Let's start of by making this easy. If you had the power to create a world of ants and you were so far above them, how would you communicate with them? How would you tell them about yourself? How would you show them that you love and care for them? Answer: You would become one of them on the outside but on the inside of that ant you would still be you. Simple isn't it? And it would be even easier to understand if you had the power of being completely 100% (undivided) everywhere at the exact same time. That way you could be completely on the ant his as a ant and still be above them as their creator. WOW! What a concept!!!
Now you understand how Jesus, the son of God, is completely God inside of that human body. God formed the molecules of the baby's body inside Mary's womb so He could place His every where present spirit in the fragile body she was to give birth to. Mary gave birth to "the only born God" (monogenes theos) (John 1:18) This thought makes me think of that song, "Mary Did You Know?" Click link for the song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikUovryDh80
EVIDENCE
Ok.....now that we have started out with the simple approach, it is time for the hard evidence of scripture approach.
John 1:14, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us"
The Word (that was God John 1:1) took on a fleshly form.....a little baby named Jesus (which means Jehovah our salvation) and by doing so He was "dwelling" (Greek word for "Tabernacle") among us. In the Old Testament God's Spirit would decend from Heaven down into the tent known as the Tabernacle. So God's Spirit would be inside of the tent or Tabernacle and be among the tribes of Israel camped around it. John 1:14 is calling Jesus's body the tent or Tabernacle that God's Spirit has decended into in order to be among us and share with us who He is on the inside and what our Heavenly Father is like in personality and love. Jesus is God!!
Several passages discuss the incarnation of Jesus at length (cf. John 1:1-18; Philippians 2:6-8; Colossians 1:16-18; Hebrews 1:10-11; Revelation 1:1-17). Philippians 2:6-7 sets forth the two natures of Jesus in unmistakable terms as it states:
Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.
This passage clearly teaches that Jesus has two natures – the nature of God and of man. Let us look at these two verses line by line. Verse 6:
Who, being in the form of God …
The word form here is the Greek word morphe, meaning “form, nature or attributes.” Jesus, before His birth form was none other than God.
thought it not robbery to be equal with God …
Jesus did not have to take that which was already His by nature – equality with God. Verse 7:
but made himself of no reputation …
Our Lord and God is humble and did not want to create a big reputation for himself by willingly taking on the form of a human body so He could teach us and show us what true love is all about.....sacrifice.....to sacrifice Himself in that body on the cross for our sins.
and took upon him the form of a servant …
This second occurrence of morphe (form). God took on the form of a man to be one of us and among us.
and was made in the likeness of men.
Jesus is both 100% God and 100% Man.
One of the names of Jesus is "Immanuel". It is a compond word that means, "Immanu" = "man" and "el" = "GOD". The total meaning of the name is "GOD/man". Jesus is both God and man by being God inside of a human body so He could be with us. (Matthew 1:23)
Enya Emmanuel Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPHh3nMMu-I
Blackmore's Night Emmanuel Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxJ7xOb4Bwg
Direct biblical statements attesting to the divinity of Christ.
† Isaiah 7:14 – Immanuel means “God with us.” This is a name which describes His person.
† Isaiah 9:6 – He is the “mighty God.”
† Zechariah 12:10 – In this verse Jehovah is the speaker, yet He is pierced for our sins.
† Matthew 1:23 – He is “God with us.”
† Matthew 22:41-45 – Jesus is David’s Lord. David was monotheistic, believing in only one Lord. See also Mark 12:35-37 and Luke 20:44.
† Mark 2:7-10 – Jesus forgave sins, which only God can do. See also Luke 5:20.
† John 1:1, 14 – The eternal Word was God who became a man.
† John 1:18 – The Greek text says, “Only begotten God” instead of “Son.” See the New American Standard Bible (NASB)for a literal translation of this verse.
† John 5:18 – Jesus made Himself equal with God by saying that God is His Father.
† John 8:58 – Jesus used the divine expression, “I AM” of Himself, as in Exodus 3:14.
† John 10:30 – “I and my Father are one.” The word one (hen) is neuter in Greek. It means one in essence or nature. This is a claim of being God. See verse 33, where the Jews understood this claim.
† John 20:28 – Thomas said Jesus was his Lord and God. Thomas was monotheistic, believing in only one God. Jesus accepted it and blessed him.
† Acts 20:28 – The two oldest Greek manuscripts say that God purchased the church with His own blood. This could only happen when God was incarnate as Jesus.
† Romans 9:5 – The antecedent to the clause, “God, blessed forever” is Jesus.
† Philippians 2:6-7 – Jesus has two natures, that of God and man.
† Colossians 2:9 – The fullness of deity dwelt in Him.
† Titus 2:13 – The Granville Sharp rule of Greek grammar says this should be translated as, “our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.” When two nouns are joined by the word and (kai), if the first has the definite article but the second does not, then the second noun is only further description of the first noun. See the NASB for a literal translation of this verse.
† Hebrews 1:8 – The Father called the Son, “God.”
† 2 Peter 1:1 – Jesus is, “our God and Savior.” The Granville Sharp rule of Greek grammar applies here. See the NASB for a literal translation of this verse.
† 1 John 5:20 – This verse says Jesus is “the True God and eternal life.” For those who doubt, see 1John 1:2, where the Son is called, “eternal life” at the opening of this epistle.
† Revelation 1:8 – Here, Jesus speaks of Himself as God the Almighty.
Jesus holds all the attributes that are unique to God.
† Eternal – Micah 5:2; John 1:1; Colossians 1:17-19 (before all things); 1 John 1:1.
† Omnipotent – Matthew 28:18; 1 Corinthians 1:24; Colossians 1:16-18; Hebrews 1:3; Revelation 1:8.
† Omnipresent – Matthew 18:20, 28:20.
† Omniscient – John 2:24, 16:30; 1Corithians 1:24; Colossians 2:3.
† Immutable – Hebrews 1:8, 13:8.
† Creator – John 1:3, 10; 1Corithians 8:6; Colossians 1:16-17; Hebrews 1:2, 10.
The Old Testament name, Jehovah, is deliberately applied to Jesus.
New Testament writers referred to Jesus as Jehovah. Those as familiar with the Old Testament as the early Christians were would readily pick up on this connection. In some passages, the name Jesus replaced the name Jehovah from the Old Testament quotation. In other passages, Jesus is the one fulfilling only what Jehovah Himself would do. Compare the following passages:
† Matthew 3:3 with Isaiah 40:3.
† Matthew 11:5 with Isaiah 35:4-6.
† Matthew 16:27 with Psalm 62:12.
† John 19:37 with Zechariah 12:10.
† Acts 2:20-21 with Joel 2:32.
† Philippians 2:10 with Isaiah 45:23.
† Hebrews 1:10 with Psalm 102:25-27.
† 1 Peter 2:8 with Isaiah 8:13-14.
† Revelation 2:23 with Jeremiah 17:10.
† Revelation 22:12 with Isaiah 40:10, 62:11.
Appearances of Christ in the Old Testament.
The appearances of Christ in the Old Testament are called Theophanies (appearances of God) or Christophanies (appearance of Christ). There were several times in the Old Testament where God appeared to men in a visible form. Sometimes this would be in the appearance of an angel and at other times in the appearance of a man. The Gospel of John records that no man has seen the Father (John 1:18, 6:46). If the Father was not seen in the Old Testament, who, then did the Patriarchs see? We believe it was the second person of the Trinity before He was born unto Mary. He was seen by Abraham (John 8:56-58) and by Isaiah (John 12:37-41). Paul wrote about Theophanies (1 Corinthians 10:4) as did Luke (Acts 7:4).
Some of the appearances of God in the Old Testament are: Genesis 12:7, 17:1, 18:1, 26:2, 26:24, 35:9; Exodus 3:2-6, 6:3, 24:9-11, 33:18; Isaiah 6:1-5.
Old Testament attributes and titles of Jehovah applied to Jesus.
El Shaddai Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AC0p8lt1_14
Jehovah Jesus
Glory: Isaiah 42:8 John 17:5
Light: Isaiah 60:20 John 1:9
Psalm 27:1 John 8:12
Holy: Isaiah 57:15 Luke 1:49
Judge: Joel 3:12 John 5:22
Psalm 50:6 2 Corinthians 5:10
King: Jeremiah 10:10 Revelation 17:14
Psalm 47:7 John 12:15
Lord: Deuteronomy 10:17 Revelation 17:14
Rock: Deuteronomy 32:4 1 Corinthians 10:4
2 Samuel 22:32 1 Peter 2:8
Savior: Psalm 106:21 Acts 4:12
First & Last: Isaiah 41:4 Revelation 1:8
Isaiah 44:6 Revelation 1:17
Shepherd: Psalm 23:1 John 10:14
Psalm 80:1 Hebrews 13:20
I AM: Exodus 3:14 John 8:58
Jesus responded to situations as only God can.
Jesus forgave sins – Mark 2:7-10; Luke 5:20.
Jesus was worshipped – Matthew 2:11 (by wise men), 8:3 (by the healed), 9:18 (by a ruler), 15:25 (by a Canaanite); John 9:38 (by a man born blind); Hebrews1:6 (by angels); Revelation 5:14 (by four heavenly creatures).
Jesus accepted prayer – John 14:14 (The Greek says, “If you ask me anything in my name.” See NASB for a literal translation of this verse); Acts 7:59-60 (Stephen prayed to Him); 1 Corinthians 1:2 (the church called upon Him); 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 (Christ answered the apostle’s prayer).
Questions and Answers.
In light of all the evidence concerning the deity of Jesus Christ there are some who still maintain that He is not God. This is usually due to two errors in their thinking – either they’re confused about the Persons of the Trinity or confused about the humanity and deity of Christ.
For the first error, the denial is usually stated as, “The Father is not the Son, so Jesus cannot be God.” The problem is in the statement. The Bible does not state that the Father is the Son. But due to all that the Bible does state, the correct view is that while the Father is distinct from the Son in person, they share the same nature of the one true God. We should always watch our terminology so that the Persons of the Trinity are not confused.
For the second error, the denial centers on the apparent humiliation of Christ’s humanity, which is falsely interpreted as a denial of his deity. These kinds of questions are best answered by always keeping in mind the biblical fact that Jesus is both God and man. Let us look at some examples of these questions.
Questions of omniscience:
Verses such as Mark 13:32 are referred to in an effort to say that Christ did not know everything. This confuses Christ’s will with His ability. All knowledge was hidden in Him (see Colossians 2:3). If Jesus willed to not reveal something, it does not mean He lacked the ability. The will to do something is no the same as the ability. Neither is the lack of will to be confused with the ability.
Questions of omnipotence:
Verses that show an apparent lack of power in Jesus are used to say He has no power. This is a misunderstanding of His mission. One purpose of His mission was to let the Father work through Him instead of acting on His own accord (see John 5:19). The Son was active in creation while the Father worked through Him (see Hebrews 1:2), yet no one degrades the Father by claiming He had not the power to do so on His own. Likewise, the Son allowed the Father to work through Him, and it does not mean He lacked the power Himself. This also is a case of confusing the will of the Son with His ability.
Questions of omnipresence:
This challenge is usually phrased, “How can the Son be everywhere when He is at the right hand of the Father?” The answer is that His nature as God is everywhere present (see Matthew 18:20, 28:20), while his resurrected humanity is at the right hand of the Father.
Question from Matthew 19:16-21:
Jesus said, “There is none good, but one, that is God.” Some suppose that Jesus denied His deity here. But just the opposite is true. So, why did Jesus make this statement? It was to see whether or not this young ruler believed Him to be who He really is – truly and properly God. Jesus established the true definition of being good. The only one truly good is God. Also, Jesus affirmed what the young ruler had already recognized in Him, that He is the “good master.” Jesus never said He was not good. He called Himself the “good shepherd” in John 10:14. He never rebuked the young ruler for calling Him good. Jesus is either good and therefore God or He is not good and therefore cannot be God.
Songs:
Amazing Grace by II DIvo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYMLMj-SibU
Awsome God by Rich Mullins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2w2b033DXCw
While You Were Sleeping by Casting Crowns: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rqhG2yT-58
There's A Man In Here by Statler Brothers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nGnXlGR5I8
Jesus is Coming Soon by The Oak Ridge Boys: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1u4Q88OxGvE
