Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Is Jesus God?

Jesus Claimed to be God:

Claim of eternal pre-existence as "I AM" (John 8:58)
Claim of living on into eternity future (Matt. 28:20)
Claim to be the Son of God (Mark 14:62; Luke 22:70)
Claim of belonging in the position of authority in heaven (Mark 14:62)
Claim of God being His Father (Luke 24:49; John 8:19)
Claim of being the source of eternal life (John 6:35; 51)
Claim of being able to resurrect people from the dead (John 11:25)
Claim of being the source of light (John 8:12)
Claim of a heavenly origin (John 6:38; 8:23)
Claim of doing the works of God (John 10:36-39)
Claim that "I and the Father are one (neuter "one" indicates same essence) John 10:30
Claim to be Lord (John 13:13)
Claim that God the Father is "in Him" (John 14:10)
Claim of omnipresence (an attribute of God) (Matthew 18:20)

Liar, Lunatic, or Lord?

Consider this, if someone claims to be God, either they are telling the truth, so they are, indeed, God;  or, they are lying; or, they are crazy.  There are no other options. 

But, did Jesus show any signs of insanity?  If He was insane, His enemies would not have regarded Him as a threat that they needed to kill.  There is no evidence of mental imbalance of a deranged person; quite the contrary, we see calmness, serenity, and control  He does not show evidence of megalomania; He was humble in spirit.

Did He show evidence of deceitfulness?  If He was lying, Pilate could not tell (John 19:4).  It is inconsistent to think that someone that no one could accuse of any sin, would commit such a grievous sin as to lie about being God.  No on had ever heard Him lie about anything before.  If He lied about being God, all His moral teachings are the greatest hypocrisies.  If He was lying, He was so convincing that those who were with Him night and day never caught Him in any inconsistency, and they were willing to go to their deaths, which was unlikely for a known lie.  Further, if He were lying, what would have been His motive?  Personal gain?  No, He rejected Satan's offer of the world's riches.  Fame?  No, He actually withdrew from the crowd that wanted to make Him king by acclamation.  Personal worship and adulation?  No, what would the benefit be of worship if He knew it was false?   If personal adulation was the goal, once the adulation stopped and ridicule and scoffing was what He received, wouldn't He have backed down from the lie, especially if He expected it to result in His death (unless He were insane, which was already addressed above).

Jesus Displayed the Attributes of God

Did Jesus back up His claims by doing works that demonstrated the attributes of God?  Here are key verses that demonstrate His divine attributes:

Omnipotence (Matt. 28:18)
Omniscience (John 1:48; John 13:19)
Life giver (John 5:25)
Holiness in word and deed (Matt. 5-7; John 8:46)
Healing miracle by word only over distance (Matt. 8:13)
Power over nature (Matt. 8:23-27)
Power over demons (Matt 8:28-34)
Power over death (Matt. 9:18-25)
Source of Truth (John 14:6)
Source of Forgiveness (Luke 7:48)
Healing power over leprosy (Matt. 8:3)
Healing power over blindness (Matt. 9:28)
Knowledge of the future (Matt. 20:22)
Predicted His own resurrection (Matt 27:63)
Power over His own death through resurrection (Matt. 28:6)

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