GODS CHURCH:   

Acts 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

Acts, written by Luke, describes the events immediately following the ascension of Jesus to heaven. In it Luke writes that the church is the church of God and that GOD purchased it with His own blood.  Since it was Jesus who shed His blood for us, this reference to God purchasing the church with His own blood can only apply to Jesus and therefore Jesus is God.

WHO'S THE SAVIOUR?

The Bible states quite clearly that the Saviour is God and that He is the only one:

Isaiah 43:11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.

Isaiah 45:15 Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour.

However, even knowing this, the apostles write the following.

John 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.

Philippians 3:20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:  

2 Timothy 1:10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:

Titus 1:4 To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.

They wrote this even though they were aware that in Isaiah, God expressly declares that He is the saviour and besides Him there is NO saviour.

If only God is the only saviour, the very God of Israel, then Jesus must be God. For indeed we have seen that Jesus is the saviour of the world. Since the Father is also called the saviour (Luke 1:47) we are left with the dilemma of having two saviours when there can be only one (Isaiah 43:11). This dilemma is solved when the Trinity is taken into account. The Trinity is covered in another essay.

WORSHIP GOD ONLY. 

Throughout the Bible, worship is considered sacred and only meant for God.  In revelations we read that not even the angels will accept worship (Revelations 22:8-9) for they are our fellow servants.  The Old Testament of the Bible shows the God is a jealous God (Exodus 34:14) and we are to worship only Him. Even Jesus, while incarnate, said to Satan that we should worship only God.

Matthew 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Luke 4:8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.  

 

(Note: Jesus did not say that He was not God, only that Satan should worship God only.)

If we are to serve God only, how then do you reconcile the fact that Jesus was and is worshipped without reprimand or correction (Matthew 28:9,10)? Jesus even tells us to pray to Him in His name and since prayer is one of the greatest forms of worship, this would be a sin coming from anyone but God.

John 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

John 14:13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

John 14:14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

These last few verses of John are probably some of the most interesting of all. Jesus says quite bluntly, ‘He that believeth on me’, He did not say ‘in the Father’ but ‘in Him’, ‘the works that I do shall he do also’. Also just as clearly we see that Jesus says, anything you ask in Jesus’ name HE will do it. So if we pray to Jesus then our prayers will be answered and if we believe in Jesus we will be able to do great works. 

Even in His earthly incarnation Jesus never condemned someone for worshipping Him.

Although Thomas doubted Jesus after the resurrection, once he handled Jesus even Thomas recognized Him. “And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.  Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” (John 20:28-29)

GOD AS DEFINED BY ISAIAH

Isaiah in his writings asks a question about God.  Who is like God? Who is equal to God? He then goes on to describe God as a strong and tireless God who created the earth and is everlasting.

Isaiah 40:25 To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.

Isaiah 40:26 Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.

Isaiah 40:27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God?

Isaiah 40:28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.  

 

From these verses we can extract the following points.