Jesus is God?

Question

I live 3 houses down from a huge, old, Catholic church, which, at least on Sunday's, it seems like all of Los Angeles attends. I've seen 100's of bumper stickers that say "Jesus is God, Read the Bible."

I'm confused...

Isn't Jesus the son of God? I'm not Catholic...so is this a Catholic belief?

This is a serious question...I'm not being sarcastic, I really would like to know!
Thanks!

Edit: Like I said above, this is a serious question! I have no idea what a "troller" is...but it doesn't sound like fun!
I'm not making this up - there are 100's of these stickers all over Los Angeles. I didn't say it was a Catholic thing... I'm asking!

Answer 1

The Triune nature of God is a required doctrine for any group claiming to be Christian.

"Central doctrines" of the Christian faith are those doctrines that make the Christian faith Christian and not something else.

The Christian faith is a definite system of beliefs with definite content (Jude 3). Certain Christian doctrines constitute the core of the faith.

Central doctrines include the Trinity (One God, three Persons), the deity of Christ as the second person of the Trinity, the bodily resurrection, the atoning work of Christ on the cross, and salvation by grace through faith. These doctrines so comprise the essence of the Christian faith that to remove any of them is to make the belief system non-Christian.

Scripture teaches that the beliefs mentioned above are of central importance (e.g., Matt. 28:19; John 8:24; 1 Cor. 15; Eph. 2:8-10).

Because these central doctrines define the character of Christianity, one cannot be saved and deny these.

God Is Three Persons. The fact that God is three persons means that the Father is not the Son; they are distinct persons. It also means that the Father is not the Holy Spirit, but that they are distinct persons. And it means that the Son is not the Holy Spirit. In addition to the fact that all three persons are distinct, the abundant testimony of Scripture is that each person is fully God as well. Scripture is abundantly clear that there is one and only one God. The three different persons of the Trinity are one not only in purpose and in agreement on what they think, but they are one in essence, one in their essential nature. In other words, God is only one being. There are not three Gods. There is only one God.

The duality of Christ's nature, human and divine, cannot be fully and definitively answered. If we could, we would possess divine minds ourselves. That said, we theologians have made progress at trying to understand the concepts of the Trinity of God and God the Son's role in that Trinitarian doctrine. There are three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one true, eternal God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory; although distinguished by their personal properties. Jesus clearly stated his divinity in

Joh 8:58: Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am."

Or

Mar 14:61 But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?"
Mar 14:62 And Jesus said, "I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven."
Mar 14:63 And the high priest tore his garments and said, "What further witnesses do we need?
Mar 14:64 You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?" And they all condemned him as deserving death.

Or,

Rev 1:8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." (God speaking)

Rev 22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." (Christ speaking)

As you can see, the high priest fully understood that Jesus was claiming that He was in fact God. Some knowledge of the original Greek is warranted here, particularly the term, "Son the blessed". But there is no doubt that Christ was claiming to be God. The Jews hearing his claim understood exactly what He was saying and planned to stone Him.

In short, Jesus’ human nature could be tempted. He thirsted, hungered, and at times was full of righteous anger. Yet He never sinned. If He did, we are all lost and God is not God. Christ also was God with all of God's attributes, and these two natures existed in a hypostatic (fundamental state) union.

I doubt I can improve upon the discussion of Christ's dual nature that is found at http://www.carm.org/doctrine/2natures.htm

See also the following bible verses for…

One God and Only One God: Isaiah 44:6-8; Deuteronomy 4:35, 39; Deuteronomy 6:4; Mark 12:29; Romans 3:30; Ephesians 4:5-7; 1 Timothy 2:5; James 2:19

Trinity doctrine: Isaiah 9:6; Luke 24:52; John 1:1-3; John 10:30; Acts 5:3-4; Philippians 2:5-7; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 1:3

The doctrine of the Trinity took centuries to develop, but the roots of the doctrine can be seen from the first century.

The word "Trinity" is not found in the New Testament, nor is the doctrine explicitly taught there. However, foundations of the concept of the Trinity can be seen in the New Testament, especially in the Gospel of John, one of the latest and most theologically developed of the New Testament books. (Matthew 28:19; John 1:1)

Hints of Trinitarian beliefs can also be seen in the teachings of extra-biblical writers as early as the end of the first century. [
Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians (Ante-Nicene Fathers 1.58); The Martyrdom of Polycarp 14 (The Ante-Nicene Fathers, 1.42)]

However, the clearest early expression of the concept came with Tertullian, a Latin theologian who wrote in the early third century. Tertullian coined the words "Trinity" and "person" and explained that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit were "one in essence - not one in Person." (ANF 3.621; c. 213 AD)

About a century later, in 325, the Council of Nicea set out to officially define the relationship of the Son to the Father, in response to the controversial teachings of Arius. Led by bishop Athanasius, the council established the doctrine of the Trinity as orthodoxy and condemned Arius' teaching that Christ was the first creation of God. The creed adopted by the council described Christ as "God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance (homoousios) with the Father." (William Placher, Readings in the History of Christian Theology, 53)

Nicea did not end the controversy, however. Debate over how the creed (especially the phrase "one substance") ought to be interpreted continued to rage for decades. One group advocated the doctrine that Christ was a "similar substance" (homoiousios) as the Father. But for the most part, the issue of the Trinity was settled at Nicea and, by the fifth century, never again became a focus of serious controversy.

Most post-Nicene theological discussion of the Trinity consisted of attempts to understand and explain such a unique concept. Gregory of Nyssa, in his treatise, “That There are Not Three Gods”, compared the divinity shared by the three persons of the Trinity to the common "humanness," or human nature, that is shared by individual human beings. (Ironically, this initially promising explanation has been seen by some to yield a conclusion quite opposite than the title of his work.)

Saint Augustine, one of the greatest thinkers of the early church, described the Trinity as comparable to the three parts of an individual human being: mind, spirit, and will. They are three distinct aspects, yet they are inseparable and together constitute one unified human being.

There are many differences in doctrine between various Christian denominations, but the Trinity is not one of them. Non-Christian cults dispute the Trinitarian doctrine.

The Jehovah's Witnesses teach a doctrine similar to that of Arius in the fourth century - Christ is the Son of God, a special being, created by God before the beginning of time, but not equal with God. Witnesses regard Arius as a forerunner of Charles Taze Russell, their movement's founder.

A Jehovah's Witness brochure entitled "Beliefs and Customs that God Hates" includes the Trinity, saying:

“Is Jehovah a Trinity-three persons in one God? No! Jehovah, the Father, is "the only true God." (John 17:3; Mark 12:29) Jesus is His firstborn Son, and he is subject to God. (1 Corinthians 11:3) The Father is greater than the Son. (John 14:28) The holy spirit is not a person; it is God's active force.-Genesis 1:2; Acts 2:18.”

In addition to the Bible verses cited above, JWs point out that it was the secular Emperor who proposed the doctrine of Christ as "same substance" with God, not the bishops present, and that the doctrine of the Trinity (i.e., including the divinity of the Holy Spirit) was not actually brought forth at Nicea at all. Jehovah's Witnesses also argue that the Athanasian Creed, which sets forth the doctrine more clearly, was not only probably not written by Athanasius himself, but may not have been composed until the fifth century. Finally, they note the presence of Trinitarian-type beliefs in pagan religion, and argue that paganism is the source of the Christian doctrine of the Trinity as well.

I suggest you start there to dig deeper into this topic using hermeneutics and looking at the entire bible messages. Here is where I recommend you begin: http://www.carm.org/doctrine/trinity.htm

Answer 2

Jesus according to the Christian Doctrine is Son of God and in the same time with His Father and the Holy Spirit constititute the Holy Triniy. Perhaps is what is the meaning of the bumber stickers. After all, the above mentioned belief is held not only by the Roman Catholic, but also by the Greek Orthodox and the mainstream Proestant Churches.

Answer 3

I used to be a Catholic.And yes,unfortunately they do believe that Jesus Christ is God.They believe in a triune god.ie.Father,Son and Holy Spirit are one and the same.
It is a pagan teaching as are most of their doctrines.As I said,I used to be a catholic.But because of the hypocrisy,pagan teachings,mindless rituals I stopped going to church.
I have been one ofJehovahs Witnesses for ten years.It is the best thing that has ever happened to me.I now have a accurate and pretty thorough understanding of the Bible(Catholics dont even take a Bible to church!)
I have also been able to learn about our wonderful God,Jehovah and establish a close relationship with him.So its all good....

Answer 4

To put this in a very simple way think of an egg. An egg is made up of three parts. Those three parts make a whole. The yoke (God) The white (Jesus) the Shell the holy ghost. The three parts are separate yet together they make a whole. Or On earth a Father (Dad) a Mother (Mom) and a son (child) three separate people yet together they make one family. Get it?

Answer 5

Yes, Jesus is God. Jesus is the Son of God. He is also God the Son. Jesus is God. He raised Himself up on the third day. He rose on Easter Sunday proving that He is God. He is also God the Son and the Son of God. He is God which is why He was able to make the blind see, the lame walk and the sick well. He was able to raise the dead to life. He died on the cross to save us from our sins. He opened up the gates of heaven for us. He is our Savior.

Answer 6

He could possibly be but I think that Jesus is the son of god i believe thats what it says in the bible if Jesus was god im pretty sure we would have a face for god

Answer 7

This must be something new.
Read the Bible from Catholics.
That never happened when I was a Catholic.
As a matter of fact they said don't read the Bible.
They never said Jesus was God either.
They kept saying holy mother the church.
Defend holy mother the church.
I have to question that.
How can this be?
Going from night to day?
I doubt it.
Are you a troller?

Answer 8

Yes, Jesus is God and he is God's son. There are many places in the New Testament where it says this and many other places ( especially in Matthew) where this from the old Testament that were said about God are directly applied to Jesus. This is a fundamental belief of all Christianity.

Answer 9

Jesus is the Son of God.

You can know of God and he can revelate these answers to you through the power of the holy ghost.

It is a promise from God that if you read the book of Mormon and ask in the name of Christ is this is true he will reveal the truth to you.

Cant beat that deal with religion nowadays.

www.lds.org
www.mormon.org

You can get a free one here. Missionarys will deliver right to your doorstep and answer any ?'s you have.

Good luck
I testify that this is the true church of God and the only church that you will recieve answers from him through the holy Melchezidic priesthood.

Answer 10

The Trinity, which Catholics believe, says that Jesus is the Son of God, and also part of God. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all aspects of God, but they are also one.

So if you believe the Trinity, Jesus is both God and Son of God.

Answer 11

Of course Jesus is God. He said that He is the Lord of the Sabbath. Only God is the Lord of the Sabbath.

He raised Himself up from the dead. He did this by His own power. Only God can do this.

There is only one Lord and that Lord is God. Jesus is called the Lord many times.

The Bible says that only God is our Savior. It also says that Jesus is our only Savior.

God's name is "I AM". Jesus' name is "I AM"

We are to worship Jesus. (even the 3 wise kings prostrated themselves in worship of the baby Jesus at Bethlehem). Only God is to be worshiped.

It says in the Bible that Jesus was exalted above the Heavens.

Thomas confessed to Jesus that Jesus is God when Thomas said to Jesus, "My Lord, and my God."

John chapter one begins by telling us that Jesus is God.

Many other examples can be found at this website:
http://www.scripturecatholic.com/jesus_christ_divinity.html

Therefore Jesus is God.
.