Jesus Our God

This message is primarily for those who call on the name of Jesus Christ as their own Lord and Savior from sin, and serve as a Chaplain or a gospel minister in a jail, prison or a follow-up ministry such as a rescue mission – in the United States.

All Scripture quotes are usually taken from the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible, copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. When quoting a text, any deviation from the NKJV text is placed within parenthesis signs (). These usually occur as direct translations from the original languages, or as notes from the original setting to help apply the text to today’s culture.

ALL CAPITAL LETTERS are sometimes used to emphasize words in a text, or to make a comment about a biblical text, or emphasize a statement.

Greetings Christian Chaplains and volunteer gospel ministers. As we begin 2011, I am responding to something that I heard in a Christmas message given last month.

The Christian preacher was saying that we Christians have been bullied by the world. He was saying that in the main we accept taking Christ out of Christmas and go along with the substitution of "Happy Holidays."

He went on to say, "slowly but surely Jesus Christ is being taken out of America’s local churches." He made his point by saying the word and name "Jesus" is being heard less and less every Sunday in most "churches." He went on to say, we need to bring back Jesus as front and center of everything.

I think he was onto something. Therefore, I have determined to make every Chaplain’s Corner message in this year of 2011, ABOUT JESUS CHRIST. I have conferred with some fellow Christian pastors and Bible teachers and asked them to look over my agenda for 2011. As a result, I received their encouragements and support to go ahead with my plan.

As I have planned the next twelve messages, mostly they only apply to those that are truly born of God’s Spirit. They will help you in discipling Christian inmates. Only two of the twelve messages, January’s and February’s, hold current truth even for the unsaved. Even though Jesus, in the mind of the unbeliever - is not their God, He still IS GOD. Next month we will see that even though they do not obey Him now as their Lord and Master, He in fact is LORD OVER ALL. One day - even if they remain unsaved forever, they will confess that He in fact IS LORD (Phil. 2:11).

As in the past, my purpose in giving these Chaplain’s Corner messages is twofold. First, I want to build you, the minister of the gospel, up in the faith. Second, I want to suggest ways in which you might reach inmates with these truths.

When we say that JESUS is God, and that He is the God of true believers or, He is OUR GOD, we are speaking of the Deity of the Man, Jesus. There are too many verses and passages in the Bible, which state this and teach this, to cover in one message. In fact, 19 out of the 27 books of the New Testament state the truth of the Godhood of Jesus Christ.

(Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Cor., 2 Cor., Philippians, Colossians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, Revelation.)

Here are but a few passages I believe you could teach inmates the Deity of Jesus, from:

Romans 9:5
“… Christ came, WHO IS over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.”

That is so plain. It does not need explanation. The reader either believes it or not.

Titus 2:13 (NASB)
13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,

“Our great God and Savior” is a modifying clause for “Christ Jesus.” That’s WHO He is, our GREAT GOD. Jesus, the Christ - IS GOD.

John 8:23,24, 58,59
23 And He (in the context, Jesus) said to them (Jewish religious leaders), “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
24 “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I AM, (He – is a supplied word – not in the text, and best left out ) you will die in your sins.

“I AM” was to the ancient Jewish person, the most holy name of GOD. A bit later in the same historical scene, we have this in verses 58 and following:

58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly (or, Truth, truth) I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

Now note and teach the following response by the Jewish religionists that refused to believe the truth. Verse 59 shows they clearly UNDERSTOOD Jesus’ claim to being God.

59 Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple…

Compare this to John 10:33, “The Jews (religious leaders) answered Him, (in the context, again Jesus) saying, ‘For a good work we do not stone You, BUT FOR BLASPHEMY, and because You, being a Man, MAKE YOURSELF GOD.’ ”

This doctrine of the full Godhood of the Man Jesus, is one of the main things that separates biblical Christianity from all other religions. As you teach this to inmates, don’t be surprised if you get a hateful or emotionally violent response from certain religionists in your group. It usually happened when I taught inmates this during my 20 year chaplaincy.

Go back for a moment to John 8:24. “..If you do not believe that IAM (that Jesus is Jehova-God) you will die in your sins.” That means that the Holy Spirit given belief in the full Deity of Jesus is necessary for – AND COMES WITH salvation from sin.

The Apostle John made this one of the tests of the possession of eternal life, over and over again in his first and second epistles (1 John and 2 John). See, 1 John 2:21-26; 4:1-6; 5:1-5; 5:20-21; and 2 John verse 9.

Having said all of that, I want to make something clear. When a person, let’s say an inmate, is truly saved they may not yet fully understand the full deity of Jesus, BUT the first time they hear and see it explained to them from the Bible, the Holy Spirit within them affirms it. They will love this truth and then fully embrace it.

Even more, they will worship Jesus. If He is fully God, He is in tri-union with the Father and the Spirit and is the only fit object of worship. If on the other hand they reject it, then they were not truly born again or born of God. They show they do not have the Holy Spirit within them and are still IN THEIR SINS.

By the way, another good study is to show inmates how Jesus accepted the worship of men and women in the gospel records. If He were not fully God and only a gifted teacher or a prophet, He would not do this (compare Rev. 19:10 where an holy angel refused worship and said to the Apostle “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow-servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God!...”.

In John 20, we have the record of Thomas’ full conversion and what immediately followed.

24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.
25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!”
27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”
28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “MY LORD AND MY GOD!”

Thomas was worshiping Jesus, the God-Man. Note how the Lord responded to him in verse 29a –

29a Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed.”

“Believed” what? According to the preceding verse, Thomas now believed that Jesus WAS LORD AND GOD, even HIS GOD! Jesus continued:

29b “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

That is what true believers do. They believe in His Deity and worship Jesus as their God.

The letter to the Hebrews was given to straighten out first century Jewish people that were being tempted to turn from Jesus back to the twisted Judaism of their culture. Some of them were yielding to that temptation, proving they had only an intellectual belief that is short of saving faith.

Hebrews 1:1- 13 begins the theme of the superiority and full Godhood of Jesus, by calling for the worship of Jesus. I will show it to you in the text.

1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,
2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He (God) has appointed heir of all things, through whom (Jesus, the Son) also He made the worlds;
3 who (Jesus) being the brightness of His (God’s) glory and the express image of His (God’s) person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

The one referred to as the “Son” is Jesus who by Himself through His death purged the believer’s sins. According to verse 3 He is all-powerful (omnipotent) and is of one substance with God the Father. That is what the words “the brightness of His glory” mean.

Furthermore, as “the express image” of God’s person, He is God with a face on! In John 14:9 Jesus told Philip and the other disciples, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father;…”

Next, the Holy Spirit through the writer says in verses 4-8 that Jesus is superior to angels.

4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
5 For to which of the angels did He ever say: “ You are My Son, Today I have begotten You”? And again: “I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son”?
6 But when He again brings the firstborn (Jesus, the Son) into the world, He says: “ Let all the angels of God WORSHIP HIM.”
7 And of the angels He says: “ Who makes His angels spirits and His ministers a flame of fire.”
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.

These quotes and other italicized ones to follow are from the Old Testament Scriptures. In order they are from: Ps. 2:7 and 2 Samuel 7:14; Deut. 32:43 (in a dead sea scroll fragment); Ps.97:7; Ps. 104:4; Ps.45:6-7; Ps. 102:25-27; and Ps.110:1.

Then, in verses 9-13 the Holy Spirit and the writer stress the fact that Jesus possesses the true attributes of God.

9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”
10 And: “ You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. (Jesus, the Son, is the Creator)
11 They will perish, but You remain; and they will all grow old like a garment;
12 Like a cloak You will fold them up, and they will be changed. but You are the same, and Your years will not fail.” (Jesus, the Son, is eternal)
13 But to which of the angels has He ever said: “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool”? (together with verse 8 which speaks of King Jesus, the Son, is Sovereign)

Colossians 1 echoes much of what we see in Hebrews 1

13 … conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn (this word in the original language means first in rank) over all creation.
16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. (Jesus was begotten, but not a created being, He is the Creator and eternal God)
17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,

In addition to the worship of Jesus that Hebrews calls for, Colossians 1 calls believers in His being God - to recognize His authority over all of life. This is the thrust of the application of verses 17 and 18.

17 And He is BEFORE ALL things, and in Him all things consist.
18 And He is the THE HEAD of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the FIRSTBORN (again this word is a reference to number 1 in rank) from the dead, that in all things He may have the PREEMINENCE.

So what do we do? What are the application points to the fact that Jesus is God for ourselves, and for the inmates you teach?

FIRST and foremost, WORSHIP JESUS - like Thomas did, and the man born blind, in John 9:38 and Mary of Bethany, in John 12:3. Do you remember the scene in heaven where everyone there worshiped Jesus? It is in Revelation 5:7-10

7 Then He (Jesus, the Lamb) came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.
8 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders FELL DOWN BEFORE (in the first century, that was the posture of worship) the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
9 And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy (to worship is TO ASCRIBE WORTH TO) to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood (right here, show those you teach that this can only refer to Jesus) out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.”

THEN, Realize only those cleansed of their sin can offer acceptable worship to God. Since Jesus is God, whenever we as true believers sin, we offend Him. He is the One who loved us to the point of dying for our sins and has given us all we need to live a holy life. This makes sin worse for the believer. The fact of Jesus’ Deity, calls believers to confess and repent as they come to worship.

At the same time, here is where you evangelize the unsaved. You urge them to repent, confess their sins and fully trust in Jesus Christ alone to redeem them through His once for all death at the cross.

LASTLY, Jesus’ Godhood calls all to surrender to Him the authority over their life and future NOW. This connects to where I intend to go with the Chaplain’s Corner next month as we consider “Jesus our Lord.”

In the meantime, continue to prayerfully, “shepherd the church of God which He purchased with HIS OWN BLOOD.” (Acts 20:28).

Rich Hines - Minister to Chaplains, Aurora Ministries’ Chaplain Help Ministry