Expert: Dr. Ronald E. Shultz - 9/12/2006

Question

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Followup To

Question -
Dear Saladin,

 Is there anywhere in the Bible where jesus says i am god worship me. Any where please i would like to know. in the bible the shortest sentence 'jesus wept". Is it a charcteristics of a god to cry. Jesus also ate food. Does god eat food? Jesus also slept. Are these a characteristic of a god.

Answer -
There are many places for His claiming to be God but we look at only a few.

Exod 3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. (KJV)

Note, God calls Himself the "I AM".

John 8:56-59
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?
58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. (KJV)

Here Jesus says that He was pre-existent before Abraham.  His body was not yet 50 years old and they mocked Him.  When He said that before Abraham was, I AM, they picked up stones because they knew that He was claiming to be God and that would be blasphemy and a capital crime in the Israeli theocracy and the Kingdom years.  It was still a capital crime under Jewish law but they were not allowed to execute criminals under Roman occupation so they would have been in trouble themselves but their anger overcame them. He became incarnate or took on a body so that He could pay the penalty for our sins but He was ever with the Father and the Spirit from eternity past.

John 10:29-33
29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
30 I and my Father are one.
31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.
32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?
33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. (KJV)

Here He claims to be one with the Father and they knew He was claiming Godhood by that staement. Why? Because of the core belief of Judaism in one God is expressed in the Shama yet in that core there is the teaching of a trinity or a godhead with more than one person.
 
Deut 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: (KJV)

Shama, Yisra'el Yehovah Elohiym Yehovah echad

The word used for one in the Hebrew is used extensively as a composite unity not necessarily one and only one.

Num 13:23 And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs. (KJV)

The word one here is echad.

Judg 20:8 And all the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any of us go to his tent, neither will we any of us turn into his house. (KJV)

The word one is echad.

Isa 48:15-17
15 I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him: I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous.
16 Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me.
17 Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. (KJV)

In the context, God is speaking and yet God says that the Lord God and His Spirit has sent Him (God).  Therein is the trinity or three-in-one clearly shown.

Zech 12:8-10
8 In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them.
9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. (KJV)

Here again, in context, it is God speaking and yet He says that the LORD will defend Israel but the speaker (God) will pour out the spirit unto them and they shall look upon me (God) whom they have pierced. Can a spirit be pierced?  Jesus claimed to be God and they pierced Him.  It is He that is speaking of in the Isaiah passage and here.  

John 14:9-10
9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. (KJV)

Unless Jesus and the Father were of the same essence or image this statement makes no sense.

John 3:12-16
12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (KJV)

Jesus not only claims to be the Son of God here but He is claiming omnipresence because He is claiming to be in Heaven and on earth at the same time. Only God is omnipresent.

So as you see, there is little question that He did claim to be God and that is why the Jews sought to have Him crucifed.

Now, to the emotion and food issues.  When God speaks to us He speaks in forms and concepts that we understand.  In the Old Testament God laughs, loves, has anger etc.  Can a spirit do these things exactly as we do?  No, yet God uses the physical expression of the emotion so that we understand what He is feeling for we express those same emotions via physical expression.  They are called anthro-morphisms or man shapes.  

Now, if God took on a human form would we not expect that He would shed tears to show sorrow and even love or take a whip to the moneychangers to express anger?  Certainly.  Therefore since in that culture and many others they conduct business and fellowship around the table would He not eat and drink with His associates and even the curious?  Sure.

Now, the question becomes is there anything that God cannot do?  The answer should be no or else we must question the claim to Godhood.  So, if God chose to indwell a body even if say He only stuck His "finger" in it like a puppet would it still not be God in the flesh?  Even the pagan Aristotle said that the only way we would ever truly understand God is if He can down and lived with us. He said that before Jesus the Christ was born but Aristotle was right on track he just didn't know the whole story.  God could do that if He were truly God and the Bible says that He would do that in the Old Testament and that He did do it in the New Testament.  It really isn't a tough concept.  And if He did what He said He would do than that manifestation of God in the flesh would be able to do all things that humans do and do all the things that God could do.  He would be the God-Man and I believe that God-Man to be Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Messiah. Indeed, the charateristic of a God is being able to do anything He wishes.  

Since God made man and woman and created seed and egg it is very easy to believe that He could create a special sperm cell to impregnate a virgin with that would then create a sinless man from a sinful woman.  This would all be child's play to an omnipotent God.  

Now, could God allow that body to die and raise it from the dead?  Why not?  If He can create men that die because of the curse and raise them from the dead as He did through Elijah could not His Son do the same?  Of course.  

I believe that God could do all those things and that He did.  You obviously don't believe that.  There are plenty of proofs if you look for them. I pray that you will.

By the way, I know the name Saladin and if by using the name you are calling me a Crusader you are mistaken.  The Crusaders marched under the order of Catholic Popes and Kings.  My spiritual forebears were killed by those people so I am not one of them and consider them infidels. Just wanted to clarify that if you were being symbolic instead of using your own name.  

Again, I pray that wisdom will arise in your heart and bring light to your soul.  




Exod 3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. (KJV)

sorry saladin is my real name just to clarify
it. in this quote i am that i am means god is telling moses i am god. Not that jesus is god.

and please i am looking for in Jesus's words no body else's.

My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.

well that verse is saying that no one can pluck them out of my hand means.no body can take my folowers cause god is on my side.

3-1 so you your sayin that god comes in 3 part. so is his power like spilt.

is it true that jesus never wrote a word of the bible in his time.
also ido belive in jesus but he is no god.

Answer
Glad to hear that is your real name.  Please understand that I do get some questions with cryptic and threatening items so I am glad we have both sides of the issue clarified.

Yes, in Exodus God was telling Moses that He was God.  I gave that one so that you would understand why the Jews wanted to kill Jesus when He said, "I AM" because they understood that He was referring back to the conversation with Moses and declaring Himself to be the "I AM".  

Again, to keep things in context I went back to the part about not being able to pluck them out of His hand but my point and emphasis was on "I and my Father are one."  The Jews knew He was claiming Godhood with that statement and wanted to stone Him.

God is one God with three persons, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  They are absolutely the same in power and attributes yet separate in personalities while so intertwined or interlaced that they are one entity.  One characteristic of God would be that we could not fully comprehend Him and while this is a hard concept to grasp or explain it is nonetheless a fact.  

It has been said that light consists of three parts but without any one of the parts light would not exist.  One part cannot be seen or felt, one can be felt and not seen and the third part can be both seen and felt.  That is as close as we can get to describing the the trinity/tri-unity of God and He calls Himself Light.  It is realistic to believe that He created light in this way so that our limited brains might be able to somewhat understand His makeup.

John 14:16-17
16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. (KJV)

Here we see the third person of the Godhead.  The Spirit is not an influence or thing.  He is called Him.  He can be grieved and you can't grieve or make sad an influence.

Eph 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. (KJV)

John 16:13-14
13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. (KJV)

He will guide us into all truth and note that He will glorify Jesus.

Isa 48:11 For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another. (KJV)

God does not give His glory to another and yet His Spirit will glorify Jesus because Jesus is God and one with the Father so He is not giving any glory to a lesser or different being but really unto Himself.

God only wrote one thing and that was the original tablets with the 10 Commandments on them and they were broken in Moses' anger.  God speaks and directs men to write under His power/influence.  That is called divine inspiration.  

Heb 1:1-2
1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; (KJV)

As God spoke to the prophets and they wrote, so did Jesus, as God, speak to the Apostles and they wrote.  God especially chose Saul/Paul to be the evangelist of the Gentiles and the teacher of the Churches in doctrine. He got one on one training by the the risen Jesus in the wilderness for three years. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Peter were also chosen to write Jesus' biography and of the future and to the other folks but Paul was the primary writer.

If God must actually do the writing then God did not speak to Moses or Abraham or anyone and we have no clue and have no hope.  Yet, we have OT prophecy fulfilled and being fulfilled so we know that He did speak to these men.  The question is are we listening?

When the wise men came to Herod the rabbis knew exactly where Jesus would be born and they should have known that this was the time but they did not care.  The day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey was the precise day prophesied in Daniel that the Messiah would come to Jerusalem in that way and yet the rabbis ignored it.  

Isa 52:13-53:12
13 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.
14 As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:
15 So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.

CHAPTER 53

1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (KJV)

These passages clearly show a suffering Messiah that is resurrected and with the timing of His entry into Jerusalem this passage should have rang out to them at the crucifixion and yet they still mocked Him on the Cross and ignored the resurrection paying off the guards rather than believe.  

2 Tim 3:1-2
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, (KJV)

It is easy to see that we are in perilous times.  Just read the papers and listen to the news.  The prophecy that they would be blaspehemers in the last days is significant. You can only blaspheme God and whose name do they use as a cuss word or in vain?  Jesus Christ.  When I was in Thailand you better not cuss Buddha or you were in big trouble.  In fact, the Thais didn't have as many cuss words as we Americans so when they wanted to curse they used English and it was nothing to hear them speaking in Thai and then say, "JESUS CHRIST!!" and not in reverence.  Saladin, you know that if you were to speak against Allah in an Islamic land that it would not be well with you, yet men of all faiths all over the world have no problem speaking evil of or against Jesus Christ and use His name as a curse word. They do it with impunity without fear of reprisal and they ignore any censure. By their very lips they fulfill this prophesy and prove that He is God. They will not worship Him in this life but they will in the next.

Phil 2:9-11
9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (KJV)

I believe what the Bible teaches because there are so many proofs that it is the very Word of God. Prophecy, science, archeology, changed lives, persecution, etc all confirm it. As I put in my introduction on this page my strength is not in apologetics or as one who debates the validity of the faith to those who are not of the faith. I am a polemicist.  I deal mostly with doctrine and seeking to mantain doctrinal purity within the Church.  There are others who could better answer your apologetic type questions but if you have more I will do my best to answer them for you.

I do thank you for your questions as I have not had to think on these particular issues for awhile and it is good for me to have to answer in these areas.  Timothy was told to do the work of an evangelist though it was not his strength and I am in like manner doing the work of an apologist.