Dear Community
I have been doing some serious thinking about the divinity of Jesus the Messiah. How did it come about that Christians began to worship Jesus? Was this belief practiced by ALL of the disciples of Jesus in ALL the Gospels?
The Bible says that worship is only to be given to God.
Matthew 4:10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’ "
In the Bible there were examples of people kneeling down to apostles and angels, but this behavior was corrected.
Acts 10:25-26 As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. 26 But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.”
Revelation 19:10 At this I fell at his feet to worship him [angel]. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”
Revelation 22:8-9 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. 9 But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!”
But Jesus is worshiped in the Bible.
Hebrews 1:6 And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,
“Let all God’s angels
worship him.”
Matthew 2:11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and
worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Matthew 8:2 A man with leprosy[a] came and
knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
Matthew 9:18 While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and
knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.”
Mark 5:6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and
fell on his knees in front of him.
Matthew 14 32-33 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat
worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
John 9:37-38 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he
worshiped him.
Matthew 28 8-9 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and
worshiped him.
Luke 24 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. 52 Then they
worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.
Jesus is worshiped because he is God.
Matthew 1:23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”[g] (which means “
God with us”).
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God…14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Colossians 2:9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,
Hebrews 1:8 But about the Son he says,
“Your throne,
O God, will last for ever and ever;
a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.
Philippians 2:6 Who, being in very nature[a]
God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;…10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
Can you be saved if you don’t worship Jesus but worship the God that Jesus prayed to?
What is the Jewish and the Islamic belief regarding Jesus? And is it important to believe in Jesus to be saved even by these non Christians faiths?
I think it is OK to address your prayers to God the Father instead of Jesus. All parts of the Trinity are God and can be prayed to. However the only way our sins can be removed and we can be made just and “saved” in God’s eyes is if we accept Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross to cover our sins.
1 John 2:2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
John 3:16-18 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. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
By accepting Jesus, we can know the Father.
John 14:6-10 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know** my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me**? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.
