THE FIFTH & THE SIXTH PROOFS: Christ Is God

Section VI

THE FIFTH PROOF: Christ Is God With Respect to His Other Relations with the Holy Spirit
In this proof, we will present two important points:
(A) The Holy Spirit Takes of What Is Christ's In the Lord's discourse with His disciples about the Holy Spirit, He said: "He will glorify Me for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you" (John 16:14), and: "All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you" (John 15:16). How is it possible that the Spirit of God takes from another to give to people? How can this possibly be said about the Spirit of God who spoke through the prophets and taught them everything and granted them different gifts? How can the Spirit of God take from Christ unless Christ is God Himself? What is the spiritual interpretation of the Holy Spirit taking of what is Christ's? Christ is the Incarnate Second Person of the Holy Trinity. The Second Person is the Person of Reason, Knowledge, Understanding and Rational Expression in the Holy Trinity. Therefore, theologically speaking, the Holy Spirit can take from the Person of Knowledge. The Lord Jesus Christ explained this when He said: "All things that the Father has
are Mine" (John 16: 15).
(B) Christ Was Conceived of the Holy Spirit In the story of the birth of Christ, we see that St. Matthew the Evangelist says: "After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with Child of the Holy Spirit" (Matt. 1: 18). This declaration is confirmed when the angel said to Joseph, 'for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit" (Matt. 1:20). St. Luke the Evangelist recorded the words of the angel to the Virgin Mary: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35). Who then is Christ? And what is His Nature?
(1) Christ is of the Spirit of God, as St. Matthew the Apostle says, "...for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit." That is why the Holy Spirit came upon the Virgin Mary and she was found with Child of the Holy Spirit. Since Christ was born of the Holy Spirit, therefore His birth has two consequences, in accordance with the Gospel of St. Luke the Evangelist: First, that He is Holy and second, that He is the Son of God. Both consequences indicate His Divinity.
(2) God is Spirit (John 4:24) and Christ is of the Spirit of God. Therefore He is of the very essence of God and has the same Nature with Him. That is why He is called Holy which is one of God's names, as the Virgin called Him in her magnificat: "And holy is His name" (Luke 1:49).

THE SIXTH PROOF:Christ Is God With Respect to His Descent from Heaven
(1) The Lord Jesus Christ says: "I am the bread which came down from heaven" (John 6:41), and thus He is the Giver of life, 'for the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world" (John 6:33). The Lord Jesus Christ repeats: "I have come down from heaven" (John 6:38), and explains His coming down from heaven by saying:
(2) "I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father" (John 16:28). He emphasizes the statement of His coming down from the Father by saying to His disciples: "The Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God" (John 16:27). He also repeated this meaning in His discourse with the Jews in the same Gospel, Chapter 8, verse 42.
(3) Therefore, Christ is not from earth but from heaven. He came forth from the Father. That was His original dwelling, and His appearance in the flesh among people on earth is because He "made  Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men" (Phil. 2:7). But He had to ascend to the heavens from which He descended. As for this earth, He existed before its creation, or rather it was He who created it. Yet, since eternity He has been in the Father who is His natural or rather His dignified dwelling.
(4) The Lord explained His descent from heaven and His ascension into it to Nicodemus when He said: "No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven" (John 3:13). What is meant here by heaven is the heaven of heavens which nobody has ascended to or descended from except Christ, being the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, "who is in the bosom of the Father" (John 1:18). The heaven of heavens is where the throne of God is, because in the Sermon on the Mount the Lord said that heaven is God's throne (Matt. 5: 34). The expression 'the Son of Man who is in heaven' means that Christ was in heaven whilst He was on earth. Being on earth and in heaven at the same time is a proof of His Divinity. The event of His ascension into heaven (Acts.1:9) is the fulfilment of the words He said to His disciples: "Again, I leave the world and go to the Father" (John 16:28).
(5) Christ not only dwells in heaven, but has authority there. He received the spirit of St. Stephen the first deacon, who said whilst he was being stoned: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit" (Acts.7:59). The Lord Jesus Christ granted the Penitent Thief to enter into Paradise which is the third heaven (2 Cor.
12:2,4), when He said to him: "Today you will be with Me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43). Who receives the spirits of the departed and has the authority to let them into Paradise, except God Himself? Christ did that.
(6) Christ also gave the Apostles the keys of heaven. He said to St. Peter, representing the Apostles: "And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 16:19). And He said to the Apostles: "whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (Matt. 18:18). Here, we ask a question: Who has the authority to give the keys of the kingdom of heaven to people and give them the authority to bind and loose there except God Himself?
(7) Christ is worshipped by the heavenly powers. The Apostle says that "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth" (Phil. 2:10). The worship of the angels to the Lord Jesus Christ is a proof of His Divinity.
(8) Christ is higher than the heavens and He is in heaven interceding for us. St. Paul the Apostle says that "He ever lives to make intercession for them. For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens" (Heb.
7:25,26).

Source: Divinity of Christ by H.H. Pope Shenouda III

.....To be continued in the next section....