Views: 2<\/p>
[Note: <\/strong>This MS is available in larger font on our Brief Articles-1<\/strong> page.]<\/span><\/p>\n Was Jesus Christ merely a \u201cgood man\u201d or was he more than man? The second century Gnostics and their modern counterparts (e.g., the Jehovah’s Witnesses) say he was merely a created being. Unitarians opine that he was a<\/strong> son of God, but that anyone could be such as He was if they desired strongly enough. Such opinions are blasphemy to those who know and respect the teaching of the Bible. To say that Jesus is Deity is to say that He is possessed of the fullest Godhood, the very eternal nature and existence, and the same Divinity as the Father.<\/span><\/p>\n The claims of Jesus\u2019<\/sup> Deity begin long before His birth in Bethlehem. The Son born of a virgin was to be \u201cImmanuel,\u201d<\/sup>meaning \u201cGod with us\u201c(Isa. 7:14). By inspiration, Matthew applied these words to Jesus (Mat. 1:23). Again, prophesying the coming of the Prince of Peace, Isaiah called Him \u201cMighty God, \u201cand “Everlasting Father” seven hundred years before He was born (Isa. 9:6). Either Isaiah was guilty of blasphemy for applying these names and titles to Christ, or those who deny Christ His true Deity are blasphemers. Which shall It be?<\/span><\/p>\n John’s Gospel account opens with a declaration of Jesus\u2019 Deity: \u201cIn the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John. 1:1). He then identifies the Word as the incarnate Son of God: \u201cAnd the Word became flesh and dwelt among us\u201d (v.14). During the course of His work on earth, Jesus claimed to be Deity in such passages as \u201cI and the Father are one\u201d (John. 10:30) and \u201cHe that hath seen Me hath seen the Father\u201d (John. 14:9). His Deity is proclaimed in the New Testament epistles: \u201cFor in him were all things created in the Heavens and upon the earth\u2026 and he is before all things and in him all things consist” (Col, 1:16\u201317). He is said to be the \u201ceffulgence of his [God\u2019s] glory, and the very image of his substance” (Heb. 1:3). Such is only the beginning of the Biblical claims for the Deity of Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n Evidence of Jesus\u2019 Deity<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhy is the Deity of Jesus important,\u201d one may ask. \u201cIsn’t the Sermon on the Mount just as powerful and beautiful, even if He weren\u2019t the Son of God?\u201d That may be so, but if He is not the Son of God then He was Himself deceived about His own nature because He claimed to be such. If he were not the Son of God, He deceived others by His claim. The Jewish leaders had no trouble understanding His claim of Deity, although most of them disbelieved it. (Mat. 26:63\u201365). Further, Jesus allowed others to make this claim about Him (Mat. 16:18). Now, if He were merely a man or even a created angelic being in the form of a man, as some modern unbelievers allege, then He is not what He claimed to be. These facts would reveal His complete lack of integrity and prove that He was not even a good man, but a liar. Such a misguided person could not qualify as the Savior of one,<\/strong><\/i> man, much less of the whole world. But, If we disallow Jesus\u2019 Deity, we must discard the entire Bible. The Bible provides both the claims, and the evidence to support the claims of His Deity. Consider some of this evidence:<\/span><\/p>\n [Note:<\/strong>\u00a0I wrote this missive as a 3-part article for, and it was published in, the \u201cBible Thoughts\u201d Column for the Hood County News<\/em>, Granbury, Texas, March 27, April 3, and April 10, 1977.]<\/span><\/p>\n Attribution:<\/strong> From thescripturecache.com<\/em>; Dub McClish, owner and administrator.<\/span><\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Views: 2[Note: This MS is available in larger font on our Brief Articles-1 page.] Was Jesus Christ merely a \u201cgood man\u201d or was he more than man? The second century Gnostics and their modern counterparts (e.g., the Jehovah’s Witnesses) say he was merely a created…<\/p>\n\n