My friends of the Jewish and Muslim faiths both tell me Jesus cannot be God because God is uniquely ONE.
To
unbelievers, The Old Testament does not clearly reveal Jesus, yet it clearly
speaks volumes on a coming, suffering, and eventually conquering Savior. Numerous
scriptures in the New Testament echo Old Testament verses that speak of this
Savior.Similarly,
the Koran reportedly says, as does the Bible, that God created the universe
through and for Jesus, and that He is The Word of God. Surprisingly, the Koran
reportedly speaks more about, and more highly of Jesus than it does about
Mohammed.
Despite
this body of evidence, both groups affirm ‘God is ONE, ergo, Jesus cannot be
God, as claimed.’
Accepting
Jesus as The revealed Son of God, and as God in human flesh is just one
of the many Godly conundrums we are asked to believe in faith. But does it
really take that much faith? Consider this, for example.
You, my
Friend, are similarly a conundrum. You are uniquely one, made in the
express image of God. Yet, you both present and express yourself as a
tripartite being, an unseen, but very much alive spirit; exercising
your soul (comprising your mind, will, emotions, intellect, and
imagination); all of which are housed in a temporary, physical body. Your
physical body will die, but your soul and spirit will live forever. So tell me, are you still uniquely
ONE?
The
obvious answer is Yes …and No! Your component elements beautifully integrate to
present you as ONE within this Earth-bound existence. Yet they remain separate
and still distinctly YOU.
Command: ‘Let the REAL you please stand
up, and engage!
In response
to such a command, your physical body may ‘stand up’ for all to see, yet God can
see whether your spirit (heart), which is the seat of your motives, may be
sitting down in defiance to this command. Through interaction, intellectual
onlookers may be able to ascertain the extent to which your mind is or is not
standing up and engaging. So in response to a unique command, you, as one unique person,
have the ability to respond in multiple manners. Imagine that.
If we
can do this, and we are created in God’s express image, can we, the created,
limit the abilities of The Creator to reveal and express Himself similarly? Yet
this is exactly what Muslim and Jewish believers are doing in rejecting Jesus’
claim to be God. Just as we do, God reveals and expresses Himself in ‘Three Persons’: The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. So who are we to say
pridefully,
Hold on, Mr. Creator, You can’t
do that
because our puny minds cannot
grasp it!
Conclusion: Jesus is as much fully
God, as your mind, your body, and your spirit, are fully you.
See: Is Jesus God? (Series w/Fresh Insights!), especially Part 2.
I’ve been looking forward to this interesting discourse with highly intellectual folks, which I believe will enhance my understanding of the Christendom.
ReplyDeleteHere’s my belief about the divinity of Jesus Christ (I will be referencing the Bible, with the hope that you will shed more light - as I’m only beginning to study the Bible closely [just realized it’s an obligation on all Moslems to invite (talk to) Christians and Jews - Koran 3:64, and the only way to do this successfully is by studying their holy scriptures]).
In the book of John (17:3), Jesus was quoted saying, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, AND Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” I put the conjunction “and” in uppercase, as it forms the basis of my argument.
I would expect Jesus to say “…that they might know thee the only true God, THROUGH me…” or perhaps any word that denotes two or more beings that are the same or inseparable.
Logically, the “and” in the verse refers to two distinct beings (…will be glad to hear your counterargument).
Also, in Mathew (19:17), Jesus exclaimed (in response to one who called him ‘Good Master’) “Why callest thou me good? there is NONE good BUT one, that is, GOD…”
Many Moslems are concerned as to why Jesus will reject a word that denotes moral excellence and admirableness, but accept divinity.
Jesus Christ, as Moslems are being taught, has an unprecedented level of humbleness (that’s why he rejected the word ‘good’ ascribed to him - but there's no point in rejecting it if he had that element of divinity in him).
These are my thoughts at the moment (I may add more).
Nura
Nura, Thanks for your comment.
DeleteAs noted in another post ("...I'll Draw All Men Unto Me", http://jwootenjr.blogspot.com/2014/08/ill-draw-all-men-unto-me-exposition.html), Jesus said, "...And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." As a lad, I was implicitly taught this meant as Jesus is exalted, He will draw ALL people to Him for salvation. Strangely, the adults who held this view conveniently ignored the context of this statement, even the adjacent verse which clearly confirms Jesus was referring to the manner (crucifixion) in which He would die. Regarding context is critically important in understanding Holy Scripture, especially since writing styles and languages have evolved so dramatically over time.
Similarly, your concern about John 17:3 is answered in the broader context of the full chapter, and especially in 17:5, affirming Jesus was with God, and had the Glory of God before the world existed, affirming His deity. No other mere man can ever say this truthfully. Again, context is critical to understand relative to any one, single verse...or word.
In Matthew 19:17, the context reveals Jesus wanted the rich young ruler to wake-up and realize the Truth in what he had (perhaps inadvertently) said in equating the goodness of Jesus with God. Jesus did not deny this, but simply zeroed in on the assertion to test and see whether the man really understood. The second part of the test was essentially to see whether, since Jesus is indeed good/God, would the man OBEY Him in selling his possessions and following this good/God? You know the rest of the story. His possessions were more likely his god.
Point: Isolating a word or verse here and there is both dangerous and unwise. Context, context, context.
Thanks for the explanation. I will as much as possible study the context (like I mentioned, I'm only starting to study the Bible more closely). And I'll get back to you on my position.
DeletePS. Is there a way one gets notified (via email, for instance) on any update on the discourse? (I did not know you responded to my comments until I decided out of curiosity to check the blog this morning).
Nura
Nura, there is a 'Follow by Email' gadget in the right column, just below the list of most popular posts. This will alert you to new posts, and possibly to published comments (will try to confirm the latter). You are welcome to sign up, if interested, even if only until exchanges on this post are completed. Meanwhile, please feel free to browse the site and refer it to other potentially interested readers to check out. Thanks~
DeleteThere is also a 'Notify Me' box at the bottom of the Comment box, if you only wish to be notified about comments on this post.
DeleteHello Nura, I see in the Quran/Koran references to God as "We". Why use a plural pronoun if God is UNIQUE/ One? And if "We" is appropriate, who/what are the other aspects or parties being referred to? For Christians, Hebrews chapter 1 clearly addresses this issue, and there are numerous other references in the Bible to God's Son. Thanks for your consideration of this question. J!
DeleteJ!
ReplyDeleteI read your post re the "triune-ness" of GOD and must say that you have articulated well an accurate picture of the tree facets of a real and living Creator. An example I use to help others understand the concept of the triune function/existance of GOD goes something like this:
An individual man is one person, yet he is a husband to his wife; he is the father (biological) of his children, and he is a daddy in his relationship with his children. His entire being has three roles, all of which revolving around various aspects of relationship; yet he remain one person.
I know this analogy may not hold up too long, but it begins to provide a picture of GOD and His triune make-up.
Well written blog-
Great feedback. Much appreciated!
DeleteLiving a godly life will not come naturally or easily to any of us. Neither does trusting and submitting to the Father's will. He'll instruct us to live a life that's pleasing to Him and to follows Him. We have to think always positive. God bless you.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, John.
DeleteBlessings.
Readers,
ReplyDeleteTwo verses in Revelation 22, CONFIRM the UNITY of Father God and Jesus Christ, through Whom ALL things were created, and are being sustained:
22:1 And he [an angel] showed me [Apostle John] a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from THE THRONE OF GOD AND OF THE LAMB [Their shared Throne inside the new, eternal Jerusalem on the predicted new, eternal Earth].
22:3 And there shall be no more curse, but THE [shared] THRONE OF GOD AND OF THE LAMB shall be in it, and His [The Lamb's] servants shall serve Him.
Jesus is The Lamb of God, Who was sacrificially crucified for the sins of all who would embrace Him, by faith.
Finally, searching any quality dictionary for the word, one, you will see many qualitative definitions. Jews and Muslims apparently IGNORE ALL such qualitative definitions, and limit The Almighty to the LEAST definition, a number, and (get this) the lowest of the infinite set of positive numbers, at that!
Zero serves as a fulcrum, perfectly balancing the two infinite sets of positive and negative numbers. The number/integer, 1, is the absolute lowest of all positive numbers. Let's not insult The Almighty by limiting THEM to this definition.