In this edition of FridayDIVE, we take a look at The DEITY of Jesus of Nazareth.
Our MAIN TEXT for this study will be John 1:1-14.
John 1:1-14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not [a]comprehend it.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word became 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.
Last session, we looked at some (9) messianic prophecies that Jesus fulfilled … and we noted, also, that the probability of one person fulfilling all nine of those prophecies was one in 100 quadrillion (1 in 1017).
Biblical prophecy specialists Peter and Paul LaLonde have noted that:
The Old Testament includes about sixty different prophecies, with more than 300 references, of the coming of the Messiah. It was through the fulfillment of these prophecies that Israel was told she would be able to recognize the true Messiah when He came. The four gospels record several times when Jesus said that He was fulfilling a prophecy of the Old Testament. Luke 24:27 records, for example, “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” And verse 44 notes, “And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and the prophets and the psalms, concerning me.”
[Peter and Paul LaLonde, 301 Startling Proofs & Prophecies (Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada: Prophecy Partners, Inc., 1996).]
Jesus Christ himself said, “For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me” (John 5:46, NKJV). Likewise, Christ’s disciples taught that He fulfilled Old Testament prophecy (e.g., Acts 3:18; 17:2-3; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
To answer the question what is the probability of one man fulfilling all eight prophecies, the principle of probability is applied. Therefore, multiplying all eight probabilities together (1 times 2.8 x 105 x 103 x 102 x 103 x 103 x 105 x 103 x 104) gives us 2.8 x 1028, or for simplicity sake, 1 in 1028 or 1 in 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.
Given this and the time span between the writings of the Old Testament and the fulfillment by Christ in the New Testament, the prophecies were either given to the prophets by God, or the prophets just wrote them down as they thought they should be. With Christ fulfilling all eight prophecies, what are the odds the prophets were just guessing?
Taken from the Good News Dispatch website …
http://www.goodnewsdispatch.org/math.html
The DEITY of Jesus of Nazareth
deity = divine status, quality, or nature … divinity (or godness).
To say that Jesus has deity is to say that He is fully God … as the Father is God.
Notice how the Nicene Creed puts it …
| The Apostles’ Creed
The Apostles’ Creed does not have a single creation date, as it developed over time, but its earliest form, the Old Roman Creed, dates back to approximately AD 140–215. The modern version of the creed was completed around the 8th century. |
The Nicene Creed
The original Nicene Creed was drafted in 325 AD at the First Council of Nicaea, but the version most commonly recited today is the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, which was adopted after a revision at the Council of Constantinople in 381 AD. The original was formulated to settle theological disputes within the early Christian Church, and the later revision further clarified its statements on the Holy Spirit. |
| I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. |
We believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. |
| I believe in Jesus Christ,
his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. |
And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages, |
| He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead. |
He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried. ……….The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead. His kingdom will never end. |
| I believe in the Holy Spirit, | And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life. He proceeds from the Father and the Son, and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified. He spoke through the prophets. |
| the holy catholic* church, the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. *that is, the true Christian church of all times and all places . |
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.
We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look forward to the resurrection of the dead, and to life in the world to come. Amen. |
Philippians 2:5-8 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it [b]robbery [something to be held onto] to be equal with God, 7 but [c]made Himself of no reputation [emptied Himself of His privileges], taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
Colossians 1:15-17 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by (in) Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or [e]principalities or [f]powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
- in Him all things consist … Cf. Acts 17:28
Colossians 1:19-20 19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, 20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
John 1:1-14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God.
- Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
- Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not [a]comprehend[overcome] it.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word became 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.
John 8:58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”
- NB: The Israelites did not call the Eternal One as “God” but as “I Am”.
- So, when Jesus says “I Am”, they know He is identifying Himself as God.
- Notice the next verse …
- John 8:59 Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going[a] through the midst of them, and so passed by.
- The Jews took up stones. Why? To stone Jesus. Why?
- Let’s notice another instance when Jews threatened to stone Jesus …
- John 10:27-38 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. 30 I and My Father are one.”
31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. 32 Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?”
33 The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.”
34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods” ’? 35 If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), 36 do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37 If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; 38 but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.”
John 20:24-29, 30-31
24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
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!”
29 Jesus said to him, [f]“Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.