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Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and vain deceit, according to the tradition of men, and not according to Christ. For in Jesus Christ dwells all the fullness of God Jesus Christ is God There is only one God as the Holy Bible says. Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! (Deuteronomy 6:4) We also know that the Bible gives attributes of deity to God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit of God. We also know that there are not three God’s, they are One. Trying to explain God with human understanding is very limited, because we are limited. We can only know about God by what He has revealed to us in His written Word, the Holy Bible. The Bible gives us enough information to know that we can trust God with our lives and believe that His word is truth. But we cannot understand all that there is to know about God from our human perspective. Man is created in the image of God so we can understand some things about God by looking at ourselves. There are three parts to humans we have a spirit, and a soul, and they are contained in a physical body, but they are one person. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1STThessalonians 5:23) The following is a crude human analogy of God but it seems to fit with what we are taught in the Bible about God. The soul would relate to God the Father. The body would be Jesus the Christ, and the spirit of God would be the Holy Spirit. The soul is a spiritual being, it is the mind, the heart, the control center of a person, the personality, it is the person. God the Father is Spirit. "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:24) Jesus the Christ represents the body of God; He is God in physical form. For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, (Colossians 2:9). Just as the body receives and obeys commands from the soul, or mind, Jesus receives and obeyed commands from the Father. Jesus said that He only did what He saw the Father do and He only said what He heard the Father say. Then Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. (John 8:28) Jesus was a sinless example of how we are supposed to be, in total obedience to the Father. The body is subject to the mind or soul. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of love. I believe that the Holy Spirit unites the Father and Son as One; One in love, One in will, One in personality. The spirit that God has given man is what the world calls our conscience. Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it. (Ecclesiastes 12:7) The spirit that God has given man is our source of life, (John 6:63). The moment that the spirit that God has given us departs from our body we are dead, (James 2:26). Our spirit gives us understanding of truth from God. But it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding. (Job 32:8) Our spirit is always trying to unite us with God through Jesus Christ, who is the only way to God. "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him." But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. (1 Corinthians 2:9-11) Our spirit is the only part of our being that we can trust. Our spirit reveals truth to us in the way that God sees truth. The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, Searching all the innermost parts of his being. (Proverbs 20:27) Human souls have inherited corruption from Adam’s sin, (Romans 5:12). Because a person is born a sinner he cannot trust his own soul, which is his heart. The natural tendency of our soul is to sin. Sin is disobedience to God and comes from rejecting God as God and trying to be our own god. The natural tendency of a corrupted human soul is to be his own god, which appeals to his pride and selfishness. "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings. (Jeremiah 17:9-10) Before a person accepts Jesus Christ as Lord they are more sensitive to their body and corrupted soul rather than to their spirit. When a person truly believes in Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of God their life is transformed by the Holy Spirit. Believers receive the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, in them. A person who has the Holy Spirit in them becomes more sensitive to their spirit because God’s Holy Spirit communicates with us through our spirit. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. (Romans 8:13-16) People who try to come to God without accepting Jesus Christ as the way to God are deceiving themselves and they often try to deceive others also. Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, (1st Timothy 4:1-2) These people are insensitive to their spirit, or conscience, that God has given them. Some of these people think that they have found a higher consciousness in themselves but they are deceived by their own corrupt soul. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:16-18) Jesus Christ is not a created being. People are created and we can be adopted by God to be His children. But Jesus the Christ is the only begotten Son of the Father. But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!" (Galatians 4:4-6) Jesus Christ is the Word of God. He is the very communication of God, and the revelation of God to man. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. (John 1:1-3) Jesus Christ is the Creator of the universe and the only begotten Son of the Father. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. (John 1:18) Jesus Christ issues out of the Father. Just as a solar flare, as part of the sun, issues out of the sun. "for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God. "I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father." (John 16:27-28) The word “forth” above is the Greek word exerchomai, it means to issue out of. The same word translated as “came” is used in (John 19:34) But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. Jesus came out of the Father, just as blood comes out of a person. The issue of the deity of Christ is the line in the sand that God has given to man to separate truth from error, because Jesus Christ is Truth. “Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us." Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.” (John 14:6-10) People that deny the deity of
Jesus Christ seek to bring Him down to their level; this is the spirit of
antichrist. Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits,
whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into
the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses
that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that
does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God.
And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming,
and is now already in the world. You are of God, little children, and have
overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the
world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and
the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is
not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the
spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and
everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does
not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested
toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we
might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that
He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John
4:1-10) The issue of the deity of Christ as the only begotten Son of the Father is what separates true Christians from every cult, even those that may accept some of the Bible. It is also the issue that separates every other religion from true Christianity. That is the line that God has given us to test the spirits to see if they are from the true God or from the god of this world. Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. (1 John 2:22-23) People that are offended when Jesus is called God do not know Him or His Father. If they think that they are honoring the Father by belittling His Son they are mistaken. Whoever honors the Son honors His Father also. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him. (John 5:21-23) We are to honor Jesus in the same way that we honor His Father. We can give no greater honor to Jesus Christ than to call Him God. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11) The word “Lord” is the Greek word kurios, it means supreme in authority, God, master. Every person will admit that Jesus Christ is Lord (God) sooner or later. The true church is made up of believers in Jesus Christ. The church is called the “body of Christ” we are now Christ body on earth. Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually (1 Corinthians 12:27). Jesus Christ is our head (Colossians 1:18), our mind, and we are to obey Him just as He obeys His Father. "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. (John 15:10) We are in Jesus Christ and He is in the Father and His Holy Spirit, the Spirit of love, unites us all. "At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. (John 14:20) When a person gets a revelation of who Jesus is they will be like Thomas when he declared to Jesus “My Lord and my God”. Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing." And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:27-29) David also spiritually discerned that Jesus is His God. While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, "What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?" They said to Him, "The Son of David." He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying: 'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool"'? "If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?" (John 20:27-29) The deity of Jesus Christ is known by His followers and can only be understood by His followers. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. (1 John 5:20) People that can only see with their soul or mind are very short sighted and easily deceived. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:12-14) But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. (2 Corinthians 4:3-4) Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. (Colossians 2:8-10) Below are some other scriptures that point to Jesus Christ being God. Old Testament Passages Isaiah 7:14-"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel" (Immanuel literally means "God with us"). Isaiah 9:6-"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end...." Jeremiah 23:5-6-"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." Christ's name in Hebrew is YHWH Tsidkenu, Jehovah Our Righteousness. Micah 5:2-"But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." Christ has always existed because He is not a created being; He is God Almighty who has existed from everlasting. Malachi 3:1-2-"Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap." God's temple is Christ's temple. Christ comes as an all-powerful judge. Psalm 45:1, 6-7-"I speak of the things which I have made touching the king.... Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee...." The Hebrew word translated "anointed" is the verb form of the noun "Messiah." Psalm 110:1-3-"The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power...." The LORD (Jehovah) will subdue all Christ's enemies. Yet Christ's rod and Christ's power will subdue all enemies. Christ's rule and power are clearly equal to God's. See Psalm 2 where a similar theme is discussed: "Serve the LORD [Jehovah] with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way..." (vv. 11-12). Note how "the Son" is set poetically in parallel with "Jehovah." New Testament Passages Matthew 1:23-"Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." John 1:1-3, 14-"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.... And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." "The late New Testament Greek scholar Colwell formulated a rule which clearly states that a definite predicate nominative (in this case theos meaning 'God') never takes an article when it precedes the verb ('was') as we find in John 1:1. It is therefore easy to see that no article is needed for theos (God), and to translate it 'a god' is both incorrect grammar and poor Greek, since theos is a predicate nominative of 'was' in the third sentence-clause of the verse and must refer back to the subject, 'Word' (logos). Christ, then, if He is the Word "made flesh" (Jn. 1:14), can be no one else except God, unless the Greek text, and consequently God's Word, be denied." [2] John 1:18-"No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." John 20:27-28-"Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God." Romans 9:5-"...Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen" (NKJV). Philippians 2:5-8-"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." "'Who was in the form of God' are his [the Apostle Paul's] words: and they are words than which no others could be chosen which would more explicitly or with more directness assert the deity of...Jesus Christ.... Let us remember that the phraseology which Paul here employs was the popular usage of his day, though first given general vogue by the Aristotelian philosophy: and that it was accordingly the most natural language for strongly asserting the deity of Christ which could suggest itself to him.... 'Form,' in a word, is equivalent to our phrase 'specific character.'... With God...the 'form' is that body of qualities which distinguish Him from all other spiritual beings, which constitute Him God, and without which He would not be God. What Paul asserts, then, when he says that Christ Jesus existed in the 'form of God,' is that He had all those characterizing qualities which make God God, the presence of which constitutes God, and in the absence of which God does not exist. He who is 'in the form of God' is God." Colossians 1:15-16-"Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible...." When the Apostle Paul says that Christ is the firstborn over all creation, he does not mean that Christ is the first created being. For he goes on to explain that Jesus Christ created everything in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. Jesus Christ could not create Himself. The idea among various cults that Christ is the first created being is an impossible absurdity. Colossians 2:8-10-"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power." 1 Timothy 1:16-17-"Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen." 1 Timothy 2:3-4-"For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth." 1 Timothy 3:16-"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." 1 Timothy 6:14-16-"...the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: Which in his times he shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen." Titus 1:3-"But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour." Titus 2:10-"...showing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things." Titus 2:13-"Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ" (NKJV). Hebrews 1:1-3-"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." Hebrews 1:8-"But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom." Jude 25-"To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and for ever. Amen." Jesus Christ Clearly Taught His Own Divinity Revelation 21:6-7-"And he [Jesus Christ] said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son." John 8:57-59-"Then the Jews said to Him, 'You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?' Jesus said to them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.' Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple..." (NKJV). John 5:17-26-"But Jesus answered them, 'My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.' Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. Then Jesus answered and said to them,... 'For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.... For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself'" (NKJV). John 10:28-39-"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. Jesus answered them,... If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him. Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand." Mark 2:5-11-"When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?... [Jesus] said unto them, But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house" (cf. Lk. 5:20-24). The scribes' theology was correct: "Who can forgive sins but God only?" Jesus didn't disagree with their conclusion; rather, through the miraculous healing He proved that He in fact was God and had the authority to forgive sins. The Spirit-inspired writers of the New Testament applied Old Testament passages which specifically refer God-Jehovah to Jesus Christ; therefore, Jesus must be God-Jehovah.
The Bible Ascribes Attributes to Jesus Christ, Which Can Only be Predicated of God 1. Jesus Christ is all-knowing (omniscient) Matthew 12:25-"Jesus knew their thoughts." Matthew 27:18-"For [Jesus] knew that for envy they had delivered Him." Luke 6:8-"He knew their thoughts." John 2:24-25-"But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man." John 21:17-"And [Peter] said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee." Revelation 2:23-"All the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each of you according to your works" (NKJV). 2. Jesus Christ is all-powerful (omnipotent) Ephesians 3:20-"Now unto him [Christ] that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." Philippians 3:20-21-"...the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself." Colossians 2:10-"Ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power." Hebrews 1:3-"[Jesus Christ is] upholding all things by the word of his power." Revelation 1:8-"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty." Revelation 2:26-27-"He who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations-'He shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the potter's vessels shall be broken to pieces'-as I also have received from My Father" (NKJV). 3. Jesus Christ is unchanging (immutable) Hebrews 1:8-12-"But unto the Son he saith...Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail." Hebrews 13:8-"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (NKJV). This passage disproves the idea that Jesus is a created being. For if Jesus was created, He was not the same yesterday. "Yesterday" (past) is contrasted with "forever" (future), and obviously refers to eternity past. 4. Jesus Christ, as to his divine nature, is everywhere present (omnipresent) Matthew 18:20-"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." At any given moment there are literally thousands upon thousands of Bible studies, prayer meetings and church services being conducted around the earth. Jesus Christ says that He is present at each gathering. Only God can be at thousands of different places at the same time. Romans 8:10-"And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.... [H]e that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you." No created being, no matter how great, can dwell in the millions of Christians throughout the world; it is impossible. But it is not impossible for Jesus Christ who is God. 1 Corinthians 10:4-"And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ." Whenever believers partake of the Lord's Supper, Jesus Christ is spiritually present. Revelation 2:1-"These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks." Jesus Christ is presented in Revelation as being present in the churches and being totally aware of each church's deeds in minute detail. Revelation 3:20-"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." Jesus Christ will personally fellowship with each repentant believer. This would be impossible if He were merely human, for there are millions of Christians spread over the whole globe. 5. Jesus Christ has eternal existence Isaiah 9:6-"For unto us a child is born,...and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father...." John 1:1-3-"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him...." Jesus Christ existed with God prior to creation. John 8:58-"Jesus said to them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM'" (NKJV). Jesus certainly did not mean He existed as the first created being, because the Jews wanted to stone Him for claiming to be God. Revelation 1:8-"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty" (cf. Rev. 22:13). 6. Jesus Christ is the Creator The Bible teaches that God created everything that exists, whether spiritual or material. "God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands" (Ac. 17:24). "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created" (Rev. 4:11). "[Him] that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein..." (Rev. 10:6). Yet the Bible also teaches that Jesus Christ created everything. This can only mean that Jesus Christ is God, for only God who is uncreated has the power to create from nothing. The Bible teaches that creation from nothing was an act of the God. That explains why Genesis 1:26 says, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." Following are some verses of Scripture which teach that Christ is the Creator. John 1:2-3-"He [Jesus Christ] was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him and without Him nothing was made" (NKJV). John 1:10-"He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not." 1 Corinthians 8:6-"But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him." Colossians 1:16-17-"For by him [Jesus Christ] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist." Hebrews 1:2-3-"...his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power...." Hebrews 2:10-"For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things...." Hebrews 3:3-4-"For this man [Jesus Christ] was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house. For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God." 7. Jesus Christ is the Judge of all mankind The Bible teaches that on the last day of this age God will judge all men who ever lived. "Then shall the trees of the wood sing out at the presence of the LORD, because he cometh to judge the earth" (1 Chr. 16:33). "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened...and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works" (Rev. 20:12). Only God is capable of judging all men. God is all-knowing and therefore knows every act. He is all-powerful, and therefore can carry out His punishments. He is perfectly holy and therefore can judge every sin without injustice. Only God who is moral and just in character has the authority to judge the human race. Yet the Bible teaches that Jesus Christ will judge the world. Christ Himself claimed the total authority and jurisdiction over mankind on the final day that can only belong to God. In fact, the judgment seat of God Almighty and the judgment seat of Jesus Christ are one and the same seat. Jesus said, "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord.... And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity" (Mt. 7:22-23). The fate of each and every person rests upon Christ's decision; He has the power and authority to render sentence and to cast men into hell-an authority reserved exclusively to God. Following are some biblical references which unmistakably establish that Jesus Christ is the Judge of all mankind. Matthew 25:31-33, 41-"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.... Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." John 12:48-"He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." Acts 10:42-"It is He [Jesus Christ] who was ordained of God to be Judge of the living and the dead" (NKJV). Acts 17:31-"He hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man [Jesus Christ] whom he hath ordained." Romans 2:16-"In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ...." Romans 14:10-12-"For we shall stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written: 'As I live, says the LORD [Jehovah], Every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.' So then each of us shall give account of himself to God" (NKJV). This passage of Scripture not only presents Christ as Judge, but clearly teaches that on the day of judgment everyone will bow to Christ; that is, everyone will acknowledge that Christ is the LORD God. By introducing his quotation of Isaiah 45:23 with the familiar prophetic formula, "As I live, saith the LORD" (cf. Num. 14:28, Isa. 49:18, Jer. 22:24, Ezek. 5:11, Zeph. 2:9, etc.), and applying it to Christ, the Apostle Paul self-consciously and deliberately calls Christ Jehovah. Note also that at the Judgment Seat of Christ, everyone will give account of himself to God. This passage is a powerful and unmistakable statement of Christ's deity. 2 Corinthians 5:10-"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." 2 Timothy 4:1, 8-"...the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom.... Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." Hebrews 10:30-"For we know Him who said, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord. And again, 'The LORD [Jehovah] will judge His people'" (NKJV). The Bible Teaches That God the Holy Spirit, Proceeds From Both the Father and the Son (Spiration) Matthew 3:11-"I [John the Baptist] indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire." Jesus Christ not only has the authority to baptize believers with the Holy Spirit but also to baptize unbelievers into hell-fire. While this passage technically does not deal with spiration, it shows that Christ has the authority of God: only God can send the Holy Spirit to His church. John 15:26-"But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me." Romans 8:9-"But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." Here Paul equates the Spirit of God with the Spirit of Christ. Galatians 4:6-"And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." Revelation 5:6-"And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth." Seven in Scripture often represents completion and perfection. The perfect Holy Spirit of God proceeds from Jesus Christ unto the whole earth. Jesus Christ is Worshiped as God There is probably no sin more condemned in the Bible than that of idolatry. The Bible teaches that we are to worship God alone. Why? Because only God is worthy to be worshiped. God's law says, "Thou shalt have none other gods before me.... Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them" (Dt. 5:7-9). When tempted by Satan, Christ said, "Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve" (Lk. 4:8). When the Apostle John fell in worship before one of God's mighty angels, the angel rebuked him and told him to worship God. "And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which showed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God" (Rev. 22:8-9). When Cornelius the centurion fell in worship before the Apostle Peter, Peter clearly rejected the offer of worship: "And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him. But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man" (Ac. 10:25-26). The contrast with the Lord Jesus Christ is startling: from His birth (Mt. 2:1-2) to His ascension (Lk. 24:51-52), Christ is openly and continuously worshiped by His disciples. Did Jesus reject this worship, as Peter and the angel did? No, Jesus openly accepted and even commended such activity. What could this mean except that "That same person who is known to history as Jesus of Nazareth existed, before He became man, from all eternity as infinite, eternal and unchangeable God" ? Passages in Which Jesus is Worshiped Matthew 2:1-2-"Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him." Matthew 2:10-11-"When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him." Matthew 8:2-"And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." Matthew 9:18-"While [Jesus] spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live." Matthew 14:33-"Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God." Matthew 15:25-"Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me." Matthew 28:9-"And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him." Mark 5:6-"But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him." Luke 24:51-52-"And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy." John 9:35-38-"...he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him." Hebrews 1:6-"And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him." Revelation 5:8-14-"And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof.... And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever." Revelation 15:3-4-"And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest." In Revelation 5:8 the living creatures and elders worship the Lamb (Jesus Christ) and offer Him prayers. In verse 13 Christ is offered the same worship that is given to the Father. In Revelation 15:3-4 the worship of the Lord God Almighty and Jesus Christ the King of the saints are indistinguishable. All nations will come and worship before Jesus Christ (Ps. 22:27-28). The fact that the apostles, and an angel of God, totally rejected worship, while Christ openly accepted it, indicates that the New Testament use of "to worship" (prosekun_san aut_-"worshiped Him") is not mere homage to a king but the worship of God Himself. No created being, no matter how great, is allowed to accept worship. Jesus Christ is the Object of Saving Faith John 14:1-6-"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.... Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." No angel, prophet or apostle could speak such words; only God can be the object of saving faith. Christ doesn't just point to God, He points to Himself. When Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life," He declares that He is the foundation of all truth and all life. He is God, who is absolute Truth personified. There are Instances in the Bible Where the Names "Son of God" and "Lord" Indicate Christ's Essential Deity 1. Jesus Christ the Son of God Matthew 11:27-"All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." "Just think about what these words mean, my friends. They mean that there are mysteries in the person, Jesus, which none but the infinite and eternal God can know." Matthew 14:26, 33-33-"And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.... And when they [Peter and Jesus] were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God." Matthew 16:16-"Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." "Peter's declaration that Jesus is 'the Son of the living God' can mean no less than that, in a unique way, a sense not applicable to any mortal, Jesus is, was and always will be the Son of that God who not only is Himself the only living One, over against all the dead so-called gods of the pagans (Isa. 40:18-31) but also is the only source of life for all that lives." Matthew 26:63-65-"But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy." When Jesus ascribed to Himself the title "Son of Man" and then openly claimed to be the fulfillment of Daniel 7:13-14-the One who is coming on the clouds of heaven who will judge the nations and have everlasting dominion-the high priest accused Him of blasphemy. Why? Because Christ was claiming for Himself things that the high priest knew could only be attributed to God. Christ claimed to be the divine Son of God. The high priest refused to accept this claim and therefore rejected Christ. 2. The Lord Jesus Christ Luke 2:11-"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." "Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed; he is the Lord, Lord of all; He is a sovereign prince; nay, He is God, for the Lord, in the Old Testament, answers to Jehovah. He is a Savior, and He will be a Savior to those only that accept Him as their Lord." Luke 3:4-6-"The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'prepare the way of the LORD [Jehovah], make His paths straight.... And all flesh shall see the salvation of God'" (NKJV). 1 Corinthians 12:3-"No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." Philippians 2:11-"And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." "Jesus Christ, therefore, is Lord to Christians in the same sense that Jehovah was Lord to the Hebrews. The usage referred to is altogether peculiar; no man-not Moses, nor Abraham, nor David, nor any of the prophets or apostles-is ever thus prevailingly addressed or invoked as Lord. We have but one Lord; and Jesus Christ is Lord."
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