"I and the Father and one" John 10:30
I have prepared this short Bible study for anyone who wants to know more about Jesus Christ or is unsure about his divinity. I think it'll be best to print it out if you want a proper look...
If you don't wish to read on, can I just ask you to read this:
It is not just the statement “Jesus isn’t God” that matters; it is the implications it brings to the whole concept of Christianity. If he was just a man he was just another innocent person crucified by the Jews. But he wasn’t. He was a perfect man who died in place of undeserving sinners – us. He took the suffering of the sins of all humanity, so that all we have to do to receive eternal life is believe who he is. Grace is a wonderful thing! John 1:12-13 says:
12Yet to all who receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. (NIV)
Everything in The Bible is God's Word so none of it was an accident and every bit of it it true.
God Bless
Who is Jesus Christ?
What’s all the fuss about?
In his three-year ministry Jesus Christ fulfilled Old Testament prophecies, confronted Satan, healed many and preached to the Jews in a way no-one had ever dared to before.
• He defeated death. Psalm 22 paints a very clear picture of what Jesus’ death was like – it is just one part of Scripture fulfilled in him.
• Jesus told us he is “The way, the truth and the life” John 14:6 (NIV).
• The apostle Paul tells us to build our churches “with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone” Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)
Why does the Bible place so much emphasis on Jesus Christ? Who is he?
Here are just a few passages in The Bible which show Jesus Christ’s divinity. I hope you find them informative. By all means look up the passages yourself. I've put links to the passages www.biblegateway.com. If you click there you can compare an extensive list of translations.
Passage 1: John 1:1-19
I just want to concentrate on two parts of this passage, vs1-2 and v14, which wrap around a passage describing “the Word”. John writes:
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God from the beginning. (NIV)
But who or what was “the Word”? John tells us in verse 14:
14The 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. (NIV)
Jesus was The Word in flesh walking among us (v14) and God was The Word (v1).
Passage 2: Colossians 1:15-20
Paul, the apostle, gives great testimony in the knowledge that Jesus Christ was God in flesh. He writes of Jesus:
15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn among the dead, so that in everything he might have supremacy. 19For God was pleased to have all his fulness dwell in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on a cross. (NIV)
When I first read this passage one verse in particular spoke to me:
19For God was pleased to have all his fulness dwell in him, (NIV)
The New Living Translation is even bolder:
19For God in all His fulness was pleased to live in Christ
The words Paul chooses here really struck me: For God in all His fullness was pleased to live in Christ. Paul isn’t being ambiguous at all; he doesn’t just say “his fulness” he says “all his fulness”, making it absolutely clear God is Jesus and vice versa. I checked several translations and they all use the same phrase. Keep bearing in mind the Bible is "God-breathed" (2 Timothy 3:15-16)
From Genesis 1 we know God created the heavens and the earth. By looking at Colossians 1:15-20, who is Paul referring to when he writes in “For by Him all things were created”?
Passage 3: Mark 2:1-11
Jesus claimed to be God during his ministry and he knew this had extreme consequences. Mark 2:1-5 says:
2 “A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. 4Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralysed man was lying on. 5When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” (NIV)
As we see in the second half of the passage (v6-12), it was this last statement and not Jesus’ healing abilities that caused controversy:
6Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7“Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
8Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? 10But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgiven sins….”
He said to the paralytic, 11“I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 12He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. (NIV)
Saying “Your sins are forgiven” (v5) to someone in 1st Century Israel is implying you are God i.e. blasphemy. The punishment for this was death and having been brought up there Jesus would have been aware of this. In verse 10 he says he has authority to forgive sins. Would he say all this if he were not sure of his divinity?
Passage 4: John 10:24-30
Here Jesus is addressing the Jews who still do not believe he is the Christ. The passage culminates around verses 29-30 but I wanted to put it in context. John writes:
24The Jews gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
25Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, 26but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no-one can snatch them out of my hand. 29My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no-one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30I and the Father are one. (NIV)
Again, Jesus is making some very strong statements here e.g. “I and the Father are one.” (v30) is very blasphemous. He is constantly giving himself the death sentence throughout his ministry.
Unless they were aware of the consequences what human in their right mind would do this? According to the Gospels only Jesus was really sure of whom he was. Even The Twelve didn’t believe until they saw him risen (John 21:1-14).
If Jesus isn’t God then why did the apostles make such a big deal about Him and why are we celebrating it more than 2000 years later? Look at Acts 5:38-39. If it wasn't God's plan it would have disappeared centuries ago and you wouldn't be reading this passage. That really is something amazing!
Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope it helps you in your walk with God
God Bless
If you don't wish to read on, can I just ask you to read this:
It is not just the statement “Jesus isn’t God” that matters; it is the implications it brings to the whole concept of Christianity. If he was just a man he was just another innocent person crucified by the Jews. But he wasn’t. He was a perfect man who died in place of undeserving sinners – us. He took the suffering of the sins of all humanity, so that all we have to do to receive eternal life is believe who he is. Grace is a wonderful thing! John 1:12-13 says:
12Yet to all who receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. (NIV)
Everything in The Bible is God's Word so none of it was an accident and every bit of it it true.
God Bless
Who is Jesus Christ?
What’s all the fuss about?
In his three-year ministry Jesus Christ fulfilled Old Testament prophecies, confronted Satan, healed many and preached to the Jews in a way no-one had ever dared to before.
• He defeated death. Psalm 22 paints a very clear picture of what Jesus’ death was like – it is just one part of Scripture fulfilled in him.
• Jesus told us he is “The way, the truth and the life” John 14:6 (NIV).
• The apostle Paul tells us to build our churches “with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone” Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)
Why does the Bible place so much emphasis on Jesus Christ? Who is he?
Here are just a few passages in The Bible which show Jesus Christ’s divinity. I hope you find them informative. By all means look up the passages yourself. I've put links to the passages www.biblegateway.com. If you click there you can compare an extensive list of translations.
Passage 1: John 1:1-19
I just want to concentrate on two parts of this passage, vs1-2 and v14, which wrap around a passage describing “the Word”. John writes:
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God from the beginning. (NIV)
But who or what was “the Word”? John tells us in verse 14:
14The 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. (NIV)
Jesus was The Word in flesh walking among us (v14) and God was The Word (v1).
Passage 2: Colossians 1:15-20
Paul, the apostle, gives great testimony in the knowledge that Jesus Christ was God in flesh. He writes of Jesus:
15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn among the dead, so that in everything he might have supremacy. 19For God was pleased to have all his fulness dwell in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on a cross. (NIV)
When I first read this passage one verse in particular spoke to me:
19For God was pleased to have all his fulness dwell in him, (NIV)
The New Living Translation is even bolder:
19For God in all His fulness was pleased to live in Christ
The words Paul chooses here really struck me: For God in all His fullness was pleased to live in Christ. Paul isn’t being ambiguous at all; he doesn’t just say “his fulness” he says “all his fulness”, making it absolutely clear God is Jesus and vice versa. I checked several translations and they all use the same phrase. Keep bearing in mind the Bible is "God-breathed" (2 Timothy 3:15-16)
From Genesis 1 we know God created the heavens and the earth. By looking at Colossians 1:15-20, who is Paul referring to when he writes in “For by Him all things were created”?
Passage 3: Mark 2:1-11
Jesus claimed to be God during his ministry and he knew this had extreme consequences. Mark 2:1-5 says:
2 “A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. 4Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralysed man was lying on. 5When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” (NIV)
As we see in the second half of the passage (v6-12), it was this last statement and not Jesus’ healing abilities that caused controversy:
6Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7“Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
8Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? 10But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgiven sins….”
He said to the paralytic, 11“I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 12He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. (NIV)
Saying “Your sins are forgiven” (v5) to someone in 1st Century Israel is implying you are God i.e. blasphemy. The punishment for this was death and having been brought up there Jesus would have been aware of this. In verse 10 he says he has authority to forgive sins. Would he say all this if he were not sure of his divinity?
Passage 4: John 10:24-30
Here Jesus is addressing the Jews who still do not believe he is the Christ. The passage culminates around verses 29-30 but I wanted to put it in context. John writes:
24The Jews gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
25Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, 26but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no-one can snatch them out of my hand. 29My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no-one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30I and the Father are one. (NIV)
Again, Jesus is making some very strong statements here e.g. “I and the Father are one.” (v30) is very blasphemous. He is constantly giving himself the death sentence throughout his ministry.
Unless they were aware of the consequences what human in their right mind would do this? According to the Gospels only Jesus was really sure of whom he was. Even The Twelve didn’t believe until they saw him risen (John 21:1-14).
If Jesus isn’t God then why did the apostles make such a big deal about Him and why are we celebrating it more than 2000 years later? Look at Acts 5:38-39. If it wasn't God's plan it would have disappeared centuries ago and you wouldn't be reading this passage. That really is something amazing!
Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope it helps you in your walk with God
God Bless
Labels: My Christian life
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