Who is This Man Who Says He's God

WHO IS THISMAN WHO SAYSHE’S GOD?

NNo one would argue theidentity of people likeLincoln, Michelangelo,

or Aristotle. They wear history-book labels that areindisputable. But the man calledJesus is different. If you were torun a man-on-the-street surveyabout Him, you would likely getas many different responses asyou would get odd looks. Jesusisn’t known for the things thatusually make people famous.He wasn’t into politics,business, or publishing. Hisexpertise was in what wenormally call religion—He knew a lot about God. In fact, He claimed to be God. But who is He? This booklet byDave Branon has been writtento help you discover who theBible says Jesus is.

Martin R. De Haan II

Managing Editor: David Sper Cover Photo: Terry BidgoodScripture quotations are from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by ThomasNelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.© 1988,2000,2002 RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, Michigan Printed in USA

CONTENTS

Who Doesn’t Believe That Jesus Is God? . . . . . 2

Why Is This So Important? . . . . . . . . 5

What Does The Bible Say About All This? . . . . 7

The Claims Of The Old Testament . . . . 8

The Claims Of The New Testament . . 11

The Claims Of Jesus . . . 16

The Response Of Jesus’ Observers . . . . . . 19

But What About These Verses? . . . . . . . 22

Helping You Help Others. . . . . . . . . 27

Be Careful What You Call Him . . . . . . . . 28

What You Can’t Say . . 31

What Do You Say? . . . . 32

© RBC Ministries. All rights reserved.

WHO DOESN’TBELIEVE THATJESUS IS GOD?

MMany people peerback through thedarkened pages

of history and see a ratherobscure picture of Jesus.They have heard of His2,000-year-old claim thatHe was God, but they don’tquite believe it. They find it hard to accept the ideathat a small-town Jewishcarpenter could have beenthe creator of the world.They prefer to believe other, less sensationaltheories about Him. Hereare some of those beliefs.

Jesus is a man whoachieved great things.Among the groups who holdto this view is the ChurchOf Jesus Christ Of LatterDay Saints—the Mormons.They teach that Jesus was a preexistent spirit—butthey believe that abouteveryone. They say that

Jesus’ distinctiveness is notthat He was God, but thatHe was God’s firstbornspirit-child. “His humanityis to be recognized as realand ordinary—whateverhappened to Him mayhappen to any of us” (Elder B. H. Roberts citing Sir Oliver Lodge inJoseph Smith, King FollettDiscourse, p.11 note).

Jesus is a createdbeing who was giventhe status of second-in-command. Accordingto the Jehovah’s Witnesses,Jesus is “a god, but not theAlmighty God, who isJehovah” (Let God Be True,p.33). Instead, they say that Jesus is “a createdindividual” who “is thesecond greatest personageof the universe” (Make SureOf All Things, p.207).

Jesus is a man nobetter than we are.“It is plain that Jesus is not God Himself” (DivinePrinciple, p.255). These

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words of Sun Myung Moonclearly spell out the view ofhis Unification Church. Itsteaching is that Jesus’ valueis no greater than that ofany other man. Those whofollow Moon’s theology saythat Jesus’ work was afailure.

Jesus’ existencebegan at Hisconception. One groupthat teaches this idea is TheWay International. In theirreinterpretation of biblicalinstruction, they hold that“Jesus Christ’s existencebegan when he was

conceived by God’s creatingthe soul-life of Jesus inMary” (Victor Wierwille,The Word’s Way, Vol. 3,pp.26-27).

Jesus is a prophetand messenger ofGod. According to thetenets of Islam, “Jesus . . .was only a messenger ofAllah” (Surah 4:171 fromthe Koran). They also sayHe was a sinless prophetwho never achieved thegreatness of the prophetMuhammad.

Jesus is less thanmost people think Heis. Those who embraceatheism have a low view ofJesus. Some cannot find itin themselves to place Jesuson as high a plane as suchpast notables as Buddha orSocrates. Bertrand Russell,a famous apologist of theatheistic viewpoint, said, “I cannot myself feel thateither in the matter ofwisdom or in the matter ofvirtue Christ stands quite as

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Some find it hardto accept that asmall-town Jewishcarpenter could

have been the creator of

the world.


high as some other peopleknown to history” (Why IAm Not A Christian, p.19).

Jesus is a greatmoral teacher. Somepeople don’t reject all ofJesus’ work on earth,though they do reject Hisclaims to deity. WilliamChanning of the Unitarianchurch said, “Christ wassent to earth as a greatmoral teacher rather thanas a mediator.”

Jesus is a mysticmedium. New Agethinkers consider Jesus to be a guide to self-actualization. In this regard,Jesus would be seen as achannel—one of manyancients who give New Ageadherents a “glimpse” atthe past. Through previousincarnations, they contend,He attained a level of puritythat is achievable by all.

Jesus is a projectionof our needs. Some feelthat the only reason Jesushas reached great heights of

importance is that humansneed someone like Him tofall back on. Carl Jung, afamous Swiss psychologistand psychiatrist, said thatJesus is “our culture herowho, regardless of Hishistorical existence,embodies the myth of the divine man.”

One thing is for sure.Somebody is wrong! Thesepeople can’t all be rightabout Jesus. He cannot beexactly who all these peoplesay He is. Many who thinkthey know, don’t know. IfHe is only a prophet or amedium, then those whoinsist He is God are wrong.If on the other hand He is God, then those whoinsist that He is only anexceptional man are wrong.Some might wish to have itboth ways. In science andinvestigative journalism, wepursue truth passionately.Why should it be anydifferent in this importantrealm?

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WHY IS THIS SO IMPORTANT?

MMost people are rather free with their

complimentary descriptionsand names for Jesus. Hehas been given such nobletitles as “the second greatestperson of the universe,” “aprophet from God,” “a greatmoral teacher,” “a holyman,” “touched by Godmore than anyone else.”Who wouldn’t be thrilled tohave their leader thought ofin such lofty terms? Whatgroup would be dissatisfiedwith this kind of respect andpraise for their founder?

Christians, for one.Followers of Jesus are notsatisfied with those terms.To them, it is not enoughthat He is considered one of history’s greatest figures.Christians feel that there ismore to Jesus than to bethought of by millions as an exemplary human—even

the greatest man who everlived. They think the names“moral teacher” and“prophet” don’t go farenough. No, Christiansinsist on one moredesignation for Jesus—one on which the whole of Christianity rests, yet one that throws a roadblockin the way of many whomight otherwise considerfollowing Him.

Jesus’ followers insist not only on calling HimMessiah and Savior butLord and God as well. Butwhy? What is so importantabout this designation forJesus? Can’t we just learnfrom His wise sayings andadmire His good life andleave it at that? Is it all thatvital that we make such anissue about whether or notHe is God?

Interestingly, Jesus’ deity is perhaps the mostimportant question toanswer about Christianity.Why? Because Jesus said

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He was God. As we will see,He proclaimed His deity onmany occasions while livingamong His fellow Israelicitizens. Without fear of theramifications and withoutregard to the skepticism of His audience, Jesus leftno doubt in His listeners’minds that He was claimingto be God.

So that leaves us with adilemma. We can’t possiblytrust the word of someonewho said he is the AlmightyGod, no matter what goodworks he did or whatwisdom he expounded—unless he really is God.Otherwise this personwould only merit our pity,our concern, and oursympathy. A man whowould call himself Godwithout being God wouldcertainly not merit ourworship, our admiration,and our emulation.

So what’s the big deal?The big deal is that if Jesusisn’t God, then He can’t be

an example, a wise teacher,a moral leader, or even animportant historical person.Providing the evidence thatHe is God is the biggestissue in the world. Andthat’s what this booklet will set out to do.

We can’t afford our own customized ideas ofwho Jesus is. We can’tafford anything less thanthe truth. As we’ll see, oureternal destiny hangs onhow we answer thequestion, “Who is this man who says He’s God?”

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What is soimportant about

this designation forJesus? Can’t we justlearn from His wisesayings and admireHis good life andleave it at that?


WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAYABOUT ALLTHIS?

PProve it. These twowords can block the

path of anyone whotries to support the truth ofa statement. If a conceptcannot be backed up by theevidence, it is not worth thetime it takes to state it. Thekey to finding the necessaryevidence is in finding areliable, credible source.Without a solid source, theinquirer is left with nothingbut opinions.

That’s where the beliefthat Jesus is God findsstrength. The source for thisidea is a book that can betrusted—the Bible. Intensearchaeological research has shown the Bible to betrustworthy in historical and geographical matters.The Scriptures have beenscrutinized by scholars fornearly 2,000 years and have

been found reliable. Theyare backed up by moremanuscript findings thanany other ancient document.All of these externalevidences give us additionalconfidence in this book inwhich God has given Hisdivine revelation to thehuman race. The deity ofChrist is a concept that canbe trusted because it comesfrom a credible source.

In that light, it makessense for us to see what theBible says about the identityof its central figure. It makessense for us to follow thatevidence all the way to itsown conclusion. It doesn’tmake sense, however, totrust the Bible’s descriptionof Jesus as a teacher sentfrom God if we are notwilling to accept what Jesus said about Himself.

If the Bible is a book to be trusted, and if its message has beenmiraculously preserved forus across the centuries,

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then we can trust it to be avaluable source for findingout about the One whopreserved it. Let’s look atwhat the Bible says aboutthe idea that Jesus is God.

THE CLAIMS OF THE OLDTESTAMENTThe Bible does not sneakup on its New Testamentreaders and spring a newmessage on them. No, theidea that a Messiah wouldvisit the earth is not asurprise to anyone who is familiar with the OldTestament. There wereplenty of signals from theprophets that this would

happen. In fact, there aremany specific facts aboutthe Messiah’s life predictedin the Old Testament thatwere fulfilled by Jesus. Thechart on the following pagegives just a sampling.

It’s clear that theMessiah’s coming was anexpected event on thereligious calendar of pre-Christian days. But there’smore. Not only did the holy writings of the OldTestament era tell of acoming Messiah, but theyalso told us that He wouldhave a quality known to noother man. He would beGod. Three Old Testamentverses stand out as proofthat Jesus—the divinely pre-announced Messiah—wasto be God in the flesh. Aclose look at these passageswill introduce us clearly tothis essential truth.

Isaiah 7:14. “Behold,the virgin shall conceive andbear a Son, and shall callHis name Immanuel.” The

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key to seeing this verse as a prediction of Jesus’coming as God in the flesh is found in the titleImmanuel. The wordliterally means “God withus.” Surely this must havebeen a mystery to thosewho heard this prophecy. Inwhat sense would the childbear the presence of God?

Because of theadditional revelation of the New Testament (Mt. 1:21-23), we canunderstand what they could not. We can see apre-indicator of God’s planto visit the earth, not merelythrough a spokesman andsavior, but through Onewho would literally be “Godwith us.” But what aboutthe Old Testament’s point of

view? What other evidencecan we find?

Isaiah 9:6. “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and thegovernment will be upon His shoulder. And His namewill be called Wonderful,Counselor, Mighty God,Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Looking back, we can once again see an amazing prophecy in perspective. All whorecognize Jesus as thisMessiah are told by the Old Testament prophet that He would not only be a ruler but would also be “Mighty God.”

This is the same termand the same grammaticalconstruction the prophetused in Isaiah 10:21 in

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Prophecy Reference FulfillmentBorn of a virgin Isaiah 7:14 Matthew 1:23Born in Bethlehem Micah 5:2 Matthew 2:5Found in Egypt Numbers 24:8 Matthew 2:15To heal many Isaiah 53:4 Matthew 8:16Crucified Isaiah 53:12 Matthew 27:38No bones broken Psalm 34:20 John 19:33-36


saying that “the remnant of Jacob” shall return to“the Mighty God.” Thisleaves us with only twopossibilities. First, theprophet could be telling usthat another “Mighty God”would be coming—givingthe world two Gods. Yetthat would contradict otherverses such as Isaiah 45:22,

which says, “Look to Me,and be saved, all you endsof the earth! For I am God,and there is no other.” Thatrefutation of a two-Godsystem leaves us with oneother conclusion. The

Jehovah whom Isaiah andhis people worshiped andthe Son-Child who wouldbe born and called “MightyGod” had to be the same.

Micah 5:2. “But you,Bethlehem Ephrathah,though you are little amongthe thousands of Judah, yetout of you shall come forthto Me the One to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forthhave been from of old, fromeverlasting.”

To live forever. It’s an idea that intrigues us all but is impossible toachieve. While it’s true thatour souls will live forever,no one can claim to havebeen present with Godbefore the world began. No one but Jesus, that is.Not only did Micah predictthat Jesus would be born in Bethlehem, but he alsorevealed that this “ruler in Israel” has shared thecounsels of God frometernity past. How does this prove Jesus’ deity? If

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“A divine Messiahis as much athome in the

Old Testament as He is in the New.”

Buell & Hyder


only God has existed frometernity past, and Jesusexisted with Him, then He has to be God.

Clearly, all whorecognize Jesus as Messiahrecognize that somethingamazing happened whenJesus appeared on thescene. At the very least, He fulfilled prophecies in a miraculous way. Oneresearcher who analyzedonly eight of the OldTestament predictionsabout Jesus came to thisconclusion: “The chancethat any man might have . . . fulfilled all eight prophecies is 1 in100,000,000,000,000,000.”If we can trust theprophecies in their accuracy of factualinformation about Jesus’arrival on this planet, wecan surely trust thoseprophecies when they usetitles and designations toindicate that Jesus theMessiah is God.

THE CLAIMS OF THE NEWTESTAMENTThe New Testament is Jesus’ book. It begins withHis family tree and endswith His future triumph. In between are amazingaccounts of His life, Hisdeath, His resurrection, Hisascension, and His acclaim.But who is this man? DoesHis book really tell us? Canwe trust the record? Sure Hehealed the sick, but was Hejust a first-century snake oil salesman with goodconnections? Sure He fedthe hungry, but could Hejust have been a sleight-of-hand magician? Sure He

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wowed the masses, butcould He have been no morethan an ancient superstar?

To find out, we have to go behind the stories ofwhat Jesus did. We have tofind out what those peoplewho observed Him saidabout Him. A biographerwho writes about someonewho is no longer on thescene talks to those whoeither knew the subject or atleast knew about him fromthose who knew him. Wetoo can “interview” Jesus’contemporaries to clarify ourview of Jesus. Let’s turn firstto a man who knew Jesuswell, the apostle John.

The Viewpoint OfThe Apostle John. Didthe apostle John actuallyset out to show that Jesuswas God? To beginanswering that question,let’s turn first to the openingwords of John’s gospel.

In the beginning was theWord, and the Word waswith God, and the Word

was God. He was in thebeginning with God. Allthings were made throughHim, and without Himnothing was made thatwas made. In Him waslife, and the life was thelight of men (1:1-4).Once we understand

what John meant by theterm Word, it becomesdifficult to read anythinginto this passage other thanthe deity of Jesus. Here, asin three other passages inthe New Testament (Jn.1:14; 1 Jn. 1:1; Rev. 19:13),the designation Word orLogos refers specifically toJesus. That John is referringto Jesus becomes clearwhen we look at verse 14,where he said, “And theWord became flesh anddwelt among us.” Notice in John 1:1-4 that thefollowing characteristics of Jesus are traits that canbelong only to God.

“In the beginning.”Anyone in John’s day who

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was familiar with the sacred Scriptures wouldhave recognized his allusionto the book we now callGenesis. In that era, Genesiswas commonly referred to as“In the beginning,” so the

reader of John’s gospelwould automatically think of the creation record and its assumption of God’s eternality. John boldlydeclared that Jesus was withGod before the worldsbegan.

“The Word was withGod.” This clause indicatesthat although Jesus wasGod, He was a distinctentity who had, as thepreposition with implies,communion and fellowshipwith God the Father.

“The Word was God.”Here it is: a definitivestatement of Jesus’ deity.This does not say that Hewas “a God,” as somesuggest. That rendering ofthis clause results from anunscholarly interpretation ofthe fact that the Greek wordtheos (God) appears herewithout the definite articlethe. Those who do this fail to recognize that Johnomitted the article to pointout that Jesus is God, justlike the Father is God. Hadhe used it, he would haveimplied that Jesus alone isthe God. Yet those who denythe deity of Christ continueto insist on interpreting thisphrase “a god.”

There are two problems 13

“There exists nodocumentation

from the ancientworld witnessed by so excellent a set of textual and historicaltestimonies

[as the Bible].”Clark Pinnock


with this. First, the NewTestament is filled withreferences to God withoutthe use of a definite articlein the Greek (282 times). In fact, even the translatorswho render John 1:1 to read“a god” translate the exactsame phrase as “God” in 94percent of the other 281instances. To be consistent,these should say “a god.”This construction occurs 20times in the gospel of Johnalone. Should John 1:18,then, be translated, “No onehas seen a god at any time”?

Besides the problemswith the grammar, there isanother difficulty posed by this mistranslation. Ifindeed the verse were to betranslated “a god,” then we would be faced with aconcept of polytheism that istotally foreign to anything inthe Christian faith. If Jesus is“a god,” then there must beothers. Yet Scripture is clearin this matter: There is onlyone God. Calling Jesus “a

god” among other godswould have been asunacceptable to the first-century reader as it is to the 21st-century theist.John’s contemporaries werethoroughly schooled inmonotheism, and anydeparture from that well-established doctrine wouldhave been rejected.

“All things were madethrough Him.” Who butGod can be credited withcreation? Referring again tothe first verse of Genesis,we are reminded that “Godcreated the heavens and the earth.” And now Johnrevealed Jesus as the active

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“In the beginningwas the Word,

and the Word waswith God, and theWord was God.”

John 1:1


agent in creation. How elsecan this be reconciled butto conclude that Jesus theSavior is also God theCreator?

The Viewpoint OfThe Apostle Paul.John wasn’t alone in sayingthat Jesus was God. Theapostle Paul also made thisdoctrine a strong part of hiswritings. Here is a samplingof verses written by Paulthat attribute deity to Jesus.

Romans 9:5. “Christcame, who is over all, theeternally blessed God.”No amount of interpretivegymnastics can deny thesimple grammar of thisverse that Christ is God.

Philippians 2:5-6. “Letthis mind be in you whichwas also in Christ Jesus, who,being in the form of God, didnot consider it robbery to beequal with God.” Here weget a picture of Jesus in bothof His essential natures—asGod and as man. First, Hehad always existed as God

in His essential nature.Second, He voluntarily laidaside the majesty and gloryof being God to become theGod-man—the humbleServant who was obedientto death. Jesus, then, wasGod and remained God bynature, even when Hebecame a man on earth.

Philippians 2:10-11.“At the name of Jesus everyknee should bow, . . . everytongue should confess thatJesus Christ is Lord, to theglory of God the Father.” God would not allowanyone other than Himselfto be worshiped. For Him tolet people worship one lesserthan He would be to violatethe first commandment (seealso Mt. 4:10).

1 Timothy 3:16. “Greatis the mystery of godliness:God was manifest in theflesh, justified in the Spirit,seen by angels, preachedamong the Gentiles, believedon in the world, received upin glory.” The God who was

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manifested in the flesh wasJesus, for He did all thatthis verse said He did.

Titus 2:13. “Looking for the blessed hope andglorious appearing of ourgreat God and Savior JesusChrist.” A literal translationof the grammar of thissentence indicates that Paulwas referring to only oneperson here: God the Son.

THE CLAIMS OF JESUSCould the statements in theNew Testament about Jesus’deity have been made by afew misguided followers?Could those writers havemisread the signals? Perhapstheir desire to worship

someone was so strong thatthey developed this idea ofJesus’ deity on their own.Perhaps they misunderstoodJesus’ mission on earth. Ifthey did, they sure had goodcompany! Jesus Himself alsoclaimed that He was God.

Jesus sometimes spokein terms and phrases thatleft His listeners unsure asto what He meant. This canbe seen in certain dialoguesbetween Jesus and Hisdisciples. You can imaginethem walking away fromsome of these discussionswith Jesus, scratching theirheads over some hard-to-grasp concept He had justgiven them.

When Jesus spoke of His deity with those whowere not His followers,though, they didn’t reachup to scratch their head,they reached down to pickup rocks. They knewexactly what He wasclaiming to be. And theywanted to stone Him for it.

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John 10. A goodexample of this is found inJohn 10. As Jesus walkedthrough the temple, someJews demanded of Him, “Ifyou are the Christ, tell usplainly” (v.24). Jesus’ replywas unmistakable in itsclarity, and volatile in itsmessage. He said:

I told you, and you do notbelieve. The works that Ido in My Father’s name,they bear witness of Me.But you do not believe,because you are not of Mysheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice,and I know them, and theyfollow Me. And I give themeternal life, and they shallnever perish; neither shallanyone snatch them out ofMy hand. My Father, whohas given them to Me, isgreater than all; and noone is able to snatch themout of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one(vv.25-30).Clearly, the Jews had a

major problem with thisstatement. They knew thatOld Testament law calledfor the death of anyoneclaiming deity. And theyunderstood that this wasexactly what Jesus wasdoing. They knew what Hemeant when He called God“My Father” and not “our”Father (v.25), claimed to beable to bestow eternal life(v.28), and said, “I and MyFather are one” (v.30).

These claims of Jesus sent the Jews on a rock hunt.There was no doubt in theirminds about Jesus’ words. In fact, they told Jesus theywere gathering ammunitionbecause, as they said, “You,

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“No confirmatoryevidence is moreconvincing thanthat of hostilewitnesses.”

Robert Anderson


being a Man, make YourselfGod” (v.33).

John 8. An earlierexchange between Jesus and a different group led to similar results. In aconfrontation that must havecreated some high-powertension, the Jews accusedJesus of possessing a demon.In the dialogue thatfollowed, Jesus said, “Yourfather Abraham rejoiced tosee My day, and he saw itand was glad” (v.56). TheJews couldn’t believe theirears. They wanted to knowhow a man who wasn’t even50 years old could have seenAbraham.

Jesus’ reply was evenmore unsettling for Hislisteners. He announced,“Most assuredly, I say to you,before Abraham was, I AM”(v.58). The Jews were aghast.Jesus had just told them whoHe is. In using the term I AM,He undoubtedly remindedthe Jews of God’s statementto Moses at the burning bush

in Exodus 3:14. Because of their familiarity with theScriptures, they would haveknown that Jesus haddeclared His deity—Histimelessness and His identitywith Yahweh. We know theyunderstood exactly whatJesus was saying, because He had to hide Himself andmake a quick getaway toavoid being a target for theirstones.

John 14. On anotheroccasion, Jesus claimed Hisdeity in the presence of amuch friendlier crowd. Whileeating with the disciples,Jesus predicted Peter’s denialand assured Thomas that Hewas “the way, the truth, andthe life” (v.6). Then Philipasked Him to show them theFather. His answer is anunmistakable claim to deity.He said, “He who has seenMe has seen the Father”(v.9), and “Do you notbelieve that I am in theFather, and the Father inMe?” (v.10).

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THE RESPONSE OFJESUS’ OBSERVERSWe have already seen thatthe Jews who listened toJesus knew that He wasclaiming to be God. Theyweren’t the only ones whogot the picture. Others ofvarying social status andwith varying degrees ofinterest in Jesus’ ministryalso heard Jesus say Hewas God. Their reactions,and Jesus’ response tothem, make an interestingstudy.

Matthew 21. Let’slook at a conversation thatoccurred shortly after Jesuscleansed the temple inJerusalem. Jesus had just

come into the city to thewelcome of an admiringcrowd. The peoplecontinued to cry out,“Hosanna to the Son ofDavid” (v.15). This didn’t sit well with the chiefpriests and scribes. Theythought Jesus should knowbetter than to accept thisworship. After all, wasn’tHe familiar with the firstcommandment?

Notice His response totheir indignant question“Do You hear what theseare saying?” (v.16). Jesusgave them more to thinkabout than they hadbargained for when He countered with thisreference to Psalm 8:2,“Yes. Have you never read,‘Out of the mouth of babesand nursing infants Youhave perfected praise’?”(v.16). Unmistakably, Jesuswas telling His listeners thatthese words of worshipwere prepared by God for worship of God.

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By accepting those“Hosannas,” Jesus wasdeclaring His deity.

This wasn’t the only timeJesus accepted the worshipof others. On at least twoother occasions, He allowedHis followers to give Himthe praise and honor thatcan only go to God.

Matthew 16. The first incident occurred afterJesus asked His disciples to respond to a kind of first-century poll. They had been

out talking with the peopleof Caesarea Philippi, which is north of the Sea ofGalilee. Jesus asked, “Whodo men say that I, the Sonof Man, am?” (v.13). Afterhearing a random samplingof responses, He pointedthe question directly at theTwelve, “But who do yousay that I am?” (v.15).

Simon Peter, in typicalboldness, declared, “Youare the Christ, the Son ofthe living God” (v.16). Herewas a perfect opportunityfor Jesus to dispel thisgrowing idea that He was something other thanjust a great man. But Jesuswouldn’t do that. Instead,He commended Peter forhis declaration. The termsthat Peter used indicatethat Jesus was “of the samesubstance” or “of the samecharacteristics” as God.Knowing that Peter’sconfession was a referenceto His deity, Jesus said,“Blessed are you, Simon

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“For it is written,‘You shall worshipthe Lord your God,and Him only youshall serve.’ . . .And when they

saw [Jesus], theyworshiped Him.”Matthew 4:10; 28:17


Bar-Jonah, for flesh andblood has not revealed this to you, but My Fatherwho is in heaven” (v.17).Once more, Jesus willinglyreceived the worship ofman.

John 20. A seconddialogue between Jesus and one of His disciplesdemonstrates in even more specific terms Jesus’willingness to considerHimself worthy of worship.It happened more than aweek after Jesus had risenfrom the dead. All of thedisciples but one, Thomas,had seen Jesus. All the talkin the world was not goingto convince him that Jesuswas alive. He had to see theSavior for himself.

As he and the otherswere assembled togetherearly in the second weekafter the resurrection, Jesussuddenly appeared amongthem. He requested thatThomas touch Him so hewould know for sure that

this was Jesus in the flesh.Apparently Thomas did so,for he responded, “My Lordand my God!” (v.28). Withthese words, Thomassummarized the deity ofChrist as both Lord andGod. And as Jesus did withPeter, He commendedThomas for not doubtingthat He was God.

Not much has changedin 2,000 years. Those whochoose not to accept theclaims of Jesus react inrock-hurling rage at thesuggestion that Jesus isGod. Conversely, those whoknow Him personally andsee Him for who He is reactwith undivided devotionand praise to the Man whois God.

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BUT WHATABOUT THESEVERSES?

TThe various opinionsthat people hold aboutJesus can be put into

at least two categories ofbelief. First, there are thosewho use no source otherthan their own imaginationto explain who they thinkJesus might be. Theiropinions can range from the wildly ridiculous (likesaying He was from anotherplanet) to the fairly logical(like saying He was just agreat moral teacher). Butthey are never solidlybiblical. People in thiscategory seem to be willingto accept the biblical recordwhen it tells us of Jesus’love for people, mercy onthe sick, and wisdom forthe masses, but they rejectthe Bible when its messagesuggests that Jesus wasGod.

The other group is made

up of “religious” peoplewho claim to use the Bibleas their guide, yet havecome to a conclusion that is different from that of orthodoxChristianity. The variouscults are in this category.These people truly feel thatthey are correct when theyconclude that the Bibledoes not support thecontention that Jesus isGod. Let’s look at some ofthe verses these people useeither to support their caseor to try to disprove thedoctrine of Christ’s deity.

John 14:28. “If youloved Me, you would rejoicebecause I said, I am going tothe Father, for My Father isgreater than I.” This versehas been used by somegroups to “prove” that Jesus was second incommand to God. Theywonder how Jesus can beGod if God is greater thanHe.

An explanation of this 22


begins with a look at Paul’steaching in Philippians 2:5-8. Paul said:

Let this mind be in youwhich was also in ChristJesus, who, being in theform of God, did notconsider it robbery to be equal with God, butmade Himself of noreputation, taking theform of a servant, andcoming in the likeness ofmen. And being found inappearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient tothe point of death, eventhe death of the cross.Jesus chose to set aside

some of His attributes tobecome the God-man. He chose to subordinateHimself—not only to Godthe Father but also to man.This is not a commentaryon His nature, which ofcourse no one can change,but on His purpose—Hisoffice—while on earth. Justas no one could conclude

that Jesus became less thanman because He chose tobecome man’s servant (see Mk. 10:45), so no oneshould conclude that Jesuswas less than God because

He subjected Himself to theFather while on earth. John14:28 does not disproveJesus’ claim to be God.

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Just as no onecould conclude

that Jesus becameless than man by

choosing to becomeman’s servant,

so no one shouldconclude that Jesus

was less than God because Hesubjected Himself

to the Father while on earth.


Rather, it shows His willingsubmission to His Fatherduring His 33 years amongmen.

Revelation 3:14. “Tothe angel of the church ofthe Laodiceans write, ‘Thesethings says the Amen, theFaithful and True Witness,the Beginning of the creationof God.’ ” The “Amen” ofthis verse is obviously JesusChrist. But with that factestablished, those whobelieve in the deity of Christ begin to part ways with those who don’t.Those who don’t think Jesusis God contend that thephrase, “the Beginning ofthe creation of God” clearlypoints out that Jesus wasthe first created beingformed by God. Thatassumption alone would be death for a “Jesus isGod” theology, for howcould someone who is noteternal be the eternal God?Let’s investigate this theoryand see if it holds up.

First, a comment on the translation of the phraseis essential. The Greekliterally reads, “theBeginning of the creation of God.” The grammaticalconstruction in the Greekmakes it impossible totranslate it “by God.”

Second, the Greek word for beginning (arche)implies the active role ofcreating—not the inactiverole of being created. Jesus,then, is the Beginner ofGod’s creation, not the firstcreated being. This properinterpretation of the textharmonizes with otherScripture verses that tell us of Christ’s deity and ofHis role as Creator.

Colossians 1:15. “Heis the image of the invisibleGod, the firstborn over allcreation.” Everybody knowswhat a firstborn is. He’s thebaby born first—the onewith the birthrights. Well,sometimes that’s what itmeans. But like many

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words, it can also meansomething else. It can alsodenote rank, position, orprivilege. Look for instanceat Paul’s statement justthree verses later: “He is the head of the body, the church, who is the

beginning, the firstbornfrom the dead.” Obviously,the word firstborn takes ona figurative meaning here.Likewise, in Hebrews 12:23it is used to speak ofsomething far different from the birth of the firstchild in a family.

But that would still leave us with only thepossibility—not thecertainty—that the wordfirstborn means superiority.If all else were equal, eitherinterpretation would beacceptable. But there areother considerations.Notably, there are twoverses in the same chapterof Colossians that present apowerful commentary. InColossians 1:16-17, Paulsaid in reference to Jesus,“All things were createdthrough Him and for Him.And He is before all things,and in Him all thingsconsist.” Here Paul drew aclear line of demarcationbetween the created andthe Creator. Jesus is clearlydifferent from the creationbecause He was involved inthe creation. The Creatorcannot create Himself.

John 10:34. “Jesusanswered them, ‘Is it notwritten in your law, “I said,‘You are gods’”?’ ” This verse

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“All things werecreated through

Him and for Him. And He is before all things,

and in Him all things consist.”

Colossians 1:16-17


causes quite a stir fromthose who don’t want to believe that Jesusrepresented deity. “So whatif Jesus said He was God?”they ask. “There are lots ofgods. Jesus even called Hisenemies gods. Therefore, if there is enough room inJesus’ theology for godswho aren’t even on Hisside, being a god isn’t soexclusive.”

That kind of thinking,though logical on thesurface, does not reflect the intent of Jesus’ words inJohn 10. His statement was

a quote of Psalm 82:6, inwhich God is depicted asentering an assembly ofjudges to condemn theirunfair treatment of others.The word translated “gods”means “mighty ones,” or inthis case, “judges.”

Jesus used this ratherunusual quote as part of an argument to reveal thehypocrisy of His enemies.They didn’t protest thestatement by Asaph thatreferred to human judges as“gods,” yet they denouncedthis Sinless One when Heclaimed the title “Son ofGod.”

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Jesus is clearlydifferent from thecreation because

He was involved inthe creation. TheCreator cannotcreate Himself.


HELPING YOUHELP OTHERS

TThe followingquestions are listedhere for you to use

in teaching or disciplingothers. We suggest thatthese questions bediscussed prior to studyingthe specific section in thebooklet—as previewquestions.

CLAIMS OF THEOLD TESTAMENT1. What is the value of Old

Testament propheciesthat talk of Jesus’ deity?

2. What would it do toyour view of Christ ifthere were no OldTestament propheciesabout Him?

3. What specific details about Christ do you think would be important in aprophecy to make it useful as proof of His deity?

CLAIMS OF THENEW TESTAMENT1. Why would it be

important for the people who were Jesus’contemporaries to saythat He was God?

2. What does John 1:1-4tell us about Jesus?

3. What verses in the NewTestament besides John1:1-4 would you use tosupport Jesus deity?

CLAIMS OF JESUS1. What is so vital about

Jesus’ own declarationsthat He is God?

2. When Jesus made Hisclaims to deity, did thepeople to whom Hespoke know what Hewas saying?

3. What kinds of things did Jesus do thatdemonstrated His deity?

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BE CAREFULWHAT YOU CALL HIM

LLet’s suppose you arebrowsing through abookstore and you

find a book on integrity. You leaf through the table ofcontents, scan a few pages,peek at the last chapter, anddecide that this would be avaluable addition to yourlibrary. You pay the $18.95,take the book home, andbegin plowing through it.Fascinated by this author’sinsights, you begin takingnotes, eager to learn all you can about integrity so you can increase yourown level of honesty and trustworthiness—something nobody ever has too much of.

Obviously the writerknows his subject, so itoccurs to you that youshould find out a little abouthim. You turn to the bookjacket and begin reading. It

says something like this,“The author, who claims to be the most intelligentperson alive, thinks he isthe king of the UnitedStates. Having come to this planet from a farawaygalaxy, the author enjoyspainting masterpieces,writing classics, and makingbillion-dollar real estatedeals in his spare time.”

Slamming the book shut,you would either rush backto the store for a refund ormake a beeline for thenearest trash can. Havingdiscovered what this authorthinks about himself, youwould no longer trust aword he said. His wordsabout integrity and honestywould be as valuable as aYogi Berra dissertation onnuclear physics.

What does this fancifulstory have to do with JesusChrist? It illustrates how wewould have to react to theBible if Jesus were not God.It shows the incredulity we

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would express toward thestory of Jesus if He were not indeed the God-man. It demonstrates mankind’sneed to verify a person’swords by checking themagainst his character. If we can’t trust a person’scharacter, it is impossible to trust his words. Likewise,the truthfulness and integrityof character is verified bytrustworthy words.

As we apply this test toJesus, we must review acouple of factors. First,Jesus’ life and teachings are models of integrity and goodness. This fact is recognized almostuniversally. His acts ofhealing the infirm, raising

the dead, and demonstratinggentle love match Histeachings on kindness,compassion, and morality. It can be concluded, then,that Jesus is a moral,trustworthy Person.

The second factor toconsider is that Jesusclaimed to be equal withGod, to be God’s Son, to be God. These claims wereverified by the words andactions of His followers andcontested by the words andactions of His enemies.

These two factors leave us with only threereasonable options aboutwho Jesus is.

1. A DeludedLunatic. If Jesus is notGod, then He could beaccused of having delusionsof grandeur. Yet those whoknew Him best recognizedthat Jesus’ claim to deitywas not outlandish. Theyknew that it correspondedperfectly to who He showedthem He was.

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If we can’t trust aperson’s character,it is impossible totrust his words.


2. A Great Liar. IfJesus is not God, then Hecould have just been lying.In this case, He would havehad to know that He was notwho He was claiming to be.This becomes increasinglydifficult to accept the moreone looks at His life. Howcould He, in every otherinstance, convey the essenceof honesty and credibility ifon this one major point Hecontinued to lie? How couldHe deceive so many godlypeople if He were doing suchan ungodly thing? Howcould One so seeminglymoral be such a great liar?

3. God. What Jesussaid and what He did mostclosely support this option.Jesus fulfilled the propheciesabout the One who wouldbe God on earth. Hemanifested the attributes ofthe eternal God. Sinful menfound Him to be sinless. Heknew the Scriptures as noone else did. He did thingsonly God could do.

A lunatic can claimanything, but he can’tdeliver on his claims. Jesusdid. A liar can play amazingmental games with people,but he can’t prove anythinghe says. Jesus, though, wasborn where the God-manwas to be born, lived as theGod-man should live, diedas the God-man was to die,and lived again as only theGod-man could live again.

What do you call Jesus?You have only the threeoptions. But be careful.Calling Him anything butGod will put your eternalsoul in serious jeopardy.Only when you recognizethat Jesus is God can yousee Him as the source oflife. Only as you trust all of God’s Word—not just in regard to Jesus’ life but also in regard to Hisdeity—will you understandthe importance of His death.Be careful what you callJesus. Your eternal lifedepends on it.

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WHAT YOUCAN’T SAYFrom Mere Christianityby C. S. Lewis

IIam trying here to preventanyone saying the reallyfoolish thing that people

often say about Him: “I’mready to accept Jesus as agreat moral teacher, but Idon’t accept His claim to beGod.” That is the one thingwe must not say. A manwho was merely a man andsaid the sort of things Jesussaid would not be a greatmoral teacher. He wouldeither be a lunatic—on thelevel with the man who sayshe is a poached egg—or elsehe would be the devil ofhell. You must make yourchoice. Either this man was,and is, the Son of God—orelse a madman or somethingworse. You can shut Him upfor a fool, you can spit atHim and kill Him as ademon; or you can fall atHis feet and call Him Lord

and God. But let us notcome with any patronizingnonsense about His being agreat human teacher. He hasnot left that open to us.

We are faced, then, witha frightening alternative.This man we are talkingabout either was (and is)just what He said or else alunatic, or something worse.

Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend; and consequently,however strange or terrifyingor unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the viewthat He was and is God.

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“Either this manwas, and is, theSon of God—or

else a madman orsomething worse.”

C. S. Lewis


WHAT DO YOUSAY?

TThe question you must answer is a simple one.

It’s not, “What do youthink of a certain religion?”

It’s not, “What do youthink of Christians?”

It’s not, “What goodworks have you donelately?”

It’s not, “What are thetraditions of your church?”

The question that standsbetween every human andGod is this: “What are yougoing to do with Jesus?”

Jesus said, “I am theway, the truth, and the life.No one comes to the Fatherexcept through Me” (Jn.14:6). Paul and Silas said,“Believe on the Lord JesusChrist, and you will besaved” (Acts 16:31). Luke wrote, “Nor is theresalvation in any other, forthere is no other nameunder heaven given among

men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). AndPaul said that “God was inChrist reconciling the worldto Himself” (2 Cor. 5:19).

The message is clear:Faith in Jesus is the onlyway to God. So what areyou going to do with Him? Will you allow aphilosopher’s deceivingwords to make you mistrustthe Savior? Will you permita translator’s trick to causeyou to reject Jesus? Willyou let the musings of mere humans carry moreweight than the message of Almighty God?

Please don’t. Take Jesusat His word. Put your faithin His sacrifice for your sinson the cross of Calvary.You’ll find the joy thatcomes from being set free from the penalty of sin. What will you dowith Jesus? That’s the mostimportant question you willever answer.

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Who is This Man Who Says He's God

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