According to the Bible (Old & New Testament) Jesus Christ is God

Hello everyone! I look forward to this debate as I am attempting to debate this topic from a variety of different angles. Introduction:I thank Con for his introduction and in light of it I will provide an introduction as well. In the beginning of the Christian church, before the political institution established by Constantine and Pope Gregory, the question of Jesus was, “is he human?” His divinity was not questioned, but instead the struggle was on how could the divine be human as well? Heresies came and left such as Gnosticism, which questioned the divinity of Christ, but the church moved beyond them. In the 19th century several movements developed, which not only rejected Christ’s divinity, but also labeled themselves as Christian and led Christian theology down a path of liberal license, which have led many on the outside to confusion. It is my duty as a man who used to attack Christianity as an anti-theist/atheist, to now defend it, which includes defending the bedrock of the Christian faith, the Gospel. The Gospel begins with the coming of Jesus Christ and knowing who Jesus Christ is essential for if you do not know who Jesus Christ really is, than you simply have a fake Christ. We should all be interested in the objective claims of Jesus and what scripture shows us all. We should be interested in the real Christ so that we can understand the real implications of true Christianity. This round will mainly focus on Jesus’ Self-consciousness, some of Paul’s understanding, “Noteworthy pieces”, and lastly a Greek term used often with Jesus. In my next argument I will focus on Jesus’ attributes, and works. At this current time, I am not sure as to whether or not I will be providing any rebuttals. As per the rules, rebuttals are not necessary, leaving Con and I with the choice of using rebuttals on the basis of whether or not it is beneficial for our position. Ultimately, this debate is boiled down to the weight of the evidence. Some of the conclusions become difficult to wrestle with, but the beginning of theological development starts with considering all aspects of scripture no matter how difficult they are. The ESV is being used unless otherwise stated & all Greek and Hebrew terms are pulled from Strong’s concordance and dictionaries as well as Thayer’s Greek definitions: Jesus’ self-consciousness: In looking at Jesus’s self-consciousness, it should be noted that Jesus did not make an explicitly and overt claim to deity, saying in so many words, “I am God.” However, we do find claims that are inappropriate if made by someone who is less than God. For example Jesus said that he would send “his angels” (Matthew 13:41), but elsewhere they are spoken of as “the angels of God” (Luke 12:8-9; 15:10). This reference is significant as Christ also calls the kingdom of God “his kingdom.” There are more examples such as Jesus claim to forgive sin, which, rightly so, results in a charge of blasphemy. “Any when Jesus say their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’ Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, ‘why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?’” (Mark 2:5-7) Notice what God says to Israel, “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins” (Isaiah 43:25). It is important to understand that the scribes were trained in the law, and understood that God is the lawgiver, and the judge, and thus the only one with authority to forgive sins. The authority, which Jesus claimed and exercised, is seen in regards to the Sabbath as well. The Sabbath was established as sacred by God (Exodus 20:8-11) and only God could abrogate or modify this regulation, which we see Jesus doing exactly that in Mark 2:23-28, and states in verse 27-28, “And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”’ The Greek here for “lord” is kurios which simply means, supreme in authority, that is, (as noun) controller; God, Lord, master, Sir. How is it that Jesus makes the claim that he is the “lord” (kurios) of the Sabbath, when God is the establisher of the Sabbath, in the mosaic covenant no less? It is worth noting that he changed the status of the Sabbath as well “made for man, not man for the Sabbath”, a right which belongs only to someone virtually equal to God. Jesus also claims to be one with the Father (John 10:30), and that to see and know him is to see and know the Father (John 14:7-9)/ There is also a claim to preexistence in his statement in John 8:58, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” Note that rather than saying, “I was”, he says, “I am.” Jesus also alludes to the “I Am” formula by which God identified himself in Exodus 3:14-15. For in this case, as in Exodus, the “I am” is a formula denoting existence. After this statement the immediate reaction of the Jews was to take up stones to throw at him, “So they picked up stones to throw at him” (John 8:59). There is no doubt that they knew the implications thus resulting in stoning according to the law which warrants stoning for blasphemy (Leviticus 24:16). If they had attempted to stone him out of anger, however, they would be guilty of attempted murder.Jesus also accepted the attribution of deity from his disciples, the clearest cases being from Thomas who says, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28) Jesus could have easily corrected the misconception if it was one, but Jesus did not do so. Jesus also juxtaposes his words with those of the Old Testament. Time and again he says, “you have heard that it was said…but I say to you” (for example see: Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28). Jesus places his word as the same level as the Old Testament, which was considered the ultimate authority to the Jewish people as the Word of God. Jesus also indicates that he has power over life and death. In John 5:21 he says, “For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.” Furthermore, when speaking to Martha he says, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (John 11:25). The title “Son of God” is capable of various meanings, but Jesus clearly used it in a manner differently than before. This is seen in John 5:2-18 when the Jews reacted with extreme hostility when, in defense of having heaved on the Sabbath, Jesus linked his worked with that of that Father. John explains in verse 18, “This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.” Throughout Jesus’ life, it is difficult to escape the conclusion that Jesus understood himself as equal with the Father, and as possessing the right to do things only God has the right to do, and can do. Paul: Paul frequently witnesses to a belief in the deity of Jesus. In Colossians 1:15-20 Paul writes that the Son is the image of the invisible God (v. 15); he is the one in whom and through whom and for whom all things hold together (v. 17). In verse 19 Paul brings the argument to a conclusion: “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.” In Colossians 2:9 he states a very similar idea: “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.” Philippians 2:5-11 is a clear assertion of the deity of Jesus. It speaks of him as being or existing in the “form” (morphe) of God (v.6). In biblical and classical Greek this term refers to the set of characteristics, which constitutes a thing what it is. The passage presents Jesus, being God, emptied himself, became human, and then was again exalter to the status of deity or equality with the Father. Noteworthy pieces: In Hebrews 1:8 the writer states the superiority of Christ to angels and ascribes Psalm 45:6-7 to Christ. The superscription to the quotation from Psalm 45:6-7 is, “But of the Son He says”; then He quotes the psalm, saying, “Thy throne, O God, is forever” and “therefore God”. Both designations “God” have reference to the Son. Hebrews 1:8 below (my emphasis added): “But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. Titus 2:13 refers to Jesus as “our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” The Granville Sharpe rule of Greek grammar states that when two nouns are joined by kai (and) and the first noun has the article and the second does not, then the two nouns refer to the same thing. Thus, both great God and savior are referring to Jesus. The Term “Lord” (kyrios): Kyrios is used in the New Testament to designate both God the Father, the sovereign God (Matthew 1:20; 9:38; 11:25; Acts 17:24; Revelation 4:11), and Jesus (Luke 2:11; John 20:28; Acts 10:36; 1 Corinthians 2:8; Philippians 2:11; James 2:1; Revelation 19:16). This identification of Jesus as Lord leaves ambiguity in passages as to whether the Father or the Son is meant (Acts 1:24; 2:47; 8:39; 9:31; 11:21; 13:10-12; Romans 14:11etc). To the Jews particularly, the term kryrios suggested that Christ was equal to the Father. Conclusion:This concludes my first series of arguments. My next set of arguments will focus on Jesus' attributes and his works. I look forward to Con's argument. - Logic In Life