ambassadors for the risen Christ ministries

by Shawn Brasseaux

“Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it [the hidden wisdom of verse 7], they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Corinthians 2:8 KJV).

Many “Christian” groups and cults deny the deity of Jesus Christ. Consequently, these people cannot be true Christians in the Biblical sense. Jesus Christ was much more than a mere “Prophet of God.” He was more than “a teacher with great wisdom,” or a “good man who died a martyr’s death.” The Bible adamantly states that Jesus of Nazareth was and is the Creator God of Genesis 1:1!

Jesus Christ is from “everlasting,” the Bible says in Micah 5:2 KJV (modern versions omit this word and use “ancient times,” unfortunately). According to the King James Bible, long before Bethlehem, Christ existed in heaven, as a Spirit, God the Son. But, in order to be Israel’s Messiah and King, He had to have a physical body that could shed blood. So, God selected the virgin Mary, Joseph’s future wife, to be the mother of the body of Jesus Christ—remember, Mary was not the “Mother of God,” she was simply the human mother of the body in which God the Son’s Spirit would dwell (John 1:1-4, 14).

Read 1 Timothy 3:16 KJV, which summarizes the life of us members of the Church the Body of Christ (which is Christ living His life in and through us; Galatians 2:20): “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” Interestingly, most—if not all—modern English Bibles have replaced “God” with “He” or “He who” (!). This is a serious theological error guilty of denying the deity of Jesus Christ (a second example of many errors in the modern English versions).

In the Old Testament, God the Son (Jesus Christ) was known to the nation Israel as “JEHOVAH,” or “LORD.” Jesus Christ is the Creator of everything (Genesis 1:1; John 1:1-3; Ephesians 3:9; Hebrews 1:1-2), it was Jesus Christ who threw Satan out of heaven (Luke 10:18), it was Jesus Christ who was in the ark with Noah (Genesis 7:1), it was Jesus Christ who destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:24,25), and it was Jesus Christ who spoke to Moses in the burning bush (Exodus 3:12-14; John 8:56-58).

Christ Jesus is even prophetically named “the mighty God and the everlasting Father” (Isaiah 9:6,7). Titus 2:13 calls the Lord Jesus “the great God and our Saviour.” Colossians 2:9 says “in [Christ] dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” Christ claimed that if you saw Him, you saw the Father (John 14:8,9). Cleary, Jesus Christ is fully God, yet fully man: this makes Him fully capable of being the only Mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5). Hebrews 1:8 clearly says that Jesus Christ is “God.”

In the form of a humble man, God lived in a human body just like our body, and He endured physical and emotional pain like we do today (Philippians 2:5-11). Christ cried, laughed, felt joy, felt righteous anger, and grew tired and sleepy (Matthew 21:12,13; Mark 4:37-39; John 8:1-8; et al.). What did Christ look like? It is unlikely that He had blond hair and blue eyes, as religious tradition often depicts Him. On the outside, He looked like a common Jewish man, but on the inside He was far from ordinary (Isaiah 53:2).

The Lord Jesus felt compassion (Matthew 20:31-34), and had pity on those who were afflicted (Mark 1:23-26 and Luke 6:6-11, for example). He was tempted by Satan just like we are tempted today, but He did not sin (Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 John 3:5). He did not marry, and He did not have kids—He came to save Israel and the world from their sins, and He would have no reason to marry anyone (Matthew 20:28; 1 Timothy 2:6).

Despite His love, He was abused, spat upon, rejected, abandoned, crucified, and suffered greatly (Psalm 22:1-21; Isaiah 53:1-12). Nevertheless, Jesus Christ rose from the dead in great victory and power (Romans 1:4; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Hebrews 1:21), and He ascended to God the Father’s right hand (Psalm 110:1; Hebrews 1:3; Hebrews 12:2). Today, He is making intercession for us (Romans 8:34; 1 Timothy 2:5).

One day Jesus Christ will return, and become the King of Israel. For now, He is waiting for more people to get saved and come into the Body of Christ by faith. Then, when the Body of Christ is complete, it will be raptured, and God will return to Israel. After the seven-year Tribulation, then Jesus Christ will return and set up His glorious earthly kingdom.