Is Jesus Christ Divine? Message from an Antichrist Refuted! [podcast]

Beware that this message received, below, is from a slick antichrist who misuses Scripture, leaving out truth to promulgate his denial of Christ’s divinity.

MESSAGE RECEIVED:

“I agree that Jesus is the Son of God, King of Kings, my savior, the rock on which the church was built. I agree that the Bible from the beginning to the end tells us about God’s plan toward Jesus, his role in establishing the Kingdom of God and freeing the creation from sin. I love Jesus. This is why it’s hard for me to fathom how on one part you quote that “Jesus is the Son of the Living God” and say that it is this revelation that the church is built on and not Peter, and a moment later you say that Jesus is “the God of all creation”. I think this needs to be clarified. In one place you say that Jesus is God’s “only begotten Son”, then you also say that he always existed. It’s either one or the other. Either Jesus was begotten, or he ever existed. You said that everything in the Bible is about Jesus. So let’s read Micah 5:2: “And you, O Bethʹle·hem Ephʹra·thah, the one too little to be among the thousands of Judah, from you will come out for me the one to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from ancient times, from the days of long ago.” I think we will agree that this scripture speaks about Jesus who will come in the future, but “whose ORIGIN is from ancient times, from the day of long ago”. God, who always was, has no origin. Jesus does. Jesus was begotten, he is “the beginning of the creation of God” (Rev. 3:14), “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation” (Col. 1:15). Peter correctly believed that Jesus is the Son of the Living God. The Holy Spirit revealed it to him. Jesus said so. Jesus also was very clear about the fact that he had God, the Father, who is more powerful than him: “Jesus said to her: “Stop clinging to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father and to my God and your God.’”” (John 20:17). “If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I am.” (John 14:28). “Keep this mental attitude in you that was also in Christ Jesus, who, although he was existing in God’s form, gave no consideration to a seizure, namely, that he should be equal to God.” (Phil. 2:5,6). “But I want you to know that the head of every man is the Christ; in turn, the head of a woman is the man; in turn, the head of the Christ is God.” (1 Cor. 1:13). “But when all things will have been subjected to him, then the Son himself will also subject himself to the One who subjected all things to him, that God may be all things to everyone.” (1 Cor. 15:28). Thanks be to God and to his Son Jesus Christ for giving us a second chance and showing us a way out of darkness. “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16). May the truth reach everyone. “This means everlasting life, their coming to know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.” (John 17:3). Hallelujah!”

REPLY:

Isaiah uttered this prophetic word of the coming Messiah: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty GOD, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6-7

Jesus Christ existed “from everlasting” which clearly reveals He has no beginning or ending and is divine.

“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.” Micah 5:2

It’s both. Jesus Christ is both God and man. He’s God from eternity past with no beginning or ending and yet became flesh to redeem mankind (Galatians 4:4). “The Word (Christ) was made flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). Are you denying that Jesus has come in the flesh? That would make you an “antichrist” (1 John 4:3; 2 John 1:7). “Only begotten Son” pertains to the virgin birth of Jesus when He was for a time made flesh to dwell among us and die for us, which is why He came (2 Corinthians 5:19). The “son” who was brought forth was God from all eternity. “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, GOD with us“ (Matthew 1:23). Jesus Christ is God, one of the Members of the triune Godhead, and as such has no beginning or ending. Read Colossians 1.

“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14 

There cannot possibly be a perfect sacrifice without a virgin birth by divine operation.

“Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life”

“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.” 1 John 5:20 

Christ declared: “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“ (Revelation 1:8). 1 Timothy 3:16 says that “GOD was manifest in the flesh” and we know that is not the Father or the Holy Spirit but rather, Jesus who was born of a virgin, incarnate in human flesh, and “GOD … in the flesh” (1 Timothy 3:16). Jesus Christ is divine, has no beginning or ending, has always been and always will be God Almighty. Yet, when it pleased the Father, He was sent to the earth to be born in the flesh (incarnation), to show us the Father, and to redeem mankind. “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,” (Galatians 4:4).

“But when the fulness of the time – Appointed by the Father, Gal 4:2. Was come, God sent forth – From his own bosom. His Son, miraculously made of the substance of a woman – A virgin, without the concurrence of a man. Made under the law – Both under the precept, and under the curse, of it.” John Wesley

“4:4 The fullness of the time refers to the time appointed by the Heavenly Father when the heirs would become of age (see v. 2).”

Of this truth, Galatians 4:4. William MacDonald notes:

“In this verse we have, in a few words, a marvelous statement as to the deity and humanity of the Savior. He is the eternal Son of God; yet He was born of a woman. If Jesus had been only a man, it would be gratuitous to say that He was born of a woman. How else could a mere man be born? The expression, in our Lord’s case, witnesses to His unique Person and the unique mode of His birth.

“Born into the world as an Israelite, He was therefore born under the law. As Son of God, the Lord Jesus would never have been under the law; He was the One who gave it. But, in condescending grace, He put Himself under the law that He had made, in order that He might magnify it in His life, and bear its curse in His death.” William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary

The Holy Spirit spoke beforetime through the beloved David of this coming event: “I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.” (Psalms 2:7)

“And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;” Revelation 3:14 – “The Lord Jesus speaks of Himself as the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God. As the Amen, He is the embodiment of faithfulness and truth, and the One who guarantees and fulfills the promises of God. He is also the originator of the creation of God, both material and spiritual. The expression, ‘the Beginning of the creation of God’ does not mean that He was the first Person to be created; He was never created. Rather, it means that He began all creation. It does not say that He had a beginning, but that He is the Beginning. He is the origin of the creation of God. And He is pre-eminent over all creation.” William McDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary

You cited Colossians 1:15 but then you stopped. Let’s look at the text which clearly reveals that as God, Jesus Christ created and sustains all that is: “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” Colossians 1:14-17

It’s becoming clear that you are under the control of the spirit of antichrist, which denies the divinity of Jesus Christ. Notice how you quoted John 20:17 yet ignore v. 28 – “And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God” (John 20:28).

“Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.” John 14:28 – Of this, William Macdonald notes: “At first it seems as if this verse contradicts all that Jesus had taught concerning His equality with God the Father. But there is no contradiction, and the passage explains the meaning. When Jesus was here on earth, He was hated and hunted, persecuted and pursued. Men blasphemed Him, reviled Him, and spat on Him. He endured terrible indignities from the hands of His creatures. God the Father never suffered such rude treatment from men. He dwelt in heaven, far away from the wickedness of sinners. When the Lord Jesus returned to heaven, He would be where indignities could never come. Therefore, the disciples should have rejoiced when Jesus said that He was going to the Father, because in this sense the Father was greater than He. The Father was not greater as God, but greater because He never came into the world as Man to be cruelly treated. As far as the attributes of deity are concerned, the Son and the Father are equal. But when we think of the lowly place which Jesus took as a Man here on earth, we realize that in that sense, God the Father was greater than He. He was greater as to His position but not His Person.” Believer’s Bible Commentary

The Philippians 2 passage says exactly the opposite of what you asserted. Notice that Jesus “thought it not robbery to be equal with God” because He is God, He is divine and yet, for a time, He humbled Himself and was begotten by the Father through a virgin and was incarnated, clothed upon with human flesh to redeem fallen mankind.

“Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Philippians 2:5-7

“PROLOGUE: THE SON OF GOD’S FIRST ADVENT (1:1-18)
John begins his Gospel by speaking about the Word—but he does not explain at first who or what the Word is. A word is a unit of speech by which we express ourselves to others. But John is not writing about speech but rather about a Person. That Person is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. God has fully expressed Himself to mankind in the Person of the Lord Jesus. By coming into the world, Christ has perfectly revealed to us what God is like. By dying for us on the cross, He has told us how much God loves us. Thus Christ is God’s living Word to man, the expression of God’s thoughts.” William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made … And the Word was made 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 1:1-3, 14

The divinity of Jesus Christ stated repeatedly here: “the Word was God … ALL things were made by him … the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” The eternality, the infinitude, the divinity of Jesus Christ, the divine Word made flesh, is made known in the Gospel of John in more poignant fashion than any other place in the Bible.

Of John 1:1-5, the late William MacDonald noted:

“The Word in Eternity and Time (1:1-5)
1:1 In the beginning was the Word. He did not have a beginning Himself, but existed from all eternity. As far as the human mind can go back, the Lord Jesus was there. He never was created. He had no beginning. (A genealogy would be out of place in this Gospel of the Son of God.) The Word was with God. He had a separate and distinct personality. He was not just an idea, a thought, or some vague kind of example, but a real Person who lived with God. The Word was God. He not only dwelt with God, but He Himself was God.

“The Bible teaches that there is one God and that there are three Persons in the Godhead—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. All three of these Persons are God. In this verse, two of the Persons of the Godhead are mentioned—God the Father and God the Son. It is the first of many clear statements in this Gospel that Jesus Christ is God. It is not enough to say that He is “a god,” that He is godlike, or that He is divine. The Bible teaches that He is God.

“1:2 Verse 2 would appear to be a mere repetition of what has been said, but actually it is not. This verse teaches that Christ’s personality and deity were without beginning. He did not become a person for the first time as the Babe of Bethlehem. Nor did He somehow become a god after His resurrection, as some teach today. He is God from all eternity.

“1:3 All things were made through Him. He Himself was not a created being; rather He was the Creator of all things. This includes mankind, the animals, the heavenly planets, the angels —all things visible and invisible. Without Him nothing was made that was made. There can be no possible exception. If a thing was made, He made it. As Creator, He is, of course, superior to anything He has created. All three Persons of the Godhead were involved in the work of creation: ‘God created the heaven and the earth.’ (Gen_1:1). ‘The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.’ (Gen_1:2). ‘All things were created through Him (Christ) and for Him’ (Col_1:16 b).

“1:4 In Him was life. This does not simply mean that He possessed life, but that He was and is the source of life. The word here includes both physical and spiritual life. When we were born, we received physical life. When we are born again, we receive spiritual life. Both come from Him.

“The life was the light of men. The same One who supplied us with life is also the light of men. He provides the guidance and direction necessary for man. It is one thing to exist, but quite another to know how to live, to know the true purpose of life, and to know the way to heaven. The same One who gave us life is the One who provides us with light for the pathway we travel.

“There are seven wonderful titles of our Lord Jesus Christ in this opening chapter of the Gospel. He is called (1) the Word (vv. 1, 14); (2) the Light (vv. 5, 7); (3) the Lamb of God (vv. 29, 36); (4) the Son of God (vv. 34, 49); (5) the Christ (Messiah) (v. 41); (6) the King of Israel (v. 49); and (7) the Son of Man (v. 51). The first four titles, each of which is mentioned at least twice, seem to be universal in application. The last three titles, each of which is mentioned only once, had their first application to Israel, God’s ancient people.” William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary

Any person who denies that Jesus Christ is God, is a lost soul and an antichrist for denying the record God gave us of His Son. The Messiah was foretold to be “the mighty God,” “Immanuel,” and so anyone denying this part of “the record” of God concerning the Messiah, is antichrist (Isaiah 7:14; 9:6-7).

“Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. 23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.” 1 John 2:22-23

“2:22 John is careful to point out that to deny the deity of the Lord Jesus is to deny the Father also. Some people like to believe that they worship God, but they do not want to have anything to do with the Lord Jesus Christ. The apostle says, ‘He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.’

“2:23 In Joh_8:19, Joh_8:42, Jesus said that those who failed to recognize His deity and to love Him neither knew the Father nor had Him as their Father. Similarly, John says, ‘Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.’ Here we have the wonderful truth of the unity between the Father and the Son. You cannot have the Father unless you have the Son. This is a message which should be heeded by all Unitarians, Christian Scientists, Muslims, Modernists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Jews.” William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary

“He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.” 1 John 5:10

“The record that God gave of his Son,” is that which we have of Christ on record, recorded by “holy men of God” (2 Peter 1:19-21). We read in God’s Word, concerning Jesus, that He is “the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8), that “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58), that “ALL things were created BY HIM” (Colossians 1:16; John 1:3), that “God was manifest in the flesh,” (1 Timothy 3:16), etc..  And so it’s clear that all who deny, who reject the divinity of Jesus Christ, that He is God, are antichrists and have called God a liar.

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” Matthew 28:18

Your salvation in Christ is most important. Your knowledge of God’s Word determines how effectively, how powerfully you can be used of God.

THE BLOOD OF JESUS

PEACE with GOD | Christology (the study of Christ) | Jesus Christ is God

21 Reasons Jesus Came to the Earth

How We Know the Bible is the only Holy Book on Planet Earth [podcast]

7 Sayings of Jesus on the Cross [podcast]