11 October 2013

God is Not Man and Man is Not God (Why Jesus Is Not God part 2)



Why The Lord Jesus is Not God
BIBLICAL EVIDENCES THAT PROVE THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
IS NOT THE TRUE GOD
Part 2

THE Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ) firmly believes that the Lord Jesus Christ is man in nature and He is not God because this is what the Bible explicitly teaches. If we are going to examine the teachings written in the Bible, the evidences are overwhelming that the Lord Jesus Christ is indeed not the true God the Holy Scripture teaches.


GOD IS NOT MAN AND
MAN IS NOT GOD


 Another strong biblical evidence that the Lord Jesus Christ is not God is His explicit pronouncement that He is a Man. Christ said:

John 8:40 NKJV
“But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this.”

When Jesus said that He is a man it is like saying that He is not God. Because God Himself said that He is not Man:

Oseas 11:9 NKJV
“I will not execute the fierceness of My anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim. For I am God, and not man, The Holy One in your midst; And I will not come with terror.”

And God also said that Man is not God:

Ezekiel 28:2 ASV
“Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyre, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because thy heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a god, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art man, and not God, though thou didst set thy heart as the heart of God.”

Because God is not man, and man is not God, then, when Jesus said that He is a man it only means that He is not God.

God is not man because God is spirit (John 4:24), has no flesh and bones (Luke 24:38-39). While man is not God because man is not spirit, having flesh and bones (Gen. 6:3). However, the Lord Jesus Christ clearly stated that He has flesh and bones (thus, He is not spirit in nature):

Luke 24:38-39 NKJV
“And He said to them, "Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”

Thus, it is wrong to say that Jesus is true man and true God, because it is like saying that Jesus have flesh and bones (true man) and at the same time He have no flesh and bones (true God). Hence, when we say that the Lord Jesus Christ is not God, we only mean that He is not spirit, having flesh and bones as He Himself stated.

Although the Lord Jesus is not God, but a man, but He is a very special man as clearly written in the Bible:
    
Acts 2:22 NCV
“People of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus from Nazareth was a very special man. God clearly showed this to you by the miracles, wonders, and signs he did through Jesus. You all know this, because it happened right here among you.”

The Lord Jesus Christ is a “very special man” because:

(1) “This man was the Son of God”:

Mark 15:39, NIV
“And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, ‘Surely this man was the Son of God!’”

(2) The Man God has made both Lord and Christ:

Acts 2:36, New Century Version
“So, all the people of Israel should know this truly: God has made Jesus — the man you nailed to the cross — both Lord and Christ.”

(3) The Man God exalted to His right hand as ruler and Savior:

Acts 5:30-31, Holman Christian Standard Bible
“The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had murdered by hanging Him on a tree. God exalted this man to His right hand as ruler and Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.”

(4) The Man Jesus Christ is the Mediator between the one true God and men:

I Timothy 2:5, NIV
“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus”

(5) He is the man seated on the right hand of God:

Psalms 80:17 NIV
“Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand, the son of man you have raised up for yourself.”

Colossians 3:1 NIV
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.”

Although the Lord Jesus Christ is now in heaven, the Bible proves that He remains Man in nature. He is the Man "seated at the right hand of God."

The Lord Jesus Christ is truly "a very special man." However, let us always be reminded that God is not Man and Man is not God. Thus, although the Lord Jesus Christ is a very special Man, still, He is not God.

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