Thoughts On The Deity Of Jesus
Jesus Christ
The question is simply, “Who is Jesus Christ?” Some say He was the greatest teacher to ever live; some say that He was a good man who became the victim of circumstance and who died a senseless and tragic death; some say He was a man deceived; some say He was the one He claimed to be. Is it important to know who He claims to be? In the words of Jesus himself we hear, “If you do not believe that I am the one that I claim to be, then you will indeed die in your sins.” To die in one’s sin means that upon death you are thrown into the fires of Hell, because you still carry your sins with you. It is of extreme importance to know who Jesus is.
1. Jesus is God
Who is Jesus? He is God! Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.” He claimed that they were of one essence. They are one in the same. Whoever the Father is, then so is Jesus. The Father is God, therefore Jesus is God. Philip, a disciple of Christ asked Jesus to, “Show us the Father,” to which Jesus replied, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.”
Jesus also verified that He indeed meant to claim that He was God by the fact that He accepted worship as God. The scene is the upper room where the disciples are gathered after the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Jesus is not there, and Thomas has arrived and has not yet seen the resurrected Christ. He makes a statement that, “unless I put my fingers in the nailprints in his hands and put my hand in his side, then I will not believe that he has risen!” Later that week, when Jesus reappears Thomas is there and Jesus says to Thomas, “put your fingers in my hands and your hand into my side.” Thomas then replies, “My Lord and my God!” What was Jesus’ response to being referred to as God? Silence! If He was not God then He would have corrected Thomas, yet He did not say anything. This in effect is His acceptance of worship as God.
2. Jesus is the Creator
The Bible tells us, “. . .by Him (context is direct reference to Christ) all things were created: things in heaven and on earth. . .all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:16-17). Jesus made the entire universe! Everything on earth has a source; dogs, plants, trees, minerals, and man, we all come from something. That something also has a source and on it goes until you come to the beginning of life–Jesus Christ. We have our existence directly by the hand of Christ. Not only did Jesus create us, He also sustains us. We do not pick the moment of birth nor the time of death. It is all decided by Jesus, He has picked the day of our birth and the exact moment of our death. What a gracious God he is to allow any of us to live. We all deserve instant death for our disobedience to God’s Holy Word, but the grace of Jesus allows us to live for a while to find him and to worship him with our souls.
3. Jesus is the Savior
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12). Jesus is the only one in all of creation who can save us from the judgment due us for our sins. Michael is a great Archangel but unable to save man from the “fires of Hell.” There is no man who ever lived that could pay to God the penalty due for the smallest sin. Not even Paul the Apostle or Mary the earthly mother of Jesus could have any effect on the atonement of man’s sin. In fact, God the Father and the Holy Spirit are unable to provide salvation without the “Shed Blood of Jesus Christ!”
Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6). We cannot even approach God the Father unless we first “bow down in worship” at the feet of Jesus. There are a number of false religions in the world that attempt to worship God without coming through Jesus. Think of the Jewish faith that believes in God but rejects Jesus, or the Hindus who only consider Jesus a “good man” and try to approach God without the cleansing Blood of Jesus. The only hope we have is the person of Jesus Christ.
Jesus can claim to be the only one able to save man because He was the only one who went to the cross. It was at the cross that all of our sins were paid for by the suffering of Jesus. Therefore Jesus can say, “If you do not believe that I am who I claim to be, then you will indeed die in your sins,” let us bow down and acknowledge the God of the Universe–Jesus Christ.
Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
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Shreveport, LA 71110
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