Tag: God

Is Jesus Really God? A Biblical, Historical, and Theological Summary

On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn Defending the Faith, Imago Dei ClassLeave a comment

Does the Bible present Jesus as God in the flesh? Is the Son of God really God? Or did the doctrine of Christ’s deity evolve over the centuries? Christianity rises and falls upon this doctrine just as much as any other. It is not an overstatement to say that salvation hangs in the balance. So, what’s the answer?

Dan Brown writes in his enormously popular book The Da Vinci Code that Jesus’ deity was a doctrine proposed and voted on at the Council of Nicaea in 325. He writes that the Roman emperor at the time, Constantine, “turned Jesus into a deity who existed beyond the scope of the human world, an entity whose power was unchallengeable.”[1] However, The Da Vinci Code is a work of fiction, and so is this claim. Fiction.

Not only is this claim historically inaccurate (the deity of Christ was not proposed/voted on at the council of Nicaea), it is biblically and theologically inaccurate. The Scriptures clearly present Jesus as God and our theology of salvation requires it. Yet countless cults and critics have bought into Brown’s claims or those like it, believing that the deity of Jesus is a historical development rather than biblical truth.

Biblical Evidence

I would like to pose three arguments that demonstrate that the Bible clearly expects us to believe that Jesus is God: 1. Jesus bears the names and titles of God. 2. Jesus does the works of God. 3. Jesus receives the worship of God.

1. Jesus bears the titles of God.

    Consider the following verses:

    “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)

    “Thomas answered him [Jesus], ‘My Lord and my God!’” (John 20:28)

    Titus writes that we are “waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). This verse features the Granville Sharpe Rule in Greek, where God and Savior refer to the same person, Jesus Christ. It is similar to how we might say “our father and friend David.” We would understand David to be both the father and friend referenced.

    There’s another one of these in 2 Peter 1:1- “To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.”Peter clearly refers to Jesus as God and Savior.

    Paul writes, “To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.” (Romans 9:5)

    And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.” (Revelation 21:6). Compare this to what Yahweh says about himself in Isaiah 44:6, “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redemer, the Lord of hosts: I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.”

    The New Testament authors clearly identify Jesus as God by using these titles in reference to him.

    Continue reading “Is Jesus Really God? A Biblical, Historical, and Theological Summary” →

    Six Reasons You Can Trust the Bible

    On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn Defending the Faith, Imago Dei Class4 Comments

    This week we are considering the question of whether or not we can trust the Bible. What makes it unique, setting it apart from other religious books? How can we be sure that what we have is what was originally written? And how can we know that it is actually from God?

    A quick reminder: we are not looking for absolute certainty. We are looking for confidence. Can we have confidence that God has spoken to us in the sixty six books of the Bible? Here are six reasons that I believe we can.

    1. The Unity of Scripture

    The Bible was written over 1,500 years by over forty authors in three languages on three different continents, yet it tells one cohesive story about God and man. All of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation centers upon the Son, the Seed, the Servant, who will save his people from their sins and reconcile them to God. His victory is promised in the first book of the Bibe and is realized in the final book of the Bible. How amazing is it that all of the biblical authors, in different languages, in different centuries, write in such unity with each other?

    2. The Explanatory Power of Scripture

    This unifying story is an apologetic in and of itself. It answers all the biggest questions of life: How did we get here? Why are we here? Why is the world the way that it is? Why is there suffering, pain, and death? What hope is there for us? What should we live for? What comes after this life?

    The Bible possesses the greatest explanatory power for all of the major questions of life. It explains who created us, how sin entered the world, why we experience pain and suffering, and how God, in his mercy and love, has purposed to save us in His Son and redeem us from all the effects of sin. It explains to us who God is- the One in whom we live and move and have our being. It gives explanation to life in a way that nothing else can.

    3. Fulfilled Prophecy

    At many points in this unfolding story, God speaks through prophets who specifically predict future events. Some of them are so accurate in their predictions that liberal scholars claim that the books must have been written after the events predicted (the book of Daniel, for example). A couple of these prophecies include Judah & Israel’s exile and captivity, Isaiah’s prediction of Cyrus leading the Jews home, and Jesus prophesying the destruction of the temple within a generation in Matthew 24.

    However, the most impressive prophecies are those that are made about the Messiah that were fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth. Conservatively, Jesus fulfilled over 300 prophecies from the Old Testament. Some of these include specific prophecies such as his birth in Bethlehem or his family fleeing to Egypt, but also include typological prophecies such as Abraham sacrificing his only son, Isaac. God tells Abraham to spare his son, of course, but the story points to God the Father sacrificing his Son, Jesus.

    4. Historical Reliability

    The first three reasons are impressive, but not if the story and prophecies have been edited and re-written over the centuries to make the Bible appear more impressive than it is. Can we be confident that what we have in our modern Bibles is what was actually written thousands of years ago? Yes we can.

    We have greater historical evidence for the Bible than any other work of antiquity. In seminary, I focused on the work of textual criticism. I was able to compare several different manuscripts (copies) of the New Testament and evaluate their similarities and try to make sense of their differences. Get this: we have well over 5,000 copies of the Greek New Testament, and some of those copies go all the way back to within 30-50 years of the originals. And these copies agree 93-95% of the time!

    There are, of course, minor differences between the copies. They were all handwritten copies, so we should expect differences to appear. We call those differences variants. But the vast majority of the text of the New Testament has been miraculously preserved through centuries of copying. When we put the copies side by side, the original (what we call the autograph) emerges, and we can be confident that we have what was originally written.

    Continue reading “Six Reasons You Can Trust the Bible” →

    Three Classic Arguments for the Existence of God

    On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn Defending the Faith, Imago Dei Class1 Comment

    Can we be certain that God exists? Many have claimed that we can be absolutely certain, and that and doubt regarding God’s existence is absurd. While I appreciate the sentiment, and generally agree that you can’t even talk about the existence of God without assuming that he exists (by the use of logic, reason, and language), I don’t believe that attaining absolute certainty regarding his existence should be our goal.

    The Bible tells us that it is impossible to please God without faith. Furthermore, we must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him (Hebrews 11:3). If we could attain certainty regarding the existence of God, what role would faith play? How could we believe that he exists if we could know with absolute certainty that he does?

    Instead of attaining certainty in the existence of God, we should aim for confidence. “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Heb 11:1). Consequently, we need an informed faith. A faith that is strong, confident, and full of substance. A faith that is strengthened by what we do know, yet is content with what we do not know. This is the kind of faith we need.

    As we consider three arguments for the existence of God, let’s keep this kind of faith in mind. Our faith cannot be separated from reality, yet it cannot demand the certainty that would render faith useless. For example, God has clearly shown us his attributes in the things that have been made, and thus we are without excuse (Romans 1:20). But the righteous must still live by faith (Romans 1:16-17).

    Therefore, when these arguments regarding the existence of God are considered, we must recognize the clear demonstration of God’s existence and his attributes, but we must choose to exercise faith in them, or rather in God. Its not enough to be convinced of God’s existence intellectually, we must exercise faith in the God who’s existence we are considering. With that being said, here are three of my favorite arguments for the God’s existence:

    1. The Cosmological Argument

    The primary claim of the cosmological argument is that the universe must have a cause. If everything that begins to exist has a cause, and if the universe began to exist, then the universe must have a cause. That which causes the universe to come into must be its creator, able to stand outside of the universe and bring it into being. Nothing comes from nothing. Something must come from something, or someone.

    Imagine you are taking a stroll down the beach, and you come across a glorious sand castle. Would your assumption be that it has always existed, or that at some point in time, it had a beginning? Of course you would assume that it had a beginning. Such is the case for everything else you experience in life. Everything that exists has a cause. This is why the scientific consensus has adopted The Big Bang Theory, because it explains the beginning, or the cause, of the universe. However, even The Big Bang, if it began to exist, had to have a cause. Who or what caused it?

    The cosmological argument asserts that the universe had to have a beginning, and that it is probable for that beginning to be God. More on that in the next argument.

    Continue reading “Three Classic Arguments for the Existence of God” →

    My Truth, Your Truth, or The Truth: Who Gets to Decide?

    On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn Defending the Faith, Imago Dei Class2 Comments

    Recently I had a conversation with someone who embodied the postmodern sentiment of rejecting all universal truth claims. “There are no universal truths,” he stated plainly. “Is that a universal truth?” I asked. He stopped to think, and after a period of silence, he responded, “That’s a good point.”

    This man recognized the problem with making a universal truth claim that there are no universal truth claims. In order to state his premise, he had to assume that which he intended to deny. This kind of argumentation is typical in our culture that has adopted the pragmatic theory of truth.

    The pragmatic of theory of truth states that something is “true” if it works for you. It’s a deviation from the correspondence theory of truth that states that something is true if it corresponds to reality. In the pragmatic theory, everyone gets to decide what set of “truths” work for them. Truth becomes subjective instead of objective. But this doesn’t work in reality. Should each pilot decide which set of truths work for them? Or each surgeon? Or teacher? And what if “my truth” conflicts with “your truth?” What then?

    We must have objective truth. In other words, there must be truth that it is what it is regardless of what anyone thinks. The question that must be asked is “who has the truth?” The Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, or atheists?

    Jesus claimed to be the objective truth. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:16). He claims that the only way we can know the only true God is by knowing him (John 17:3).

    Notice that Jesus doesn’t leave the door open for multiple Gods. “The only true God.” There is one true God, and the only way to know him is to know His Son. He alone offers us salvation, and with it infuses our life with meaning, value, and beauty.

    What we believe about truth impacts our lives daily, because the nature of truth correlates with the nature of morality. Subjective truth leads to subjective morality, and objective truth naturally leads to objective morality. Everyone believes in some set of rights and wrongs. But who gets to decide what is right or wrong? My friend that I mentioned at the beginning suggested that whatever the consensus of the populace is should determine right or wrong. But what happens if the consensus is wrong? For example, if the consensus of 18th century America was that slavery was morally acceptable, does that actually make it morally acceptable?

    There must be some standard outside of ourselves to correct us, including our misguided consensuses. Jesus is that standard. He is the lawgiver and judge. “There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?” (James 4:12).

    What we must do, then, is assess Jesus’ life and words and determine if he is who he says he is. Is he the truth? Is he the only way to the only true God? Is he the lawgiver and judge? I invite you to follow along as I blog through our life group series, Defending the Faith. I’ll post here weekly the week after we discuss a particular topic. I will also include a pdf of my notes as well. It’s my prayer that these posts will increase your confidence in the Christian faith and encourage you to share it!

    Defending the Faith- The Nature of TruthDownload

    Kids & Kingdom: Children in the Gospels- Heirs of the Kingdom

    On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn Imago Dei Class, Kids & KingdomLeave a comment

    I recently heard a counselor tell parents that one of the most helpful tools in raising children is the remembrance of their own childhood. This helps the parent remember what it felt like to be a child, including both the positive and negative aspects.

    For example, it helps the parent consider how little things can be huge things to kids, like the friend that hurt their feelings during recess. In our adult minds, we know it was likely a minor thing and not worth getting all worked up about. But for them, it is as if their world came crashing down on the playground.

    Remembering what it felt like to be a child helps us have sympathy and compassion for children and their experience of life. It enables us to enter their world, so to speak, and comprehend the things that matter (or don’t matter) to them.

    Hebrews 4:15 tells us that Jesus can sympathize with our weaknesses as one who was tempted in every way as we are, yet was without sin. He can sympathize with children, too, because he was one. He is not just our perfect high priest, but theirs too. He can understand their world, their struggles, and their dreams. He also knows what children are capable of, even when adults can’t see it.

    Let the Children Come to Me

    Jesus’ disposition towards children is displayed in several of the gospels. Consider this story from Mark 10. “And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.’ And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them” (Mk 10:13-16).

    Who was bringing children to Jesus? Probably their parents, siblings, or grandparents! Why? “That he might touch them” (v. 13)  It is possible that they had heard of Jesus’ power and how that power had been revealed through touch (Mk 1:40-42, 5:25-34). Maybe touching Jesus would make their children strong and healthy or wise and successful. Maybe it would even make them more obedient!

    I think its more likely that they were seeking a blessing for their children. Blessings were often conveyed by the laying on of hands (Gen 48:14). So these parents probably though it would be good for Jesus to touch their children. Wouldn’t you?

    Continue reading “Kids & Kingdom: Children in the Gospels- Heirs of the Kingdom” →

    Kids & Kingdom- Children in the Covenant: Teach Them Diligently

    On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn Imago Dei Class, Kids & Kingdom2 Comments

    In my previous post, we considered the promises that God made to his people and how each of those promises found their fulfillment in Christ. God promised his people that he would crush Satan, bless the nations, reign forever, and save his people, all through the gift of offspring. All of these promises, just like every promise of God, “find their yes” in Christ (2 Cor 1:20).

    However, God did not expect his people to be passive bystanders as he fulfilled his promises. He called them to faith-motivated action. After promising Abraham that he would make him into a great nation, God asked him to sacrifice his only son (which God stopped and provided a substitute for, by the way). After promising the Israelites that he would rescue them from slavery in Egypt, he asked them to follow him into the wilderness (including walking through the sea!). After promising Israel a land to inherit, he asked them to trust him and take the land even though their enemies were stronger and more numerous.

    When God makes promises, he wants us to trust him and act on that trust. When he made promises to Israel regarding offspring and children, he expected his people to trust him and obey him. But what did obedience look like, and what does it look like for us?

    Continue reading “Kids & Kingdom- Children in the Covenant: Teach Them Diligently” →

    Kids & Kingdom – Children in the Covenant: The Heart of God’s Promises

    On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn Imago Dei Class, Kids & Kingdom2 Comments

    In my previous post, we observed the sin and brokenness that entered the world when Adam and Eve sinned against God by eating from the forbidden tree. However, we also noted that God continued working after the Fall in and through dysfunctional families to accomplish his purposes. In this chapter we will look at how God continued working through those families.

    After the events of Genesis 3, God still intended to fill the earth with image bearers who reflected his glory and enjoyed relating to him. That is why he gave the command to be fruitful and multiple again after the Fall. And God would fulfill this plan, even in a world broken by sin, by making promises that would be fulfilled through the gift of children; promises that he would keep from generation to generation until the ultimate gift of his Son.

    These promises are the bedrock of the Bible. Without them, there’s no redemptive storyline, no Savior, no salvation. But with them, the glory and perfection of Eden that was lost can be found again. God’s original purpose for mankind can be restored. A new heaven and a new earth can be inaugurated. Thank God for these promises! Let’s look at each of them in turn.

    God’s Promise to Crush Satan (Genesis 3:15)

    God’s first promise is embedded in the same infamous chapter in which sin enters the world. When God confronts Adam and Eve, he pronounces a curse upon the serpent for deceiving them, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Gen 3:15). Here we see a battle that will take place throughout the rest of the Bible: the offspring of the serpent vs. the offspring of the woman. This does not mean that the offspring of the woman will always be righteous, however, but that from generation to generation, God will have a people, and those people will have to continually wage spiritual warfare against the serpent and his minions.

    The ultimate offspring promised in Genesis 3:15 is Jesus. He is the perfect righteous one, the seed of the woman who stands at enmity with the serpent himself. The verse contains two interesting lines that describe their enmity. The serpent will “bruise the heel” of the woman’s offspring, but he will “bruise your head.” Some sort of battle will occur where the serpent inflicts a minor injury on the Eve’s offspring (i.e. his heel), but where he bruises (or crushes- NIV) the serpent’s head. In other words, the serpent will strike and injure the promised offspring, but the injured offspring will deal the death blow to the serpent.

    This verse is fulfilled in Jesus’ death and resurrection. Though Satan “bruised his heel” through the religious leaders and Romans that crucified Jesus, Jesus crushed the head of Satan, dealing the victorious blow to mankind’s foe. When speaking of Jesus’ work on the cross, Paul writes, “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Col 2:15).

    When speaking of rulers and authorities, Paul includes both the earthly rulers and authorities but also the spiritual ones behind them. And who are the spiritual authorities that Jesus puts to open shame and triumphs over, if not the serpent and his offspring? Indeed, he leads his people “in triumphal procession” over them, because he has rescued us from the their kingdom of the darkness and brought us into his kingdom of light (2 Cor 2:14; Col 1:13). He has crushed the head of the serpent and the heads of his offspring, and will continue to rescue his people from Satan’s rule until the day when final victory comes (Rev 12:7-12).

    Continue reading “Kids & Kingdom – Children in the Covenant: The Heart of God’s Promises” →

    Kids & Kingdom- What is the Imago Dei, Anyways?

    On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn Imago Dei Class, Kids & KingdomLeave a comment

    Back to Genesis. “God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness’” (Gen 1:26). As we saw in my first post in this series, this verse informs God’s mandate to ‘be fruitful and multiply’ in Genesis 1:28. God wanted Adam and Eve to fill the earth with fellow image bearers of God.

    The concept of being created the image of God has historically been referred to by the Latin phrase imago dei, and it has received a lot of attention throughout church history with many asking, “what is the image of God?”

    Having an accurate answer to the question is a necessity. If we are called to multiply image bearers, what are we called to multiply? What does it mean to bear God’s image? Do we still bear God’s image after the fall? If so, in what ways? And why does it matter? I want to answer all of these questions in this chapter, because I  believe that comprehending the imago dei helps us read the Bible better, appreciate work of Christ more, and understand our role as parents more clearly.

    Continue reading “Kids & Kingdom- What is the Imago Dei, Anyways?” →

    Kids & Kingdom- Children After the Fall: Difficult Discipleship

    On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn Imago Dei Class, Kids & Kingdom2 Comments

    If the contents of my first post seemed too idealistic, this post may seem too realistic. Many parents or teachers may not feel like the language of the previous chapter- blessing and privilege and joy- describes their current experience with kids. These words are true of children, as we saw in Psalm 127,  but other words may also describe the reality of raising them: frustration, impatience, and difficulty. Why is this so? Because the serenity of the first chapter of Genesis quickly turns into chaos a few chapters later. And we live (and have kids) in the aftermath of the latter.

    God’s first mandate to be fruitful and multiply was given before the fall, before sin entered the world. Thus, being fruitful and multiplying would have naturally led to filling the earth with children who grew up to be adults who walked with God in perfect harmony like Adam and Eve did. That was the ideal.

    Raising children in a pre-fall environment would have been relatively uncomplicated. Imagine raising a toddler who isn’t filled with impassioned rage when you give him the wrong color cereal bowl or teenager who doesn’t struggle with pride or self-image. Unfortunately, no child was ever born into that environment.

    When Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree, they sinned against God. They declared themselves to be the masters of their lives instead of submitting to God’s lordship and authority. They fractured the relationship they previously enjoyed by rebelling against their Creator. Instead of looking to, worshiping, and following the One who made them, they looked to, worshiped, and followed their own selfish desires. As a result, the serpent’s promise came true: their eyes were opened and they knew good and evil. But their newfound experiential knowledge of evil came with a great cost.

    Everything Is Broken

    The primary effect of Adam and Eve’s sin was the fracture in their relationship with God. The innocence and intimacy they enjoyed with him was broken. The ripple effect of that fracture spilled over into every aspect of their lives. Everything about life became more difficult, because everything in life was broken because of sin. That’s what theologians call “the curse of sin.”

    There are several aspects to this curse. First, Adam and Eve recognize that they are naked and make clothes (Gen 3:7). A lot more difficult than wearing your birthday suit every day. Second, they hide from God (Gen 3:8). Their relationship with him is now hindered by shame and guilt. Third, there is enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent (Gen 3:15). We see the difficulty of their warfare all throughout the Bible and around us still today.

    Fourth, the woman’s pain in childbearing is increased (Gen 3:16). The blessing of giving birth now comes with hardship and pain from the moment of conception until the moment of birth. Many women may struggle to get pregnant or stay pregnant, both of which are effects of child birth in a fallen world. Even those who do carry to full term experience discomfort and pain, and many mothers give their lives in child birth.

    Fifth, the relationship between husband and wife will be difficult due to contrary desires (Gen 3:16). Sixth, all work will be more difficult, plagued by the effects of sin (symbolized by thorns, Gen 3:17). Finally, mankind will return to dust. They will die because death now reigns (Gen 3:19). All of life will be a struggle all the way up until the final struggle of death. Everything is more difficult now.

    This is the environment that children are born into. In fact, it begins before they’re even born. Couples may struggle to get pregnant, experience miscarriages, or give birth to stillborn babies. And once they’re born, it doesn’t get any easier, because parents, who are sinners themselves, are tasked with raising other sinners in a world plagued by the deadly effects of sin.

    Continue reading “Kids & Kingdom- Children After the Fall: Difficult Discipleship” →