Is Jesus the Same as God??

Question

In John 10:30 Jesus said, "I and my Father are one." This verse, according to Christians, shows God and Jesus Christ to be same. On the other hand, we read in John 20:17, "Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God." Here Jesus stated that there was a distinction between him and God. In other words that Jesus himself had a God. Also, Matthew 27:46 "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? That is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Here Jesus Christ cried in loud voice calling for his God.
These are two different and opposite ways Jesus relates himself to God. The first one, he and God are one, and the second, he refers to a higher authority than him which is God. Now assuming that both are correct statements then we have a contradiction. If, for example, Jesus Christ was God himself as in John 10:30 then it would be more appropriate for him to say "...and to myself, and your God." in John 20:17, or "Myself, Myself, why hast thou forsaken me?" in Matthew 27:46. If, on the other hand, one of them is wrong and the other is correct then we have to discard the one we believe to be incorrect! Since God does not make mistakes then we no longer believe the Bible is the word of God (because we believe there is a contradiction of God’s words in the Bible).

A third possibility is that we have to look at how we can interpret the words of Jesus in those verses. As far as John 20:17 and Matthew 27:46 it is very clear Jesus had a God whom he prayed to and Whom had a higher authority than his own. We can back this up with other verses from the Bible that say, "I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me." (John 5:30). Also Jesus said, "...for my Father is greater than I" (John 14:28). If Jesus and God were the same then he would not have said what he said in the above verses.

Now, the only verse that can be interpreted is John 10:30. It is the only one that does not render itself clear. The only way John 10:30 could be interpreted such that it does not contradict all the other verses is by saying that Jesus meant he and God had something in common.

To find out what the common grounds were, we have to look at the context in which this verse came:

John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

John 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

John 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.

John 10:30 I and my Father are one.

As can be seen from John 10:28 and John 10:29 Jesus was telling the Jews that he and God share something in common, and it was: no one can pluck the faithful from either of their hands. This was the common factor between Jesus and God in this case, and not that Jesus was himself God, or that they were exactly the same.

Let us go on to see what Jesus says in John 10:

John 10:31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.

John 10:32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?

John 10:33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.

John 10:34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?

John 10:35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;

John 10:36 Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?

John 10:37 If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.

John 10:38 But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.

John 10:39 Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand,

John 10:40 And went away again beyond Jordan…

In John 10:31 we see that the Jews misunderstood what Jesus had meant by "I and my Father are one." (John 10:30). And in John 10:33 they accused him of blasphemy. Now, had Jesus been God, or had he and God been one in a literal sense then he wouldn’t have hesitated to clarify the matter at that point. Jesus at that point said, "Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?" What he was trying to say was that if the Jews called "I and my Father are one" blasphemy then they should call what was written in their law "Ye are gods" blasphemy too.

The reasoning behind this is "Ye are gods" does not mean that you, the Jews, are Gods, it is rather an expression. It just means that you are godly people. The same applies to "I and my Father are one." It does not mean that Jesus is God or that he and God are the same literally. It’s just an expression. (The same goes for calling himself "the Son of God." This statement should not be taken literally either).

The Holy Quran says, "...Nothing whatsoever (is there) like the like of Him, and He (alone) is All-Hearing and All-Seeing" (Ch 42: Vr 11). Nothing at all is like God, not Moses, not Jesus, not Muhammad, and certainly nothing of His creation.

What about all these verses?

After I discuss the above with my Christian brothers they ask me, "but what about the other verses that say Jesus is God?" and they show me some of them. Some of these verses are:

John 8:58 "Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am." My Christian brothers associate this verse to the words God had said to Moses in the Old Testament when He said to him in Exodus 3:14 "And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." What Jesus said is similar to what God said to Moses. Therefore they are the same.
Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Here Jesus gives himself a divine quality, being present as God.

Revelation 1:17-18 "And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." Jesus says that he is the first and the last. This is clearly a divine quality. He also says that he has the keys of hell and of death. This is also a divine quality.

Mark 13:32 "But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father." It is shown here that God and only God and not the son (Jesus) has the knowledge of the time of the Judgment day. Jesus here denies his divinity (since God knows everything).
John 5:19 "Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise." Here Jesus also says that his powers do not belong to him, and he alone, without the help of God, can do nothing. Again Jesus is denying divine qualities.
John 5:30 "I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me." Here Jesus also denies any divine qualities. He (Jesus), without God can do nothing.

John 20:17 "Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God." Also, in Matthew 27:46 "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? That is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Here Jesus, in the first verse, says that he has a God, and in the second he cries out for his God. Surely God does not have a god. Jesus clearly shows that he has a God and that he is not divine.

John 5:37 "And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape." Jesus clearly states that no one had even heard God’s voice, and not even seen His shape. This is Jesus talking, his voice heard, and his shape seen by those he is with at the moment, so it cannot be him that he is referring to as the divine character, and that means that they (Jesus and God) are not the same.
John 14:28 "Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I." Here Jesus also says that God is greater than Jesus. Again he is disclaiming divinity.

Matthew 19:17 "And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." When a man referred to Jesus by good master, Jesus replied to him by saying that there is only one good that is God. If Jesus cannot even claim that he is good, then why should he claim that he is God?

These are all verses from the Bible. Some show Christ to be God or having some qualities of God and others show that he is not God and that he does not have divine qualities. Which should we believe? Aren’t these contradictions? I say to all my Christian brothers that brought me verses that claim Christ’s divinity, "now you have to explain to me how this is possible. What does all this mean?"

Answer 1

The source of the mainstream Christian doctrine of Jesus and God and the Holy Spirit being one (as well as separate and equal) stems, I believe, from the first Council of Nicea (around 325 a.d.). At that time there were two main branches of Christianity vying for authority. Constantine was trying to stabilize his newly formed empire and demanded that these two groups come to one answer and stop fighting because it was creating division in is empire. These result was basically the Nicene Creed which spells out this 3-in-1 idea. The losers were deemed heretics.

Not all self-proclaimed Christians agree with this. Of the ones that do not there are some Pentecostals, Jehovah's Witness and LDS (Mormons). Jehovah's Witness and Mormons tend to be regarded at almost cults and many Christians don't think that they are in fact Christians. I think that Mormons believe Jesus is divine and is the true son of God, but that he is not God. Sorry I don't know more. Try Wikipedia for "Trinity", "Jesus Only", and "Non-Trinitarian" Christian for more info.

Answer 2

Jesus is God, as stated in John 10:30. On the cross, when He cried out: When the Bible was first written there were no chapter and verse numbers. When someone wanted to talk about a certain Psalm, they would recite the first line or two, and everyone would know what Psalm was being referenced. What Jesus wanted when He cried out was for people to look at the 22nd Psalm. !n 10:31, when the Jews accused Him of blasphemy, Jesus never denied not being God.

Plus, Jesus did things only God could do. Only God could forgive sin, yet Jesus forgave sin. Only God could be worshiped, yet Jesus accepted worship.

Genesis 1:1 says that God Created the Heavens and the Earth. But Colossians says that Jesus Created eveything. Either the Bible is wrong, or Jesus and God is the same.

Answer 3

Jesus Christ was born a man so that people would have to follow him in faith and on what he had to say. If he would have arrived here as God people would have followed but not with their hearts.
As for the trinity- God, Son, and Holy Spirit they are one in the same. This does not mean that they are a single "man". They have the same essance, they are one as you are one with your children and your childrens love.
Questioning the Bible shows that you will grow in your walk with Christ as long as you research the items that you question. Beware of false Christ religions that will have you interpret this in another way and also beware of anti-God religions that will try and show you that Christ was only a man and not devine.

Answer 4

The Trinity = 3 in 1 Yes, Jesus is God!

God the Father
God the Son
God the Holy Spirit

This is one of those mysteries in the Bible that is hard to understand, but, I believe it. God doesn't expect us to understand everything about Him and all of his ways.

God appeared to us in the form of a baby, that baby was Jesus. Jesus was human while on this earth. Jesus came to help a troubled land change their way of life. He taught about love, forgiveness, salvation.

Answer 5

"I and my Father are one." (John 10:30). They are in utter agreement as this pure polished mirror can do no other than be in accord with the will of God. Though Jesus is not God he reflects God perfectly. As a mirror reflects the sun Jesus reflects the Sun of Truth perfectly. The sun doesn't get in the mirror, the mirror doesn't become the sun but instead the pure, polished surface is a perfect reflection. Jesus has none of the impediments to mirroring the Creator that the rest of us do. He has been specially chosen for this Mission. Jesus is the Messenger of God to humanity for one particular dispensation. The title of his Revelation is "The Son of God", just as Muhammads Revelations title is the "Counselor" and Moses is the "Interlocutor". Muhammad, your explanation is nearly the best I have seen on this subject.

Answer 6

The Hebrew word echad is simply the number for one in their language. When you say 1,2,3 you would say echad for one. Just like in English, "one" can at times refer to union. This is seen in Genesis 2:24, "They shall be one flesh." However, if this is what is meant in Deut. 6:4, then what's the point? When scripture makes a simple statement that "Yahweh is one" without any qualification or hint that this is to be understood metaphorically then we should take it at face value. In other words, simply because a word can mean something does not mean that it does in a particular instance. Also, this seems to be telling us something about the nature of God. It is stating that He is one. It is telling us something about His essence. As I said, what would be the point and why were the Jews so emphatic about this verse (even our Lord called it the first commandment) if it merely meant union? As far as the heis, mia, hen issue, this is a little more difficult. I have heard some Trinitarians claim that John 10:30 must be understood as one in union, simply because of the neuter hen. However, that alone is insufficient as in passages such as James 2:10 hen is used where it obviously means a singular "one," "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all." On the flip side, heis is used of unity in Gal 3:28, "for you are all one in Christ Jesus." In the latter passage, the word one is in grammatical agreement with the word "all," but this does show that heis at times can be used for union. Numbers function often as adjectives, thus qualifying nouns. When the word one is used in the Greek this way, it will agree with the noun it modifies whether it is masculine, feminine or neuter. This usage is simple grammatical agreement and really gives us no clue as to how the word is being used. When Jesus makes the statement "The Lord our God is one Lord," quoting the shema the word heis in this instance is simply in agreement with the masculine "kurios" (Lord). The gender of this word itself does not tell us how it is being used. However, since Jesus told them that this was the most important commandment then I would have a hard time understanding this to be merely "one in unity," for even human beings can have this type of "oneness."

Answer 7

No.

The kingdom of God at the present time consists of 2 individuals, The Most High God (the Father), The Logos (Christ, the Messiah, the Son). They are 2 separate individuals. Christ said he and the Father are one. That does not mean they are the same individual just as I and my wife are one and are not the same individual. They function as one, having one purpose, one destiny. They are obviously 2 separate beings.

Answer 8

The bible has been through so many hands,politicians an powers that were. I believ it has been modified, misinterpeted and misunderstood. it was gods communication to a generation at a particular time with a particular ourpose. As certain poison are the correct medicine when administered properly. Jesus was taught by a siddha yoga guru, christianity, buddhism, and islam have their roots in india, See www.stephen-knapp.com/articles_to_read. This is an unbiased, factual site giving the histories of these religions. Jesus knew he was one with God, he maintained separation until his ascention. "God dwells within you as you".You have unity with God in unconditional love within your heart. as the colors of the rainbow are contained within sunlight, so to are we all contained within the light of Gods unconditional love. It is not enough to see the light, one must become the light. You can attain this while in the body. Jesus expressed the path physically, he did not fully merge until his ascention.He did this so we could see the process,

Answer 9

ok this one is kinda hard to understand. God,Jesus,and the Holy Spirit are apart of the same .. Jesus is the Son of God which is apart of God because it's his Son. Holy Spirit is God so it's like cut into 3 pieces. there's God then Jesus then the Holy Spirit.
so ... no there not the same. Jesus is apart of God which I understand. and the Holy Spirit which lives in us all that believe in God, is God I believe.. that's a hard question

Answer 10

Long question - short answer - NO!

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. (NASB ©1995)

End of discussion!