A lot of folks claim that they can’t find any Scriptures indicating that Jesus claimed to be God, but I have found at least four, and I’ve written a blog on each one. They can be found HERE. Of course there are many other Scriptures showing Jesus is God, and if Scripture is to be considered the word of God, they ought to be considered in one’s Christology. In this blog I would like to consider one of the arguments folks use to say Jesus never claimed to be God. I hope to address other arguments in future blogs.
Henny Youngman and Rodney Dangerfield are beloved comedians who became famous for their one-liners. In a similar fashion many of the folks who cannot see the Scriptures that teach Jesus is God use particular verses of Scripture as though they were one-liners in an effort to show Jesus never claimed to be Christ, or that the Apostles never taught high Christology. The Scriptures used are taken out of context in order to show that what these folks have come to believe is correct. Now, I don’t believe these people do this out of disrespect for Jesus. Rather, I think at least most of them honestly believe the Scriptures don’t teach Jesus is God, but they have erred in their understanding.
One of the Scriptures used in this low Christology is 1Corinthians 8:6, “But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ…” If this is all we knew of Jesus, we may have to conclude that he probably was not God in the flesh, but this single Scripture is not all we know of Jesus. The problem is that the conclusion drawn doesn’t even fit the context. The context of Paul’s writing to the Corinthians is set in the first verse of the 8th chapter of his letter. It has to do with pagan idols, and whether or not it was permissible to eat food sold in the marketplace that was first sacrificed to these pagan idols. Paul was not at this point trying to teach what he believed about who Jesus is. He is simply answering questions the Corinthians had directed to him as to whether or not they could take advantage of the low prices of food after it had been sacrificed to an idol.
In this context Paul places both the Father and Jesus. If the term lord didn’t refer to an idol, why even bring up Jesus in the first place? The fact is there were many so-called lords who were worshiped as gods and the god/lord Baal was one of them. Baalberith was another, mentioned in Judges 8:33, 9:4 and 9:46. In Judges 9:46 the god, Berith, is mentioned without his being referred to as baal or lord.
How does this idea measure up to Scripture elsewhere in the New Testament? Is the Father ever referred to as Lord? Of course he is. The fact is that God is most often referred to as Adonai (Lord) by all Jews—both modern and ancient. For example, in Acts 4:24 the disciples prayed to God saying, “Lord, you are God…” Are they referring to the Father here or Jesus? …if Jesus then he is also called God. However, the context shows the disciples are praying to the Father, in that in verse-26 they mention “…the Lord and his Christ…” Yet, when Stephen prayed while he was being stoned (and at such a time wouldn’t one be praying to God?) he addressed Jesus, saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59). Yet, the Scriptures claim that the “spirit” of man at death returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7). Why is Stephen asking Jesus to receive his Spirit, if it was not commonly believed by the first disciples that Jesus as God made flesh?
One of the big problems with the New Testament and a low Christology is that there seems to be a great deal of blurring of the Scriptures when they refer to the Father and/or the Son. Do they refer strictly to the Father or is it only to the Son. On the other hand do they refer to both, in which case, there can be no doubt that Jesus is God. Many of Paul’s letters open with his offering grace and mercy from both the Father and the Son. Wouldn’t this be odd for a Jew like Paul, unless he understood Jesus was God? After all, if Jesus was only a mere man, why would he be mentioned in the same breath when one is glorifying God? Shouldn’t that be considered idolatry if Jesus is NOT God?
Smoodock's Blog 