VII. INCIDENTAL PROOFS OF THE DEITY OF JESUS CHRIST
The six lines of proof of the Deity of Jesus Christ which I have given you leave no possibility of doubting that Jesus Christ is God, that Jesus of Nazareth is God manifest in a human person, that He is a being to be worshipped, even as God the Father is worshipped; but there are also incidental proofs of His absolute Deity which, if possible, are in some ways even more convincing than the direct assertions of His Deity.
1. Our Lord Jesus says in Matt. 11:28, +"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."+ Now any one that makes a promise like that must either be God, or a lunatic, or an impostor. No one can give rest to all who labour and are heavy laden who come to him unless he is God, and yet Jesus Christ offers to do it. If He offers to do it and fails to do it when men come to Him, then He is either a lunatic or an impostor. If He actually does it, then beyond a question He is God. And thousands can testify that He really does it. Thousands and tens of thousands who have laboured and were heavy laden and crushed, and for whom there was no help in man, have come to Jesus Christ and _He actually has given them rest_. Surely then He is not merely a great man, He is God.
2. Again in John 14:1 _Jesus Christ demands that we put the same faith in Him that we put in God the Father_, and promises that in such faith we will find a cure for all trouble and anxiety of heart. His words are, +"Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me."+ It is clear that He demands that the same absolute faith be put in Himself that is to be put in God Almighty. Now in Jer. 17:5, scripture with which our Lord Jesus was perfectly familiar, we read +"Thus saith Jehovah: Cursed is the man that trusteth in man,"+ and yet with this clear curse pronounced upon all who trust in man, Jesus Christ demands that we put trust in Him just as we put trust in God. It is the strongest possible assertion of Deity on His part. No one but God has a right to make such a demand, and Jesus Christ, when He makes this demand, must either be God or an impostor, but thousands and tens of thousands have found that when they did believe in Him just as they believe in God, their hearts were delivered from trouble no matter what their bereavement or circumstances might be.