|
How many people have denied the deity of Christ?
There are denominations that say Jesus was created by God, helped God
in the work of creation, and/or was nothing more than an exceptionally good
man and prophet. Many of the people who have made this claim declare the
Bible to be the inerrant word of God, yet they must have missed, or
purposely overlooked, the verses that show that Jesus is God. In this study,
I examine three instances in which Scripture records that Jesus is God.
John 1:1 In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Here it's established that the Word was not only with God, but was
God. Although, at first glance, one may interpret "in the beginning" to mean
the beginning of creation, this can't be the case. If the Word is God, the
Word is and always has been God and so the Word has no beginning and no
ending.
John 1:14
The Word became flesh and made
his dwelling among us ... The Word/God
took on a human form and lived among the people in and around Jerusalem.
John 1:14-18 describes the Word in the flesh. Although
verse 18 states that no one has seen God, this can only mean that no one has
seen God in his actual glory. John the Baptist speaks of "the One and Only"
as a way to describe the person of Jesus. Verse 14 uses "the One and Only"
to describe the Word that became flesh.
Taken altogether, John 1:1-18 demonstrates that Jesus
is God. Jesus is called the One and Only - the One and Only is used to
describe the Word made flesh - the Word that became flesh was with God in
the beginning - the Word is God. More simply put, Jesus is God.
Exodus 3:14
God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I
AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to
you.' " God, speaking to Moses,
established that he will be known as I AM. Israelites from that time forward
knew this as one of God's many names.
John 8:58
"I tell the truth," Jesus
answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!"
There are some who claim that, in this verse, Jesus is
not claiming to be God but is only referring to the fact that he was with
God in the beginning and so is much older than Abraham. Although not in
upper case letters as the name appears in Exodus, Jesus is referring to
himself by the same name. "Not so" many claim. Read further. The Jews were
arming themselves to stone Jesus. If they only thought Jesus was claiming to
be older than Abraham, they may have mocked him or locked him up, but they
were ready to kill him. The only explanation for this threat on his life
would be if they understood Jesus to be making the claim to be God.
John 10:27-30
"My
sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me. I give them
eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my
hand. My Father, who has given them to me is greater than all; no one can
snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one."
Once again, the Jews were preparing to stone
Jesus. When ask why, they said because he blasphemed by claiming to be God.
Jesus goes on to ask why its blasphemy to claim to be the Son of God.
Those today who state that Jesus isn't God use Jesus' explanation in these
verses, and the verses that follow about the Jews attempting to seize him,
as showing that the Jews were only angry that Jesus claimed to be equal to
but not God himself. These verses (34-38) only explain that people claiming
to be sons of God are justified in doing so.
The Jews Jesus spoke to weren't as easily appeased as
modern Christians. Take a closer look at verses 27-30, most specifically
verse 28. Jesus states he can give his sheep eternal life. Taken
together with his statement that he is the resurrection and the life (John
11:25), we know that Jesus is claiming that he is the one providing the
eternal life. If Jesus isn't God, then he is guilty of blasphemy because the
Old Testament explains that only God has that power [ex: Psalm 18:26, Isaiah
43:11, Hosea 13:14, Joel 2:32]. If Jesus had a legitimate claim that he
could grant eternal life, than he must be claiming to be God. |
