JESUS CHRIST IS GOD
A TREATISE ON THE DEITY OF JESUS CHRIST, AND THE TRINITY OF GOD
Jesus. It is a name unlike any other. It is a name which evokes emotions that run the gamut of love and deep adoration, to sheer hatred and unfettered loathing. It is a name which has inspired many, whilst drawing mockery from others. It is a name which is used vainly by multitudes, and even as a blasphemous profanity, whilst others reverently bow their heads at the beautiful sound of the name Jesus. The name Jesus is a beautiful sound to many, for the Jesus we refer to is the God of the universe Who, while loved by many, is hated by most. While the name ‘Jesus’ is loved by many, the true man behind the name is so often ridiculed and loathed. This hatred for Jesus extends also toward His followers. The Lord Jesus Himself said of those who worship Him in spirit and in truth, “…ye shall be hated of all men for My name’s sake…” (Mk. 13:13 cf. Jn. 4:24). Also, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated Me before it hated you” (Jn. 15:18). Both the secular and religious worlds, hate the true Jesus as well as His followers—those who believe in the only Gospel which reveals Him, and which is the only power of God unto salvation. Very few have a neutral response when they hear the name ‘Jesus’. Billions upon billions have called on the name ‘Jesus’ for centuries, and yet few have ever known the true Person behind the name of the One Who would come and “…save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). Many seek solace and refuge in the name ‘Jesus’, but few there be who know the Person and Work of the Man behind the name. Many derive great comfort and assurance in their lives simply because they call the one whom they worship, ‘Jesus’, and yet they will one day realise that to know His name and yet not know the Person behind the name, is to not know Him at all. To know Him is to be known by Him, to be loved by Him. To be loved by Him is to be granted revelation knowledge of Him, and the faith by which He is identified and known. To know the true Jesus is to know Who He is, what He has done and for whom He has done it. To not know the truth about Him is to not know Him at all.
Many call Jesus God, others call Him a counterfeit, a liar and even insane, and there are some who even exceed this foolishness, who go so far as to say He never even existed. Then there are those who claim to be Christians, followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, and yet what they believe about Him reveals they do not know Him at all. The doctrines they hold dear and abide in are not the true doctrines of the Gospel of the grace of God, but doctrines which leads them to believe that what they do makes the difference between eternal life and eternal spiritual death. The Lord Jesus says, “Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? And in Thy name done many wonderful works?” (Matt. 7:22). Yet multitudes who have called Him ‘Lord’ on earth, will find themselves in complete and utter despair when they are shocked into reality, and stand incredulous, at His reply. Jesus will declare to them “…I NEVER knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity” (Matt. 7:23). The reality shock that the truth brings “is an unsettling or jarring experience resulting from wide disparity between what was expected and what the real situation turns out to be”. The Lord Jesus knows those who are His, and those who are of Him hear His voice and know His truth. “…The Lord knoweth them that are His. And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity” (2 Tim. 2:19). Jesus said: “I am the good Shepherd, and know My sheep, and am known of Mine…MY sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me…Every one that is of the truth heareth My voice” (Jn. 10:14,27; 18:37). You will never know the true Jesus if you do not believe the only Gospel which broadcasts His Voice, the only Gospel which reveals Him. “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son” (2 Jn. 9 cf. 2 Cor. 4:3; Gal. 1:8,9).
There is many a false Jesus, many counterfeit Christs whom countless numbers belonging to various, doctrinally incorrect and conflicting religious institutions have and do trust in and worship. Such organizations, though poles apart in their theology—what they teach and believe about God and His Christ—have nevertheless joined hands in some bizarre ecumenical pact. It is as if what is believed about Jesus is not as important as calling on His name. One can believe He did this, and yet is free, and encouraged to, join hands with those who believe He did that. Most hold to the erroneous, and completely unscriptural, view that as long as one has the name right, then that alone covers a multitude of sins, even the misplaced trust in lies about Jesus Christ. For most, it is quite a shocking and difficult thing to come to terms with the fact that multitudes who have and do call on the name ‘Jesus’ have only ever been professing Christians, not true Christians, for as we have seen, Jesus Himself shows that it is possible to call Him Lord, it is possible to live a life of good deeds done in His name, and yet not even know Him. To not know Him, is to not be loved by Him. And, if one does not know Him, the true Jesus, if one does not believe in His Gospel wherein is cradled God’s testimony of Who His Son is and what His Son has done, then one can hardly expect to be in a saved state. TO LOVE THE TRUE JESUS, IS TO BELIEVE IN THE TRUTH ABOUT HIM, NOT LIES. The Lord Jesus states: “And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom Thou hast sent” (Jn. 17:3); “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the Witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made Him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (1 Jn. 5:10-12 cf. Jn. 5:32,39). The Scriptures say: “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the Doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the Doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son” (2 Jn.9 cf. 1 Jn. 5:10). Christ states: “…Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mk. 16:15,16). The apostle Paul stated: “…if our Gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost” (2 Cor. 4:3); also, “But though we, or an angel from Heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:8). These Scriptures show clearly how critical doctrine and belief are in the matter of believing and trusting in the true Jesus and what He has done to save His people from their sins. They also show that all the saved of God believe the truth about God, the Gospel of God, and no other. Therefore, any who believe that one is saved believing any other gospel is lost; any who believe in doctrines which do not reveal the true Jesus, which are not part of God’s testimony of HIS Son, are as lost as lost can be. The latest figures show that in a world in which most—approximately 86%—are religious, over 2.3 billion people claim to be Christians. That’s 32% of the world’s total population, and yet there are few who truly know, believe in and trust the only Jesus Who is the Saviour of His people, and Who is revealed only in the unique Gospel of Almighty God.
Offhandedly, many people take it for granted that everyone who names the name of Jesus is referring to the true ‘Jesus’ simply because they call out the name. Many religious people who consider themselves Christian wrongly assume that knowledge of what His name is, and of a few historical facts about Him, will compensate for any doctrinal error they may have inadvertently ‘picked up’ during their religious journey concerning the Jesus of God. They assume that all is well because they know His name, that He died upon a cross, and that they performed many ‘good deeds’ in His name, which they interpret as knowing Him. From Roman Catholic Cathedrals to Protestant pulpits the name ‘Jesus’ rings out. With loud voices and pulpit thumping fists they bellow that ‘Jesus’ did this, and ‘Jesus’ did that, and that He is this, and He is that, and that He saves this way, or that way, etc. The questions, though, which must be asked are, ‘Is it the same ‘Jesus'?’ and, moreover, ‘Is it the true Jesus which is being preached, and trusted in for salvation itself, from the multitude of pulpits which proclaim His name?’ Are the doctrines which are being taught about Jesus His doctrine? Are the doctrines being taught about Jesus describing and defining the real Jesus, the only true Jesus, or do they merely identify and promote a counterfeit Jesus who cannot save? God Himself declares the sobering fact that there are many who “…pray unto a god that cannot save” (Isa. 45:20). Therefore it behoves every single person who names the name of Jesus to know what they believe, to know why they believe it, and to honestly and objectively challenge what they believe, by comparing their beliefs with what the Word of God says about Who Jesus the Lord is, what He has done and for whom He has done it (see 2 Cor. 13:5). Those who claim that doctrinal differences do not indicate a worship of different gods, openly deny the fact that doctrines define the God/god one worships. Doctrine identifies, doctrine distinguishes between the true God and false gods. True doctrine identifies the true Jesus, false doctrine only reveals a false jesus. If this were not so, we would have the rather curious situation where true doctrine could reveal a false jesus, and that false doctrine has the potential to, incongruously, reveal the true. True doctrine and false doctrine can only be in harmony with themselves, not each other. The doctrines one holds to—believes and trusts in—concerning ‘Jesus’ will either reveal that one has the true Jesus—the Jesus of the only Gospel which God reveals to His people—or a false jesus, another jesus whom God does not testify of as being His Son. The doctrine a man believes in is that whereby we can discern whether a man knows the true God and His Gospel, or not: “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son" (2 Jn. 9).
Doctrines are inextricably connected to the God/gods they identify and define. Doctrines reveal the God/god one worships, and the God/god one worships can only be defined and revealed by the doctrine which identifies and describes Him/him. This is clearly taught throughout the Bible, perhaps no clearer than in 2 John 9: “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son” (cf. Jn. 5:37,38), and also in Jesus’ words: “…Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mk. 16:15,16). That salvation simply cannot be if one does not believe the doctrine of Christ, the Gospel of Christ is an absolute, eternal truth. Believing the truth of God, the true Gospel of God, does not only entail being converted, knowing Him and adhering to His Word, but is evidence that the true God knows and loves you, and has revealed Himself to you. Believe not the truth, believe in lies about the true God, be drawn to and adhere to doctrines which do not emanate from God, and, therefore, cannot be revealing Him, only goes to show that you do not know Him, for He has obviously not revealed Himself to you. You cannot be truly, savingly, converted if you do not believe and abide in His Gospel: “Being born again…by the Word of God…And this is the Word which by the Gospel is preached unto you” (1 Pet. 1:23,25 cf. Matt. 13:15; Jn. 17:17); “Of His own will begat He us with the Word of truth…” (Jas. 1:18). If one does not believe, trust in, the doctrines of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ—those unique doctrines which only and exclusively identify Him and distinguish Him from all others—then clearly one is lost (see Rom. 10:1,2). Such are not Christians at all despite any prevailing zeal, or religious devotion, gentle nature, or good deeds. Those who have a zeal of God, but who do not believe the doctrines of the Gospel of God, are not ‘weaker brethren’ as one man has so foolishly described them, they are not brethren who ‘see the truth differently’, but they are the lost who do not see the truth of God at all! “If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself” (1 Tim. 6:3-5); “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this Word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isa. 8:20).
Doctrine, not a moral lifestyle, zealous enthusiasm, heartfelt conviction or life-changing experiences, reveals whether a person believes in the true Jesus of the Bible, or a worthless counterfeit that does not exist, much less save. Of what use are any of these things, if one does not believe in the true God. Our actions and lifestyles do not reveal Him/him, but it is what we believe and trust about the one we believe in that reveals whether a man has the true God, or whether he has placed his trust in a mere lifeless idol. The emphasis placed on truth, in the Word of God, makes it eminently clear that if one does not have the truth, then one simply does not have the true God (see 2 Jn. 9 cf. 1 Jn. 5:12). The only way to have God is to be given the faith by God that believes only in Him, only in the Gospel which reveals Him as the only true God. The Scriptures say that those who believe not the truth are under strong delusion: “…with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: THAT THEY ALL MIGHT BE DAMNED WHO BELIEVED NOT THE TRUTH…” (2 Thess. 2:10-12). One cannot be saved if one does not have the love of the truth. No truth no salvation. The gift of the love of the truth comes only from God, Who leads all His people to believe His Gospel and no other. The Scriptures make it abundantly clear that the Lord Jesus will return “In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess. 1:8).
One cannot know the only true God by believing a false gospel’s way of salvation, and one cannot obey the Gospel of the true Jesus if one has placed one’s faith in doctrines which do not reveal Him. Those who deny such inescapable truths say that it is not a particular doctrine or collection of doctrines, but what is in your heart that reveals whether you are a Christian or not. That it is lifestyle and not doctrinal beliefs which define and identify a true Christian. The fact of the matter is that it does a man no good to live a productive moral lifestyle, and yet, not believe in the doctrines of the Gospel of the grace of God, for to not believe in the Gospel of God is to not trust in the God of the Gospel. To savingly believe the Gospel of God, one must be in possession of the gift of faith which God gives to all His people in order that they believe His Gospel, and despise all others. Clearly, those who have not been given this saving faith do not believe God’s Gospel, but another which does not reveal the one and only way to Heaven. The apostle Paul warned “But though we, or an angel from Heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:8,9 cf. Mk. 16:15,16; 2 Cor. 4:3). The apostle here emphasizes, and then immediately re-emphasizes the inescapable consequences of eternal accursedness for any who teach, thereby implying any who believe, a gospel other than God’s immutable and eternal Gospel. The many and varied false doctrines harboured protectively in the hearts of those who claim to be followers of the Jesus of the Bible, can only identify them not as Gospel believers, but as worshippers of a false god. Those who claim to have been saved by trusting in a way to salvation other than the only Way laid out by God in His Gospel, are lost. All who maintain a vain trust in false doctrines which can only lead to false gods, shall be eternally tormented in the fires of Hell. It is only the ones who believe with the heart in the doctrines which reveal the only true God and His Way of salvation that will not be ashamed (see Rom. 10:10,11).
Every person at any given point in time either believes the truth of God, the Gospel of God, or does not believe it. The Word of God states quite unambiguously of God’s people: “…God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit AND belief of the truth” (2 Thess. 2:13). The Lord Jesus declares that a person is “…sanctified by faith that is in Me” (Acts 26:18). A person who believes in an alien gospel cannot possibly have faith in the Jesus of God’s Gospel, for the true Jesus is only revealed in and by God’s Gospel. Salvation cannot be without belief of the truth, therefore, a Christian cannot be without belief of the truth. A person is not sanctified who believes in a gospel which does not reveal the only true Jesus Christ. “…when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth…” (Jn. 16:13 cf. Jn. 18:37; 1 Cor. 2:10). “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Rom. 8:14 cf. Jn. 14:17; 15:26; 1 Cor. 2:11). “…it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth” (1 Jn. 5:6). “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Cor. 3:17). Jesus said: “…the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me” (Jn. 15:26). In accordance with this theme, Christ also said: “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (Jn. 8:32 cf. Gal. 5:1). If the Spirit of Truth is not leading you, you will never arrive at the truth. If you do not have the Spirit of God you are not a Christian: “…if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His” (Rom. 8:9). Faith in another gospel which promotes trust toward another jesus leaves a man unsanctified, and hopelessly lost. What a person believes reveals whether or not they have been chosen to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. A person who does not believe the truth cannot possibly have been sanctified of the Spirit of truth, and, therefore, chosen to salvation (see 2 Thess. 2:13). What a person believes reveals whether or not they have heard and learned of the Father through the Spirit of truth, or whether they have been taught and accepted lies about God through the spirit of error (see Jn. 6:45; 1 Jn. 4:1,6). Not all who confidently self-identify themselves as Christians are following the Jesus of the Bible, for the majority—as the doctrines which they have embraced reliably show—are disciples of the counterfeits which pervade the minds of lost men. Paradoxically, the disciples of counterfeits who self-identify themselves as Christians have embraced doctrines which self-identify themselves not as God’s doctrines, but those of false gospels which promote false gods. Doctrines are the D.N.A. of the one believed in. Doctrines are the fingerprints, the X-ray results, if you will, of who a person’s faith is in. Doctrine is the undeniable forensic evidence which proves, not only who a person believes in, but also whom they could not possibly be believing in. Doctrines are like the colors on the jerseys of football players, no one in their right minds would possibly call someone a Denver Broncos player who is wearing a New York Jets jersey. A team’s players are not identified and distinguished from all other team’s players by how they play, but by the jerseys they wear. A player for a particular team is not distinguished simply by the fact he is on the ground but by which jersey he wears. A player may want to play for the Jets, he may think he plays for the Jets, he may imagine he plays for the Jets, but as long as he wears the colors of the Broncos, or any other team, he does not play for anyone but the team which his jersey is identified with. The jersey is like code which identifies the team one is playing for, so too, doctrine is the ‘code’ which can only reveal the one which the person is believing in, despite their claims to the contrary. Likewise, the doctrines one holds to will, without exception, always reveal the God/god one believes in. False doctrines will always reveal false gods; false doctrines mixed with true doctrines will always reveal false gods. Only true, unadulterated, doctrine—the doctrine of Christ—the pure and simple doctrines contained in God’s one and only Gospel, will reveal the one and only God.
In the cold light of day, reality unfailingly reveals the fact that there is not just one Jesus whom people claim to be the Saviour, but a veritable cavalcade of jesuses which are preached and believed in throughout the world. Each one of these false Christs are revealed by particular doctrines. If there are false doctrines there are false gospels, and if there are false gospels then there are false Jesuses, for a false gospel can never reveal the true Jesus. There is the jesus of Roman Catholicism, the jesus of Arminianism, the jesus of Seventh-Day Adventism, the jesus of Mormonism, the jesus of the Watchtower Society, the jesus of orthodoxy, the jesus of Judaism, the jesus of Islam, the jesus of Bahai, the jesus of Hinduism, the jesus of Buddhism, the jesus of the New Age Movement, the jesus of the Faith Movement, the jesus of the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements; the various jesuses of the cults, and the jesus of the individual who has his own private, personal opinions, a mishmash of ideas and traditions concerning who Jesus is and what Jesus has done, etc., as well as many, many others. So it is clear that when you hear a person cry out ‘Jesus’ it is not necessarily the true Jesus Whom they are calling on, but is most likely one of the many counterfeits. Only a closer look at the doctrines an individual believes will accurately and reliably determine whether one has the true God, or a false god.
Only one thing separates or distinguishes each of the various jesuses people are calling on from each other, and especially from the true Jesus, and that is: doctrine. It is not how much love is expressed nor how much devotion is exercised, but what is believed in that makes a true Christian stand out from the crowd. Lifestyle, by that is meant character and conduct, is certainly not what can be relied upon to differentiate between a Mormon and a Roman Catholic, a Hindu and a Seventh-Day Adventist, or even a true Christian from a false one. True Christians do not have a mortgage on being loving, kind and generous. People of every religion, as well as secular society in general, are taught and encouraged to be, kind and generous and filled with ‘good works’. Observing these people in the midst of their daily lives, doing good, etc., is not the way to distinguish whether or not who has, and who does not have, the true God. No one can rightly judge a true Christian from a false one by simply observing their lifestyle, for even many non-religious people live very moral lives. All those who claim to be Christians, as well as those who believe in false gods, feel good about what they believe about ‘Jesus’ and yet their doctrines alert one to the fact that there are vast chasms which exist in their descriptions of Him, and, therefore, who they say He is. “It is impossible for religions with mutually-exclusive doctrines to be equally valid. Where there is contradiction, there is error. Either Christ was wrong or He was right when He claimed to be the only path to God.” If two people say they know John, and yet give vastly different descriptions of him, it soon becomes readily apparent that 1) neither one knows the John in question, or 2) only one of them really does know him. The contradictions show that error is present in both, or at least one of these people. To conclude that both know the same John is simply illogical. Who in their right mind could properly presume that they both know the same John, when the descriptions they have given of him differ?
It is the teachings one follows and adheres to about their ‘jesus’ which differentiates one jesus from another, the true Jesus from all counterfeits, and a true Christian from a merely deluded religious person. The Word of God states that those who do not believe in the doctrine of Christ, that is, the only doctrines which truly reveal Him: Who He is, what He has done and for whom He has done it, simply do not have God. Only the believers in the Doctrine of Christ are the ones who truly have the only true God: “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son” (2 Jn. 9 cf. Jn. 12:48). It is only the one who believes the Gospel that is saved, all others are lost (see Mk. 16:15,16). The doctrines of Christ found in the Holy Scriptures, in particular the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ—the record which God the Father has given of His one and only Son—is what separates the true Jesus from every false jesus, the true Christian from every false Christian, and highlights the fact that one who does not believe the doctrines of the Gospel cannot possibly be in a saved state notwithstanding their emotive claims to the contrary.
Lies come, and are expected to come, from those who are openly opposed to the fact that Jesus Christ is God. Surprisingly however, the worst of lies concerning Jesus come from those very institutions which claim to be Christian and the upholders of the truth that is God’s Holy Word, but in reality are perpetuators of unholy lies. The many ‘shepherds’ in whom untold numbers have placed their trust are nothing but ravenous wolves in shepherd’s clothing. These hirelings are nothing but blind leaders who devour by their false teachings, and both they and their followers will one day fall into a bottomless cavern of despair from which there will be no escape.
Sincerity and honesty unaccompanied by truth may fool the world, but sincerity and honesty can never outweigh the power of truth, nor justly lend any credibility to error. Sincerity and honesty is no proof of truth, but only of avowed conviction. The majority of people are convinced that their sincerity and honesty in what they believe is all the ‘truth’, the evidence, they need to assure them that they are believing in the true Jesus of the Bible. 'It doesn’t matter what you believe, just so long as you are sincere', is their cry. This is like saying that whether or not one believes in that which is actual truth or error is not what matters, as long as one’s belief is sincere. In other words ‘What a person believes the truth to be is what the truth is to that particular person’. Subjectivity always places the emphasis on what a man thinks rather than on what the truth is. The question is no longer 'What is Truth?', but, 'What do you think the truth is?' What matters now, what is becoming increasingly important in the minds of many, is a person's personal opinion. Man has become so puffed up that even when faced with undeniable truth he still values an opinion despite its glaring denial of that truth. Such foolishness leads only to confusion, and does away with the reality of truth and error as well as their accompanying and inexorable consequences. For many, however, their adherence in matters religious to the rules and traditions which they abide by, the way they faithfully live their lives from within the boundaries which they do not dare cross, is the assuring, confirming, evidence which convinces them that they have the true Jesus. Lifestyle is not that which determines what is truth and what is not. A raft of wide-ranging beliefs have given and are providing billions with a form of peace and joy, but as such beliefs are contradictory, truth cannot, therefore, be determined by how beliefs make a person feel. In a nutshell, by turning to their feelings, multitudes are virtually looking to themselves for assurance of salvation (see Lk. 18:11,12). This kind of thoughtless reasoning has led people to embrace such illogical nonsense as, ‘I am sincere in my beliefs, therefore, how could they be wrong?’ The importance of Scriptural logic, and, therefore, accurate spiritual discernment, cannot be overemphasized. Critical thinking, objective and analytical reasoning which is according to the Word of God, rather than emotionally driven thinking, is key to recognizing, knowing and believing the truth, come what may, and clearly distinguishing it from the error that erroneous thought patterns can only lead to. People look to who they are and what they sincerely believe, rather than who the true God is and what His Word says for comfort and assurance. The lost trust in what they do rather than what the true God has done, more in their act of believing than what is believed.
Increasingly, feelings and experiences which accompany whatever beliefs one may hold to, are interpreted by those who adhere to them as nothing less than confirmation that they are in touch with the true God—Jesus Christ. The problem is, however, that although experiences are being shared across the globe by those who claim to believe in Jesus, but who have differing, contrasting, and extremely contradictory beliefs about Him, the unavoidable fact remains that people who follow anti-Christian gods—including all the false jesuses—are having the same experiences and feelings and are just as sincere and honest in their beliefs as anyone claiming to be a Christian is. The Roman Catholic experiences many of the same feelings that a Seventh-Day Adventist does, and yet their doctrines which detail who their jesus is are in stark contrast to each other, and even more so with the Word of God. Importantly, a man will be judged as to whether or not he believed the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and not according to his conviction that what he believed was God’s truth. If one does not have the right answer to a mathematical equation, one is simply wrong no matter how they feel about their answer, how good their answer makes them feel, how long they have believed that answer and how logical their answer may appear to them. There are only two groups of people on this earth: Those who have the right answer and those who only believe they have the right answer. All are honest. All are sincere, but not all are right. Honesty and sincerity are not the distinguishing line between truth and error, but often that which blurs the line between what is right and what is wrong. Honesty and sincerity will do a man no good at all if he does not have the truth. Sincerity does not ensure the road one is on is the right road. Sincerity can never change the course of a wrong road into the only one which leads to a person’s intended destination. If experiences and feelings were the governing principles to rightly discerning what truth is, then truth and error would not matter at all, for truth would be reduced to what a man subjectively believed it to be rather than what it actually is.
This all brings us to the ultimate question: Who is Jesus Christ? There are those who believe that Jesus Christ, the Lord and God of the universe, was only a mere man. Others believe that He was no more than a prophet. Those who are not Christian obviously do not believe Jesus the Messiah is God, but the disturbing fact of the matter is that there are also some who claim to be Christian who do not believe in the Deity of Jesus Christ. They claim they believe in the God of the Bible, but not in the Biblical fact that Jesus is God. Some non-Christians who have no particular axe to grind against Jesus, are convinced that He was ‘only a prophet, a good man, but certainly nothing more’. They believe that some men concocted what is known as the New Testament and simply made a God out of a man. “Many are happy to honor Jesus as a good teacher and social reformer, a revolutionary, and some religions even admit that He was a great prophet of God. But none of them go far enough.” Many who do say Jesus is God are, by the doctrines they believe about Him, referring to another jesus—one whom God does not testify of in His only Gospel. Most who claim to be Christian believe Jesus was God incarnate, and yet, in describing the jesus they believe in, when they attempt to define Him—Who He is and what He has done—it becomes clear that the jesus whom they profess is not the Jesus of the Bible, for their teachings are not in accord with the Scriptures which are the only true, and, therefore, reliable source of identification (see 2 Pet. 1:19-21). The true believer believes in “…Christ…according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3), and not in a jesus—who he is and what he has done—who is not according to the Scriptures. The doctrines which merely professing Christians believe and teach others are simply not the doctrines which are in accord with the mighty Gospel of God. God’s Word concerning God’s Son declares: “…He shall save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21).
The Lord Jesus Christ of the Bible—God’s Word—died on a cross for the sins of His people, His sheep, His brethren, the ones whom God chose before the foundation of the world and gave to His Son (see Jn. 10:14,15; 17:24; Eph. 1:3-7; Heb. 2:12,13. Jesus Christ is the Son of God and God the Son. The Lord Jesus, Whom God has testified to in His glorious Gospel, is “God…manifest in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16). Those who do not have the Son, Jesus, the true Jesus, the Jesus of the Gospel of God, the only Jesus Whom God testifies to, do not have the Father: “Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also” (1 Jn. 2:23); “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (1 Jn. 5:12). To deny the Son of God, is not to deny that His name is Jesus, but to deny the truth of Who He is and what He has done for the people the Father has given Him. To call God a liar is to believe in that which He has NOT testified of His Son. THOSE WHO DO NOT BELIEVE THE ONLY GOSPEL WHICH REVEALS THE TRUE JESUS, DENY HIM, AND, THEREFORE, ARE NOT CURRENTLY IN A SAVED STATE. The man who does not abide, dwell, trust in and remain with the true Doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Gospel which is God’s only power unto salvation, for it is the only Gospel which testifies to the Lord Jesus and wherein is revealed the Righteousness of God (see Rom. 1:16,17), “…hath not God…” (2 Jn. 9). Only the one who does abide, dwell, trust in and remain with the Doctrine of Jesus Christ as revealed in His Gospel, “…hath both the Father and the Son” (2 Jn. 9). Speaking to unbelieving Jews, Christ said: “And ye have not His Word abiding in you: for Whom He hath sent, Him ye believe not” (Jn. 5:38). If you do not believe in what God says about the Person and Work of the Jesus Whom He sent into the world, then you are currently in a damnable state. Believing in lies is not believing in truth. Believing in lies is not believing in the true God. Believing in lies is not believing in the true Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Believing in a false gospel is not believing in the true and only Gospel by which God reveals His true and only Son Jesus, the Jesus Who is truly God.
To enter into any study of the evidence available which proclaims the essential doctrine that Jesus Christ is God, we must first turn to the reality of the Holy Trinity. Doubtless, the many attacks upon the concept of the Biblical Trinity, stem from the bitterly hostile campaign against the fact that Jesus Christ is God. Deny the Trinity and you deny the Deity of Jesus. Likewise, deny the fact that Jesus Christ is God and you have denied the existence of the Trinity, you have done away with the eternal Godhead. The truth of the matter is that there is simply no Christianity without the Trinity, or without the Deity of God the Son. The entire doctrine of the Trinity pivots upon the Deity of Jesus Christ. “God must be Triune for Christ to be the Saviour of sinners.” Likewise, if there is no God the Son, then there cannot be a Trinity for who would be the second Person of it. Many who deny that Jesus is God, also deny the Deity and Personage of the Holy Spirit. If Jesus had only been a man, then His efforts to redeem His fellow men from the punishment due unto sin would have been completely fruitless, for: Sinners are saved by God, “…salvation is of the Lord…Salvation belongeth unto the Lord…” (Jon. 2:9 & Psa. 3:8). God is the Saviour: “I, even I, am the Lord; and beside Me there is no Saviour” (Isa. 43:11), as Jesus Christ is the Saviour: “But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, Who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel” (2 Tim. 1:10). If Jesus Christ is not God, then He cannot be the Saviour. “The identity of Jesus as Messiah and Saviour is tied, both historically and of necessity, to His relationships with the Father and Spirit, respectively. Put differently, if you imagine for a moment removing the Father and the Spirit from the historical Person Jesus Christ of Nazareth, you realize that this Jesus the Christ could not be—i.e., He could not exist and be Who He is—devoid of the Father and the Spirit. Indeed, the identity of Christ depends on the reality of the Trinity.” “Since you cannot explain the Bible's God without involving the Trinity, you can never fully explain how ‘Jesus is God’ makes any sense at all.” If there is no Trinity then the only alternatives are: 1. That God is Jesus Christ alone, or 2. that Jesus Christ is not God at all. If Jesus Christ is not God, then He cannot be the Saviour, and there can be no Trinity. However, if Jesus Christ is God—a separate Personage from the Father and Holy Spirit—this would be undeniable evidence supporting the fact that Jesus is the Saviour, that He is coequal with the Father, that there is a Trinity, a Triune God consisting of Father, Son and Holy Spirit Who rules the universe. The doctrines of the Trinity and the Deity of Jesus are eternally interrelated. If Jesus and the Holy Spirit are God equal with the Father, then we either have three Gods, or the one God has three Persons.
While this will not be an exhaustive examination of all the evidence which proves the existence and reality of the Christian Trinity, the following study will provide ample evidence, including copious Scriptures, for, and expose the lies against, the Biblical Trinity, and show that true Christianity teaches the Triune nature of God.