“Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him . . . he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” (John 14:8-9)
Theologians have wrestled with the dual nature of the Lord Jesus since the beginning. On the one hand, there are those who deny or belittle His humanity, and on the other hand, there are those who deny His deity. Both natures are completely true: Jesus is fully human and fully God.
The prophets identified the coming Messiah as fully God. Isaiah 9:6 is the “naming” prophecy that specifies that the Messiah would be called “Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 7:14 specifies that “the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Matthew quotes that passage and translates the Hebrew word Immanuel as “God with us” (Matthew 1:23).
The Scriptures abound with this teaching.
- He is called the only begotten (John 1:14, 18; 3:16; 1 John 4:9).
- He is called the Son of God (John 3:18; 5:25; 9:35; 11:4).
- He is recognized as eternal (John 17:5, 24; Colossians 1:15; Micah 5:2).
- He has the power of life in Himself (Romans 1:4; John 10:17-18; Colossians 1:18; Acts 13:32-33).
- He is given the inheritance of God (Hebrews 1:2; 3:4, 6).
- He performed the works of God (John 10:36-38).
- Even the demons and Satan recognize Christ as God (Luke 4:41; Matthew 4:3, 6).
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