Is Jesus God? | Faith

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Last week we addressed the question: “Is it illogical to believe in God?”

My answer: No. In fact, the existence of God is the only logical answer, considering the internal evidence of mankind’s shared moral makeup (i.e. natural law). With this question and answer in mind, let us turn to address another question, one that is more pressing than the last: Is Jesus God?

My answer is: Yes! But this will be a four-part answer. This week, we will look at the internal evidence of the Old Testament Scriptures (OT). Next week, we will look at the New Testament evidence (NT), then the third week, the historic Jesus. And, lastly, in the fourth week, we will assess the evidence as a whole. So, please stay with me!

Jumping right in, what do the scriptures of the Old Testament (OT) say about Jesus, regarding His divinity? The Hebrew scriptures (the Bible’s OT) promise a Messiah, or a chosen one, who will be the savior of the people of God. There are far too many messianic prophecies in the OT to address here, so I will only address the prophies written by Isaiah, specifically his most well-known prophecy, which foretells the birth of the Messiah. He writes, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6) There are three parts to pay attention to here: (1) His birth, (2) His role, and (3) His names.

First, this child born will be born through a miraculous sign of God, a virgin birth. (Isaiah 7:14) This is an evidential sign of God to show His presence with His people. But in this same passage which describes how the Messiah will be born, Isaiah adds another name by which He will be called: “Immanuel.” This name translates to mean “God with us.”

So, considering this additional name alongside the details of the Messiah’s birth, the birth of the child is meant to signal more than just that God is providentially active in the lives of His people; It is to be a divine sign that “God is with us.” But what does this specifically mean?

In the second piece of the prophecy (His role), Isaiah foretells that the child will have a peculiar role, “the government shall be upon His shoulders.” (Isaiah 9:6) Considering the context and the theology of the OT, this role of the child could only mean that He will uphold God’s covenantal promise made to David — that His kingdom and throne “will endure forever before [God].” (2 Samuel 7:16) But this is something that only God, Himself, could do. For He alone is of the divine essence to be both mighty enough to rule such a kingdom and eternal that it may endure forever.

Thus, let us now look at the third piece of Isaiah’s chapter 9 prophecy concerning the child: His names.

As cited above, He will be called “Immanuel,” meaning that He will be “God with us.” But Isaiah additionally prophesied that this child will be called “Mighty God,” yet God has spoken through the same prophet, saying, “I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God.” (Isaiah 45:5) So who else could the child be? Additionally, this child will be called “Everlasting Father” which signals his eternal essence; except, there is only one who is everlasting — God, Himself. (Psalm 92:2; Isaiah 40:28; Habakkuk 1:12, etc.)

So, the question still stands: what does this mean?

It means that the Messiah predicted in the OT is none other than God in human flesh. We have only looked at a few prophecies from the OT, but they are enough to prove that the Savior of the world will be God — and no one else — as God spoke through Isaiah, “‘You are my witnesses,’ declares the Lord, ‘and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am He. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior’.” (Isaiah 43:10-11) God is our Savior!

Next week we will turn to the New Testament scriptures. But do not wait until then. Now is the time for salvation! Turn to Jesus, the Savior of the world, believe in Him and His death for the forgiveness of your sins and be saved!

If you have any question about this article or how to be saved and be a Christian, please email me. Until week, God bless!

(Jeremy Breland is a farmer in Ruffin and a M.Div. student at Southern Seminary. He can be reached at jbreland572@gmail.com.)