Is Jesus really God? (Reading The Bible Ep 6)

Introduction

Hello, my name is ChristianGuy (not the most creative name, I know), since this is a book amino, I would like to talk about my favorite book, the Bible. Please note that I'm not someone who will threaten you to believe what I believe, I will read and explain what is said in the Bible and you, the reader of this blog post, will see whether or not you can apply this to your life and whether or not you accept what's written to be true.

Cover art by ssejllenrad and BG Art by 8BitSunshine

A big topic about Christianity is the divinity of Jesus, whether or not He's really God, or is He just the son of God. People believe He's God but there are people who don't believe in this. I'd like to discuss about the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ, and prove that He is indeed God.

Evidence of Jesus being God

The Old Testament and Synoptic Gospels

So let's look at the ing evidence for Jesus being God. All the verses about it, starting with the old testament and the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke)

Isaiah 40:3 - "A voice of one crying out: Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert."

This prophecy is fulfilled in the book of Matthew by John the Baptist.

Matthew 3:3 - "For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’ ”

Of course, we know that John the Baptist was preparing the world for Jesus Christ. He was God’s messenger chosen to proclaim the coming of Jesus Christ, Israel’s Messiah, who is King of kings and Lord of lords. And this proves Jesus is God, because Isaiah says he's preparing a way for the Lord God.

Isaiah 44:6 - "This is what the Lord, the King of Israel and its Redeemer, the Lord of Armies, says: I am the first and I am the last. There is no God but me."

In Revelation, Jesus refers to himself as the first and the last.

Revelation 1:17 - "When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. He laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid. I am the First and the Last,"

Zecharaiah 12:10 - “Then I will pour out a spirit, of grace and prayer on the house of David and the residents of Jerusalem, and they will look at me whom they pierced. They will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly for him as one weeps …"

In Zechariah 12:10 the LORD (Yahweh) speaks and says, “they will look on Me whom they have pierced.” We know that this happened to Jesus on the cross.

The Book Of John

John 1:1 - "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

John 1:14 - "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

It's stated that the word is not only with God, but it is God. And the word aka God became flesh and dwelt among us, meaning that Jesus is God.

John 10:29-30 - "My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

This statement caused the pharisees to attempt to stone Jesus because He claimed to be God.

John 20:28-29 - "Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.

Post Crucifixion of Jesus

Romans 9:5 - "To [the Jews] belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen."

Philipians 2:5-11 - "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

This is a key age on the incarnation. Though in the form of God and equal with God the Father, Jesus humbled himself to become a man and die (without ceasing to be God). Through the Father’s exaltation of him, ultimately everyone will confess that he is Lord.

Colossians 1:16-17 - "For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together."

Everything was created by Jesus and for Jesus according to this age.

Hebrews 1:8 - "But of the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”

God the Father refers to Jesus aka His Son as God.

Verses that supposedly claim Jesus is not God

So all these ages and verses prove Jesus is God. But people have used other verses and texts to claim the opposite, I'm going to address them.

Mark 10:18/Matthew 19:17/Luke 18:19 - "And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone."

First off in these verses, Jesus never actually says He's not good. He's highlighting that there's only one source of goodness which is God, Jesus did not deny His own goodness. Instead, He implicitly asked the man, “Do you understand what you are saying when you call Me good?” Jesus is nudging the rich man to the real question, who is Jesus really?

Second, after this verse, Jesus lists off the 10 commandments which the rich man checks off, claiming that he's followed them all. Then Jesus adds a command, the command is that the rich man must sell what he has to the poor, and follow him. This actually proves Jesus is God.

John 14:28 - "You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I."

The opposing argument uses the statement "the Father is greater than I" to disprove Jesus is God, however the greater in the original Greek doesn't necessarily mean greater in essence or nature, it can also refer to position or authority. For example, John the Baptist is said to be greater than anybody that was born before him, this statement obviously refers to position or authority because he was the man that was preparing the way for the Lord.

So depending on the context, Greater can mean different things. So what's the context for John 14? In John 14, Jesus has the qualities of God.

John 14:20 - "In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you." This shows omnipresence. He lives in the believer just like the Father does.

John 14:23 - Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

John 14:7 - If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” In the same chapter he claims equality with the father.

So when Jesus was saying the Father is greater than Him, Jesus was a humble human servant. The Father was greater in position and honor, but equal in essence and nature. He made himself nothing by becoming a servant (Philippians 2:7). It's like how a boss disguises himself as a janitor or a employee, people would see them as someone with a lower position but in reality they're still the CEO.

Mark 13:32 - “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."

when Jesus said He did not know when He would return, He was actively humbling Himself and taking the form of a servant. Since no other mortal knows the time of Jesus’ return—that information is the Father’s alone. Jesus voluntarily restricted His knowledge on that point. It was part of Jesus’ submission to the Father (see John 5:30; 6:38; 8:28–29) and His mission to live a human life.

James 1:13: "Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one."

This age is used because Satan tempted Jesus when He was fasting for 40 days. Once again, Jesus was not only God but he was also Human. The same reason Jesus was able to get tired, was able to get pierced and bleed, is the same reason why he got tempted.

Conclusion

In Conclusion, Jesus is God and is apart of the trinity. The trinity being God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. There's numerous statements that confirm Jesus' divinity, and supposed verses that deconfirm them, don't.

Once again, I want to clarify that my aim is not to shove my belief down your throat, I'm not forcing you to believe. I'm sharing what the Bible is, and in turn, you can ponder and see whether or not you believe this and want to apply this in your life.