If Jesus is God, then all other claims to equality or even supremacy fade into insignificance. This question, more than any other, needs to be clarified in order to clearly discern the validity of His claims: But Jesus answered them, ‘My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.’ Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him; because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was his Father, making Himself equal with God. John 5: 17-18 NKJV ‘I and My Father are one.’ Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him, but Jesus answered them, ‘Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone me?’... ‘For a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a man, make Yourself God’. John 10:30-33 NKJV Jesus did not break the Sabbath; He merely did not conform to the human standards and rules erected by the Jews to safeguard themselves from transgressing the law of God. These human regulations placed a heavy burden on all who wanted to live right with God and became a yoke of oppression that no one could bear. Jesus did, however, claim that He and the Father were one. Moreover, nowhere in the New Testament do we find Jesus rebuking those that worshipped Him or directly addressed Him as God. And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshipped Him, saying, ‘Truly You are the Son of God’. Matthew 14:32-33 NKJV Thomas answered Him and said, ‘My Lord and my God!’ John 20:28 NKJV Worship is exclusively due to God, and not even angels, let alone humans, have any right to claim worship from a fellow created being. Two examples in the Scriptures neatly emphasize this point. 1. When John was shown the New Jerusalem in vision, he fell at the feet of his angel-guide to worship him, but the angel reprimanded him: Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God. Revelation 22:9 2. When the apostle Peter visited the home of Cornelius, Cornelius was so overwhelmed that he fell at Peter's feet to worship him, but the apostle said: And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him. But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man. Acts 10:25-26 There are some religious groups that deny the humanity of Christ, and others that deny His divinity. The Scriptures, however, clearly confirm both His humanity and His divinity. Christ, in Scripture, is the Creator of all things. He is the Saviour and Re-creator and He is Lord of all. The name Jesus literally means "Jahwe" (Jehovah = “the existing One”), the Saviour. As Creator, He can also lay claim to ownership. In Psalm 33 we read: By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast. Psalm 33:6-9 The New Testament confirms that this creator is none other than Jesus Christ: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. John 1:1-3. 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 1:16 Jesus Christ is Lord. The Greek word for Lord is Kurios, and is used in the sense of: ‘he to whom a person or thing belongs’, and this owner is God. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Acts 2:36 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:11 Jesus emphatically claimed to be God, that He was the self-existent one who preceded all things. Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. John 8:58 Emphasis supplied The Greek word "eimi" used here for “I am” means “to be, to exist,” and clearly emphasizes the fact that Jesus is God. For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Colossians 2:9 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Hebrews 1:8 The accurate prophecies given in the Bible, pertaining to the attributes of the Messiah, are all fulfilled in Jesus. No other individual can claim His messiahship or wrest His kingship from Him. He is the Prince of Peace, the Lamb that was slain, in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9). Jesus said: All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Matthew 28:18 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. John 10:9 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 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. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 3:14-18 The Bible clearly teaches that salvation is to be found only in Jesus Christ. In Acts we read: Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Acts 4:12 The stage is set, the claims of Jesus are clear, yet in spite of this the world is watering down these truths to accommodate all in a final confederacy aligned against the Word. This great conflict will culminate in the climax of history, in the return of Christ when the kingdom shall be given into His hand. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 1 Corinthians 15:24
