God or False Prophet: Who is Jesus to You?

““Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”” [Mat 16:13-16]

Jesus has been called many things throughout history, such as a good teacher, a prophet of God, or a mighty angel. We can see from the above scripture that most people in His day thought He was one of the prophets in Israel’s history or another new prophet. Jesus was often addressed as Rabbi, the Greek equivalent to our English “master” or “teacher.” Even in our modern era, the human penchant is to assign to Jesus a title that is less controversial or a role that is subjugated to that of a mere human, an angel, or one of many gods. For example, Muslims believe that Jesus was simply a prophet, many cults such as Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses believe He is merely an exalted angel or spirit child, and more and more people who are influenced by our godless culture are saying that Jesus was just a good teacher. But who did His disciples believe He was and who did Jesus himself claim to be?

Some may think, “Well, does it really matter? Why not let Jesus be whatever people want to believe.” But as we shall see, it is crucial to understand who Jesus is–in fact, our salvation depends upon it! One of the biggest deceptions today is to deny that Jesus is God, who reveals Himself in the triune Godhead as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. My focus in this post is on the person of Christ, the Son, for the sake of some semblance of brevity, for I am convinced that entire books have been and will be written on this subject, and the best book by far is the inspired Word of God. Perhaps in a subsequent post, I can address the Holy Spirit’s role in the Trinity as well. I want to focus on Jesus here first because to deny that Jesus is God attacks the core beauty of the person and work of God alone. Think about it: if Jesus is not God, it would put the salvation He wrought and the glory He deserves in someone else’s hands, such as an angel, a mortal prophet or teacher, and in the most grievous of errors, our own hands.

First, glory and worship belong to God alone:

“I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.” [Isaiah 42:8]

“For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; For how can My name be profaned? And My glory I will not give to another.” [Isaiah 48:11]

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me.” [Exodus 20:2-3]

“Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'”” [Matthew 4:10]

“Then I fell down at his feet to worship the angel, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” [Revelation 19:10]

The bible is clear that salvation is wrought by God alone:

“Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. The LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him.” [Isaiah 59:15-16]

“Salvation belongs to the LORD; your blessing be on your people!” [Psalm 3:8]

“Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” [Revelation 7:10]

“This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” [Acts 4:11-12]

The bible also makes it clear that salvation cannot be attained by man’s own efforts:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” [Ephesians 2:8-9]

“When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” [Matthew 19:25-26]

Think about it this way: if salvation could be attained through our works, if we could live good enough lives, why then would Jesus have had to suffer and die? His sacrifice would have been superfluous:

“I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.” [Galatians 2:21]

Likewise, you cannot say that Jesus was just a prophet or good teacher for the same reason. If salvation were possible any other way outside of the cross of Christ, His sacrifice would not be needed. Also, Jesus made some very bold statements that contradict popular thought. For example:

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.“ [John 14:6]

This flies in the face of the idea that Jesus was a just a good teacher. If you insist that “all roads lead to Heaven,” you contradict the above statement, and the logical conclusion is that Jesus was lying. Was He? If He was lying, He could not be a good teacher nor a prophet of God. Either His statement is true or He was making the outrageously false claim to be the only way of salvation and reconciliation to God. Furthermore, if He was speaking a lie, He would have failed to lead a perfect life, and would not be qualified to fulfill the Law and the prophets, and would not be able to present Himself as the spotless Lamb of God:

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” [Matthew 5:17-18]

“The next day [John] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” [John 1:29]

“You were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.” [1 Peter 1:18-19]

“As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.“ [Mark 10:17-18]

In this last statement, Jesus is not only pointing to the fact that no human being can be completely good, but also that God alone is good. So, if you call Jesus merely a good teacher, you deny the state of fallen, sinful, man. For the scriptures say:

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God….” [Romans 3:23]

“Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins.” [Ecclesiastes 7:20]

If no one in creation is perfect, and God alone is good, then Jesus must be, in fact, God.

There are so many scriptures that point to Jesus being the one and only Supreme God that I would overwhelm you if I included an exhaustive list! But here are a few more that show how the Lord [YHWH] speaks in the Old Testament and that His attributes, such as being the Creator, His eternality, and His acceptance of rightful worship, are the same as those of Jesus:

“Listen to Me, O Jacob, even Israel whom I called; I am He, I am the first, I am also the last. “Surely My hand founded the earth, And My right hand spread out the heavens; When I call to them, they stand together.” [Isaiah 48:11-14]

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” [Revelation 1:8]

“And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME.” And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.” [Revelation 4:8-11]

And this is Jesus speaking: “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” [Revelation 22:12-13]

The Apostle Paul, the writer of Hebrews, and the Apostle John all give clear testimony to Christ’s deity, His essence, His role as Creator, and His worthiness of all glory, worship, and praise:

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell….” [Colossians 1:15-19]

“But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father”? Or again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son”? And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” In speaking of the angels he says, “He makes his angels spirits, and his servants flames of fire.” But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.” [Hebrews 1:2-8]

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.” [Revelation 5:12-14]

In John’s gospel and first letter, the Apostle testifies to the uniqueness of Jesus, the one and only Son of God:

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” [John 1:14]

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.“ [John 3:16-18]

“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.” [1 John 4:9]

Several cults claim that Jesus was an angel or archangel because they are at times called sons of God. However, we can see from the above verses that Jesus cannot be an angel–he is completely unique and not ever likened to an angel in the bible, but always likened to God the Father. Jesus often claimed to be the Son of God, and his Jewish listeners understood that He was claiming to be God, of His same essence:

“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” [John 10:28-33]

To summarize then, demoting Jesus to anything less than the one and only Everlasting God is heresy. We need to understand who Jesus is and claimed to be:

One day, when Jesus taught in the temple, He told the Jewish religious leaders: “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” [John 8:23-24]

The Jewish religious leaders in Jesus’ day were supposed to represent God and teach the truth found only in holy scripture. Jesus told them point blank: “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” [John 5:39-40]

Yes, these religious leaders had the holy scriptures available to them, plus a virtual glut of extra-biblical teachings, just like we do today, and those teachings polluted their hearts by obscuring from their sight any love for God, which is the Lord’s most desired form of worship. The Jewish religious teachers heard His very words but refused to listen because their traditions trumped truth, just like ours often do today. They saw his supernatural miracles that proved His power and deity but were blinded by centuries of man-made rules much like our own today. Dear readers, they had all these testimonies yet failed to recognize their God. When He was here. In the flesh. Close enough to see, hear, and touch. They were unable to look Jesus in the eye and see that He was God. Their religion was so heretical they did not even recognize their own Creator. Their religion was so heretical that they murdered their own Messiah. Is our society nearing a similar state of unbelief? How about you? Do you love God? Who is Jesus to you?

***************************************************************************************************************

“And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” [Matthew 22:37-40]

Jesus fulfilled the Law and the Prophets by living out these two commandments perfectly. Only God is perfect:

“You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” [Matthew 5:48]

Amen

Photo via Charl Vera on Pixabay