The Deity of Christ

(This is excerpted from a chapter in the book, “85 Pages in the Bible.”)

Jesus of Nazareth: Who Was He?

Who Did Others in the Bible Say He Was?

The Apostle Peter

In Matt 16:12-18:

“….Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”

“And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church;^* and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

In Acts 2:36:

“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

The Twelve Disciples

In John 6:69:

“And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.”

The Apostle John

In John 1:1—14:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.

All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

The Apostle Paul

In Colossians 1:12-18:

“Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.”

The Samaritans

In John 4:40-42:

“So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days.

And many more believed because of his own word;

And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.”

The Writer of Hebrews

In Heb 1:1-3:

“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;”

Who did Jesus Himself claim to be?

Matt 26:63, 64:

“But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.

Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.”

Mark 14:60-62

“And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?

But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?

And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.”

John 10:30

“I and my Father are one.”

John 14:5-9:

“Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.

Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?”

Rev 22:13-16

“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.”

There are a number of startling claims made about this man Jesus that demand noting: (1) He was the Christ (God’s anointed one), the (only) Son of the living God. (2) He was God come in the flesh. (3) He was not born of man’s blood, but of God’s. (4) He was/is the beginning and the end, before all things, created all things, and all things were created by him and for him. In other words he was the very essence of God Almighty manifested in human form, and no one, according to John 14:6, gets to God unless they go through him. This comprises what the Apostle Paul referred to as “The Gospel of God.” (Romans 1:1-4) ⁺

This would not have been anything new to Israel. They were looking for the Messiah to deliver them from their bondage and their enemies, the one prophesied in Isaiah chapter 9 and Zechariah chapter 14:

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

Isaiah 9:6

“Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.

And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:

But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.

And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.

And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.”

Zech 14:3-9

In Luke chapter 1, Zacharias, the priest and father to be of John the Baptist, describes the hope that Israel had of this Messiah:

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,

And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;

As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,

That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life. And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;

To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,

Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,

To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.”

Luke 1:68-80

Israel was looking for a man to deliver them from their enemies and set up the promised kingdom. What they got was the lowly character described in Isaiah chapter 53:

“Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?

For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

Isa 53:1-12

Here is the Jesus that “was made flesh, and dwelt among” them—the “Lamb of God” (John 1:29)—the one come to “save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). This is not the “Lion of…Judah” (Rev. 5:5) described in Isaiah 11 and Zechariah 10 & 14, who delivers them out of the hands of their enemies, and puts them back in “the land of milk and honey.” Because of this—with the exception of a handful of followers—his own rejected him as their prophesied Messiah, and in the end they had him executed, choosing a common thief over him in a mock trial staged by the Roman government.

Indeed, he was the express image of God—the Son of God—but he was also the Son of man. We don’t know what he looked like, but we know from the above description that he wasn’t physically attractive; that we would not have been drawn to him in this way. In fact, it says that we would not have esteemed him—even despised him. It says he “…was a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief…,” which tells us he had feelings, just like us. In Luke 22:44 it says he was in such agony praying just prior to his arrest that “…his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” The Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:21 that God “…made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin…”

Jesus of Nazareth was, according to the Bible, “the Christ, the Son of the Living God”(Matt. 16:16), resurrected from the dead, indeed, God Almighty come in the flesh. If he wasn’t, then this book is a waste of your time. If he is not who he and others said he was, and—in his resurrection—did not defeat death and the grave (1 Co. 15:14),⁺ then we have no hope, our faith is vain, and “we are of all men most miserable.” (1 Co. 15:19)

All Scripture is taken from the King James Bible.

Related articles and videos: The Foundation of the Gospel of Christ; What is the Gospel?; What must I do to be saved?

Are you saved? Jesus Christ—“who knew no sin”—and his sacrificial death on the Cross, has made the way for “everyone that believeth…to be reconciled to God. History has shown that whatever peace man has achieved in the world can only be temporary. The Bible says that individual men and women can know, beyond a doubt, that they are saved and bound for heaven, and therefore have absolute and permanent peace, regardless of what is going on in the world, by trusting Jesus Christ and his death on the cross for their eternal salvation. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” Have you done this? If not, why not now?

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