The Profile Evidence

At a glance

Relevant Scripture

"For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."

Colossians 2:9 KJV

UECF.NET summary

Chapter 9 raises the theological stakes. D. A. Carson, a respected evangelical scholar, asks whether Jesus displays the attributes Christians ascribe to God. UECF.NET’s companion walks through the match: Jesus shows holy anger at hypocrisy without personal pettiness; he welcomes sinners without lowering standards; he calms storms and forgives sins, exercising prerogatives the Psalms assign to Yahweh; he speaks truth with piercing clarity and offers mercy to the penitent. The profile is not stitched from random miracles but from a coherent character.

Carson also addresses objections that Jesus denied divine status. Some passages show Jesus subordinate to the Father in role — praying, sending, obeying. Classic Christianity has always distinguished economic submission from ontological inequality. The Son who submits in the mission is still the eternal Word through whom all things were made. Carson’s work helps readers see Trinity in the Gospels, not a later imposition.

This chapter prepares the way for messianic prophecy in Chapter 10. If Jesus looks like God in character and action, and if he fulfills what Israel expected of the Messiah, the case for his identity moves from ‘possible’ to ‘compelling.’

Main theological themes

• Divine attributes — holiness, sovereignty, mercy, truth — visible in Jesus’ life
• The unity of grace and truth in Christ where human leaders usually fail
• Functional subordination and eternal deity held together in orthodox Christology

Key ideas

• A counterfeit messiah might mimic one attribute; Jesus integrates the full spectrum without crack.
• Jesus’ use of Old Testament divine prerogatives (forgiving sin, receiving worship) is a silent exegesis of his identity.
• Carson’s academic depth serves pastoral clarity: trust the Jesus who matches God’s self-revelation.
• Part 2’s arc moves from claims to sanity to divine likeness — each step narrowing options.

Important concepts

• Attributes of God — Perfections such as holiness, omnipotence, and love ascribed to Yahweh and mirrored in Christ.
• Godhead — The fullness of deity — Paul says it dwells bodily in Jesus.
• Economic Trinity — The ordering of Father, Son, and Spirit in salvation history — without division of essence.

Related Bible references

• Exodus 34:6–7
• Psalm 103:8–14
• John 1:14
• Hebrews 1:3
• Revelation 1:12–18

Practical Christian application

• Read Exodus 34:6–7 and list how Jesus displayed those same traits in one Gospel.
• When you pray, address the Father through the Son whose character you have seen in Scripture.
• Confess one area where you split ‘justice’ and ‘mercy’ — ask Christ to show you their unity.

Questions for study