Jesus is God, a Core Doctrine: A Series on Christianity's Core Beliefs

Last week I discussed 3 doctrines in the Church that I consider to be marginal issues. They are doctrines that regardless of where you stand on them, have no impact on your salvation. Again, I define marginal doctrines as those doctrines that you could disown without effecting your status as "saved." I could probably write a blog every day for the next year, and still not be done with marginal doctrines. Such doctrines as the virgin birth, proper age and execution for baptism, and whether Satan exists or not are all marginal doctrines that divide Christians because we take them to be necessary for our salvation. If we do not take them to be essential for our salvation, then our arguing is done in vain.

If you haven't guessed already, I define "core doctrines" as doctrines a Christian must believe in order to ensure their salvation. The first doctrine I would like to address as core is the doctrine of Jesus' divinity/humanity. I place divinity and humanity together as each attribute tends to be overemphasized in certain groups and it is forgotten that Jesus was 100% human and 100% divine. This doctrine is important and core for multiple reasons. The main issue is that, as Scripture points our throughout, it is important not to worship any false gods. Exodus 20:3 is clear that "you shall have no other gods before me." God wants us to worship him, and no idols that we make up and place as God. Therefore it is important to know who God is and who he consists of, in order to ensure that we are worshiping the one true God.

Therefore, if Jesus is divine, and therefore considered one with God, it is important that we address him as God, because if we do not, then we are not worshiping the one true God.

We have from Scripture numerous sections that refer to him as God. Most clearly he is referred to as God in John 1:1 which states, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Also in John 20:28, after Jesus revealed himself to doubting Thomas as the resurrected Lord, Thomas exclaims, "my Lord and my God" falling down to worship him. In every other Scripture passage where someone falls down worship someone that is not God, including the angels, that person is told to get up and not to worship them for they are not God. In this passage Jesus responds, "seeing you have believed. Blessed are they who having not seen, yet still believe." So it is clear from these passages that Jesus is God.

Jesus does many things that only God can do, including forgiving people of their sins, and knowing their thoughts. It is clear from Jesus' actions that he is God.

It is clear from much of the New Testament that we are to include Jesus as part of the Godhead. Therefore, if you do not believe in the divinity of Jesus, you are not worshiping the one true God.

Now, I am not going to argue for the trinity in this post, but let me say that it is necessary for one to believe in the trinity in order to be following the proper God. The reason for this is that it is clear that God states he is one, and that there is only one god. Deuteronomy 6:4 states, "hear o Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one." Therefore, if we are to worship the proper God, he must include Jesus, and yet remain one.

So it does not matter what one thinks about end times, about what specific actions count as sins, or about the inerrancy of the Bible. In the long run, none of those beliefs matter. But one belief that does matter, is that Jesus is God and that God is One. Come back tomorrow as I continue my series on the Core Doctrines of the Church as we discuss the next core doctrine.