The Person of Jesus: Radio Addresses on the Deity of the Savior

by J. Gresham Machen

In his renowned book Christianity and Liberalism, Machen took a stand for the truth. In these radio talks, Machen exposits the truth for us once more—this time about the supernatural person of Jesus.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Audiobook, Nonfiction

101 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2017

About the author

John Gresham Machen was an influential American Presbyterian theologian in the early 20th century. He was the Professor of New Testament at Princeton Seminary between 1915 and 1929, and led a conservative revolt against modernist theology at Princeton and formed Westminster Seminary as a more orthodox alternative. This split was irreconcilable, and Machen led others to form the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Machen laces up his boxing gloves for this one! It’s a transcription of a brief series of radio addresses he delivered in 1935 on the claims of Christ. As Machen states it,

“Jesus was a blasphemer if he was a mere man. At that point the enemies saw clearly. You may accept the lofty claims of Jesus. You may take him as very God. Or else you must reject him as a miserable, deluded enthusiast. There is really no middle ground. Jesus refuses to be pressed into the mold of a mere religious teacher.

This is the “Liar, Lunatic, or Lord” framing that C.S. Lewis popularized some 25 or so years later in his own BBC radio broadcast, which has been described as one of the most important apologetic arguments put forth in modern times. So just think of how electric it would have been to hear Machen assert it—confidently and confrontationally—for the first time over the airwaves.

[Derek · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exceptional example of academic precision and hospitable evangelism. A few new arguments, but most of the teaching came by way of his gentleness despite being an ivory tower giant.

[Kevin Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good quick read that reads like it was written today. Machen's talk remains relevant today in regards to progressive Christianity and its attacks on historic orthodox doctrines. Machen argues with clarity and conviction for the full deity and humanity of Christ, anchoring Christian faith in the historical reality of Jesus rather than mere moral ideals or spiritual metaphors. That Jesus was a real person his supernatural nature is not the result of the development of myth or legend. Machen's work is as essential now as it was when first penned.

[Peter Bringe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very intelligent, but non-academic, defense of the orthodox teaching concerning Jesus in opposition to various modern distortions. Jesus was not merely an example, nor was he a teacher of a Christ-less message, but He was (and is) the Savior, the Judge of mankind, God and man, now risen bodily from the dead, who called men to believe in Him. He cannot be made to be anything less without rejecting Him (and Christianity) completely.

"I do just beg you to think of that for a moment, my friends. Jesus of Nazareth certainly did believe–no good historian can deny it–that he would sit upon the judgement-seat of God at the terrible last judgement day, that his word would be final, and that life in his presence would be heaven and departure from him would be hell. What has become of the weak, sentimental, purely human, purely ethical Jesus of modern reconstruction...?" (p. 57)

"If you take the Bible as a whole you have a grand consistent account of God, of the world, and of human life. If you reject the Bible, and particularly if you reject the fact of the resurrection, you have a jumble of meaningless and detached bits of information that dance before your imagination in a wild and riotous rout." (p. 100-101)

[Daphyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

As another reviewer stated “an intelligent, but non-academic” apologetic for the the deity of Christ. Very approachable as you’d hope a radio address would be. It felt very Sproul-like to me. Machen examines Christ’s character, his authority, his claim to be the object of faith and able to judge & forgive sins, his miracles, & the Resurrection.

He also responds to liberal claims that Christ was “a” son of God like we all are, that Jesus was just a good teacher, and that the resurrection was only a vision or a spiritual resurrection.

I’d like to find more of these radio addresses.

[Benjamin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really excellent little book, reminiscent of Lewis's Mere Christianity. It's the sort of book that scholars often bypass, because they figure they know it already. But it is sometimes helpful to be reminded that most Christians do not have scholarly training, and that clear, plainly written books such as this are often more helpful to the saints than large scholarly tomes. I'm not sure, however, that it needed ten pages of blurbs from prominent evangelicals. The Foreword and the Introduction were sufficient.

[Christopher Brehm · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was excellent. I placed it in my re-read regularly. The clear Biblical study is timeless. Unfortunately the heresies that Machen was addressing in his day have only metastasized in our day. I am grateful to Machen for his writings as it is helpful to speak truth and be grounded in the Word of God in our own day. I highly recommend this, if you have not read it, put it on your short list. If you have read or listened to this before, go through it again!

[Nicholas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Machen paints a convincing picture based on scripture of why Jesus is the son of God and our savior. This book contained more apologetics than I expected, and was a short and sweet read. Would recommend for those who want to grasp more on the importance of the "godliness" of Jesus!

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short, but theologically rigorous defense of the deity of Jesus. This newly published book is a collection of radio addresses Machen gave in 1935. They stand the test of time.

[Brad Hoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Machen's presentations of Christ are powerful, clear and as important in our day as in the day in which these radio talks were given.

[curtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of brief, lucid short essays on the deity of Christ. highly recommended.

[Josiah DeGraaf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great short book defending the deity of Christ.

Rating: 4 Stars (Very Good).

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a conservative theology student in Germany, the young J. Gresham Machen was deeply shaken when he witnessed the profound religious devotion of one of his liberal professors - yet he came away convinced that the denuded Christ of higher criticism is not the Christ of the Bible. I believe that these radio addresses represent the fruit of his crisis of faith.

In them, Machen defeats the unbelief of modern scholars using their own received texts (such as "sources supposed, rightly or wrongly, to underlie the Gospels"). At the same time, he points us to the "grand sweep" of God's self-revelation, showing us the supernatural God-man who appropriated the Old Testament conception of God, made himself the object of faith, and empowered his followers by rising bodily from the dead. Throughout, Machen faithfully calls us to acknowledge the biblical Jesus as our risen Lord.

Unfortunately, the war Machen fought is not the war this postmodern generation faces. Of course the call to acknowledge the lordship of Jesus is timeless, but in some ways Machen's masterful method is outdated.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another writer pointed me toward Machen's simple, common sense approach to the Scriptures and I was not disappointed with my first read. I noted that his comments in "What Jesus Said About Himself" chapter about the false view that Jesus can be viewed as simply a good teacher after making claims as grandiose as He did, ended with: "There really is no middle ground." These words from 1935 predated C.S. Lewis's similar words from Mere Cristianity by 17 years. A good, solid read and a good antidote to Spong.

[Charles Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always Machen is a soldier for the faith

Dated but as relevant and powerfully written as any of the more recent apologetic texts. I found his arguments slightly repetitive. I would also like to have seen more detail in his arguments. But this is a poor criticism since these chapters were based on oral presentations. As always Machen is an excellent communicator of the case for faith.

[Dora Uthayakumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Machen reminds me a lot of CS Lewis (or Lewis reminds me of Dr Machen!) Either way his writing style is easy to follow (I know these are radio broadcasts made into a book), he uses simple language to explain complicated truths. He uses concepts that simple people (like me!) can understand and then relates that to beautiful doctrines of Christ. I teapot enjoyed his take and defence of the resurrection as well as the divinity of Christ. I'm looking forward to reading more of his books.

[E · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure the deity of Christ is "simple," but Machen lays out a simple case for this central fact of history. The problem I have with Machen is that he almost never lays out a positive case. Instead he spends most of his time pointing out why others' views are wrong. Now, you can teach great material this way, and often make your point quite strongly, but it gets old after a while. Certainly seems curmudgeonly.

[Jordan Carl · Rating 3 out of 5]

A series of seven radio addresses given by Machen in 1936. His writing style and content are very similar to C.S. Lewis. He’s whimsical and witty while driving home his polemic with great rhetorical and evidential force. I benefitted from these lectures and would definitely recommend them for someone who is either new to the faith or you are sharing the gospel with.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good, accessible addresses from 1935 on perennial questions that modern scholarship poses about Jesus and the scriptures, and that, today as much as ever, continually filter down to popular audiences.

In his speech, Machen was apparently very fond of the word “stupendous.”

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deity Defended

A great little read with convincing arguments for the divinity of Jesus Christ. Good for believers and unbelievers. Believers will be edified and unbelievers will convicted.

[Peter Kiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Machen has astonishing clarity in his exposition of orthodox doctrine, but his voice is just incredible. What an engaging writer! I can't wait to read more of his stuff, because even though this book was elementary stuff for any Christian, it made my heart jitter.

[Mr. Perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I...think this might actually be on par with his more well-known work Christianity and Liberalism...I finished it a while ago but am only now getting to updating this; will be reading it again in the future, I'm sure.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Transcripts of 7 radio addresses from 1935 responding to the liberal attacks on the deity of Christ. Machen is clear, concise, and compelling. It is interesting to see how the theological liberals of Machen’s day think… not much changes, people are still desperate to strip Christ of his deity.

[Mark A Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Transcripts of radio addresses delivered by Machen engaging with some common objections to Christianity, specifically focusing on the identity and nature of Jesus. Very introductory in nature, yet theologically sound and foundational.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

A powerful, straightforward, yet heartfelt apologetic for the deity of Christ.

[Matt Pitts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple, straightforward messages from a first-rate scholar.

[Ethan Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clear, concise explanation and defense of the person of Jesus. I would recommend this for evangelism, discipleship, and apologetics.

[Paul Elliott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brief defense of the diety of Jesus. Interesting and compelling, but I found it to be a bit too cynical for a 4 or 5 star.

[Bruce Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very readable and excellent argument for the person and work of Jesus Christ.

[Ben Palpant · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for skeptics. An intelligent and approachable case for those who question Christ’s miracles, resurrection, and dual nature.