Such Power Is No Accident

Jesus Christ Not Only Claims To Be God, He Is God

If a man claimed to be God but that man was not God, that man would be either insane or a deliberate liar. But if that man were in all fact God incarnated in human flesh, He would be Jesus the Christ, the risen redeemer of all mankind. For He alone is the living deity, crucified for our sins, buried as the scriptures say, and risen again on the third day and that too as the scriptures say.

Forewarning to unbelievers: This text calls upon the authority of the written Christian bible. If you chose to ignore that authority, I sorrow for your loss. However, it is time for Christians to express one simple truth: Society’s disbelief in no manner invalidates the living truth in God’s word.

If a man claims to be God and He is God then His words contain all authority and all truth. The Holy Scriptures, though penned by the hands of men, are clearly defined as ordained by the power of the Holy Spirit of God. The bible is not true because we believe it true; it is true because God said it is true.

Arguments For The Deity of Christ

Some would argue that Jesus never called Himself God. Let us therefore examine the words of local witnesses. It is written in this manner:

“But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto and I work. 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,” (John 5:17, 18).

Throughout scripture, Christ is recognized as the second person of the Trinity. Here, in these verses, He is clearly acknowledged by the word of truth as equal to the Father in nature, separate from the Father in person, yet fully submissive to the Father in duties. As such, He is God.

You may reject that the words, “My Father worketh hitherto and I work,” support any claim to deity. Yet the witnesses were men who understood the mannerism of speech that was common to that day and age. They acknowledged that this man claimed to be God. They know that when Jesus applies the terms and titles of deity toward Himself, He is setting forth the express statement that He too is deity.

The arguments for this claim involve three points:

1. He proclaims God as uniquely His Father
2. He applies the Yahwistic term, “I AM” to Himself
3. By assigning His work and the Father’s work as one and the same, He is declaring that His own nature is equal with God’s nature.

 Other Men Claim To Be God

Throughout scripture and secular history, various men have claimed to be god, yet only Jesus of Nazareth stands as a risen, living evidence of that claim. For example:

• In scripture Herod, by speaking as a god, claimed God’s glory. Thus the living God instantly destroyed him.
• In secular history, the Egyptian pharaohs claimed to be gods. They are all now dead and rotted to dust within their grave wrappings.
• Various Roman emperors also claimed to be god. They too are now dead and gone.
• In modern history, various men have also made that fatal mistake: Jim Jones, Joseph Smith, and David Koresh for example.
• In the scriptures, Paul and Barnabas were once declared by others to be gods. They were quick to reject any claim of personal deity.

 Christ, The Living God

Christians are authorized as the sons of God. We bear within us the living testimony of Christ, the living God. As such, we are to permit Him to live His divine life within us. Thus we share in His glory. Thus we reflect His Holy Person.

If a man claimed to be God but that man was not God, that man would be either insane or a deliberate liar. But if that man were in all fact God incarnated in human flesh, He would be Jesus the Christ, the risen redeemer of all mankind. For He alone is the living deity, crucified for our sins, buried as the scriptures say, and risen again on the third day and that too as the scriptures say.