Putting Jesus in His Place: The Case for the Deity of Christ

by Robert M. Bowman Jr.; J. Ed Komoszewski

Publisher:

Kregel

, 2007

Overview

The central theological distinctive of Christianity—that Jesus is God incarnate—has repeatedly come under fire from adherents to other religions and scholars who interpret Jesus as a prophet, angel, or guru. Putting Jesus in His Place is designed to introduce Christians to the wealth of biblical teaching on the deity of Christ. Using evidence from the New Testament, this book helps readers appreciate the significance of Christ’s deity in a personal relationship with him, and gives them the confidence to share the truth about Jesus with others.

Key Features

• Offers biblical teaching about who Jesus was
• Cites biblical passages in support of the deity of Jesus and discusses their interpretation
• Provides endnotes that comment on some of the more technical issues

Contents

• Part 1: The Devotion Revolution: Jesus Shares the Honors Due to God
  • All glory, Laud, and Honor
  • The Worship of the Carpenter
  • What a Friend We Have in Jesus
  • Sing to the Lord
  • The Ultimate Reverence a Package
• Part 2: Like Father, Like Son: Jesus Shares the Attributes of God
  • Beyond Resemblance
  • Jesus Existed before He Was Born!
  • Jesus Has Always Been There
  • Jesus: The Right Stuff
  • He’s Got What It Takes
• Part 3: Name Above All Names: Jesus Shares the Names of God
  • Name One
  • Immanuel: God with Us
  • He Is Lord
  • Jesus Is It from A to Z
• Part 4: Infinitely Qualified: Jesus Shares in the Deeds That God Does
  • Meet Your Maker
  • He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands
  • The Way, the Truth, and the Life
  • Here Comes the Judge
• Part 5: The Best Seat in the House: Jesus Shares the Seat of God’s Throne
  • Jesus Takes the Stand
  • God’s Right-hand Man
  • Jesus Takes His Seat

Top Highlights

“In the Bible, however, the words usually translated ‘worship’ do not refer to such religious acts. The biblical words (Heb., shachah; Greek, proskuneō) generally refer to an act of bowing low to the ground or prostrating oneself or, more generally, falling on the ground with or toward someone.” (Page 37)

“First, we will assume that Christians should base their beliefs about Jesus on the teachings of the New Testament” (Page 21)

“Was Jesus a man through whom God was revealing himself, or was he God revealing himself as a man?” (Page 82)

“The word glory in the Bible (Hebrew, k-bōd; Greek, doxa) has two related meanings. As an attribute of God, glory refers to God’s beautiful, shining nature—the bright, overpowering light in which God appears when he manifests his presence to human beings (e.g., Exod. 33:18–23; Luke 2:9).⁸ Glory is also the proper response of praise and adulation to God’s dazzling nature (not just the bright light, but all aspects of his nature) and in this sense is a synonym for honor. One of the proper responses to God, then, is to glorify him (Ps. 29:1–3; Matt. 5:16; Rom. 15:6–9).” (Page 32)

“The result is that Jesus Christ has, as it were, two sets of attributes—those of human beings and those of God.” (Page 75)

Endorsements

Bowman and Komoszewski do a splendid job of showing that the divine identity of Jesus is not confined to a few key texts, but presented throughout the New Testament in a wide variety of ways. Their arguments are fully based on the best of recent scholarship, and explained in a way that all serious readers of the New Testament will appreciate.

—Richard Bauckham, senior scholar, Ridley Hall, Cambridge

The deity of Jesus Christ is central and foundational to the gospel. Bowman and Komoszewski show that Christ’s deity pervades the New Testament and is not limited to a few proof texts. Those who have eyes to see will find it everywhere, and if your eyes are deficient this book is just the corrective you need. The work is convincing, clear, and scholarly. Most of all, the book is glorious, reminding us that Jesus is to be worshiped as our Lord, Savior, and God.

—Thomas R. Schreiner, James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Product Details

• Title: Putting Jesus in His Place: The Case for the Deity of Christ
• Authors: Robert M. Bowman Jr., J. Ed Komoszewski
• Publisher: Kregel
• Print Publication Date: 2007
• Logos Release Date: 2015
• Pages: 392
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subject: Jesus Christ › Divinity
• ISBNs: 9780825429835, 0825429838
• Resource ID: LLS:PTTNGJSSDTCHRST
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T02:31:02Z

About the Authors

Robert M. Bowman Jr., born in 1957, studied at Fuller Theological Seminary. An author and professor, he taught at Luther Rice Seminary and Biola University. Bowman hosted a radio show in Los Angeles and has worked on the Apologetics and Interfaith Evangelism for the North American Mission Board and at the Institute for Religious Research. Some of his best-loved writings include Faith Has Its Reasons and An Unchanging Faith in a Changing World.

J. Ed Komoszewski graduated summa cum laude with a ThM in New Testament Studies from Dallas Theological Seminary, where he learned from renowned New Testament scholars like Harold W. Hoehner, Darrell L. Bock, and Daniel B. Wallace. He has served as a pastor, professor of biblical and theological studies, and the director of research for a large nonprofit organization, and he is the coauthor of two books: Reinventing Jesus (with M. James Sawyer and Daniel B. Wallace) and Putting Jesus in His Place: The Case for the Deity of Christ (with Robert M. Bowman Jr.).