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Hello ben d I hope all is well...
You don't see .? Historical FACT.. Christians believe Jesus is God; Thomas is a Christian! Christians believe the scriptures they do NOT twist the words of God!
You ARE a believer or you are NOT.. You can't sit on the fence! You reject what Christians have always believed and taught, then you are NOT Christian!
Historical fact: Arius WAS a Christian until he taught Jesus is NOT God; Christians thus rejected Arius!
"My Lord and my God"! Jesus replied; Understand this; Blessed are those who have NOT seen me and yet believe as you do!" Clearly those who reject Jesus is "Lord and God" are NOT blessed you can't read it any other way!
ben d You believe adding the letter "A" to John 1 is NOT reading into it!? In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was "A" god.
FACT: There is ONLY ONE GOD! "A" god means more then ONE a lesser god or greater god it still means MORE THEN ONE GOD! ! Christians reject many gods the scriptures tell you throughout them there is only one; all who have more then one god worship bulls, fire, money, frogs, calves ets.. they are NOT Christian! NOT ONE....
ben d not one of the 60 plus scripture interpreters have the letter "A" in John 1! The letter "A" was added to the NWT 1800 years AFTER Jesus!
THINK... Satan was defeated by the Cross, it was on the Cross that Jesus destroyed death, Jesus then restored life by rising! Satan would never put on any of his churches a cross of any kind, he would never have his followers display crosses! Christians use the "Cross" to show the whole world they are Christ Followers it is their symbol, they are Christian because Jesus is God!
All non-Christian churches rejects the cross; All non-Christian churches reject Jesus is God!
I am well thank you Dogknox20, I hope you are too.
Jesus said in John 14:12: “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.
So two things here, Jesus saying He was going to the Father implies, does it not, that He is not exactly the same in His incarnate state as the Father, and secondly, all His earthly miraculous powers are not unique to Him, others can do it too, even greater, if they have faith in the Son, and by extension the Father.
So it is not just a simple 'Jesus is God', or that 'Jesus is merely the Son of God', there is great mystery. I refer you to two scriptural pieces that may help to understand more deeply the mystery.
First... Corinthians 6:19. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own.
Second.... 1 Corinthians 2:9 However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” the things God has prepared for those who love him.
So if we contemplate these quotes, we find that the source of you and myself is God, we are expressions of God, yet using all our body's perceptive ability, we can not know our own source, though if we submit to our Father with all our heart, mind, and soul in love, then we will inherit the Kingdom of God.
Lastly, if you believe that Jesus is the same as God for whatever reason, and another not, so be it, we should not waste too much time arguing about whether some scripture is meant to be taken literally, or metaphorically, or as a simile, or a parable, etc., the bottom line is that the straight path we tread is not easy, for the Kingdom is within, and understanding is not in words, it is a case of actually realizing the full potential of our soul to be the perfect expression of God, the source of what and who we truly are. Amen.
