trying to unvocer the controversy
The following is a research paper I wrote for a credit in a university course.
Beyond Controversy with God’s Reason
In all religions, there are controversies. One of the controversies in the Christian faith is the deity of Christ. The issue here is whether Jesus Christ is a distinct and separate person or God. This issue stems partially from individuals believing that Jesus Christ needs to be God in order to atone for the sins of everyone. Some of the people who have a problem with God presenting himself as God and Jesus Christ support the point of view that Jesus Christ is a separate person. When faced with this issue, people can settle this controversy by the use of reason. In addition, the Bible and spiritual direction can guide this reason.
The statement “as humans we are prone to human error’ is a reasonable statement. In addition, there is an evident need to measure things according to human standards. The reasoning we are familiar with is human reason. It is this human reasoning we use to interpret all things including the things of the Bible. Therefore, it is easy for people who want people to revere them for their human reasoning to espouse beliefs they constructed with their human reasoning with the possible intent of people revering them.
However, people that are students of the bible and follow the directions of the Holy Spirit should be aware of God’s truth. We can use this awareness to compare people’s philosophies with the Word of God.
Hence, we should review all discussion of religious controversy by measuring the distinct authors spirituality and his or her loyalty to the Bible. God leads human investigation for our enlightenment. Even though Bible prophets have documented God’s message to us, we still need our eyes open. Therefore, there are people who the Holy Spirit leads in doing research in order for the people in the congregation to find answers to their spiritual questions. However, the possibility exist that the human need to be human may mask the direction of the Holy Spirit and result in theories that are more human than spiritual.
Therefore, we can count on the Bible as the absolute authority. Isaiah 8:20 reads, “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Timothy 2 chapter 3 and verses 16 to 17 state, “ All of scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness”.
Jack N. Sparks sees the scriptures as “central to the revelation of God to mankind” (1). In the book Can I Really Trust the Bible, the authors state that people who trust the bible see it as the only book God wrote and the “book that shows us how to know Him, how to live, and how to receive eternal life” (De Haan, 1).
Therefore, the Bible and its validity are important to the Christian believer. In addition, we can verify this validity through strict structures used to compose the bible and the Bible’s content. Theodore M. Drange in The Argument from the Bible cites several reasons why the Bible proves its own validity. These reasons include fulfilled prophesies, eyewitness testimony of actual accounts, lack of contradictions, and the fact that the Bible documents facts about planet earth before science proved these facts to be true (Drange, 1).
Therefore, to answer the question “was Jesus Christ God” it is necessary to look at the Bible for the answer. The gospel of John begins with, “ In the beginning was the word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” John 1:1. By itself, this statement appears to answer the question of Jesus Christ being God with out further questions being necessary. However, we can use other Bible verses to show that Jesus Christ had the same qualities and attributes as God.
Christ’s eternity is spoken of in Isaiah 9:7; “ Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end….” Hebrews 13:8 states, “ Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever”.
At the time he was in heaven, he was on earth. Mathew 28 verse 20 states, “ Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of world” Mat 28:20.
Just like God, Jesus Christ is omniscient. This quality of Jesus Christ can seen in John 16:30. This verse states, “ Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God”. In addition, Col 2:2 tells us,“ That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the father, and of Christ”. Furthermore, we see in Col 2:3, “ In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge”.
In addition, Jesus Christ is as powerful as God is. The gospels speak of Jesus Christ bring people back to life, controlling the weather, and rebuking demons.
Moreover, Jesus Christ is the creator and person who sustain creation. John chapter1 and verse 3 tells us, “ All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made”.
The acts that lead Jesus Christ to trouble are his statements on forgiving sins. “And behold they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy, Sun be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee” Mat 9:2. In addition, when Jesus sensed questions in the minds of the people around him at this event, he responded, “ … Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins…” Mat 9:4, Mat 9:5, and Mat 9:6.
The issue of contention here was that the traditional Jewish believers considered God as the only one that could forgive sins. Jesus Christ’s claims that he could forgive sins appeared as if he was claiming he was God. In John 10:30 the author quotes Jesus Christ as saying; “ I and my Father are one”.
Furthermore, the gospel of Mathew states, “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”(Mat 1:23). In Mathew 7:22 Jesus Christ speaks, “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord have we not prophesies in they name and in they name have cast out devils? And in they name done many wonderful works?” The capitalized Lord in the New Testament is equivalent to the Old Testament Jehovah.
Therefore, at first glance, it appears Christ is claiming to be God. However, statements are subject to interpretation. The Holy Spirit or their own humanness may direct people in the Christian faith who write on biblical matters. A God that wants us to take Him seriously does not contradict himself or tell something to one person and another thing to another person. If God wanted us to understand that He was Jesus Christ He would of come right out and told us. His desire is that we believe Him so we will trust Him. Discrepancies in biblical interpretation may be the result of people desiring to propose a certain position.
In addition, it is obvious that in the time of Jesus Christ and today, people see Christ as God. Paul Bischoff in Participation: Ecclesial Praxis with a Crucified God for the World states, “ For Christian community to survive the 21st century, it must never for get its Hebraic roots in a suffering God who experienced the public failure associated with dying on a Roman instrument of torture simultaneously displaying the love of God for the world”. Furthermore, this author goes on to cite Tillich and Bonhoefer. This quote is “only a personal, loving crucified God who suffers with and for humanity creates space for a theological view of participation incarnated by a cruciform community in the world led by a powerless Christ”(1).
In The Relationship between Incarnation and Atonement in the Theology of Thomas F. Torrance, the author states several reason to view God as Jesus Christ. “On the one hand, since only God can save, we are only saved if Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son, is true God from true God….”(Pratz, 1). In addition, he states, “[we] must rather think of Christ as God coming to us as human”(Pratz, 1).
Therefore, in the Bible and in people’s minds the perception that Christ is God is evident. Genesis 1:3 states, “ And God saw everything that he has made, and behold, it was very good….” Furthermore, a verse that has already been quoted states, “ All things were made by him: and without him was not any thing made that was made” John 1:3.
Making a simple analysis of these statements shed light on the issue. In the Genesis 1:3 statement, the lower case form of the pronoun is used. In the John 1:3 verse, both pronouns of him that refer to Christ are also lower case. By first glance, appear to be referring to the same person, Jesus Christ.
However, would a God that wants people to trust and believe in Him contribute to different perceptions of the same facts? When John the Baptist baptized Jesus Christ, God spoke from heaven as the dove descended unto Jesus. Anyone at this event or hearing of this event is going to come away with the impression that God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are three different persons.
Therefore, how does a believer process the statements that refer to independent members of the trinity and a unified trinity? In this issue, it is important to remember that God wants us to trust Him. Therefore, He is not going to do anything to complicate this trust.
The believer’s is to be fully informed of the content of the Bible in order for him or her to be able to discern human effort from godly truth. The bible tells us that God and Christ are the same. Even though there are things, we do not understand we should remember that God is going to tell us everything, eventually. We can evaluate statements that claim Christ is a distinct person and that he is God as God’s contribution to our preparedness to accept all of His truth.
Many are going to continue to compose literary research on perceived understandings of bible verses. Therefore, the believer needs to live a life immersed in faith. This will result in knowledge and strength from the filling of the Holy Spirit. A person who knows the Bible and is filled with the Holy Spirit cannot be lied to and/or swayed in perception.
Works Cited
Bishcoff, Paul. “Participation: Ecclesial praxis with a Crucified God for the World” 2003.
Journal for Christian Theological Research. http://serach.epnet.com/direct.asp?an=Atl
ADD1337156&db=rh.
De Haan, Martin R. Can I Really Trust the Bible? Ed David Sper. Grand Rapids MI.
RBC Ministries. 2000. http://www.gospel.com.net/rbc/ds/q0402.html.
Grange, Theodore M. “The Argument from the Bible”. The Secular Web Library. 1996.
http://www.oz.net/~cashton/atheism/page3.html.
Meyers, Rick. The e-Sword King James Bible for computers. 12/31/2003.
http://www.e-sword.net.
Pratz, Gunther. “The Relationship between Incarnation and Atonement in the Theology
Of Thomas F. Torrance”. Journal for Christian Theological Research. 3:2 1998.
http://apu.edu/~CTRF/articles/1998_articles/pratz.html.
Sparks, Jack N. The Bible, the Church and the Critics.
http://www.txx.org/pdfs/biblechurchcritiques.pdf
The Holy Bible. King James Version. Royal Press, Inc. Montreal, North Carolina. 1976