) He was to bring a new covenant (Jer. 31:31ff.; Heb. 8:8ff.); (9) He was to be betrayed and tried (Zech. 11:12, 13; Isa. 53:7); (10) He was to suffer and die (Isa. 53; Ps. 22:15-18); (11) He was to be raised from the dead (Isa. 53:10-11; Ps. 16:10; 2:6-7); (12) He was to ascend to heaven (Ps. 68:18) and there be glorified (Dan. 7:13-14).

Why prophecy? Because it is an infallible proof of one’s ability to tap the resources of the divine mind. Only God can really know the future, all of the pretensions of modern prognosticators notwithstanding. As Jesus said of His own advance warnings to the disciples: “I am telling you before it comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am He” (Jn. 13:19; 14:29). The fact that men centuries before told the very details of His life is a tremendous proof that He is indeed the Son of God.

His Miracles

As we earlier said, no religion in the history of the world ever attempted to establish itself on the basis of either prophecy or miracle. Mohammed offered none. Buddha offered none. Krishna offered none. Jesus is absolutely alone in establishing His claim to authority on miracle. What He did was clearly intended to show who and what He was (Mt. 4:3). They were not ends in themselves, but the “signs” of who He was (Jn. 2:11; 3:2). The incredible risk involved in this must not be underestimated. If people could not have remembered the incredible works of Jesus, or if they could not have produced many eye-witnesses to the miracles, Christianity would have never have gotten off the ground. In fact, witnesses were abundant (Acts 2:22; 1 Cor. 15:4-8). That Christianity persisted beyond the first two generations of its history is proof that the miracles actually happened!

Through His miracles He demonstrated that He was divine; no one except God could possess power so absolute. In turning water to wine (Jn. 2:1-11), He showed His authority over the normal processes of nature: The same may be said of many of His miracles: (1) Multiplying the loaves and fishes (Mt. 14:15-21; 15:32-39); (2) Walking on water (Mt. 14:22-33); (3) The draughts of fishes (Lk. 5:1-11; Jn. 21:6); (4) Tribute taken from-the mouth of a fish (Mt. 17:24-27); (5) Healing birth defects (Jn. 9:lff.) and all forms of disease (Mt. 4:24); (6) Demon possession, a temporary manifestation of the power of evil, He also thwarted.

The greatest of all his feats of power, though, was certainly His control over death. He was its master when others were taken by it (Lk. 7:11-16; Mt. 9:18; Jn. 11:1-46), but just as much so when it cast its dark shadow over Him. His own resurrection from death was His most important miracle of all (Jn. 20:24-29; Mk. 16:1-14; 1 Cor., 15:3-8). It convinced His disciples of His divinity to the point they were happy to lay down their lives for Him, although they were at first as skeptical as you and I would have been about such a thing (Mt. 16; Jn. 20:24-29). The empty tomb which He left behind remains the most powerful proof that He was and is the Son of God. As Paul wrote: “(He was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 1:4).

Conclusion

These five proofs lead me to conclude that Jesus of Nazareth is the very Son of God. The more I read and study about Him, the more I am convinced of His divinity. On that account, I have placed the present and future in His hands. He is worthy of it. Let me encourage you to take a long and searching look at Him and then at yourself. I think you will find in Him all that you should be, the epitome of humanity, man made in the very image of God (Gen. 1:26-27), in every respect without fault or taint of sin. He is, thus, God’s final message of love to man, written on a tablet of human flesh, illustrated in a human life, sacrificed for human sin (Jn. 1:1, 14; Phil. 2:5-8), and glorified as Lord and Savior of all men. “Wherefore God highly exalted him, and gave him the name which is above every name; that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow. . . and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:9-11).

Why not make Him your Lord also, by belief, repentance, confession, baptism, and heeding His every command (Mk. 16:16; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 22:16; Rom. 10:10; Rev. 2:10)?

Guardian of Truth XXVII: 14, pp. 417, 440-441
July 21, 1983

By Daniel H. King

I was saddened by a phone call this morning, informing me of the death last night (June 5, 1983) of brother Herbert E. Winkler, aged gospel preacher. He left his mortal frame just over a month away from his ninety-fourth birthday. This obituary is being written prior to the funeral, but it is to be held in Nashville on Wednesday, June 8, 1983, with brother Ronnie Webb (preacher for the Hillview church of Christ in Nashville) presiding at the services. His body is to be laid to rest in the Spring Hill Cemetery in Nashville.

My wife Donna and I first became acquainted with brother Winkler in the fall of 1968 when we moved to Nashville, Tennessee and placed our membership with the Franklin Road church of Christ in that city. I was a junior in college at Lipscomb at the time, and soon became acquainted with brother and sister Winkler at worship. They were what we considered a very old couple even back then. But they were so friendly and outgoing that Donna and I came to love them dearly. They were always smiling and cheerful, unlike so many that we have known who have grown bitter with life and with their fellow men in their old age. Because they knew that I aspired to preach the gospel of Christ, they quickly befriended us. When we moved to work with the Hillview church in July of 1975, we were delighted to find that in our absence from Nashville they had placed membership at Hillview in order to avoid a long drive to worship. He and sister Winkler were always present at services and made it a regular practice to visit the sick in the hospitals up until the time of her death in 1979.1 shall always remember the prayers that he led in the public assemblies. I have often thought as he prayed that these were the prayers of a man who had lived in close communion with God for nearly a century and who had obviously talked with Him often.

We moved from Nashville in December of 1977, but we kept in contact. Many is the time since then that my wife and I have stopped in (most often unannounced) at his big white house atop the hill on Charlotte Pike in West Nashville and enjoyed his amenity and geniality. We shall miss him. But we thank God for his life of faith and for the scores of pleasant memories of happy times together and conversations about the Lord’s church in Nashville. To hear him speak, as he so often did, of the giants of yesteryear – about whom I had read so much in books was an educational experience I would not trade for anything.

About two years ago I stopped in one afternoon, notepad in hand, and talked with him about his life. As best his memory could serve to accomplish the task (and that of his daughter Carrie), he supplied me with the following account.

Brother Winkler was born on July 15, 1889 at Goodlettsville, Tennessee. His parents, Payton Herbert Winkler and the former Caroline Alice Lassiter, were originally from Pleasant Shade, Tennessee. He was baptized around 1908 by brother L.M. Jackson at the Spruce Street church of Christ. His parents were originally Methodists, but were themselves converted in Cheatham County.

He attended the Nashville Bible School around 1912 for one school year. During that year he studied under such noteworthies as David Lipscomb, S.P. Pittman, H. Leo Boles, and brother Sewell. He started preaching around 1909. His first sermon was preached at the North Spruce St. church at the insistence of L.M. Jackson. For a number of years he worked as a carpenter, spending a considerable amount of time on the buildings of David Lipscomb College. He began regular preaching through Eastern Kentucky after a time, spending his summers in meeting work and winters in carpentry. Most of his labor was concentrated around Glasgow, Bowling Green and Tompkinsville.

He did some writing for the Gospel Advocate during the period when H. Leo Boles served as editor for the paper. He produced two books: The Eldership (1950), and Congregational Cooperation of the Churches of Christ (1958; revised editions in 1961 and 1972). His work on the eldership proved very controversial, in that he took the position that Philemon 9 afforded an unmarried man the opportunity to serve as an elder in the church. Although he entertained this notion (which has been rightly rejected by almost all), yet he did so with grace and latitude toward those with whom he disagreed. On one occasion the two of us discussed it and I discovered that even his wife (Eula Boyles) disagreed with him. She blurted out with a laugh, “Why he believes an old bachelor can be an elder!”

His work on congregational cooperation actually involved a study of more than just that topic. He analyzed “church sponsorships, centralized power and control, orphan homes, and Herald of Truth.” He stated as his reason for producing such a work, “The fact that the religious journals, the Chrisian schools and most of the churches in middle Tennessee have closed the door to information and refuse to let our side of the issues be presented therein” (p. 2). He further decried the state of things with this explanation of his motivation: “hundreds of congregations have become the prey of various religious enterprises parading under the Banner inscribed `GOOD WORKS’ and thereby many unsuspecting and unedified members have been ingeniously deceived into following the trail of this `GOOD WORKS’ monster . . . . Brethren, if you are interested in the Glorious Church of the Lord and your own peace with God and want to know what all this alarm is over, then, please read this pamphlet” (p. 3). The amount of good accomplished by this booklet, written, financed, and largely circulated by Herbert E. Winkler is known only by the Lord and those brethren helped by it in the Middle Tennessee area.

Brother Winkler conducted several public debates during his preaching years. He debated three Baptist preachers and one Methodist that he could remember. One meeting at Glasgow resulted in two debates with Baptist preachers. He also debated Richard Pigg in Hillham in East Tennessee. The debate was held in a grove. During the course of the discussion someone in the audience squeezed a pig that had been brought in for the purpose; its piercing squeel brought the house down with laughter. J.W. Shepherd traveled from Detroit to moderate for brother Winkler in this debate. A gospel meeting held after the discussion saw many sectarians converted.

At the time of the Hardeman Tabernacle Meetings, brother Winkler was serving as an elder of the Charlotte Ave. church of Christ. It was he that suggested the name of N.B. Hardeman to do- the preaching for the series. Some had opted for T.B. Larimore, but brother Winkler had not been that impressed with Larimore, and besides, Larimore himself had confided to brother Winkler that none in the brotherhood could hold a candle to Hardeman as a public speaker. The ultimate decision, of course, is a matter of history.

Perhaps the saddest episode in his life was his resignation as elder at Charlotte Ave. The pain of those days yet lingered when we spoke of them. The problem was with a new generation of men who had come to have control of David Lipscomb College. As he put it in his own words to me: “They were dictating to the churches; and the churches were letting them have too much control.” His resignation at Charlotte Ave. led him to distribute to Christians throughout the area (from funds out of his own pocket) copies of his book on congregational cooperation.

H.E. Winkler was married three times. He married Roberta Pearl Goodman on December 23, 1909; she passed away January 5, 1952. Seven children were born to this union: Francis, Earnest, Wilmont, Carrie, Dora, Roberta, and Charles. Hazel Ruby Johnson became his wife on March 12, 1954, but died in January of 1962. His last wife was Eula Boyles, whom he married July 15, 1962. She died tragically on June 18, 1979. After the death of his last. companion, brother Winkler’s health failed steadily until his own death last night.

Our condolences are extended to the Winkler family. My family and I will carry memories of him and Eula always, and pray that we can be together once more in a land where death is fittingly and finally robbed of its awful power.

Guardian of Truth XXVII: 13, pp. 407-408
July 7, 1983

By Vernon Love

The title of this article is taken from an article in the Jehovah’s Witness’ Watchtower.(1) It discussed the conversion of the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts 8:26-40. They reveal some very enlightening attitudes which the Jehovah’s Witnesses have toward the Bible and baptism.

If you read the biblical account and then compare it with what the Jehovah’s Witnesses say happened, you will wonder if they are reading from another Bible. In the article, they can tell the story accurately up until the eunuch is to be baptized. However, verse 37 is left out completely in their Bible. Then in the article, they conclude the account with the following statement: “The chariot was halted; they went into the water together and Philip baptized him on the basis of his accepting Jesus’ sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins. – Acts 8:36-39.”(2)

If a Jehovah’s Witness tells you they baptize “for the remission of sins” don’t you believe it! They teach in this article and other sources that one must “dedicate his life” to Jehovah. This is done by going to Jehovah “in prayer through Jesus Christ and express your desire to be one of his servants, walking in the footsteps of his Son. It is appropriate that you tell Jehovah that you want to belong to him and that you want to do his will both now and for all time to come. In this way you dedicate yourself to God. This is a personal, private matter. No one else can do it for you.”‘(3)

After one has “dedicated his life to Jehovah,” then they are to “symbolize their dedication to Jehovah” by being baptized. You are to go to the “overseer” of the congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses and make this known.

It is very obvious to one who knows the truth that this is not scriptural baptism. It is also obvious that they do not believe one has to be baptized when they say the following:

What, then, does Christian baptism signify? It is not a washing away of one’s sins, because cleansing from sin comes only through faith in Jesus Christ. Rather, it is a public demonstration that one has made a solemn dedication to Jehovah God and is presenting himself to do His will. Thus, Baptism is not to be viewed as of little importance. It is a requirement for all who obediently walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ.(4)

Isn’t this amazing that they can read the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch and come up with all this jargon? We wonder where it says that the eunuch went to Jehovah in “prayer” to “dedicate” his life? Then we wonder where the Bible says he went to the “overseer” and made it known that he wanted to be baptized. Then we want the Scripture that tells us when the “overseer” told Philip to go ahead and baptize the eunuch. I suspect we will be waiting for a long time if we want the Jehovah’s Witnesses to give us the answers from Scripture.

To further prove they do not believe that one has to be “baptized to be saved” we quote the following:

Associated with Jehovah’s Witnesses around the world today are many who have not as yet been baptized in symbolism of their dedication to Jehovah. The worldwide peak number of those sharing in preaching the “good news” in 1981 was 2,361,896 (of whom about 25 percent are not baptized as yet). But at the Lord’s Evening Meal in 1981, the combined worldwide attendance was 5,987,893. This means that over one half of those attending some meetings of Jehovah’s Witnesses are not as yet baptized. Is this cause for alarm? No, but it is a cause for loving concern. Some of these have been associated for more than a few months.(5)

Can you imagine such a thing in the Lord’s church? They admit that over one-half of those assembling for the Lord’s Evening meal have not yet been baptized! They also, admit that twenty-five percent of their members who are teaching have not been baptized. It is very obvious that they do not believe one must be baptized to be saved.

They also admit another problem that is very enlightening. They explain that God has been “harvesting” the anointed ones to be a part of the 144,000 who will live in heaven. They also tell that there may be a few of the “anointed ones” that will forfeit their heavenly calling by becoming unfaithful. So, they are urging all their “dedicated members” who have not “symbolized” their baptism to do so. Then when Jehovah picks a replacement, they can be picked. If what they say is true, what difference does it make whether you live in heaven or here on earth?

“What prevents me from getting baptized” can be answered very easily if we go to the Bible. Philip said, “If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God” (Acts 8:37). It’s that simple; if you “preach Jesus” (Acts 8:35), you will have this kind of response. He stopped the chariot, they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. “What prevents me from getting baptized” will never be answered by the Jehovah’s Witness because they will not baptize as Jehovah commands.

Endnotes

1. Watchtower, February 15, 1982; pp. 27-31.

2. Ibid., p. 28.

3. The Truth That Leads To Eternal Life, p. 182.

4. Ibid., p. 183-184.

5. Watchtower, February 15, 1982; p. 28.

Guardian of Truth XXVII: 13, p. 405
July 7, 1983