|
The fact that Jesus Christ is fully God is
proven by the following Bible passages: |
|
1. |
Everything said about God in the Old Testament is also said about
Jesus Christ in the New Testament. |
|
2. |
The Old Testament prophets foretold the Messiah would be God
(compare Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew 1:23; Isaiah 9:6; Jeremiah 23:5-6). |
|
3. |
Christ was proclaimed to be God at His birth (Matthew 1:23;
Luke 1:17, 32, 76; 2:11). |
|
4. |
Jesus claimed to be God, and He accepted worship from men
(Matthew 2:11; 8:2; 9:18; 14:33; 15:25; 20:20; 28:9, 17; Mark 5:6; Luke
24:52; John 9:38; 10:30-33; 5:18, 23; 8:56-59; 9:38; 20:28). |
|
5. |
The New Testament writers said Jesus Christ is God (Jon 1:1;
Acts 20:28; 10:36; Philippians 2:6; Colossians1:15; 2:9; 1 Timothy 1:15-17;
3:16; 6:14-16; Hebrews 1:3; Titus 2:13; 1 John 3:16). |
|
6. |
Every man and angel will worship Jesus Christ (Philippians
2:9-11; Hebrews 1:8-9). If Jesus were not God, He could not receive
worship (Exodus 20:3-5; 34:14; Isaiah 42:8; Matthew 4:10). |
|
7. |
He is called "Lord" 663
times in the New Testament "The Greek word kurios (Lord) is the
equivalent of the Hebrew adonai and is so used by Jesus in Matthew
22:43-45. The great use of kurios is as the divine title of Jesus,
the Christ. In this sense it occurs in the New Testament 663 times. The
intent is to identify Jesus Christ with the Old Testament. Deity is evident
from Matthew 3:3; 12:8; 21:9 (Psalm 118:26); 22:43-45; Luke 1:43; John 8:58;
14:8-10; 20:28; Acts 9:5; 13:33 (Psalm 2).
All divine
names and titles are applied to Jesus Christ. He is called God, the mighty
God, the great God, God over all; Jehovah; Lord; the Lord of lords and King
of kings. All divine attributes are ascribed to Him. He is declared to be
omnipresent, omniscient, almighty, and immutable, the same yesterday, today,
and forever. He is set forth as the creator and upholder and ruler of the
universe. All things were created by Him and for Him; and by Him all things
consist. He is the object of worship to all intelligent creatures, even the
highest; all the angels are commanded to prostrate themselves before Him. He
is the object of all the religious sentiments; of reverence, love, faith,
and devotion. To Him men and angels are responsible for their character and
conduct. He required that men should honor Him as they honored the Father;
that they should exercise the same faith in Him that they do in God. He
declares that He and the Father are one, that those who had seen Him had
seen the Father also. He calls all men unto him; promises to forgive their
sins; to send them the Holy Spirit; to give them rest and peace; to raise
them up at the last day; and to give them eternal life. God is not more, and
cannot promise more, or do more than Christ is said to be, to promise, and
to do. He has, therefore, been the Christian's God from the beginning, in
all ages and in all places.
|
|
Who Says Jesus Christ is
God? |
|
David called Him God
(Matthew 22:43-45). |
|
Isaiah called Him God
(Isaiah 7:14; 9:6). |
|
Jeremiah called Him God
(Jeremiah 23:5-6). |
|
Matthew called Him God
(Matthew 1:23). |
|
Christ called Himself
God (John 5:17-18; 8:58-59; 10:30-33; Revelation 1:8). |
|
John called Him God (John 1:1; 1 John 3:16; 5:20). |
|
The blind man called Him God (John 9:35-38). |
|
Thomas called Him God (John 20:28). |
|
Peter called Him God (Acts 10:34-36). |
|
Paul called Him God (Acts 20:28; Philippians 2:5-6; 1 Timothy
3:16; Titus 2:13). |
|
God the Father called Him God (Hebrews 1:8-10). |
|
They
Worshipped Jesus: |
|
The Bible teaches that it is
idolatry and wickedness to worship any one or any thing other than the one
True and Living God. |
|
"Then saith Jesus unto him, Get
thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God,
and him only shalt thou serve" (Matthew 4:10). "For thou shalt worship no
other god: for the Lord, whose name is jealous, is a jealous God" (Exodus
34:14). "I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to
another, neither my praise to graven images" (Isaiah 42:8). |
|
The Fact
That Jesus Christ Accepted Worship Is Indisputable Evidence That He Is
Almighty God. |
|
The elect angels refuse to
accept worship (Revelation 19:10). The Apostles also refused worship (Acts
14:11-15). The Lord Jesus Christ was repeatedly worshipped by those who
approached Him, and not once does the Bible record that He corrected or
refused worship. He accepted the worship, because Jesus Christ is Almighty
God, the Creator of all things, the First and the Last, the Beginning and
the End. Matthew 2:11; 8:2; 9:18; 14:33; 15:25; 20:20; 28:9, 17; Mark 5:6;
Luke 24:52; John 9:38; Philippians 2:9-11; Hebrews 1:6-8. |
|
What About
Verses Which Seem To Say That Jesus Is Less Than The Father? |
|
Mark 13:32 is a key example of
this: "But of that day and that hour knoweth no man no, not the angels which
are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father." |
|
1) |
This verse is connected with the Lord's "kenosis" spoken of in
Philippians 2:7. In the incarnation, the Lord Jesus Christ "made himself of
no reputation" (Philippians 2:7). The Greek word is "kenoo," meaning also
"to empty, to abase, to make of none effect" (Strong's). "Kenosis is the
Greek word which Paul used in describing the act of Christ in 'emptying
himself' of His infinite powers and heavenly glory out of place or too great
to be used in the finite limitations and local form of the human life into
which He came. In his kenosis, the Eternal Son dropped for the time being
THE EXERCISE OF certain powers and attributes, but He remained Himself. He
who lays these aside, is not Himself laid aside. He was still God the Son in
holy will, divine desire, righteous purpose, and immaculate love. The
infinity of powers not needed or suited within the narrow scope of a human
life, He laid aside. Jesus himself taught this doctrine before Paul did. He
referred more than once to His personal preexistence. Concerning his kenosis
he said: 'And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the
glory which I had with thee before the world was' (John 17:5). And
again, 'What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was
before?' (John 6:62)" Modernists have misused the Philippians passage to
claim it in support of their view that Jesus Christ is not God. We would
again emphasize that the Lord Jesus Christ in no sense gave up His Deity in
His incarnation. Philippians 2:5-8 says he was in the form of God and took
the form of a servant. It was merely the form that he changed, not His
Deity. |
|
2) |
This verse is also connected
with the Son's submission to the Father. The Bible reveals the one God in
three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All are God and are co-equal,
but there is an order within the Godhead, so that the Son submits to the
Father. This is what we see in mark 13:32. See the comments on 1 Corinthians
15:28. "The reference is perfectly clear when on bears in mind the purpose
of Mark's Gospel - to portray Jesus as the faithful Servant of Jehovah.
Christ says in John 15:15, 'The servant knoweth not what his lord doeth.'
How significant that Mark, who presents Jesus as the perfect Servant, should
record this statement about the hour of His return as King of kings and Lord
of lords. (Matthew also makes a similar statement in Matthew 24:36;
likewise, Luke, in Acts 1:7). In the aspect of His ministry as a Servant,
our Lord made4 a voluntary surrender of certain knowledge, in order that He
might walk the walk of faith, and thus be an object-lesson to all believers.
While He ever remained the eternal Son of God, co-equal and co-eternal with
the Father; yet as a Servant, He chose a limitation of His knowledge,
bounded by the Father's will." |
|
|
