If Jesus was God, why didn't he say it very clearly, was it a secret, it's the backbone of today's christian faith.
Omya, He did.. many times in all of the accounts we call the Gospels. It's the central theme of His words and was the reason for his crucifixion from the point of view of the Jews. Remember, they were monotheistic too, and His words did not hide the fact that He was calling Himself God. I asked you to look at John 5 a few days ago, now is a good time to share what I wanted to show you in that chapter. I know you have problems with John's answers, but I'll tackle that in a separate topic later, so we don't interfere with the discussion here.
John 5:16-18
"For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him, not only was he breaking the sabbath, but he was calling God his own Father, making Himself equal with God.
By his very words and actions, Jesus was deliberately showing Himself to be equal to God.. yet he then goes on to show them something else
John 5:19
Jesus gave them this answer "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by Himself, He can only do what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does, the Son does."
John 5:22 "moreover, the Father judges no-one, but has entrusted all judgement to the Son. that all may honour the Son, just as the honour the Father. He who does not honour the Son, does not honour the Father who sent Him. "
Jesus claimed to be equal with the Father again after talking to them about the testimony and work of John the Baptist
I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has Himself testified concerning me. You have never heard His voice, nor seen His form, nor does His word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one He has sent. You study the Scriptures because you think by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me."
I do not accept praise from men, but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. I have come in my Father's name, and you do not accept me, but if someone else comes in His name, you will accept him. How can you believe if you accept praise from one another., yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from God.
But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?
Now let's look at John 10:30-33
"I and the Father are one". Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him. But Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father, for which of these do you stone me?". "We are not stoning you for any of these, " replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man claim to be God".
Let's look now in John 14:5-11
Jesus is now talking to His Disciples, who are also questioning His Deity. Remember they too were Jews. Hear His words to them
"Philip said "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." Jesus answered. "Don't you know me Philip, even after I have been among you for such a long time? How can you say "show us the Father" Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not JUST my own. Rather, it is the Father living in me, who is doing His work. Believe me when I say, that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves."
And if there is a God sitting on the throne, and a lamb...so they are not ne and the same!!!
Does it make sense?
Omya, it only makes sense if they are one and the same.. and the Scriptures do state they are
Revelation 1:7-8
Look, He is coming with the clouds and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all peoples of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be. amen!"
and John 20:24-30
Now Thomas (called Didymus) one of the twelve, was not with the Disciples when Jesus came (this was after the resurrection). So the Disciples told him "we have seen the Lord."
But He said to them, Unless I see the nail marks in His hands and put my fingers where the nail prints were, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe it."
A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said "Peace be with you." Then He said to Thomas "put your finger here in my hands, Reach out your hand and put it into my side". Stop doubting and believe." Thomas said to Him "My Lord and my God".
Jesus declared Himself many times to be God Omya, our choice is to be like Thomas who stop doubting and respond "my Lord and my God" or to respond as the Jews who Jesus warned would oneday be judged by Moses for their unbelief, and who showed by their very lack of belief that they really did not love God, or else they would follow and believe in the one who He had sent.
If they are one and the same, how comes they exist in 2 places at the same time?
He wasn't in two places at the same time. John 1:1-2, 14 states it as it is
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the Beginning. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us."
For those few short years of Jesus life, God became flesh and dwelt amongst us, but never did He cease to be God. Phillipians 2:8-9 says "who, being in very nature, God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness, and being found in appearance as a man."
Now, this ability for God to take on temporary physical appearances and yet remain the Transecendent, Omnipresent God is not unusual. Two occasions in the Old Testament where he did this are in
Genesis 18:1-15 speaks of the three visitors who come to visit Abraham and Sarah and tell them that they will have a son. The passage clearly speaks of THE LORD being one of those visitors.
Exodus 3:3-4:16 speaks of God appearing to and speaking to Moses as a burning bush in the desert.
There are others.
And if your sins are forgiven , what is then the meaning of your good or bad deeds?
Having my sins forgiven means that the sin which I commit knowingly, as well as the sin I commit without realising are forgiven. Because I know that all sin is an abomination before God and because I love Him so much and know that He loves me, I truly and honestly do not want to sin. I obey His word to the best of my human ability because I don't want in any way to hurt or upset Him by my actions. The bible tells me I can grieve or upset the Holy Spirit by the things I do. I know, by reading the Bible, that sin separates me (in that I know there is a barrier between me and God when I deliberately or subconsciously don't obey Him).
The wonderful thing now is though, that unlike before I became a Christian, I know that those sins are forgiven and I am loved unconditionally by God. This doesn't give me the license to keep sinning.. in fact when I sin, I know I have hurt God and that makes it worse than before I became a believer.
Please never think that to become a Christian means never to sin. Christians, no matter how much they try to live a good and godly life, do still sin, but now, we know we can tell God about it and He forgives us freely.
It is like me with my two sons. Because they are my children and I am their mother, it is my responsiblity to make sure they are disciplined when they do the wrong thing. Because I am their mother, even when I discipline them, I never stop loving them, and even if they hurt me by their behaviour, I love them because they are my children, and I will never stop loving them.
This is how the Bible describes my relationship to God. In the Qur'an you only know that your good and bad deeds are on scales, and you hope that the good ones will balance more than the bad ones. You work all your life trying to live a life worthy of the faith you have, and you hope that that is enough to bring you to paradise. In your heart, I am sure you know, that you have unkind thoughts or maybe you are jealous or have other hidden faults. You can do your best on the outside to be good, but on the inside you know that there are things there that Allah would not like.
So it is with Christians, but the big difference is that the Bible says "as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed the sin of those who love him" Psalm 103:11-12 and "Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus, the Spirit of life has set me free from the Law of sin and eath. For what the law was powerless to do, God did by sending His own Son to be a sin offering." Romans 8:1-16.
Now our inner most being has changed and the Bible teaches us that we don't have to try to do good deeds in our own strength and ability .. we do them because we love God, not because we fear condemnation. and if we have problems doing it, here is the promise to finish this post off
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in all our weaknesses. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts, knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. Romans 8:26-27