14th June, 2022.

WHY I BELIEVE JESUS IS GOD Pt.2

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.NLT

The subject of Jesus' deity cannot be ignored because it is central and fundamental in the doctrine of the Christian faith. Those who see Jesus as a mere messenger or prophet will have a hard time accepting the reality of Jesus' deity. More so, those that do not believe in the bible as divinely inspired or those that see the bible as a book of Jewish scrap legend will totally rebuff this teaching. My aim is not to argue with anyone but set forth the counsel of God on this matter and show you from scriptures the proofs of Christ's deity. Jesus Himself claimed to be God. Before we consider what others said about His deity, it is good we hear from the master Himself. In John 8:58(NLT), "Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I Am!” Here, the use of "I Am" by Jesus is deliberate because this is a reference back to Exodus 3:14 when God revealed Himself to Moses as the "I Am."

Immediately he used that phrase "I Am" to describe Himself, in the next verse, the Jews who heard him picked stones to stone him for blasphemy: "At that point they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden from them and left the Temple". Their negative reaction to Jesus was because he claimed to be God. If he meant otherwise, the Jews would not have reacted the way they did. The testimony of Jesus about His deity is sufficient for us. However, God has a way of restating truths that are crucial and fundamental through His servants. John reiterate the concept of Jesus' deity: "In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God"(John 1:1 NLT). The "Word" in context is a person. How did we know? Reading downward in thesame chapter to verse 14, John said, "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". The Word that became flesh is Christ and John told us that very Word( that became flesh) was God in verse 1 of that chapter. This is so clear and unambiguous.

If Jesus is not God, salvation would be impossible. Only the blood of deity can save. If He were human just like you and me, His name and blood will not be significant. He is the King of glory that went to hell and took the keys of death and hell from Satan in His burial and resurrection. Only God could have done that. His name and blood command so much respect in heaven, on earth and in hell. That's why only His name is given to man for salvation: "Jesus is “the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved”(Acts 4:11-12). Hallelujah!!! Jesus is God.