There is a sixth line of proof of the absolute Deity of our Lord
Jesus. Those already given have been decisive, each one of the five
has been decisive, but this, if possible, is the most decisive of
them all, and that is, that _we are taught in so many words that
Jesus Christ should be worshipped as God, both by angels and men_. In
numerous places in the gospels we see Jesus Christ accepting without
hesitation a worship which good men and angels declined with fear,
and which He Himself taught should be rendered only to God (Matt.
28:9; Luke 24:52; Mark 14:33; cf. Acts 10:25, 26; Rev. 22:8, 9, R. V.;
Matt. 4:9, 10). A curious and very misleading comment is made in the
margin of the American Standard Revision upon the meaning of the word
translated "worship" in these passages, and that is that "the Greek
word translated worship denotes an act of reverence, _whether paid to
a creature_ or to the Creator." Now this is true, but it is utterly
misleading; for while this word is used to denote "an act of reverence
paid to a creature" _by idolators_, our Lord Jesus Himself distinctly
says, using exactly the same Greek word, +"Thou shalt worship the
Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve,"+ and on the other hand
He says in John 5:23 that +"All men should honour the Son even as
they honour the Father."+ And in Rev. 5:8, 9, 12, 13 the four living
creatures and the four and twenty elders are represented as falling
down before the Lamb and offering worship to Him just as worship is
offered to Him that sitteth upon the throne, i.e., God the Father. In
Heb. 1:6 we are told in so many words, +"And again, when he bringeth
in the first begotten into the world, he saith, and let all the angels
of God worship him."+ One night in the inquiry room in Chicago I
stepped up to an intelligent looking man at the back of the room and
said to him, "Are you a Christian?" He replied, "I do not suppose you
would consider me a Christian." I said, "Why not?" He said, "I am a
Unitarian." I said, "What you mean then is that you do not think that
Jesus Christ is a person who should be worshipped." He replied, "That
is exactly what I think," and added, "the Bible nowhere says we ought
to worship Him." I said, "Who told you that?" He replied, "My pastor,"
mentioning a prominent Unitarian minister in the City of Boston. I
said, "Let me show you something," and I opened my Bible to Heb. 1:6
and read, +"And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into
the world, he saith, and let all the angels of God worship him,"+
and he said, "Does it say that?" I handed him the Bible and said, "Read
it for yourself," and he read it and said, "I did not know that was in
the Bible." I said, "Well it is there, isn't it?" "Yes it is there."
Language could not make it plainer. _The Bible clearly teaches that
Jesus, the Son of God, is to be worshipped as God by angels and men,
even as God the Father is worshipped._