THE DEITY OF JESUS CHRIST

                      THE DEITY OF JESUS CHRIST


Christianity is not a religion...but a relationship with the living
Christ.  You can take Buddha out of Buddhism, Mohammed out of Islam,
and in like manner the founders of varioius religions out of their
religious systems and little would be changed.  But take Christ out
of Christianity and there would be nothing left.

Therefore, if we are going to become true followers of Christ it is
imperative we thoroughly explore who Christ claimed to be and who the
Bible says He is. Christ Himself said that "truth will set you free".
If that is true, then error will bind you.  This study is to separate
truth from error.



What does the Bible say about the Deity of Christ?  The Bible is a
book that may be trusted.  The Holy Scriptures of the Bible have been
scrutinized by man for almost 2,000 years and have been found to be
reliable.  God's Word has been miraculously preserved over the
centuries and we can trust it to be a reliable source.  Let's look,
then, to what God's Word says about the Deity of Jesus Christ.

Hundreds and hundreds of years before the human birth of Christ, the
Old Testament promised the arrival of the Messiah.  This Messiah
would have a quality known to no other man.  He would be God.  In
fact, every aspect of the Messiah's earthly life and ministry is
predicted in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New Testament.

Let's compare Old Testament prophecy and New Testament fact:


Isaiah 07:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign;
Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his
name Immanuel.
Isaiah 09:06 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and
the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be
called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace.

Matthew 01:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring
forth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which being
interpreted is, God with us.
.IF

DO BOTH THE OLD & NEW TESTAMENTS SAY THAT THE MESSIAH IS GOD WITH US?




Yes!  The first chapter of the Gospel of John makes it even clearer:


John 01:01 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
John 01:14 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 WAS MADE FLESH?


                        WHO WAS THE WORD?
.

It is obvious that the 'Word' refers to Christ.  When we read the
same Scriptures as such, the relationship becomes clear:


In the beginning was Christ, and Christ was with God, and Christ was
God.  And Christ was made flesh, and dwelt among us...



Now we are left with only 2 possibilites.  One is that the world has
two Gods.  ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURE BELOW, IS THAT POSSIBLE?


Isaiah 45:22 Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For
I am God, and there is no other.

There are some that suggest that John 1:1 actually should read "the
Word was a god".  That is an unscholarly interpretation and we cover
that interpretation in detail in Lesson 3 of this study.

Psalms 22 is a prophecy of the crucifixion of the Messiah.  Let's
compare several verse's of this Psalm with the death of Christ on the
cross and then see how this relates to the deity of Jesus:


Psalms 22:01 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou
so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring

Matthew 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud
voice saying, 'Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?' that is, to say, 'My God,
my God, why has Thou forsaken Me?'


Psalms 22:07 All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out
the lip, they shake the head, saying
Psalms 22:08 He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let
him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him


Luke 23:35 And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers
were sneering at Him, saying, 'He saved others; let Him save Himself
if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.'

Jesus' hands and feet were pierced by large dull spikes attaching the
body on a wooden cross.  His side was pierced and there came out
blood and water. Crucifixion was not a form of punishment in Old
Testament times, yet the Psalms describe it right down to the
piercing of the limbs and casting of lots for Christ's garments:


Psalms 22:14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of
joint:  my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels
Psalms 22:15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue
cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death
Psalms 22:16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked
have enclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet
Psalms 22:17 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me
Psalms 22:18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my
vesture



The purpose of Psalm 22 is God wants us to realize that His death on
the cross was not just a tragic event in history, but that it was the
completely foreknown and climactic event in God's plan to deal with
sin.  Only the sacrifice of a perfect, righteous being could take
away the sins of the world. The only perfect, righteous being is God.
The Word was God and became flesh to take away the sin of the world.



John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal
life.



Micah 05:02 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among
the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me
that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of
old, from everlasting.


Not only does the prophet Micah predict that Christ would be born in
Bethlehem, but he reveals that this Messiah has been of God from
eternity past.

                 HOW DOES THAT PROVE JESUS' DEITY?


If only God has existed from eternity past and Jesus existed with
Him, then, Jesus has to be God.


Jesus Christ fulfilled more than 300 prophecies foretold hundreds and
hundreds of years before his birth.  One researcher who analyzed only
8 of the Old Testament predictions about Jesus said:


'The chance that any man might have fulfilled all 8 prophecies is
1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000.'



IF WE CAN TRUST THESE PROPHECIES ABOUT CHRIST, CAN WE TRUST THOSE OLD
TESTAMENT PROPHECIES WHICH USE TITLES AND DESIGNATIONS TO INDICATE
THAT THE MESSIAH IS GOD?



Is Jesus Christ merely a Legend?   We have more proof, both
Scriptural and secular, documenting His existence than most other
figures of history past.  Not only that, but the Bible miraculously
foretold of His arrival.  History confirms that even the smallest
detail came about just as predicted.

Since Christ obviously isn't a Legend, we are left, now, with 3
alternatives:  He was a liar, lunatic or Lord God.



The next lesson will look at what Christ said about Himself as well
as what others of that time say about who Christ is.