Contents
Jesus Divinity seen in His Teachings
We see from the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, even in the time he was a child visiting the temple (Luke 2:46-47) that Jesus had a divine authority in His character. Perhaps other men of God also had this divine authority in his character, ministry, and teaching, but not had it like Jesus.
5. Jesus ever regards himself as the final authority for men. Notice the tone of authority in his forms of speech: “Verily, verily, I say unto you;” “Ye have heard how it hath been said, but I say unto you.” Sometimes the strangest thing in his speech is not its content, but its manner, the way it manifests an absolute consciousness that he himself is the last court of appeal. (See Saint Matt. 5.18-39 and Saint John 14.2, 3.)
6. Jesus regards himself as the supreme Master of men. As supreme Master he demands obedience. “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Saint Luke 6.46; compare with Saint John 21. 22.)
7. As a further revelation of the consciousness of mastership over men, notice our Lord’s claim upon their love “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Saint Matt. 10.37; and, as a significant background, read the passage in Saint Matt. 22.37-39). Olin Alfred Curtis(1850-1918) – The Christian Faith chapter 16 (1905)
“And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not” (John 5:38). Here our Lord begins to make solemn application of what He had said to the consciences and hearts of these Jews. Note the awful charges which He brings against them: “ye have not his word abiding in you” (verse 38); “Ye will not come to me” (verse 40); “ye have not the love of God in you” (verse 42); “ye receive me not” (verse 43); “ye seek not the honor that cometh from God only” (verse 44); “ye believe not” (verse 47). But notice carefully the basic charge: “ye have not his word abiding in you.” This explained all the others. This was the cause of which the others were but the inevitable effects. If God’s Word has no place in man’s hearts they will not come to Christ, they will not receive Him, they will not love God, and they will not seek the honor that cometh from God only. It is only as the Word is hidden in our hearts that we are preserved from sinning against God. Arthur Pink – Exposition of the Gospel of John, Chapter 19.
Jesus’ Divinity seen in his Commandments to Men
17. We have caught glimpses of our Saviour’s redemptional consciousness, here and there, during his active ministry; but the inquiry naturally arises, After his resurrection, does he manifest the same consciousness, the same conception of himself? “And when they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Saint Matt. 28.17-20; compare with Saint Mark 16.14-16; also with Saint Luke 24.44-49; also with Acts 1.6-8).
The rationalistic contention that this passage reveals an altogether different attitude from that of Jesus before his crucifixion is such a contention as we would expect from men who have never caught the spirit and progressive method in our Lord’s mission of redemption. But I am quite sure that to the real Christian consciousness this most extraordinary passage effectually appeals as an indorsement, in succinct expression, of the same redemptional consciousness which our Saviour had during his active ministry. The passage is neither more nor less than the conjoining, for the establishment and future work of the Christian church, of all the tremendous claims which our Lord had ever made. Olin Alfred Curtis(1850-1918) – The Christian Faith chapter 16 (1905)
Jesus’ Divinity seen in power to resurrect the dead]
“For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will” (John 5:21). This verse presents the fourth proof of Christ’s Deity. Here He affirms His absolute equality with the Father in sovereign rights. This affords further evidence that the Lord Jesus was not here speaking as the dependent Servant, but as the Son of God.
He lays claim to Divine sovereignty. The healing of the impotent man was an object lesson: it not only demonstrated His power, but it illustrated His absolute sovereignty. He had not healed the entire company of impotent folk who lay around the Pool; instead, He had singled out just one, and had made him whole. So He works and so He acts in the spiritual realm. He does not quicken (spiritually) all men, but those “whom He will.” He does not quicken the worthy, for there are none. He does not quicken those who seek quickening, for being dead in sin, none begin to seek until they are quickened. The Son quickeneth whom He will: He says so, that ends the matter. It is not to be reasoned about, but believed. To quicken is to impart life, and to impart life is a Divine prerogative. How this confirms our interpretation of the previous verses! It is the Divine rights of Christ which are here affirmed.
“For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.” The verse opens with the word “for,” showing it is advancing a reason or furnishing a proof in connection with what had been said previously. In our judgment it looks back first to verse 19 and gives an illustration of “what things soever he (the Father) doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise”—the Father quickens, so does the Son. But there is also a direct connection with the verse immediately preceding. There he had referred to “greater works” than healing the impotent man. Here, then, is a specimen—quickening the dead: making alive spiritually those who are dead in sins. This is a further demonstration of His absolute equality with the Father. Arthur Pink – Exposition of the Gospel of John, Chapter 18
First, the fact that “all that are in the graves shall hear” the voice of Christ and shall “come forth,” proves that He is far more than the most exalted creature. Who but God is able to regather all the scattered elements which have gone to corruption! Arthur Pink –Exposition of the Gospel of John, Chapter 18
God will raise the Dead
Romans 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Jesus will raise the Dead
John 2:19 Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
Jesus God in references to His shed blood redeeming
God
Hebrews 13:12
Colossians 1:14
Jesus’ Divinity seen in his eternal co-existence with the Father
John 1:1-2
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God”
This passage asserts that in the beginning existed the Word (Logos). This Word is further made clear that it is Jesus in John 1:14-15 “made flesh, and dwelt among us… John bare witness of him“. Our point here is that “beginning” is before creation. This is obviously in view, a pre-creation world or existence of God. There are three assertions here: (1) The word was from the beginning, (2) the word was with God, (Greek pros or before, or face to face with. Pros means equality or before on an equal footing or basis) (3) the Word was God.
There is a co-existence of the Word and God. We coexist with God, but not from the beginning of all things. Furthermore, this “Word” person is clearly declared to be “God.” Whatever God is, this “Word” is that. As I said, John 1:14-15 makes clear that this “Word” is Jesus Christ.
Additional Note on the New World Translation of the Bible (of the Jehovah’s Witnesses) – The NWT places a most disrupting indefinite article “a” before the word God in this verse, making it read “the Word was a god”. The additional change of a lower case “g” makes this a very clear reading that their translators believe that Jesus is not God, fully in the most fullest sense of the word. Indeed a study into their doctrine shows that they believe Jesus is “the son of God” which for them is not sharing the very essence and substance of God the Father, Jehovah (the Almighty).
The key point to see in this issue of the article in John 1:1 is that the Jehovah’s Witnesses predetermine before approaching the Scriptures that Jesus is not God, and on that basis they slant everything to agree with this predisposition even though the evidence against it is great. They reason, God cannot be “with God” or beside himself. Those who accept the doctrine of the Trinity well understand this is completely possible, but those who refuse the doctrine of the Trinity have to twist what the Scriptures actually say. Remember that the JWs always present themselves as the only valid interpreter of Scriptures, and they are the “best Bible students” there are. They are never wrong, well, except in setting dates constantly, and doctrinal points of mammoth value like this one, and well, they are also wrong in just about everything else.
First of all, let’s start by declaring that in a sense, the adding of indefinite articles to nouns is a valid thing to do in Greek. There is no indefinite articles (“a” or “an”) in Greek, so one must be added as needed in order to make the translation smooth. But in this particular case, it confuses more than clarifies anything. Whenever you have a construction of A=B, where two things are logically joined by the verb of being, we need to understand what that communicates. When I say, “the apple is red”, I am using the word “red” as a predicate adjective, and I am attributing the quality of “red” to the apple. If I use a noun after the verb, then it is a predicate noun. “Chester is a cat.” We freely insert the indefinite article (“a” or “an”) as needed to make the sentence flow smoothly. But in analyzing the matter, Chester has all the qualities of whatever a cat is. That is the construction. In Greek as well as English, the predicate noun is “God”, and whatever God is, the Word is that thing.
A Greek scholar by the name of Colwell formulated a rule which states that a definite predicate nominative never takes an article when it precedes the verb as we find in John 1:1. To defend his point the student is asked to insert the indefinite article “a” before “God” in these passages with the same grammatical structure, and they obviously do not make good sense: Matthew 5:9; 6:24; Luke 1:35, 78; 2:40; John 1:6, 12, 13, 18; 3:2, 21; 9:16, 33;Romans 1.7, 17, 18; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 15:10; Philippians 2.11, 13; Titus 1:1. This method of adding the “a” is not done in their version Matthew 5:9;6:24; Luke 1:35, 78; John 1:6, 12,13, 18; Romans 1:7, 17, etc. Another Greek scholar is A.T. Robertson, which the Jehovah’s Witnesses twist one of his quotes to support themselves. They quote Robertson, “among the ancient writers ho theos was used of the god of absolute religion in distinction from the mythological gods.” (quoted from page 776 of the appendix to New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures). But in the following sentence in Robertson’s work, he continues, “In the New Testament, however, while we have pros ton theon (John 1:1,2) it is far more common to find simple theos, especially in the Epistles.” The point is that NT writers frequently used the simple theos (God) in reference to the true God far more frequently that for false gods. (See for example the following Matthew 4:3, 4; 12:28; 28:43; Luke 20:37, 38; John 3:2; 13:3; Acts 5:29, 30; Romans 1:7, 8, 17-19; 2:16, 17; 3:5, 22, 23; 4:2, 3, etc.). Therefore the Greek would more fully back the renderings, “the Word was God” or “the Word was Divine”.
If John was declaring Jesus to “a god” but not the true God, then the entire flow of his Gospel would be a contradiction to this point. John is declaring him to be the very God incarnate. The point is that John is declaring Jesus the Word to be divinity. Now which kind of divinity is John asserting that Jesus is? Is he condemning Jesus as being a false god, someone who pretends to be the true God when he isn’t? Or is John presenting Jesus as the true God. This can only be answered honestly as the true God. Within this first chapter, John identifies Jesus has being the source of life and light, which is only given or assigned to the True God, never to a false deity. John 1:6 says that God sent John the Baptist to bear witness of Jesus the Word. Is this a condemnation of Jesus by John the Baptist or a positive endorsement? John testified to Jesus’ deity. John says that the world was made by him (John 1:10) which again reinforces the conclusion that the Word is Jesus, and he is the creator. Can it be possible that a false god created the world? We cannot allow the use of “god” as being a god inferior to the True God for any created angel. The term “god” (small g) is always used with idea of a false god, opposing the True God. Moreover the Apostle John clearly links Jesus’ glory as “the glory as of the only begotten of the Father” (John 1:14). How can you construe this as dealing with Jesus as a “false god” or an “inferior god”? As a false god, or inferior god, Jesus would dwell in the bosom of the Father (John 1:18) and declare the Father to us? John 1:29 says that Jesus takes away the sins of the world. Only God can forgive sins. Our only conclusion is that in studying the tenor of the Gospel of John (as well as the entire New Testament) we can only conclude that John was presenting Jesus Christ as God incarnate. He was not condemning or denouncing a false God, nor did he choose to use the concept of an “angel”, a heavenly created being, but he chose to use the word “God”, the very same word that he otherwise uses for the one and True God. Even though this word theos God is also used a very few times in the New Testament for a false god, our point has to stand that the Apostle John is presenting Jesus as the true God, and not as a false God.
Indeed the Jehovah’s Witness digs himself a deep hole when he tries to rip deity from Jesus Christ in this verse. The point is that they reject the concept of the Trinity as being pagan, and as a consequence, they deny the personality of the Holy Spirit, attribute all references to the true God to the Father, and demote Jesus to the status of a spiritual created being, an angel. The point is that the Jehovah’s Witnesses are correct when they insist on Monotheism, because there is only one true God. But the hole gets deeper when they refuse the explanation of the Trinity. We ask the JW if there is only one true God? They will answer correctly yes. We then ask them on the basis of this verse if Jesus is that one true God? They will answer either no, or that he is the son of that one True God (Jehovah, or the Almighty in their terms). If Jesus is not the one true God, but a being lesser than God Jehovah, God the Father, God the Almighty, then what kind of god (notice the smaller case “g” is what they want to use), then what kind of god is Jesus? What is not Jehovah, the true God is a false god (here the smaller case “g” is now justified). If Jesus is not fully God in every aspect, essence and sense, then Jesus is a false god? They refuse to admit that because they would be branded as heretics so openly and obviously.
This is then their difficulty. They want to demote Jesus to something less than fully being God, and by doing so, they put Jesus into a Limbo between a celestial angelic (created) creature, or being a false god inferior to God the Father, Jehovah. There is no place where they are trying to place Jesus. Jesus is either fully God, or Jesus is not God at all, and this makes the presentation of the Scripture and Jesus’ own belief about himself being God as a mess.
Our conclusion then is that the New World Translation mistranslates this verse inserting the idea that Jesus the Word is a lesser god than the True God, and that is not taught either by this verse nor by the Bible in general. It is a bad and misleading translation that destroys the concept of the Word being eternal, and having the full quality of God, whatever “God” is, the Word is that thing.
HOW TO ANSWER THE JEHOVAH’S WITNESS ON JOHN 1:1 – There is a very simple answer to the JWs here. (1) Ask them to read John 1:1, and then ask them, is this God Jehovah Almighty or a lesser being? They will answer that he is a lesser being that God the Father, Jehovah, Almighty. Probably their answer that it is the Son of God (which to them is a lesser being). (2) Ask them if the Word here is Jesus. They will probably respond “yes”, and then read John 1:14. This clearly establishes that the Word is Jesus Christ. (3) Now ask them if they are politheists (believe in multiple gods). They will quickly say no. Jehovah is one (Deu 6:4 “Hear O Israel, The our God is one Lord”. Mark 12:32 “for there is one God; and there is none other but he” Eph 4:6 “One God and Father of all“). Ask if John is condemning Jesus for being this “god” lesser than God the Father. Obviously he is not condemning Jesus in his being and ministry but is presenting him as the Saviour. (4) Now conclude, with the point that we are not politheists like the JWs holding to two true Gods, but rather insist in the doctrine of the Trinity, which is the Trinity position teaches there is only 1 true God that exists in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Read through the rest of the first chapter of John, and note the following verses 1:6 John bears witness to Jesus Christ, 1:10 Jesus is light and life, two concepts which belong exclusively to the true God, and never to false gods. 1:14 says Jesus shows us the glory of God the Father. Can a false god do this? Cannot only the true God have this glory? John 1:29 says Jesus forgives sins, which is again a quality of only the true God (Mark 2:7; Luke 7:49).
Prov 8:22-31
Prov 8:22 “The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. 23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was 30 Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him.”
The key to understanding Proverbs is to first grasp that the wisdom which Proverbs speaks of is in a sense eternal salvation. To be wise, is to choose life the paths that lead to life, and reject death and the paths that lead to death. That being understood, we see proverbs takes a very different “twist” here in personifying wisdom as being eternal, ever dwelling with God. We find the same language as John 1:1 here as a being that exists beside or with God. This is a hard passage of Scripture, but we find it hard see how this can be referring to anything or anyone else except a divine being which is Jesus Christ.
Titus 2:13
Tit 2:13 “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;”
You can only take this verse one of two ways. First (the correct way) is to interpret the “and” as a renaming of “God” (i.e. consider it “even”), and thus read “of the great God even our Saviour Jesus Christ”. The second way to interpret this verse is to take God as referring to God the Father, and read it as “the great God (Jehovah, or God the Father) and our Saviour Jesus Christ”. The second way is incorrect, because God the Father will not return in the glorious appearing with Jesus Christ. This is simply an unbiblical teaching that has no basis whatsoever. The Bible always represents God the Father as staying in heaven until after the events of Revelation when God destroys the present universe and makes a new heavens and earth, and God the Father with all in heaven at that time will descend to the new heavens and the new earth.
The Miracles testify to Jesus as God
Contrary to the arguments many put forth to prove the deity of Jesus Christ, Jesus himself appealed to the miracles and works that he daily performed as evidence of his deity that could not be refuted. In two occasions, people came to Jesus asking if he were the Christ, the Messiah. His answer in both cases we the works which he performed were the undisputable testimony to his deity.
Mat 11:2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,
Mat 11:3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?
Mat 11:4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:
Mat 11:5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
John 10:24 Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.
John 10:25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me.
For many people, actually seeing or being touched personally in this ministry of Jesus was what answered this question for them.
John 6:14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.
John 11:45 Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.
What is essential in this proof of Christ’s deity is that Jesus Christ did miracles on a totally different basis than all the prophets before him. Jesus did these miracles from his own internal power (God-essence), and not by direct authority from God as a grant from the Father. The miraculous power of the prophets was always attributed to be the power of God that God had granted them to perform. For example, Elisha raising the Shumanite’s son, he “prayed unto the Lord” and the child was restored to life (2Ki 4:33). To compare this power for God (generally or specifically coming from God the Father) to resurrect the dead, we have this set as parallel and equal to Jesus’ power to do the same.
John 5:21 For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.
This inherent power within Jesus went beyond Jesus himself exercising this power to include the ability of Jesus to commission others to do so also.
Mat 10:1 And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
Mat 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
Compare this with Acts 3:6 where Peter heals, and this is the first time the disciples exercised this power to do a miracle. Peter and John were imprisoned for this healing, and when they were questioned about it (Acts 4:5-10) they attributed it to what they had been commissioned by Jesus to do.
God never delegated to any human being the authority to confer on others the power to perform miracles, and no mere man ever possessed the power to work miracles of himself. Hence the very facts, if we are to believe the record, that Jesus Christ possessed the power to work miracles of himself and that he had the authority to delegate miraculous power to others, show beyond all controversy that he was divine, that he was God. Jerome, Thomas Jefferson (1859-) – The Christ, the Evidence of His Divinity reviewed from a Lawyers Standpoint page 19 (1917)
Luke 7:11 And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people.
Luke 7:12 Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.
Luke 7:13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.
Luke 7:14 And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.
Luke 7:15 And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.
Luke 7:16 And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.
Luke’s commentary here is very interesting. Jesus raised the widow’s dead son, and the commentary of the people which Luke mentions is “that God hath visited his people.” (Luke 7:16). The people seeing the power of Jesus to heal and even resurrect the dead supported the deity of Jesus. Nobody except God incarnate could do what He did.
The late Bishop Ryle called attention to five things in connection with our Lord’s miracles. “First, their number: they were not a few only, but very many. Second, their greatness: they were not little, but mighty interferences with the ordinary course of nature. Third, their publicity: they were not done in a comer, but generally in open day, and before many witnesses, and often before enemies. Fourth, their character: they were almost always works of love, mercy and compassion, helpful and beneficient to man, and not merely barren exhibitions of power. Fifth, their direct appeal to man’s senses: they were visible, and would bear any examination. The difference between them and the boasted miracles of Rome, on all these points, is striking and conclusive.” To these we might add two other features: Sixth, their artlessness. They were not staged mechanically: they happened in the natural course of our Lord’s ministry. There was nothing pre-arranged about them. Seventh, their efficacy. There was as much difference between the miracles of healing performed by Christ and those of His miserable imitators which are being so widely heralded in our day, as there is between His teaching and that given out by these pretenders who claim to heal in His name. Christ’s cures were instantaneous, not gradual; complete and perfect, not faulty and disappointing.
“The same works that I do, bear witness of me.” Ere passing on to the next verse, we pause to apply these words to ourselves. Our works, too, bear witness of us. If ours are “dead works,” wood, hay, and stubble which shall be burned up in the coming Day, that proves we are carnal, walking after the flesh; and such a witness will dishonor and grieve Him whose name we bear. But if we abound in “good works,” this will show that we are walking after the spirit, and men (our fellow-believers) seeing our good works will glorify our Father which is in heaven. What, then, my reader, is the “witness” which your “works” are bearing? What the writer’s? Let us “be careful to maintain good works? (Titus 3:8). Arthur Pink – Exposition of the Gospel of John, Chapter 19.
Jesus as God receives worship to Himself
When we begin to examine the matter of worship, we meet with a very jealous God (Exo 34:14) who in no uncertain terms demands extremely that we reserve all our worship exclusively for God, and only for God.
God commands us to Worship Him
Psa 95:3 For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
Psa 95:4 In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.
Psa 95:5 The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.
Psa 95:6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.
God prohibits us from worshipping anything which is not the Very True One and Only God
Mat 4:8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
Mat 4:9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
Mat 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Rom 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
God condemns those who presume to worship anything or anybody except God Himself.
God Commands all creation to Worship Jesus
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.
Heb 1:7 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
Heb 1:8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
This comes from the Messianic Psalm, Psalm 45, see Psa 45:6.
Jesus worshipped by people.
Jesus was worshipped by many in the Bible without any rebuke or condemnation on those people.
The Son is dishonored when he is assigned a lower place than that of the Father
John 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.
“The Son is dishonored when he is assigned a lower place than that of the Father. Such dishonor to the Son is displeasing to the Father, and a ministry is vain indeed which, though sincere, advances under the displeasure of God.” Chafer Systematic Theology Volume 5 page 8.
Works on the Deity of Christ
http://www.theologicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/ffb/deity_bruce.pdf
http://www.letusreason.org/Tridir.htm (list of articles on the subject)
http://www.monergism.com/directory/link_category/Jesus-Christ/Deity-of-Christ/