Overall Question: Was Jesus divine? What does this belief do for the Christian?

Memory Text: 1 John 5:5 ESV “Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”
1 John 5:5 COMMENTARY BY ALBERT BARNES Where is there one who can pretend to have obtained a victory over the world, except he who believes in the Saviour? All else are worldly, and are governed by worldly aims and principles. It is true that a man may gain a victory over one worldly passion; …but still, unless he has faith in the Son of God, the spirit of the world will reign supreme in his soul in some form.

Sunday – Believing in Jesus and Victory
1 John 5:1 CEV “If we believe that Jesus is truly Christ, we are God’s children. Everyone who loves the Father will also love his children.”
1 John 5:1 SDA BIBLE COMMENTARY John assumes that those who are begotten of God will love God, and states that they will also love all the other members of the family into which they have been begotten.
John 16:33 -- New Jerusalem “I have told you all this so that you may find peace in me. In the world you will have hardship, but be courageous: I have conquered the world.
John 16:33 COMMENTARY BY ALBERT BARNES He overcame the prince of this world by his death, Joh 12:31. He vanquished the great foe of man, and triumphed over all that would work our ruin. He brought down aid and strength from above by his death; and by procuring for us the friendship of God and the influence of the Spirit; by his own instructions and example; by revealing to us the glories of heaven, and opening our eyes to see the excellence of heavenly things, he has furnished us with the means of overcoming all our enemies, and of triumphing in all our temptations.
1 John 4:4 -- Living Bible “Dear young friends, you belong to God and have already won your fight with those who are against Christ, because there is someone in your hearts who is stronger than any evil teacher in this wicked world.”
Revelation 2:7 God’s Word to the Nations “"Let the person who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will give the privilege of eating from the tree of life, which stands in the paradise of God, to everyone who wins the victory.”
Revelation 2:11 God’s Word to the Nations “Let the person who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. Everyone who wins the victory will never be hurt by the second death.”
Revelation 3:5 God’s Word to the Nations “Everyone who wins the victory this way will wear white clothes. I will never erase their names from the Book of Life. I will acknowledge them in the presence of my Father and his angels.”
Revelation 3:21 God’s Word to the Nations “I will allow everyone who wins the victory to sit with me on my throne, as I have won the victory and have sat down with my Father on his throne.”
Revelation 12:11 -- New Jerusalem “They have triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word to which they bore witness, because even in the face of death they did not cling to life.”

Monday – The Jesus in Whom We Believe
1 John 5:6-8 NRSV “6 ¶ This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth. 7 There are three that testify: 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood, and these three agree.”
Matthew 16:24-25 -- Simple English “24 Then Jesus said to his followers, ``If anyone wants to follow me, he must carry his cross and follow me. He must say no to himself. 25 The person who wants to save his life will lose it, but every person who gives his life for me will find it.”
Hebrews 12:4 -- New Jerusalem “In the fight against sin, you have not yet had to keep fighting to the point of bloodshed.”
Hebrews 12:4 COMMENTARY BY ADAM CLARKE Many of those already mentioned were martyrs for the truth; they persevered unto death, and lost their lives in bearing testimony to the truth. Though you have had opposition and persecution, yet you have not been called, in bearing your testimony against sin and sinners, to seal the truth with your blood.

Tuesday – Jesus and the Testimony of God
1 John 5:9-10 -- Simple English “9 We believe men when they say something is true, but what God says is more important. This is what God told us: He told us the truth about His own Son. 10 The person who believes in the Son of God has the witness in him. The person who does not believe God is really calling God a liar, because he doesn't believe what God told us about His Son.”
1 John 5:9 PEOPLE’S NT COMMENTARY We do receive human testimony. We have human testimony of many and unimpeachable witnesses to the facts of the life of Christ, but we have also the greater witness of God. We have the Father's testimony on record, and we have it constantly repeated in his transforming grace. Every one born again to a new life is a new demonstration.
1 John 5:10 COMMENTARY BY ALBERT BARNES There is the evidence derived from the fact that the soul has found peace by believing on him; from the fact that the troubles and anxieties of the mind on account of sin have been removed by faith in Christ; from the new views of God and heaven which have resulted from faith in the Lord Jesus; from the effect of this in disarming death of its terrors; and from the whole influence of the gospel on the intellect and the affections--on the heart and the life,

Wednesday – The Issue of the Trinity
1 John 5:7-8 ESV “7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.”
1 John 5:7 SDA BIBLE COMMENTARY Textual evidence attests (cf. p. 10) the omission of the passage “in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth.” The resultant reading of vs. 7, 8 is as follows: “For there are three that bear record, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.” The passage as given in the KJV is in no Greek MS earlier than the 15th and 16th centuries. The disputed words found their way into the KJV by way of the Greek text of Erasmus (see Vol. V, p. 141). It is said that Erasmus offered to include the disputed words in his Greek Testament if he were shown even one Greek MS that contained them. A library in Dublin produced such a MS (known as 34), and Erasmus included the passage in his text. It is now believed that the later editions of the Vulgate acquired the passage by the mistake of a scribe who included an exegetical marginal comment in the Bible text that he was copying. The disputed words have been widely used in support of the doctrine of the Trinity, but, in view of such overwhelming evidence against their authenticity, their support is valueless and should not be used. In spite of their appearance in the Vulgate.
John teaches that Jesus was divine:
John 1:1-3 CEV “1 ¶ In the beginning was the one who is called the Word. The Word was with God and was truly God. 2 From the very beginning the Word was with God. 3 And with this Word, God created all things. Nothing was made without the Word. Everything that was created”
John 1:1 COMMENTARY BY ALBERT BARNES This term was used by the Jews as applicable to the Messiah. In their writings he was commonly known by the term "Mimra "--that is, "Word;" and no small part of the interpositions of God in defence of the Jewish nation were declared to be by "the Word of God."
John 1:14 CEV “The Word became a human being and lived here with us. We saw his true glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father. From him all the kindness and all the truth of God have come down to us.”
John 8:58-59 NLT “58 Jesus answered, ‘The truth is, I existed before Abraham was even born!’ 59 At that point they picked up stones to kill him. But Jesus hid himself from them and left the Temple.”
John 10:30-31 Holman “30 ‘The Father and I are one.’ 31 Again the Jews picked up rocks to stone Him.”
John 10:30 SDA BIBLE COMMENTARY The word for “one” is neuter, showing that unity of person is not the point under discussion. Jesus is not the point under discussion. Jesus asserted His unity with the Father in will, purpose, and objectives. The Father was behind the words and actions of Jesus. Beyond that the words carried the implication of Jesus’ close relationship with the Father. The Jews understood His words to be a claim to divinity.
John 20:28 NKJV “And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"”
1 John 2:23 -- Revised Standard “No one who denies the Son has the Father. He who confesses the Son has the Father also.”
1 John 5:20 -- Living Bible “And we know that Christ, God's Son, has come to help us understand and find the true God. And now we are in God because we are in Jesus Christ his Son, who is the only true God; and he is eternal Life.”

Thursday – Result of Believing in Jesus
1 John 5:11-12 20th Century NT “11 And that testimony is that God gave us Immortal Life, and that this Life is in his Son. 12 He who finds the Son finds Life; he who does not find the Son of God does not find Life.”
1 John 5:11 COMMENTARY BY ADAM CLARKE The great truth to which the Spirit, the water, and the blood bear testimony. God hath given us eternal life-a right to endless glory, and a meetness for it. And this life is in his Son; it comes by and through him; he is its author and its purchaser; it is only in and through HIM. No other scheme of salvation can be effectual; God has provided none other, and in such a case a man's invention must be vain.
John 3:16 -- New American “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.”
John 3:36 CEV “Everyone who has faith in the Son has eternal life. But no one who rejects him will ever share in that life, and God will be angry with them forever.”
John 5:24 God’s Word to the Nations “I can guarantee this truth: Those who listen to what I say and believe in the one who sent me will have eternal life. They won’t be judged because they have already passed from death to life.”
John 6:54 NLT “But those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them at the last day.”
John 6:54 (comment from Verse 53) – FAMILY BIBLE NOTES not literally, but spiritually, as the food and drink of the soul; thus, by a living union with him through faith, receiving from him forgiveness, sanctification, and eternal life. The Saviour has in mind the gift which he is about to make on the cross, of his flesh and blood for the life of the world. The view which he here gives of eating his flesh and drinking his blood, is the same that underlies the ordinance of the Lord's supper, afterwards instituted by him.

HEY JAMES423


THIS is an interesting poll question


dgrimm60

If you don't believe that Jesus is divine, you really don't believe in God.

There are those who know that there is a Creator for they recognize a greater power than themselves. They for some reason had not heard of Jesus as the Son of the Most High.

Are we not told there will be those taken to Heaven that will be taught of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice?

Yes, Jesus Christ is the only name under which human can be saved. Fortunately, thankfully, only They can read our hearts.

While Jesus was definitely divine, He operated on earth as a man most of the time. His miracles were performed as a man, not as God. He could have taken-up His divinity at any time but He wanted to show us what authority we as humans have here on earth. That is why He said that these sign will follow those who believe.....speak in tongues, lay hands on the sick and they will recover, etc.

Son of man = human
Son of God = Divine

Most of the time he operated as man.

Hey Haldog. This is interesting. I just had never thought of it in this way. Thanks for the post.

If you don't believe that Jesus is divine, you really don't believe in God.

That came from the poll. There are going to be people in Heaven that know nothing about the Son of God, but the Holy Spirit will have been working in their lives.

Guess that I didn't make it clear but sleep was really dogging me. bark bark lol

You gave some good points.


Blessings~

Wow, does this question really mean if you don't believe in the Trinity, you don't believe in God? Some folks believe that Jesus died for us and without his death there is no salvation, but they don't believe that Jesus was God. So does that mean they don't believe in 'God'? Or would we say that Islam does not believe in 'God'? Or that the Jews then and now did not believe in 'God'? (They were pretty sure they did).

John spent some time in his books explaining the 'nature of Christ'. The people had several views on who, or what, Christ was that John felt was in error and he hoped to correct. But he didn't call the people 'godless', with the idea in mind that they did not believe in God.

Jesus said He and the Father were one, and Jesus called Himself, 'God', but seeing things from a different point of view doesn't necessariy mean you don't believe in 'God', - (I think).

Well, it's time to study the lesson.

How could one believe in Jesus, read what the Bible says about Jesus, and not know he is God? It says just as plain as day he created all things.

1 John 5:5 COMMENTARY BY ALBERT BARNES Where is there one who can pretend to have obtained a victory over the world, except he who believes in the Saviour? All else are worldly, and are governed by worldly aims and principles. It is true that a man may gain a victory over one worldly passion; …but still, unless he has faith in the Son of God, the spirit of the world will reign supreme in his soul in some form.

I agree with 1Jn 5:5 and Albert. I don't know who he is but I agree with him.