Is Jesus God?

Author : Tom Rainwater

QUESTION: Somebody gave me your website. Who are you? What do you have against the witnesses? The trinity has a pagan origin . Why are you trying to prove it with the Bible? I will only give you one scripture — a scripture everybody knows: John 3:16. It said God sent his son to die for mankind. Do you need more? It is very clear. How could God send his son? Can you explain that? Can God die? Read Psalms 90:1,2.

ANSWER: Hi! Thanks for checking out our web site.

We’re Just ChristiansYou asked who we are. We are a group of Christians who meet together regularly to study the Bible and worship God. We have no central headquarters on earth anywhere, nor do we follow the creeds and writings of uninspired men. We follow only Jesus Christ and preach His message of salvation accomplished through His sacrifice on the cross. We teach only the Bible and study it as our only spiritual guide.

The Bible Alone Contains All Truth

“All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NWT)

All Scripture, and it alone, is inspired of God and able to supply us with all we need to live righteously and please God.

You mentioned “the witnesses.” I assume you are talking about the group calling themselves the “Jehovah’s Witnesses,” even though none of them have ever actually seen Jehovah. I am aware of “Witness doctrine” and would love to study the Bible with you. We could see if the traditional “Witness doctrines” are from God in the Bible, or if they are just from what uninspired men have written in fancy books. Would you like to do this, friend?

The Father, Son, and the Holy SpiritYou also mentioned the term “trinity.” I just did a search on our web site (as of today, 5-16-02) and the word “trinity” is not anywhere on our site (except for this answer). I personally do not use the term “trinity” to talk about the nature of God since I can’t find that particular word in the Bible. But the Bible does teach that the Divine Nature is composed of three separate personalities: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Here is a sampling of verses. Please look them up and read them for yourself:

The Father is God. (John 20:17.)
Jesus Christ is God. (Matthew 1:23; Isaiah 9:6; Hebrews 1:8; John 1:1,14; John 20:28.)
The Holy Spirit is God. (Acts 5:3-4.)

If you haven’t already, I recommend that you listen to the radio program, “Is Jesus God?” on our audio page. On that program we studied what the Bible says about Jesus Christ. We plan on doing a radio program soon on what the Scriptures say about the Holy Spirit. Please check back for that as well.

Regardless of what pagan beliefs may be similar, the truth about the Godhead is still scriptural. Just because some ancient pagan doctrine happens to be similar to what God teaches in his word, does not automatically negate the truth of God’s word.

John 3:16 and the Nature of JesusJohn 3:16 indeed teaches that God sent his Son to die for mankind. In the New World Translation, it reads:

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life.” (NWT)

Do you really understand what it means to believe in Him as the “Son,” and call Him “the Son of God”? Whenever Jesus affirmed his Sonship to the Jews and called Himself “the Son of God,” the Jews understood correctly He was claiming to be God (John 5:18,22-23). The stubborn Jews did not want to believe that He was of the same nature as the Father.

Jesus also claimed and exercised the prerogatives of God. He forgave sin, which only God can do (Matthew 9:2-8; Mark 2:1-12). He freely accepted man’s worship, of which only God is worthy (Matthew 2:2,11; 8:2; 9:18; 14:33; 15:25; 28:9,17; Mark 5:6; Luke 24:52; John 9:38). It is wrong to worship mere men (Acts 10:25-26) and even wrong to worship angelic beings (Revelation 22:8-9), but right and mandatory to worship only God (Matthew 4:10).

Jesus came to this earth, giving up His heavenly glory, to come in human flesh (Philippians 2:6-11; John 17:5; Hebrews 2:14-18). He did so to be our example, to reveal the truth about Himself, and to die for our sins. His existence did not begin in Bethlehem. He has always been and will always be. He is the “I AM” (John 8:58). He is eternal in nature (Micah 5:2 with Matthew 2:4-6). He has always been God.

If I remember correctly, the “Jehovah’s Witnesses” believe Jesus is actually Michael the archangel. Where’s the scripture for this? Jesus is not an angel, but greater than all the angels (Hebrews 1:5-14).

Psalm 90:1-2 and the Nature of GodYou mentioned Psalm 90:1-2. It reads in the New World Translation:

“O Jehovah, you yourself have proved to be a real dwelling for us During generation after generation. Before the mountains themselves were born, Or you proceeded to bring forth as with labor pains the earth and the productive land, even from time indefinite to time indefinite you are God.” (NWT)

Can God die in his normal state as He is in Heaven? No, of course not. But when Jesus voluntarily surrendered His heavenly glory and came in human flesh, He became subject to temptation and death. How else could He die for our sins as the perfect sinless sacrifice?

Though Jesus came to be born in human flesh at Bethlehem, he is still from “time indefinite.” (Micah 5:2, NWT). Matthew 2:4-6 quotes this Micah passage as referring to Christ.

ConclusionThe truth about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the most important thing we can understand and believe. It is essential for our salvation that we believe in Him with all of our hearts and serve Him as our Lord and God.

He said, “Therefore I said to you, you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am [he], you will die in your sins.” John 8:24(NWT).