"THOU,
BEING A MAN, MAKEST THYSELF GOD"
John 10:33
This charge, leveled against our Lord by the Jews, was a fully
justified accusation. All that he taught plainly asserted his Godhood. If Jesus
Christ is not God, then he fully deserved to be put to death, for he declared
to all that he is God. Anyone who denies his eternal Godhead takes sides with
the Jews and says, "This man deserves to be crucified!"
Without Controversy
The Deity of Christ is not a matter of controversy in God's
church. It is not a matter of speculation, debate, or discussion. No one can be
called a Christian who questions the fact that Jesus Christ is God. Throughout
the Scriptures our Lord Jesus Christ is plainly declared to be God.
Hear what God himself declares in his
Word. These are the words of God himself written in the Bible. Each passage
quoted is unquestionably referring to the Lord Jesus Christ. "Thy
throne, O God, is forever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right
sceptre" (Ps. 45:6; Cf. Heb. l:8). "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"
(Isa. 9:6). "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth;
for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone
out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee
shall bow, every tongue shall swear" (Isa. 45:22-23; Cf. Rom.
14:10-12). "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God" (John 1:1). "Hereby perceive we the love
of God, because he laid down his life for us" (I John 3:16). Reading
these Scriptures in their context, we can draw only one of two conclusions:
either Jesus Christ is God, or the Bible is a book of lies!
Immanuel
Jesus Christ is Immanuel, God with us, God in our nature, God
manifest in the flesh (Matt. 1:22; 1 Tim. 3:16). He is over all God blessed
forever (Rom. 9:5), the great God and our Savior (Tit. 2:13). Jesus Christ is
the living God (Heb. 3:12) and the true God (1 John 5:20). All who are born of
God look to Christ by faith and confess, with Thomas, "My Lord and my
God!" (John 20:28).
C. S. Lewis wrote, “A
man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said wouldn’t be a great
moral teacher. He’d be either a lunatic – on a level with a man who says he’s a
poached egg – or else he’d be the devil of hell. You must make your choice.
Either this man was and is the Son of God, or else he’s a madman or something
worse.”
There are no other
options. Those who attempt to portray the man Jesus as a great teacher of moral
philosophy and religious principles while denying his eternal deity are
patronizing hypocrites. That man who is our Savior, our Prophet, our Priest,
and our King is our God.