Is Jesus = God?

     There is a subject that has intrigued me for years.... Does the Bible Claim Jesus is God?

     This morning, I was reading 1 John 5:20 from the Greek. That previous statement doesn't mean I am smart, just disciplined. There are two practices that I try to do each day (1) Read a short passage from the Greek and (2) Read at least 5 pages from a book. By doing those two practices, I have read hundreds of books and about half of the NT from the Greek.

    Now back to 1 John 5:20. The NIV says, "He is the true God and eternal life." 

    Since I wasn't reading the from the English, I didn't breeze past that statement, but actually noticed what I read. The passage is clearly talking about JESUS CHRIST. In the Greek construction, there is no doubt that Jesus is being called God. So, John literally calls Jesus God.

     There is another clear example that John thought Jesus = God is found in John 1. In verse 1, John says that "the word was God" and then in verse 14, we are informed that "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son." So, if the Word was God and became the Son...I guess John is saying that Jesus = God.

     One more passage. In John 8, Jesus is in a debate with some Jews when he tossed out that "Abraham was glad to meet him (Jesus)." The smart people picked up on this and said, "you aren't even fifty, and you have seen Abraham."  Jesus reply says a lot... "Before Abraham was born, I AM." Now, every good Jewish boy understood that Jesus was calling himself the "I AM." (see Exodus 3:14).

     So, you ask, why does all this matter? Well, the common statement about Jesus is that "he was a good teacher." The problem is... If you are saying Jesus is just a "good teacher," you are missing the whole message about who He is and what His death on the cross really means.