Jesus
“I believe in Christ as I believe in the sun; not because I see it, but because by it, I see all things.”
C.S. Lewis
At CBC, it’s all about Jesus, its only about Jesus, it’s always about Jesus.
The Bible declares that Jesus is God the Son, who in His incarnation (coming “in the flesh” fully God and fully man) provided for us the clearest and most important revelation of God that has ever been or ever will be and can alone forgive our sins and grant us salvation. In Hebrews 1:1-3 we read, “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”
The question of Jesus is of vital importance. Many people believe that Jesus lived, was a good teacher, or was a very spiritual man. However, there remain many wrong perspectives about Him, that deny that He is God. The Apostle Paul spoke of this propensity to reduce the majesty of the real Jesus in favor of a diluted and diminished Jesus that in the end is no longer truly Jesus at all. In 2 Corinthians 11:3-4 Paul writes, “But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.”
To help you determine your own personal belief about Jesus we have compiled the following nine reasons that we hope will compel you to receive Him as God. Each line of reasoning includes a verse from the Bible that is a quote from the mouth of Jesus declaring that He is God. We have chosen Jesus’ words because Jesus was put to death for continually declaring Himself to be God. In the end it really comes down to whether or not each of us believes Him, and on that point His words become incredibly personal and pertinent.
1. Jesus said He was God
Throughout the history of the world there have been numerous people who claim to speak for God, but there has also been a surprisingly short list of people who have actually claimed to be God. For example, such religious leaders as Buddha, Krishna, Muhammad and Ghandi did not claim to be God. But, Jesus clearly and repeatedly said He was God.
John 14:8-9 “Philip said, ‘Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.’ Jesus answered: ’Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?’” (see also: Mark 14:61-64; John 8:58-59; John 10:30-33)
2. Jesus said He came from heaven
On a very rare occasion someone will claim that they have been taken into heaven for a brief experience of its grandeur. Examples would include people who claim to have had a near death experience. The founder of Islam, Mohammad, claimed that on one occasion he was taken from earth to heaven. But, Jesus claimed to have come down from His eternal home in heaven, a claim which has never been made by the founder of any other world religion. Here is evidence that Jesus is God because God alone dwells in heaven eternally.
John 16:28 “I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” (see also: John 6:38, 41-42, 60, 66)
3. Jesus said He was sinless
In the history of the world no one has claimed with any credibility that they are without sin because to do so is to declare that one’s words, actions, thoughts, and motivations are continually perfect and pure. And, as the old adage goes, no one is perfect. Even those religious leaders who are widely recognized as the most devout and morally upright (e.g. Mohammad, or Ghandi) have claimed that they were indeed sinners. But, Jesus declared that He was not only morally superior to everyone who has ever lived, but in fact sinless. The perfect, sinlessness of Jesus makes Him clearly more worthy of our devotion than anyone who has ever lived and helps to demostrate that He is God because God alone is without sin.
John 8:46 “Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me?”
4. Jesus forgave sin
While much of the resources in our world are spent on dealing with the effects of sin (e.g. war, illness, death, depression, crime, poverty, etc.) there is still no way for people to have their sins forgiven so that they might be cleansed from their stains. At best, some religions try to teach their adherents what they can do to work hard at paying God back through such things as good works and reincarnation, they still lack any concept of forgiveness. But, Jesus forgave sin because He was/is God and since all sin is ultimately committed against Him, He alone has the power to forgive the sins of sinners.
Mark 2:5 “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’”
5. Jesus said He was the ONLY way to heaven
While there are many religious and spiritual teachers who claim that they can point you to heaven’s path, they themselves do not claim that they are that path. But, Jesus promised that He is the way to eternal life in heaven. This also proves that Jesus is God because since heaven belongs to God, it is God alone who determines who will live with Him forever there. And, Jesus’ ability to give spiritual life after physical death to those who believe in Him is further evidence that He is God who rules over heaven and our eternity.
John 14:6 “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” (see also: John 11:25)
6. Jesus confirmed to others He was God
Not only did Jesus repeatedly declare that He was God, but He also reiterated this fact when others who doubted or opposed that claim inquired of Him. On many occasions, (John 10:31-33) religious leaders sought to condemn Jesus publicly for committing blasphemy, or declaring Himself to be God. The penalty for blasphemy was death and if Jesus were not convinced that He was God then we would expect Him to clarify the misunderstanding about Himself in an effort to avoid a bloody death. But, Jesus declared that He was God which further proves that everyone throughout history who has believed that Jesus claimed to be God has not misunderstood His words but rather understood them clearly.
Matthew 26:63-65 “But Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to him, ‘I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.’ ‘Yes, it is as you say,’ Jesus replied. ‘But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.’ Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, ‘He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy.’”
7. Jesus accepted worship as God
The Ten Commandments which governed the life and worship of God’s people begin with the declaration of who God is and the commands to worship God alone and no one or nothing but Him (Exodus 20:1-17). To worship anyone or anything other than the one true God is the sin of idolatry that is forbidden throughout the Bible. But, Jesus freely welcomed other people to call Him God and worship Him as God without correcting or rebuking them for being in error. Therefore, Jesus acceptance of worship also proves that He was God.
Matthew 14:33 “Then those who were in the boat worshiped him Jesus, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” (see also: John 9:38)
8. Jesus performed many miracles including rising from death
The resurrection of Jesus is the most known and celebrated miracle in the history of the world. Perhaps the most lengthy biblical account of Jesus’ resurrection is found in 1 Corinthians 15. There we are told that if Jesus did not physically rise in victory over death then Christianity is nothing more than a cruel hoax that has given false hope to gullible fools. Jesus predicted His death and resurrection, He left an empty tomb, all the early church creeds attest to his physical resurrection, plus hundreds of eyewitness accounts and changed lives all demonstrate the truth that Jesus is alive.
Mark 8:31 “Then He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, be killed, and rise after three days.”
1 Corinthians 15:3-8 “For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. Then He appeared to over 500 brothers at one time, most of whom remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one abnormally born, He also appeared to me [Paul]. “