[Power of the Word] What Does God Say?
Daniel Brady
Earl looked to be in his 60s or 70s. He always wore a cowboy hat, flannel shirt, and heavy jacket. He seemed to live out of an old VW Bus that had religious graffiti all over the windows, and he frequently came into Shari’s Restaurant with a big bundle of mail tucked under his arm. He’d sit there and drink coffee as he sorted through his mail.
And Earl claimed to be God—quite literally. One of the first times I met him, I asked him what he did for a living, and he claimed to be Messiah. He told me that every generation has its own Messiah. Jesus was the Messiah for His generation, and that, “I am Messiah for this generation.”
I know the Bible declares Jesus to be the only Messiah, and in challenging Earl with this fact, I asked him, do you believe in the Bible?” He said, “Of course I do. I wrote it.”
Well, Earl certainly had some strange ideas, and I don’t believe he ever came close to convincing anyone that he was God. However, I mention him for a reason. In my last entry, I pointed out one of the instances in which Jesus Christ claimed to be God. On one hand, the fact that He claimed to be God, given everything else we know about Him, is a testimony to the fact that He is God.
On the other hand, there are a lot of people, including Earl, who have claimed to be God. Therefore, just because someone claims to be God doesn’t mean that he is God. And to be certain, the primary reason the religious leaders in Israel wanted Jesus crucified is that He claimed to be God. They, believing He wasn’t God, felt this was blasphemy and sought to have Him put to death.
Therefore, in establishing the deity of Christ, it is not enough to point out that other people worshiped Him, or even that He claimed to be God. These two points can be compelling. But in the end, the real question is: What does God say about Jesus Christ? Does God say that Jesus is God? After all, God is the One who has the knowledge and authority to answer the question—to tell us who is and who isn’t God.
Now, in answering this question, it may be tempting for us to turn to such passages as Matthew 3—Jesus’ baptism at the hand of John the Baptist. As Jesus came up out of the water, a voice was heard from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (v. 17).
This is all well and good. But the critic would say, “That’s just the point. Jesus is the Son of God, but He is not God.” Therefore, we must ask whether or not there is any place in the Bible where God specifically states that His Son, Jesus Christ, is in fact God.
The answer is yes. And the passage to which we may turn is Hebrews 1. However, the limit of page space does not allow me to delve into it this time. But in preparation for my next entry, I would encourage you to read that chapter and take note of what God says about Jesus Christ.