Are You Following the Real Jesus—or a Counterfeit?

[Scott Downey]

Christ is the Creator

John 1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not [a]comprehend it.

Colossians 1
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn 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 [e]principalities or [f]powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 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.

Hebrews 1
God, who [a]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 has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the [b]worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had [c]by Himself [d]purged [e]our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

 

[Runningman]

Your view may sound respectful of Jesus, but it directly contradicts the full counsel of Scripture. The Bible makes it absolutely clear that Jesus is not merely a man with a God, He is God in the flesh, fully divine and eternally existing with the Father. To deny His divinity is to reject the very identity of the One who saves.

You cited John 17:2, where Jesus says the Father gave Him authority to give eternal life. Yes, that verse is true. But you're using it to falsely imply that Jesus lacked divine authority in Himself. That interpretation ignores what Scripture teaches as a whole. In John 1:1, it says plainly, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” And in John 1:14, it says, “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” Jesus didn’t become divine, He was already God before He came in the flesh.

You also referenced John 3:16–17. That’s the gospel, no question. But verse 18 goes on to say, “He that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already.” Believing in Jesus isn’t just about acknowledging that He is the Messiah, it includes believing in who He truly is. Jesus said in John 8:24, “If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” The phrase “I am” in Greek (ἐγώ εἰμι) is the same phrase used in the Greek Old Testament for God’s name in Exodus 3:14. Jesus was claiming divine identity.

In John 10:30, Jesus said, “I and my Father are one.” The Jews understood exactly what He meant, they picked up stones to kill Him for blasphemy, “because thou, being a man, makest thyself God” (John 10:33). Jesus didn’t correct them because they were right about what He was claiming. He accepted worship (Matthew 14:33, John 9:38), something no created being should ever do (Revelation 22:8–9).

Your rejection of Jesus’ divinity is not supported by Scripture, it’s a distortion of it. Jesus is not just a sinless man who sits beside God. He is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15), the one in whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily (Colossians 2:9). That is not a metaphor. That is truth.

You said we need to look at the whole of Scripture. I agree. And the whole of Scripture declares that Jesus is both the Son of God and God Himself. Denying that is not a minor misunderstanding, it is rejecting the very nature of the Savior. Turn back to the Word, and believe in the real Jesus, not a lesser version made to fit human reasoning. Only the true Jesus can save.

Absolutely, but like I said in my previous posts, the Bible says a lot more things about the same subject, but it's all scattered around the Bible. While those verses seem to suggest a particular theology when they stand alone, there are additional verses that expand on them.

I also believe we should not approach who Jesus is with assumptions if we are to understand him correctly. I am not saying that is what you are doing, I am just saying that it's a sound approach to understanding Jesus. For example, the Bible does not say "Jesus is God in the flesh." Nor are there prophecies about God becoming a human, nor is Jesus called eternal in the Bible, nor said to have eternally existed with the Father. It's absolutely true that Jesus is divine which means from God or like God. Being from God and like God is actually what the Bible teaches that we as Christians should be too.

As far as Jesus having divine authority within himself, that actually is where some of my previous comments come into play again. Like John 17:2, there are more examples of this. Matthew 28:18 says Jesus was given all authority. John 5:22,27 says Jesus was given authority to judge. John 5:26 says Jesus was given his life. Matthew 9:6-8 says Jesus was given power to forgive sins. John 10:18 says that Jesus' power over death was received from his Father. Acts 2:36 says God made Jesus both Lord and Christ. John 8:28 says Jesus was taught by his Father. And Jesus is described as one who inherited all things in Hebrews 1:2. So, yes absolutely, Jesus indeed did not inherently have divine authority within himself. Jesus was given everything he had.

The Bible is an interesting book because just when it starts to sound like Jesus might be God in the flesh after all, most of the things he did or has are said to be things others can do/have too. For example, Jesus walked on the water but so did Peter in Matthew 14:29. Jesus calmed the sea in Matthew 8:23-27, but Elijah also controlled the weather in 1 Kings 17:1. Jesus was given power to forgive sins, but Matthew 9:6-8 says this power was given to men, that's plural. John 5:26 says Jesus was given power to judge in John 5:27, but in 1 Corinthians 6:2 Paul said the saints will also judge the world. Hebrews 1:2 says Jesus inherited all things, but in Romans 8:17 Paul taught the church they will also be heirs of God and co-heirs of Christ. Even the oneness that Jesus has with God is the very same oneness he said his disciples could not only have with each other but also with him and his God in John 17:21-23. The list goes on and on.

So, the way I see Jesus is not as God, but a man with a God who is our example of what we can become. The Bible does indeed say we are to conform to the image of God's Son, walk in his footsteps, live like him, and obey his teachings. He said his Father is the only true God John 17:3 and taught his disciples that their God is the Father, too, in John 20:17.

So that's where I am coming from. Excellent thread by the way. It's really good we can find all of the things about the real Jesus to make sure we are following the real one or not.

 

[bdavidc]

Absolutely, but like I said in my previous posts, the Bible says a lot more things about the same subject, but it's all scattered around the Bible. While those verses seem to suggest a particular theology when they stand alone, there are additional verses that expand on them.

I also believe we should not approach who Jesus is with assumptions if we are to understand him correctly. I am not saying that is what you are doing, I am just saying that it's a sound approach to understanding Jesus. For example, the Bible does not say "Jesus is God in the flesh." Nor are there prophecies about God becoming a human, nor is Jesus called eternal in the Bible, nor said to have eternally existed with the Father. It's absolutely true that Jesus is divine which means from God or like God. Being from God and like God is actually what the Bible teaches that we as Christians should be too.

As far as Jesus having divine authority within himself, that actually is where some of my previous comments come into play again. Like John 17:2, there are more examples of this. Matthew 28:18 says Jesus was given all authority. John 5:22,27 says Jesus was given authority to judge. John 5:26 says Jesus was given his life. Matthew 9:6-8 says Jesus was given power to forgive sins. John 10:18 says that Jesus' power over death was received from his Father. Acts 2:36 says God made Jesus both Lord and Christ. John 8:28 says Jesus was taught by his Father. And Jesus is described as one who inherited all things in Hebrews 1:2. So, yes absolutely, Jesus indeed did not inherently have divine authority within himself. Jesus was given everything he had.

The Bible is an interesting book because just when it starts to sound like Jesus might be God in the flesh after all, most of the things he did or has are said to be things others can do/have too. For example, Jesus walked on the water but so did Peter in Matthew 14:29. Jesus calmed the sea in Matthew 8:23-27, but Elijah also controlled the weather in 1 Kings 17:1. Jesus was given power to forgive sins, but Matthew 9:6-8 says this power was given to men, that's plural. John 5:26 says Jesus was given power to judge in John 5:27, but in 1 Corinthians 6:2 Paul said the saints will also judge the world. Hebrews 1:2 says Jesus inherited all things, but in Romans 8:17 Paul taught the church they will also be heirs of God and co-heirs of Christ. Even the oneness that Jesus has with God is the very same oneness he said his disciples could not only have with each other but also with him and his God in John 17:21-23. The list goes on and on.

So, the way I see Jesus is not as God, but a man with a God who is our example of what we can become. The Bible does indeed say we are to conform to the image of God's Son, walk in his footsteps, live like him, and obey his teachings. He said his Father is the only true God John 17:3 and taught his disciples that their God is the Father, too, in John 20:17.

So that's where I am coming from. Excellent thread by the way. It's really good we can find all of the things about the real Jesus to make sure we are following the real one or not.

I appreciate your effort to go deeper, but your approach still misunderstands how the Bible reveals who Jesus truly is. When you say Jesus is not God but just a man with a God, you’re ignoring key verses that draw a clear line between Christ and every created being. For example, Hebrews 1:3 says Jesus is “the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person,” and upholds all things by the word of his power. That is not language used for a mere man. The Greek word translated “express image” is charaktēr, meaning the exact imprint, not a copy, not a reflection, but the very substance.

You also mentioned Jesus being "given" things like authority, judgment, and life. But in John 5:21, Jesus says, “For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.” That’s not borrowed power, that’s sovereign authority. No man has that ability by nature. You can’t separate His submission in the flesh from His eternal identity as the Son who always existed with the Father (John 1:1–2).

You said Jesus is our example of what we can become. That’s true in terms of character and obedience (1 John 2:6), but not in nature. No believer will ever be worshiped by angels (Hebrews 1:6), or have the name that is above every name (Philippians 2:9). Jesus is not “one of many,” He is unique, “the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18), and “God was manifest in the flesh” (1 Timothy 3:16).

When you blend the nature of Christ with created beings and call it unity or symbolism, you blur the lines God made clear. Following the real Jesus means believing in Him as He truly is, not a glorified man, but God the Son. Anything less is not the Gospel.