If Jesus was simply a good man, killed for upsetting the status quo, his death is meaningless, concerning our eternal state. If Jesus was perfect, and only God is perfect, then His death on the cross was not for His sin or some crime He committed but indeed becomes the sacrifice which frees us from the wages of sin, identified in scripture as death.
In other words, only if Jesus was perfect could His death on the cross be substitutionary and applied to us for the forgiveness of sin. If Jesus was not perfect, his death was for his own sin and has no ability to cleanse us of our unrighteousness.
Since knowing the truth seems pretty important, knowing what the Bible says on the subject is equally as important. What follows is one of many proofs Jesus is indeed God.
In the book of Genesis, God(YHWH) spoke to Abraham. God gave Abraham two messages. One, he would have a son by Sarah in a year and two, He is about to bring judgment against Sodom. In this account, God appears to Abraham as a man. Scripture reveals 3 men show up to speak with Abraham.
Two men, we know, are angels as they go off to Sodom and warn Abraham's nephew Lot about the impending destruction of the cities of the plain. The third man is clearly identified as YHWH(YEHOVA) by Moses, rendered as LORD in our English translations. Linking this account, with the words and acts of Christ, prove it was actually Jesus who appeared to Abraham proving Jesus is God.
Emphatically, God commands we worship none but Him. Abraham not only worships the man who visited, the man accepted worship. Servants of God never accept worship. In Revelation, an angel instructs John not to worship him. In the Apostle Paul's travels, he instructs others to not worship him, but God. Jesus, Himself, reminds the devil, "thou shalt worship the Lord thy God alone and Him only shalt thou serve." If Abraham's visitor received worship, he was either a false servant of God or God in the flesh, there can be no other conclusion.
When Moses spoke to God in the burning bush, Moses asked God His name. God's response was, "I AM that I AM , YHWH is my name." Moses, who wrote the Genesis account, identifies the man who came to Abraham as YHWH. So we can connect the dots: Moses identifies God as both I AM and YHWH. We also see God appear to Abraham as a man.
Christ, during His ministry, walked the earth as a man. Jesus specifically taught the disciples the Father is Spirit. Abraham met God in the form of a man. When the religious leaders began to question Jesus about His authority He responded by saying, "you claim to have Abraham as your father... before Abraham was I AM." The religious leaders knew exactly what Jesus was inferring as they picked up rocks to stone Him because they considered His words blasphemy, that a man should claim to be God.
Moses intentionally identified the third man who came to Abraham as God in human form. Moses also ensures the reader understands I AM and YHWH are one and the same. When Jesus declared "before Abraham was, I AM" it left no doubt Jesus is claiming to be the man who appeared to Abraham.
Jesus received worship as He rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Were He not God, His own words would condemn Him when He spoke Satan in the wilderness.
God's plan of redemption was always in sight. As early the Garden of Eden, God declared His plan to save mankind and to destroy Satan. As Jesus appears to Abraham and revealed to him he will be a blessing to all nations, God had the cross in sight. God revealed the plan for man's redemption as soon as man sinned in the Garden. God continued to reveal His plan throughout Israel's history and pre-history, in the case of Abraham. This is the love of God - He became a man to die for men who rebelled against Him.
Be secure in the knowledge Jesus is God and know your sins are forgiven at the cross because He, as God, was perfect.
Now, go live as Christ... and give the devil hell!
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