What is Trinity? Part 2

 

Jesus Is God

We understand that many people agree that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit exist. (We are sure that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are relieved to hear that! ) These same people may even agree that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are “working together.” However, the followers of several cults are taught that Jesus is “just a prophet,” or “only the son of God”—not God. This wrong viewpoint is easily clarified by looking at two Bible verses: Isaiah 9:6, and Isaiah 43:12 (below).

Isaiah 9:6
For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God [0410],
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 43:12
I have declared and saved,
I have proclaimed,
And there was no foreign god among you;
Therefore you are My witnesses,”
Says the LORD [03068], “that I am God [0410].”

Notice the numbers in brackets that we placed in the text. Those numbers indicate the “Strong’s Numbers” of those particular words. Strong’s Numbers are index numbers in a document called a “Strong’s Concordance” that allow someone who only reads English to understand what the Bible’s original Hebrew words are. For example, the number [03068] refers to the Hebrew word YHWH. This word is usually written in English as LORD, Jehovah, or (phonetically) Y@hovah. Similarly, the number [0410] refers to the Hebrew word ‘el, which is normally written in English as God.

It has been thoroughly proven that Isaiah 9:6 is a Messianic Prophecy referring to Jesus Christ. Notice how Isaiah 43:12 clearly shows that God (YHWH) refers to himself as God (‘El)—the exact same term (‘El) used to refer to Jesus. There are numerous other examples, but we will not belabor the point. It is obvious that God and Jesus are both God.

Jesus Doing What Only God Can Do

Mark chapter 2 opens up with an interesting story about Jesus healing a paralytic man. Notice that Jesus forgives the man’s sins in verse 5 and the reaction of the teachers of the law (the religious experts of the day) in verses 6 and 7.

Mark chapter 2
1  And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house.
2  Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them.
3  Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.
4  And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.
5  When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”
6  And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts,
7  “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
8  But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?
9  Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’?
10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic,
11 “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”
12 Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

The teachers of the law knew that only God could forgive sin. Since the people could not “see” sin being forgiven, Jesus proved He did indeed forgive the man’s sins by supernaturally healing the man’s paralysis (providing visible proof everyone could see). You can also read about this event in Luke 5:17-26. In both cases it is obvious that Jesus is God.

Out of the Mouth of Jesus

In Luke 22:70 and John 8:58, Jesus answers questions put to him by the Pharisees that declare Himself to be on “God’s level.” Notice how Jesus answered their questions by saying “I am.” (Ego eimi in Greek.) Ego eimi is not a translation of YHWH, but it is similar to our translating YHWH into “I AM” in English. This choice of words was not lost on the Jewish audience He was talking to! They immediately wanted to kill Jesus for blasphemy. That is, the Jews believed that by comparing Himself to God in that way, that Jesus deserved death. They clearly understood the implication Jesus was making—that He was the same as God. We hope that makes sense to you also.