Is Jesus God or sent by God?
The first of a two-part article discussing the true role of Jesus. Part 1:=
Discusses whether Jesus called himself God, Jesus referred to as Lord and =
the nature of Jesus.
Jesus is a figure who is loved and revered by billions of people the world =
over. Yet there is so much confusion surrounding the status of this coloss=
al personality. Muslims and Christians both hold Jesus in high regard but =
view him in very different ways.
The questions raised in this article aim to get to the heart of the issues =
surrounding Jesus: Is Jesus God? Or was he sent by God? Who was the real hi=
storical Jesus?
Some ambiguous verses of the Bible can be applied erroneously to show that =
Jesus is in some way divine. But if we look at the clear, direct verses of=
the Bible, we see again and again that Jesus is being referred to as an ex=
traordinary human being and nothing more. What emerges, when we consider t=
he historical and logical facts about Jesus=92 life, is conclusive proof no=
t only that Jesus cannot be God, but that he never claimed to be either.
What follows are five lines of reasoning which clarify this subject for us =
through the Bible itself and thereby allow us to discover the real Jesus.
1. Jesus Never Calls Himself God
The Bible (in spite of being changed and adulterated over time) contains ma=
ny verses in which Jesus speaks of God as a separate person to himself. He=
re are just a few of them:
When a man addressed Jesus as =93Good Teacher=94, he replied =93Why do you =
call me good? No one is good except the one God.=92=92 [Mark 10:18]
In another instance he says: =93I can=92t do anything by myself. Whatever =
I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just. I don=92t seek my own will but t=
he will of the one who sent me.=94 [John 5:30]
Jesus speaks of God as a separate being to himself: I=92m going up to my Fa=
ther and your Father, to my God and your God. [John 20:17]
In this verse he affirms that he was sent by God: This is eternal life: to =
know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you sent. [John 17:3]
If Jesus was God he would have told people to worship him, but he did the o=
pposite and disapproved anyone worshipping him: And in vain they worship Me=
[Matthew 15:9]
If Jesus claimed to be God than there should be hundreds of verses in the B=
ible which would have mentioned it. But there is not a single verse in the=
entire Bible in which Jesus says I am God, worship me.
2. Jesus as Son and Lord?
Jesus is sometimes referred to as =91Lord=92 in the Bible and at other time=
s as =91Son of God=92. God is called the =91Father=92, so putting these na=
mes together it could be claimed that Jesus is the son of God. But if we l=
ook at each of these titles in context we will find that they are symbolic =
and not to be taken literally.
=91Son of God=92 is a term used in ancient Hebrew for a righteous person. =
God calls Israel his =91son=92: This is what the LORD says: Israel is my ol=
dest son.[Exodus 4:22]. Also, David is called the =91Son of God=92: The LO=
RD has said to Me, =91You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.=92 [Psalm =
2:7]. In fact anyone who is righteous is referred to as God=92s =91son=92:=
All who are led by God=92s Spirit are God=92s sons and daughters. [Romans=
8:14].
In the same way, when the word =91Father=92 is used to refer to God it shou=
ldn=92t be taken literally. Instead it=92s a way of saying God is the crea=
tor, sustainer, cherisher etc. There are many verses for us to understand =
this symbolic meaning of the word =91Father=92, for example: one God and Fa=
ther of all. [Ephesians 4:6].
Jesus is sometimes called =91Lord=92 by the disciples. =91Lord=92 is a ter=
m used for God and also for people who are held in high esteem. There are =
many examples of the word =91Lord=92 being used for people in the Bible: So=
they (Joseph=92s brothers) went up to Joseph=92s steward and spoke to him =
at the entrance to the house. =93We beg your pardon, our lord,=94 they sai=
d. [Genesis 43:19-20]. Also, in other parts of the Bible, Jesus is even c=
alled a =91servant=92 of God by the disciples: the God of our fathers, has =
glorified his servant Jesus. [Acts 3:13]. This clearly shows that when =
=91Lord=92 is used to refer to Jesus, it is a title of respect not of divin=
ity.
3. The Nature of Jesus
The nature of Jesus was totally different to that of God. There are many p=
arts of the Bible that highlight this difference in nature:
God is All-Knowing but Jesus by his own admission was not All-Knowing. Thi=
s can be seen in the following passage when Jesus says =93But nobody knows =
when that day or hour will come, not the heavenly angels and not the Son. =
Only the Father knows.=94 [Matthew 24:36]
God is independent and he doesn=92t need sleep, food or water. Jesus howev=
er ate, drank, slept and depended on God: As the living Father sent me, and=
I live because of the Father. [John 6:57]. Another sign of Jesus=92 depe=
ndence on God is that he prayed to God: Going a little farther, he (Jesus) =
fell with his face to the ground and prayed [Matthew 26:39]. This shows th=
at Jesus himself sought help from God. God, being the one who answers pray=
ers does not need to pray to anyone. Also, Jesus said: I am going to the F=
ather, because the Father is greater than me. [John 14:28].
The Bible is clear that God is unseen and is not a man: for no one may see =
me and live. [Exodus 33:20], God is not a man [Numbers 23:19]. Jesus on t=
he other hand was a man who was seen by thousands of people, so he could no=
t be God. Furthermore, the Bible makes it clear that God is too great to b=
e inside his creation: But how could God possibly live on earth with people=
? If heaven, even the highest heaven, can=92t contain you [2 Chronicles 6:1=
8]. According to this verse Jesus cannot be God living on the earth.
Also the Bible calls Jesus a Prophet [Matthew 21:10-11], so how could Jesus=
be God and be God=92s Prophet at the same time? That wouldn=92t make sense=
.
Additionally the Bible informs us that God does not change: I the Lord do n=
ot change. [Malachi 3:6:]. Jesus however went through many changes in his=
life such as age, height, weight etc.
These are just some of the proofs within the Bible, which make it clear tha=
t the nature of Jesus and God is completely different. Some people may cla=
im that Jesus had both a human and a divine nature. This is a claim that J=
esus never made, and is in clear contradiction to the Bible which maintains=
that God has one nature.
4. The Message of Jesus
The Prophets of the Old Testament such as Abraham, Noah and Jonah never pre=
ached that God is part of a Trinity, and did not believe in Jesus as their =
saviour. Their message was simple: there is one God and He alone deserves =
your worship. It doesn=92t make sense that God sent Prophets for thousands=
of years with the same essential message, and then all of a sudden he says=
he is in a Trinity and that you must believe in Jesus to be saved.
The truth is that Jesus preached the same message that the Prophets in the =
Old Testament preached. There is a passage in the Bible which really empha=
sizes his core message. A man came to Jesus and asked =93Which is the firs=
t commandment of all?=94Jesus answered, =93The first of all the commandment=
s is Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.=92=92[Mark 12:28-29=
]. So the greatest commandment, the most important belief according to Jes=
us is that God is one. If Jesus was God he would have said =91I am God, wo=
rship me=92, but he didn=92t. He merely repeated a verse from the Old Test=
ament confirming that God is One.
Some people claim that Jesus came to die for the sins of the world. But co=
nsider the following statement of Jesus: This is eternal life: to know you,=
the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you sent. I have glorified you o=
n earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.[John 17:3-4]. Jesus said =
this before he was caught and taken to be crucified. It is clear from this=
verse that Jesus did not come to die for the sins of the world, as he fini=
shed the work God gave him before he was taken to be crucified.
Also Jesus said =93salvation is of the Jews=94 [John 4:22]. So according t=
o this we don=92t need to believe in the Trinity or that Jesus died for our=
sins to attain salvation since the Jews don=92t have these beliefs.
5. The Early Christians
Historically there were many sects in early Christianity who had a range of=
beliefs regarding Jesus[1]. Some believed Jesus was God, others believed =
Jesus was not God but partly divine, and yet others believed he was a human=
being and nothing more. Trinitarian Christianity which is the belief that=
God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are one in three persons became the dominan=
t sect of Christianity, once it was formalized as the state religion of the=
Roman Empire in the 4th Century. Christians who denied Jesus being God we=
re persecuted by the Roman Authorities[2]. From this point onwards the Tri=
nitarian belief became widespread amongst Christians. There were various m=
ovements in early Christianity which denied the Trinity, among the more wel=
l known of them is Adoptionism and Arianism.
Dr Jerald Dirks who is an expert on early Christianity had this to say on t=
he subject: Early Christianity was quite conflicted about the issue of the =
nature of Jesus. The various Adoptionist positions within early Christiani=
ty were numerous and at times dominate. One can even speculate that Arian =
and Nestorian Christianity might well be an extremely sizable source within=
Christianity today, if it were not for the fact that these two branches of=
Christianity, which were located primarily in the middle east and in North=
Africa were so similar to the Islamic teaching regarding the nature of Jes=
us that they quite naturally were absorbed into Islam at the beginning of t=
he seventh century.=94[3]
Since there were so many sects in early Christianity, each with different b=
eliefs about Jesus and with their own versions of the Bible, which one can =
we say was following the true teachings of Jesus?
It doesn=92t make sense that God sends countless Prophets like Noah, Abraha=
m and Moses to tell people to believe in one God, and then suddenly sends a=
radically different message of the Trinity which contradicts his previous =
Prophets teachings. It is clear that the sect of Christianity who believed=
Jesus to be a human Prophet and nothing more, were following the true teac=
hings of Jesus. This is because their concept of God is the same as that w=
hich was taught by the Prophets in the Old Testament.
Jesus in Islam
The Islamic belief about Jesus demystifies for us who the real Jesus was. =
Jesus in Islam was an extraordinary individual, chosen by God as a Prophet =
and sent to the Jewish people. He never preached that he himself was God o=
r the actual son of God. He was miraculously born without a father, and he=
performed many amazing miracles such as healing the blind and the lepers a=
nd raising the dead =96 all by God=92s permission. Muslims believe that Je=
sus will return before the day of Judgement to bring justice and peace to t=
he world. This Islamic belief about Jesus is similar to the belief of some=
of the early Christians. In the Quran, God addresses the Christians about=
Jesus in the following way:
O People of the Book, do not commit excesses in your religion, and do not s=
ay anything about God except the truth: the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, wa=
s nothing more than a messenger of God, His word, directed to Mary and a sp=
irit from Him. So believe in God and His Messengers and do not speak of a =
=91Trinity=92=96 stop [this], that is better for you=96 God is only one God=
, He is far above having a son, everything in the heavens and earth belongs=
to Him and He is the best one to trust. [4:171]
Islam is not just another religion. It is the same message preached by Mos=
es, Jesus and Abraham. Islam literally means =91submission to God=92 and i=
t teaches us to have a direct relationship with God. It reminds us that si=
nce God created us, no one should be worshipped except God alone. It also =
teaches that God is nothing like a human being or like anything that we can=
imagine. The concept of God is summarized in the Quran as:
=93Say, He is God, the One. God, the Absolute. He does not give birth, no=
r was He born, and there is nothing like Him.=94 (Quran 112:1-4)[4]
Becoming a Muslim is not turning your back to Jesus. Rather it=92s going b=
ack to the original teachings of Jesus and obeying him.=20
Footnotes:
[1] John Evans, History of All Christian Sects and Denominations, ISBN: 055=
9228791
[2] C.N. Kolitsas, The Life and Times of Constantine the Great, ISBN: 14196=
60411
[3] Excerpt from =91Islamic Trajectories in Early Christianity=92 by Dr Jer=
ald Dirks
[4] God is not male or female, the word =91Him=92 when used for God does no=
t refer to gender.
http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/5232/
http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/5231/
thank you