Is Jesus God?

 TRUTH FOR TODAY

Jun Malazo

It is an age-old question that has been debated passionately by many people.  Prominent religious groups stand on either side of the argument. Others stand in the middle undecided because, for the most part, of a lack of right information, or they simply do not care.

Whether you believe that Jesus Christ is God or not, or if you simply don’t care about this subject, it has far reaching implications.  Is Jesus God?

In today’s article we will discover the evidences that the Bible gives us that Jesus is indeed God.  We call this truth the “Deity of Christ.”  First we see that Jesus is God through the names given to Him. 

The Bible says in 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."  Notice the name given to Jesus according to the prophecy of His birth—Immanuel.  The New Testament rendering and meaning of this name is given to us in Matthew 1:23 which says, “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."  If Jesus was a mere man then the title Emmanuel would not make sense. 

Jesus is also called the Son of God.  Sometimes this title is misunderstood as suggesting inferiority.  However, we should always study the Bible in its own cultural context, instead of our own.  The Jews very clearly understood this title as being equal to God, not inferior to God.  Notice the verse that further proves this point:

"I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed 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."  (John 10:30-33, KJV)

"But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God."  (John 5:17-18, KJV)

Jesus claims to be the Old Testament Jehovah.  The name Jehovah in the Old Testament was the specific name for the one, true God.  John 8:58 says, “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.  This verse speaks not just of the eternality of Jesus but also His equality with God.  Notice how God instructed Moses what to say about who God is:

"And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you."  (Exodus 3:14, KJV)

The name “I AM THAT I AM” may sound strange to people’s ears today.  What God was simply saying is, “I am the self-existing one.”  This speaks of the uniqueness and incomparable power of the Almighty God.  It is this same title that Jesus claims for Himself in John 8:58.

Secondly, we see that Jesus is God because of His works.  Jesus was able to do the things that only God can do.  In fact, the purpose of the miracles of Christ were to authenticate His deity.  Notice the Bible verse below:

"And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name."  (John 20:30-31, KJV)

The Bible records other works of Christ.  The Bible says that He created the world in John 1:3 which says, “All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.” Also Colossians 1:16-17 says, “For by him 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."  

Another of Jesus works that proves that He is God is that He forgives sins.  When Jesus was about to heal the paralyzed man that was brought by four men, He says in Mark 2:5, “… Son, thy sins be forgiven thee."  Then those around began to question in verse 7, "Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?”  Jesus can forgive the sins of mankind because He is God.  John the Baptist proclaimed when he saw Jesus coming in John 1:29, “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (see also John 1:22 and Galatians 1:4).

Another evidence in the Bible that proves that Jesus is God is seen in the fact that people worshipped Him.  The Bible clearly tells us that only God is to be worshipped.  Exodus 20:3-5 says, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;"  Yet, we see many people come to worship Jesus and He has never forbidden them. 

The wise men came to worship Him (see Matthew 2:2).  The healed blind man worshipped Him (see John 9:38).  The Father commands the angels to worship him (see Hebrews 1:6).  And then someday, “…at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;"  (Philippians 2:10, KJV).

Lastly, the pinnacle of all the evidences in the Bible that proves that Jesus is God is the fact that He conquered death.  The resurrection simply proves His power over death.  The resurrection, as one man said, is “the crowning proof of Christianity.”  He said, "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: "  (John 11:25, KJV). 

He proved this by rising again from the dead after the third day.  He forever conquered death, so we who have trusted Him as our Savior can know with certainty that we will live in Heaven forever.  There are many religious founders who are revered by men today sometimes to the point of being a god.  These men are dead and their tombstones prove it.  However, with Jesus, you’ll only find an empty tomb. 

People that discredit the deity of Christ for the most part also cast doubt about the reliability of the Bible.  In fact, some of them even deny that Jesus was a real historical figure.  There is one extra-biblical  source I would like to cite.  Flavius Josephus was a 1st Century Jewish historian that mentions Jesus in his historical writings.  His testimony about Jesus is called “Testimonium Flavium.”  It reads from the Jewish Antiquities 18.63-64:

“About this time there lived, Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man.  For he was one who performed surprising deeds and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly.  He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks.  He was the Messiah.  And when, upon the accusation of the principal men among us, Pilate had condemned him to a cross, those who had first come to love him did not cease. 

He appeared to them spending a third day restored to life, for the prophets of God had foretold these things and a thousand other marvels about him.  And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, has still to this day not disappeared.” (Translation from Loeb Classical Library)

The testimony of this Jewish historian that lived during the early days proves that Jesus was a real historical figure.  I am not saying that we need his testimony to prove the authenticity of the Bible.  However, his testimony does prove from a secular and historical point of view that Jesus really existed. 

If Jesus is not God and all of His claims are false, then the hope of salvation He offers to mankind is also false.  His works are all just creative imaginations of story-tellers.  On the other hand, if Jesus is God and His claims are true, then there is hope for mankind.  This means there is purpose in life. 

But on the more personal level, this means that if Jesus is God and the Creator of all things then we are accountable to Him.  You see, this is a very serious issue because our eternity is at stake.  Based on Biblical evidences, Jesus is the Messiah.  He is God.  He is offering you eternal life.  You can live your life denying His deity or His reality, but have you ever considered that there is a slight chance that you are wrong?

What if the claims of Christ are all real?  He claims that the only way to Heaven is through Him (John 14:6).  He also claims that those who do not place their trust on Him will be eternally condemned in a place called Hell. 

The fact of the matter is that God does not want anyone to go to that place (see 2 Peter 3:9) so He provided a way for you.  He did it by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross to pay for your entire sin debt.