Agana Agana-Nsiire

I once visited an old acquaintance of mine to share the Word of Truth with him. He had a few

questions on the role of our Lord as a Priest in the Heavenly sanctuary. His question was simply: Is Christ the only Mediator men have or are certain men enabled to be mediators between man and his Creator? Indeed, this wasn’t a difficult issue to resolve as our Bible makes it amply clear who is The Way, The Truth and The Life. However, I went to my concordance and checked up the word “Mediator”. It turned up 1Timothy 2:5:
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. KJV

As we talked, a young enlightened Muslim arrived, and, seeing the nature of the discussion going on, Bibles drawn and everything, he at once questioned the foundation of all things Christian. Without recourse to what we were discussing at that time, he raised a most fundamental challenge: Is Jesus God?


For all my brethren who have been in such a position before, I must confess that I was ill prepared for the question, and sat a long time listening to the young intellectual’s argument, the sum of which is captured in the following:
1. Christ Jesus was a prophet of God.
2. If you believe a prophet, believe his book.
3. Therefore he believes the Bible. THE WHOLE BIBLE.
4. Christ never at any point in scripture referred to himself as God
5. God can make a man out of nothing, so Christ’s miraculous birth does not necessarily imply Divine nature.
6. Christ was no more the son of God than you and I are.
7. Therefore, Christ is not God.

In short, the young man said that Christ never called himself God, and that the concept of his Deity is an error of his Christian followers. God is one and one only.
Brethren, even John 1:1-3, 14 did not cross my mind. The attack was premised and decisive, however ill researched. That night I didn’t sleep too early. I searched the Scriptures, and today I can take a position on this ancient question based on what I found.

Who did the Prophets say He is?
Who does Christ say He is?
Who does the Father say He is?


THE PROPHETS

Perhaps the most popular prophesy on the birth and person of Christ is Isaiah 9:6:

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The Mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6 KJV

The prophecy is clear, and clearly came to pass when Daniel prophesied it would:

Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the MESSIAH THE PRINCE shall be seven weeks, threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
Daniel 9:25 KJV

These two prophecies combine to show us something beautiful: Isaiah tells us that some day, a son was to be born, whose name shall be called The Mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Daniel tells us that the Prince spoken of by Isaiah is also the Messiah.

Simple outcome: The son is the Messiah is The Mighty God!

Micah makes another reference to Jesus Christ in Micah 5:2:

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
Micah 5:2 KJV

How does that old carol go again?

O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie
Above thine deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by
Yet in thy darkness shineth the everlasting Light…

So whose goings forth have been from everlasting?

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:1 KJV

And who came forth out of Bethlehem, that little town among the thousands of Judah?

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the day of Herod the king, Behold, there came wise men from the east, to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews, for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
Matthew 2:1-2 KJV

Are you astonished at how exact the references made by the prophets were to our Lord Jesus? Indeed, Herod also wondered about these things, when he heard that the wise men of his land, his own subjects, had made such a long journey to Bethlehem to worship some newly born baby. What was it about this baby that was so great and special? He was king, and he had never ever been worshipped before. Could it be that King spoken of by Micah? If it was, then Herod thought his kingship was in danger. He needed to be sure. Herod summoned all his wise men together to resolve his mind on the issue:

And when he had gathered all the chief priests and the scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem, of Judea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the Land of Juda, are not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
Matthew 2: 4-6 KJV

Simple outcome: Micah prophesied the King of Israel would be born in Bethlehem. Jesus was Born in Bethlehem. Micah said He has already been around since everlasting. In the beginning was the Word. Only one person has been around since everlasting: The Mighty God; The Everlasting Father; The Price of Peace.

Another important reference to Jesus Christ is made in Isaiah 43:11. Jesus Christ is referred to as the Saviour all throughout the New Testament. Here is one of about thirty such references:

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2:11 KJV

Another important reference to this Saviour is made in Isaiah 43:11:

I, even I, am the LORD, and beside me there is no saviour.
KJV

Simple conclusion: God says he is the only saviour. Luke tells us a Saviour is born who is Christ the Lord.

Could it be any simpler than this?

There’s more, people. Perhaps the greatest Messianic prophecy of the entire Bible is found in Isaiah chapter 53. Take time to read this prophecy and find out more about our Lord and Saviour. Indeed the prophets say a lot that proves who the Son is.

Let us remember that one of the serious challenges our friend raises is that all through scripture, Jesus Christ never refers to himself as God. True, our friend said if you believe the prophet, believe his book. Now that we have show that His book shows that He is indeed The Everlasting Father, he should be satisfied, but for good measure, let’s show that Jesus Christ Himself with His own mouth refers to Himself as God. Here, we will also show the same from the words of His disciples and apostles, those who were most proximal to Christ.



CHRIST AND THE APOSTLES

What d id Christ say about who he was and is? Many things. Shall we begin? First and foremost, and this should really end the matter:

I and my Father are one.
John 10:30 KJV

Notice the capitalized Father. Christ says he is one with God!

Now look at something beautiful. In the first chapter of the book of Revelation, John says that he hears a great voice speak. He turns to see the voice and sees something – someone – special:

I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are In Asia…
Revelation 1: 11

And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
Revelation 1:12-13

Do you see it? John hears a great voice say I am Alpha and Omega, and turns to see Jesus speaking it! If you want to be sure the Son of man means Jesus, just read the New Testament, where there are thirty references made to the Son of man. For example, in Matthew chapter nine, when some Pharisees said within themselves that Jesus Blasphemed by saying he had forgiven a sick man his sins, Jesus went further to heal the sick man of his palsy, saying:

But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then said he to the sick of the palsy) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.
Matthew 9:6
Praise be to God.

Simple conclusion: John hears a voice claim to be Alpha and Omega, the title of God, who is the Author/Beginner/Alpha and Finisher/Concluder/Omega of our fates. John turns to see that it is the Son of man, Jesus, saying He is God!

As if to make doubly sure that we are sure, Christ says this in verse 18:

And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am HE THAT LIVETH, AND WAS DEAD; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
Revelation1:17-18 KJV



Chapter twenty – two of the same book shows us much:

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. I Jesus have sent my angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
Revelation 22:13-16 KJV

One day, Phillip, a disciple, came up to Christ and made a request:

Phillip saith unto him, Lord shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Phillip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
John 14:8, 9 KJV

Again, remember I AM that I AM? Who was speaking to Moses?

Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
John 5:58 KJV

Note that Christ did not use the past tense, but rather the present, indicating His everlasting nature. He will always be.

Still more beautiful things.

Revelation chapter 22, right from the first verse, shows us the throne of God, and to whom it belongs.

And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
Revelation 22:1

The throne of God is the throne of the Lamb. The Bible does not say the thrones, but the throne, of God and of the Lamb. It is one throne. The throne is the seat of power, and we are told that on it sit both the Father and the Son. Revelation 22:3 also mentions the throne of God, in which the Lamb also sits. The evidence is overwhelming, and utterly undeniable. Jesus Christ is God the Son.
I feel the argument really should come to rest now, and that with these verses from the Book of Life, the status of Christ as God is settled. Still, I am encouraged to fortify you with even more evidence.
Paul wrote the Book of Titus as an epistle to Titus, a fellow servant in Crete. In this small book of three chapters, Paul exhorts Timothy to keep the church in Crete pure in pure ways. Then in verse thirteen he tells Timothy:

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Titus 2:13 KJV

That sounds clear enough to me. We have heard from the prophets, and from Christ Himself, and also from his apostles. What does the Almighty Father, though, say about this our Saviour, and who He is?
THE FATHER

The Father, who lives forever, is God now and forever. The Son, whose goings forth have been of old, even from everlasting, is who? God has spoken often about his Son. Let us see.

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.
Zechariah 12:10 KJV

God was speaking to the people of Israel when he told Zechariah this, and He tells us that they shall look upon “me whom they have pierced.” Indeed, He came down and became flesh, and dwelt among men, and they pierced Him. God said it was Himself who was to be pierced! One may raise the question, “Was it really God the Father talking in Zechariah twelve?” I could ask you to go read that wonderful chapter for yourself, but let see the answer to that in verse one:

The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
Zechariah 12: 1 KJV

Simple outcome: The Lord who made the universe, and man, and the heavens, said that he was to be pierced by men. Remember what John told us about Jesus, who was pierced in the side and in the hands and feet for us:

All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
John 1:3 KJV

The Father says more. Let us look at Hebrews chapter one. Again, please read the whole chapter, or at least from verse one to fourteen. This is the whole chapter. Take special note of verse eight, but please enjoy the beauty of all these deep spiritual statements.

1God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2Hath in these last days spoken to us by his Son, whom he hath appointed the heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
3Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
4Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
5For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?
6And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.
7And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
8But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom.
9Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore, God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
10And Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:
11They shall perish, but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
12And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
13But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? (The writer quotes David, from Psalm 110:1 KJV)
14Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?
Hebrews 1:1-14 KJV

Indeed, to which of the angels said He these things? God has told us who His Son is. If anyone questions the status of the Son, He questions the word of the Father.

Simple conclusion: I think you’ve got it now.

At this point I must make a solemn appeal to you. You who have just heard the record the Father bears of the Son. Believe in Him unto life eternal. Believe in Him now, for

He that hath the Son hath Life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not Life.
1 John 5:12 KJV

God witnesses of His Son and asks us to believe. God, the witness, says:

If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
1 John 5:9, 10 KJV

Do you want to have the Great Witness in yourself? Then believe the Son of God. This is the sum of what he says to you:

…I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
John 14:6 KJV

For God so loved the world, that he sent his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.
John 3:16, 17 KJV

Jesus Christ came down to this world, leaving behind all the glory of His heavenly throne, that we may be saved. He prayed too dear a price on Calvary for you to ignore him. Too great a price. Every step of the way He could have turned back. When he could have said “Smite them” he said “Forgive them.” When he could have said “Enough, Father”, He said “Thy will be done.” He went up onto calvary, was nailed to the cross, and was killed at the time of the daily sacrifice. He replaced once and for all the ordinance of sacrifices, by shedding His blood that we may live again, and not just that, but forever.
Come to Him, and He will not turn you away.

Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him, and he with me.
Revelation 3:20 KJV

Believe in Him, and accept Him as your Master and Saviour. Say a short prayer and confess that much and He is yours. Life awaits you, do not delay. Get a Bible. Study it. Study it. Study it.
The Lord ever is with you.

























A Note on the Trinity

If you had some of the questions which we have now cleared up, I must tell you for a fact that even though the prophets, Christ and the Almighty Father establish without doubt the nature of Christ and of God, the subject of just how Christ and God are the same person, and yet are Father and Son at the same time, and also have the very same Spirit, is a mystery. The apostles did not understand it any more than we do. We know for sure that on that great day of the Lord everything secret shall be made known, and everything that is hidden shall be plain, and we will understand the nature of the Divine Trinity. 1Timothy 3:16 sums up the great mystery:

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
1Timothy 3:16 KJV

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: And without question, the mystery of godliness is great.

We know that the Trinity is still the one God because of Bible evidence. Let us see the two verses that convince me the most:

For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
1 John 5:7 KJV

We have already seen in John 1:1 that the Word is Jesus Christ.

The second is this:

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching then to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Matthew 28: 19, 20 KJV

Baptize them in the name, not names, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. These Three have the same Name, and as we are told in 1John 5:7, They are One. God bless you.