I generally read only a couple OT books (Eccl, Kings, Proverbs, sometimes Genesis). Other than that I read primarily the Synoptic Gospels. I rarely read John, as it seems so different than the other three, so I take them as being more accurate. Very rarely I will read Acts or Revelations, but I don't put a lot of stock in them, and I have only read the other NT books once or twice each, I don't really care for them as they seem to me to be more of human interpretations of what Jesus was teaching.
You realize that you are ignoring the "whole council of God"?
If you choose to ignore John based on:
they seem to me to be more of human interpretations of what Jesus was teaching.
None of the holy Writ, is "human interpretations", it is all divinely inspired.
The Prophets spoke as the Holy Spirit led them, the writters of the NT wote as the Holy Spirit guided them.
You ignore John's gospel because: "human interpretations", but John's gospel contains some of the most powerful statements about Jesus being God!
"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 any thing made that was made...And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth...The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world...And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!" -Jn. 1:1-3, 14, 29, 36 (KJV)
So how can we know other than these passages?
The Apostle Paul wrote the Colossians:
"For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." -Col. 2:9 (KJV)
In 1 Jn. 5:11, 14, we read:
"And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son...These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."
I have assurance, confidence that Jesus is not only the Son of God, but that the disciples:
"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;" -1 Jn. 1:1 (KJV)
Jesus is God, God made flesh, and dwelt among man.
You cannot pick and choose which parts of the Bible to read and study, you absolutely must use the whole council of God, the whole revelation of God.
God Bless
Till all are one.
__________________ Remember this Dean:
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. dir="ltr">
"It may be that in the sight of heaven your more worthless and less fit to live than millions"
-The Ghost of Christmas Present to Ebenezer Schrooge
-Charles Dickens, A Chrismas Carol, 1843
Last edited by DeaconDean; 5th August 2009 at 01:56 AM.
John 12:44-45
44 Then Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. 45 And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.
Jesus is making it clear here you are to believe in him yet Jesus wants you to mature in him and understand something else quite wonderful about him. That is that the one who sent him is in fact the same one you see when you look at Jesus. Jesus is God Almighty the Father. I will speak about what Jesus said about the Father being greater than he in a moment.
Isaiah 45-21-23
21 Tell and bring forth your case; Yes, let them take counsel together. Who has declared this from ancient time? Who has told it from that time? Have not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me, A just God and a Savior; There is none besides Me.
Jesus is a just God and Savior and it states there is no GOD or Savior besides the God of Israel. Since this is Jewish scripture then Jesus is either God and Savior or not. If this scripture is true and we know it is then Jesus is God Almighty the creator and our Father. John 1 makes that clear as well.
22 “Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.
Once agian God declares there is no God but the God of Israel 23 I have sworn by Myself; The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, And shall not return, That to Me every knee shall bow, Every tongue shall take an oath.
Notice above God said he has sworn by himself and to him every knee shall bow. If every knee is going to bow to Jesus then Jesus has to be God Almighty our Father.
John 14:9
9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
Isaiah 9:6 6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be calledWonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
John 20:26-28 26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” 28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
So who is Jesus Christ according to the scriptures above?
Jesus is God the Father the creator, but when Jesus became flesh he came as a son with no more power than Adam had before the fall. Adam had great authority and wisdom with God in the garden until he fell.
Jesus had to pass the test Adam failed to redeem us which was temptation and obedience. If Jesus had used his power as God rather than limit himself to no more power than Adam had before the fall then Lucifer would have known who Jesus was and from God’s point of view it would have been cheating.
When Jesus said he considered it robbery to be considered equal to God he did mean it. Even though Jesus was the Father he was operating with only the power Adam had as a son before the fall. Any other power Jesus manifested he attested to the Father’s work.
The Holy spirit also spoke out of heaven saying concerning Jesus, ” This is my beloved Son in whom I’m well pleased.”
Jesus also said ” The father is greater than I.”
Jesus knew he had to die for us in order to redeem us legally, Jesus also knew he had to keep hidden the fullness of who he was until all was fulfilled, but Jesus gave us clues everywhere who he was.
When Jesus died on the Cross for us he died as a real son of God because he limited himself in power to that of a son, but when Jesus rose for our justification he no longer had to hide who he was.
Peter said you are the son of the living God, and Jesus affirmed that without correction to Peter.
Years later doubting Thomas said MY LORD AND MY GOD and Jesus did not correct him.
Before Jesus had accended he said to Mary ” Do not touch me Mary for I have not yet accended to the Father.
Later he said to Thomas, put your hand in my side and touch my wound and be believing, not faithless.
The scriptures declare that no one can say Jesus is Lord (with faith & understanding) without the Holy Spirit.
The Word Lord in the greek is Kurios, it is as Thomas spoke it. It does not mean Lord Churchill or some knighted person from England. It means LORD as in God Almighty.
So the scripture is true, ” No one can say Jesus Christ is God Almighty (LORD) except by the Holy Spirit. That is what that scripture really means. No one can say Jesus is God except by the Holy Spirit.
If you say Jesus is Lord of Lords and King of Kings then what you are really saying is that Jesus is God above all Gods King above kings. So be the truth Amen and Forever Amen.
Consider this: Anyone who claims qualifications can only verify those claims by the witness of others.
I claim to be qualified to drive a vehicle on public roads. I have a document from the state that verifies I know the rules, my driving skills have been tested, and my history continues to verify my fittness to carry it.
For Jesus to claim Himself God would be a worthless qualification. There are multiple witnesses to the qualification of Jesus as God. I have picked a few instances for your consideration. The context I bring here is incomplete so please read around what I bring here.
Matt23:7 And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. A title of Jesus is Christ (from Greek) - the Anointed One. Messiah is the Hebrew equivelant. Christ is over the rabbis. These were the highest leaders of the land and Christ is over them.
Matt 26:63 But Jesus held his peace, And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. The charge of blasphemy can only apply if one makes a false claim of divinity. Those in the court understood that Jesus was accepting and sustaining that claim. The court, then, gave witness that Jesus accepted the "charge" of being God.
Matt 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. The only one with all power in heaven and earth is God. The nations are to be baptized "in the name (singular) of the Father, ...Son, and...Holy Ghost." God in multiple persons comprises a single entity. (And God said, "Let US make man in OUR image..." Genesis 1:26) He places Himself in the list of divine persons.
Mark 1:23 And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. Demons address Him as "the Holy One of God."
Mark 2:27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. He lays claim to being "Lord also of the sabbath." The sabbath was a creation of God (Genesis 2:1-3). It was God who wrote the sabbath into the stone of the Ten Commandments. He here claims to be lord, one in command of the sabbath.
Luke 5:20 And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? The Pharisees understood Jesus' claim to the right to forgive sins to be a divine right. Jesus did not deny it.
For Jesus to accept these rights and titles and not be qualified would make Him, not just a nut case, but an evil man. Nuts don't make the impact on history He has. His presence is even the reference point for our calendar. Every time you look at the date on your computer remember that.
You say you have a good relationship with God yet you presume to sort through the library He has given you as to what is good and what isn't. Have you considered that that position puts you above God's Word as you take the authority to judge it? It is the hope of me and many others (as seen at least in the replys to your quiry) that you accept the witnesses found in Scripture and in the lives of the many who have found Him precious and functional in their lives.
The quotes used in the reply are from the KJV - a Scripture credentialed by its place in the Reformation - a Scripture not shy of expressing the qualifications of Jesus the Christ.
Linear Mode
