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Does the Bible say Yeshua (Jesus) is God?  Part 2

This is the second of a series of articles in which I will respond to various passages of Scripture put forth as alleged "proof" that Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus the Christ) is God.  This particular discussion will address the second series of alleged proofs shown in Murray J. Harris' book, Jesus as God, published by Baker Book House, 1992, ISBN 0-8010-4370-0.  Subsequent articles will respond to other Implicit and Explicit alleged "proofs" from this source, after which I will respond to alleged proofs from various other sources.

So now let us proceed to the discussion.

Part I: An Outline of the New Testament Testimony to the Deity of Christ

A. Implicit Christology

1. Divine functions performed by Jesus:

b. In relation to human beings:

  1. Healing the sick (Mark 1:32-34; Acts 3:6; 10:38)
  2. Teaching authoritatively (Mark 1:21-22; 13:31)
  3. Forgiving sins (Mark 2:1-12; Luke 24:47; Acts 6:31; Col. 3:13)
  4. Granting salvation or imparting eternal life (Acts 4: 12; Rom. 10:12-14)
  5. Dispensing the Spirit (Matt. 3:11; Acts 2:17, 33)
  6. Raising the dead (Luke 7:11-17; John 5:21; 6:40)
  7. Exercising judgment (Matt. 25:31-46; John 5:19-29; Acts 10:42; 1 Cor. 4:4-6)

The intent of Constantinian Christian, Messianic, and Nazarene leaders that promote the idea Messiah is "God in the flesh" using passages such as those shown above in typical.  They hope to persuade others that such miraculous acts and functions that were accomplished by Yeshua somehow prove him to be HaShem (God, lit. "the name").  They consider such evidence to be implicit proof (proofs that imply) that Messiah is HaShem.  This is why the author of the list shown above uses the heading A. Implicit Christology.  My response will be simple and will utilize 4 primary arguments.

  1. I will briefly discuss the inherent weakness of the Implicit approach and how virtually the entire argument put forth by all man-God Messiah advocates is based upon "implicit" or "mysterious" arguments instead of clearly stated Scriptural fact.
  2. I will present unambiguous, crystal clear Scriptural passages, which prove God was/is ALWAYS the One actually performing ALL the miracles listed and that the ones THROUGH WHOM the miracles were done are simply DIVINELY EMPOWERED AGENTS OF HASHEM (GOD).  This is analogous to a power plant that produces electricity and the wires through which the electricity is delivered.  G-d is the power plant.  The Holy Spirit are the power lines through which His power is supplied.  His empowered agents are the machines, powered from Him, for distributing His teachings and functions.  However, just as the machines are not the power plant, so the agents of G-d are not G-d.  So, Yeshua's performing of the miracles proves him to indeed be an empowered agent, emissary, and representative of HaShem, but it does NOT - AT ALL - prove him to be God.
  3. I will show that Yeshua (Jesus) is NOT the only man to have performed most of the acts listed by those promoting he is HaShem.  The simple, common sense fact that others did virtually all the same miracles as Yeshua, including raising the dead, removes the requirement that the one performing those miracles must be HaShem.  Thus, it also removes the "proof" that Messiah is HaShem.
  4. Finally, I will demonstrate how this represents a perfect example of how Constantinian Christian and counterfeit Messianic leaders intentionally misrepresent how Messiah has been GRANTED or GIVEN power by God, and therefore, is simply an empowered agent of God.

The Weakness with the Use of "Implicit" proofs

To more fully cover this point I refer to you a separate article in which I address the use of implication as THE primary form of "proof" by those promoting that Messiah is "God in the flesh".  That article also compares the legitimate use of necessary inference to the deceptive and standard use of unnecessary implication among traditional Christian, and counterfeit Messianic groups.  When you have grasp the importance of that article please return to continue.

God (HaShem) is ALWAYS the one performing the miracles THROUGH His agents

I have also already covered this in the separate article that is linked to in the next sentence; therefore, I direct you to it for further discussion of this point.  That article discusses who actually did the miracles.  When you have completed it please return to continue.

Other men of Scripture also performed most of the same works as Yeshua.

Within the pages of the Bible we find men OTHER THAN YAHSHUA that performed the following:

  1. Healed the sick
  2. Taught authoritatively (Anyone that would deny Moses, Samuel, and others were authoritative teachers is lacking in basic understanding and/or has not conducted a sincere study of Scripture.)
  3. Raised the dead
  4. Exercised judgement.  The Tanakh has many "judges."  In fact, the institution of judges is a primary function of Torah (Divine Law).  The reason this is missed - like most missed truths - is because most Christians have woefully poor knowledge of what they irreverently call the "Old" Testament.  They also have virtually no knowledge at all of Torah, since Constantinian Christianity promotes the mark of the Beast by teaching that Torah is abolished.

Since others did the same thing, it cannot be proven from these acts that the one performing them is God.  If one does use them as proof, then the Bible is full of men that can be equated to God!  I see no reason to elaborate on these points.  The simple fact is that the functions listed above were accomplished by other men besides Yeshua; therefore, use of these acts as "proof" of Messiah's being God is a weak attempt at proof, and intentionally deceptive, and relies upon the poor study habits of Christians who, because of their weak study habits, are unaware that Messiah is not the only MAN that did these things.

Powers prove nothing except the possession of Power

You may have noticed I did not list all the points noted by the author. The points I did not include and will now elaborate upon are:

  1. Forgiving sins
  2. Granting salvation or imparting eternal life
  3. Dispensing the Spirit

Well, why do these powers prove Messiah to be God?  Do they NESESSARILY prove such, or can they just as easily prove something else?  Why do Constantinian Christian leaders demand that these points prove ONLY what they claim?

Obviously, I do not see these issues as proving Messiah to be God and feel those that promote otherwise are simply refusing to relinquish their unyielding grip on their own cherished, biased, and narrow minded beliefs. They refuse to consider other options even when other options exist.  Such biased viewpoints are typical of many doctrines within Constantinian Christianity. I will now present another option that is far more compatible to the bulk of Scripture.

There is really only one response needed to refute the common notion that such powers prove Messiah's deity.  I repeatedly point out in my articles that Yeshua the Messiah has been granted unique, limitless power by his God.  The same God that also happens to be everyone else's God - the ONE and ONLY God that Messiah worshipped.  I discuss this granting of power more in the article that discusses the terms "king of kings and lord of lords."  In that article I mention how Yeshua has been GRANTED supreme power.  God can grant power to whomever he wishes, just as the President of the United States can grant powers to members of his cabinet; however, those powers, themselves, prove nothing other than the fact that they are in the possession of the one to whom they are granted.  Common sense demands that the One granting power and the one to whom the power is granted are separate and distinct entities.  Please read the article just mentioned for a bit more explanation.

I will resist the temptation to respond further.  Anyone that blindly ignores the common sense of my response is simply refusing to consider other options.  Such people prove their insincerity in researching the alleged deity of Messiah.  Simply put, Godlike powers possessed by Messiah do not prove him to be God.  All they prove is that he has Godlike powers.  Joseph had Pharaoh-like powers; however, all it proved was that he had Pharaoh-like powers.  It did not prove him to actually be Pharaoh, and we know that he wasn't.  Precisely the same situation exists between Messiah and God.  Messiah's Godlike powers do not make him God, they simply prove him to be THE uniquely empowered agent of God.