Is Jesus God? Is God perfect?

BibleAsk Team

Automatic Transcript Generated:

Speaker 3

The first question and I’m sorry if I mispronounce your name, but I think it’s Shuol says, is Jesus God? And is God perfect?

Speaker 1

So I’ll take it shot at that one first. And that’s a great question, probably one of the most important questions. Well, it’s a couple of questions, but I say especially as Jesus God, one of the most important questions that we can ask. And for people of the Christian faith, that’s part of the core Christian Creed. But it’s good to not just take it for granted. What does the Bible say about it? So one of my favorite verse probably in the entire Bible, and it’s directly on point on this is John One, the Gospel of John, chapter one, the very beginning of it. And it actually begins in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God. And the Word was with God. He was in the beginning with God. So Jesus is the Word. Pretty much nobody disputes that. When it says Word, it’s talking about Christ, and he was there at the beginning with God before anything was ever made. Because we go into verse three and it says all things were made through him, the Word Christ. And without him nothing was made that was made in him was life, and the life was the light of men.

Speaker 1

And then if we skip to verse 14, it says, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the only glory as of the begotten of the Father, full of Grace and truth. So John is trying to just really hammer home here in so many ways that Jesus is God, he is our Creator. When we read the words in the very beginning of Genesis, it’s Christ that’s speaking us into existence. He’s the one that says, let there be light who can then pronounce something and make it actually happen other than God. And so we go to 116, maybe we could put that up. One, Timothy three, one six. And now Paul is confirming similarly that and without controversy, there’s no controversy. Great is the mystery of Godliness. God was manifested in the flesh. God God was made in the flesh and justified in spirit, seen by Angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory. Who could this be describing? Nobody other than Jesus Christ. And we go on to Colossians two sides, verse eight to ten. It says, Bewareless anyone cheats you through philosophy and empty deceit according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principle of the world, and not according to Christ or in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete in him who is the head of all Principality and power.

Speaker 1

So here we’re hearing about how all of the power, all the fullness, everything that makes God of the Godhead is in Christ bodily. Christ can take on physical form. He could walk around. He can dwell with us in the flesh. And yet everything that makes God God is within him. And what does Jesus say about himself? So we see what Paul said, we see what John said. What does Jesus say about himself? He says in John Ten, verse 30, I and my father are one. How can they be one if they were or not both God. And in John 858, Christ says, Before Abraham was I am. And when the Jews are that this got to be shocking because they know when anybody claims to be I am the I am that is pointing to God. Back in Exodus Three, who appeared to Moses at the Bernie Bush, because when Moses says, who are you? He says, I am. So Jesus there is saying, I was that I am, I was the one who spoke to Moses, I was the one who spoke to Abraham. If we go to Luke 520, in that store you have the paralytic shows up and he’s crippled, he’s looking for healing.

Speaker 1

But what’s the first thing Jesus says to him? He says, man, your sins are forgiven. And what happened? What’s the reaction of people in there? The scribes and the Pharisees begin to reason saying, who is this? Who speaks blasphemies who can forgive sins but God alone? They know that. They know only God has a right to forgive sins. But here Jesus said, Your sins are forgiven. There should be no question in anybody’s mind Jesus is God. There are so many other verses, I try to hit some of the main ones here just to give you an example of it. Now, sorry if I mispronounce it. Ask the second question says, Is God perfect? I’m wondering if you’re asking that question. Shuja, because of this verse. Luke 1819 and it says, Jesus said to him, Why do you call me good? No one is good, that is, except God. So some people take this verse as Jesus suggesting that he is not good. Why is this person coming up and saying, Jesus, you’re good? When really, oh, it should be someone else, just God. I’m not God. But is that what Jesus is really doing? There?

Speaker 1

So many people take Jesus questions to prompt people to think as somehow a statement of effect when they’re not. If you go back even to Genesis, Genesis Three, God goes looking for Adam and Eve. It says, hey guys, where are you? Does God not know where they are? Or is God asking a question that’s going to prompt them to think or prompt them to do a certain action? Jesus all the time does that. The woman who reaches out and touches them to be healed from her bleeding of twelve years, she just turned around and says, who touched me? Is it because he didn’t know who it was? Or he wanted her to step forward in faith? So that’s the same thing here. Jesus wanted him to think about why he said you’re good. Why say Jesus is good? Does he really believe Jesus is God? And then is God really perfect? Yes. Matthew 548 says, Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your father in heaven is perfect. This is what Jesus is saying, we too need to be perfect. But does that mean you never make a mistake? That word there perfect in the Greek or what we call perfect in English means more like complete or whole.

Speaker 1

So it’s important there to also say, yeah, what do we mean when we say, is God perfect? Are we perfect? I think another thing to think about in terms of is maybe when we think perfect, we probably think Holy. Right. Holy support, Park, Leviticus 21, verse eight. Maybe we could put that one up. It says, Therefore you shall consecrate him. Talk about the high priest, for he offers the bread of your God, he shall be Holy to you. For I am the Lord who sanctifies you, I am Holy. And Hebrews 415 says, for we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are yet without sin. This is maybe another way of thinking about what’s perfect. Maybe we think in sinless. So God is sort of the opposite of sin. He’s like anti sin difference between matter and antimatter. God is kind of the antimatter to sin. And here Christ was without sin. If we’re looking at that as measure, perfect measure, I would use, I would say, there you go. Christ is perfect. Christ is God. God is perfect. God is whole.

Speaker 1

God is complete. God is Holy. Whatever you think it is, I think God is as good as you can get. What are your thoughts? Tina?

Speaker 3

I totally agree.

Speaker 2

And I love that verse that you picked the first one because I think you just got absolutely John one is the big one. And just to show you also in the Old Testament, it also confirms this because sometimes people are like, oh, that’s just New Testament doctrine or something. But it’s always good to have everything in the New and the Old Testament. And if you look at Isaiah, chapter nine, verse six, I love this verse.

Speaker 3

It’s so beautiful.

Speaker 2

It’s a beautiful messianic prophecy about Jesus. And it reads in Isaiah 96, for unto us a child is born. Obviously, Jesus unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called wonderful Counselor, the mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of peace.

Speaker 3

And you might think.

Speaker 2

Well, why is it say the Son is the everlasting father? It’s because he’s one with the Father. And so just to confirm what you’re saying that Jesus absolutely is God, there’s no question about it. God’s people knew about it in the Old Testament and then Jesus fulfilled it.

Speaker 3

As you can see in the new action.

Speaker 1

What’s interesting, you talk about Jesus is one with the father. This is something that trips up people too where the word or forget what the word is but the Jews one of the most important verses was God saying, oh, hero Israel, your God is one and that word one though actually means a group of things that together make one whole thing. So for example, when it says the evening in the morning were the first day, you have two things, the evening in the morning two parts. And actually it says not first day it says, we’re one day that same word there one two. A man and a woman shall become one flesh. They’re two, but they are one. And so that’s the same concept there where God is one Amen.

Speaker 2

And I always think when people get tripped up like.

Speaker 3

Oh, God is one.

Speaker 2

But why is there God’s father and God son? But God like you’re saying it’s like a family the Godhead the father and son they are one in purpose, they’re one in their motivation, they’re one in character. And God never refers to himself as just in singular form. He always refers to himself as a plural like you read in Isaiah chapter six, verse eight and it says, also I heard the voice of the Lord saying, whom shall I send and who will go for us? So again, it’s this idea of us and that’s why it’s so important to us make man in our own image. Yeah, exactly. Genesis the creation story. Exactly. It’s another great example. And so God understands family and I think that that’s such a huge thing to understand about God is God is the creator of family which is honestly one of the most beautiful gifts he’s ever given us is the opportunity to be a family, spiritually speaking, as well as physically having a family as well.

Speaker 1

In fact. Jesus, prayed, I want you to be one as the father and I are one. That’s what he wants his family to be like.

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