Another point that shall ever and always defeat those who errantly insist Jesus, who was God, was a created being is this simple challenge. Prove it! Show a scripture, in proper context, that states absolutely that Jesus was a created "being".
It does not exist.
To say Jesus was a created being is to deny his divinity. And it is to imply Jesus, when he was God the Father, being created necessarily means God was too. When Jesus and God are one and the same, that is precisely what 'Jesus creationists" are stating.
There "go to verse"
Col_1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
nothing here that Jesus was a "created being"
God the Father
The Bible quotes God the Father as confirming the fact that Jesus Christ is not only a prophet, but God Himself, the Son of his love:
"... and a voice came from heaven, 'Thou art my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.'" Luke 3:22 RSV
"He was still speaking, when lo, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; Listen to him.'" Matthew 17:5 RSV
"For to what angel did God ever say, 'Thou art my Son, today I have begotten thee?' Or again, 'I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?' And again, when He brings the first-born into the world, He says, 'Let all God's angels worship him.' Hebrews 1:5-6 RSV
And,
"But of the Son he (God) says, 'Thy throne O God, is for ever and ever, the righteous scepter is the scepter of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, thy God, has anointed thee with the oil of gladness beyond thy comrades.'" Hebrews 1:8-9 RSV
God is inspiring the prophet through His Holy Spirit to refer to Jesus Christ as God. If the Father calls Christ God, should we beg to differ?
Jesus Christ
Throughout the New Testament, we find Christ applying to himself titles and attributes of God that are used in the Holy Bible. This fact strongly indicates that Christ believed he was God. In the following sections we will examine these claims:
God
Luke 8:1-37 records Jesus casting demons out of a man living in tombs. After healing the man Luke states,
"The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 'Return home and tell how much God has done for you.' So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him." Luke 8:38-39
The man correctly understood that the God who had done great things for him was the very One who stood before him. Hence, Jesus equates himself with God, a fact understood by the individual to whom Jesus' words were addressed and confirmed by Luke to be correct.
Almighty
Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen. "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." Revelation 1:7-8
The One coming is the Pierced One, Jesus Christ. Thus, we have Jesus himself testifying to the fact that He is the Almighty One.
The impact of this passage has left anti-Trinitarians desperately searching for a refutation of the notion that the speaker in verse 8 is Christ. One such response is to suggest that the speaker is God the Father since in Revelation 1:4b-5 he is addressed as the one "who was, is, and is to come":
"... Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the Seven Spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth...."
In this passage Jesus is seen as one who is distinct from the one "who was, is, and is to come". Hence, Jesus cannot be the one speaking in 1:8.
We offer three responses to this assertion:
It should be pointed out that scripture often uses titles interchangeably for both Father and Son. An example of such can be found in 1 Timothy 6:15-16 and Revelation 17:14 where both the Father and Son are called "King of kings and Lord of lords". Therefore the title of "who was, is, and is to come," presents no particular difficulty for the Trinitarian since this is one of the many titles used for both.
The context of 1:4-5 ends at verse 6:
"... and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father - to him be glory and power forever and ever! Amen."
This establishes that Revelation 1:7-8 has no connection to the previous verses, and therefore opens up a new context altogether. The context of this particular passage deals specifically with the identity of the One who is to come, namely the One that was pierced. Based on this fact, verse 8 can only be referring to that "One" spoken of in the previous verse.
Finally, scripture itself is clear that the Father manifests himself and reveals his invisible qualities through the visible manifestation of his Son, Jesus Christ:
"Then Jesus cried out, 'When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. When he looks at me, he sees the one that sent me.' " John 12:44, 45
"He is the image of the invisible God..." Colossians 1:15
"The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word..." Hebrews 1:3
In light of these passages, the notion of "the one who is to come" can only be referring to Jesus Christ, and the Father's revelation of himself through him alone. These preceding factors present an irrefutable case that Revelation 1:8 refers to Jesus Christ as the Almighty.
"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand; I and the Father are one." John 10:27-30
Christ is claiming to have the same power that God the Father has, indicating that Jesus possesses within Himself infinite power. Just as no man can pluck anything from the awesome hand of God, so it is with the Son, showing that both Father and Son share the same essence and nature equally.
Lord
"You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am." John 13:13
Christ affirms his divine Lordship to his disciples in this verse. In an attempt to deny the implications of Jesus' words, anti-Trinitarians argue that "Lord" does not refer to deity but to a respectful form of address such as "Teacher" or "Master." This argument is nullified by the fact that Christ is both "Teacher" and "Lord", indicating that "Lord" is used by Jesus to denote divinity, hence distinguishing it from the title "Teacher." This refutes the assumption that Jesus uses the term Lord simply to show his role as a master of his disciples.
Supporting this exegesis is the fact that Jesus is even identified as the Lord of all, the very Lord of all the earth:
"You know the word which he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace by Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all)," Acts 10:36
"For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living." Romans 14:9
"These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands which stand before the Lord of the earth... and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which is allegorically called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was CRUCIFIED." Revelation 11:4, 8
The Lord of the earth is identified later in the very same chapter as the Lord who was crucified, i.e. Jesus is the crucified Lord of all the earth!
Shalom
Johann.
www.christianityboard.com
