Sunday, December 4, 2011

The 3 Questions Christians should know

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.-John1:1-5


These are the opening verses in the gospel according to Saint John, the beloved disciple of Christ. The way the author begins his opening words are very poetic and beautiful. It starts with the words 'In the beginning' which are coincidentally the opening words of the Bible in the book of Genesis.
This is one of the foundational verses used in the New Testament to refer to the deity of Christ. There are three questions that many Christians often encounter at some point of time and seek to find answers.


The 3 Questions
1. Is Jesus  God or the Son of God?
(Should a person pray to Jesus or God)
2. Where was Jesus in the times of the Old testament?
(Did Jesus,the 'Son' only came into existence in the times of the New testament)
3. Did Jesus ever refer to Himself as being 'God'?
This is only meant to throw light on a few areas many often think about and let them search and decide for themselves why or what they believe in.
There are many Scriptural references that give more than one answer to the above questions. Here are just a few.


1. Is Jesus  God or the Son of God?
That Jesus is the Son of God is the fundamental and accepted belief of Christianity. The other statement that He is God is also equally correct. This reiterates the belief in the equality of the Holy Trinity.
The apostle Paul makes this very clear when he refers to Christ as the image of the invisible God. The confusion mostly arises when the title 'Son of God' is used. This causes a few to wonder if Christ was created by God. The Father and Son analogy is very easy for humans to understand, but when that is used to comparing God the Father and God the Son, it might seem misleading to a few. John makes it clear that Jesus often referred to as 'The Word' was indeed God. Even before He(God the Son) took the form of man He was same as God the Father.(They were of the same substance)


2. Where was Jesus in the times of the Old testament?
That's an interesting question. The answer is He was everywhere.
Jesus as a person may have appeared only in the New Testament. But Jesus, God the Son is in fact the one who appears to talk in many instances of the Old testament that it is difficult to distinguish if it was God the Father or God the Son, but it doesn't matter since they are the same. But there are some specific references to God the son(Jesus). 


Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.(Ps.2:6)


Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.(Ps.2:12)


 Isaiah 53 written more than 600 years before Christ was entirely dedicated to the prophecy concerning the suffering of the messiah.


3.Did Jesus ever refer to Himself as being 'God'?
Many times. 
Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was I AM.(Jn. 8:58)
The above statement was one that enraged the Jews so badly that they wanted to stone Him. To understand this, it is important to analyze the meaning of  "I AM"(YAHWEH) which Jews considered to be a reference to the Most High God who revealed His name as such in the book of Exodus. Those words were so revered that it was not publicly uttered and it was considered to be a blasphemy when Jesus said it.


Other sayings:
I AM the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.(Rev.22:13)


Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?(Jn.14:9-11)


Jesus said to him, “I AM the way, the truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”(Jn.14:6-7)


I and the Father are one.(Jn.10:30)


Related links:
Lessons from the 3 temptations

2 comments:

  1. really a good post ....keep writing.

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  2. Nowadays people have got in to the habit of making post but the most important thing is to make an interesting and informative post. This post is a excellent example of such kind of thread.

    ReplyDelete