Jesus is God

Which verse shows Jesus plainly saying "I am Lord God Almighty?" I am not talking about verses that can be interpreted based on opinion. Where does Jesus plainly, undeniably, unequivocally say "I am Yahweh."

Like all things in the Bible, clear and direct answers are very important.

John 8:
57Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?”

58“Truly, truly, I tell you,” Jesus declared, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

59At this, they picked up stones to throw at Him. But Jesus was hidden and went out of the temple area.
Exodus 3:
13Then Moses asked God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is His name?’ What should I tell them?”

14God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”

Not all things in the Bible are clear and direct. That's why we have prophets and teachers.
Acts 18
24Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, well versed in the Scriptures. 25He had been instructed in the way of the Lord and was fervent in spirit. He spoke and taught accurately about Jesus,e though he knew only the baptism of John. 26And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him in and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

Hmm

Jeremiah 9:24
But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I [am] the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight," says the LORD.

This is clearly speaking of YHWH


Paul quotes it here:

1 Corinthians 1:30-31
But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— that, as it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in the LORD."

Clearly identifying it as speaking of Christ.

Joel 2:32
And it shall come to pass [That] whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the LORD has said, Among the remnant whom the LORD calls.

Clearly speaks of YHWH

yet:

Romans 10:10-11
For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."

Paul quotes it as clearly referencing Jesus

Seems to me Paul clearly preaches that Jesus is YHWH manifest in the flesh.

Okay, but a Jesus said his Father is greater than him. This isn’t supposed to go round and round, it’s supposed to stop where scripture asserts the authoritative last word, but have it your way.

Question
I recently enquired of a pastor about church membership. He gave me a list of doctrinal statements which I had no problem with, except that I questioned him about one which had to do with Jesus being equal to God the Father in terms of knowledge, power and authority. I have gleaned from my study of the Bible that Jesus does not know everything that the Father knows (e.g. Jesus does not know the time of the end of the age [Matt. 24-26]). Further, by Jesus' own admission, he does not have the authority to make appointments to office in the kingdom of heaven (Mark 10:40). Also, 1 Corinthians 15:24-28 explains that while Jesus is given all authority in heaven and earth with respect to the everlasting kingdom, this is not inclusive of power over God the Father, to whom Jesus is still subject. It seems perfectly clear from the Bible that while Jesus and God the Father may well be equal in terms of their divinity because they are both members of the divine family, there is no suggestion that they are equal in all other respects.
Answer
Let's start with an affirmation of the doctrine of the ontological Trinity, which states that God exists in three persons and one essence. This is a careful way of conveying the following truths: 1) there is only one God; 2) the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are all God; and 3) the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are different persons. With the possible exception of a couple technical attributes generally ascribed only to one or another person of the Godhead, and which are aspects of the way God exists in three persons, all those attributes native to God's being are shared equally by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In his divine nature, Jesus the Son of God is fully God (John 1:1; Tit. 2:13; 2 Pet. 1:1), possessing all the attributes native to God in his essence, that is, all the attributes that God possesses just because he exists as God. Omniscience and omnipotence are of this category, so that Jesus possesses both, making him equal to the persons of the Father and of the Holy Spirit in knowledge and power.

However, Jesus also has a human nature. Because omniscience and omnipotence are infinite by definition, and because man is finite, man cannot possess these attributes. Thus, in his human nature, Jesus the Man cannot be equal to any of the persons of the Godhead in knowledge or in power. Generally, the Bible speaks of Jesus from the perspective of his human nature, as in the passages you stated. Granted, the distinction between what Jesus knows in his human nature and what he knows in his divine nature is a difficult one to fathom. It is one of the mysteries of the hypostatic union (the union of a divine nature and a human nature in the one person Jesus Christ) that is beyond our experience and normal patterns of thinking.

The question of authority is more complicated. It involves issues related to the hypostatic union, the economic Trinity, and the ontological Trinity. The economic Trinity describes the way in which the persons of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit interact with and relate to one another, as opposed to the ontological Trinity which describes the way they exist. Authority is often described in terms of right and power. Inasmuch as Jesus is divine, he possesses equal power to the Father and the Holy Spirit. His divine right over creation is absolute as well. Moreover, his authority even in his human nature is now absolute over creation. This, I believe, is what Paul was saying in 1 Corinthians 15:28 -- the context specifically refers to Jesus' human nature (1 Cor. 15:21). I believe this is also the perspective expressed in Mark 10:40. It is safe to conclude that all members of the Godhead hold equal authority over creation.

But is there an inter-Trinitarian authority heirarchy? Yes. In the economic Trinity, the Son willingly submits to the Father's authority, and the Holy Spirit submits to both the Father and the Son. Most people would understand this to demonstrate that the Father's economic inter-Trinitarian authority is greater than the Son's and the Holy Spirit's, and that the Son's is greater than the Holy Spirit's. I suppose there might be some who argue that all persons of the Trinity are ontologically equal in authority, while being economically unequal, but I am unfamiliar with anyone who actually makes this case. Equality of authority is not something generally asserted in statements of faith, creeds or confessions.

Acts 1:7-8

J.B. Phillips New Testament



7-8 To this he replied, “You cannot know times and dates which have been fixed by the Father’s sole authority. But you are to be given power when the Holy Spirit has come to you. You will be witnesses to me, not only in Jerusalem, not only throughout Judea, not only in Samaria, but to the very ends of the earth!”

In that same vein, Matthew 24:36 proves that the Father knows something that the Son does not know. That means the Father knows more than the Son.

36No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

I am in a lot of pain today.

I am sorry to hear that. Also, how is Larry doing?

Larry has a new hernia in his digestive track. We keep telling Larry we do not
want him to be out of sight. He does have a doctor's appointment coming up.

I am in a lot of pain today. I am very puzzled how one can understand what someone doesn't say ???

I am in a lot of pain today. I am very puzzled how one can understand what someone doesn't say ???

I haven't contributed yet to this thread, but I want to affirm the thread title...

Yes and Amen!

I am in a lot of pain today. I am very puzzled how one can understand what someone doesn't say ???

This has been covered already, there is another at least one thread called 'Christ is God', but I think there is too much lowering of Jesus' status in these forums at the moment.

When the Pharisees wanted to stone Jesus, it was for blasphemy. Jesus was making Himself equal with God. So.. that does not mean that He *wasn't* God. It means He is equal. Jesus is distinct from the Father.. but not inferior. Inferiority.. and you are getting into Polytheism.

Jesus also says to them 'before Abraham was, I AM'... that is a clear reference to God talking to Moses at the burning bush. He is again making Himself equal with God.. and saying those words from God are His words. He is identifying Himself with Yahweh.. the national God of Israel... and beyond that.

Jesus saying 'The Father is greater than I'

With this verse, in the passage He ascends to be one with the Father later, after saying it.

If I say.. the president is greater than I.. is he an ontologically superior being?

No.. he is not. He is a flawed human being like I am, but he is in a greater position.

In Revelation.. this is Jesus' words to the churches.. it also the Holy Spirit's word to the churches.. and then Jesus is referred to with 'Alpha and Omega' terms.. which is used for the Father.

You can't avoid this! Jesus DID claim, indirectly to be God!

Then there is also the Jewish concept of agency.. the messager taking an originators message.. the agent becomes equal to the messenger. So when Jesus says 'by the hand of the Father'.. 'and I and the Father are one'.. things like that... to the Jews... that is saying 'I am God'.. His words are equal to the Fathers.

It goes on and on.. such as 'all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him bodily'

And also that Jesus accepted worship of Himself.

'Son' meaning 'image' 'expression' 'manifestation' of God.. not 'inferior, born out of'

If anyone is going to claim Jesus is not God.. equal to the Father.. that is not christianity. It's something else.

Jesus is fully God, but he is also fully man. He needed to partake of human nature in order to redeem mankind or in order to be the only true mediator between God and men in that he himself is both God and man. In his humanity, the Father is greater than Jesus the son. In his divinity, they are equal.