Jesus; Did He Claim to be God?

13 April

Jesus; Did He Claim to be God?

 Mormons hold to the faith that Jesus is not God.  Mormons believe that God came down from the heavens one evening, and being an exalted man, had sex with Mary so she could conceive Jesus (Mormon Doctrine of Deity, pg. 264).

 Needless to say, this god of Mormonism is not so big in this writer’s opinion that he cannot create a being without procreating him.  The God we serve is the creator of the universe. He is the God who “knit you in your mother’s womb” and knows you so well (Ps. 139:13-16); he has “numbered the hairs on your head.”  He is the God whose thoughts are so vast and so many “they outnumber the grains of sand.”

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Why then, did this heavenly man, a master communicator, who proved His love for God time and time again, allow the Jews to believe he was making Himself equal with God, when in fact, if Mormonism is correct, he wasn’t that at all?

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 So what does it mean when we read John 5:17-20, 23 when Jesus makes claims of equality with God?  The Jews were persecuting Jesus because he was healing people on the Sabbath:

 v. 17 – “But he answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself, am working.”

v. 18 – “For this cause therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.”

v. 19 –  “Jesus therefore answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.”

v. 20 – “For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and greater works than these will He show Him, that you may marvel.

v. 21 – “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes.”

v. 22 – “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given ALL judgment to the Son.

v. 23 – “In order that ALL may honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.”

 When we examine the scripture above, we see that Jews believe Jesus is calling himself equal with God because He claimed God was His own Father.  Now I think it is worth noting that nowhere in scripture except in one place can we find Jesus saying “Our Father”.  He always refers to God as “My Father.”  The one exception is in the Lord’s Prayer where Jesus is instructing us how we should pray.

 As we see, the Jews were furious and accepted the fact that Jesus claimed equality with God—a fact Jesus could have disputed if the Jews were wrong, but didn’t.  This is not open to interpretation.  It’s not doctrine. This is how the Jews felt and more importantly, Jesus didn’t argue the point with them.

 Why then, did this heavenly man, a master communicator, who proved His love for the Lord time and time again, allow the Jews to believe he was making himself equal with God, when in fact, if Mormonism is correct, he wasn’t at all?  There is therefore, only one way we can look at this passage, and that was the fact Jews believed Jesus was claiming equality with God and as you’ve noticed, Jesus didn’t argue with them.

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 How does this lesser man, lesser god, who is not worthy of the same honor in the Mormon Church as God the Father, glorify God by having us and everything in heaven bow to Him?  What purpose does that serve?  How does it glorify God by having us worship a lesser, created being, if he is not God himself?  This simply is not rational and it is a question we all should be asking ourselves.
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 But I want to draw your attention to one more part of the scriptures I think is also revealing.  Now remember, the Jews just made a serious charge against Jesus.  A charge, that is against the law and punishable by stoning. Jesus would know this being 33 years old and raised in the Jewish culture.  That fact is something He would be well aware of. But what does he says in response?

v. 19 –  “Jesus therefore answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.”

Why didn’t He correct them if they were wrong?  Instead he escalates the matter once again by comparing himself to God.  Also, the use of “whatever” in scripture is a pretty strong word.  It means everything.   Jesus says that everything the Father does, the Son does also.

So what does the Father do?  Well, we know the Father is God and judges the world, forgives sin, gives life, creates all things, does not lie, is perfect, is Himself without sin, is invisible, unchanging, unequaled, unsearchable, infinite, eternal, all-powerful, ever-present, all-knowing, has foreknowledge and is wise.  If you don’t believe me, read Is God a Mormon.

Let’s take a quick review.  The Jews say that Jesus is claiming to be God.  Jesus doesn’t argue that point with them and instead answers and says, “…whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.”

 And upon discovery of our research we see that God does the following things: Judges the world, forgives sin, gives life, creates all things, does not lie, is perfect, is Himself without sin, is invisible, unchanging, unequaled, unsearchable, infinite, eternal, all-powerful, ever-present, and all-knowing, has foreknowledge and is wise.

 If Jesus said He does the same things God does, then that means Jesus judges the world, forgives sin, gives life, creates all things, does not lie, is perfect, is Himself without sin, is invisible, unchanging, unequaled, unsearchable, infinite, eternal, all-powerful, ever-present, all-knowing, has foreknowledge and is wise.

 Yet according to Mormonism, he is still not God.  Hmm.

 Let’s look at one more point of reference in this scripture I think is worth noting.

 v. 22 – “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given ALL judgment to the Son.

v. 23 – “In order that ALL may honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.”

 What is this word “honor”?  What does it mean in the Greek?  The bible says that Honor means precious, to fix great value to someone –esteemed, especially dear.

 But that’s only part of it.  The bible tells us we should Honor the Son as we Honor the Father.  Now I ask you.  How do Mormons Honor the Son in the same way by treating Him less than God, when, as we Honor the Father, we Worship Him as God?

 We know that only God can forgive sin.  And yet, we see in the bible in many instances that Jesus is forgiving sin.  If He is not God, then why is He important at all to Mormonism?

 The bible says “At the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth and under the earth. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord, to Glory of God the Father.  Phil. 2:10-11.

 How does this lesser man, lesser god, who is not worthy of the same honor in the Mormon Church as God the Father, glorify God by having us and everything in heaven bow to Him?  What purpose does that serve?  How does it glorify God by having us worship a lesser, created being, if he is not God himself?  This simply is not rational and it is a question we all should be asking ourselves.

 The Bible’s instruction is clear.  Jesus does what the Father does.  And we are told we should honor Jesus in exactly the same way as we should honor the Father.  Yet in the world of Mormonism, Jesus seems to be worshipped in name only.  Yes it is the Church of Jesus Christ, but where is the cross? Where is the symbol of the place that paid for our sins?  Where are the pageants celebrating the life of Jesus?

 Of course the answer to the question is that they are nowhere.  They do not exist because Mormons do not honor Jesus even close to the way they honor the Father. In fact, it is quite clear that Joseph is honored more than Jesus and more like the Father than Jesus is. Mormons know this to be true.  Any self-examining Mormon worth his/her salt will know from their daily exposure in the Mormon Church how much time is spent talking about Joseph vs. Jesus.

 Until Mormons awaken from their slumber that the Mormon Church feeds them through brainwashing doctrines the lines will always be blurred.  If you are reading this and are Mormon, ask yourself the questions posed by this article.

Ask yourself why Jesus isn’t being honored like the Father.

Ask yourself why you believe Jesus is not God.

 What evidence is there to support that claim?

 It is not in the bible because we see Jesus doing and acting exactly like God.  Is it because you have seen it for yourself in the Word?  No.  It is because it is always what you’ve been taught, and what you read in the D&C and POGP.

 Please be honest with God and yourself. You prayed about a book, now pray that God will reveal for you the truth of this scripture.  Please pray that God will show you how Jesus is or is not being honored by your Church. If you think Jesus is being honored, pray that God will show you where.

 I will submit to you, that Jesus is not the center of the Mormon Church and the lives of her body.  The lifeblood of the Mormon Church is and has always been Joseph.   I challenge you to look closely at your church and ask yourself;

 Is this more about Joseph (the prophet) or about Jesus (the Savior)?

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