Introduction I The Library |
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Who is Jesus?
Roy Ingbre 8.2010The other day I ended up at the official website of the Jehovah's witnesses and browsed through their teaching on Jesus. We also happen to be living on the same street as the location of one of their "Kingdom Halls" and get frequent visits from the JW's. According to them He was a created spirit being that has been in heaven with God for a few billion years, but He is not God. They go to great length "proving" that with a lot of scriptures, conveniently avoiding the ones that clearly says so and there are a lot. The first thing that stood out was their complete falsifying of John 1:1 where God says; “......and the Word was God” (or God was the Word). The JW's bible says; “....and the Word was a god”. Now that makes a BIG difference. There are a lot of gods in this world and if you classify Jesus as one of those, we are in great trouble. If you look at the Interlinear Greek-English New Testament you will see that is says; “....and God was the Word”. As we will see later, both "Word" and "God" is congruent with all other scriptures that brings out the fact that God and His Word and Jesus are synonymous. When you see such blatant change of scripture to support their false teaching, where else do they also change the Word of God for their own (human) purpose, belief and ideas? As we will see, Jesus is the Word and the entire Bible is really a revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is indeed the Word of God. We don't need to spend a lot of time on this subject since it is very clear in scripture that The Father, Son and Holy Spirit is one God with three attributes. God says so through His inspired Word delivered to the human race. As true Christians and born again believers (you cannot see and enter the Kingdom unless you are born again; John 3:3,5) we know, by faith, that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is one God = The Lord Jesus Christ. Can the human mind comprehend that? I don't believe it can, but we accept that as true by faith in the Word of God. If we could understand it and explain it rationally, faith would not be required. However, do we believe God's Word to be infallible? And - do we believe God means what He says? Of course if we try to change what He says we allow human fallible "wisdom" to enter the picture and we no longer have the pure Word of God. The world is full of opinions about a lot things, simply because our knowledge and wisdom is finite and there are so many things that influence our thinking. Our parents, where we were brought up, schooling, family, friends, work, church or religious institutions and many other influences including Internet and media. Information is becoming ever more plentyfull from all kinds of sources, and from different points of view and all kinds of people call the information they are presenting - the facts. There are definitely facts and certain things that are not up for discussion like, the sun comes up in the east and sets in the west. Like Jim Rohn used to say; “I would not take that class, it's just the way things are”. Same thing with gravity - if you step of a tall building you will fall down. It's not open for discussion or opinion and there are a lot of others. Outside of facts we can observe, opinions on every subject are heard from coffee shops to the great debates. In a world filled with the frailty of human wisdom, is there anything we can really put our full trust in? For people to move forward in any area we have to have faith in what we are trying to accomplish, that it will succeed, either because our belief in a system, our own ability or faith in others. Without belief, nothing has ever been achieved. God says this about faith; Hebrews
11:6: But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that
comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them
that diligently seek him.
Hebrews 11:1: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
I always seem to come back to the first ten words in the Bible. Do you believe them? “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”. Of course without that, nothing else we discuss here will make any sense to you. However, if you do believe that, whether you are a Jehovah's Witness, a Mormon, a Jew, a Catholic, Lutheran, Evangelical or of any other religious view, it would be smart to listen to what our creator God has to say on the subject. After all, He wrote the “manual”. There are many opinions about who Jesus was or who he is and how he has impacted the world, history and society as a whole as well as individual people. Few will argue that fact that Jesus was born, grew up and lived in Israel and that he died on the cross under Roman rule. That is a historical fact. It is also a historical fact that the tomb is empty and that he rose from the dead and showed himself to many witnesses, but it's at that point where human wisdom seem to come short. What we don't understand sometimes we dismiss an unscientific or “religious” or we change to fit our perception of things, or put on the back burner for possible “future consideration”. It's interesting, but when it comes to God, our opinion and ideas are of no value. What God says is final - that is if you believe that God exist and He is the origin of everything. You can read more about that in God's Word. So where does Jesus fit into all this and what does God say about it? Well, He's given us His Word, through the Bible, a collection of 66 books, that was written by men inspired by God's Holy Spirit and it's not for us to interpret this into what we want, but to take His Word for what it says; II Peter 1:20: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
II Peter 1:21: For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. And since God is God, I would grant that He is able to watch over His Word so that all people will be able to understand what He is communicating to us exactly the way He meant it - in spite of well meaning people trying to explain or explain away what God is saying, making translations that will fall in line with their erroneous teachings. Fortunately we do have access to original manuscripts and texts that can easily prove any attempts to distort the Word of God. God says clearly that His Word will accomplish what He sent it to do: Isaiah
55:11: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall
not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please,
and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
Here is what Jehovah, the I AM, the Alpha and Omega has to say. First of all in the very beginning, God spoke everything into existence. This is the condensed version of how everything got started and how God came to earth to redeem mankind; Genesis 1:3: And God said, Let there be light: and there was light
John 1:1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:2: The same was in the beginning with God. John 1:3: All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. John 1:4: In him was life; and the life was the light of men. John 1:5: And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. John 1:10: He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. John 1:12: But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Acts 16:31: And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. The Word was not “a god”, but God Almighty. Word = God = Word. "The Word of the Lord..." is a sentence that is used throughout the Old Testament and carried right through the New Testament. In the Old Testament it was referring to what God said, the Ten Commandments, the Law and His Word that was proclaimed through the prophets, in the New Testament it is referring to what Jesus said, which He Himself proclaimed is synonymous with what God the Father is saying; John 12:50: And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.
In the OT the Word of the Lord came to the people directly from God, through the law, commandments and through the prophets. In the NT they preached the Word of the Lord from eyewitness accounts and what the Lord had taught them, all in symphony with the Word, from creation to Revelation, which never changes. It is a seamless application of the Word from beginning to end. Jesus is referenced as the Rock which gave the Israelites water on their journey; Exodus 17:6: Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
I Corinthians 10:4: And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
Both the bread of life and that spiritual drink is explained clearly in the New Testament; John 7:38: He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
John 4:14: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. Luke 4:4: And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. John 6:35: And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. John explains that the Word was from the beginning, speaking in terms easy to understand. The Word was with God and the Word was God. Then he transforms the Word and makes it "Him", when he says “all things were made by Him”. Then He spells it out very very clearly: John 1:14: And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Colossians 1:13: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
Colossians 1:14: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Colossians 1:15: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: Colossians 1:16: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: Colossians 1:17: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. Colossians 1:18: And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. Colossians 1:19: For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell; Colossians 2:9: For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. There were obviously those in the early church era that brought is erroneous teachings as well and John set a lot of things straight particularly in his first epistle. He spells out what it means to be a Christian, how we can know we have eternal life, where that eternal life comes from and also making it clear about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit; I John 2:4: He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
I John 2:5: But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. I John 5:5: Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? I John 5:6: This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. I John 5:7: For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. God clearly spells it out through John's Gospel; John 1:1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:14: And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. Who does not understand plain language like that; The Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost are ONE! Godhead, meaning all the attributes and manifestations of God as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. God makes it very clear that the Word, Jesus and God are synonymous. It is also evident in how God created man in His own Image. What image?; Genesis 1:26: ķAnd God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:
Genesis 1:27: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. Do you see how God makes a point of making these terms equal?: our image = our likeness = his own image = image of God Not many would argue that we are made up of three parts; Body, Soul and Spirit. There is the picture of the Godhead - His image ("our likeness"). The Bible says that our God is One God and it is impossible to understand the Godhead except for the fact that he made us in His own image; Body, Soul and Spirit; We live in our physical body, but we manifest both the body, soul and spirit as one entity. We shall be saved only through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; Acts 16:31: And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
In the great commission we are told: Matthew 28:19: Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
What is the meaning of His name? Lord = God the Father Jesus = God the Son (of man) - The manifestation of God in the flesh Christ = God the anointed one - The Holy Spirit. As pointed out earlier, Jesus is the bodily manifestation of the Godhead: Colossians 2:9: For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
When God talked to Moses He said: Exodus
3:14: And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt
thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
When Jesus talked with the Pharisees, He very plainly established who He was and they knew exactly who is the “I AM” he was referring to. There was no mistake and that is exactly why they wanted to stone Him. John 8:58: Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM.
Jehovah's witnesses say Jesus is a created spirit being that was in heaven before he came to earth and denounce both the fact of the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit being one) and the fact that the Word of God says He (Jesus) is God (manifested in the flesh). There are so many references that it is hard to explain away unless you alter portions of scripture, which they have done, to support their own opinion and belief. God is righteousness and cannot look upon sin, so He took upon Himself the judgment of mankind, paid the price for our redemption through Jesus (God manifested in the flesh - Col. 2:9) for us to have eternal life with Him through faith in the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31), giving us his Holy Spirit as the earnest of our inheritance; Ephesians
1:13: In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye
were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Ephesians 1:14: Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. Revelation of John 1:1: The Revelation of Jesus Christ,
which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must
shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto
his servant John:
Revelation of John 1:2: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Revelation of John 1:3: Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. Revelation of John 1:4: John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; Revelation of John 1:5: And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, Revelation of John 1:6: And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Revelation of John 1:7: Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. Revelation of John 1:8: I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. Revelation of John 1:9: I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. Revelation of John 1:10: I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Revelation of John 1:11: Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. Revelation of John 1:12: And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; Revelation of John 1:13: And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. Revelation of John 1:14: His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; Revelation of John 1:15: And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. Revelation of John 1:16: And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two edged sword (the Word): and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. Revelation of John 1:17: And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: Revelation of John 1:18: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. |
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John 6:51: I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
John 1:14: And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, John 6:58: This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. Matthew 4:4: But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. John 3:16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Acts 4:12: Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Do YOU want to receive this Salvation?
All you have to do is to tell God you believe that God through Jesus Christ died for you and provided Atonement for your sins and you will be saved and have eternal life. Ask Him to fill you with His Holy Spirit and follow the Lord through baptism. Then find a Bible believing church in your area that teaches the true word of God and start fellowshipping with other Christians. Start reading the Bible and begin with the Gospel of John and the letter to the Ephesians - Both in the new Testament. Also, read other subjects in this LIBRARY starting with God's Word.
I John 5:13: These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe on the name of the Son of God.
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