The ‘Is Jesus God’ Controversy

Well, happy Sabbath, everyone! Good to see everyone. Hope you haven't been too busy this week, but certainly all of us, of course, have our lives, and it seems like that things are going by so rapidly. I want to thank Tina and Bryce for their special music. Bryce has helped out over at Camp High Sierra with music over there, and we really appreciate that. I think they're going over there again this year, and I hope that you will pray about the camp that it will be successful. I did want to mention one thing. At the conference, the General Conference of Elders, this year, Mr.

and Mrs. Bill Morgan were honored. I don't know if you knew that, but they were given something that very few people receive in the church, and it was a 50-year plaque. But here is sort of a picture of it. I don't think ... Can you see that at all back there?

But it gives you an idea. But it says, with deep appreciation for 50 years of faithful ministry and dedication and devotion to Jesus Christ, the brethren in God's work, and it says Bill and Carol Morgan. So they were given this, and I think a tremendous honor to anyone to achieve that. I always look at, when I think about somebody being faithful for 50 years, sometimes in the Old Testament you had a good king, and he reigned for 50 years.

So maybe there's a little bit of a similarity to that for us when we're in the church for that long, that God will someday recognize what we've done in the future. But we really do appreciate the Morgans. I was thinking beforehand, coming up here, I fought a couple of battles with Bill Morgan. And by that I don't mean we fought with each other, but we fought shoulder to shoulder in the warfare of spirituality in 1995, and I think it was in 1998 as well.

And, you know, in the years that we were in the Phoenix area. But it's good to have a man who's faithful at your side when you're fighting battles, when you're fighting wars, and we may have more to fight in the future. Because, brethren, we are warned in the Scriptures that in the last days that it will be a time of skepticism, it will be a time of doubt, and that evil men, as the Scriptures say, will wax worse and worse.

And we're told that many would come deceiving and be deceived. In the process of deceiving, they themselves are deceived. They don't know what they're talking about. And today, there are popular books that are written to challenge long-standing beliefs about none other than Jesus Christ. Long-standing beliefs about who Jesus Christ was. You know, we're told, in fact, John tells us to try the spirits.

And essentially, what he meant by that is that we need to look at the attitude behind some of the approaches that people take so that we can know what is of God and what is not of God. It's like the split sermon given by Mr. Fogelson on the need for the power of the Holy Spirit. You know, some things the Bible says are spiritually discerned. You can't see it. You will not comprehend it.

They'll go right over your head if the Spirit of God is not present. And so we need God's Holy Spirit. But let me say this to you, brethren, and what, in fact, John spoke about in his writings, that believing Jesus came in the flesh and was the Son of God is a litmus test for what a right spirit is. What a right attitude is. If someone doesn't believe that, they are in the wrong spirit, the wrong attitude, the wrong approach. And in fact, that litmus test about Jesus Christ shows whether one really truly knows God, or Jesus Christ for that matter.

You know, the Apostle John dealt with what were called in his time, docitus. Theologically, I guess, it would have, is what we call it now. But the docitus heresy, the idea of the docitus heresy is that Jesus only seemed to come in the flesh. He didn't really come in the flesh. He didn't really die. He did not really get crucified and die on the cross. You know, it just appeared that way.

It seemed that way. In fact, the Greek word dōchion, spelled d-o-k-e-i-n, means to seem. And so John had to deal with that kind of idea in that time. There were many, many other ideas as well. And with his kind of teaching, there is little wonder that some begin to even question the divinity of Christ. I'm sure this came rather early on. You know, we didn't have to wait, in other words, to the Athanasian Creed period of time.

And the time of Arius probably sprang up rather quickly, even at the time of John. You know, John, of course, lived to be in his 90s, probably. So it's not any wonder that anyone began to question the divinity of Jesus Christ. You know, early on, some thought to teach Jesus Christ as God is what is akin to polytheism.

Now, I want to mention to you here that there is no word polytheism in the entire Bible. There is no word monotheism in the entire Bible. But people would have thought that, that if you call Jesus God, that we were talking about polytheism. You know, some thought that, in fact, Jesus Christ had no pre-existence before birth, and that he is not God. And such ideas today, brethren, circulate, and many are confused by it.

I never thought I would see the day in the Church of God when people would begin to wonder about these very same things. But we have some few that have embraced some of these ideas I'm talking about here, in this short introduction that I'm giving to you. So, brethren, let's discuss in this sermon whether Jesus is God.

I call this sermon, The Is Jesus God Controversy. Now, to me, it's not a controversy. I have no problem, whatsoever, accepting Jesus is God, but there are some who do. Who or what was Jesus Christ before his human birth? And, you know, John's gospel gives us the insight.

And, you know, we need to remember, brethren, that without this book here, this is the divine revelation of God. Particularly without the Scriptures of the New Testament, we would have no clue of who Jesus Christ was. We wouldn't understand it. We couldn't, let alone, if you don't have the Spirit of God, if you don't accept the New Testament. And, unfortunately, when people began to plow into this arena, it's like we had a problem, remember, back in 1995. What was the major issue that basically divided the church? It was the nature of God. It was the Trinity that divided the church. And so, such discussions of talking about, again, who Jesus Christ was can be very volatile, potentially divisive.

So we need to settle in our minds. And it takes God's Spirit, brethren. And remember, again, this is God's revelation to man. Things that we could not know unless they were written down for us. Unless we had it right here in front of us and reading the book, we would not know.

Let's go to John 1 over here. We're introduced over here in this John 1 and verse 1. This is, in fact, the very beginning of, you might say, time, as it were. Maybe even a little before that. But here in verse 1, it says, in the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God. So what is the topic of discussion here in this one verse? It's the Word, right? In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. So you have two beings here that are being discussed. One is God, and the other is the Word in this verse alone.

But what did the Word do? It says that He was in the beginning with God. Well, the Word was with God from the beginning. Again, what could be clearer? So there are two beings here, and we're not talking about polytheism here, because let's understand that God is one.

God is one. In other words, they are unified as one. But in verse 4 it says, in Him was life, and the life was the light of men. So in the Word was life. He was the giver of life, and He was the light of human beings, the light of men. When did men come into existence? Not a really trick question. In the Garden of Eden, right? He was the light of men. And He's been the light of men since the beginning.

But it says, and the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There's not an understanding of it. But notice over here, down in verse 12, it says, But as many as received Him, that is, of course, the Word, to them He gave the right to become the children of God, to those who believe in His name. And now we see He's talking about none other than the One who is the Christ, Jesus Christ, as we know Him, who was born not of blood, not of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Remember again the begettle of Jesus Christ. It was the Father that overshadowed Mary. It was the Father that, in fact, was the parent of Jesus Christ when He was brought into existence. And the Word, the Word here again, going back to verse 1, The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of, as the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Again, it's very, very clear, isn't it, here, that the Word became flesh. And that was, of course, the one that the Bible identifies as none other than Jesus Christ.

Now, the word that is used here in verse 1, which is translated in the English of capital W-O-R-D, comes from the Greek word logos. I think if you've been in the church for a while, you've heard that for a hundred years, just about. But the word logos means spokesman.

And the word for God here, interestingly, in the Greek, is theos. So this word means, of course, God. Or, as if you look it up, it's a supreme deity. Supreme deity. And by the way, nobody is questioning whether or not, you know, that you have two God beings. Who is the supreme of the two? Because Jesus Christ, obviously, the Scriptures show He was, in fact, willingly subservient, you know, to the one who was the translated here, theos. But the word was the voice of God, as it were.

And by His spoken word, everything took place. In other words, God instructed the word and the word spoke. And so by His word, all things, in fact, of the creation took place. That He was there always, in fact. And when God the Father expressed Himself, it was always through the logos, through the spokesman. So again, there are two beings that are talked about here.

You know, who were those two beings when in the Book of Genesis, Chapter 1, 26, where it says, Let us make man our own likeness, our own image. Who spoke there? That. It was the logos that spoke. Again, clearly, He is the light of mankind. You know, John says clearly these things, brother. Number one, in John, Chapter 1 here, Jesus is God. He's God the Word. Number two, Jesus is a creator. The Father and the Son were creators.

Both of them were creators. And that Jesus is life. Really, it's a very simple concept. Of course, unfortunately, the theologians make it complicated. You know, sometimes if you ever read what theologians write, you don't know your head from your toe when you read what theologians say. But again, it's very, very simple. But maybe you put it in a very simple way. If you have a king, like over in England, or you have a queen there, what do they have that is used to run the country? That is, so to speak, the spokesman. It's the Prime Minister. So Jesus Christ acted. The Word acted as the Prime Minister, carrying out the instructions of the king or the emperor. That was His role.

And you know, this world that we live in demands a creator. You know, some people, in fact, think that the universe is eternal. It's always been here. Some even think it was created 6,000 years ago. You know, there are actually people I've talked to that believe that. And I'm not making fun of anybody. It's fine if you want to believe that. But of course, that's not what science says about this universe. And of course, scientists are not always reliable either. But think about if this universe is eternal, there's no need for a creator, is there? It's always been. It's always existed.

But the universe is finite. It's made subject to decay. Things fall apart eventually. Let me give you an example of what I'm talking about here. Scientists say the moon pulls away from the earth a few feet every year. Right now, it's 240,000 miles away from the earth.

You know, our astronauts, of course, have gone there back in 1969, according to what we have seen. But if the universe has existed forever, would it make sense that it's 240,000 miles away?

Would that make sense? Again, think about that. And think about an infinite amount of time. Maybe it would be around where the sun is, or beyond that. I guess you would have to take into account gravitation and all those things. But if the universe expanded forever and ever, and the universe has been around forever and ever, why don't we look up and see stars? Why aren't they so far away? You can't see them, because everything's so separated. Because it's been forever! The fact is, brethren, the universe is finite, and it demands a Creator to have brought it into existence at a given time. And we know that, in fact, brethren, that Jesus, as the Word, before He came in the flesh, He was the voice that brought into being the universe. He was that voice that was there. The Bible says that He was Creator of all things, that He brought these things into existence. They say the universe is 14 million years old. I think it's a lot more than that. But it's still finite. But Jesus was the Word. He was the spokesman, whose voice brought it all into being. He created the angels. The Bible tells us in the book of Job that when the angels, in fact, witness the creation of the universe, that they shouted for joy. But Jesus was the voice that created. Angels, even. This is, of course, prior to the physical universe that we see out there. So it makes full sense, brethren, that Jesus says that the Word was Jesus, and He came into the flesh, and that He was a Creator of all things. He was that voice that, again, brought things into being. Let's go to Micah, Chapter 5. Micah, Chapter 5 over here, where, in fact, the prophet Micah gives us some insight. You know, when Christ was born, they sought out where He was going to be born. Where was He born, by the way? What does the Bible say? Anyway? Bethlehem, right? He was born in Bethlehem. But let's notice in Micah, Chapter 5 here, it is a prophecy that the sages of the time of Christ were looking at, searching out. But here, in verse 1, now gather yourselves of troops, O daughter of troops. He has laid siege against us. They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek. Who's He talking about here? The judge of Israel. But, verse 2, but you, Bethlehem of Freta, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the one to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from old, from everlasting.

Who was that? Who's that talking about? It's talking about the Messiah that was going to come.

And so this Messiah, in fact, in the modern King James Version, rather than saying, who's going forth are from of old and from everlasting, it says, from the days of eternity. He came from eternity. That He had a pre-existence.

And so the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, and He would be from, you know, as it says here, the days of old from eternity, as it says in the modern King James Version. You know, in the Scriptures also, it says that His name would be called Emmanuel, which means God with us. God with us. And so Jesus came to dwell with mankind in the flesh, and He was God. He was Emmanuel. Now, let's think about this. Think about this. What did Jesus Himself claim about Himself? What did He say about Himself?

Let's go over to John 1, verse 18 here. Very short verse over there.

But He says that no man has seen God at any time. No man. No one like me. Flesh and blood. No one like you. Flesh and blood has seen God at any time. If you look in the Greek, it says no time. It says never. Never has man seen God. And it says, the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. He's declared God, as it were, and that God, of course, was the Father.

The Father in Heaven. He came to declare God the Father. And Jesus taught this, and John recorded it for us. In fact, he wrote it down twice in the book of John, that no one had ever seen the Father. And Jesus told us, brethren, about God, and it's revealed here in the Scriptures, about the Father in Heaven. Otherwise, again, we wouldn't have any clue about who the Father was. We'd have no understanding of it whatsoever. You remember the account after the miracle of the feeding of 5,000 of fish and bread?

Let's go to John 6, more of what Jesus said about Himself. A lot of this we go through during the time of the Passover. But here in verse 32, let's notice this. And it says, Jesus said to them, most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from Heaven. Sometimes they trumpeted how Moses was so great, and he was indeed great. But Jesus said he didn't give you the bread from Heaven. He didn't perform that from the dispirical, but my Father gives you the true bread from Heaven.

He's giving you the true bread from Heaven. And he says in verse 33, for the bread of God is He who comes down from Heaven and gives life, it says to the world. So he claimed to be this bread of life sent down from Heaven from God the Father. He claimed to be that. Verse 38, let's notice on down here a little more what else he claims. For I have come down from Heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me.

He claimed I came down from Heaven. How much clearer could you get than that? And he came to do the will of God. Verse 41, let's notice on further what he says about himself. Verse 41, then the Jews then complained about Him because He said, I am the bread which came down from Heaven. And they said, is this not Jesus, the Son of Joseph, whose Father and Mother we know?

How is it then He says, I have come down from Heaven? Because they just saw a physical human being here. He didn't seem to be a physical human being, but to them He was a physical human being that you could touch, that you could talk to. And Jesus therefore answered and said to them, Do not murmur among yourselves.

It says, No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him. So no one can really come, brethren, to understand these things, frankly, unless the Spirit of God is working with their minds, that they can see it. On down here, let's notice in verse 57, verse 57 here, it says, As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so He who feeds on Me will live because of Me.

In other words, if you don't eat of Me, you're going to die. You're going to die, certainly the natural moral death, but I think He meant more than that. You're not going to inherit eternal life.

And it says, This is the bread which came down from heaven, not as your fathers ate the manna and are dead, he who eats this bread will live forever. And of course, He's talking about Himself. And so Jesus Christ made these claims, I'm the breads sit down from heaven, and if you eat of Me, you will live forever, unlike the physical manna that they had in the wilderness. Let's do this down here in verse 60. Therefore, many of the disciples, when they heard this, said, This is a hard saying.

Who can understand it? We can't understand this. It was probably very bizarre to them. You know, you think about it, if somebody stood up here in this very auditorium and said, If you eat of Me, you will live forever. That would sound very bizarre, wouldn't it? Well, they couldn't take it. People couldn't take it. Verse 16, And from that time, many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. They didn't want to have anything to do with this wacko person as they perceived Him to be.

They found it very hard to accept He came from heaven and that He was a bread of life, and that the eat of Him is going to live forever. And so this is what Jesus Christ said about Himself. Some very powerful things. Chapter 7, let's notice this. Now, He said these things in the temple at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles. In verse 28 of chapter 7, It says, And then Jesus cried out as He taught of the temple, You both know Me, and you know where I am from, and have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.

You do not know, but I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me. I came, in other words, from the Father, here He's talking about. Therefore they sought to take Him, but no one laid hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come. In other words, here, notice here, they understood what Jesus was talking about here.

You know, these people that wanted to take Him and kill Him knew what He was talking about. They knew what He was saying. You know, there were no word games here that Jesus Christ was trying to say and tried to give. Let's notice here, though it's quite interesting here, and many of the people believed in Him and said, When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this man has done? In other words, if He had a Messiah come, who's going to do more than what Jesus Christ has already done? Or Jesus has already done as they would have known Him as?

And of course, some wanted to seize Him, because they knew what He was saying. So, brethren, these things Jesus Christ said about Himself. Chapter 8, let's notice over in chapter 8, just a couple of verses here we'll hit. Chapter 8, in verse 23. And He said to them, You are from beneath. I am from above. You are of this world.

I am not of this world. And on down also, verse 42. And Jesus said, If God were your Father, you would love Me. For I proceeded forth and came from God, nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. He sent Me. Interesting again, these powerful words that Jesus said about Himself.

And He continued to speak boldly about these things. He talked about it every time, just about He spoke, about who He was. And of course, at the Passover, we read, don't we, John 17, how He revealed Himself. He was revealing Himself, who He was to His disciples. That this was a part of what they needed to understand, of who Jesus Christ was. I'm not going to go to it, but in John 6, 46, He says again there, a second time, He alone has seen the Father.

And yet, brethren, there are accounts of some who indeed came in contact with God. So the question is, did they come in contact with the One who is the Word, or did they come in contact with the Father? Well, if we go by what Jesus said, what must we conclude? What must we conclude? You know, when the Lord appeared to Abraham, you look at that Hebrew word, and it's Jehovah.

Jehovah appeared to Abraham, and Jehovah was the national name of God for Israel. Who was that? In Genesis 17, verse 1, Jehovah said to Abraham, Walk before me and be perfect. Who was that? Was it the Father? After what we've read here in the Scriptures, who was it? How about when Isaac and Jacob, when he appeared to and talked to Isaac and Jacob? Let's go over to Exodus 6 over here.

Exodus 6. It's quite interesting here, this verse in Exodus 6, verse 3. Notice here, this being says in verse 3, I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty. But by my name Yahweh, or the tetragramation here, which would be YH, VH, or WH, it's not quite sure even how to pronounce it, I was not known, it says to them. But it says he appeared to them. No man has ever seen God at any time for the Father. Who was God appearing to here? I don't think anybody would debate he's talking about God here. But he was known as El Shaddai, the God Almighty, if you look it up again, and the Hebrew that is there.

How about the time when Miram and Aaron were coming against Moses and saying, Moses, you take too much on yourself. God was a little upset with them. And what does he say? I'm not going to go to it, but in Numbers 12, verse 8, you look it up yourself, there's a couple of places where it says it, one other place in Deuteronomy 34, verse 10. But in Numbers 12, God says, why were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?

Because with him, he has, I've spoken with him face to face. And, you know, it also says, I think in Deuteronomy, it says it there, that he saw the form, the form of God. Again, who was that? That he spoke to face to face.

No one's ever seen God. Again, the Scriptures reveal to us that it was not the one who was the Father, or we would call God in the New Testament, or Theos was not the Father. It had to be the Word prior to coming in the flesh. You know, God spoke to Moses out of a burning bush. You all know the story of the burning bush. He spoke to him out of a pillar of cloud, out of a cloud of smoke, but never in his full-blown glory.

Never. The patriarchs declared that no one could see God and live. And in fact, Moses thought that, himself. And of course, seeing God in his full-blown glory, what would happen is you and I would just simply disintegrate the human flesh. It would be like looking, standing next to the sun. How long would you exist after, if you stood even close to the sun?

Well, you'd be vaporized very, very quickly. But one could see, you know, God in an unglorified form. When Jesus came in the flesh, he was in, you might say, an unglorified form in the flesh. That people could touch him. They could speak, you know, again to him. They could spend time with him, as the disciples did.

But Moses, you know, did not, again, see God in his full-blown glory. But rather, you know, he saw him in a form in which it was permissible for him to do that. It's like the disciples saw Jesus transfigured before them. But why were they not then consumed?

Because it was a vision. You go back over and look at that, if you want to, it was a vision that they saw. And of course, that was none other than Christ, of course. Moses wanted to see God's glory. The Bible has that passage, if you want to look that up and to examine it. And he was permitted to see a small manifestation of God. But what did God do? You remember this story of the account, how God put him in the crevice of a rock, and he passed by Moses, and he put his hand over his face. That Moses caught a glimpse of the backside of, you know, God as he passed by.

And again, that was not the Father, though. That was Jesus Christ, the one who became Jesus Christ. And that is what he saw. He saw the backside of the glorified Jesus Christ, or the Word, as he would have been at that time. Now, let's go over to 1 Corinthians chapter 10. The New Testament Church understood who, in fact, was dealing with ancient Israel.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 10 over here, 1 Corinthians 10, and on down here to verse 4, and all, speaking of the time in the wilderness, by the way, with the children of Israel, in verse 4, and all drank the same spiritual rock, for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ. It was Christ. You know, it's very, very clear. You don't have to wonder about who it was that dealt with ancient Israel.

It was Christ that he dealt with ancient Israel. The one that ancient Israel looked to was the future Messiah that was going to come along. And, brethren, this is an incredible truth, an incredible truth the world will not accept about Jesus Christ. They've got to make the Father, the God of the Old Testament, and Jesus Christ, the God of the New Testament. The reason is, the Bible says that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and it was Jesus Christ who spoke the law from atop Mount Sinai. It's much easier if you could say it's the old Father of the Old Testament.

We've got a new way. It's a new covenant. And we don't have to keep that old law. But Christ did not come to do away with the law, he said, and the prophets, I came to fulfill, to magnify, as we understand.

It means. So this is an incredible truth. It makes it more difficult for people to do away with the law. Because the one who came in the New Testament talking about the spirit of the law was the same one that gave the law at Sinai, in a codified form. Let's go back to another important concept, brethren, about Jesus Christ and the Father, or God, as He would be known as, and is called there in John 1.

Jesus stated often that He knew God. He said they did not know God, but He knew God. Now, this is quite interesting. You know, there are two words, two Greek words for the word know, K-N-O-W. And the first one is ganosco. Ganosco, spelled G-I-N-O-S-K-O, if you were to write it in your notes.

But ganosco means knowing which is the result of discernment, and which may be enlarged. It's like I can form an opinion about those I know and say, I know them. You know, I know them because I've been observing them, and I've learned from them that way. Maybe even I know them from a distance. The things they say, the things they do. There is another Greek word that is ido, and it's spelled O-I-D-A.

It-O. And this word, know, in the Greek, means it implies absolute knowledge. Absolute knowledge. The knowledge of intuition and conviction. A satisfied conviction. Absolute knowledge. Both these words were used by Jesus Christ to describe His relationship with God the Father. The word know. Now, let's notice this. Over in John chapter 10, John chapter 10 over here, in verse 14. John says a lot about, again, Christ and His role in the Godhead. But in John chapter 10 and verse 14, let's notice this. Somehow missing a page here in my book. Verse 14. I am the Good Shepherd, he said, and I know sheep and I am known by my own.

This, again, is this word that is ganasko. But notice here, as the Father knows me, even so I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. I know ganasko. I know God. And the way I know Him, I discern about my Father, been around Him, and I'm looking at what He does. Another verse we want to turn to is John 7. So here, he's talking about that, that He had knowledge about the Father, ganasko, which comes through experience, and by which we also, by the way, can come to know the Father ourselves.

You know, you've been around for 50 years, you've got a little experience in knowing the Father, knowing Jesus Christ. But verse chapter 7 and verse 29, let's notice this. It says, But I know Him, again, this is the word ido here, for I am from Him, and He sent me. But I know Him. In other words, absolutely I know Him. I've been with Him. You know, we spent time talking to each other, conversing with each other. You see what I'm talking about here, brother? Knowing God, Christ was there.

In other words, if you, for instance, some people, if they describe their relationship with somebody, you know, they talked about intimate things about that person, that you could only know if you had been around them very close proximity with Him and spent time with Him, this is what Jesus Christ is saying. I know the Father. I've been with Him. And you know, I mentioned this a little bit earlier, that He came to reveal the Father. And Jesus Christ, again, is the complete revelation of the Father to us. We couldn't know, again, the Father.

And He claimed that in two separate occasions. He claimed that to the Pharisees, and He claimed it to His own disciples. You remember when Philip was saying, well, you know, Jesus show us the Father and it suffices us. And he really got a little upset with Philip. How long have you been with me? Don't you know if you see me, you see the Father. Christ was the exact replica of the Father. You see what I am, you see what the Father is, because my Father and I, Jesus, said in chapter 17, are one. We are one with each other. And so Jesus was teaching that. Now, what is the implication of what Jesus is saying? In other words, to reject Jesus is to reject the only full revelation of the Father that has ever been given to man. To reject Jesus is to reject not only Jesus, but to reject the Father. You see, if we reject Jesus, we don't have the Father. If we reject the Father, we don't have Jesus, either. We don't have the Savior. You know, what Jesus was saying, by the way, brethren, were a tremendous source of irritation to the Jews.

You know, he spoke in ways where he equated himself with God in heaven. And when he did, by the way, they knew he wasn't playing any work games because they wanted to kill him. You know, they viewed what he was saying as being blasphemy. You know, Paul, when he wrote in Philippians 2, in verses 6 and 7, he said that Jesus was in the form of God prior to coming in the flesh. And I'll break into the thought of that verse, but it says, And he thought it not robbery to be equal with God. And like I say, it's not one being but two beings that we see in John chapter 1. He was equal with God, but he made himself of no reputation. That word, that phrase means he emptied himself. And he did it voluntarily, brethren. He stepped down. He could have been equal with God, but he stepped down, as it were, and he made himself of no reputation, and took upon himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of man. So he emptied himself of his godly power and became a man, like all of us.

And when he did, he became the son, and God became the father. God became the father of his son.

Remember, brethren, when Moses was in the desert and he saw this burning bush, and God began to work with Moses, and you were saying, Moses, I'm going to send you to your people, and you're going to be used to deliver my people? And what did Moses say to God at that time?

He said, wait a minute, now, what do I say about you? Who are you? Who do they say that you are?

And God said to him from the burning bush, I am that I am.

So he's an eternal being. That's what that means. I am that I am.

Who, again, was the one who was speaking here?

It was Jesus Christ, or one to be Jesus Christ to come.

And he told Moses, as you tell them, the I am sent you. I am sent you.

And interestingly, when we read in the New Testament, Jesus used that exact term for himself.

I don't have the time to go through it. I encourage you, when you get home, look up this in Strong's, look up I am.

You, I'm sure all have heard here, you know, the seven I am's, you know, of the New Testament.

And the seven I am's refer to Jesus Christ. He said, I am.

I am the light. I am the life. You know, these things. I am the bread.

There's scriptures you can look at, in fact, and most of them, again, are in John.

Jesus referred to himself as the I am. And, you know, seven times again, he says that.

And the night of the Passover, he told the disciples, I am the way, the truth, and the light.

I am. These things, Jesus said.

You remember the account where they came to arrest Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane?

I'll sort of paraphrase what happened, of how Judas led this entourage to arrest Jesus.

And it says, having received a band and officers from the chief priest, it says they came there with lanterns and torches and weapons.

It had a big entourage to capture one man.

And then Jesus, knowing all things that were coming upon him, went out and said to them, whom do you seek?

And they answered, Jesus of Nazareth. And Jesus said to them, I am.

If you look in the King James, I think it's I am he.

The word he is not there in the original text. Jesus said, I am.

And the account there says that, and Judas who betrayed him also stood with him, and then as soon as he had said to them, I am, they went backdered and they fell to the ground.

They were shocked by this, and they fell to the ground, because he is the great I am that spoke to Moses. They knew what he was talking about, brethren.

So Jesus claimed, brethren, he came from God, he alone had seen God, he claimed he knows God, he reveals God, and he is equal with God.

Now, brethren, either we have to accept what the Bible says, or we conclude that Jesus was either a liar or a lunatic.

We either accept everything he claims to be, and that is the full revelation of God given to man about himself and the Father, and the only way to the Father, or we reject Him.

You have to reject Him. And certainly these claims are pretty difficult to accept, isn't it? That it's from someone who is just a good prophet or a great prophet.

No, Jesus was not just a great man, and there are a lot of people that don't believe He is the Son of God, think He was a great man, He was a great prophet, or as was said about Bruce Barton's book, the man nobody knows.

He took twelve people, and the things that he said are talked about even to this day. Yes, he was more than a great man, brethren. He was God sacrificed for the sins of the world.

He was the creator of all mankind, and by His shed blood, brethren, we have the opportunity ourselves to have the opportunity for salvation.

He is our loving elder brother, our high priest, and He is our soon-coming King.

Brethren, it's a requirement for us to believe He is God. He is God.

And that God has said in His Word, in fact, by His name only, under heaven and earth, He's the only name by which we can be safe.

Oh, brethren, I trust you will accept Jesus Christ now as God, and when He returns, because He's coming back.

And I hope it's soon. I hope it's very soon. And that you will accept Him.

That you will accept Him as Jesus Christ, who was in fact the Word who is God before His human birth, because He's going to be the King of Kings and rule the entire world.