Why is Jesus GOD?
1. Jesus Is God Because He Claimed To Be The Son Of God
2. Jesus Is God Because He Is God's Only Begotten Son
3. Jesus Is God Because He Was Born Without A Human Father
4. Jesus Is God Because He Called God The Father
5. Jesus Is God Because He Is Called Messiah
6. Jesus is GOD Because He Received Worship
7. Jesus is GOD Because He is called Lord and God
8. Jesus is GOD Because He Pre-Existed
9. Jesus is GOD Because He claimed Before Abraham Was I am
10. Jesus is GOD Because He had the Power To Forgive Sins
11. Jesus is GOD Because He is the way, the truth and the life
12. Jesus is GOD Because He claims that I And The Father Are One
13. Jesus is GOD Because He Possessed Knowledge of All Things
14. Jesus is GOD Because He Performed Miracles
15. Jesus never claimed to be GOD
"Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, A MAN attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know..." Acts 2:22
For the Christian, the only documents accepted as reporting the words of Jesus are the accounts given in the Bible. However, there are no sayings of Jesus where he claimed "I am God" or "Worship me".
All quotations used to prove that Jesus is divine are implicit, that is, they require interpretation. We are told what Jesus said and then told what he meant.
The primary issue here is not whether Jesus is God, but whether he said that he was equal to God.
The evidence that is presented by the Christian is either inadequate, inconclusive, ambiguous; or unacceptable.
1. Jesus Is God Because He Claimed To Be The Son Of God
In the language of the Hebrew Bible, righteous persons who follow the Will and Plan of God are know as Sons Of God.
"Adam, which was the Son Of God." Luke 3:38
"The Sons Of God saw the daughters of men... And the Sons Of God came in unto the daughters of men..." Genesis 6: 2,4.
"Israel is My Son, even my first born." Exodus 4:22
"...for I (God) am a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn." Jeremiah 31:9
"The Lord hath said unto me (David), Thou art My Son this day have I Begotten thee." Psalms 2:7.
Also Mat 5:9; Romans 8:14 etc.
Son Of God is a nothing but a metaphorical description commonly used among the Jews.
2. Jesus Is God Because He Is God's Only Begotten Son.
The most widely translated sentence on earth is said to be Jesus' statement of John 3:16,
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son..."
Christians wish to say that the word Only Begotten (Monogenis) gives Jesus a special status among all the Sons of God.
However, not all Bibles translate the passage with this key word because some translators have seen the difficulty this causes.
The same word translated as Only Begotten is found at Hebrews 11:17. In this verse the word refers to Isaac. The Bible itself shows that Isaac's older brother Ishmael outlived his father (Genesis 25:9). Therefore, at no time was Isaac, strictly speaking, the only begotten of Abraham.
In the case of Isaac the Church explains that "only-begotten" is not to be understood strictly but must be modified. However, no such modification is allowed in the case of John 3:16.
3. Jesus Is God Because He Was Born Without A Human Father
Does the miraculous birth of Jesus make him a God?
If being born without a male parent entitles Jesus to being God, then Adam would have a greater right to such honor. Adam was born without either a human father or mother.
4. Jesus Is God Because He Called God The Father
The use of the term Father is inconclusive evidence that God was literally Father to Jesus. All Christians use the term when addressing God. The Jews themselves used the term (John 8:41). Jesus told them that the devil was their Father (John 8:44). Of course, he was not speaking literally.
5. Jesus Is God Because He Is Called Messiah
Muslims agree that Jesus was the Messiah. However, Christians have come to believe that there is a connotation of divinity in the word. Messiah is a Hebrew word meaning Anointed, its Grecian form is Christ. Although modern Bibles hide the fact, many individuals are called Messiah. Cyrus the Persian is called Messiah (anointed) in Isaiah 45:1.
Where Bible verses refer to Jesus, translators prefer use the word Messiah or Christ. For all other occurrences, they render only the meaning of the word as anointed. In this way they hope to give the impression that there is only one Messiah. (for details see below)
6. Jesus is GOD Because He Received Worship
The fact that Jesus accepted worship is offered as strong proof of his divinity.
John 9:38: "Lord, I believe, and he worshipped him."
Matthew 28:17 "they saw him, they worshipped him".
The word translated as worshipped in both verses is the Greek word proskuneo {pros-ku-neh'-o} which literally means: "To kiss, like a dog licking his masters hand". (Strong's concordance).
Even Prophet Daniel was worshipped by Nebuchadnezzar:
"Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and worshipped Daniel..." (Daniel 2:46, KJV)
If He was not to be worshipped, why didn't He tell this man to stop? It appears that "worship" was a type of greeting or salutation offered by the king.
In all modern versions of the Bible, when Daniel was worshipped, the word worship has been removed. However, in the case of Jesus, the word worship still remains. (e.g., compare NIV and KJV)
The same trick is applied to the word Messiah/Christ. Messiah is a Hebrew word meaning Anointed, its Grecian form is Christ. Although modern Bibles hide the fact, many individuals are called Messiah. Cyrus ther Persian is called Messiah (anointed) in Isaiah 45:1. Where Bible verses refer to Jesus, translators prefer use the word Messiah or Christ. For all other occurrences, they render only the meaning of the word as anointed. In this way they hope to give the impression that there is only one Messiah.)
7. Jesus is GOD Because he is called Lord And God
An episode is recounted in the twentieth chapter of John and a certain Thomas is quoted as saying, My Lord and My God.
In interpreting this, Christians maintain that Thomas was addressing Jesus by both of these titles. The Muslim would have no objection to the term Lord.
As the Bible explains, the word means Master and Sarah is said to have called her husband Abraham by this title (1 Peter 3:6).
The suggestion that Thomas addressed Jesus as literally being God is a different matter. Jesus had already pointed out that the Hebrew scriptures themselves address men as gods (John 10:34; Psalms 82:6). This would allow for Thomas' use of the term.
However, Paul gave new rules in 1 Corinthians chapter 8, saying that there are many lords and gods ...yet for us there is but one God, the Father,... and one Lord, Jesus Christ...
Christians apply this verse to sort out the ambiguities of Thomas' expression. But now we are left with an unorthodox doctrine, namely that Jesus is the Father.
This ancient heresy has been branded by the Church as Patripassianism, Moarchianism, or Sebellianism. The impossibility of an orthodox interpretation of Thomas is now apparent.
The distinction between Father and Son is essential to the doctrine of Trinity.
The distinction is blurred again when John 14:9 is pressed into service. Here Jesus' reply to a man named Philip is recorded as He who has seen me has seen the Father.
A strictly literal explication would mean the unacceptable doctrine that Jesus is the Father. So interpreters say that Father is here equivalent to God. However, we cannot possibly be obliged to understand that Jesus meant to say that seeing him was exactly the same as seeing God because he was God. Our reason is found in the contrariety of John 5:37 You have neither heard His (God) voice at any time nor seen his form.
8. Jesus is GOD Because He Pre-Existed
At John 8:58 it is reported that Jesus said, Before Abraham was I am.
Even if Jesus meant to claim by these words that he was alive before Abraham was, is it sufficient ground to say that he was divine?
If Jesus lived in heaven then came to the earth it might mean something remarkable, but it would not be enough to establish him as God Christians do not imagine that the prophet Jeremiah had a prehuman existence and find a suitable way of interpreting the words of Jeremiah 1:5 which portrays such a situation, if taken literally.
However not such similar understanding is permitted by the Church in the case of John 8:58!
9. Jesus is GOD Because He claims Before Abraham was I am
In Exodus 3, it is reported that God told Moses I am what I am as most English Bibles translate the Hebrew text. At John 8:58 Jesus says, before Abraham was I am as most English Bibles translate the Greek text.
But here is the key to another deception. The original of the first text is in Hebrew, while the original of the second is in Greek. All but a few of Jesus' words are recorded in Greek.
For two hundred years before the time of Jesus the Jews used a Greek translation of their Hebrew scriptures, the Septuagint. This work translated the key phrase I am of Exodus as ***** ON. However, the words of Jesus, I am, have been given in Greek as EGO EMI
If the gospel writer in John 8:58 wanted to tell his Greek-speaking audience that Jesus had imitated God he would have used the familiar words of the Septuagint.
10. Jesus is GOD Because He Had The Power To Forgive Sins
In the second chapter of Mark, Jesus tells a man, Your sins are forgiven (Mark 2:5-10). The fact that Jesus forgave sins is perhaps the action of Jesus which is most commonly seen as being synonymous with divinity since it is argued that only God can forgive sins. The customary interpretation takes the side of the Jews then present who ask, Who can forgive sins but God alone?
But the verse at John 12:49, among others, explains very well how a man could make such a statement. In this verse Jesus denies any personal initiative. (see also John 8:40; 14:10)
This same authority to forgive sins is apparently granted to his disciples: If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven... (John 20:23), but it is never suggested that the disciples are thus divine!
11. Jesus is GOD Because He is The Way, The Truth and The Life
I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father, but through me.(John 14:6)
Exactly what this verse is supposed to prove is left vague by the Christian. Does it prove the divinity of Jesus? Is it supposed to mean that God listens to no one except Jesus or those who call on Jesus?
The dictionary shows that the words "way", "truth", and "life" do not automatically carry connotations of divinity. So the Christian insist that the structure of the sentence stresses the way, the truth, and the life, as though Jesus is unique for all time.
Bill Clinton may be the American President but he is not the first and probably not the last! So language usage alone does not do the job of proving Jesus' divinity.
12. Jesus is GOD Because He Claims That I And The Father Are One
At John 10:30 Jesus is quoted as saying I and the Father are one. The Greek word translated One is HEN. Certain scholars have insisted that the only possible understanding of this word is One in essence or nature.
One need not be a Greek scholar to refute this unjustified claim. A counter example is sufficient. The same word is used by Jesus in John 17:11, 21,22,23 as he includes his disciples in this ONEness, whatever the meaning.
13. Jesus is GOD Because He Possessed Knowledge of All Things
This is a false claim refuted by Jesus himself: No-one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, NOR THE SON, but only the Father. Matthew 24:36.
This verse also denies the claim the God and Jesus are ONE is essence or nature.
14. Jesus is GOD Because He Performed Miracles
Jesus admitted that the miracles he performed were not by his own power:
•...All power is GIVEN unto me in heaven. Mat 28:18
•I cast out devils BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD... Mat 12:28
•I can of mine OWN SELF do nothing... John 5:30
All the miracles performed by Jesus have parallels in the Old Testament. For example:
•Fed the Multitudes: II Kings 4:42-44
•Healed the lepers and blind: so did others I Kings 5:14; 6:17,20;
•Acts 3:7; 5:15-16)
•Brought the dead to life: So did others: I Kings 17:22; II Kings 13:21; Ezek 37:1-14)
•Rose from the dead: So did others Ezek 37:1-14
15. Jesus never claimed to be GOD
And behold! God will say: "O Jesus the son of Mary! Did you say unto men, 'worship me and my mother as gods in derogation of God?'" He will say: "Glory to you. Never could I say what I had no right (to say). Had I said such a thing, You would indeed have known it. You know what is in my heart, though I know not what is in Yours. For you know in full what is hidden. (The Holy Qur'an 5:116)
They do blaspheme who say "God is the Christ the son of Mary." But Christ said "O Children of Israel! Worship God, (who is) my Lord and your Lord." Whosoever joins other gods with God - God will forbid him the Garden, and the fire will be his abode... They do blaspheme who say "God is one of three in a Trinity". For there is no god except One God. If they desist not from their word (of blasphemy), verily a grievous penalty will befall the blasphemers among them (The Holy Qur'an 5:72-73).
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