More About Jesus Lesson 1 – His Deity
There are many who do not have a proper understanding of Jesus’ deity. Some groups think of Jesus as only a man, or a man who grew into some form of godhood status (Mormons). Others view Jesus as helpless and powerless; someone who is dependent upon His mother. They depict Jesus in a weakened state in the arms of His mother or as a helpless baby, or in a state of death. They also believe that Jesus does not have the power in and of Himself to save you (Catholics) and traditions of men and sacraments are also needed. Others will claim that Jesus is some kind of lesser god, inferior to the Father. Yes little g. (Jehovah Witnesses) They all completely miss the truth. However, the problem of an improper view of Jesus is not limited to the cults. Many Christians will give mental assent to the deity of Jesus when pressed about it, but they don’t think about Jesus in that way very often. They would prefer to think of the other aspects of Jesus. His friendship, His Love, His faithfulness, and His answering prayer. They don’t let the fact that Jesus is God affect their lives. And it should affect us. His deity gives Him the right to give commands. He has the right to set the rules, and He has the right to expect obedience. It is also because of His deity that He has the power to save and the power to help in any situation. Jesus is so much more than just a baby in a manger or a good man who lived. Let’s take a look at what the Bible has to say about the deity of Jesus.
I Jesus is not like us.
a. He is not from the earth.
Joh 3:31 He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.
(When John was comparing himself to Jesus he made a clear distinction that Jesus is not from the earth like all other men. And because He is from Heaven, He is above all).
Phi 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Phi 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
Phi 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Phi 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
This truth is to effect us.
Phi 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of [things] in heaven, and [things] in earth, and [things] under the earth;
Phi 2:11 And [that] every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ [is] Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Jesus’ deity should make us bow the knee, and confess Him as Lord.
b. He is from everlasting.
Rev 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
Jesus already existed before creation. More on this below.
c. He is equal with the Father.
In giving direction, love, and grace.
1Th 3:11 Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you.
2Th 2:16 Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given [us] everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, 2Th 2:17 Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.
Jesus is fully God. He is not lacking any quality that the Father has.
Col 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
He is owner of all things equally with the Father
Joh 16:15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew [it] unto you.
Entitled to equal honor with the Father
Joh 5:23 That all [men] should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.
d. One with the Father
Joh 10:30 I and [my] Father are one.
Joh 10:38 But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father [is] in me, and I in him.
Joh 12:44 Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me.
Joh 12:45 And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me.
1Jo 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
II Jesus’ power and actions show that He is God.
a. He is creator of all things
Heb 1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by [his] Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Isa 40:28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, [that] the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? [there is] no searching of his understanding.
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
b. He has the power to forgive sins. This is something that belongs to God alone. Only He has the right or the power.
Col 3:13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also [do] ye.
Mar 2:7 Why doth this [man] thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?
Mar 2:8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?
Mar 2:9 Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, [Thy] sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?
Mar 2:10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)
Mar 2:11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.
Mar 2:12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.
c. He is omniscient. (All Knowing)
Joh 16:30 Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God.
Joh 21:17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, [son] of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
Joh 2:25 And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.
Just read the gospels and you will notice again and again how Jesus knew all things. This is a trait that belongs to God and God alone.
d. He is omnipotent. (All Powerful)
Phi 3:20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
Phi 3:21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
Rev 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
Heb 1:3 Who being the brightness of [his] glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
2Pe 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
2Pe 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that [pertain] unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
e. He is omnipresent.
Note Jesus is on the earth and says that He is in heaven. Present tense.
Joh 3:13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, [even] the Son of man which is in heaven.
Mat 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
Heb 13:5 [Let your] conversation [be] without covetousness; [and be] content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Jesus is present everywhere at the same time. This is an attribute of God alone.
III Witnesses to Jesus’ deity.
a. Acknowledged by His Apostles
Joh 20:28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
Joh 11:27 She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.
Now would be a good time to let the Bible define what is meant by the term Son of God.
Joh 5:18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.
Joh 19:7 The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.
Every time you see the term Son of God in the Bible, it is a reference to the deity of Jesus.
b. Acknowledged by Old Testament saints
Gen 17:1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I [am] the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
Gen 48:15 And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,
What you have here is an appearance of Jesus in the Old Testament and the Old Testament saints acknowledged Him as Almighty God.
Gen 32:24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
Gen 32:25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
Gen 32:26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
Gen 32:27 And he said unto him, What [is] thy name? And he said, Jacob.
Gen 32:28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
Gen 32:29 And Jacob asked [him], and said, Tell [me], I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore [is] it [that] thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.
Gen 32:30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
Hos 12:3 He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God:
Hos 12:4 Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him [in] Bethel, and there he spake with us;
Hos 12:5 Even the LORD God of hosts; the LORD [is] his memorial.
c. Acknowledged by Himself
We already looked at the verse. But when Thomas called Jesus God. Jesus accepted it.
As God He presents the Church to Himself
Eph 5:27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Jud 1:24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present [you] faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
Jud 1:25 To the only wise God our Saviour, [be] glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
IV Jesus should be treated accordingly.
a. As object of divine worship
Act 7:59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon [God], and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
Heb 1:6 And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.
Rev 5:12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
Rev 5:13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, [be] unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.
Rev 5:14 And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four [and] twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.
b. Saints live unto Him as God
Rom 6:10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Rom 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Rom 6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
Rom 6:13 Neither yield ye your members [as] instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members [as] instruments of righteousness unto God.
Gal 2:19 For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.
Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
2Co 5:15 And [that] he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
Jesus in fact existed from eternity past, left the glories of Heaven to go to the cross. The just for the unjust. The creator dying for the sins of His creation. No love is greater than His love. No example exceeds His. He is worthy of us following Him. He is worthy of us loving Him. Jesus is the Almighty.