Jesus is God
Many religions acknowledge the grandeur of Jesus of Nazareth. For example, Buddhists recognize him as an enlightened teacher, while Muslims believe Him to be an important prophet, and some Hindus see Him as a god. Although these are noble titles and thoughts, they fall gravely short of who Jesus really is!
Although there are many places I can turn to in the scriptures to support the deity of Christ, I will focus my article on John chapter one verses one through three. The reason is that these three verses are both clear and powerful in affirming the deity of Christ, and, as a bonus, they also allude to the Trinity.
Verse one of John chapter one teaches that the “Word” or Jesus was present at the beginning of creation (See John 1:14). He was with God the Father at creation and therefore is not a created being. There has never been a time when Jesus wasn’t God, as revealed in this verse, which says, “The Word was God”. In other words, He didn’t become God at a certain time but has always been God (even in the beginning).
The second thing we see in this verse is a clear and lucid statement that Jesus is God, as it states, “…and the Word was God.” The Jehovah’s Witnesses try to downplay the deity of Christ by mistranslating this verse in their Bible (New World Translation). They change the last two words of this verse from “was God” to “a god.” Their justification for doing this is that in the original language the word “God” doesn’t have a definite article.
However, the great majority of Greek Scholars understand this to be a poor translation. The reason there isn’t a definite article is that the Holy Spirit is revealing to us that there is a distinction between God the Father and God the Son. Essentially, omitting the definite article conveys that although Jesus is of the same essence as God the Father, he is distinct from Him. Thus, alluding to the Trinity (One God but three distinct persons).
This truth, that Jesus is God and not a god, is clearly supported in verse three as it attributes creation to the Lord Jesus when it states, “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” Since Genesis 1:1 teaches that God created the universe, we can logically conclude that Jesus is God. (Colossians 1:16). But again, He is not the God the Father, as John 1:1 makes a distinction between God the Father and God the Son.
Finally, both verses one and two allude to the eternality of the Lord Jesus since verse one states, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God”, while verse two states, “He was in the beginning with God.” Both verses convey that Jesus existed before the beginning, thus making him eternal (Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:6; Isaiah 44:6; Revelation 1:8, 17-18).
As God, Jesus has the right to judge mankind. In fact, He has been given the all authority over the affairs of mankind in this life, and will judge every person upon their death (Matthew 28:19). He has made it clear that the only way to heaven is through Him, as He is not a way to heaven, but the way (John 14:6). Additionally, every person who has ever lived will eventually bow their knee to the Lord Jesus and acknowledge that He is the king and Lord of the universe (Philippians 2:10-11).
However, He would greatly prefer you trust Him as your all-sufficient Savior today! That is why He came into this world as both God and man, and died on a cross for your sins (Romans 5:8). His love for you drove Him to the cross, as He greatly desires to have an intimate relationship with you! (Hebrews 12:2; 1 Corinthians 1:9; Revelation 3:20). Won’t you bow the knee of your heart to Him as your all-sufficient Lord and Saviour and begin your new life in Jesus today!
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