Evidence that Jesus was God while on earth, and evidence that Jesus is not the Father
John 1:1-23 (NASB)
1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [SUP]2 [/SUP][SUP][
a][/SUP]
He was in the beginning with God. [SUP]3 [/SUP]All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. [SUP]4 [/SUP]In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. [SUP]5 [/SUP]The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not [SUP][
b][/SUP]comprehend it.
[SUP]6 [/SUP]There [SUP][
c][/SUP]came a man sent from God, whose name was John. [SUP]7 [/SUP][SUP][
d][/SUP]He came [SUP][
e][/SUP]as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. [SUP]8 [/SUP][SUP][
f][/SUP]He was not the Light, but
he came to testify about the Light.
[SUP]9 [/SUP]There was the true Light [SUP][
g][/SUP]which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. [SUP]10 [/SUP]He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. [SUP]11 [/SUP]He came to His [SUP][
h][/SUP]own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. [SUP]12 [/SUP]But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God,
even to those who believe in His name, [SUP]13 [/SUP]who were [SUP][
i][/SUP]born, not of [SUP][
j][/SUP]blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
[SUP]14 [/SUP]
And the Word became flesh, and [SUP][k][/SUP]dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of [SUP][
l][/SUP]the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. [SUP]15 [/SUP]John *testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me [SUP][
m][/SUP]has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’” [SUP]16 [/SUP]For of His fullness [SUP][
n][/SUP]we have all received, and [SUP][
o][/SUP]grace upon grace. [SUP]17 [/SUP]For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth [SUP][
p][/SUP]were realized through Jesus Christ. [SUP]18 [/SUP]No one has seen God at any time;
the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained
Him.
[SUP]19 [/SUP]This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” [SUP]20 [/SUP]And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not [SUP][
q][/SUP]the Christ.” [SUP]21 [/SUP]They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he *said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” [SUP]22 [/SUP]Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” [SUP]23 [/SUP]
He said, “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”
Why I believe that this passage shows that Jesus is God while on earth, but that Jesus is not the Father:
First, it says "in the beginning." Although I do not know Greek, I've heard that this is the same phrase that begins Genesis in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the OT). So this shows that the Word is eternal.
Secondly, it says the Word was with God, and that the Word was God. We know from reading other Bible passages that there is only one God. That means that we have at least two Persons who are God.
Verse 14 says that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.....so that means that God became human and lived with us. It doesn't say that the Word stopped being God, or that the Word gave up His deity there, or that He laid down His divine powers.
It calls Jesus God in verse 18. "The only begotten God."
In verse 23 we have John the Baptist referring to a passage from Isaiah....so let me go quote that:
Isaiah 40:3-8 (NASB)
[SUP]3 [/SUP]A voice [SUP][
d][/SUP]is calling,
“
Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness;Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.
[SUP]4 [/SUP]“Let every valley be lifted up,
And every mountain and hill be made low;
And let the rough ground become a plain,
And the rugged terrain a broad valley;
[SUP]5 [/SUP][SUP][
e][/SUP]Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
And all flesh will see
it together;
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
[SUP]6 [/SUP]A voice says, “Call out.”
Then [SUP][
f][/SUP]he answered, “What shall I call out?”
All flesh is grass, and all its [SUP][
g][/SUP]loveliness is like the flower of the field.
[SUP]7 [/SUP]The grass withers, the flower fades,
[SUP][
h][/SUP]When the breath of the LORD blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
[SUP]8 [/SUP]The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.
Whenever we see LORD in all caps like that in the OT, it means YHWH or Yahweh. So, for John the Baptist to quote from that part of Isaiah, and refer to it, he was calling Jesus YHWH, or God. This shows that even when Jesus was human, He was God. He didn't give up His deity.
There are other passages, but that one is what I will quote for now.