curling said:
Great post 2thick. And the reason Jesus the man was so Great was because He was God walking on earth as a man.
If Jesus was God:
1.God is All-Knowing...but Jesus was not
When speaking of the day of judgement, Jesus clearly gave evidence of a limitation on his knowledge when he said, "but of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in Heaven, neither the son, but the Father." (Mark 13:32, and Matthew 24:36). But God knows all. Jesus himself admitted he did not know when the day of judgement would be. This is clear proof that Jesus is not all-knowing, and therefore...not God.
2.God is All-Powerful...but Jesus was not
While Jesus performed many miracles, he admitted his power was not his own but derived from God. "Verily, verily I say unto you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do..."(John 5:19). "I can of mine own self do nothing: As I hear I judge, and my judgement is just because I seek not mine own will but the will of the Father which has sent me." (John 5:30). This is clear proof that Jesus is not all-powerful, and therefore...not God.
3.God does not have a God...but Jesus did have a God
God is the ultimate judge and refuge. He does not call upon nor pray to any others. Jesus, however acknowledged that there was one whom he worshipped and to whom he prayed when he said, "I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God." (John 20:17). He is also reported to have cried out while on the cross, "My God, my God why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matt. 27:46). If Jesus were God, then couldn't this be read, "Myself, myself why hast thou forsaken me?" But that would be pure nonsense. When praying the Lord's prayer (Luke 11:2-4) was Jesus praying to himself? When in the garden of Gethsemane he prayed, "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: Nevertheless not as I will but as thou wilt." (Matt. 26:36-39). Was he praying to himself? Again, clear proof that Jesus is not God.
4.According to the Bible, God is an invisible spirit...but Jesus was flesh and blood
While thousands saw Jesus and heard his voice, this could not be so with God. "No man hath seen God at any time." (John 1:18). Jesus said, "Ye have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His shape." (John 5:37). He also said, "God is a spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." (John 4:24) and, "...for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have." (Luke 24:39). Clear proof that Jesus is not God.
5.More proof
Perhaps the clearest indication we have that Jesus and God are not equal (one and the same), comes again from the mouth of Jesus himself who said in John 14:28, "My Father is greater than I." When someone referred to him as 'good master' in Luke 18:19, Jesus responded, "Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is God..." Jesus also drew clear distinctions between himself and God when he said, "I proceeded forth and came from God, neither came I of myself but He sent me." (John 8:42). Jesus gave evidence of his subordination to God, rather than his equality with God, when he said in Luke 22:42, "not my will but thine be done" and in John 5:30, "I seek not mine own will but the will of the Father which has sent me." That Jesus would admit that he did not come into the world on his own initiative but was directed to do so, that he would acknowledge another being as greater than himself, and that he would negate his own will in deferrence to affirming the will of another, gives clear proof that Jesus is not the Supreme One and therefore...not God.
This also works to dispell the doctrine of the trinity. God is one, not 3.
"Sh'ma Yisrael Adonai Elohaynu Adonai Echad."
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:" Deut 6:4
"And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The LORD our God is one LORD;" (Mark 12:29)