CHRISTIANITY: The Trinity, Jesus is God

EXPLORING CHRISTIANITY - THE TRINITY

THE BIBLE
Can we trust a book written 2000 years ago?

EYEWITNESS
Did the writers of the New Testament get their picture of Jesus right?

GOD - MAN
Is Jesus really God?

RESURRECTION
Did Jesus really rise from the dead?

RELIGIONS
With so many religions, why Christianity?

SUFFERING
If there is a God, why is there so much suffering?

TRINITY
Understanding the Trinity.

SCIENCE
The complementary nature of Science & Christianity.

FORGIVENESS
What it is and why it matters?

GUIDANCE
How does God guide?

REPENTANCE
What it is and why you can't get to heaven without it.

BORN AGAIN
What does it mean to be converted and born again?

SAVING FAITH
The kind of faith that will get you to heaven

ASSURANCE
Can I know for sure that I am going to heaven?

TRUTH
What is truth and does it matter?

MORALITY
Does it matter how we live? A Christian view of morality.

THE CHURCH
God's vision for his family, the Church. A call to the churches of the new millennium.

PURPOSE
How can I find a great purpose for living?

IDENTITY
Who am I; Finding my true identity as a human being and as a child of God.

SELF-ESTEEM
How can I feel good about my self? The Christian basis for proper sel-esteem.

LIFE AFTER DEATHChristianity's Hope & Challenge.

THE CROSS
Why did Jesus Die? What the Bible says about the Cross.

Grace
The importance of grace in the New Testament.

Jesus is God

There are many approaches one can take when exploring this question in the New Testament. Here are some of them:

His remarkable claims (see Is Jesus really God).

He is constantly given the title "Lord", the word that was consistently used of God in the Greek translation of the Old Testament of the third century BC.

He is referred to as God a number of times (e.g. John 20:28). Paul can declare, "in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form" (Colossians 2:9). John says, "He (Jesus) is the true God and eternal life" (1 John 5:20). In the Old Testament he is called "the mighty God" (Isaiah 9:6) the same two Hebrew words used of God in a number of places (e.g. Isaiah 10:21; Jeremiah 32:18).

His pre-existence before coming into this world is constantly assumed and sometimes directly stated (e.g. John 1:1,14).

He was involved in the creation of the universe and it is his power that sustains it (e.g. Colossians 1: 16,17; Hebrews 1: 2,3).

His role as judge of the human race (e.g. John 5:25-29; 2 Corinthians 5:10).

His achievements in reconciling men and women to God and meeting their needs on the journey through life are often described in the same terms as the achievements of God the Father. Their roles often overlap (e.g. 2 Corinthians 5:19; and compare Hebrews 8:12 with Mark 2:5-7). That Paul, an avowed monotheist, should attribute every imaginable activity to him that Judaism reserved for God alone is particularly significant.

There are numerous passages showing that we are to give him the same love, loyalty and devotion that we are required to give to God.

He receives the same worship of created beings, in heaven and on earth, as does God the Father (e.g. Revelation 5:11-14 - Jesus is constantly referred to as "the Lamb" in Revelation, the one who was sacrificed for us).

There are quite a number of passages from the Old Testament, quoted in the New Testament, where the original references refer to God, while the New Testament writers refer them to Jesus (e.g. Matthew 21:15,16/Psalm 8:1,2; Philippians 2:9-11/Isaiah 45:22,23).

There are numerous titles or metaphors used of Jesus that are also used of God, such as Saviour, Rock, Light, the Bridegroom, the first and the last, Alpha and Omega, I am, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Shepherd, Master, etc.

The fact that Paul, a person steeped in the Old Testament understanding of the Spirit of God, should so easily call him the Spirit of Christ as well, is as strong a confirmation as one could get of Christ's full divinity (e.g. Romans 8:9).

There is much more that could be said on the divinity of Jesus. However, more people have difficulty with the Holy Spirit than they do with Jesus. After all, Jesus did and said things that only God could be expected to do and say. But also he was always talking about his Father in heaven, so is obviously someone distinct from the Father. The New Testament writers distinguish Jesus from God the Father at every stage of his career - his pre-existence (John 17:5), through his presence on earth, to his ascension into heaven (1 Peter 3:22).

But who is the Holy Spirit? A student expressed his uncertainty this way, "God the Father makes perfectly good sense to me; and God the Son I can understand; but the Holy Spirit is a grey, oblong blur." I will focus the rest of this section on exploring the biblical picture that is given to us of the Holy Spirit.