Jesus was God

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SaraJ

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I must admit this is why I left the church; it was such a struggle for me to believe that Jesus was a walking God. I can except a son but a god? I was hoping someone could help me with this and explain these verses.

I guess I dont know what religion I am; I am looking for a home and a place that is correct.

There is none good but God"

(Luke 18:19,)

“My Father is greater than I.”

(John 14:28,)

" No man hath seen God at any time."

(John 20:17)

“Ye have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His shape.”

(John 5:37)

“I go unto my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God.”

(John 20:17)

“I can of mine own self do nothing: As I hear I judge, and my judgment is just because I seek not mine own will but the will of the Father which has sent me.”

(John 8:42)

“I seek not mine own will but the will of the Father which has sent me.”

(John 5:30,)
 
I am not a Scriptural theologian. I can only offer you my personal interpretation of the given quotations from Scripture. And please excuse exoflare for being somewhat cold.
SaraJ said:
I must admit this is why I left the church; it was such a struggle for me to believe that Jesus was a walking God. I can except a son but a god? I was hoping someone could help me with this and explain these verses.

I guess I dont know what religion I am; I am looking for a home and a place that is correct.

There is none good but God"

(Luke 18:19,)

God is the source of all goodness. He Himself is absoultely perfect and all of His creation is good only precisely as much as God loves them. (God’s love is causal, meaning that God’s love creates and bestows grace.) Especially considering original sin, man’s first sin which affected all of humanity, there is a special need to rely on God’s love.

“My Father is greater than I.”

(John 14:28,)

A lot of quotations of Jesus must be understood as he made them “according to his human nature.” This quotation can be understood in any number of ways, but the easiest and perhaps most understandable is that Jesus is speaking as a man: “God is greater than man.” Some ancient theologians have also delved into a sort of “ranking” of the Holy Trinity, though, of course, this isn’t a ranking of honor but of “procession.” i.e. the Father begets His Son, the Holy Spirit proceed from the Father and the Son

" No man hath seen God at any time."

(John 20:17)

For a man to “see” God would mean to have the beatific vision, which would mean to be in heaven. This could be in reference to “any man on earth.” However, your citation seems to be off as that’s not what I find at 20:17. I can’t help you further than that.

“Ye have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His shape.”

(John 5:37)

Same as above. My ignorance is becoming apparent. 🙂

“I go unto my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God.”

(John 20:17)

When the Son of God became man, we were united to the divinity in a very special way. At the same time, Jesus is speaking according to his human nature. Therefore, Jesus’ God = Our God.

“I can of mine own self do nothing: As I hear I judge, and my judgment is just because I seek not mine own will but the will of the Father which has sent me.”

(John 8:42)

“I seek not mine own will but the will of the Father which has sent me.”

(John 5:30,)

These last two can be understood as Christ speaking according to his human nature. Of course, God does not will against himself, and Jesus, according to his Divine nature, would have the same Will as that of the Father. However, Jesus Christ had both a Divine will and a human will.
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SaraJ said:
I must admit this is why I left the church; it was such a struggle for me to believe that Jesus was a walking God. I can except a son but a god? I was hoping someone could help me with this and explain these verses.

I guess I dont know what religion I am; I am looking for a home and a place that is correct.

There is none good but God"

(Luke 18:19,)

“My Father is greater than I.”

(John 14:28,)

" No man hath seen God at any time."

(John 20:17)

“Ye have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His shape.”

(John 5:37)

“I go unto my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God.”

(John 20:17)

“I can of mine own self do nothing: As I hear I judge, and my judgment is just because I seek not mine own will but the will of the Father which has sent me.”

(John 8:42)

“I seek not mine own will but the will of the Father which has sent me.”

(John 5:30,)
Click to expand...
A very good book I recommend is Theology For Beginners by F.J. Sheed. It covers this subject clearly in an easy to understand way.
 
As a devout Catholic I can tell you that your problem is hardly unique. The fact of the matter is that the basic beliefs of Christianity are absurd when taken at face value.
It is indeed impossible for a man to be God. It is indeed impossible for God to be a man. It is indeed absurd to think that somehow the death of a sacrificial animal (or man) in some way “redeems” from the guilt of sin.
The problem is that we need to believe the unbelievable; accept the unacceptable.
The passages you quote are instances of a mind struggling with the problem of being both God and man and having no way of reconciling the two. Jesus struggled with it just as we do because He was human and subject to human limitations just as we are.
Begin with believing in God and that He loves you beyond your ability to understand. He has placed you in this world to learn to know Him and love Him. Ask for His help and pray fervently.

Matthew
 
Sara,

First, let’s correct your language. Jesus is God, not “was” God and not “a” God. There is only one God.

The bible verses you quote are only part of the picture. Remember, Jesus is fully human and fully divine. Therefore, some bible verses are empahsizing his humanity-- the ones you quoted-- while other verses are emphasizing his divinity-- the ones you have NOT quoted.

Those Scriptures referencing his divinity include:

John 1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…

Quoted from Catholic Answers (since they already have it spelled out):

In John 8:58, when quizzed about how he has special knowledge of Abraham, Jesus replies, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I Am”—invoking and applying to himself the personal name of God—“I Am” (Ex. 3:14). His audience understood exactly what he was claiming about himself. “So they took up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple” (John 8:59).

In John 20:28, Thomas falls at Jesus’ feet, exclaiming, “My Lord and my God!” (Greek: Ho Kurios mou kai ho Theos mou—literally, “The Lord of me and the God of me!”)

In Philippians 2:6, Paul tells us that Christ Jesus “[w]ho, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped” (New International Version). So Jesus chose to be born in humble, human form though he could have simply remained in equal glory with the Father for he was “in very nature God.”

Also significant are passages that apply the title “the First and the Last” to Jesus. This is one of the Old Testament titles of Yahweh: “Thus says Yahweh, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, Yahweh of armies: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; besides me there is no god’” (Is. 44:6; cf. 41:4, 48:12).

This title is directly applied to Jesus three times in the book of Revelation: “When I saw him [Christ], I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand upon me, saying, ‘Fear not, I am the First and the Last’” (Rev. 1:17). “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the First and the Last, who died and came to life’” (Rev. 2:8). “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense, to repay every one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the beginning and the end” (Rev. 22:12–13).

This last quote is especially significant since it applies to Jesus the parallel title “the Alpha and the Omega,” which Revelation earlier applied to the Lord God: “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty” (Rev. 1:8).
 
Revelation 1:8 (King James Version)

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

Who is coming? Jesus!!!
 
To start with, John plainly tells us that in their Jewish thinking that claiming to be the Son of God is claiming to be divine.

John 5
16And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had
done these things on the sabbath day.

17But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.

18Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the
sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

19Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can
do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth,
these also doeth the Son likewise.

20For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he
will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.

21For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth
whom he will.

22For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:

23That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that
honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.

Matthew 23:9
And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.

Look at his trail.

Mark 14:60-64 (King James Version)

60And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?

61But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said
unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?

62And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of
power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

63Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses?

64Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be
guilty of death.

Based on Lev 24:16, if Jesus claim to be the divine messiah were false, then it is
blasphemy worthy of death. The whole point, as the Son of God ( in Matthew 26 ) or Son
of the Blessed ( Mark 14 ) he was claiming to be the divine messiah. By quoting Daniel 7,
he was laying claim to being the final Judge and Ruler of mankind.

Jesus claims,
  1. to be the Messiah
  2. to be the Son of the Blessed One
  3. Sitting at right hand of God the Father
  4. Coming on Clouds of heaven
Background information: The Jews were expecting one of two messiahs, Yeshua Ben
David or Yeshua Ben Joseph. One was Divine, the other simply a liberator, thus human. In
the past, there were people who claimed to be the messiah and that was not considered to
be Blasphemy. For documentation of the two views see,

The Divine Messiah by Robert L Reymond

The Messiah Texts by Raphael Patai ( jewish author )

Yeshua Ben David by Walter Riggans

Jesus Ben Joseph by Walter Riggans

The high priest was spefically asking him if he were the Divine Messiah, in the paralell
passage in Matthew 26, the phrase “Son of God” was used. Jesus confirms that he is the
divine messiah and applies Psalms 110:1 Daniel 7:9-18 to himself.

Daniel 7:9-18 (King James Version)

9I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment
was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the
fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.

10A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered
unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set,
and the books were opened.

11I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld
even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.

12As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives
were prolonged for a season and time.

13I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds
of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

14And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people,
nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

15I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head
troubled me.

16I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he
told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things.

17These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.

18But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom
for ever, even for ever and ever.
 
Micah 5:2 (King James Version)

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet
out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth
have been from of old, from everlasting.

paralells: “right hand” Acts 2:33, Heb 2:9, Rev 12:5, Eph 1:20-23, Phil 2:9-11. “clouds”
Dan 7:13, Joel 2:2, Zeph 1:15, Rev 1:7, 14"14-16.

Daniel 7:9-18

9 "As I looked,
"thrones were set in place,
and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
His clothing was as white as snow;
the hair of his head was white like wool.
His throne was flaming with fire,
and its wheels were all ablaze.

10 A river of fire was flowing,
coming out from before him.
Thousands upon thousands attended him;
ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
The court was seated,
and the books were opened.

Rev 1

12I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw
seven golden lampstands, 13and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of
man,"dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.
14His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like
blazing fire. 15His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the
sound of rushing waters. 16In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth
came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

17When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me
and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18I am the Living One; I was
dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

In short, Jesus claimed to be the Divine Messiah, Son of God, Son of the Blessed. This
claim was assumed to be false and worthy of death.

Matthew 14:33
Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the
Son of God.

Luke 1:35
And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the
power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be
born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Luke 4:34
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.

1 John 5:20
And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we
may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ.
This is the true God, and eternal life.

John 5:18-19 (King James Version)

18Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the
sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

19Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can
do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth,
these also doeth the Son likewise.

John 6:27
Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

I John 5:20 above calls Jesus, Son of God, True God, Eternal Life.
 
If you can accept that Jesus is the Son of God then He is God. God is not some elected or appointed office. God is God by his very existence and nature. The Son of God must have God’s nature, just as the son of a human father must have a human nature (that is a fundamental component of being a son). Thus it is that Jesus must also be God.
 
First, you have to keep in mind that Jesus was fully a human. He had a human nature, with a human will and a human intelligence. As a human, he had to learn things, just as we do.

As humans, we have a human nature. We are also human persons. “Human nature” says what we are. “Human person” says who we are.

But Jesus’ personhood, that which says" I " within him, is the Second Person of the Trinity, the Son of the Father, the Divine Word. As the Second Person of the Trinity, he fully possesses the one divine nature, which cannot be divided.

So he was fully human, yet fully divine. But his Personhood was divine, not human. He is not two persons, but one. One person who possesses two natures.

Sorry, Frank Sheed could do a better job explaining that. I agree with Thistle’s recommendation of his book Theology for Beginners.
 
If you believe in Scripture----

At the begining of the book of **John **we learn that the **“Word” **is someone, not something.

1 In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God.

2 **He was with God in the beginning. **

3 Through him all things came into being, not one thing came into being except through him.

4 What has come into being in him was life, life that was the light of men;

5 and light shines in darkness, and darkness could not overpower it.

And if you look at the begining of the book of Genesis you’ll notice God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

Genesis 1
1 In the beginning God created heaven, and earth.

God the Father
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2 And the earth was void and empty, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and **the spirit of God **moved over the waters.
God the Holy Spirit

3 And God said: Be light made. And light was made.

The Word of God, ** before He came in the flesh, Jesus**

26 God said, “Let** us **make man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves, and let them be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all the wild animals and all the creatures that creep along the ground.”

The Holy Trinity

Back to the book of John

14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we saw his glory, the glory as it were of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
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15 John beareth witness of him, and crieth out, saying: This was he of whom I spoke: He that shall come after me, is preferred before me: **because he was before me.**
16 And of his fullness we all have received, and grace for grace.

17 For the law was given by Moses; **grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.**

18 No man hath seen God at any time: the only **begotten Son **who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
Begotten =1. spawn, sire, breed, father, (esp. of a male parent) to procreate or generate (offspring).

Our children share our nature,they are human beings because we are.

Jesus shares His Fathers nature, He is God because the Father is God.

Jesus also shares His mothers nature,He is human because she is human.

All of us have one nature we are human.

Jesus has two natures He is** both** human and Divine. because of His parents.

And because Jesus is one with His Church His Church is both human **and **Divine.

We make up the body of His Church that is the human part. Jesus being one with His Church, and the Holy Spirit guiding it. That is the Divine part.

Through Scripture, Tradition and the Magisterium. This is how I know Jesus is both, at the same time, human and Divine.
 
Let me add a few more verses from John that you left out:
So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”
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Jesus answered them, "I told you and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me.
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But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep.
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My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
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I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand.

My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.
Click to expand...
The Father and I are one."
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John 10:24-30
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