Thomas said to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28)

Notice that Jesus did not correct Thomas.  Watchtower leaders would have disfellowshipped Thomas for such a statement. 

Cults and false teachers all over the world deny the Deity of Jesus Christ:

Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Jesus was “Michael” the archangel and God’s first creation.

Mormons teach that Jesus was an elder son of God and that Lucifer (Satan) was His brother.

The Islamic faith teaches that Jesus is one of the most respected of 124,000 prophets sent by Allah.

Many false prophets and false teachers say that He was simply a good teacher sent by God.

Some do not even include Jesus in their beliefs.

The inspired Word of God clearly tells us who Jesus really is.  Unfortunately, some religious groups use other writings to establish their own “truth.”

Julius Mantey, one of last century’s most respected and authoritative Greek scholars, described the Jehovah’s Witnesess’ New World Translation as diabolical and dangerous.  He stated that they tried to hide the Deity of Jesus Christ through faulty translation work.

Be aware that God’s Word puts out a strong warning at 2 Corinthians 11:3, 4 that some were deceptive teachers preaching “another Jesus,” “a different Spirit,” and a “different Gospel.”

Jesus warned us in Matthew 7:15 to “watch out for false prophets.”  Also, in Matthew 24:11, He warns us again that “many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.”  The New Testament is filled with warnings concerning false teachers and their false doctrines.

So just who is the true Jesus described in the Holy Scriptures?

John 1:1 – John says He is God.

John 20:28 – Thomas says Jesus is his Lord and his God.

Titus 2:13 – Paul says He is “Our great God and Savior.”

2 Peter 1:1 – Peter says Jesus is “Our God and Savior.”

1 John 5:20 – John again tells us that Jesus Christ “is the True God and Eternal Life.”

Jesus Himself said:

John 8:58 –  “Before Abraham was, I AM.”

This is not bad grammar, this was Jesus’ claim to be the great “I AM” of Exodus 3:14.

Note the Jewish response in the next verse, John 8:59:  “They picked up stones to stone Him!”

John 10:30-33 – Jesus again received the same response when the Jews picked up stones to stone Him because He said to the Jews, “I and the Father are one.”

Jesus was committing “blasphemy.” He, “a mere man was claiming to be God.”

John 5:23 – Jesus calls for the same honor as God the Father.

John 5:18 – In fact, when He called God His own Father the Jews said He was making Himself equal with God.

Other Scriptures:

He purchased with His own blood, the One they have pierced, that they priced Me … Jesus …

Acts 20:28 – Paul gives a farewell speech to the elders in Ephesus and says “to shepherd the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood.”

Zechariah 12:16 – God says, “… They will look on Me, the One they have pierced,” (See Isaiah 53:5 and Rev.1:7)

Zechariah 11:13 – The Lord also said to Zechariah, “Throw it to the potter, the handsome price at which they priced Me!  So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord to the potter.”  (See Matthew 16:14-16)

The Father says, “Your throne, O God …”

Hebrews 1:8 – Look what the Father says about the Son, “Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever.”  Note that here the Father is calling Jesus, “God.”

The Father says, “Worship Him!”

Hebrews 1:6 – There the Father says, “Let all God’s angels worship Him.”  Jesus knew that the rule was to “worship God and Him alone.”  (Luke 4:8)

Exodus 20:3-5 – The ten commandments begin with the most important command. (v. 5) “You shall not bow down to them or worship them [gods].”  There should be no other gods, but Him!  So, when God the Father tells all His angels to worship Jesus, the only possible conclusion is that Jesus is God.

Mighty God …

Isaiah 9:6, 7 – Here Isaiah prophecied about Jesus, that “He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.”

Isaiah 7:14 – Isaiah also says, “Therefore the Lord will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and shall bear a Son and they shall call His name Emmanuel. – which means, ‘God with Us.’” (see Matt. 1:23)

Creator …

John 1:3 – John makes it very clear that Jesus is the Creator of all things and that “without Him nothing was made that has been made.”  The Father agrees at Hebrew 1:10 that Jesus is our Creator.

Isaiah 44:24 – This is what the Lord says, “I am the Lord, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by Myself.”  So, again we must conclude that Jesus is our Lord and our God and our Creator.  

Only one God …

Isaiah 45:21, 22 – We are told here and many other places in the Holy Scriptures that there is only one God.  At the end of vs. 21, God says “There is no God apart from Me, a righteous God and Savior, there is none but Me.”  In v. 22 He says, “I am God and there is no other.”  In v. 23 He says, “Before Me every knee will bow.”

Philippians 2:10 – “At the name of Jesus, every knee should bow.”  Yes Jesus is our Lord and our God, and every knee will bow to Him.

Isaiah 4:6-9 – The Lord says, “I am God and there is none like Me.”

Hebrews 1:3 – The inspired writer tells us that Jesus is the “exact representation of God’s being.”

Glorify Jesus as the Father is glorified …

John 14:7-11 – Jesus said, “If you really knew Me, you would know My Father as well.  From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.”  Jesus came to the earth, revealing and explaining the Father perfectly.  The Father is in Him and He is in the Father.  We see that Jesus is like the Father, yet “there is none like God.”  Therefore, we can only conclude once again that Jesus is God and that He is “the radiance of God’s glory.” (Heb. 1:3)

Isaiah 42:8 – “I am the Lord; that is my name!  I do not give my glory to another.”  But Jesus, the Son, and God, the Father, share God’s glory.

John 17:5 – Jesus prayed, “Father glorify Me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”

Revelation 5:12-14 – Myriads of angels encircled the throne. V.6 says the Lamb was in the center of the throne.  The angels and the elders sang in a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” V. 14 “The four living creatures said “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshipped.

1 Corinthians 2:8 – They crucified the “Lord of Glory.”  Yes, Jesus truly is our Lord and our God and we live to give Him the glory.

Our God and Savior …

Luke 2:11 – An angel makes an important announcement, “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.”

John 4:42 – Many Samaritans believed and said, “We know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

Acts 4:8-12 – Peter, filled with Holy Spirit, concluded his talk to the Sanhedrin saying in v. 12, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”  Jesus is our God and Savior.  In Isaiah 43:11 God says, “I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from Me there is no Savior.”

Hosea 13:4 – Hosea quotes the Lord God, “But I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt.  You shall acknowledge no God but Me, no Savior except Me.”

Titus 2:13 –  Let Paul conclude this topic as he speaks about “Our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”

The verses in the inspired Word of God tell us clearly who Jesus truly is!  The list seems endless that Jesus is our God. 

 Quotes from early church fathers

Polycarp, a pupil of the apostle John, called Jesus, “Our Lord and God.”  (The Apostolic Fathers, Lightfoot, pg. 99)

Ignatius, bishop of Antioch (30-107AD) wrote,  “For our God, Jesus the Christ, was conceived in the womb of Mary.”  (Ibid, pg. 6)

Also a student of Polycarp: Irenaeus (120-202 AD) wrote five books against heresies.  He said Jesus is “our Lord, and God, and Savior and King.”  (The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol.1, pg. 330)

Let’s conclude by taking you to Jesus’ own words in the Book of Revelation.

Revelation 1:17, 18 – Jesus, who died and came back to life calls Himself “The First and the Last.”

Revelation 2: 8 – Jesus repeats this truth, that He is “The First and the Last.”

Revelation 22:7, 12, 20 – Jesus tells us He is “coming quickly.”

Revelation 22:13 – Jesus says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

Revelation 1:8 – Jesus tells us exactly who He is, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, Who is and Who was and Who is to come, “The Almighty.”

Knowing Jesus personally and knowing who He is, is crucial. 

John 8:24 – Jesus says, “If you do not know that I AM, you will die in your sins.” 

There are only two ways to die: “in your sins,” or “in Christ.”  To live or die “in Christ” means you are “born again,” filled with the Holy Spirit, the living water, and you are a child of God and a witness and worshipper of Jesus Christ. 

Jesus is the great I AM of Exodus 3:14 and He came to the earth and bought us with His blood.  1 Peter 2:24 says of Jesus, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds we have been healed.”

So as Peter concluded his second letter, 2 Peter 3:18, may you “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen!” 

May God open your heart to the truth as He did for Lydia (Acts 16:14) and for Christians throughout the world. “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved!” (Acts 16:31)

JESUS IS OUR SHEPHERD

“I am the good Shepherd, I know my sheep and my sheep know me.”  (John 10:14-17, 27)

Jesus said, “Feed My lambs;” “Take care of My lambs;” “Feed My sheep.”  (John 21:15-17)

“…our Lord Jesus, that Great Shepherd of the sheep.”  (Heb. 13:20)

“And when the chief Shepherd appears…you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.”  (1 Pet. 5:4)

“He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree…you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”  (1 Pet. 2:24, 25)

“They are given by one Shepherd.”  (Eccles.12:11)

“Know that the Lord is God, it is He who has made us and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.”  (Ps. 100:3)

“For He is our God and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care.”  (Ps. 95:7)

“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want, He makes me to lie down in green pasture…”  (Ps. 23:1, 2)

“He tends His flock like a Shepherd, He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads them that have young.”  (Isa. 40:11)