This is my concluding installment of my answers to Reasons 31—38 challenging the belief that Jesus Christ is Deity or God.
31- Jesus could not saved anyone as he was even not able to save himself (Hebrews 5:1-8)
Heb 5:1 For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins:
Heb 5:2 Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.
Heb 5:3 And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.
Heb 5:4 And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.
Heb 5:5 So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.
Heb 5:6 As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
Heb 5:7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
Heb 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
Whoever it might have been who composed these “38 Reasons from the Bible why Jesus is not God” may have had some knowledge of the Bible. The person may know more of the Bible than many Christians do. But when this unknown, likely Moslem, individual attempted to found a portion of the argument upon Hebrews 5:1-8, that person strikingly reveals the very flawed understanding Moslems and others who deny the Deity of Christ have of this Bible text.
Once again, to use such a text as Hebrews 5:1-8 to support the idea that Jesus could not save Himself, therefore He cannot be Deity or God in any sense, is to fail to follow the Rules of Interpretation, in this case, the rule that requires careful attention to the context.
The Hebrews writer reminds us from the Old Testament Scriptures that not just anyone could come along and become or make himself a High Priest. A High Priest must come from the line of Aaron.
Furthermore, a High Priest cannot and could not select himself to be a High Priest. The High Priest position must be filled by a person called of God, as Aaron was.
Now the writer of Hebrews raises the important question: If High Priests can only come from the line of Aaron, how could Jesus Christ be our High Priest when He is not a lineal descendant from the tribe of Aaron? You will recall that Jesus Christ’s lineage is traced to the tribe of Judah, and no High Priests can arise from that tribe.
The writer of Hebrews provides the answer by means of a very careful study of Bible prophecy and the Bible types.
The Hebrews writer calls attention to the fact that Jesus did not call Himself to the office of High Priest. Rather, God appointed Jesus Christ to that office as seen in Old Testament Bible prophecy:
Heb 5:5 So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.
This is a citation from Psalm 2:7,
Psa 2:7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
Thou art. This is the Divine formula for anointing. Compare Mat 3:17 for Prophet; Mat 17:5 for Priest; and Heb 1:5, 6 for King.
In this Hebrews 5 context, this Old Testament type or prophecy was cited to answer the requirement that to be High Priest, Jesus Christ must be called by God to this office. That He was called of God, and not self-appointed, is proven by the cited text from Psalm 2:7.
The author of Hebrews calls attention to an incident in the life of Abraham, where Abraham met Melchisedec, who was a priest of the Most High God. Now, Melchisedec was not from the line of Aaron because Aaron of course had not yet been born. Therefore, there was another line of High Priesthood that existed in type and reality before the Law and before the time of Aaron and Moses.
Melchisedec is not mentioned very often in the Bible. When the Hebrews writer brings up this part of his argument,
Heb 5:6 As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
the writer is citing Bible prophecy from Psalm 110:4,
Psa 110:4 The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
This establishes the fact that the Messiah is a High Priest “after the order of Melchisedek.”
Now, to address the mistaken probably Moslem claim represented by this objection number 31- Jesus could not saved anyone as he was even not able to save himself (Hebrews 5:1-8):
Heb 5:7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
The claim states Jesus could not save anyone because He could not save Himself. But the text of Hebrews 5:7 declares that the prayers of Jesus were answered that he be saved out of death (the meaning of the Greek text here), and that He “was heard in that he feared.” Therefore Christ’s prayer was heard for He both actually died physically and was raised again to life by resurrection of His physical body.
from death. Not from death, for the Greek word is ek, not apo. He went down into death, but was saved out of (Greek, ek) it by resurrection.
Heb 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
Heb 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
Heb 5:10 Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.
Jesus Christ, being made perfect by resurrection in His glorified body (Philippians 3:21), became the author of salvation unto all that obey Him.
If you are not depending fully upon Jesus Christ alone for salvation, you remain unsaved, for there is no other way to be saved (Acts 4:12; John 14:6). He is only the author of salvation for those that obey Him. God’s command is that we believe on His Son (1 John 3:23),
1Jn 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
Earlier in the book of Hebrews the writer discussed the High Priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Heb 7:19 For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.
Heb 7:20 And inasmuch as not without an oath he was made priest:
Heb 7:21 (For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec:)
Heb 7:22 By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.
Heb 7:23 And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death:
Heb 7:24 But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.
Heb 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
Heb 7:26 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;
Heb 7:27 Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.
Heb 7:28 For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore.
These are deep truths. No one can be made perfect or acceptable to God by keeping the law of God.
To become acceptable to God, we must place our faith in the “better hope” that God has provided for us by sending His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die and atone for our sins as our great High Priest. Jesus Christ as our Savior is both the Priest and the Sacrifice (1 John 2:1, 2).
Jesus Christ is able to save to the uttermost all those who will come to God by Him, for he continues to live forever, to make intercession for all who come to God by Him.
Of course Jesus did not save Himself by coming down from the cross, as his mockers on the scene observing the events of the crucifixion challenged Him to do. Had Jesus done that, He would have failed to fulfill the mission God the Father sent Him to do.
32- Jesus said he was sent to lost sheep of Israel (Matthew 15:24)
Mat 15:24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Moslems totally misunderstand this verse which they frequently cite to prove that Jesus came only to minister to the Jews who lived in the land of Israel. That is why, they seem to believe, that God sent a later Prophet, Muhammad, who, they claim, was sent for the whole world.
Yet this very Bible passage in Matthew 15:24 shows that Jesus did minister to the needs of a non-Jewish woman. Read the context for yourself, for this is as plain as could be:
Mat 15:21 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.
Mat 15:22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
Mat 15:23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
Mat 15:24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Mat 15:25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
Mat 15:26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.
Mat 15:27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.
Mat 15:28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
Jesus commended her great faith, and granted healing for her daughter, who “was made whole from that very hour.”
Once again, when it comes to correctly understanding the Bible, the Rules of Interpretation, when properly followed, lead you to a correct understanding of what is written in the Bible or any other work of literature. In this case, a correct interpretation properly fits the context, but an incorrect interpretation does not. Another Rule of Interpretation teaches us that you cannot leave out material which, if included, would invalidate your mistaken claim of what the text means.
Moslems make much of this matter of claiming that the ministry of Jesus was limited to the “lost sheep of Israel” in order to validate the need for a Prophet future to Jesus Christ who would be for the whole world. But since this claim in behalf of their Prophet Mohammed is founded on a provable mistaken interpretation of Matthew 15:24 and Matthew 10:5, 6, it is invalid and improper to base their claim upon these misinterpreted Bible texts.
Jesus did not always limit or restrict his ministry to none but the Jews. He also ministered to Gentiles as here in Matthew 15:24.
He healed the centurion’s servant (Mat 8:13). Centurions were not Jews, but officers in the Roman army, and so of course were Gentiles.
Mat 8:13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.
He declared his Messiahship to the Samaritan woman at the well (Joh 4:25, 26).
Joh 4:25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
Joh 4:26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
As a result of her vibrant testimony Jesus was asked by the townspeople of the Samaritan city of Sychar to stay two more days with them, which he did, and many of them believed (Joh 4:42).
Joh 4:39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.
Joh 4:40 So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days.
Joh 4:41 And many more believed because of his own word;
Joh 4:42 And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.
Notice particularly what is said in John 4:42, that Jesus is stated to be the Savior of the world. Thus Jesus did not come only for the lost sheep of Israel.
When Jesus healed the ten lepers, one of them was a Samaritan, the only one who returned to give thanks (Luk 17:11,12; Luk 17:15, 16).
Luk 17:11 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
Luk 17:12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:
Luk 17:15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,
Luk 17:16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.
Christ’s directive (Mat 10:5, 6) that his disciples minister only to the lost sheep of Israel and not enter into any city of the Samaritans nor go in the way of the Gentiles was clearly a directive for that immediate mission, and does not mark a permanent policy of the ministry of Christ that limited His work only to the Jews.
Mat 10:5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
Mat 10:6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
It is most clear that Christ came to save the world, not merely the lost sheep of the house of Israel, for He commanded that His Gospel be proclaimed to every creature (Mat 28:19; Mar 16:15; Luk 24:47; Joh 1:29; Joh 3:16; Joh 4:42; Act 1:8; 1Jn 2:2).
Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Note the command to teach all nations.
Mar 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Luk 24:45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
Luk 24:46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
Luk 24:47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Joh 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Joh 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Joh 4:42 And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.
Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
1Jn 2:2 And He is Himself the atoning sacrifice for our sins; and not for ours alone, but also for the whole world.
This accords precisely with what was prophesied of the Messiah (Isa 49:6; Act 13:47; Act 26:23).
Isa 49:6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
Isa 42:1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
Isa 9:1 Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.
Isa 9:2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
Act 13:47 For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.
Act 26:22 Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come:
Act 26:23 That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles.
The emphasis of the whole Bible is that the Messiah would come as a light to His people Israel and also a light to the Gentiles, the rest of the world. No way can Jesus be limited to “the lost sheep of Israel.”
33- God can not be born and perhaps form his own creation
There was no passage from the Bible given for this objection to the Deity of Christ.
The error in thinking on the part of Moslems who would use this argument against the Deity of Christ is (1) they fail to understand that the Bible clearly teaches that Jesus Christ is eternal, that He existed in the form of God from eternity past and never had a beginning, and that when He became a man, He assumed the form of a man and was born by a miraculous virgin birth to Mary. (2) This necessarily requires that when God became man in the form of Jesus, this requires that Jesus must have two natures: a human nature, and a divine nature.
It is true that Jesus Christ is spoken of as the creator of all things. Of course He was the One that God the Father employed to create everything else according to what the Bible teaches.
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Eph 3:8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
Eph 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Rev 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
The claims of the Bible are very clear.
34- Jesus never asked people to worship him
Jesus did not need to ask people to worship Him, at least not in those words.
But how do you explain what is declared in John 5:23,
Joh 5:23 That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.
Remember that in discussion somewhere above I called attention to the fact that this verse has been translated “honor the Son exactly as they honor the Father.” What worship you extend to God the Father is therefore required to be extended to Jesus Christ in the same manner.
How do you explain John 5:18,
Joh 5:18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.
The Jews drew a correct inference from the words of Jesus Christ. Jesus did not deny the correctness of the inference they made. At no point under similar circumstances when the claims of Jesus Christ were correctly understood did Jesus ever refuse or correct their inferences as to His claim to Deity.
As His own disciples gradually gathered and concluded just who Jesus really is, they extended worship to Him the same way that they worshipped God the Father.
Therefore, the objection that “Jesus never asked people to worship him” has no force or validity against the truth of the Deity of Jesus Christ.
I explained this in considerable detail earlier in these discussions.
35- Jesus did not Teach Trinity
You won’t find the word “Trinity” anywhere in the Bible. Does that mean the Bible does not teach the doctrine of the Trinity? Of course not.
Just what necessary inference must be drawn from the evidence that (1) God the Father is called God; (2) Jesus Christ is called God, John 20:28; John 1:1; (3) the Holy Spirit is called God, Acts 5:3, 4?
Obviously there are not three Gods. The Bible clearly teaches that there is only One God.
The proper inference which must be drawn is that there are Three Persons who eternally exist in One Godhead, so that there are Three Persons who share the attributes of God. Since those three Persons and no others also share the incommunicable attributes of God as directly stated in the Bible, all three Persons are fully God and fully Divine. There is no other valid explanation which properly accounts for all the facts and statements given in the Bible.
Jesus did not need to “Teach the Trinity.” These facts pertaining to the Trinity are left to us to infer from the evidence in both the Old Testament Scriptures and the New Testament Scriptures. A careful reading and study of the Bible will lead to the conclusion that God exists eternally in Three Persons, and yet God is One God. No other explanation accounts honestly for all the evidence in the Bible.
36- God is the essence of the worship. He is the object of worship. Had Jesus been God, he would have told people to worship him. Truly, he did the exact opposite as in Matthew 15:9.
Mat 15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
The compiler or author of these 38 reasons from the Bible that Jesus is not God has made another mistake in interpretation here, such that this text does not apply to the worship of Jesus.
Jesus Christ is quoting from the prophet Isaiah. The quotation means that the worship of God by the Jews was in vain because they encumbered their worship of God with additional requirements not from God, but from the traditions of men.
Jesus never has a kind word for religious tradition.
But that Jesus was worshipped by His disciples once they recognized Who He Is, is most evident in the New Testament record. I have discussed this subject rather fully before, so I won’t repeat all the evidence here. But I will share just one clear example from Acts 7:59, 60.
Act 7:59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
Act 7:60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
I have placed notes on this text of Scripture in my book, The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (page 1247) and in my new Bible software, The Ultimate Cross Reference Treasury, as follows:
calling upon. or, invoking. There is no object after this, but the thought is, “Calling upon the Lord Jesus as God” (F. W. Grant). Upon whom was Stephen calling? Those who deny the deity of Christ are caught upon the horns of a fatal dilemma. If “God,” then Stephen addresses Jesus as God. If “Lord,” then Jesus is being directly addressed in prayer, an act of worship due only to God. In the New Testament, prayers, invocations, or doxologies are not uniformly and invariably addressed exclusively to God the Father. Thomas addressed Jesus as God (+*Joh 20:28). The disciples worshipped Christ directly as he went up into heaven (Luk 24:51, 52). Paul prayed to the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ jointly: Rom 1:7, *1Co 1:3, 2Co 1:2, Gal 1:3, Eph 1:2; Eph 6:23, Php 1:2, Col 1:2, 1Th 1:1; 1Th 3:11, 2Th 1:2; 2Th 2:16-17, 1Ti 1:2, 2Ti 1:2, Tit 1:4, Phm 1:3. So John prayed to the Father and Son jointly, 2Jn 1:3, and to all three persons of the Godhead alike, Rev 1:4, 5. Paul also prayed to Christ singly: Rom 16:20; Rom 16:24, 1Co 16:23, Gal 6:18, Php 2:19; Php 2:24, 1Th 5:28, 2Th 3:16; 2Th 3:18, 1Ti 1:12, 2Ti 4:14; 2Ti 4:17, 18; 2Ti 4:22. Some devotional acts Paul performed towards the Holy Ghost singly: Rom 9:1; Rom 15:30. See Paul’s noted doxology to Christ, *Rom 9:5. Peter put up his doxologies to Christ: 1Pe 2:3, 4; *1Pe 4:11, **2Pe 3:18. See the whole creation join in the same common doxology to the Father and the Son, not to the Father through the Son, *Rev 5:11, 12, 13 (Daniel Waterland, Works, Vol. 4, pp. 8, 9). “Christ is to be worshipped with religious worship by men (Act 7:59; Act 9:14, **Joh 5:23, Rev 5:8); either singly and by himself, or jointly with the Father in the same acts of worship. He is therefore God by nature, and not by office only, appointment, or designation. The worship of him must of consequence stand upon the same foot whereon Scripture has founded all religious worship; upon his real and essential divinity, his being God, Jehovah, Almighty, etc. which he must be because he is adorable; and which if he be, then the worship of him comes within the reason, intent, and even the letter of the law about worship. And it is very observable how the Scripture rule of worship exactly harmonizes with what the same Scripture teaches of the divinity of God the Son. For as, on the one hand, his claim of worship confirms the doctrine of his divinity; so, on the other hand, his divine titles and attributes confirm his claim of worship: and thus is Scripture uniform, consistent, and harmonious throughout” (Daniel Waterland, Works, vol. 3, “The Scriptures and the Arians Compared,” pp. 295, 296).
37- Jesus never call his followers Christians, Paul did
This is a mistaken assertion. Paul did not call his followers Christians. The term does not occur anywhere in the writings of Paul or in his recorded speeches in the book of Acts. The word Christian is found two times in the New Testament (Acts 26:28 and 1 Peter 4:16). “Christians” is found only once in the New Testament. It is found at Acts 11:26,
Act 11:26 And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
The Bible does not tell who called the disciples Christians first at Antioch. Some scholars say either Saul named Paul or Barnabas, some suggest the surrounding Gentile population so named them, and some suggest the disciples were given this name by their enemies.
This is a case that there is no certain evidence one way or the other. It is not to be expected that Jesus would call his followers Christians, because the Church did not begin until after Jesus ascended to heaven.
38- Jesus as a servant of God (Matthew 12:18)
This topic actually matches topic 20- Jesus referred to himself as a Slave: John 13:16, Matthew 10:24.
I explained this in some detail there, so I won’t repeat what was said there here.
