IS JESUS CHRIST GOD: In our previous part, we examined the temptation of Jesus Christ by Satan, stating that Satan knows God and also knew who Jesus was. His demons are not excluded. They also know God and his Son Jesus.
Matthew 8:28-29
And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.
And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, JESUS, THOU SON OF GOD? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?
The demons called him the Son of God (just like Satan, their lord). They didn’t call him God. If he was God, they could have known. The demons were initially angels of God who rebelled. They were with God before the making of man. They know God well enough. They can’t encounter God and not recognise him. If Jesus is/was God, they wouldn’t call him the Son of God. They would call him God.
Jesus encountered demons often. None ever called him God.
Mark 1:23-24
And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,
Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I KNOW THEE WHO THOU ART, THE HOLY ONE OF GOD.
The demon knew who Jesus was. It wasn’t guess work. It wasn’t an assumption. The demon knew what he was saying. The demon knew Jesus was God’s holy Son, sent by God.
The demon knew Jesus wasn’t God who came by himself to die for man. If this was the case, the demons will call Jesus God. They wouldn’t refer to him as God’s Son or God’s holy one. Every single time Jesus encountered demons, they described him in the same way.
Luke 4:41
DEMONS also came out of many, crying out, “YOU ARE THE SON OF GOD!” But he rebuked them, and would not allow them to speak, because THEY KNEW THAT HE WAS THE CHRIST.
They knew! They knew he was the one chosen and anointed by God to be the Saviour. They knew he was God’s Son. All the demons said the same thing concerning Jesus and Jesus never corrected their expressions because they were right. He only casted them out of the bodies they were possessing.
As said repeatedly in this series, the bible verses or portions used to support the trinity teaching are either misquoted, misinterpreted or wrongly translated from Hebrew and Greek to English. This is why it is important for Christians to know that the Bible wasn’t written in English (or any other modern language). In the NIV, Romans 9:5 and John 1:18 are good examples of errors in versions/translations.
Romans 9:5 (NIV)
Theirs are the patriarchs, and from then is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, for ever praised! Amen.
While the above verse in the NIV seems to suggest that Jesus is God, the same verse doesn’t in many other versions.
Romans 9:5 (KJV)
Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
Here, we see that the above scripture is only saying that Jesus Christ is over all, and not that he is God over all as the NIV reads. It then goes ahead to say “God blessed forever,” as a way of praising God for the works of Christ and for placing him over all.
Philippians 2:9
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
Even the NIV, although they wrongly translated Romans 9:5, have a translators note that renders it differently (correctly). In Romans 9:5, the NIV’s translator’s note reads: “OR Messiah, who is over all. God be for ever praised.” This is the right rendition for Romans 9:5. Jesus Christ has been placed over all. God must be praised as the one responsible for Christ’s exaltation.
John 1:18 in the NIV is another mistranslation.
John 1:18 (NIV)
No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in the closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
See this same verse in the King James version.
John 1:18
No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
The NIV says the Son is himself God. The KJV doesn’t say that. It describes Jesus to be in the bosom of the father (with the father OR close to the father).
While the KJV and some other versions say Jesus is in God’s bosom, the NIV and some others say that he is himself God. However, the Greek texts prove that the verse contains nothing like “the son is himself God.” The KJV translates rightly that he’s in the bosom of the father.
Believers must understand that a lot is/was involved in translating the Bible from the languages it was written in (Hebrew/Aramaic and Greek) to English and other modern languages. This is why we must check manuscripts to know the Hebrew or Greek word(s) from which the English bible words were translated.
When we say the Bible is without mistakes and is inspired by God, we aren’t talking about versions or translations. We are talking about the texts written by the Bible writers themselves, and not versions or translations into other languages. It is the scriptures that are inspired by God, not versions. The scriptures are perfect, versions are not.
The Bible wasn’t written in English or any other modern language. Bibles in such languages are versions, translated by men prone to mistakes. It’s the original writings of Bible writers that are infallible.
Christians must know the difference, and also the importance of Checking for Greek and Hebrew words, their meanings and their contextual application.
Anticipate our next part which will be the last in this series. Thanks for riding with us. We love you.
Light Shines.
© SonsHub Media | Written By Fredrick Agaga
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Agaga Fredrick Abangji is a writer, reporter, content writer, believer in Jesus Christ, and a creator of religious literature. A student of Bingham university – Nasarawa state, studying mass communication.