Is Jesus Christ God?

Is Jesus Christ God?

I recently read a book entitled "Jesus Christ is Not God". No, I didn't buy the book. No, I didn't believe the concept. I was loaned this particular book by a kind person who sincerely believes that Jesus Christ is Not God. 

In almost 40 years of following God (5 years old and on; minus a few years of wandering), I never really questioned this concept, because as I read Scripture, in my mind, it goes without question that Jesus is God. What I've always found to be the bigger obstacle (for most, including myself) is the following question:

"Is Jesus Christ Lord?"

Sure, many assume He's God, but life (as in temporal, earthly, material, carnal) must go on. So in many cases, He's NOT our Lord. I love the simple old song from the 60s (written by a hippie during the Jesus movement): 

"He is Lord, He is Lord, He has risen from the dead and He Is Lord

Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord."

and the next verse makes it personal and confesses it RIGHT NOW (vs at the judgement):

"He's MY Lord, He's MY Lord"

 

So back to the topic, "Is Jesus Christ God?" This question has been asked (and answered) to infinity and back! Just search the phrase online and you'll find hundreds of online blog posts, comments in forums, as well as books on the topic. For this post, I will keep it concise as possible. I will simply give a small amount of Biblical evidence which, I believe, shows us that Jesus Christ is God.But first, I will ask a question. What would have happened if Jesus would have started His ministry with the statement "I am God"? He doesn't state this and I think the answer to the question is obvious. Jesus would have been instantly crucified and that would have been the end of his ministry. He states it and shows it however in more subtle (but clear) ways. Here is some of that evidence:

  1. Jesus is tried and crucified by the religious leaders (pharisees/Sanhedrin) for blasphemy. Their grounds for this charge is that He claims (or does not deny) that: He is the Son of man, Son of God, the I AM, and King (not earthly) of the Jews. He claims to forgive sins. He claims that He will rise again (rebuild this Temple on the third day), and more. The religious leaders interpret (I believe correctly) that He is claiming to be God. Ultimately, they put Him to death for it. This is the story of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Jesus' life and death are also reflected upon in Paul's writings and more (basically throughout the entire New Testament and foretold in the Old Testament from the beginning).
  2. Jesus fully knows (omniscient is an attribute belonging to God) the thoughts, hearts, and lives of His accusers above and that of all men. See Matt 9:4, Matt 12:25, Matt 15:19, Mark 10:17-27, Luke 5:22-23, Luke 6:8, Luke 11:17, John 1:48, John 4 just to name a few instances where Jesus demonstrates that He knows the hearts and minds of man.
  3. Jesus is worshiped and does NOT refuse or deny worship, as other godly yet mere men (Paul, Barnabas, and Peter for instance) do. Jesus quotes Scripture (thou shalt worship the Lord your God and serve Him only) to satan when He is tempted. Since Jesus accepts worship, we can assume He accepts deity. By contrast, in Acts 12, Herod (considered evil) is killed by God and eaten by worms for being called "god". If we assume Jesus is from God, at the hint of being called God, He would deny deity and deny worship, if it were inappropriate. His accepting both, allows us to assume that it is fitting and that He is God.
  4. LORD (Yahweh > God) from the Old Testament is referenced in the New Testament (in all caps) when referring to Jesus
  5. In the birth of Christ (and the prophesy of it), Jesus is called Emmanuel (God with us). Matt 1:22-23
  6. Jesus said "I and the Father are One" in John 10:30. The book Jesus Christ is Not God misinterprets this as being one, in purpose only. I find this assumption to be a stretch. Even if we were to discount this one verse, the concept is implied throughout the New Testament; not just in John 10:30.
  7. John 1 (read the full chapter). Jesus is "the Word". He was at the beginning. Also, related to Jesus being before his physical earthly existence, in John 8:58 Jesus proclaims to the pharisees that "before Abraham, I Am" (one of many references to "I Am" of Exodus 3 (God is "I Am")). Jesus uses the "I Am" statement many times. Again, the pharisees understood the significance of "I Am", and at this picked up stones to kill Him for blasphemy.
  8. In John 20:28, Thomas, the doubter, refers to the risen Christ as "My Lord and my God" after putting his fingers into the print of the nails and putting his hand into Jesus' side. Jesus does not correct Thomas for calling Him God, but rather He says "blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed". Wouldn't Jesus have promptly refused being called God, if He were not God?
  9. Jesus is seated at the right hand of God. No one else has this place. 1 Peter 3:22 says of Jesus:

22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.

Doesn't this sound like it's putting Jesus on God's level (all powers are His) and that there is no equal among mere men? He's over the angels and over satan's darkness and certainly over us. This was one major fallacy in the "Jesus Christ is Not God" book. Victor Paul Weirwille, the author, puts us (you and me) on the same level as Jesus on page 55. John Lennon also thought this to be possible in an even less respectful treatment of Jesus. Regardless of level of respect, Jesus is MUCH higher than you and I. It will never be the case that we are equal with Jesus! Yes, we may be heirs of His promise, but we will never be on the right hand of God.

Lastly, and joining right in with the 1 Peter passage above is Philippians 2:10-11:

10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

 

This is just a quick summary of a huge topic with so much information out there. The last point is the essential one. Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Is He your Lord? Is He your Savior? Both are necessary for salvation. And as you can see, it appears that from Scripture we can rightly assume, Jesus Christ is God.

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