Christ, who is God
A Sermon on Romans 9:4-5
Originally preached Nov. 16, 1962
Scripture
4Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; 5Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God …
Sermon Description
Have modern critical scholars undermined the teaching about Christ’s deity? On what basis is this passage a doxology to God the Father instead of an affirmation of deity of the Son? False religions and cults seek to mislead the people of God and Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones takes up the challenge of looking closely at the arguments for the departure of modern translations from the Authorized Version. In this sermon on Romans 9:4–5 titled “Christ … Who is … God,” his main contention is that the changes reflected in the modern translations is not the result of an honest reading of the grammar, nor are they based on studying the manuscript tradition (textual criticism). Instead, it rests entirely on a general argument about what Paul does not do in his letters. Dr. Lloyd-Jones finds this most troubling and leverages not only other modern scholars, but the history of interpretation, and most importantly, other Scriptural evidence in order to show that Jesus Christ is called “God” by the apostle Paul in this verse. Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones provides a fresh account of an old debate and defends Trinitarian orthodoxy in the face of modern critical scholarship.
Sermon Breakdown
-
The sermon examines Romans 9:5 which states "Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen." There is debate over whether "who is over all, God blessed for ever" refers to Christ or God.
-
The sermon argues that "who is over all, God blessed for ever" refers to Christ, not God. Translations that interpret this as referring to God introduce an abrupt doxology that is unnatural given the context.
-
Grammatically, "who" refers to the nearest antecedent which is Christ. This is a common construction in Scripture, as in John 1:18.
-
Paul emphasizes "according to the flesh" which implies a contrast, completed by "who is over all, God blessed for ever" referring to Christ's divine nature. This parallels Romans 1:3-4.
-
The word order "God blessed" is atypical for doxologies which usually have "blessed God". Even Socinus, who denied Christ's deity, admitted this refers to Christ.
-
Paul frequently describes Christ as head over all, as in 1 Corinthians 11:3, 15:28, Philippians 2:10-11, Colossians 1:15-17. Christ is the "image of God" implying identity, as in 2 Corinthians 4:4, Colossians 1:15, Philippians 2:6.
-
The terms "God" and "Lord" are used interchangeably for Father, Son, and Spirit, as in 1 Corinthians 3:5, 2 Corinthians 3:16-17, Acts 4:24-29, 5:3-4. The early church referred to Christ as God, as in Matthew 1:23, John 1:1, 20:28, Acts 20:28, Titus 1:3, 2:13, Philippians 2:6, 2 Thessalonians 1:12.
-
Doxologies are addressed to Christ, as in 2 Timothy 4:18, 2 Peter 3:18, Revelation 5:13, 15:3.
-
Authorities throughout history have interpreted this as referring to Christ, including Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen, Cyprian, Athanasius, Chrysostom, Augustine, Jerome, Ambrose, Luther, Calvin, and Charles Hodge.
-
Modern translations contradict historical interpretation due to "theological interest alone" in detracting from Christ's deity, not because of grammar, scholarship, or manuscripts.
Sermon Q&A
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Romans 9:4-5: Questions and Answers
What does Romans 9:4-5 say about Christ's deity?
According to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans 9:4-5 contains one of the clearest statements of Christ's deity in the New Testament. The verse reads: "who are Israelites, to whom pertaineth the adoption and the glory and the covenants, and the giving of the law and the service of God and the promises, whose are the fathers and of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came, who is overall God, blessed forever. Amen." Lloyd-Jones argues that the phrase "who is overall God, blessed forever" is directly referring to Christ, affirming His full deity and nature as God.
Why is there controversy over the translation of Romans 9:5?
The controversy centers on punctuation and interpretation. Modern translations often place a full stop after "Christ came according to the flesh" and turn the remainder into a doxology to God the Father rather than a description of Christ. Critics argue that Paul doesn't typically apply the term "God" directly to Christ elsewhere, so they claim this must be a doxology to the Father. Lloyd-Jones contends this interpretation isn't based on grammar or manuscript evidence but on theological preferences that seek to diminish Christ's deity.
What grammatical evidence supports that Romans 9:5 refers to Christ as God?
Lloyd-Jones provides several grammatical arguments: First, the relative pronoun "who" naturally refers to the nearest antecedent (Christ). Second, the phrase "concerning the flesh" logically expects a contrasting statement about Christ's divine nature. Third, the word order "God blessed" is significant because in true doxologies, the order is always "blessed God" in both Hebrew and Greek scripture. This word order evidence was so compelling that even Socinus (a prominent Unitarian) admitted Paul was referring to Christ here.
How does Paul describe Christ's deity elsewhere in his writings?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones shows that Paul frequently describes Christ as having divine attributes: as "the head of all creation" (1 Corinthians 11:3), as the one by whom "all things were created" (Colossians 1:15-17), as being "in the form of God" and "equal with God" (Philippians 2:6), and as having "all the fullness of the godhead bodily" (Colossians 2:9). These descriptions clearly indicate Christ's divine nature, even if Paul does not always use the specific title "God."
What historical evidence supports the traditional understanding of Romans 9:5?
Lloyd-Jones notes that virtually all interpreters throughout church history until the rise of higher criticism in the late 19th century understood this passage as referring to Christ's deity. He cites a long list of theologians from different eras who held this view, including Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen, Augustine, Luther, Calvin, and many others. Even scholarly commentators like Sanday and Headlam, who were not evangelical believers, concluded after careful analysis that the passage most naturally refers to Christ as God.
Why does Lloyd-Jones consider this translation issue so important?
Lloyd-Jones sees this as urgently important because many Christians are being misled by modern translations and false teachings about Christ's nature. He believes that diminishing Christ's deity undermines the foundation of Christian faith. He suggests that modern translators who reject the traditional interpretation do so not because of scholarly evidence but because of theological bias—"something in them that makes them jump at any opportunity to detract from the certainty of the fact that Jesus of Nazareth was the eternal son of God."
Does the New Testament elsewhere call Jesus "God"?
Yes, Lloyd-Jones provides several examples where Jesus is explicitly called God in the New Testament: John 1:1 states "the Word was God," Thomas confesses "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28), Jesus is called "Emmanuel" meaning "God with us" (Matthew 1:23), and Paul refers to "the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13-14). These passages, along with doxologies addressed to Christ (2 Timothy 4:18, 2 Peter 3:18, Revelation 5:13), demonstrate that New Testament writers did not hesitate to identify Jesus as God.
What is the difference between textual criticism and higher criticism?
According to Lloyd-Jones, textual criticism is the legitimate study of ancient manuscripts to determine the most accurate biblical text. This involves comparing different manuscripts to establish the original wording. Higher criticism, however, approaches the Bible as "just another book," denies its unique inspiration and infallibility, and analyzes it purely from historical and grammatical perspectives. Lloyd-Jones sees textual criticism as valuable but views higher criticism as destructive to faith by undermining the Bible's authority.
The Book of Romans
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.