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The
nature of Jesus Christ in the flesh has been debated since
early times in the church. Varying ideas have been suggested.
One of which is that Jesus, while on earth was just a man, an
ordinary man like you and me. Such a unique thing as "God
in the flesh" causes a sense of wonder. Yet in Matthew
1:23 it says: "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and
shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name
Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." Then
John writes: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made
flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory
as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and
truth" (John 1:1, 14). These verses clearly show that
Jesus was fully Deity and remained so when He dwelt here on
earth in the likeness of man.
But
some are not content with what the scriptures clearly say and
want to know matters beyond what is revealed therein. In
Deuteronomy 29:29 it says: "The secret things belong unto
the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong
unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the
words of this law." We must learn that God has revealed
unto us everything that we need to know to be able to have
eternal salvation. There simply are some things that man will
never understand (Isaiah 55:8-9; Romans 11:33). Man has never
been able to, or never will be able to, supply all the answers
to why God did or did not do something. Therefore, when we
look at "the Deity of Jesus", we must look at what
is revealed and be content with a "thus saith the
Lord" attitude on this subject.
Jesus
Is God. Even
though Jesus assumed the role of a servant and clothed Himself
with flesh, He was nonetheless God, God in the flesh (I
Timothy 3:16). Jesus Himself claimed to be the "existing
one," the "I AM" (John 8:24; 8:58). Even the
Jews recognized that eternal existence belongs only to God
(Isaiah 43:10-11). When Jesus made the claim that He was in
fact Deity, the Jews got mad and wanted to stone Him (John
8:59). They wanted to stone Him because He was claiming to be
equal with God which they considered to be blasphemy. The Jews
would have been correct in wanting to stone Jesus IF He were
"merely a man" and not really God. But that was not
the case. Jesus said: "I and my Father are one"
(John 10:30). The word "one" means a united one. One
not in person, but in essence or nature.
Jesus
Was Deity on Earth. The
attributes of His Deity was manifested while on earth. Notice
that Jesus said: "...he that hath seen me hath seen the
Father" (John 14:9), "I and my Father are one"
(John 10:30), and "...in him dwelleth all the fullness of
the Godhead bodily" (Colossians 2:9). Jesus plainly
stated that His Father and He are ONE. Paul said that the
fullness of the Godhead dwelled in Jesus while He was housed
in the physical body. This can't be much plainer. Jesus was
fully God while He lived on this earth.
We
also can read where Jesus was omniscient (had divine
knowledge) while on earth. Jesus knew people's thoughts
(Matthew 12:25; Luke 6:8; John 6:64; 13:1,11). We know that He
had to be God to be able to do this. Paul couldn't do this
(Acts 24:16ff). Jesus was all knowing because He could even
remember being with His Father before He came to earth (John
17:5; Luke 2:49).
Jesus
was omnipotent (all powerful) while on earth. He had the
power over disease and demons (Matthew 12:22), life and death
(John 11:43), and over nature (Matthew 14:25). Was this
something an ordinary human being could do? No. Only God could
do these things.
Jesus
allowed Himself to be worshiped (John 9:35-38; Matthew 2:11;
8:2; 9:18; 14:33; 15:25; 28:9; Luke 24:52). At no time do you
ever read where man accepted worship (Revelation 22:8-9; Acts
10:25-26; 14:13-15). Jesus never denied worship (because he
was God), but man did. When Jesus came to earth He possessed
ALL the attributes of Deity, and lived as a man among the
people. The Bible teaches it, and therefore we must believe
it.
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Richard Thetford
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