Jesus is God according to the Bible
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| Jesus Christ is God |
The "Jehovah's Witnesses" and the Unitarians deny that Jesus Christ is God. But there are many passages in the Bible which show that Jesus is God. The first few that come to mind are:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1.)
"Thomas answered and said to him: My Lord, and my God" (John 20:28).
"Jesus said to them: Amen, amen I say to you, before Abraham was made, I am" (John 8:58).
"I am" is the very name that God gave to Himself when He appeared to Moses in the burning bush to indicate that He is the eternal, uncreated supreme being. When Jesus said this of Himself, he was clearly indicating that He is God. This is why the Jews "took up stones" to kill Jesus (John 8:59). The prophecy of Isaias 9:6, which is clearly about Jesus, also proves that Jesus is God:
"For a child is born to us, a son is given to us: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, God the Mighty. the father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace." (Isaias 9:6)
One of our personal favorites on this point, but which is often overlooked, is Acts 3:15.
Referring to how the Jews preferred the murderer Barabbas to Jesus and had Jesus crucified, St. Peter says:
"But the author of life you killed..." (Acts 3:15)
The author of life Jesus is God. Thus, Jesus is God. There are many other passages, such as Apocalypse chapter 1:
"And in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, one like to the Son of man... And when I had seen him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying: Fear not. I am the First and the Last, and behold I am living forever and ever..." (Apoc. 1)
Some people are unaware that God describes Himself as "the first and the last" in the Old Testament.
"I the Lord, I am the first and the last" (Isaias 41:4).
There are many other passages we could bring up, but the fact that Jesus is God is also proven by what is called "implicit Christology." This means that the manner in which Jesus spoke showed that he is God.
"You have heard that it was said to them of old: Thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say to you, that whosoever shall look on a woman to lust after her, hath already committed adultery with her in his heart" Matthew 5:28).
Notice that Jesus, commenting on the words and commandment of God Himself in Exodus 20:14, clearly puts His own declaration on the same level: You have heard that God has said, BUT I SAY, says Jesus. This way of speaking shows Jesus is God.
Another interesting passage comes in Galatians.
"Paul, an apostle, not of men or of man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead..." (Galatians 1:1)
Since Paul did not become an apostle by men or of man, but by Jesus Christ, the obvious implication is that Jesus Christ is not just a man. He is also God.
The fact that Jesus is God and man ( one Divine Person with two natures) was held by the earliest fathers of the Church and is a truth which must be held by all who want to be saved and possess the true Faith:
From AD 108, St. Ignatius to the church at Ephesus: "Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus, to her who has been blessed in greatness through the fullness of God the Father, ordained before time to be always resulting in permanent glory, unchangeably united and chosen in true passion, by the will of the Father and of Jesus Christ, our God, to the Church which is in Ephesus of Asia, worthy of felicitation: abundant greetings in Jesus Christ and in blameless joy." (Ephesians 1)
Pope Eugene IV, Council of Florence, Sess, 8, Nov. 22, 1439, ex cathedra: "Whoever wishes to be saved, needs above all to hold the Catholic faith; unless each one preserve this whole and inviolate, he will without a doubt perish in eternity. - But the Catholic faith is this, that we worship one God in the Trinity, and the Trinity in unity; neither confounding the persons, nor dividing the substance; for there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, another of the Holy Spirit, their glory is equal, their majesty coeternal...and in this Trinity there is nothing first or later,nothing greater or less, but all three persons are coeternal and coequal with one another, so that in every respect, as has already been said above, both unity in Trinity, and Trinity in unity must be worshipped. Therefore let him who wishes to be saved, think thus concerning the Trinity.
"But it is necessary for eternal salvation that he faithfully believe also in the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ...the Son of God is God and man... unless each one believes this faithfully and firmly, he cannot be saved."
