Is Jesus Very God?

In Acts chapter twenty and verse twenty-one we have an oft quoted scripture: “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ“ In comparison, Hebrews chapter six and verse one tells us of the “foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God.” From this expanded view we may understand that repentance involves a turning, from our dead works of self-righteousness unto God whom we confess and then embrace after we have known the Truth. Notice, one scripture declares faith to be toward God, while the other holds faith to be toward “our Lord Jesus Christ.” Is there a contradiction here - or is Jesus God? There is something decidedly wrong with one who will pour over the scriptures looking for discrepancies rather than having a thirst to know Truth.

I marvel at the increasing flood of new translations. I want to cry out, “Lord! Look what they’re doing toyour Word!” Then am I reminded: “I am the Lord, I change not” Mal. 3:6. “For ever, O Lord, thy word issettled in heaven” Psalm 119:89. “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shallstand for ever” Isa. 40:9. “The word of God. . .liveth and abideth for ever” I Peter 1:23. In light of this, dare any be so blatant as to declare his translation to be “the new and improved Word of God?”

Suppose I should take it upon myself to rewrite the Constitution of the United States; make it modern; update it: after all, we have entered into a new millennium. Suppose I were able to get it copyrighted and published. Would that change anything in the Constitution found in Washington D.C.? No? Why? Because I did not write the Laws governing our land. I have no authority to institute any changes! The author of the Word of God is the Holy Spirit. I have serious doubts that He has given permission toanyone to revise His Word in any way! Besides that, His Word does carry a copyright and along with it a stiff penalty for abusing it. (Our copyrights are found in the front of our books; His is to be found at the end.) “For I testify (denoting a legal transaction) unto every man that heareth the words of the prophesy of this book, (and here’s the copyright law, along with the penalty for breaking it) If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophesy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book” Rev. 22:18,19.

The argument has been presented: “Well this is only speaking of the book of the Revelation!” Really? Then read Proverbs chapter thirty verses five and six: “Every word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him. Add thou not unto His words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.”

Is Jesus very God? Few there be in this world who really believe it to be so. Do you believe it? Why do you find it so? Is it because a preacher or evangelist or Sunday School teacher told you; is it because you have heard it all of your life; because “it’s what we have been taught to believe?” I dare not base what I believe upon the sayings of any man, regardless of how highly I may esteem him! It is still, “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” Rom. 10:17. The scripture as breathed into being by the Holy Spirit, is the authority, the Truth. If I cannot trust its testimony, then am I without hope.

Is Jesus very God?

“When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Phillipi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” Then He asked, “Whom say ye that I am?” Matt.16:13,15. The answer we will address later in the article.

(Further into this writing we shall attempt to compare the Old Testament with the New; the Lord God Jehovah with the Lord Jesus Christ. Will the scriptures plainly show us that they are indeed the same?)

Who did Jesus say that He was? Most often when referring to Himself He would identify as the “Son of man.” In the previous verse He asked, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” Before we look at our Lord as Very God, may we first see what the scriptures reveal about Him as the Son of man.

“the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” Luke 19:10.

“the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many” Matt. 29:28.

“the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins” Matt. 9:6, Mark 2:10, Luke 5:24.

“the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day” Matt. 12:8, Mark 2:28, Luke 6:5.

“And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven” John 3:13.

“But he [Stephen]. . .saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God” Acts 7:55,56.

The Son of man in the realm of prophecy.

“For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” Matt. 24:27.

“the Son of man. . .shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels” Luke 9:26.

“And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle” Rev. 14:14.

“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” Matt. 24:30.

“The Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity: And shall cast them into a furnace of fire” Matt. 13:41,42.

“the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works” Matt. 16:27, Mark 8:38.

“then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then shall He send His angels, and shall gather together His elect” Mark 13:26,27.

“the Son of man shall sit in the throne of His glory” Matt.19:28.

“hereafter, shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven” Matt. 26:64.

“For as the Father hath life in Himself; so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself; And hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of man” John 5:26,27.

“When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory. . .before Him. . .gathered all nations; He shall separate them. . .Then shall theKing [Son of man] say unto them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdomprepared for you from the foundation of the world:” Matt. 25:31-34.

The Most High God (Jehovah-Elyon)

Is Jesus very God? When Jesus would pass over into the country of the Gadarenes he encountered a man possessed of a “Legion” of devils, an “unclean spirit.” “But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him” Mark 5:6. This appears as a rather curious verse: a demon possessed man “worshipping” the Lord? The Greek word is proskuneo, to kiss, like a dog licking his master’s hand. (Bear in mind, that Judas, already possessed by Satan, appeared before our Lord in Gethsemane. “And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him” Matt. 26:49.) The “worshipping” maniac “cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the Most high God? I adjure [swear, make an oath] thee by God, that thou torment me not.” This fellow knew the name of Jesus; knew Him to be the Son of the Most High God; knew that he had the power and authority to do with the unclean spirits whatever He so desired.

When Abram heard that Lot, with all his goods, had been taken in an attack against Sodom, he took only three hundred and eighteen men, pursuing the armies of the enemies. The Lord gave the victory. Upon returning, Abram was met by Melchizedek, king of Salem: “he was the priest of the Most High God” [Jehovah-Elyon]. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the Most High God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand” Gen. 14:18-20. From this we can determine that even the demons know the name of Jehovah-Elyon, the Most High God, the God of Abraham; and of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ!

In comparison, we find in Hebrews chapter five and verse ten that Jesus is “Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.” Of Him it also may be said: “And blessed be the Most High God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand.”

We know the remainder: how that Jesus commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man; that they besought him not to send them away, but allow them to enter into the swine. It is interesting that the first mention of swine in the scriptures says that they are “unclean,” “Of their flesh ye shall not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you” Lev. 11:8. How fitting! The unclean spirits entering into the unclean swine!

We’re not through yet. The account of the Gadarene maniac bears a striking resemblance to that which is found in Isaiah chapter sixty-five. Concerning Israel, our Lord says: “I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not.” Does that not sound like the Gadarene? What about this: “Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments.” The maniac “had his dwelling among the tombs!”

What did the man eat? Well there was nigh a great herd of swine. Again we find: “which eat swine’sflesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels” Isa. 65:4. Is all this just coincidence - or did God have a purpose in the recording of these scriptures?

In the book of Luke we find the man “out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind.” How well this should describe every believer - in a state of true worship, clothed in His righteousness, and our minds being made “right.” The unclean swine, having no tolerance for the unclean spirits, would not “lie down” but ran headlong into the sea and drowned. In contrast, when the “seed out of Jacob” appears, “Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in” Isa. 65:9,10.

The Lord Will Provide

“And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide (Jehovah-Jireh)himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together” Gen. 22:6-8.

God Himself will do the providing; He will provide himself as a Lamb in the person of His dear Son; He will provide the lamb for Himself; He will present the lamb to Himself.

Three times in three verses is the term “burnt offering” used. In the book of Leviticus we are given the description and order of the burnt offering. It was to be a male; the offering of it was to be of one’s “own voluntary will”; it was to be “accepted for him to make atonement for him.” There was the laying of “wood in order upon the fire.” It was “to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savior unto the Lord.”

Keeping this in mind, let us go now to the New Testament. In writing to the Philippian church, Paul commends them for their kindnesses and generosities: “Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.” Phil. 4:15,16. Further, he says, “I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice, acceptable, wellpleasing to God.” They have been gracious in providing his needs; “But my God shall supply [provide] all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” Phil. 4:18,19.

If Abraham and Isaac’s need was met by a lamb provided by the Lord God, how much the more shall He supply our need by Christ Jesus, the Lamb of God!

God shall supply all your need - providing the Economy stays healthy and the Stock Market doesn’t crash! No, its according to His riches in glory! Again, “God shall supply” [provide,] He’s still Jehovah-Jireh!

The Lord Our Righteousness (Jehovah-Tsidqenu)

Behold, the days come saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper; and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth” Jer. 23:5. The very first verse of the gospel of Matthew identifies this King: “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David,the son of Abraham.”

“In His [this righteous Branch, King] days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is His name whereby He shall be called, The Lord Our Righteousness” [Jehovah-Tsidqenu] Jer. 23:6.

Is Jesus Very God?

In Hebrews chapter one we read:

“God. . .hath in these last days spoken to us:

BY HIS SON

Whom He hath appointed heir of all things

By whom also He made the worlds;”

HIS SON IS

“The brightness of His glory”

“The express image of His Person”

HIS SON

“Upholdeth all things by the Word of His power. . .

Has “by Himself purged our sins”

Is “sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (vs. 3)

Is worshipped by the angels (vs.6)

Is Jesus Very God?

“But unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Thy kingdom” Heb. 1:8.

From this we must acknowledge Jesus Christ to be Very God: for the Father himself declares it to be so: that our Lord’s kingdom is eternal, the sceptre of righteousness identifying with the Person of Christ Himself!

The Lord Our Righteousness (Jehovah-Tsidqenu) is none less than the Lord Jesus Christ!

I Am That I Am (Jehovah Yahweh)

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made by Him; and without him was not any thing made. . . And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” John 1:1,3,14. “And He is before all things and by Him all things consist” Col. 1:16.

If one will read the text from which these verses were taken, there will surely remain no uncertainty as to the identity of the Word: it is the Lord Jesus Christ! “In the beginning was the Word? The Word was with God [in the beginning?] The Word WAS God! Is Jesus very God? That is precisely what the Holy Spirit commissioned John to write!

On many occasions Jesus was found healing the sick; but not only in the physical realm but the spiritual as well. On one such occasion a man sick of the palsy was let down through the roof where He was teaching. “He said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only?” Mark 2:5-7. And they were absolutely right! O.K. Jesus was a deceiver and a phony and we are forever lost in our sins - or He’s Very God!

When Moses led his flock to the backside of the desert, the “Angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a burning bush: (We have reason to believe the Angel of the Lord to be a “Christophany,” the Word Himself!) and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.” This seems somewhat contradictory as Old and New Testament alike attest “Our God is a consuming fire” (Deut. 4:24, 9:3, Heb. 12:28). While the enemies of the Lord have and yet shall be utterly consumed at His second appearing, yet may we not be as the bush: that we are “consumed” with the Presence of a God who burns from within us; that the fuel for the fire is His love, His mercies, His righteousness, His glory!

He, Jehovah-Yahweh, the great I AM, would send Moses to free His people from a slow death and bondage. Yet in John chapter ten do we hear His glorious proclamation: “I AM come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly!” Moses He had sent, but now I AM come to deliver- from the bondage and death of sin!

In Genesis chapter one and verse twenty we read: “And God said, let the waters bring forth abundantlythe moving creature that hath life.” Dear reader, does not our heart burn within us; is He that spoke on both occasions not assuredly the I AM THAT I AM?

The Lord My Banner (Jehovah-Nissi)

In Exodus chapter sixteen we read of the murmurings of the children of Israel and how that God “rained bread from heaven” for them. In chapter seventeen, not convinced after having received the Bread of Life, their murmuring resumes because of their thirst. Notice the word of the Lord: “I will stand before thee there upon the rock. . .smite the rock and there shall come water out of it.” (In John chapter four we find the Lord sitting on the rock (well). The Samaritan woman finds that he is the Rock, the well, the Source of Living Water!

In the latter part of Exodus seventeen, Amalek makes war with Israel. This time Moses sits upon a rock,his hands lifted toward heaven; Aaron and Hur “staying up” his hands. “And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book” (We well know that he did so, else we would not be reading it now!) “And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi: for the Lord hath sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.” (We all have seen that infamous picture of the soldiers planting the American flag, our banner, on top of Iwo Jima.) While we plant flags, Israel built alters as their banners!

“Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah. That thy beloved may be delivered; save with thy right hand. . .“ Psalm 60:4,5.

“Grace be to you and peace from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world. . .“ Gal. 1:4.

Is Christ not our banner - is He not Jehovah-Nissi?

The Lord Is Peace (Jehovah-Shalom)

“And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds. The Midianites. . .Amalekites. . .children of the east. . .came up against them. . . as grasshoppers. . .without number. . .they entered into the land to destroy it” Judges 6:2,3,5.

In our text we find a young man named Gideon, whom the Lord was to use to deliver his people.

“And the Angel of the Lord appeared unto him. . .” (vs. 12). If there be any doubt as to the identity of this “Angel”, he is further identified in verses fourteen, sixteen and twenty-three: “And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this might” (vs. 14). “And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee” (vs. 16). “And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not; thou shalt not die” (vs. 23).

(When facing certain shipwreck and death, Paul assured the captain of the vessel that there would be no loss of life: “For there stood by me this night the Angel of the Lord, whose I am, and whom I serve,Saying, Fear not, Paul. . .” Was this not Jehovah-Shalom, The Lord Is Peace?)

“And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have I not sent thee?”

Gideon prepared a meal: a kid, unleavened cakes, broth, and presented them to the Lord. He was instructed to lay them upon the rock and pour the broth over it. The Angel put forth his staff and touched the offering: “and there rose up fire out of the rock and consumed the flesh and unleavened cakes” vs. 21. (Years later we find a prophet named Elijah who laid a similar offering on an altar of stones, had water poured over it, then witnessed the fire of God consume his offering.)

“And when Gideon perceived that he was an Angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God! for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face. And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee;fear not; thou shalt not die.” “Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it Jehovahshalom:’ (The Lord Is Peace) Judges 6:22-24.

“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 [Christ] in the house of his servant David. . . That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; To perform the mercy promised. . .to remember His Holy Covenant. . .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. . .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” Luke 1:68-69,71-72,74-75,78-79. Is He notJehovah-Shalom, The Lord Is Peace?

The Lord is There (Jehovah-Shammah)

Ezekiel was brought to a very high mountain, overlooking that which was as a frame of a city. “And, behold, a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed. . .“ Ezek. 40:2,3.

“And I John saw the Holy city, the New Jerusalem. . .And he carried me away in the spirit to a great andhigh mountain, and showed me that great city, the Holy Jerusalem. And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof” Rev. 21:2,10,15.

From chapter forty to forty-eight of Ezekiel we are given a detailed picture of a city. At the end of Ezekiel’s vision we are told: “And the name of the city from that day shall be, The Lord is There(Jehovah-Shammah.)

In Ezekiel we are given the Hebrew name (Jehovah-Shammah) The Lord is There. In the book of Revelation we are given the Greek (Kainos Hierousalem) New Jerusalem. Regardless of the name, The Lord is There!

We find it:

“descending from God out of heaven” Rev.21:10.

“Having the glory of God” Rev. 21:11.

“The Lord God Almighty [El Shaddai] and the Lamb are the temple of it” Rev. 21:22.

“the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the Light thereof” Rev. 21:23.

“the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it” Rev. 22:3.

 

“We do not have to look deeply to find the key idea and the focal message of Ezekiel. With slight variations, that expression, ‘They shall know that I am Jehovah,’ occurs no less than seventy times. It is used twenty-nine times in connection with Jehovah’s punishment of Jerusalem; twenty-four times in connection with Jehovah’s governmental judgments on the Gentile nations, and seventeen times in connection with the coming restoration and final blessing of the elect nation. . .This, then, is Ezekiel — “They Shall Know That I Am Jehovah!”

Explore The Book, J. Sidlow Baxter

To “believe” something apart from the authority of the scriptures is to assume and ought not be rendered as Faith Believing!

We return now to a scripture presented earlier in this article. “When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Phillipi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? — Whom say ye that I am?”

May the question be answered in our own hearts: Is Jesus Very God?