Jesus is God
Jesus is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. He is the Foundation. Without Him we are not able to be redeemed to God no matter how many righteous works we try to perform (Isaiah 64:6). So it is very important to understand who Jesus is. On this page I will show that He is God and why that is important.
Why Jesus must be God
Have no other gods before God
We should only worship God (Deuteronomy 6:13). However, there are many instances in the New Testament where people worship Jesus (Example: Matthew 28:9). We pray to Jesus and give Him much of our time and thought (John 5:22-23). This is acceptable because He is God!
Because Jesus said we must
Jesus Himself said that unless we believe He is I AM (God's Name Exodus 3:14) we will die in our sins (John 8:24).
How we know Jesus is God
The Bible says He is
The Greek Bible says that the Word (Jesus) was with God (Theon) and that the Word was God (Theos) in John 1:1. Jehovah's Witnesses say the "Word was a god" and Mormons say "the Son [Word] was of God". They mistranslate Theos. However Theos is what is used in John 3:16 when everyone translates it as "God (Theos) so loved the World".
Also, Jesus says He is (John 10:30).
Jesus forgives sins
If someone punched you in the face, would it be okay for a bystander to tell the striker "that's okay, you're forgiven"? No, it would be up to the one who was wronged: you. After healing someone, Jesus says their sins are forgiven (Mark 2:5). He is able to say this because He is the One who was wronged (God).
Jesus' behavior fits God's
Two of my favorite Bible passages are 1 Kings 19 and John 21. In 1 Kings 19, Elijah has just called down fire from heaven and burned up an alter. All of Israel witnesses this miracle and a woman named Jezebel says she is coming after Elijah. So he is afraid and runs out to the wilderness and wishes that he were dead (1 Kings 19:4). An angel of God comes and brings him food which strengthens him for forty days. Then God meets him and asks what he is doing. Elijah repeats what happened to him. Then the Lord passes by Elijah in this pretty amazing display, ripping up the mountains (1 Kings 19:11-12). Then God again asks Elijah what he is doing and Elijah repeats himself. Then God asks him to go to another place.
Why is this amazing to me? Because God doesn't just come up to Elijah and tell him to go somewhere. First He feeds him, then He asks how he's doing, then He puts on a crazy display of His power to remind Elijah who God is, and then He asks him again what he's doing. God shows an understanding gentleness toward Elijah's mood.
In John 21, the disciples are out fishing. This is after Christ's crucifixion. As they are fishing and unable to catch anything, a Man on the shore asks them what's going on. He tells them to put the fishing net on the other side of the boat. Suddenly they find a great quantity of fish. As soon as Peter realizes it is Jesus on the shore, he jumps into the water to go be by Him (John 21:7). The other disciples row back to shore. Jesus prepares a meal for them and waits for them to eat. Then He asks Peter if he loves Him three times (Peter had betrayed Jesus three times earlier). The reason I love this story is because it shows Jesus taking care of His disciples, giving them a chance to process everything, and taking the time to restore Peter.
Do you see how God's treatment of Elijah is similar to Jesus' treatment of His disciples?