For those who have eyes to see and a heart to understand, the Bible is packed with wisdom and eternal truth. As we walk with God through our earthly journey, the Holy Spirit sharpens our discernment of God's Word. We may read a passage a thousand times and never see spiritual reality which has always been hiding in plain sight. Just this morning I read a familiar passage which struck me like never before concerning Christ's deity. In blank pages in the back of my Bible I record verses which emphasise the divinity of God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Though it was already noted, God's truth refreshed my soul anew.
I was reading Zechariah 12:9-10 which says, "It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. 10 "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn." (emphasis mine) God the Father is speaking through the prophet concerning the Messiah, His only beloved Son sent to be the Saviour of the world. I was struck by the shift of pronouns in verse 10: God said they would look upon "Me whom they pierced." Jesus was pierced on a cross with a crown of thorns, nails through His hands and feet, and a spear in His side. The passage immediately continued with, "Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son..." The change of pronouns is grammatically difficult to reconcile unless God the Father and Jesus Christ share the nature of the One True God. Those who looked upon the crucified Christ were looking at God made flesh.
Jesus said in John 4:24 concerning the Father, "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." The Father could not be crucified, nor could His blood be shed without human form. Yet consider what Paul wrote of God in Acts 20:28, "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood." God purchased the church by shedding His own blood. The only way that God could shed blood is if He become flesh, and in Colossians we are told in Jesus is the fullness of the godhead bodily (Col. 2:9). Jesus was sent by the Father, indwelt by the Spirit, crucified on Calvary, and raised in eternal glory and power. He is a man, and He is also God. Unless Jesus is God, He cannot be good for He told us plainly there is no one good but God (Mark 10:18). Either Jesus is not good or He is good and God! Only God could provide a perfect atoning sacrifice for sinners, and Christ willingly laying down His life on Calvary was a demonstration of God's love for all.
1 John 4:12-15 says, "No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God." No one has seen God the Father at any time, but John beheld the glory of God through Jesus Christ. Positionally Christ submitted to the will of the Father as a man and as an example for men, yet His nature was wholly divine. This passage ends with a promise: those who confess Jesus is the Son of God - God made flesh - God abides in him and he in God. This glorious reality is afforded all who repent and trust in Jesus as LORD and Saviour. Jesus came as Emmanuel (God with us) and through faith in Him we can experience God IN us through the Holy Spirit. Praise God for His Word and the revelation of His divine love and power!
I was reading Zechariah 12:9-10 which says, "It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. 10 "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn." (emphasis mine) God the Father is speaking through the prophet concerning the Messiah, His only beloved Son sent to be the Saviour of the world. I was struck by the shift of pronouns in verse 10: God said they would look upon "Me whom they pierced." Jesus was pierced on a cross with a crown of thorns, nails through His hands and feet, and a spear in His side. The passage immediately continued with, "Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son..." The change of pronouns is grammatically difficult to reconcile unless God the Father and Jesus Christ share the nature of the One True God. Those who looked upon the crucified Christ were looking at God made flesh.
Jesus said in John 4:24 concerning the Father, "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." The Father could not be crucified, nor could His blood be shed without human form. Yet consider what Paul wrote of God in Acts 20:28, "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood." God purchased the church by shedding His own blood. The only way that God could shed blood is if He become flesh, and in Colossians we are told in Jesus is the fullness of the godhead bodily (Col. 2:9). Jesus was sent by the Father, indwelt by the Spirit, crucified on Calvary, and raised in eternal glory and power. He is a man, and He is also God. Unless Jesus is God, He cannot be good for He told us plainly there is no one good but God (Mark 10:18). Either Jesus is not good or He is good and God! Only God could provide a perfect atoning sacrifice for sinners, and Christ willingly laying down His life on Calvary was a demonstration of God's love for all.
1 John 4:12-15 says, "No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God." No one has seen God the Father at any time, but John beheld the glory of God through Jesus Christ. Positionally Christ submitted to the will of the Father as a man and as an example for men, yet His nature was wholly divine. This passage ends with a promise: those who confess Jesus is the Son of God - God made flesh - God abides in him and he in God. This glorious reality is afforded all who repent and trust in Jesus as LORD and Saviour. Jesus came as Emmanuel (God with us) and through faith in Him we can experience God IN us through the Holy Spirit. Praise God for His Word and the revelation of His divine love and power!
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