Who was Jesus Christ? Ask that to a bunch of people (one at a time) on the street in any city, and you will probably get a salad of many different answers before the day is over. The Bible tells us that He is the Son of God. But Christians believe that He is God because the Bible states, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1 & 14 NIV, emphasis added). Did you catch that? The Word (God) is Jesus Christ. He is the One who came from the Father.
There are more than several other passages that clearly teach that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. He claimed to be God (John 5:18; 8:24, 28, 58; 10:30-33; 12:44-45; 14:9-11; Rev. 21:6; 22:13). He received worship without reservation (Matt. 2:1-2; Luke 24:52; John 9:37-38; 20:28-29). He also forgave sins (Mark 2:5-6; Luke 5:20-21). See also Acts 20:28; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:16; 2:9; Hebrews 1:8; 3:3-4; and Revelation 4:10-11. (Romans 9:5; Titus 2:13; 2 Peter 1:1; and 1 John 5:20 also support the Deity of Jesus Christ in some translations.)
The Old Testament implies the Deity of Jesus Christ as well. Isaiah 7:14 foretells, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” Matthew 1:18-21 tells us that Jesus was born of the virgin Mary, thus fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy. In verses 22 & 23, Matthew quoted Isaiah, writing, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel‘--which means, ‘God with us‘” (Emphasis added).
Some have asked, “If Jesus is actually God, then why did he pray (John 17)? Was He talking to Himself?” He was not talking to Himself per-se. He was talking to the Father. Jesus and the Father are One in essence (John 10:30), but they are also distinct from each other in a different sense (John 1:1 & 14; 14:1 & 26; 15:26; 17:11, 20-22). Furthermore, Jesus, unlike the Father, had to endure temptation (Heb. 4:15) and physical pain. He had every reason to pray just as we do. He was just as human as you and I are, but that does not denigrate His Deity in any sense.
If you do not believe that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, you cannot call yourself a Christian. Jesus said, “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins“ (John 8:24 KJV). The pronoun “he” is not found in any of the Greek copies of John 8:24 and 28. Jesus was calling Himself the “I AM” who spoke to Moses through the burning bush (Exodus 3:13-14). That is why the Scribes and Pharisees tried to stone Him (John 8:57-59). According to the Greek texts, Jesus was literally saying, “If ye believe not that I AM [God], ye shall die in your sins” (v. 24b). The conclusion is simple: Whoever does not believe in the Deity of Jesus Christ is not a Christian.
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