Yeshua, My LORD and My God! - by Desirie Echolls

The following was published by Desirie Echolls:

"Who is Jesus of Nazareth? Opinions vary, and it has been said that He was a mere man, a philosopher, an enlighten teacher, a prophet, a fraud, a lunatic, etc., but what does the Bible say? Is the picture of Jesus that has been traditionally held by the church a man made fairytale? Is it the result of the political schemes of early church leaders, who manipulated and created doctrine for political power and control? Is Jesus the Son of God, the Messiah, and God in the flesh? Or is He one of many “savior gods,” and no different from the gods of ancient mythologies and pagan religions? Have other gospels, with a more complete or accurate portrayal of Jesus, been suppressed by the church?

These are questions that cannot all be answered in one note, so, this will be the first of many. In this note I will discuss what the Bible says about the deity of Christ. I am not in any way an expert in Christian apologetics. However, I do believe that every Christian should always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear (1 Peter 3:15). The term “apologetic” comes from the Greek word apologia, which means in defense of. It is the term the apostle Paul used when addressing King Agrippa in Acts 26:2. He said, “I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself [or “I make my defense”] this day before thee touching all the things whereof I am accused of the Jews.” He went on to passionately preach Christ. His excitement was not merely in hope that he would be acquitted of any charges, but in the hope that King Agrippa would understand the truth about Jesus. In that same Spirit I write this note today, not for the sake of argument, or because I feel the need to defend truth for the sake of truth. Truth is true whether you or I believe it or not. As a Christian, my “defense” of truth is for the sake of the hearer. I proclaim truth and dispel false beliefs because I deeply love people and desire to see them walk in the true and genuine light of God. It’s only the truth you know that sets you free; and Truth is personified in Jesus. So, who we believe and know Jesus to be is vital (John 8:32; John 14:6).

“Without money and arms, [He] conquered more millions than Alexander, Caesar, Mahomet (Mohammed), and Napoleon. Without science and learning, He shed more light on things human and divine than all philosophers and schools combined. Without the eloquence of schools, He spoke words of life such as never were spoken before or since, and produced effects which lie beyond the reach of any orator or poet. Without writing a single line, He has set more pens in motion, and furnished themes for more sermons, orations, discussions, learned volumes, works of art and sweet songs of praise, than the whole army of great men of ancient and modern times.

Born in a manger, and crucified as a malefactor, He now controls the destinies of the civilized world, and rules a spiritual empire which embraces one-third of the inhabitants of the globe.

There never was in this world a life so unpretending, modest, and lowly in its outward form and condition, and yet producing such extraordinary effects upon all ages, nations, and classes of men. The annals of history produce no other example of such complete and astonishing success in spite of the absence of those material, social, literary, and artistic powers and influences which are indispensable to success for a mere man." Philip Schaff



The Deity of Jesus in the Gospel of John

John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

John 1:1 has been mistranslated by Jehovah Witnesses to read, “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was a god.” They teach that Jesus is a mighty god, separate and not to be confused with God Almighty. There are several problems with this argument. First, there is no grammatical justification in the original Greek text to validate their translation as “a god.” Secondly, this idea of Jesus being divine but not equal to God is contrary to the whole council of scripture.

Watchtower argues that because there is a definite article “the” (Greek: ho) before the first occurrence of God (ho theos – literally “the God”), but not before the second occurrence of God in the Greek text, that the second occurrence is not referring to “the God.” They claim that because of the absence of the definite article before the second theos in John 1:1, it then becomes an adjective speaking of the divine quality Jesus. Should ho theos be translated as God or the God, and theos without the article be translated as referring to something as a god or simply having divine qualities? Watchtower does not even consistently adhere to their made up grammatical rule. Consider the following verses referring to God, in which the Greek construction is identical to that of John 1:1, and how a translation of “a god,” would render these verses.

Luke 20:38, “He is [a] god, not of the dead, but of the living.”

Matt. 5:9, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of [a] god.”

Luke 1:35, 78; 2:40; John 1:6,12,13,18; 3: 2,21; 9:16,33; Romans 1:7,17,18; 1 Cor. 1:30; 15:10; Phil. 2:11,13; Titus 1:1

Theos is properly translated as a noun meaning God. The obvious motivation for Watchtowers translation of John 1:1 is theological and not grammatical. If John wanted to convey that Jesus had divine qualities and not that He was God, then he would have used the Greek adjective for divine, theois instead of the noun theos.

Their argument is even weaker when you consider that Jesus was in fact referred to as ho theos (the God) in the same Gospel of John.

In John 20:28, Thomas calls Jesus, “My Lord and my God!” Literally, “The Lord of me and the God [ho theos] of me.” Ho theos is also used in reference to Jesus in Matthew 1:23 and Hebrew 1:8.

Matthew 1:23
“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

Hebrews 1:8
But to the Son He says:
“ Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.

Additionally, if Jesus is “a god,” but not “the God,” we would have to conclude that he was a false god and should therefore be rejected entirely since the Bible is extremely clear that there is only One God!

Isaiah 45:5
I am the LORD [Yahweh], and there is no other; There is no God besides Me.

Deuteronomy 32:39
‘Now see that I, even I, am He, And there is no God besides Me;

Isaiah 43:10
You are My witnesses,” says the LORD [Yahweh],
And My servant whom I have chosen,
That you may know and believe Me,
And understand that I am He.
Before Me there was no God formed,
Nor shall there be after Me.

Isaiah 44:8
Do not fear, nor be afraid;
Have I not told you from that time, and declared it?
You are My witnesses.
Is there a God besides Me?
Indeed there is no other Rock;
I know not one.

Others have argued that the word John was referring to as God, was not Jesus Himself but the words that He spoke. John 1:14 is clear that Jesus was the Word incarnate not merely a prophet who spoke the Word of God. This argument is also refuted by the fact that Jesus Himself is referred to as God in other verses as mentioned above, and the fact that throughout the Bible it is clearly expressed that Jesus is God.

Jesus as the “I AM”

John 8:58, “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I AM.”
Many argue that Jesus never claimed to be God. Jesus did not simply claim to be “God,” but not to be mistaken as claiming to be a god other than Yahweh, Jesus claimed to be THE GOD when He used the name of God in reference to Himself.

Yahweh

The name Yahweh appears approximately 5,300 times in the Old Testament. It was the name given to Moses in Exodus 3.

Exodus 3:14-15
“And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.”

Moses was in essence asking not only for God’s name but asking who He was. God answered Moses first with I AM THAT I AM, which was an expression of God’s eternal nature, the Eternal One. Then in verse 15 He shortened this name to Yahweh. Both I AM (in verse 14) and Yahweh (in verse 15) are from the same root word which means “to be.”

The Septuagint is a Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament that predates the birth of Christ. It renders the Hebrew phrase I AM (the Name of God) in Exodus 3:14 as ego eimi. Both Jesus and the Jews of His time were familiar with the Septuagint and understood ego eimi to be the Greek translation for the Name of God. “Ego eimi” was not a phrase normally used in conversation; it was an emphatic form of speech. When Jesus used this term in John 5:58, He was not just saying that He predated Abraham but that He was the Eternal I AM. He was claiming to be God. He even began this statement, with “verily, verily,” for emphasis! He was emphatically claiming to be Yahweh. The Jews He was speaking to undoubtedly understood what He was saying and picked up stones to stone Him to death. Which was the penalty for blasphemy according to Jewish law (Lev. 24:16).

Jesus used the term ego eimi in reference to Himself several other times as well, including John 8:24 and 28.

John 8:24
“Unless you believe that I AM [ego eimi], you will die in your sins.” (there is no “he” in the original text, it simply reads “I AM”)

John 8:28
“When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I AM [ego eimi].” (again there is no he in the original text)

Other verses were Jesus uses ego eimi in John include:
John 4:26; 6:35,48,51; 8:12,24,58; 10:7,11,14; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1; 18:5,6,8

Yeshua (Jesus)

Jesus was born to a Hebrew woman, and was given the Hebrew name Yeshua. Yeshua in Strong’s Concordance is #3442, the shortened form of #3091 (Yehoshua), which comes from #3068 (Yahweh) and #3467 (yasha), which means “to save.” Yehoshua is a combination of Yahweh and yasha. Yeshua, the contraction of Yehoshua, means “He [Yahweh] saves.”

Jesus is the English translation of the Greek name Iesous. However, Jesus introduced Himself to Paul as Yeshua in Acts 26:14-15.

Instances where Old Testament passages about Yahweh were applied to Jesus


Isaiah 40:3 and Mark 1:2-4

Isaiah 40:3
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“ Prepare the way of the LORD[Yahweh];
Make straight in the desert
A highway for our God.”

Mark 1:2-4
“As it is written in the Prophets:
“ Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
Who will prepare Your way before You.”
“ The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘ Prepare the way of the LORD;
Make His paths straight.’”
John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.”

According to Mark, Isaiah 40:3 was fulfilled in the ministry of John the Baptist who prepared the way for Jesus.

Isaiah 6:1-5 and John 12:41

Isaiah speaks of seeing Yahweh seated high on a throne and in verse 3 says the whole earth is filled with His glory. John said that the glory Isaiah saw was Jesus’ glory. Yahweh said in Isaiah 42:8, “I am the LORD [Yahweh]; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another.” Still John equates the glory of Yahweh with the glory of Jesus.

The attributes of Yahweh and Yeshua


Yahweh’s voice is “like the roar of rushing waters” (Ezekiel 43:2)
Yeshua’s voice is “like the sound of rushing waters.” (Revelation 1:15)

Yahweh is everlasting light (Isaiah 60:19,20)
Yeshua (the Lamb of God) is the Lamp that lights the city of God so that the sun and moon are not needed. (Revelation 21:23)

The Alpha and Omega (First and Last): Yahweh (Isaiah 41:4; 48:12, Revelation 1:8), Yeshua (Revelation 1:17, 18; 2:8; 22:12-16)

Savior: Yahweh (Isaiah 43:3,11; 63:8; Luke 1:47; 1 Timothy 4:10), Yeshua (Matthew 1:21; Acts 7:59,60; 10:36; Romans 10:12; 1 Corinthians 2:8; 12:3; Philippians 2:10,11)

King: Yahweh (Psalm 95:3; Isaiah 43:15; 1 Timothy 6:14-16), Yeshua (Revelation 17:14; Revelation 19:16)

Judge: Yahweh (Genesis 18:25; Psalm 50:4,6; 96:13; Romans 14:10), Yeshua (John 5:22; 2 Corinthians 5:10; 2 Timothy 4:1)

Light: Yahweh (2 Samuel 22:39; Psalm 27:1; Isaiah 42:6), Yeshua (John 1:4,9; 3:19; 8:12; 9:5)

Rock: Yahweh (Deuteronomy 32:3,4; 2 Samuel 22:32; Psalm 89:26), Yeshua (Romans 9:33; 1 Corinthians 10:3,4; 1 Peter 2:4-8)

Redeemer: Yahweh (Psalms 130:7,8; Isaiah 48:17; Isaiah 54:5; Isaiah 63:9), Yeshua (Acts 20:28; Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 9:12)

Our Righteousness: Yahweh (Isaiah 45:24), Yeshua (Jeremiah 23:6; Romans 3:21,22)

Husband: Yahweh (Isaiah 54:5; Hosea 2:16), Yeshua (Matthew 25:1; Mark 2:18, 19; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:25-32; Revelation 21:2,9)

Shepherd: Yahweh (Genesis 49:24; Psalm 23:1; Psalm 80:1), Yeshua (John 10:11,16; Hebrews 13:20; 1 Peter 2:25; 1 Peter 5:4)

Creator: Yahweh (Genesis 1:1; Job 33:4; Psalm 95:5,6; Psalm 102:25,26; Isaiah 40:28, Isaiah 44:24 “I the LORD [Yahweh], am the maker of all things, stretching out the heavens by Myself, and spreading out the earth all alone), Yeshua (John 1:2,3,10; Colossians 1:15-18, Hebrews 1:1-3, 10)

Giver of Life: Yahweh (Genesis 2:7; Deuteronomy 32:39; 1 Samuel 2:6; Psalm 36:9), Yeshua (John 5:21; John 10:28; John 11:25)

Forgiver of Sin: Yahweh (Exodus 34:6,7; Nehemiah 9:17; Daniel 9:9; Jonah 4:2), Yeshua (Mark 2:1-2, Acts 26:18; Colossians 2:13; 3:13)

Omnipresent: Yahweh (Psalm 139:7-12; Proverbs 15:3), Yeshua (Matthew 18:20; Matthew 28:20; Ephesians 3:17; 4:10)

Omniscient: Yahweh (1 Kings 8:39; Jeremiah 17:9,10,16), Yeshua (Matthew 11: 27; Luke 5:4-6; John 2:25; John 16:30; John 21:17; Acts 1:24)

Omnipotent: Yahweh (Isaiah 40:10-31, Isaiah 45:5-13), Yeshua (Matthew 28:18)

Eternal: Yahweh (Psalm 102:26, 27; Habakkuk 3:6), Yeshua (Isaiah 9:6, Micah 5:2, John 8:58)

Immutable: Yahweh (Isaiah 46:9,16; Malachi 3:6, James 1:7), Yeshua (Hebrews 13:8)

Receiver of Worship: Yahweh (Matthew 4:10; John 4:24; Revelation 5:14; Revelation 7:11; Revelation 11:16), Yeshua (Matthew 14:33; Matthew 28:9; John 9:38; Philippians 2:10,11; Hebrews 1:6)

IF Jesus is not God, then He is a blaspheming false prophet, who wrongfully received worship! He cannot be considered a prophet or a good teacher unless He is in fact God. A true prophet of God who was not equal to God would have stopped people from worshipping them. Jesus allowed it; He is worthy of worship because He is God. He is the Holy Lamb of God, Who was and is and is to come!

In another note I will discuss common misunderstandings about the nature of Jesus. People often fail to realize that Jesus BOTH fully God and fully man. They misunderstand verses which, in context, are referring to the humanity of Christ. There are also several misconceptions about titles given to Jesus, such as Son of Man, Son of God, the Only Begotten, The Firstborn over all creation, etc. I will cover what these passages and titles actually mean in context."