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Because the demands of Jesus are so great upon His
disciples, it is no wonder that some show concerned caution
before becoming involved. After all, just exactly Who Is Jesus
that He can make such demands upon our lives?
There is no doubt that Jesus’ apostles believed that He was
more than just an ordinary man. The apostle Paul claimed that in
Jesus “all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form”
(Colossians 2:9). Since Paul wrote in Greek, it is interesting
to note that the word translated “Deity” comes from the Greek
work “Theoteis.” Some translations render it “Godhead”
and it is found in other verses which describe Almighty God.
(Acts 17:29; Romans 1:20) In other words, everything that makes
God God was found in the fleshly body of Jesus. Paul believed
that Jesus was actually “God in the Flesh.”
The apostle John also reflected this belief. In the gospel
of John, chapter 1, verses 1-3, he wrote: “In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He
was in the beginning with God. All things came into being by
Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come
into being.” Then, in verse 14 he added: “And the Word became
flesh, and dwelt among us....” The context of this chapter makes
it clear that John is describing Jesus. John calls Him “the
Word.” In verses 1-3 John claims that none of creation could
have occurred without the work of “the Word” (who is Jesus). But
he also claims that “the Word WAS God” and that “the Word became
flesh.” Like Paul, John believed that Jesus was actually “God in
the Flesh.”
Jesus never denied His deity. Many of His actions were
considered to be blasphemous by His earthly contemporaries.
Everybody knew that only God can forgive sins. Yet, in Mark 2:5
Jesus said to a paralytic man, “My son, your sins are forgiven.”
In doing this, Jesus exercised a prerogative reserved only for
God. He allowed people to “Worship” Him on numerous occasions
(John 9:38; Matthew 14:33; Matthew 8:2; 9:18; 15:25; 18:26;
20:20; 28:9) even though the Law of Moses was clear that only
Jehovah God was to be worshipped (Exodus 34:14; see also Matthew
4:10; Acts 10:25-26; Revelation 22:8-9). In doing this, Jesus
was acknowledging His deity. He infuriated people in John
8:56-59 when He referred to Himself with the revered “I AM”
title of Jehovah from Exodus 3:14. The people picked up stones
to throw at Him because they knew that He was identifying
Himself with Jehovah. Indeed, Jesus made His identity clear.
The Old Testament prophet Isaiah foretold the birth of a
child who would be called “Mighty God” and “Eternal Father”
(Isaiah 9:6). He also prophesied of a virgin who would bear a
son and would “call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). The
apostle Matthew revealed that Jesus was the fulfillment of these
prophesies, then went on to explain that “Immanuel” means “God
with us.” (Matthew 1:23) You see, the prophets foretold that God
would become flesh; Jesus maintained that He was “God in the
Flesh”; and the apostles of the early church believed and
taught that Jesus was “God in the Flesh.”
Jesus is no ordinary person. This is why He can make such
amazing demands on our lives. For Jesus to require that we make
Him #1 in our lives is the equivalent of requiring us to make
God #1 in our lives; because Jesus IS God!
This is not an easy concept to believe. Perhaps we should
give some reasons why one might be inclined to believe such a
thing as this. And we shall, in "EVIDENCE FOR THE DEITY OF
JESUS".
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Probe |
WHO IS JESUS?
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103
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1. Do you believe that Paul and John considered Jesus to
be “God in the flesh”?
(Colossians 2:9; John 1:1-3,14)
2. Does it seem to you that Matthew believed that Jesus was
the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecies? (Isaiah 9:6; 7:14;
Matthew 1:23)
3. Do you see any significance in the fact that Jesus forgave
sins and allowed Himself to be worshipped by men?
4. Agree/Disagree: If Jesus was not God in the flesh,
then He was a bad man.
5. Do you believe that Jesus was “God in the Flesh”?
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Your Bible questions answered here.