Biblical Christian Foundations 003 – JESUS – Proof that he is God.

PROOF THAT JESUS IS GOD
FOUNDATION
Who is Jesus Christ? Many people today are willing to give him some honour.
Muslims say Jesus was a prophet/apostle, but not God (Koran 3:171 – O people of the Book , do not be fanatical in your faith, and say nothing but the truth about God.
The Messiah who is Jesus, son of Mary was only an apostle of God, and a command of His which He sent to Mary, as a mercy from Him. So believe in God and His apostles, and do not call Him ‘Trinity’. Abstain from this for your own good; for God is only one God, and far from His glory is it to beget a son. All that is in the heavens and the earth belongs to Him; and the earth belongs to Him; and sufficient is God for all help.)
The Jehovah’s Witness sects say Jesus is above the angels but below God.
Many recognize Jesus as a great religious leader and nothing more.
However the bible scriptures point to the divinity of Jesus Christ.

BACKGROUND
Two thousand years ago Jesus appeared onto the face of humanity and history.
He was born in a unique divine way. Both the Bible and the Quran attest to His divine birth. Quran ( 19: 19-21) He replied : “I am only a messenger from your Lord (sent) to bestow a good son you.” “How can I have a son, “she said “when no man has touched me , nor am I sinful?” He said : “Thus will be. Your Lord said: ‘It is easy for Me, and that: ‘We shall make him a sign for men and a blessing from Us. ‘This is a thing already decreed.”
His being was unique being both man and divine at the same time.
The virgin Mary conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and Christ was born.
It was God Himself who had visited the world in the form of man.
“In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1
“So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of Father’s one and only Son”. John 1:14

JESUS MISSION AND PORPOSE ON EARTH
To Save Man From the Power Of darkness and Satan :- “ For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost”. Luke 19:10
To Die on the Cross so he can ransom us and purchase us back into the kingdom of God :- “Even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28
To Destroy the works of Satan :- 1 John 3:8 “But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil.”
To give us eternal life :- 1 John 5: 10 – 11 “ All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts that this testimony is true. Those who don’t believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don’t believe what God has testified about his Son. And this is what God has testified : He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.”
To enable us to be born again into the family of God :-
John 1:12 “But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.”
To restore Our relationship with God :- 1 John 1:3 “We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us .And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”

CLARIFYING MISUNDERSTOOD PHRASES ABOUT JESUS IN THE SCRIPTURES
“The Son of God”
Many agree that Jesus is the Son of God, yet they disagree what the title means. Those who doubt the deity of Christ may rightly point out in the Scripture that
Angels are called “the sons of God” (Job 1:6, 2:1 ; 38:7 ; Da 3:25)
Adam is called “the son of God” (Lk 3:38)
Christians are called “the sons of God” (Ro 8:14 , 19 ; 9:26)
Adam and angels are the created sons of God. Christians are the adopted sons of God. Only Jesus is the eternal Son of God(Jn 1:1), He is Unique and rightly called the “one and only Son of God”. (John 3:16) . God the father testistifies about Jesus in the scriptures: “And a voice from heaven said ,”This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased”. (Mt 3:17)
“While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voicefrom the cloud said , “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Mt 17:5)
“One with the Father”
Some deny the deity of Jesus Christ saying that being one with the father is not sufficient proof that He is God. They claim the phrase in the bible simply refers to oneness in purpose, like Jesus prayed He and His disciples would be one in the following scriptures(John 17:20-22). However this not the only way they are one. They are also one in nature and character. They are both God. “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.” (Philippians 2:5-6)
“The Only Begotten Son”
The phrase “the only begotten son”, have caused some to stumble. They have wrongly concluded that Jesus is a created being. In the Greek language , “only begotten” is monogene . It means one of a kind. In other words, Jesus is a unique son. The NIV correctly emphasis Jesus is unique than begotten. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory ,the glory of the one and only , who came from the Father, full of grace and truth……… No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only , who is at the Father’s side , has made him known. {Jn 14,18}
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life…..Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one only Son. {Jn 3:16, 18}
“The Firstborn “
The word firstborn has led some people to conclude that Jesus was born first before anyone else. This is not correct the first born son had a special position of honour in Jewish tradition. Jesus is not called the ‘firstborn’ because he was born first. He is called the “firstborn” to help us understand that he is respected more than anyone else. Jesus is the firstborn in the sense that he is the first in “rank”. He is
First among many brothers (Rom 8:29)
-“Over all creation”(Col 1;15)
-“worshipped by angels”(Heb 1:6).
Thus we see that Jesus is called the “firstborn” in a figurative. This compares Him with all Figurative language is also used about Jesus in other scriptures. He is called a lamb, a lion, a door bread, a vine, etc., to illustrate certain truths.

Q 6 Why is Jesus referred to as the “firstborn”?

       These concept ”_”Son of God” “One  with The Father” “Only Begotten son, “and  “Firstborn”—Have often been misunderstood.  They have been misused by those who do not believe in the deity of Christ.  Nevertheless, the scriptures plainly teach that Jesus is more than a prophet or an apostle.  We will now consider ten conclusive proofs that Jesus is God.

Jesus is God

    Many proofs exist to show that Jesus is God, just as the Father is God. For the sake of space, we will give only ten such proofs.  They all show why Christians believe in the deity of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Is the Creator Of Everything
“In the beginning was the Word , and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all thing were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” (Jn1: 1-3)
“For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him.” (Col 1 :16)
Apostles and prophets do not create. The Quran also says that Jesus created a small bird , healed the blind,healed the leper, and infuse life into into the dead{Quran 3:49 And he will be Apostle to the children of Israel, (saying:) ‘I have come to you with a (sign)prodigy from your Lord that I will fashion the state of destiny(a bird) out of mire(clay) for you, and breathe (a new spirit) into it, and (you) (it will become a bird)will rise by the will of God. I will heal the blind and the leper, and infuse life into the dead, by the leave of God. I will tell you what you devour and what you hoard in your homes.In this will be a portent for you if you do believe } . God alone has the attribute of being Creator. The scriptures above clearly indicate that Jesus is the creator. Therefore Jesus is God.

Jesus Accepts Worship
In the Ten Commandments, God forbade the worship of any other god. (Exodus 20:3-5)
“And again when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him”. (Heb 1:6)
“Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a laud voice they sang “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth, wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise! Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honour and glory and power, for ever and ever !” The four living creatures said , “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshipped. (Rev 5:11 – 14)
Jesus Is Without Sin
“ Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? “ (Jn 8:46)
“Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd , “I find no basis for a charge against this man.” (Lk 23:4)
He commited no sin and no deceit was found in his mouth. (1Pet 2:22)
“Therefore , since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the of Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is to sympathies with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just us we are — yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Heb 4:14 -16)
“Such a high priest meets our need —one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. (Heb 7:26)
Jesus is the only sinless human who ever lived. He was able to live a sinless life on earth because of his divine nature.
Jesus Forgives Sin
He forgave the paralytic (Mk 2 :3 -11)
He forgave the sinful woman (Lk 7:47 – 49)
He forgave at a higher level than a regular human being. We have the ability to forgive those who sin against us. However , Jesus forgave even those who did not sin directly against him. He went further and gave the apostles power to forgive sins. This was only possible because of His divine nature.

Jesus Is Eternal
“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the word was God. (Jn 1:1) Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Heb 13:8)
“You are not yet fifty years old,” the Jews said to him, “ and you have seen Abraham,!” “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” (Jn 8:57 – 58)
The universe , the angels , demons , humans and animals were all created. Jesus Christ was not created. He declares in the book of revelation that He is the Alpha and Omega. He is the beginning and the end. This is another proof of His divinity.
Jesus Will Raise the Dead and Judge Them
“Do not Judge, or you too will be judged “, (Mt 7:1)
“Moreover , the Father judges no one , but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honour the Son just as they honour the Father. He who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father, who sent him. (Jn 5:22 – 23)
“For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead”. (Ac 17:31)
“For all must appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. (2Co 5:10)
All creation will be judged, man, demons and angels. The above scriptures clearly states that this role is preserved for Jesus Christ. He will also raise the dead back to life, and the proof is that he rose from the dead.
Jesus is Called “God”
“For to us a child is born , to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God. Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isa 9:6)
“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel – which means, “God with us”. (Mt 1:23)
Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” (Jn 20:28)
There are patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all , forever praised! Amen. (Rom 9:5)
But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God , will last for ever and ever , and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.” (Heb 1:8)
The above scriptures refer to Jesus as God.
Jesus is Present Everywhere (Omnipresent)
A human or angel can be in only one place at one time. Only God can be present everywhere at the same time.
“For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them. (Mt 18:20)
“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of age. (Mt 28:20)
Only God can declare the above statements , hence proof that Jesus Christ is God.
Jesus is the Ruler of the Universe and Head of the Church
“Who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand —–with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him”. (1 Pet 3:22)
He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the first- born from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. (Col 1:17 – 20)
Jesus is the Image of the invisible God
In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his His Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word . (Heb 1:1 -3a)
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form (Col 2:9)
He is image of the invisible God. (Col 1:15)

Compiled by Pst. Willy Ochieng
Primary Resource : Bible Doctrines by P.C Nelson and Pius Wawire Other resources The Holy Bible , The Holy Quran