Dig a Little Deeper: The Eternal Word

 

As we read through first chapter of John, we see that John declares that Jesus is the Word, was with God at the beginning, and is God.

This leads to many conversations concerning the trinity and the deity of Christ. The sermon preached on this topic spent some time discussing the trinity, and John's connection between Christ and divine attributes.

In this post, however, we will briefly focus on Scripture's teachings about Christ's divine nature.

Creator

From John 1, we see that Jesus is the creator. We also see that in passages such as Colossians 1:

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.

Colossians 1:16

Same Nature as God

Hebrews tells us that Christ has the same nature as the Father.

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

Hebrews 1:3

And Colossians tells us that the fullness of God dwells in Christ.

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,

Colossians 1:19

Power Over Sin's Curse

Jesus had power over severe weather.

And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

Mark 4:39

He had power over sickness (and deformities, physical handicaps, and other issues concerning the body).

And Jesus[c] stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him.

Luke 5:13

And he had power over death.

And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose.

Matthew 9:23-25

Claimed to be God

Jesus claimed to be God. Some claims are very clear, others are not as clear to us. However, the original hearers of his teaching fully understood the claims that we would se are "less clear."

I and the Father are one.

John 10:30

While that one is very clear to us, the next one needs a little historical context (which the original listeners fully understood).

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.

John 8:58

The historical context here ties back to Moses and the burning bush. There, God revealed himself to Moses as "I am." As a result, when Jesus claimed to be the "I am", he was claiming to be God. The Jews understood this so clearly that the next verse tells us they picked up stones to kill him.

Demonstrated Divine Authority

Only God has the authority to forgive sins. We can forgive someone for the wrongs they have done to us, but we cannot forgive them for their sins before God. Notice what Jesus does here:

But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.”

Matthew 9:6

He claimed to forgive this man--who had not wronged him (on earth)--for his sins. Well, how would we know this happened? Anybody can claim to forgive someone's sins when there is no proof. So what Jesus did was verify his claim by overcoming the effects of sin in this man's life in a way that everyone could see. The lame stood up and walked. While this man likely was not lame because of a specific sin, the reason disabilities exist are because of the invasion of sin in the garden of Eden. Here, Jesus reversed the effect of the curse sin brought into the world so that this man could walk.

Conclusion

These verses show us that the Bible presents Jesus as being God, although he is not the same person as the Father. This list is not exhaustive by any means, but it is a starting point to build a case for Christ's deity. 

We could look at examples of how Christ allowed people to worship him, his knowledge of people's thoughts, and other topics. We could even further flesh out each topic that was covered here, because even those topics were only briefly addressed. 

However, this list is enough to help us understand that Jesus is God. Let us rejoice this Christmas, because Christ is God, and that God became a man in order to rescue us.