THERE ARE SEVERAL REASONS WHY JESUS CHRIST IS REALLY GOD The Divinity of Christ is amply attested not merely by St. John, but by the Synoptists of the New Covenant and by the prophets of Old Covenant. It will be sufficient here to enumerate a few of these biblical references for which Christ bears witness to His Divine Nature. 1. He is the Word. The “Word” was God (John 1:1) --- In the beginning was the Word (Jesus), and the Word(Jesus) was with God, and the Word(Jesus) was God. together with John 1:14 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. and John 1:18 No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Fathers side, has made him known. 2. He is Jehovah (JHWH) John 8:58 I tell you the truth, Jesus answered, before Abraham was born, I am!. In John 8:58, Jesus takes for himself the divine name of Jehovah (Jahweh), I am (Ex 3:14). He thus claims to be one with God (John 10:30), whose life in eternity has neither beginning nor end. The Pharisees hear this claim loud and clear and, thinking it outrageous, stand ready to stone him for blasphemy (John 8:59; Lev 24:16) (CCC 590). The prophets clearly state that the Messiah is God. Isaias says: God Himself will come and will save you (Is 35:4); Make ready the way of Jahweh (Is 40:3); Lo Adonai Jahweh will come with strength (Is 40:10). That Jahweh here is Jesus Christ is clear from the use of the passage by St. Mark (1:3). The great prophet of Israel, Isaiah gives the Christ a special and a new Divine name His name will be called Emmanuel (Isaiah 7:14). This new Divine name St. Matthew refers to as fulfilled in Jesus, and interprets to mean the Divinity of Jesus. They shall call his name Emmanuel, which, being interpreted, is God with us. (Matthew 1:23) 3. He is the Son of God. In the parable of the wicked husbandmen, He describes Himself as the son of the householder, while the Prophets, one and all, are represented as the servants (Matthew 21:33 sqq.). On the other, He approves the confession of Peter when he recognizes Him, not as Messias — a step long since taken by all the Apostles — but explicitly as the Son of God: and He declares the knowledge due to a special revelation from the Father (Matthew 16:16-17). Moreover, before Caiphas He not merely declares Himself to be the Messias, but in reply to a second and distinct question affirms His claim to be the Son of God. He is instantly declared by the high priest to be guilty of blasphemy, an offense which could not have been attached to the claim to be simply the Messias (Luke 22:66-71). Therefore, Jesus Christ is equal to the Father according to His Divinity --- (John 10:30, John 10:38, John 20:28, John 1:1, 14, 18; John 8:2324, John 8:58, Colossians 1:15, Colossians 1:16, Colossians 1:17; Colossians 2:9,Titus 2:1313,1 Timothy 3:16, 1 John 5:20, Revelation 1:1718, Isaiah 44:6, John 20:26-29). The immanence of the Son in the Father and of the Father in the Son is declared in Christs words to St. Philip: Do you not believe, that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? (John 14:10), and in other passages no less explicit (John 14:7; 16:15; 17:21). The oneness of Their power and Their action is affirmed: Whatever he [the Father] does, the Son also does in like manner (John 5:19, cf. 10:38); and to the Son no less than to the Father belongs the Divine attribute of conferring life on whom He will (John 5:21). 4. He is the Alpha and the Omega (the First and the Last) -- Revelation 1:17–18: When I (John) saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. This is seen as significant when viewed with Isaiah 44:6: This is what the LORD says—Israels King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. 5. He declares that He will come to be the judge of all men (Matthew 25:31). In Jewish theology the judgment of the world was a distinctively Divine, and not a Messianic, prerogative. 6. He is the Lord of Angels, who execute His command (Matthew 24:31). A mere man only cannot be the Lord of all angels. Only a true God can.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Feb 2014 06:11:58 +0000
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