Is Jesus God?

Transcript

INTRO:  Good afternoon and welcome back to the Sunday School Podcast, the pod all about digging deeper into the Bible using social, historical, and scientific context.  I’m Sean Parker, and today we’re going to answer the question “Is Jesus God?”

I want to apologize for my voice.  My 2 year old son can’t share his toys, but he is very good at sharing his germs.  Everytime he gets sick, I am right behind him.

Did you know Jesus never uttered the words “I am God?”  For that reason, there are many today who don’t believe in the deity of Jesus.

Having grown up in a church that believed in the Trinitarian God, I never questioned that Jesus was God.

It wasn’t until recently, in an online forum, that I saw people arguing on this very topic.  To me, it seems silly that anyone would believe Jesus was anything other than God, but let’s look at what the scripture tells us.

(Transition)

To me, recognizing Jesus as God can be broken down into four areas.  What the Old Testament said about the coming Messiah, what Jesus said about himself, what His followers said about Him, and what God the father said about Jesus.

People who deny Jesus’ Godhood typically admit that He was the Messiah and the Son of God.  They recognize Him as a prophet and greater than the angels, but still beneath God.

So, if you recognize Jesus as the Messiah, you have to believe what the Old Testament said about the Messiah.

Isaiah 9:6-7 says

6For a child will be born for us,

a son will be given to us,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

He will be named

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7The dominion will be vast,

and its prosperity will never end.

He will reign on the throne of David

and over his kingdom,

to establish and sustain it

with justice and righteousness from now on and forever.

The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.

 Some say that, like others in the Bible, this name was making a statement about God.  In other words, it was saying “Mighty is God.”

However, if we look to the New Testament for the fulfilment of this prophesy, we see that the rest of these verses were ascribed directly to Jesus.  It would only make sense that the term Mighty God was being applied to Him as well.  Luke 1:32 says

32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. 33He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end.” 

One of the names for the coming Messiah given in Isaiah is “Emmanuel.”  Emmanuel means “God with us”

Other scriptures in the Old Testament confirm this.  Jeremiah 23:5-6 says

“Look, the days are coming”  — this is the Lord’s declaration —

“when I will raise up a Righteous Branch for David.

He will reign wisely as king

and administer justice and righteousness in the land.

6In his days Judah will be saved,

and Israel will dwell securely.

This is the name he will be called:

The Lord Is Our Righteousness.

The word used for the Lord here is YAHWEH, which is the Hebrew name for God.

Zechariah 2:10-13 says

10“Daughter Zion, shout for joy and be glad, for I am coming to dwell among you” — this is the Lord’s declaration. 11“Many nations will join themselves to the Lord on that day and become my people. I will dwell among you, and you will know that the Lord of Armies has sent me to you. 12The Lord will take possession of Judah as his portion in the Holy Land, and he will once again choose Jerusalem. 13Let all humanity be silent before the Lord, for from his holy dwelling he has roused himself.”

So God said he was going to come and dwell among us.  Clearly the Old Testament prophecies recognized that Jesus was God.

But, what did Jesus actually say about himself if He didn’t directly say “I am God?”

Jesus identified himself as God multiple times in the book of John.  In John 10:30 Jesus says

30I and the Father are one.”

This is further qualified 3 verses later in verse 33

33“We aren’t stoning you for a good work,” the Jews answered, “but for blasphemy, because you — being a man — make yourself God.”

Jesus calls Himself God in John 8:58-59 Jesus says

58Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

The Jews Jesus was speaking to hear recognized that Jesus was calling himself God.  He used the term I AM.  This was the name God told Moses to call Him in Exodus.  It also pointed to Jesus being eternal, saying that he was before Abraham.  Knowing Jesus was calling Himself God, the Jews then wanted to stone him.

So, Jesus clearly referred to himself as being God, but the apostles referred to Him as God as well.

The book of John begins with a statement that Jesus was God.  John 1:1-3, 14 says

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

14And 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.

Towards the end of the book of John, Thomas calls Jesus, “My Lord and my God.”  Jesus doesn’t correct him.

Titus 2:13 says

waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

Jesus followers clearly believed Him to be God, Jesus himself claimed to be God, and the Old Testament prophecies pointed to the Messiah being God, but what does God the father say about the Son?

In Hebrews 1:8 He says

8But of the Son he says,

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,

the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.

So how do we reconcile there being only one God, yet here we see God the father and God the Son.

This is where belief in the Trinity comes into play.  There is only one God, but three persons. God the father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

One of the simplest ways of looking at it is if we imagine the Sun.  That’s S-U-N sun.  God the father is the Sun, Jesus is the light, and the Holy spirit is the heat.  Not a perfect analogy, but still pretty good.

Recognizing that Jesus is God is important.  In John 14:6 

6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

The world owes a debt to the eternal God.  That debt had to be paid for us to receive salvation.  Only an eternal being, God could pay the debt that we owe.  So salvation can only be achieved through faith in Jesus, our Lord and Savior.  Don’t ever doubt that Jesus is God.

Outro:  As always, I hope you enjoyed this episode.  If you did, don’t forget to leave a review in whatever player you use to listen to podcasts.  

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