My last couple postings talked about becoming a disciple of Jesus. Well, maybe we need to understand a little more about who this Jesus really is if we hope to become His disciple. Notice I used the verb “is” rather than “was”. Jesus is very much alive. No dead prophet can ever effectively serve as our master. A true disciple can only be produced from someone with whom we can have an active relationship and whose voice we can still hear.
So who is this Jesus? Most people believe that Jesus is a prophet and/or great teacher. Surely He is both, but that isn’t what makes Him someone whose disciple we want to become. Here’s the bottom line: Jesus is God and as such He serves as the ultimate example for us to follow. Yes, He is fully human but it is the fact that He is also fully God that makes Him worthy of following.
So how can we know that He really is God? Here are seven key biblical teachings about the Christ (Messiah) that prove that Jesus is God:
1. Jesus is the Messiah prophesized in the Old Testament (Rom. 1:2-3, John 19:28, Rev. 5:5). In fact, Jesus fulfilled over 70 Old Testament prophesies concerning the Messiah many of which were required to be completed prior to the destruction of the Jewish Temple in A.D. 70. Therefore, Jesus is either the Messiah (Christ) or there will never be a Messiah.
2. The Old Testament has numerous references to the Messiah (Christ) being called God (Yahweh and Elohim) and even God refers to the Messiah as being Yahweh which is God’s covenant name (Isa. 7:14, Isa. 9:6-7, Isa. 40:3, Zech. 12:10).
3. Jesus even equates Himself with God (John 8:19, John 8:56-58, John 10:38).
4. The attributes and abilities that are applied to God in the Old Testament are applied to Jesus in the New Testament (Isa. 43:11, Isa. 43:25 and Isa. 44:24 compared with Mk. 2:7-10, Acts 7:59, Matt. 28:16-17, John 5:21, John 5:22,27, Titus 2:13-14, Col., 1:16).
5. Christ eternally existed with and as God and created all things (John 1:1-3, John 6:38, John 8:54-58, John 17:4-5, Phil. 2:5-7, Col. 1:15-17, Heb. 1:2, Rev. 22:13).
6. Jesus was supernaturally conceived and born of the Virgin Mary and lived a sinless life while on earth (Isa. 7:14, Matt. 1:18-25, Isa. 53:9, John 8:46, 2 Cor. 5:21, Heb. 4:15, Heb. 9:14, 1 Pt. 1:18-19, 1 Pt. 2:22-23, 1 John 3:4-5).
7. Jesus proved everything that He said was true by rising from the grave in the same yet glorified body just as He and the Old Testament had predicted (Ps. 16:10, Matt. 12:40, Matt. 17:22-23, Lk. 9:22, John 2:19-21).
Since Scripture proclaims that there is only one God (Dt. 6:4) and there was no God before Him and will be no God after Him (Isa. 43:10, Isa. 44:6&8, Isa. 45:5) and the Messiah is called God, then Jesus must be God - not a god, but the God!
Now here’s the real dilemma we face – Jesus expects us to be like Him but how can we do that if He is God? The truth is we can’t ever be God but we can live a Godly, God directed life. This is what Jesus expects us to do and He provides His life as the example for us to follow. There is no other example that warrants our emulation. It is Jesus' humanity that helps us to see and understand what being His disciple means. But it is His divinity that empowers us to live as one. Only Jesus can serve as our example and He can only do so if we are willing to make Him our Master.
Dr. Richard Tompkins
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3 comments:
Good word Doc.
pastor derwin
ABSOLUTELY DYNAMITE, RICHARD!!!
SO GLAD SUZIE SENT ME THE LINK...I'LL BE A "REGULAR" !!
MISS YOU BOTH!!
DUSTY
Greetings Dr. Richard Tompkins
Scripturally, the bottom line is the fact that Jesus is:
(Mat 16:16) ... the Christ, the Son of the living God.
(John 20:31) But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
There is solely ONE GOD, the Father.
[1 Cor 8.4,6]
Jesus the Messiah therefore,
is the Son of the ONE GOD,
the Son of the Father
[2 John 3]
Jesus obeyed his GOD & Father, even to the death of the cross; he died for our sins, the ONE GOD raised him from the dead, glorified him, and made both, Lord and Christ, setting him at His own right hand.
[Phil 2.8-11, Acts 2.32-36]
Hence one day,
(Phil 2:11) ... every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
That is why the Lord Jesus is indeed the ultimate example for us to follow ... that makes him worthy of following.
1. Jesus is the Messiah prophesized in the Old Testament ... the Messiah was never prophesized to be Almighty GOD Himself!
No! He was to be a man of the lineage of Abraham, Judah, David, etc.
2. As GOD's agent, the Messiah was to represent the ONE GOD; in a similar sense to Exo 23.20-21.
Although of course, Jesus is a human being, not an angelic being.
Please view the video concerning
Isa 7.14, 9.6-7
3. Jesus never ever equated himself with Almighty God!
Jesus is GOD's Son, GOD's agent.
Eternal life is to know both him and his Father who Jesus identified as the only true GOD.
[John 17.3]
So Jesus is stating in John 8.19, if one truly knew who the Son was, they would also know his Father.
10.38 states that the Father is in Jesus and he is in the Father. That's all!
And John 8:56-58 has absolutely no connection at all with Exo 3.14
Sadly, one is reading into these verses to make Jesus equal to GOD!!
Please view the video for more info. It deals with John 8.58 as well
4. Mark 2 ... Jesus had God-given authority to forgive sins;
The ONE GOD had used "saviors" in the past to carry out His will of salvation
e.g. Judg 3.9, 15; 2 King 13.5, Neh 9.27
This did not make any of these men,
Almighty GOD!!
These men, these agents,
were GOD-appointed saviors; who saved according to the will of their GOD!
And in these last days, GOD raised up Jesus of Nazareth, His own Son, to be the Messiah, the Savior of the world.
[Acts 13.23, 5.31, John 4.29,42,
1 John 4.14]
Hence Jesus is our Lord and Saviour, who carried out the will of GOD our Savior. Hence Titus 1.3-4, 2.13-14.
Again, Jesus is the ONE GOD's ultimate agent!
Jesus was worshipped as the Messiah, the Son of GOD!; not as GOD! Jesus does what the Father gives & enables him to do as GOD's agent; this includes raising the dead & judgment.
These points can all be summed up by what the Jews call
the law of agency
Again, watch the video for further details.
5. Christ came into existence in the womb of his mother Mary.
It is in these last days that GOD spoke through a Son.
[Heb 1.2]
Jesus was
(1 Pet 1:20) ... foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you
Therefore, Almighty GOD his Father, alone created all things e.g.
(Isa 44:24) Thus saith YAHWEH, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am YAHWEHD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;
The words of Jesus:
(Mark 10:6) But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.
(Mark 13:19) For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.
Concerning John 1.1-3, etc; again, please watch the video I'm about to mention. :-)
6. Amen! Hence he is the Son of GOD!!
(Luke 1:35) And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee:
... [Grk. dio kai, for that reason] that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
7. Hence the resurrection proves and vindicates Jesus of Nazareth's claims that he is indeed the Messiah, the Son of the Living GOD! Amen!
(John 8:28) Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.
(Rom 1:1-4) ... the gospel of God, ... 3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; 4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
Now the video I keeping going on about is:
The Human Jesus
Dr. Richard Tompkins, take a couple of hours to watch it; and prayerfully it will help show you the true intent and meaning of many of the verses you have metioned; and aid you in knowing the true identities of
the ONE GOD, the Father; and Jesus our Lord, GOD's human Son.
Yours In Messiah
Adam Pastor
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