Did God become a Man?
Some 2,013 years ago, a baby boy was born in a small town in the Middle East, and He grew up and lived around 30 years before being put to death. Today, two millenniums later, over 2 billion people claim to follow that Man, and they claim that this Man lives, even though He died!
Controversy has surrounded this Man's true identity for 2,000 years.
Did this Man's life really only begin when He was born in Bethlehem?
Was this Man simply a good teacher, showing people how to live right, how to get along with others, how to love God and neighbor, how to fight against injustice, and no more? Or, was this Man one of the greatest of the prophets of God of all time, sent to speak God's Words to a sinful nation and a fallen race?
Was this Man the highest of angels in heaven who transformed Himself into a human being? Or, rather, was this humble, poor, Jewish carpenter, who grew up in Nazareth of Galilee, actually the Supreme Being, the Intelligent Designer in human flesh, who came to give His life to save ours?
I want this to be an open and honest discussion and/or debate, Barack Obama-style (please, no personal attacks, name-calling, etc. And please stay on-topic).
I truly encourage you to post your thoughts on this topic. I really want to have a good, productive discussion and/or debate about who and what Jesus Christ was, according to the Holy Scriptures.
Are you a Unitarian (do you believe that God is only One Person, not Three)? Please post your thoughts about Jesus and we will discuss them and/or debate them here, openly and honestly.
Do you believe Jesus was only a Man, or a great Prophet, let's discuss and/or debate it here, openly and honestly.
I never have been able to understand how non-Trinitarians (Unitarians, Jehovah's Witnesses, others) can believe in God and Jesus, as two separate Gods, and yet not be practicing polytheism and/or idolatry. Perhaps someone can help to explain that to me and reason on that from the Scriptures.
Why I believe that God became a Man (based on the the Holy Scriptures):
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From the words of Jesus Himself: *John 5:22-23 (ESV):
"The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him."Jesus taught His followers that in order to honor God, they must honor Jesus to the same degree they honor God. A mere man, no matter how great, would not be a "good teacher" if he were to say something like that. He would have been a blasphemer! So, as C.S. Lewis put it, Jesus was either equal to God, or insane, or a liar.
When you worship God, do you honor Jesus to the same degree that you honor God the Father? If not, then you are not honoring God at all, according to Jesus!
John 10:28-31 (ESV):
"I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one." The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.Jesus told the Jews that His Father is "greater than all," then Jesus told them that He and His Father are "One [thing]" (in the Greek). Not one person, but One in their Essence or Nature -- they share the Divine Deity that makes God be God. Everything that God has, Jesus also has. The Jews understood exactly what Jesus was claiming, so they tried to stone Him for blasphemy!
It would have been extreme blasphemy for Jesus to say this IF He were only a human.
John 8:24, 58-59 (ESV):
"... for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins. [...] Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.When God spoke to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:14), He told Moses that His everlasting Divine Name is "I AM." God used this name, including the slightly different version, "I AM HE," in other places, such as in Deuteronomy and Isaiah.
So, the Jews knew very well what Jesus was saying when He emphatically declared, "Before Abraham came into existence, I AM," and when He solemnly declared that "unless you believe that I AM HE," you will go to Gehenna. The Jews knew that Jesus was claiming to be Yahweh, the God of Israel, the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth! No wonder they tried to stone him once again!
John 14:6-10 (ESV):
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him." Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.Those words would have been blasphemous for a mere human to speak. Here, Jesus claimed to be THE Truth, THE Life, and THE Only Way to The Father. On top of that, He declared that if you have seen Him, you have seen The Father -- He even rebuked Philip for asking to see The Father! Jesus taught that He was in The Father and that The Father actually dwelled inside of Him.
Whatever you believe about Jesus, it is clear that He did not view Himself as just a human being, or a "good teacher," or even as a great prophet.
Can you imagine one of your friends or neighbors standing up and declaring, "If you have seen me, you have seen God! I am THE Truth and THE Life! I am the ONLY Way to God!" That's exactly what Jesus did.
John 20:28-29 (ESV):
Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."When the Apostle Thomas declared that Jesus was his God ("The God of me!" in Greek), Jesus not only accepted that worship, He said that anyone else who believes the same thing will be blessed!
If if it wasn't true, and Jesus did not teach His Apostles that He was God in the flesh, where did Thomas get that idea from, and why wouldn't Jesus have corrected or rebuked Thomas for saying such blasphemy?
Revelation 22:12-13, 16 (ESV): "Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." [...] "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star."
Here Jesus proclaims that He is The Alpha and The Omega, The First and The Last, and The Beginning and The End. God Almighty called Himself the very same things at Revelation 1:8! Therefore, Jesus is equal to The Almighty God of Revelation!
John 14:13-14 (ESV):
Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.Jesus invited His disciples to pray directly to Him, and then He promised that He would answer their prayers, and this would bring glory to His Father. If Jesus wasn't claiming to be equal to God here, then what was He saying?
How could a finite man, or even an angel, listen to everyone's prayers, let alone answer their prayers? Only an infinite, all-knowing God could do this.
John 17:5 (ESV): And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
Jesus said that He shared The Father's glory in heaven before the world was created, something no creature can do, according to Isaiah 42:8.
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From the words of the Apostle Paul: *Colossians 1:15-19; 2:9 (ESV):
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, [...] For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.All of the fullness of the Deity dwells in Jesus, Jesus existed before all things, Jesus created all things, and Jesus is the One who holds all things together in the Universe. If that is not describing Jesus as God, then what is Paul teaching?
Philippians 2:6-11 (ESV): who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Before Jesus was born on earth, He existed in heaven in the "form of God," or, as the NIV says, "in the very nature of God." He then took "the form of a [human] servant." After His death and resurrection, God gave Him THE NAME [YHWH, Lord, Kyrios] that is above every name, so that at THE NAME [Lord, Yahweh] of Jesus, everyone must worship and confess that Jesus is Yahweh! This brings glory to God the Father!
God is Jealous, and tolerates no rival gods, and hates it when people worship creatures, and will not share His own glory with any creature. If Jesus was a creature, how could God ever command all people to worship Jesus, and call Jesus Yahweh?
Romans 10:9-13 (ESV): because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
Paul here quoted Joel 2:32, where it reads: "Whoever calls on the name of YAHWEH will be saved," and he applied that verse directly to JESUS! Paul said you cannot be saved unless you believe and confess that JESUS is YAHWEH [LORD, KYRIOS]. Paul said that it is the same KYRIOS [LORD] who is KYRIOS over all -- and it is JESUS!
There are many other examples I could cite as to why I believe Jesus is God, but these should be good enough to start a productive, honest, and open discussion and/or debate about this topic!
May God bless you, and let's keep those comments coming!