Why is the Deity of Christ Important?
21 April, 2007 at 9:47 pm (Growth)
Because only God could furnish a sacrifice of sufficient value, to compensate for the penalty of eternal hell that our sin demands, according to the righteous claims of divine justice.
It was only through taking on the form of a man (Philippians 2:5-8) that God in Christ could furnish satisfaction sufficient to atone for the sins of mankind; for only God in the form of a man could properly represent the human race and die for the sins of the whole world.
The Saviour of the world had to have unlimited ability (sovereignty) to atone for sin because He would be shedding His blood for all humankind. He had to be perfect because God accepts only unblemished sacrifices. Who could do that? Only God. And God the Son shed His own blood for us, and bought us out of sin and damnation. (Acts 20:2 
See Romans 5:18-19. That is why God the Son took on flesh and became a man, without ceasing to be God.
No one man could have the effect Christ did on all of humanity. Only God the Son could atone for all of humankind. As the Son of God, Christ turned away God’s wrath (propitiation); as the Son of Man, He atoned for our sin (expiation) and justified us.Our redemption, the crucial point on which all of Christianity rests, is dependent on Jesus Christ’s being not only man but also God.
It would not matter if he had died like hundreds of others had, if He was not the Christ - God robed in flesh.
Son of God has to do with His relationship with the Father; Son of Man deals with His relationship with us and the effects of sin towards us. The title “Son of God” also shows that Christ has the same nature as the Father.
- Isaiah 53:9-12 “by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many”
- I Corinthians 2:2 “I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified”
- II Corinthians 5:21 “For he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin:
- I Peter 3:18 “Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust”
Summary of the incarnation: If He wasn’t who He was it would not have mattered what He did. Thousands have died on crosses, but who He was validated His death on
Calvary. Who He was would not have mattered in regards to our salvation, if He had not died for us. If He hadn’t died a vicarious (or substitutionary) death, it would not have mattered that He came to earth. The “Old Rugged Cross” was different because of who hung on it – the perfect Son of God.
Many religions or faiths that do not believe in the deity of Christ, consequently reject Christ as Saviour and the way to heaven and eternal life.
