Johnny Wilson On The Powerful Identity of Jesus The God Man: Savior, Teacher, or Creator of the World?

We’ve all thought about Him. The King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, but who is this Jesus actually? Have you yourself ever pondered the question of, is Jesus is God Himself or is God and Jesus the same person? This is a serious question with eternal ramifications that we must ponder on. Was Jesus really the God of this universe or was He just some crazy man pretending to be something that He’s not. There are some religions out there that say, “He’s just a man and nothing else.” Some say He’s simply a good teacher or He’s a small part of God, whatever that means. The Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, and Unitarians all deny His deity, while Christians say, He is in fact the risen God. Let’s find out what is true to finally put this debate to rest. 

What do the theologians say?

“If Christ is truly God, His claim to be the only way has to be taken seriously. If on the other hand, He is merely one more person in a pantheon of pretenders, His proclamations can easily be pushed aside. That is precisely why the resurrection is axiomatic to Christianity. Through the resurrection, Christ demonstrated that He does not stand in a line of peers with Buddha, Baha’u’llah, Krishna, or any founder of a world religion. They died and are still dead, but Christ is risen. Ultimately, resurrection and reincarnation are mutually exclusive because the former is a historical fact, while the latter is but a Hindu fantasy.” Hank Hanegraaff

“That Jesus is Himself God is the heart of the gospel, because apart from His deity He could not save a single soul. No heresy so corrupts the gospel and robs it of its power as the teaching that Jesus is not God. Apart from His deity, there is no gospel and no salvation.” John MacArthur

“The good news is that in the face of Jesus Christ we see the very face of God, the One who has decided to be with us and for us in spite of our sin.” Kevin Vanhoozer

“If we could condense all the truths of Christmas into only three words, these would be the words: “God with us.” We tend to focus our attention at Christmas on the infancy of Christ. The greater truth of the holiday is His deity. More astonishing than a baby in the manger is the truth that this promised baby is the omnipotent Creator of the heavens and the earth!” John MacArthur

Can a man die for the world?

Let’s be honest for a second. A man cannot die for the sins of the world and if we’re honest, he probably won’t even want to. If Jesus was just a man, His blood would mean nothing. Jesus has to be God. If not, humanity has no forgiveness for sin. Can you imagine how horrific it would be if we had no atonement for sin and no power against sin. If Jesus is a man, that is what we have to deal with. Jesus had to be fully God. Why you ask? Only God can die for the world. Only God is good enough and pure enough. Only God is sinless. Only the Creator of the law can fully obey the law. Jesus was fully God and fully man. He had to be a man to live the perfect life that men can’t live. Jesus has to be God.

Jesus said that He was God.

John 10:30-33 New International Version 30 I and the Father are one.” 31 Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, 32 but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” 33 “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”

Why did the Jews want to stone Jesus? They wanted to stone Him because they understand exactly what He was saying. He was claiming to be God. He was claiming to be the Savior of the world. He allowed Himself to be worshiped. He said, “He and the Father are one.” He forgived sins.  Throughout the ministry of Jesus, He claimed to be God and did things that only God can do. In the Old Testament, we are told there is no Savior apart from God. Jesus is the Savior of the world. So logically that means that Jesus is God. 

Conclusion

Who do you say that Jesus is? Do you agree now that Jesus is God or do you still think that He is a man? If you are unbiased without your guard up than the evidence is clear. Jesus is indeed God!