Was Jesus God?
Dr. Macartney, an author said, “The two characters of history about whom more books have been written . . . are Napoleon and Jesus Christ. But what a contrast . . . Napoleon shed rivers of blood upon which to float his ambitions. The only blood Jesus shed was his own, which He poured out upon the cross, for the redemption of mankind.” Napoleon himself says, “I know men, and I tell you, Jesus is not a man . . . the death of Christ is the death of a God. I tell you, Jesus Christ is God.”
Now theophanies are striking Old Testament appearances of J. C. thousands of years before Mary gave Him a mortal body. “Biblical scholars identify, ‘The angel of the Lord’, ‘The angel of his presence’, ‘The angel of the Covenant’, as Christ, the Son of God, in pre-incarnate manifestation.” Dr. H. Lockyer There are at least nine cases of theophany starting in Genesis thru Zechariah. Then the 105 names of Christ shed light on His greatness. See link #46. Our calendar is divided between BC & AD. Then consider the world-wide impact of the Christmas & Easter holidays. Then according to scripture, Jesus was born of a virgin. This doctrine is one of the most vital to Christianity, and to the Godhood of J. C. It was predicted by the prophet Isaiah 600 years B.C. (7:14), and announced by an angel to Mary herself. Luke 1:26-35
Theologians see a profound union between J. C. and the scriptures. And the “Word of God” is also a name of Christ. John 1:1 & 14 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.” The scriptures are extremely important because THEY give the knowledge of Christ. People who bash the Bible are undermining their own prospect of peace and relationship with the real God. We see in those scriptures that Jesus the Christ assumed Divine prerogatives: Omnipresence – Matthew 18:20; Power to forgive sins – Mark 2:5-10; Power to raise the dead – John 6:39, 11:25; Proclaimed Himself Judge of man’s eternal destiny – John 5:22. Just looking at those EXTREME claims of J. C. gives us a choice with no middle ground – either He was a lunatic, or He was & is God.
If Jesus was God and He was rejected & executed by people, could that be a major factor why this is such a hard & evil world? And if it seems like Christ/God is generally aloof from people & this world it may be because Christ got such a brutal rejection & condemnation from man’s religious & political systems. We “duked” Him – not wise. Being God & the author of all creation, then murdered by man! The irony is too much for anyone who thinks.
Now I know “people believe what they want to believe”, but for me (& millions of others), believing Jesus is God is based on the above logic, AND personal revelation. We have lots of reasons to believe to the point of KNOWING. Sadly, most of the world’s population simply don’t know – maybe they don’t even care. But IF most of that population did KNOW the transcendent & inimitable Christ, this planet would not be nearly the mess it is. Please let me offer a few refs. that seem to be right on target:
-- Matthew 28:18 “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” - The risen J.C. said that.
-- John 12:44-45 “He who believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. And he who sees me sees him who sent me.”
-- John 14:9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”
This short essay is not to deny the Trinity – Father, Son & Holy Spirit. It just says that Jesus was truly God in the flesh. But when He died, God didn’t die – Christianity was launched or inaugurated. And the world has been changed since then. Have YOU been changed by Jesus? If not, why not? Psalms 34:8 “O Taste and see that the Lord is Good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him!” KJV Choose Jesus, He is alive. See also link #7 “I saw the King.”
Over 200 other titles: www.gospelnotes.org * * F. J. Stone * *
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