BCD: Who did Jesus Claim to be?

[bcbsr]

Who did Jesus Claim to be?

Much of Jesus' teachings concerns claims about himself - primary of which was his claim of being the Son of God. "I said, ‘I am God‘s Son‘" John 10:36 and "my Father‘s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." John 6:40 He declared that belief in himself as the Son of God was central to salvation. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

But what did he mean by "the Son of God"? At the time this phrase was understood to mean that in some sense he was equating himself with God. They said, "You, a mere man, claim to be God." John 10:33 John clarifies this more in the beginning of his gospel saying,

• "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1
• "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." John 1:3
• "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14
• "No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known." John 1:18

The claim here is that Jesus is not God the Father, but that he was with God the Father and was God in some unspecified sense. And it was through Jesus that all things were made - he himself not having been created, since apart from him nothing was made that has been made. Formerly he did not have a nature of flesh and blood, but took on that additional nature at his birth. No one had ever seen God in the intimate sense in which Jesus had. And thus we find the New Testament revelation of God through Jesus Christ reveals mysteries about God which formerly were hidden or unspoken of in the Old Testament. "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son" Heb 1:1,2

 

[Albion]

The answer is that he was God and we know this from the Bible's testimony in the following ways:

--Jesus is described as God in Scripture.
--Jesus did things which only God can do.
--Jesus accepted the claim of others when he was addressed as God by them.
--And Jesus referred to himself as God by using titles reserved for God.

It could hardly be more clear-cut. What's more, if Jesus was NOT God, but all of the above is recorded as true in the Bible, he also couldn't be a prophet, "someone sent by God but not God himself," or a learned teacher admired for his teachings about God, etc. None of that. If he were not God, he'd be a charlatan, a poser, given all of the above mentioned facts.

 

[Clare73]

Who did Jesus Claim to be?

Much of Jesus' teachings concerns claims about himself - primary of which was his claim of being the Son of God. "I said, ‘I am God‘s Son‘" John 10:36 and "my Father‘s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." John 6:40 He declared that belief in himself as the Son of God was central to salvation. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

But what did he mean by "the Son of God"? At the time this phrase was understood to mean that in some sense he was equating himself with God. They said, "You, a mere man, claim to be God." John 10:33 John clarifies this more in the beginning of his gospel saying,

• "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1
• "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." John 1:3
• "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14
• "No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known." John 1:18

The claim here is that Jesus is not God the Father, but that he was with God the Father and was God in some unspecified sense. And it was through Jesus that all things were made - he himself not having been created, since apart from him nothing was made that has been made. Formerly he did not have a nature of flesh and blood, but took on that additional nature at his birth. No one had ever seen God in the intimate sense in which Jesus had. And thus we find the New Testament revelation of God through Jesus Christ reveals mysteries about God which formerly were hidden or unspoken of in the Old Testament. "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son" Heb 1:1,2

He claimed to be the Son of God:
Luke 1:35, Luke 22:70; John 1:34, John 1:49-50; Matthew 3:17, Matthew 17:5; Mark 3:11; John 5:25-27; John 20:31; Matthew 16:15-17.

 

[Mr. M]

The claim here is that Jesus is not God the Father, but that he was with God the Father and was God in some unspecified sense. And it was through Jesus that all things were made - he himself not having been created, since apart from him nothing was made that has been made.

We do have some specifics...
Colossians 1:
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth,
visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All things were created through Him and for Him.
17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn
from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

"He is the image of the invisible God"
continuing from where you left off in Hebrews 1:2...
.. .through whom also He made the worlds;
3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person,
and upholding all things by the word of His power,
"the brightness" as a ray of light:
we are aware and can see the sun, but it is the radiance of the sun that reaches
the earth (and us) that gives light and life.
The Father has given us the perfect metaphor!
"the firstborn over all creation".
He is therefore, the mediator between God and man, and uniquely qualified
to perfect the "inner man".
Romans 8:29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the
image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.