When you
hear the name Jesus Christ who lived two thousand years ago, many of us think
he is a good person/saint/prophet. But some think he is a liar or lunatic. This
article can be used to ponder upon your mind and thoughts to make your own decision who Jesus Christ is for
you.
The quick
thought about this person Jesus Christ would be – a human crucified to a cross
seen across on many pictures, paintings, statues and worship places across the
world. This should put a question, how can a God be captured and Killed by
mortal humans. This event in history should provoke you a question, well then
since Jesus has been crucified and killed, He is like rest of the humans not a
God.
This logical
seeming to be more sensible is not correct at all. Why? consider a
situation - a man doing some wrong(robbery/murder/gossip of assassinating other
people character/lies) against another person, what would be the outcome of
this? Well, the wrong doer will be asked to pay the affected person. Similarly
if we do anything wrong against our neighbours or
blasphemy the creator how do we pay back?
To add my two cents, doing wrong against a fellow human person is also
same as doing wrong against the creator because humans are all created by one
same God and they all belong to Him. Creator sends forth the soul which enters
the baby in mother’s womb and the soul departs when his/her physical body stops
breathing.
You will be
tempted to say, the wrong doer can compensate his mistakes – may be say prayers,
do fasting, say sorry, apologize, pay back the damages or any religious rituals
like walking pilgrimage or punish himself etc.,? Well
this is a big NO…NO…NO… we can NOT do this.
Why? Because God is infinite and if you think you can compensate by these means as
stated in the previous statement, you are undermining the
authority or dignity or the supremacy or the Holiness of God? But if you
cannot compensate by your own, how can you then compensate for
your wrong doings against infinite God or compensate the disgrace you brought upon God or His creations
or quench his anger or soften for your wrong doings. What’s the solution
then? How can you be forgiven for your own personal wrong
doings as well as the one you inherited(we do inherit genes/health/physicals)
from your ancestors – plus the first human mistake(technically called original
sin) that has been spread to all humans via genes and other forms.
Here is the
answer for the above question - John 3:16 For God so
loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him
might not perish but might have eternal life. Jesus Christ is the son of God who we are talking about in this article
who died on the Cross for our own personal mistakes and the original sin
inherited within our genes through our ancestors. His death was the most
painful, agonizing, excruciating, unbearable death. His flesh from head to toe were
torn to pieces, mocked, humiliated and all His blood(not even one drop of blood
stayed in his body, we know this because the soldier who was standing nearby
when wanted to confirm if Jesus has died, he pierced the spear on the side of
Jesus, blood and water came out) were shed to pay the penalty for our human
sins. That’s how we know God so loved us that He himself took the penalty for
our evils on a cross in a most torturous and humiliating way so that we are set
free and redeemed. Biblically, we can give explanation why God has to shed
blood or take punishment to set us free. God is Holy, Jesus is Holy and sinless
and only He can pay the penalty of our sins. To add my two cents, payback is nature or God’s law, what we sow has
to be reaped. Justice has to be done for all the injustices. If we look into the first book of bible, God’s first human creation
Adam and Eve when they sinned on their own, they realized they were naked.
Until before committing sin, they did not know they were naked. They felt
ashamed and guilt of their wrong doings and hid themselves when God was looking
around for them because they were ashamed of their wrong doings which has been
revealed in the form of nakedness. They also tried to cover themselves with leaves
but it withered away and God gave them the skin of an animal to cover, which
means an animal has been killed and skin removed from it to cover the guilt and
shame of the humans. If we compared this Adam & Eve story parallel with crucified
Jesus Christ at calvary - His clothes were taken away by soldiers by casting
lots. He hung naked on the cross, mocked by passersby. Since Jesus was God and sinless, his torn flesh, blood
covered our human sins and shame of it. A
criminal CANNOT bail out a criminal and that’s why Jesus Christ who is God and
sinless can bailout sinful humans by taking the human penalties on Himself by
dying on the cross.
The cross displays the very
heart of the divine. It shows us the burning center of God’s character, his
“holy-love.” Our Lord is revealed in the cross, uniquely, as a warrior-savior,
the God who solves the terrible
problem of his justice by the depths of his love. People think a Christian is
one who follows Christ’s teaching and example, but Jesus is not
primarily a teacher. He’s a rescuer.
I could never myself believe in God, if it were not for the cross.
The most important
reason that Jesus has to be God is that, if He is not God, His death would not
have been sufficient to pay the penalty for the sins of the world(1 John 2:2).
A created being, which Jesus would be if He were not God, could not pay the
infinite penalty required for sin against an infinite God. Only God could pay
such an infinite penalty. Only God could take take on the sins of the world(2
Corinthians 5:12), die, and be resurrected, proving His victory over sin and
death.
Psychology
professors say "all they have to do is pick up the Bible and read portions
of Christ's teaching to many of their patients. That's all the counseling they
need." How? Because Jesus is God and God’s word can heal.
"If you
were to take the sum total of all authoritative articles ever written by the
most qualified of psychologists and psychiatrists on the subject of mental
hygiene ‑ if you were
to combine them and refine them, and cleave out the excess verbiage - if you
were to take the whole of the meat and none of the parsley, and if you were to
have these unadulterated bits of pure scientific knowledge concisely expressed
by the most capable of living poets, you would have an awkward and incomplete
summation of the Sermon on the Mount. And it would suffer immeasurably through
comparison. For nearly 2,000 years the Christian world has been holding in its
hands the complete answer to its restless and fruitless yearnings. Here ...
rests the blueprint for successful human life with optimism, mental health, and
contentment."
Jesus Christ
is an ideal character which through all the changes of all centuries has
inspired the hearts of men with an impassioned love; has shown itself capable
of acting on all ages, nations, temperaments and conditions; has been not only
the highest pattern of virtue, but the strongest incentive to its practice. ...
The simple record of these three short years of active life has done more to
regenerate and soften mankind than all the disquisitions of philosophers and
all the exhortations of moralists."
Here are few Bible verses that exactly says Jesus is
Lord:
Philippians 2:9-11 For this reason 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 that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
1 Corinthians 8:6 yet for us there is but one God,
the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus
Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.
Luke 2:11 for today in the city of David
there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Romans 10:9 that if you confess with
your mouth Jesus as Lord, and
believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
1 Peter 3:15 but sanctify Christ as Lord in your
hearts, always being ready to make
a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in
you, yet with gentleness and reverence;
2 Corinthians 4:5 For we do not preach
ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus sake.
Colossians 3:17 whatever you do in word or deed, do
all in the name of Lord Jesus, giving
thanks through Him to God the Father
1 Corinthians 12:3 Therefore I tell you that no one who is
speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed, " and no one
can say, "Jesus is Lord, " except
by the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:36
Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this
Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.
Titus 2:13-14 looking for the blessed hope and glorious
appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus
Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless
deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.
Revelation 17:14 They will make war against the Lamb,
but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of Lords and King of Kings -
and with him will be his called, chosen
and faithful followers. Lamb here is Jesus Christ.
1 John 5:20 And we know that the Son
of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is
true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true
God and eternal life.
Romans 9:5 of whom are the fathers and from whom,
according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the
eternally blessed God.
John 1:18 No one has ever seen God, but the
one and only Son, who is himself God and[a] is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him
known
John 20:28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My
Lord and my God!”
Thomas the disciple
declared concerning Jesus, "My Lord and my God" (John 2:28). Jesus does not correct
him.
Hebrews 1:8, the Father declares of Jesus, “But about the Son he says,
"Your throne, O God, will last forever and
ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom." The Father refers to Jesus
as "O
God," indicating that Jesus is indeed God.
During the
Last Supper, just after washing disciples' feet, Jesus made a bold statement:
"You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right. for so I
am." (John 13:13)
The New
Testament was originally written in Greek. The Greek word for "Lord"
is Kurios, meaning "God - supreme in authority. Jesus was making the point
that they were to follow the example(serving one
another) set
by God Himself. Later that evening, He reiterated His claim by saying to
Philip, "...He who has seen Me has seen the Father." (John 14:9)
Isaiah 44:6 “This is what the Lord says—
Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord
Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.
Revelation 2:8 “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words
of him who is the First and the Last, who died
and came to life again.
Revelation 1:17-18 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed
his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I
am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now
look, I am alive for ever and ever!
And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
John 10:30 Jesus says, “I and My Father are one.”
John 5:18 Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because
He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making
Himself
equal with God.
How Can Jesus Be God
and Man?
http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/how-can-jesus-be-god-and-man
Jesus Christ, the Person
https://www.ewtn.com/faith/teachings/incaa3.htm
When Jesus Isn’t God
http://catholicexchange.com/jesus-isnt-god
Some people think it doesn't matter what you
believe as long as you're sincere. But without a valid object your faith is
useless If you take poison--thinking it's medicine--all the faith in the world
won't restore your life. Similarly, if Jesus is the only source of salvation,
and you're trusting in anyone or anything else for your salvation, your faith
is useless. Many people assume there are many paths to
God and that each religion represents an aspect of truth. But Jesus said,
"I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father,
but through Me" (John 14:6). He didn't claim to be one of many equally
legitimate paths to God, or the way to God for His day only. He claimed to be the only way to God--then and forever.
There are
many passages in the Bible, which specifically refer to Jesus Christ as God. In
fact, “the whole New Testament is based upon the thought that there is...[an]
essential unity between Jesus Christ and the covenant God of Israel.”
Old Testament Passages
Isaiah 7:14—“Therefore
the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and
bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Immanuel literally means “God
with us”).
Isaiah 9:6—“For unto us
a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his
shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The
Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no
end....”
Jeremiah
23:5-6—“Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a
righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute
judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel
shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD
OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” Christ’s name in Hebrew is YHWH
Tsidkenu, Jehovah Our Righteousness.
Micah 5:2—“But thou,
Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out
of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings
forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”
Christ has always existed because He is not a created being; He is God Almighty
who has existed from everlasting.
Malachi 3:1-2—“Behold,
I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord,
whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the
covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth?
for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap.” God’s temple is
Christ’s temple. Christ comes as an all-powerful judge.
Psalm 45:1, 6-7—“I
speak of the things which I have made touching the king.... Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy
kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness:
therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee....” The Hebrew word translated
“anointed” is the verb form of the noun “Messiah.”
Psalm 110:1-3—“The LORD
said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy
footstool. The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou
in the midst of thine enemies. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy
power....” The LORD (Jehovah) will subdue all Christ’s enemies. Yet Christ’s
rod and Christ’s power will subdue all enemies. Christ’s rule and power are
clearly equal to God’s. See Psalm 2 where a similar theme is discussed: “Serve
the LORD [Jehovah] with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he
be angry, and ye perish from the way...” (vv. 11-12). Note how “the Son” is set
poetically in parallel with “Jehovah.”
New Testament Passages
Matthew 1:23—“Behold, a
virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call
his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”
Peter tells us,
"David did not ascend into the heavens; but he himself says, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, till I make
your enemies a stool for your feet.’ Let all the house of Israel
therefore know assuredly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus
whom you crucified" (Acts 2:34–36). Here God is "the Lord" who
speaks to "my Lord," Jesus. When one looks at the Old Testament
quotation, one finds, "Yahweh says to my Lord:
‘Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool’"
(Ps. 110:1); so here the Father is called Yahweh.
John 1:1-3, 14—“In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning
with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made
that was made.... And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we
beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of
grace and truth.”
“The late New Testament
Greek scholar Colwell formulated a rule which clearly states that a definite
predicate nominative (in this case theos
meaning ‘God’) never takes an article when it precedes the verb (‘was’) as we
find in John 1:1. It is therefore easy to see that no article is needed for theos (God), and to translate it ‘a god’ is both
incorrect grammar and poor Greek, since theos
is a predicate nominative of ‘was’ in the third sentence-clause of the
verse and must refer back to the subject, ‘Word’ (logos).
Christ, then, if He is the Word “made flesh” (Jn. 1:14), can be no one else
except God, unless the Greek text, and consequently God’s Word, be
denied.”
John 1:18—“No man hath
seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the
Father, he hath declared him.”
John 20:27-28—“Then
saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach
hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but
believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My
Lord and my God.”
Romans 9:6—“Christ
came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God.
Amen” ( V).
Philippians 2:5-8—“Let
this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery
to be equal with God: But made himself
of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the
likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and
became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
“‘Who was in the form
of God’ are his [the Apostle Paul’s] words: and they are words than which no
others could be chosen which would more explicitly or with more directness
assert the deity of...Jesus Christ.... Let us remember that the phraseology
which Paul here employs was the popular usage of his day, though first given
general vogue by the Aristotelian philosophy: and that it was accordingly the
most natural language for strongly asserting the deity of Christ which could
suggest itself to him.... ‘Form,’ in a word, is equivalent to our phrase
‘specific character.’... With God...the ‘form’ is that body of qualities which
distinguish Him from all other spiritual beings, which constitute Him God, and
without which He would not be God. What Paul asserts, then, when he says that
Christ Jesus existed in the ‘form of God,’ is that He had all those
characterizing qualities which make God God, the presence of which constitutes
God, and in the absence of which God does not exist. He who is ‘in the form of
God’ is God.”
Colossians 1:15-16—“Who
is the image of the invisible God, the
firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in
heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible....”
When the Apostle Paul
says that Christ is the firstborn over all creation, he does not mean that
Christ is the first created being. For he goes on to explain that Jesus Christ
created everything in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. Jesus Christ
could not create Himself. The idea among various cults that Christ is the first
created being is an impossible absurdity.
Colossians
2:8-10—“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after
the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead
bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all
principality and power.”
1 Timothy
1:16-17—“Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ
might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should
hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God,
be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
1 Timothy 2:3-4—“For
this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our
Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the
knowledge of the truth.”
1 Timothy 3:16—“And
without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the
Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world,
received up into glory.”
1 Timothy 6:14-16—“...the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: Which in his
times he shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath
immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto;
whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour
and power everlasting. Amen.”
Titus 1:3—“But hath in
due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me
according to the commandment of God our Saviour.”
Titus 2:10—“...showing
all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.”
Titus 2:13—“Looking for
the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our
great God and Savior Jesus Christ” ( V).
Hebrews 1:1-3—“God, who
at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by
the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath
appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made
the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his
person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had
by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
Hebrews 1:8—“But unto
the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is
for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.”
God is
absolutely and perfectly holy (Isaiah 6:3),
therefore He cannot commit or approve of evil (James 1:13). As God, Jesus embodied every element of God's character.
Colossians 2:9 says, "In Him all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily
form." He was perfectly holy (Hebrews 4:15). Even His enemies couldn't
prove any accusation against Him (John 8:46)
Acts 4:12 Jesus is the only one who can forgive and
transform us, thereby delivering us from the power and penalty of sin: "There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other
name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved" .
Isaiah 43:25 “I, even
I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake,and
remembers your sins no more.
Jude 25—“To the only wise God our Saviour,
be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and for
ever. Amen.”
Also significant are
passages that apply the title "the First and the Last" to Jesus. This
is one of the Old Testament titles of Yahweh: "Thus says Yahweh, the King
of Israel and his Redeemer, Yahweh of armies: ‘I am
the First and I am the Last; besides me there is no god’" (Is.
44:6; cf. 41:4, 48:12).
This title is directly applied to Jesus three times in the book of Revelation:
"When I saw him [Christ], I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid
his right hand upon me, saying, ‘Fear not, I am the
First and the Last’" (Rev. 1:17). "And to the angel of the
church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the First and
the Last, who died and came to life’" (Rev. 2:8). "Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense, to repay
every one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the
Last, the beginning and the end" (Rev. 22:12–13).
Jesus Christ Clearly said that HE was the only God
And Moses said unto
God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them,
The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What
is his name? what shall I say unto them? 14And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto
the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto
you. Exodus 3:13-14 KJV .This is
the name God reserves for Himself throughout the Old Testament. In the coming
verses we see Jesus calling Himself I AM.
So that's why Jesus
said, "I am the Way." God is the Way.
If you understand it properly, no problem at all.
John 8:59 Jesus himself
declares that he is Yahweh ("I AM," in English translation).
In John 8:58, when questioned about how he has special knowledge of Abraham,
Jesus replies, "Truly, truly, I say to you,
before Abraham was, I AM." His audience
understood exactly who he was claiming to be. "So they took up
stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple"
.
John 13:12-14 And so when He had washed their feet, and
taken His garments, and reclined at the table again, He said to them, "Do
you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for I am.
If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed
your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet."
John 14:6-9 Jesus
said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and
the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me. If you had known Me, you
would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him."
Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for
us." 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 do you say, 'Show us the Father'?"
John 6:32-35 Jesus therefore said to them, "Truly,
truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven,
but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. For the bread
of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the
world." They said therefore to Him, "Lord, evermore give us this
bread." Jesus said to them, "I am the bread
of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall
never thirst."
John 8:12-14 Again therefore Jesus spoke to them, saying,
"I am the light of the world; he who follows Me
shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life."
The Pharisees therefore said to Him, "You are bearing witness of Yourself;
Your witness is not true." Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true; for I
know where I came from, and where I am going; but you do not know where I come
from, or where I am going."
John
3:25-26 "The woman saith
unto him, I know that Messiah cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come,
he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I
that speak unto thee am he."
John 10:7-11 Jesus therefore said to them again, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All
who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I
am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in
and out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and
destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly. I am
the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep."
John 11:21-27 Martha therefore said to Jesus, "Lord,
if You had been here, my brother would not have died. Even now I know that
whatever You ask of God, God will give You." Jesus said to her, "Your
brother shall rise again." Martha said to Him, "I know that he will
rise again in the resurrection on the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me
shall live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall
never die. Do you believe this?" She said to Him, "Yes, Lord;
I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into
the world."
John 6:37-40 "All
that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will
certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own
will, but the will of Him who sent Me. And this is the will of Him who sent Me,
that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last
day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone
who beholds the Son and believes in Him, may have eternal life; and I Myself will raise him up on the last day."
Mark 14:61-64 I am,"
said Jesus. "And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of
the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven." The high priest tore
his clothes. "Why do we need any more witnesses?" he asked. "You
have heard the blasphemy".
John 18:33-40 (Jesus
before Pilate)
"If I were the
king of some country," Jesus said, "my servants would have fought to
keep me from being arrested. But I'm not - my kingdom is elsewhere."
"You are a king
then?"
"Exactly as you say; I am. That's why I was born. That's why
I came to the world - to be a witness for truth. And everyone on the side of
truth heeds what I say."
Revelation 21:6-7—“And he [Jesus Christ] said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha
and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is
athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.”
John 5:17-26—“But Jesus answered them, ‘My
Father has been working until now, and I have been working.’ Therefore the Jews
sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but
also said that God was His Father, making Himself
equal with God. Then Jesus answered and said to them,... ‘For as the
Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to
whom He will.... For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the
Son to have life in Himself’” ( V). 1
Samuel 2:6“The Lord brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave
and raises up.
John 10:28-39—“And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never
perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father,
which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out
of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.
Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good
works have I showed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone
me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for
blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself
God. Jesus answered them,... If I do not the works of my Father,
believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that
ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me,
and I in him. Therefore they sought again to take him: but he
escaped out of their hand.”
Mark 2:5-11—“When Jesus
saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. But there were certain of the
scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man thus
speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God
only?... [Jesus] said unto them, But that
ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins,
(he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee,
Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house” (cf. Lk. 5:20-24).
The scribes’ theology
was correct: “Who can forgive sins but God only?”
Jesus didn’t disagree with their conclusion; rather, through
the miraculous healing He proved that He in fact was God and had the authority
to forgive sins.
John 14:1 – “Let not your hearts be troubled;believe
in God, believe also in me”.
John 14:3 – “….I will
come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I
am, there ye may be also.”
Matthew 4:5-7 Then the devil took him to the holy city, and
set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of
God, throw yourself down; for it is
written, ‘He will give his angels charge of you,’ and ‘on their hands they will
bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”. Jesus said to him,”Again
it is written ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”
JOHN 18:5-6
5 . . . Jesus said to them, "I am He."
And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them.
6 Then -- when He said to them, "I am He,"
-- they drew back and fell to the ground.
Matthew 12:8 – For the
Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath.
JOHN 10:11 -
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd
gives His life for the sheep.
JOHN 15:5
5 "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him,
bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
MATTHEW 28:18
18 Then Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All
authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
MATTHEW
21:1-3 Jesus sent two disciples, saying
to them,”Go into the village opposite you,, and
immediately you will find an ass tied, and a colt with her;unite
them and bring them to me. If any one says anything
to you, you shall say, “The Lord has
need of them”, and he
will send them immediately.
JOHN 5:22,27
22 "For the Father judges no one, but has
committed all judgment to the Son,
27 "and has given Him authority to execute
judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.
John
8:46-47 Which of you
convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? He who is
of God hears the words of God; the reason why you do not hear them is that you
are not of God.
John
16:13-15 When the
Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not
speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will
declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it
to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take
what is mine and declare it to you.
Mat 28:20
“And surely I am with
you always, to the very end of
the age."
If Jesus is
God, then why did He say the Father was greater than He?
"You heard that I
said to you, ‘I go away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved Me, you would
have rejoiced, because I go to the Father; for the Father is greater than
I'" (John 14:28).
Jesus said the Father was greater than He not because Jesus is not God, but
because Jesus was also a man and as a man he was in a lower
position. He was ". . . made for a little while lower than the
angels . . ." (Heb. 2:9). Also in Phil. 2:5-8, it says that Jesus
"emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the
likeness of men . . ."
Jesus has two natures. Jesus was not denying
that He was God. He was merely acknowledging the fact that He was also a
man. Jesus is both God and man. As a man, he was in a lesser
position than the Father. He had added to Himself human nature (Col.
2:9). He became a man to die for people.
A comparison can be found in the marriage
relationship. Biblically, a husband is greater in position
and authority than his wife. But, he is no different in nature and he is
not better than she. They share the same nature, being human, and they
work together by love.
So, Jesus was not denying that He was God. He was simply acknowledging
that He was also a man and as a man, he was subject to the laws of God so that
He might redeem those who were under the law; namely, sinners (Gal. 4:4-5).
The Spirit-inspired
writers of the New Testament applied Old Testament passages which specifically
refer God- to Jesus Christ; therefore, Jesus must be God.
|
Old Testament |
New Testament |
|
“The voice of him
that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way
of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God” (Isa. 40:3). |
“For this is he that
was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the
wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight” (Mt. 3:3). |
|
“Behold, I will send
you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the
LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children...” (Mal.
4:5-6). |
“He [John the
Baptist] will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn
the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom
of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord [Jesus Christ]’”
(Lk. 1:17, V). |
|
“...I am God, and
there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth
in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear” (Isa. 45:22-23). |
“We shall all stand
before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every
tongue shall confess to God” (Rom. 14:10-11; cf. Phil. 2:10). |
|
“The Lord is among
them, as in Sinai, in the holy place. Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast
led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the
rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them” (Ps. 68:17-18). |
“But unto every one
of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he
led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men” (Eph. 4:7-8). |
|
“Thy throne, O God,
is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is
a right sceptre. Thou lovest
righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore
God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows”
(Ps. 45:6-7). |
“But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre
of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore
God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy
fellows” (Heb. 1:8-9). |
|
“Hear my prayer, O
LORD [Jehovah].... The heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish,
but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a
vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the
same, and thy years shall have no end” (Ps. 102:1, 25-27). |
“To the Son he saith,... Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the
foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: They
shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all
shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up,
and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not
fail” (Heb. 1:8-12). |
|
“Be strong and of a
good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is
that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee” (Dt. 31:6). |
“Let your
conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye
have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Heb.
13:5). |
The Bible Ascribes Attributes to Jesus Christ
Which Can Only be Predicated of God
1. Jesus Christ is all-knowing (omniscient)
Matthew 12:25—“Jesus
knew their thoughts.”
Matthew 27:18—“For
[Jesus] knew that for envy they had delivered Him.”
Luke 6:8—“He knew their
thoughts.”
John 2:24-25—“But Jesus
did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, And needed not that
any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.”
John 21:17—“And [Peter]
said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things;
thou knowest that I love thee.”
Revelation 2:23—“All
the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts.
And I will give to each of you according to your works” ( V).
2. Jesus Christ is all-powerful (omnipotent)
Ephesians 3:20—“Now
unto him [Christ] that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that
we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.”
Philippians
3:20-21—“...the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may
be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he
is able even to subdue all things unto himself.”
Colossians 2:10—“Ye are
complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.”
Hebrews 1:3—“[Jesus
Christ is] upholding all things by the word of his power.”
Revelation 1:8—“I am
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith
the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”
Revelation 2:26-27—“He
who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power
over the nations—‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the potter’s
vessels shall be broken to pieces’—as I also have received from My Father” ( V).
3. Jesus Christ is unchanging (immutable)
Hebrews 1:8-12—“But
unto the Son he saith...Thou, Lord, in the beginning
hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine
hands: They shall perish; but thou remainest; and
they all shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them
up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years
shall not fail.”
Hebrews 13:8—“Jesus
Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” ( V). This passage disproves the idea that
Jesus is a created being. For if Jesus was created, He was not the same
yesterday. “Yesterday” (past) is contrasted with “forever” (future), and
obviously refers to eternity past.
4. Jesus Christ, as to his divine nature,is
everywhere present (omnipresent)
Matthew 18:20—“For
where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst
of them.” At any given moment there are literally thousands upon thousands
of Bible studies, prayer meetings and church services being conducted around
the earth. Jesus Christ says that He is present at each gathering. Only God can
be at thousands of different places at the same time.
Romans 8:10—“And if
Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because
of righteousness.... [H]e that raised up Christ from the dead shall also
quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” No created
being, no matter how great, can dwell in the millions of Christians throughout
the world; it is impossible. But it is not impossible for Jesus Christ who is
God.
1 Corinthians 10:4—“And
did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock
that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” Whenever believers partake of
the Lord’s Supper, Jesus Christ is spiritually present.
Revelation 2:1—“These
things saith he that holdeth
the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the
midst of the seven golden candlesticks.” Jesus Christ is presented in
Revelation as being present in the churches and being totally aware of each
church’s deeds in minute detail.
Revelation
3:20—“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and
open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”
Jesus Christ will personally fellowship with each repentant believer. This
would be impossible if He were merely human, for there are millions of
Christians spread over the whole globe.
5. Jesus Christ has eternal existence
Isaiah 9:6—“For unto us
a child is born,...and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The
mighty God, The everlasting Father....”
John 1:1-3—“In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him....” Jesus
Christ existed with God prior to creation.
John 8:58—“Jesus said
to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM’” ( V). Jesus certainly did not mean He existed
as the first created being, because the Jews wanted to stone Him for claiming
to be God.
Revelation 1:8—“I am
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith
the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty”
(cf. Rev. 22:13).
6. Jesus Christ is the Creator
The Bible teaches that
God created everything that exists, whether spiritual or material. “God that
made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and
earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands” (Ac. 17:24). “Thou art worthy,
O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for
thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created”
(Rev. 4:11). “[Him] that liveth for ever and ever,
who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the
things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein...”
(Rev. 10:6). Yet the Bible also teaches that Jesus Christ created everything.
This can only mean that Jesus Christ is God the second Person of the trinity,
for only God who is uncreated has the power to create from nothing. The Bible
teaches that creation from nothing was an act of the triune God. That
explains why Genesis 1:26 says, “Let us make man in our image, after our
likeness.” Following are some verses of Scripture which teach that Christ is
the Creator.
John 1:2-3—“He [Jesus
Christ] was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him
and without Him nothing was made” ( V).
John 1:10—“He was in
the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.”
1 Corinthians 8:6—“But
to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him;
and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.”
Colossians 1:16-17—“For
by him [Jesus Christ] were all things created, that are in heaven, and
that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or
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.”
Hebrews 1:2-3—“...his
Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the
worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his
person, and upholding all things by the word of his power....”
Hebrews 2:10—“For it
became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things....”
Hebrews 3:3-4—“For this
man [Jesus Christ] was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he
who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house. For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.”
Is Jesus Christ the Creator God?
The Bible
affirms in several places that Jesus Christ is the Creator God. For example, 'All things were made by him [the
Word, in Greek logoV (logos), = Jesus Christ]'
(John 1:3), and 'For by him [Jesus Christ]
were all things created' (Colossians 1:16).
If this
is true, we should expect to see some parallelism between what happened at
creation and the works of Jesus during his ministry on earth. What do we find?
First let
us consider what kind of evidence we are looking for.
Some of the
essential and distinctive elements of creation, as revealed in Genesis chapter
l, as well as elsewhere in the Bible, are:
1.
Creation involved the act of God
in bringing into being immediately and instantaneously matter which did not
previously exist, without
the use of pre-existing materials or secondary causes; for example, in the
creation of the heavens and the earth, as recorded in Genesis 1:1. Creation
also involved the shaping, combining, or transforming of existing materials, as
when God created Adam from the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7), and Eve from
Adam's rib (Genesis 2:21–22).
2.
Creation involved the imparting of life to otherwise lifeless matter.
3.
The mechanism of creation, or the means whereby the above aspects were
accomplished, was by the Word of the Lord, that is, God said (= God willed it
to happen1) . . . and it happened.
4.
The purpose or motive of God in creating was to display His glory,2
to make known His power, His wisdom, His will, and His holy name,3
and that He might receive glory from His created beings.4
Note: We
should not expect to find exact parallels between the miracles of Jesus and
what happened at Creation, as Jesus did not come to re-create the universe, but
'to seek and to save that which was lost',5 and 'to give his life a ransom for
many.'6 With this in mind, let us compare these four aspects of
creation with the works of Jesus.
1.Creation
out of nothing and/or from existing materials
Several of
Jesus' miracles involved the creation of new material. Whether this was out of
nothing or from existing materials is not spelt out by the Gospel writers, as
they major on the fact of the miracles and the effects they produced (John
emphasizes the teaching that Jesus drew from them), rather than on any analyses
of the modus operandi.
Jesus'
first miracle involved the creation of wine. At a wedding breakfast, Jesus
instructed the waiters to fill six stone water-pots with water, and then to
take them to the master of ceremonies of the wedding banquet. When they
arrived, the water had been turned into wine,7 that is, there had
been the instantaneous creation of the carbon atoms and chemical molecules that
made up the grape sugar, carbon dioxide, colouring
matter, etc., of the wine.
Other
examples are the two times when Jesus fed a multitude: on the first occasion
more than 5,000 people from five loaves and two fish,8 and on the
second occasion more than 4,000 people from seven loaves and a few little fish.9
Here there
were bread and fish to begin with on both occasions. Jesus either caused these
original items to multiply, or He may have dispensed all the original food and
then created new loaves and fishes until everyone was fed. Either way, Jesus
created sufficient extra bread and fish, not only to feed many thousands of
people, but also to provide 12 basketfuls of left-overs on the first occasion
and seven basketfuls of leftovers on the second. This involved not just the
creation of the appropriate carbohydrate, protein and other molecules, but
their immediate arrangement into the complex forms and structures needed to
make baked bread and fish (albeit dead and cooked).
Some of
Jesus' miracles of healing, for example, of lepers,10 the blind,11
and paralytics,12 involved the instant repair of tissues, nerves,
muscles, etc., and the instantaneous growth or regrowth of healthy cells. The
net result was the creation of healthy functioning parts of the body to replace
diseased, non-functioning or atrophied parts.
2. The
giving of life
Jesus gave
life to the dead on three occasions: to a widow's son,13 to Jairus'
daughter,14 and to his friend Lazarus.15
In the case
of Lazarus, the body had been in the grave for four days, and Martha's words
are recorded for us: '...by this time there
is a bad odour, for he has been there four days.'16
This shows
that the process of decomposition whereby a dead body eventually becomes dust
had already begun. So here we have a parallel with what happened on the sixth
day of creation when God formed Adam from the dust of the ground and breathed
into his nostrils the breath of life, and Adam became a living being.17
Jesus called Lazarus back to life, and the molecules of matter that were in the
process of becoming dust became, again, a living human being.
In the case
of the widow's son and of Jairus' daughter, death was more recent, that is,
probably on the same day that Jesus gave life to their dead bodies. The
principle still applies.
3. The
method Jesus used
Jesus
appeared to use a variety of means in performing His miracles. These included
touching lepers, the blind, and the deaf; the use of saliva to heal a deaf mute18
and a blindman;19 the use of clay (with instructions to wash) to
heal a blind man;20,21 and the word of command to heal, to raise the
dead, and to exorcise demons.
However,
what happened in these and in all of Jesus' miracles was that Jesus willed the
event to happen and it did. This is nowhere better illustrated than in the
healing of the nobleman's son. Jesus was at Cana in Galilee and a certain royal
official asked Him to travel to Capernaum to heal his son who was close to
death. The Apostle John records what happened, as follows:
'So Jesus came again
into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine, And there was a certain
nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum.'
'When he heard that
Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him
that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death.'
'Then said Jesus unto
him, "Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe."'
'The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere
my child die.'
'Jesus saith unto him, "Go thy way; thy son liveth." And the man believed the word that Jesus had
spoken unto him, and he went his way.'
'And as he was now
going down, his servants met him, and — told him, saying, Thy son liveth.'
'Then enquired he of
them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the
seventh hour the fever left him.'
'So the father knew
that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house' (John
4:46–53).
Capernaum
was about 27 kilometres (17 miles) from Cana as the
crow flies, which means there was no way that the sick son, or anyone else in
Capernaum, could have heard Jesus or been influenced by His physical presence
in Cana.
Jesus
willed the sick boy to recover, at a distance of 27 kilometres,
and he did so. Similarly, Jesus willed the water to become wine, as it was
being taken into the wedding feast in Cana, and it did so. He willed the bread
and fish to form and they did, and He willed the 10 lepers to become well after
they had left Him and were on their way to the priests, and they were healed.22
It is
interesting that a Gentile centurion recognized this authority of Jesus. The
centurion had sent servants to request Jesus to come and heal his servant, as
Luke records:
'Then Jesus went with
them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to
him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou
shouldest enter under my roof:'
'Wherefore neither
thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant
shall be healed.'
'For I also am a man
set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my
servant, Do this, and he doeth it.'
'When Jesus heard these
things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about,
and said unto the people that followed him, "I say unto you, I have not
found so great faith, no, not in Israel."'
'And they that were
sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick' (Luke
7:6-10.)
The
centurion recognized that the voice of Jesus could not be heard by his sick
servant, but the result, brought about by the exercise of Jesus' authority,
would be no less effective because of this.
4. Jesus'
glory seen in his miracles
After
narrating Jesus' first miracle — the turning of water into wine — the Apostle
John says, He 'manifested forth his
glory; and his disciples believed on him.'23 When Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick He said, 'This
sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might
be glorified'. And then, after Lazarus had died and
before Jesus raised him to life, He said to Martha, 'Said I not unto
thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest
see the glory of God?'24
John calls
Jesus' miracles 'signs 25 and in his Gospel John shows which way the
signs point:26 'these are written,
that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that
believing ye might have life through his name.'27
Conclusion
Jesus
Christ is the Creator God. Not only does Scripture affirm it,28 but
during His earthly life and ministry He did the very things we would expect the
Creator God to do. He did them in the way that we would expect the Creator God
to do them — by His word of authority and the exercise of His will. And the
doing of them displayed His glory.
This is a
source of praise and inspiration for those who believe the Word of God, and at
the same time it is a reproof of the doctrine of theistic evolution. The
thought that Jesus might have used evolutionary chance random processes to heal
the sick or give life to the dead is as unsustainable as the idea that He used
such processes to create and give life to all things 'in the beginning'.
7. Jesus Christ is the Judge of all mankind
The Bible teaches that
on the last day of this age God will judge all men who ever lived. “Then shall
the trees of the wood sing out at the presence of the LORD, because he cometh
to judge the earth” (1 Chr. 16:33). “And I saw the dead, small and great,
stand before God; and the books were opened...and the dead were judged out of
those things which were written in the books, according to their works” (Rev.
20:12). Only God is capable of judging all men. God is all-knowing and therefore
knows every act. He is all-powerful, and therefore can carry out His
punishments. He is perfectly holy and therefore can judge every sin without
injustice. Only God who is moral and just in character has the authority to
judge the human race. Yet the Bible teaches that Jesus Christ will judge the
world. Christ Himself claimed the total authority and jurisdiction over mankind
on the final day that can only belong to God. In fact, the judgment seat of God
Almighty and the judgment seat of Jesus Christ are one and the same seat. Jesus
said, “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord.... And then will I profess
unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Mt.
7:22-23). The fate of each and every person rests upon Christ’s decision; He
has the power and authority to render sentence and to cast men into hell—an
authority reserved exclusively to God. Following are some biblical
references which unmistakably establish that Jesus Christ is the Judge of all
mankind.
Matthew 25:31-33, 41—“When
the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then
shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all
nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the
sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.... Then shall he say also
unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,
prepared for the devil and his angels.”
John 12:48—“He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not
my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that
I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.”
Acts 10:42—“It is He
[Jesus Christ] who was ordained of God to be Judge of the living and the dead”
( V).
Acts 17:31—“He hath
appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that
man [Jesus Christ] whom he hath ordained.”
Romans 2:16—“In the day
when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ....”
Romans 14:10-12—“For we
shall stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written: ‘As I live,
says the LORD [Jehovah], Every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall
confess to God.’ So then each of us shall give account of himself to God” ( V). This passage of Scripture not only presents
Christ as Judge, but clearly teaches that on the day of judgment everyone will
bow to Christ; that is, everyone will acknowledge that Christ is the LORD God.
By introducing his quotation of Isaiah 45:23 with the familiar prophetic
formula, “As I live, saith the LORD” (cf. Num. 14:28,
Isa. 49:18, Jer. 22:24, Ezek. 5:11, Zeph. 2:9, etc.), and applying it to
Christ, the Apostle Paul self-consciously and deliberately calls Christ
Jehovah. Note also that at the Judgment Seat of Christ, everyone will
give account of himself to God. This passage is a powerful and
unmistakable statement of Christ’s deity.
2 Corinthians 5:10—“For
we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may
receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it
be good or bad.”
2 Timothy 4:1,
8—“...the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his
appearing and his kingdom.... Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day:
and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”
Hebrews 10:30—“For we
know Him who said, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. And again,
‘The LORD will judge His people’” ( V).
The Bible Teaches That God the Holy Spirit,the
Third Person of the Trinity, Proceeds From Both the Father and the Son (Spiration)
Matthew 3:11—“I [John
the Baptist] indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh
after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall
baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.” Jesus Christ not only has the
authority to baptize believers with the Holy Spirit but also to baptize
unbelievers into hell-fire. While this passage technically does not deal with spiration, it shows that Christ has the authority of God:
only God can send the Holy Spirit to His church.
John 15:26—“But when
the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even
the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the
Father, he shall testify of me.”
Romans 8:9—“But ye are
not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in
you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”
Here Paul equates the Spirit of God with the Spirit of Christ.
Galatians 4:6—“And
because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your
hearts, crying, Abba, Father.”
Revelation 5:6—“And I
beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the
midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and
seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.”
Seven in Scripture often represents completion and perfection. The perfect Holy
Spirit of God proceeds from Jesus Christ unto the whole earth.
Jesus Christ is Worshiped as God
There is probably no
sin more condemned in the Bible than that of idolatry. The Bible teaches that
we are to worship God alone. Why? Because only God is worthy to be worshiped.
God’s law says, “Thou shalt have none other gods before me.... Thou shalt not
bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them” (Dt. 5:7-9). When tempted by Satan,
Christ said, “Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship
the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve” (Lk. 4:8). In Revelation, an
angel instructed the apostle John to only worship God(Revelation 19:10).
Several times in scripture Jesus receives worship(Matthew 2:11; 14:33; 28:9,17;
Luke 24:52; John 9:38). He never rebukes people for worshipping Him. If Jesus
were not God, He would have told people to not worship Him,just
as the angel in Revelation did. There are many other passages of scripture that
argue Jesus' deity.When the Apostle John fell in
worship before one of God’s mighty angels, the angel rebuked him and told him
to worship God. “And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had
heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which
showed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See
thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of
thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship
God” (Rev. 22:8-9). When Cornelius the centurion fell in worship before the
Apostle Peter, Peter clearly rejected the offer of worship: “And as Peter was
coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him.
But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man” (Ac.
10:25-26).
The contrast with the
Lord Jesus Christ is startling: from His birth (Mt. 2:1-2) to His ascension
(Lk. 24:51-52), Christ is openly and continuously worshiped by His disciples.
Did Jesus reject this worship, as Peter and the angel did? No, Jesus openly
accepted and even commended such activity. What could this mean except that
“That same person who is known to history as Jesus of Nazareth existed, before
He became man, from all eternity as infinite, eternal and unchangeable God, the
second person of the holy Trinity” ? Matthew 2:11On coming to the house,
they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.
Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold,
frankincense and myrrh. Matthew 14:33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped
him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” Matthew 28:9 Suddenly Jesus met
them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped
him. Matthew 17 The Transfiguration 17 After six days Jesus took with him
Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by
themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the
sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared
before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. 4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord,
it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for
you,
one for Moses and one
for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a
voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well
pleased. Listen to him!”
6 When the disciples
heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and
touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” 8 When they looked up, they
saw no one except Jesus.
Luke 24:52 Then they
worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. John 9:38 Then the man
said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.
Passages in Which Jesus is Worshiped
Matthew 2:1-2—“Now when
Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold,
there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is
born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to
worship him.”
Matthew 2:10-11—“When
they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were
come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell
down, and worshipped him.”
Matthew 8:2—“And,
behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.”
Matthew 8:28-29- “And
when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs
met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us,
O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”
Matthew 9:18—“While
[Jesus] spake these things unto them, behold, there
came a certain ruler, and worshipped him,
saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and
she shall live.”
Matthew 14:33—“Then
they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.”
Matthew 15:25—“Then
came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help
me.”
Matthew 28:9—“And as
they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And
they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped
him.”
Mark 5:6—“But when he
saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him.”
Luke 24:51-52—“And it
came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up
into heaven. And they worshipped him,
and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.”
John 9:35-38—“...he
said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who
is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast
both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.
And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.”
Hebrews 1:6—“And again,
when he bringeth in the firstbegotten
into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.”
Revelation 5:8-14—“And
when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell
down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. And they sung a
new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals
thereof.... 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, heard I
saying, Blessing, and honour,
and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon
the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty
elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth
for ever and ever.”
Revelation 15:3-4—“And
they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb,
saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord
God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall
not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee;
for thy judgments are made manifest.”
In Revelation 5:8 the
living creatures and elders worship the Lamb (Jesus Christ) and offer Him
prayers. In verse 13 Christ is offered the same worship that is given to the
Father. In Revelation 15:3-4 the worship of the Lord
God Almighty and Jesus Christ the King of the saints are indistinguishable. All
nations will come and worship before Jesus Christ (Ps. 22:27-28). The
fact that the apostles, and an angel of God, totally rejected worship, while
Christ openly accepted it, indicates that the New Testament use of “to worship”
(prosekun_san aut_—“worshiped
Him”) is not mere homage to a king but the worship of
God Himself. No created being, no matter how great, is allowed to accept
worship.
Jesus Christ is the Object of Saving Faith
John 14:1-6—“Let not
your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.... Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no
man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” No angel, prophet or apostle could
speak such words; only God can be the object of saving faith. Christ doesn’t
just point to God, He points to Himself. When Jesus says, “I am the way, the
truth, and the life,” He declares that He is the foundation of all truth and
all life. He is God, who is absolute Truth personified.
There are Instances in the Bible Where the Names
"Son of God"
and "Lord" Indicate Christ’s Essential Deity
1. Jesus Christ the Son of God
Matthew 11:27—“All
things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth
the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the
Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.” “Just
think about what these words mean, my friends. They mean that there are
mysteries in the person, Jesus, which none but the infinite and eternal God can
know.”
Matthew 14:26,
33-33—“And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled,
saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.... And when they [Peter
and Jesus] were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the
ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.”
Matthew 16:16—“Simon
Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
“Peter’s declaration that Jesus is ‘the Son of the living God’ can mean no less
than that, in a unique way, a sense not applicable to any mortal, Jesus is, was
and always will be the Son of that God who not only is Himself the only living
One, over against all the dead so-called gods of the pagans (Isa. 40:18-31) but
also is the only source of life for all that lives.”
Matthew 26:63-65—“But
Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure
thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son
of God. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said:
nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on
the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high
priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need
have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy.” When Jesus
ascribed to Himself the title “Son of Man” and then openly claimed to be the
fulfillment of Daniel 7:13-14—the One who is coming on the clouds of heaven who
will judge the nations and have everlasting dominion—the high priest accused
Him of blasphemy. Why? Because Christ was claiming for Himself things that the
high priest knew could only be attributed to God. Christ claimed to be the
divine Son of God. The high priest refused to accept this claim and therefore
rejected Christ.
Matthew 3:17 And
suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I
am well pleased.”
2. The Lord Jesus Christ
Luke 2:11—“For unto you
is born this day in the city of David a Saviour,
which is Christ the Lord.” “Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed; he
is the Lord, Lord of all; He is a sovereign prince; nay, He is God, for the
Lord, in the Old Testament, He is a Savior, and He will be a Savior to those
only that accept Him as their Lord.”
Luke 3:4-6—“The voice
of one crying in the wilderness: ‘prepare the way of the LORD [Jehovah], make
His paths straight.... And all flesh shall see the salvation of God’” ( V).
1 Corinthians 12:3—“No
man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.”
In Philippians 2:10–11,
we read: "[A]t the name of Jesus every knee
should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." This is a reference to Isaiah
45:18–24, which tells us: "I, Yahweh, speak the
truth . . . I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn. . . . To
me every knee shall bow, every tongue confess. ‘Only in Yahweh,’ it shall be said
of me, ‘are righteousness and strength.’ " Here
Paul applies the prophecy of every knee bending and every tongue confessing to
Jesus, resulting in the prophecy that they will "confess that Jesus Christ
is Yahweh." “Jesus Christ,
therefore, is Lord to Christians in the same sense that Jehovah was Lord to the
Hebrews. The usage referred to is altogether peculiar; no man—not Moses, nor
Abraham, nor David, nor any of the prophets or apostles—is ever thus
prevailingly addressed or invoked as Lord. We have but one Lord; and Jesus
Christ is Lord.” John reiterates the concept of Jesus' deity: "The
Word[Jesus] was God" and the Word became flesh" (Joh 1:1, 14). These
verses clearly indicate that Jesus is God in the flesh. Acts 20:28 tells us,
"Be shephers of the church of God, which he
bought with his own blood." Who bought the church with His own blood?
Jesus Christ. And this same verse declares that God purchased His church with
His own blood. Therefore, Jesus is God
The good news is that
Jesus told us He is God in many different ways! He has made it clear that He
and God the Father are one(John 10:30), and says in John 14:6, "I am the
way and the truth and the life." Who else could claimthese
things except God. Does that mean there are multiple Gods? Believing Jesus is
God doesn't mean there are multiple Gods. It can be difficult to understand,
but followers of
Jesus believe in one
God in three persons(God the Father, God the SOn-
Jesus, and the Holy Spirit). God is onebut has three
roles just like a person today might be a father, an employee and a husband.
Each person of God(the Father, Son and Holy Spirit) has a separate function,
but all are united as one God- one in purpose, essence and nature, and equal in
power and glory.
Jesus Christ and the Trinity
They recognized that
the Bible depicts the Son as having his identity as the Son before his
incarnation. In 1 John 4:9 we read, that "the
love of God was made manifest among us [in] that God sent his only Son into the
world, so that we might live through him." Thus,
the second person of the Trinity was already the Son when he was sent into the
world.
The doctrine of the
Trinity is encapsulated in Matthew 28:19, where Jesus
instructs the apostles: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit."
In this passage, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit
are said to share one name (notice that the term "name" is singular,
not plural), and that name is almost certainly Yahweh, the personal name
of God in the Bible. We know this because the name Yahweh is applied to
both the Father and the Son in the New Testament.
Further, Jesus says He
has the power to answer prayers(John 14:13-14 13 And I will do whatever you ask
in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me
for anything in my name, and I will do it.),and that He will be with His
followers always(Matthew 28:20 .. teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Jesus' identity isn't
based soley on what He syas,
but on what He does. And He has left a lot of evidence that He is God. That
evidence includes fulfilled prophecy and recorded miracles in which Jesus
reversed the laws of nature.He also live a sinless
life(Hebrews 4:15), something no one else has done. The ultimate proof of His
divinity, however, was His resurrection from the dead after His death on the
cross. No one else has ever risen from the dead on his own.
The same truth is taught under a different metaphor in John 1:1,14 where we
read, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God. . . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." Here
the Word (i.e., the second person of the Trinity) is pictured as having his
identity as the Word from all eternity. Thus, from all eternity the Word of God
proceeded from God, just as speech proceeds from a speaker; similarly, a Son
proceeds from his Father. Under both metaphors, whether as the Son of God or the
Word of God, the second person of the Trinity is depicted as eternally
proceeding from the first person of the Trinity.
Scripture reveals that
the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. The external relationships of
the persons of the Trinity mirror their internal relationships. Just as the
Father externally sent the Son into the world in time, the Son internally
proceeds from the Father in the Trinity. Just as the Spirit is externally sent
into the world by the Son as well as the Father (John 15:26, Acts 2:33), he
internally proceeds from both Father and Son in the Trinity. This is why the
Spirit is referred to as the Spirit of the Son (Gal. 4:6) and not just the
Spirit of the Father (Matt. 10:20).
The reason that many
cults fatally err regarding the divinity of Jesus Christ is because they place
sinful, finite human reason above the clear teaching of the Word of God. The
Bible consistently sets forth the doctrine of the trinity from Genesis to
Revelation. As revelation progresses, the doctrine of the trinity becomes
clearer and clearer, until only those who are spiritually blind could deny it.
If you do deny the trinity, the Bible becomes an incomprehensible jumble of
contradictions. True Christians from the days of the Apostles to the present have
believed that there is one God existing in three Persons: God the Father, God
the Son and God the Holy Spirit. There are not three Gods but only one God. The
Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are not one-third God each, or parts of
God, but are all fully God of one indivisible essence, power and eternity. The
Father, Son and Holy Spirit are not three manifestations of one God. Each is
completely equal, possessing the full divine nature. When the Bible teaches
that God is three Persons, it does not mean that there are three individuals
“but only personal self-distinctions with the Divine essence, which is not only
generically, but also numerically one.” So when cults say that Jesus was
just a man or the first created being, they woefully err. They place their
misconceptions of what God must be like above what the Bible clearly teaches.
The doctrine of the trinity is hard to comprehend yet it is clearly taught in
the Bible and therefore must be believed.
When you believe in the
triune God of Scripture, all the passages which clearly teach that Christ is
God do not have to be mistranslated, twisted and explained away, as the cults
do. The Bible says that Christ always existed and that He created the universe.
Yet the Bible also teaches that Christ is God’s only begotten Son. Is there a
conflict here? Certainly not! For the Bible teaches that Christ’s unique
personal self-distinction is His eternal generation from God the Father.
The Mystery of the
Trinity that We Forget
http://catholicexchange.com/mystery-trinity-forget
Trinity Sunday: Is it
Relevant?
http://catholicexchange.com/trinity-sunday-relevant
Scripture Speaks: Trinity
Sunday
http://catholicexchange.com/scripture-speaks-trinity-sunday-3
In what way is Jesus Christ true
God and true man?
Jesus is inseparably
true God and true man in the unity of his divine Person. As the Son of God, who
is "begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father," he was made
true man, our brother
without ceasing to be
God, our Lord.
http://www.catholiccrossreference.com/catechism/#!/search/464-467,%20469
In what sense is
Jesus the Only Begotten Son of God?
Jesus is the Son of God
in a unique and perfect way. At the time of his Baptism and his
Transfiguration, the voice of the Father designated Jesus as his "beloved
Son". In presenting himself as the Son who
"knows the
Father" (Matthew 11:27), Jesus affirmed his singular and eternal
relationship with God his Father. He is "the Only Begotten Son of
God" (I John 4:9), the second Person of the Blessed Trinity.
He is the central
figure of apostolic preaching. The apostles saw "his glory as of the Only
Begotten of the Father" (John 1:14).
http://www.catholiccrossreference.com/catechism/#!/search/441-445,%20454
The Atonement and High Priestly Work of Jesus Christ Show
His Deity
It is no accident that
those who reject the divinity of Christ also pervert the doctrine of salvation.
Salvation, for those who deny Christ’s Godhood, is either a mystical,
metaphysical experience or something earned through good works. Why do the
cults pervert the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ? Because only a divine Christ can
truly save His people. Only a divine-human Messiah could render a sacrifice of
infinite value, a sacrifice capable of ransoming millions and millions of God’s
elect. Also, only the divine-human Messiah has the ability to be a faithful
high priest. A finite high priest could not make intercession in God’s heavenly
sanctuary for the many millions of Christians who sin and confess their sins
daily. Only Jesus Christ who is truly God can hear all our prayers. Only the
divine Christ knows all our sins and infirmities, because He is God and knows
everything. Jesus Christ who is fully God and fully man is the perfect Mediator
between God and man. “For this Melchisedec, king of
Salem, priest of the most high God...being by interpretation King of
righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;
Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of
days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth
a priest continually.... But this man, because he continueth
ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them
to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth
to make intercession for them” (Heb. 7:l-3, 24-25).
Conclusion
The fact that Jesus
Christ is God, the second Person of the Holy Trinity, is not just an academic
or theological issue. Jesus Christ, being the divine Creator, demands our
utmost allegiance, obedience, service and worship. The divinity of Christ is a
life and death—a heaven or hell—issue. A merely human or first-created being
cannot save multitudes of sinners. A merely human or first-created being does
not have the authority to judge the human race. A finite being should never receive
worship, honor and glory. To reject the divinity of Jesus Christ is to reject
the clear teaching of Scripture. To reject the divinity of Jesus Christ is to
reject the God who exists. If you do not believe that Jesus Christ is God, then
you are lost. Being a member of a heretical cult is no different in God’s eyes
than being a homosexual, murderer or adulterer. God demands that you repent,
not just of your sinful behavior but also of your sinful beliefs, thoughts and
associations. Set aside your false beliefs and put your trust in the divine Son
of God, Jesus Christ. True faith is always accompanied
by repentance from sin. Repentance is more than simply being sorry for sin. It
is agreeing with God that you are sinful, confessing your sins to Him, and making
a conscious choice to turn from sin and pursue holiness (Isaiah 55:7).
Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will keep My
commandments" (John 14:15); and "If you abide in My word, then
you are truly disciples of Mine" (John 8:31). It
isn't enough to believe certain facts about Christ. Even Satan and his demons
believe in the true God (James 2:19), but they don't love and obey Him. Their
faith is not genuine. True saving faith always responds in obedience (Ephesians
2:10).Who does the Bible say Jesus is? The living
God, the Holy One, the Savior, the only valid object of saving faith, the
sovereign Lord, and the righteous Judge.
Who do you
say Jesus is? That is the inescapable question. He alone can redeem you--free
you from the power and penalty of sin. He alone can transform you, restore you
to fellowship with God, and give your life eternal purpose. Will you repent and
believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?