 The Deity of Christ
Verses and personal thoughts regarding Christ's identity as God come in the flesh.
by Jordan Niednagel
|
|
--------------------------------------------------
Introduction
"He who has seen Me has seen the Father."
Jesus Christ - The Son of God |
One thing is certain. Jesus Christ did not go around clearly telling everyone He was God, nor that He was even the Son of God. In fact, he went so far as to tell some people to remain silent about His works and identity. Why? The answer to this question is a completely separate study in and of itself, and may in fact serve as greater evidence for His deity. For now, however, I'd like to focus on the passages that do reveal His oneness with the Almighty, for although Jesus Christ was not equal in position with God while on earth, He still was God. The only difference? He emptied Himself, as Paul states, not regarding "equality with God a thing to be grasped." Yet, just as a son is still as human as his father, so was Jesus with His Heavenly Father.
To compare the Old Testament with the New is to see clearly that Jesus is God.
In Isaiah 44:6 we read of Jehovah God of the Old Testament speaking of Himself, "I am the first, and I am the last; and beside Me there is no God." The nearly identical words are spoken by Jesus in His resurrected body, to John on the Isle of Patmos in Revelation 1:17,18: "I am the first and the last: I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive evermore, Amen."
Would God of the Old Testament who said, "I will not give My glory to another" ask us to worship, adore, and sing praises to, pray to, and give up ourselves completely to Jesus of Nazareth if He were just a man?
Again, Isaiah 43:1 says, "I, even I, am the LORD: and beside Me there is no Savior." What an immensely powerful statement. "Beside Me there is no Savior." Yet we read in the New Testament concerning Jesus, "Thou shalt call his name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins." (Matt. 1:21)
We read in I Timothy 1:15 that "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners."
We read in Acts 4:12, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." -That name, of course, is Jesus Christ.
"Beside Me there is no Savior."
Yet in II Peter 3:18 it says, "Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
This next passage is very powerful, taken from Titus 2:13,14.
"Looking for that blessed hope, the glorious appearing of the Great God and our Savior Jesus Christ; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."
Indeed, "the Great God and our Savior Jesus Christ..." How clearly He tells us.......He is God, and He is our Savior, and just as Isaiah 43:1 says "......and beside Me there is no Savior," so it remains true.
Jesus is repeatedly said to be our Savior again and again in the New Testament, and for this reason he must be God. We certainly do not worship two Gods.
Again, in the Old Testament we read in Exodus 3:14
God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM"; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.' "
Beautifully, in the New Testament we read, in John 8:58:
Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I Am."
With this statement of being God, no wonder the Jews in the next verse "picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple."
How else is Jesus revealed to be God? Jesus says in Matthew 19:17, "There is none good but One, that is God." Samuel 2:2 tells us, "There is none holy as Jehovah?" Then Jesus, God's Son, is set forth as being infinitely good and holy in the New Testament. In John 10:11, He Himself says, "I am the Good Shepherd." Acts 3:14, Hebrews 7:26, and in John 1:14 we read that Jesus is called "the Holy One and the Just," the One who knew no sin, Who is without sin and without spot, "holy, harmless, and undefiled."
Yes, just like Thomas in John 20:28, we must fall down and cry out at Jesus' feet, "My Lord and my God!"
-----------------------------------------------------
"I am Jehovah: that is My name: and My glory I will not give to another." Isaiah 42:8
The following verses are verses from Scripture that give glory and honor to Jesus Christ. God told us clearly that He would never give His glory to another. Read the following verses in light of the belief that Jesus was just a man...or, perhaps, someone else, though lower than God. You will soon discover that, indeed, He must be much more than that.
"They fell down before the Lamb. . . and they sung a new song, saying, 'Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and has made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.' And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; saying with a loud voice, 'WORTHY IS THE LAMB THAT WAS SLAIN TO RECEIVE POWER, AND RICHES, AND WISDOM, AND STRENGTH, AND HONOR, AND GLORY, AND BLESSING.' And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying, 'Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever.' And the four beasts said, 'Amen.' And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped Him that liveth forever and ever. - Revelation 5:8-14
Just a man? Where is Jehovah, the true God during all this time?
“These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” -Ephesians 1:19-23
“Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above EVERY name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven, and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess Jesus Christ AS LORD, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11
JESUS CLAIMED TO BE GOD
"He who sees Me sees the one who sent Me." -John 12:45
Jesus said to him, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, 'Show us the Father?' " -John 14:9
"I and the Father are one." - John 10:30. This word "one" is in the neuter gender, which refers to one substance; it is not the masculine, which refers to one person.
MORE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT CORRELATIONS
OT
"I am Jehovah, I change not." Malachi 3:6
NT
"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever." Hebrews 13:8
_________________________________
OT
"I am Jehovah that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by Myself." Isaiah 44:24
NT
"For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him and for Him: and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist." Colossians 1:16,17
_________________________________
OT
"I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for Mine own sake." Isaiah 43:25
NT
"The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleaseth us from all sin." I John 1:7
"When He (the Son) had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." Hebrews 1:3
Are we talking about two Gods here? Two Gods who can perform the same act of the blotting out of our sins? No. Two Gods who created everything for themselves, one Jesus Christ and the other Jehovah? No.
We also see that Jesus accepted worship during His stay on earth. After healing a blind man, and revealing to him that He was the Son of Man, we read in John 9:38, "And he said, “Lord, I believe.' And he worshipped Him." Clearly, no one and no thing should be worshipped but God alone.
The Consequences of Not Believing Jesus Is God
John 5:23 tells us, "Whoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father," and "He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent Him." Therefore, whoever denies the Deity of Jesus, the Christ of God, does not Honor God. What real hope, then, does one have for eternal salvation? For the Scriptures declare plainly that "there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved." It is my belief that a person truly indwelt by the Holy Spirit will in time, when presented with the truth, come to believe in the deity of Jesus Christ. It is simply fundamental.
QUESTIONS
1. How could Jesus, being just a man, have the authority to forgive sin? Mark 2:5, Matthew 9:2
2. How could Jesus, being just a man, accept worship from others? Matthew 2:11, 20:28, 28:17, John 9:38.
3. How could Jesus, being just a man, have lived a sinless life? Ecclesiastes 7:20
4. If Jesus was more than a man, yet not God, then what was He? The word of God tells us of the human race, angles, demons, and God. The angels worshiped Jesus, so he was higher than they. So, the question rings loud and clear, “Friend, who was Jesus?”
-----------------
Return To My Studies
-----------------
|
|
|
