Theos: The Greatest Title of Christ – Rick Morse

This book is a ‘consideration of the biblical doctrine of the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ’. As such, it treats a doctrine which is of the utmost importance, and one which is being set aside all too readily in some modern-day ‘Christian’ circles. As Morse makes clear from the outset, it is not just Christianity, but the world at large which is becoming more and more ignorant of the Person and deity of the Lord Jesus. This book is therefore timely.

The overall structure of the book is somewhat awkward. Early chapters consider: The Rise of Secular Humanism, The Deity of Christ, Salvation and Christ’s Deity, Christ’s Claim to be God (traced through John’s Gospel) and Early Belief in Christ’s Deity (traced through the witness of the writers of the New Testament).

Although these chapters hold some interest, they tend to draw attention away from the most useful and longest chapter of the book, which comes at the end. This is entitled: Theos: The Unique Title of God, and briefly expounds the eleven portions of the New Testament where the word Theos is directly applied to the Lord Jesus, e.g., Matt. 1. 23; John 20. 28; Rom. 9. 5; etc. Despite the structure, the book reads well, and is simple enough to be understood by younger believers without compromising detail. Over time, subsequent editions may benefit from an expanded consideration of verses, which, at a cursory reading, may seem to militate against the doctrine of the deity of Christ. Overall, the book is recommended for younger believers, and contains a gospel challenge, suggesting that the book was not written for believers only. Those seeking further help, or a more detailed treatment of the subject, might enjoy Sir Robert Anderson’s The Lord From Heaven, My Lord and My God by J. W. De Silva, or the more scholarly approach of Robert Gromacki in The Virgin Birth: A Biblical Study of the Deity of Jesus Christ.

[Our thanks to Dan Rudge, Bracknell, UK, for this review]