All In Him

1. Who is God?

Colossians 2:9 KJV 1900

9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

Godhead - Divinity - “In him dwells all the fulness of God bodily”

Lord willing, over the next few weeks, we will explore the nature of Jesus Christ, examining his deity, humanity, and providing a broader overview to strengthen our understanding of Him.

Today’s lesson focuses on the deity of Jesus Christ, emphasizing that Jesus was not merely an anointed man or a special prophet like John the baptist. Rather, that he is the God of the Old Testament, manifest in the form of a man.

But in understanding the deity of Jesus Christ, it helps to understand how God has revealed Himself throughout the ages.

So “who is God”?

A. Who is God?

1) Unbiblical terms

Sometimes, it’s helpful to first understand who God is not. There are certain traditions or philosophies that have gained a foothold in the church concerning God making it difficult to speak on this subject without first addressing the mainstream teachings on the nature of God.

My purpose here is not to be contentious but to simply state an undeniable truth. There are things that every day Christians claim about God, that are never recorded in the bible. I am not trying to present the view of This-Vs-That today but just a quick look at some of the things that have been said — that the bible never does.

For example.

You will never find these terms included in the bible.

Trinity

Triune

Persons

First person

Second person

Third person

God the Son

God the Holy Ghost

Eternal Son

Eternally Begotten

Co-Equal

Co-Eternal

Co-substantial

God from God

Light from Light

Though this is not an exhaustive list, I think you get the point that just because something is repeated — does not make it scripture.

This Bible we have took 1,500 years to write,

across three different continents,

40 different men,

inspired by one author — Jesus Christ.

We have more than enough of his own words that we can use His book to understand him using the words he spoke of Himself.

2) The God of the Old Testament

In the Old Testament, God declared himself to be emphatically singular, alone, and by Himself.

The prophets are the ones who proclaimed the word of the Lord to the people. Here is a very small portion of what they have to say about the who God is.

Nehemiah writes of the vastness and provision of God.

Nehemiah 9:6 (KJV 1900)

6 Thou, even thou, art Lord alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.

The prophet states that God is alone and that He is the creator of all things — both great and small. In Him all things are preserved and because of his majesty, all these creations worship the one true living God — who is alone.

Isaiah is another powerhouse of the Old Testament. By the inspiration of God, he writes some of the most powerful verses in defence of our God being one.

Isaiah 44:6 (KJV 1900)

6 Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel,

And his [Israel] redeemer the Lord of hosts;

I am the first, and I am the last;

And beside me there is no God.

Isaiah 44:8 KJV 1900

8 Fear ye not, neither be afraid: Have not I told thee from that time, And have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? Yea, there is no God; I know not any.

Here in Isaiah, Jehovah declared Himself to be both Israels King and Redeemer. Just to make sure there was no mistake in understanding, God again inspires the prophet to write in the next chapter.

Isaiah 45:21 KJV 1900

21 Tell ye, and bring them near; Yea, let them take counsel together: Who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? Have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; A just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.

The scriptures tell us that Jehovah is a jealous God and that He will not give his glory to another. It is He and He alone who is King, Redeemer, Savior, and Creator.

3) What is the greatest commandment?

One day group of scribes came to Jesus. He had just given an interesting answer about the resurrection of the dead. So, these scribes asked him another question.

Mark 12:28 “28 ...“Which is the first commandment of all?””

It might seem like a simple question… until you realized the Jews had 613 commands to follow and abide by. But Jesus sums up the entire law with a verse that the Jews were to speak every day, the Shema.

Mark 12:29–30 KJV 1900

29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

So what am I getting at with these verses from Nehemiah, Isaiah, and Jesus encounter with the scribes? The bible never divides God, it does not separate God, it provides no other gods to compare with our God. The bible never says God is 2 or 3 or 4 but here in Deuteronomy 6:4 It does say that He is one and this concept was brought from the Old Testament into the New by Jesus Christ himself.

Now, what are we to say of the deity of Christ?

2. The Mighty God Is Jesus (Old Testament)

In the Old Testament, God promised that Messiah would come and save his people. The issue however, is that no man could fully obey God in order for this to happen. All fell short of His perfect standard. But God Himself would fulfill His plan of redemption for His beloved creation.

God was not going to let the frailty of man make His divine plan, of no effect. God, Himself, was once again going to provide for His own creation and with His own blood — He was going to purchase and redeem a church unto Himself.

Isaiah tells us — how this is going to happen.

Isaiah 9:6 (KJV 1900)

6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:

And the government shall be upon his shoulder:

And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God,

The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

1) Prince Of Peace

Isaiah prophesied and said a son is going to be born… but this son is going to be different than any son ever born since the creation of mankind.

This son would be called the Prince Of Peace. Interestingly, of the 4 titles listed here, this is the only one that can be attributed to God or Man. But in the book of Isaiah, this title is tied only to God.

Under the unction of the Holy Ghost, Isaiah prophesied of Jesus Christ as a Prince, the mediator, the man — as a representative of God.

2) Wonderful counseller

This same representative is going to be called wonderful counseller. In Hebrew this word “wonderful” is used only in relation to the God of Israel. “Wonderful counseller” is a title strictly used for God alone found in Isaiah 25:1 and Isaiah 28:29 and here Isaiah attaches this divine name to a son of man.

3) Everlasting Father

Isaiah didn’t stop there, here he gives this son the title: Everlasting Father. Later in chapter 63 Isaiah says: Isaiah 63:16 “16 ... You, O Lord, are our Father; Our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name.”

Isaiah knew exactly what he was saying when he called this son “Everlastings Father” then later speaks of Jehovah as the “Everlasting Father”.

He was not describing 2 everlastings fathers — but ONE Everlasting Father, that was going to manifest Himself in the form of a servant, the suffering servant of Isaiah who would redeem a people unto Himself.

4) Mighty God

And in-case there was any doubt or clarification need for what Isaiah was saying — he makes it known.

This son is none other than the MIGHTY GOD

The same God that:

Created the sun, moon and stars in Gen 1

Told Eve “your seed is going to bruise satans head” in Gen 3

told Abraham “In your seed all the nations will be blessed” in Gen 22

Promised David an everlasting kingdom in 1 Chronicles 17

Said He is the redeemer of Israel in Isaiah 44

Said “be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come!” in Isaiah 35

Make no mistake of what Isaiah was claiming when he called this son the “Mighty God”:

Isaiah 7:14 KJV 1900

14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, And shall call his name Immanuel.

This son who is to be born will have one name, and that one name — encompasses all that God is without measure.

The son is Given

When the time had fully come, God fulfilled His promise. An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph, who was troubled about his betrothed, Mary, and said: Don’t worry Joseph this is of God and she is with child of the Holy Ghost.

Matthew 1:21 KJV 1900

21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

The virgin birth of Emmanuel had taken place, the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Salvation had come unto the world, and salvation — had a name, the name that is above every name.

Philippians 2:10–11 KJV 1900

10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Conclusion

If we had time today, we could speak of all the different titles that were attributed to God in the Old Testament—that the New Testament ties to Jesus Christ, such as:

Creator

Shepard

Holy One

First and last… and many others.

We could speak of the Arm of the Lord from Isaiah that was revealed as Jesus Christ.

We could speak of the 7 spirits of God found in the book of Isaiah 11 defining the fullness of God and how Jesus Christ possess these also.

Closing Remarks

As we come to a close, i hope this has helped someone with the truth of the deity of Jesus Christ. The scriptures from both the Old and New Testaments consistently reveal the singular nature of God. They affirm that Jesus is not just an extraordinary man or a prophet, but God Himself, manifest in human form.

We've seen through the prophecies of Isaiah, Nehemiah, and the teachings of Jesus Christ, that God has never divided Himself. Instead, He has revealed Himself as one, fulfilling His divine plan through the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace—He is the fulfillment of God's promise to redeem humanity.

As we grow in understanding of who Jesus is, let us hold fast to the apostles and prophets teaching of the Mighty God in Christ. Let us worship Him as the one true God who came to save us, and let this knowledge provoke us to live lives that reflect His love — His mercy — and His grace.

In Him, we find our purpose — our redemption — and our hope.

May we continually seek to know Him more, and may His presence guide us in all that we do.

I would like to close with a verse of scripture:

Titus 2:13–14 KJV 1900

13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

1. Almighty

Genesis 17:1

Almighty

Revelation 1:8

2. I AM

Exodus 3:14-16

I Am

John 8:58

3. Rock

Psalm 18:2; 28:1

Rock

I Corinthians 10:4

4. Horn of Salvation

Psalm 18:2

Horn of Salvation

Luke 1:69

5. Shepherd

Psalm 23:1; Isaiah 40:10-11

Good Shepherd, Great Shepherd, Chief Shepherd

John 10:11; Hebrews 13:20; I Peter 5:4

6. King of Glory

Psalm 24:7-10

Lord of Glory

I Corinthians 2:8

7. Light

Psalm 27:1; Isaiah 60:19

Light

John 1:4-9; John 8:12; Revelation 21:23

8. Salvation

Psalm 27:1; Isaiah 12:2

Only Salvation

Acts 4:10-12

9. Lord of Lords

Psalm 136:3

Lord of Lords

Revelation 19:16

10. Holy One

Isaiah 12:6

Holy One

Acts 2:27

11. Lawgiver

Isaiah 33:22

Testator of the First Testament (the Law)

Hebrews 9:14-17

12. Judge

Isaiah 33:22 Micah 5:1

Judge

Acts 10:42

13. First and Last

Isaiah 41:4; 44:6; 48:12

Alpha and Omega, Beginning and Ending, First and Last

Revelation 1:8; 22:13

14. Only Savior

Isaiah 43:11; 45:21; 60:16

Savior

Titus 2:13; 3:6

15. Giver of Spiritual Water

Isaiah 44:3; 55:1

Giver of Living Water

John 4:10-14; 7:38-39

16. King of Israel

Isaiah 44:6

King of Israel, King of Kings

John 1:49; Revelation 19:16

17. Only Creator

Isaiah 44:24; 45:8; 48:13

Creator of Everything

John 1:3; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:10

18. Only Just God

Isaiah 45:21

Just One

Acts 7:52

19. Redeemer

Isaiah 54:5; 60:16

Redeemer

Galatians 3:13; Revelation 5:9