April 6, 2026, Monday Evening

"Is Jesus God?"

Proving Jesus--the Son of God--IS God yet subservient to the Father

A message inspired by David Cano, a Men's Fellowship leader at San Antonio's Cornerstone Church

OPENING: Hebrews 1:8-10

The Trinity Triangle of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

SCENE-SETTER: People may interpret "Son of God" in two meanings: the Son who is one with the Father within the Trinity Godhead or--incorrectly--disconnecting the Son from God, like in the traditional family where the son and father are separate people (or in this case, entities). And then there are some religions that don't believe the former. There is only one God who consists of three distinct persons: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All are equally omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, eternal, and unchanging, yet each has unique functions.
The Father
- While the three members of the Trinity are one being, there are functional differences between them; Jesus, as the Son, expressed that His will was subservient to the will of the Father (Matthew 26:39: "And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.")
- John 14:28: Jesus also said "...for my Father is greater than I."
- 1 Corinthians 8:6: Paul said, "But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him."
  - Here we establish there is only one God and the Father is the first person in the Trinity
  - This verse, dealing with creation, refers to a time prior to the incarnation of Jesus; He expresses that all things came from the Father and through the Son, meaning the Father was the source and the Son was the agent of creation
- Matthew 26:64, Acts 2:33, Romans 8:34: The Father is frequently described as sitting on His Heavenly throne with the Son at His right hand--the place of honor; it is always the Father who is described as sovereign while the Trinity's Son and Holy Spirit are pictured as carrying out His direction
The Son
- Jesus, as the second Person in the Trinity, is proclaimed and identified in the New Testament Bible as "Lord"
- "Lord" is the Greek word kyrios which the Septuagint used to translate YHWH, the name of God given to Moses at Mount Sinai
  - As such, there is little question that the New Testament writers understood Jesus to be God, YHWH, of the Old Testament Bible; yet, as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 8:6 above, Jesus is functionally distinct from the Father
- Jesus is within the Trinity Godhead as a singular God (Colossians 2:9-10: "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:")
- Hebrews 1:5,8-10: "But unto the Son he [The Father] saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:"
  - That is a POWERFUL statement where the Father called Jesus God and Lord ... and that Jesus created Heaven and earth, validating the above statement that the Father is the source and then Jesus is the "agent of creation"
  - John 1:6-11: "There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light [Jesus], that all men through him might believe...He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own [the Jews], and his own received him not."
- A connection to the Father and Son via "lights": "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights..." (James 1:17) and Jesus said, "...I am the light of the world." (John 9:5)
- John 10:30,38: Jesus said, "I and my Father are one ... the Father is in Me, and I in Him."
- Connection to the Father by the name "I AM": "Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am." (John 8:58) and "And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you." (Exodus 3:14)
- Isaiah 9:6: "For unto us a child [Jesus] is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."
- 1 Timothy 3:16: "...God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory."
- Here's a connection to Jesus being God by "the Word":
  - John 1:1-3: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made."
  - John 1:14: "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."
  - This validates that Jesus is God, that He is the agent of creation, and He existed before He was incarnated as God's begotten Son
- Another connection that They are one: Colossians 1:19: "For it pleased the Father that in Him [Jesus] should all fulness dwell;"
- And another connection: Philippians 2:5-8: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."
  - Therefore, Jesus is both the nature of God and the nature of humanity, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people; in other words, He fully became one of us while at the same time remaining fully God--a great mystery! (Hebrews 2:17)
- Hebrews 6:20 and 7:27: In the Old Testament priesthood and sacrificial system, the human high priest sacrificed animals first to atone for his own sins then the sins of the people ... and this was done non-stop; however, Jesus is also named the High Priest who--being sinless for His life--gave Himself as a one-time sacrifice for the past/present/future sins of the world, negating the need for future animal sacrifices
  - Romans 5:19: For by one man (Adam) sin (and death) entered the world ... and by one Man (Jesus) can it be taken away to make many righteous and pure to enter Heaven
- He was not a prophet because prophets are not gods
  - Prophets are only human so they couldn't be given power over Heaven (Matthew 28:18: "And Jesus came and spake unto them [His disciples], saying, All power is given unto me in Heaven and in earth.")
  - Humans--as appointed judges--can judge alive humans but cannot judge the dead; hence, another example of how Jesus is God and not a prophet (Acts 10:42: "He [Jesus] commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.")
    - "and the dead" connects to 2 Corinthians 5:10: "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad."
  - Micah 5:2: A prophecy that "But thou, Bethlehem ... out of thee shall He [Jesus] come forth unto me that is to be ruler of Israel whose goings have been from of old, from everlasting"
    - As human prophets have only a finite mortal lifespan, "everlasting" indicates Jesus existed before coming down in human form
  - Titus 2:13: "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;"
  - John 20:26-29: When Jesus was resurrected and returned to His disciples, Thomas believed and said to him, "My Lord and my God."
- Who and what religions deny Jesus as being God?
  - Jehovah's Witnesses:
    Do not consider him to be part of a Trinity but rather a separate entity NOT CO-EQUAL with God
    They teach that Jesus was resurrected as a spirit, not in a physical body
    Their belief system emphasizes strict monotheism, recognizing Jehovah as the only true God
The Holy Spirit
- Being the third entity in the Trinity, He was also sent from the Father once the work of Jesus (opening the way to salvation) was done; now the work of the Holy Spirit--today--is largely behind the scenes and can be divided into two major areas:
  - The world, at-large
    - John 16:7-11: Jesus said, "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world [Satan] is judged."
    - Here Jesus confirms that until His work is done on earth, the "Comforter" (Holy Spirit) cannot come to us to:
      - Be our spiritual voice of conviction of knowing we sinned and need forgiveness
      - Draw those who don't believe on the name of Jesus to God's offer of salvation and grace (eternal life)
    - Hence, apart from the work of the Holy Spirit, no one would ever accept the work of Jesus on the cross
    - John 6:44,65: Jesus expressed that no one could come to Him without the drawing of the Father ... and this drawing occurs through His Holy Spirit at work within individuals
  - Within the believer's life
    - The Holy Spirit assures us of salvation (Ephesians 1:14: "Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.")
      - "the earnest of our inheritance" means inheriting the Kingdom of God (aka, going to Heaven after this life)
      - "the purchased possession" means we are purchased by the blood of Jesus on the cross
        This connects to 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20: We were bought with a price so we don't own our body--it is not ours but God's where you are to glorify Him in your words and actions ... and, as such, the Holy Spirit dwells within our body ("temple") to help do that
    - John 14:26: "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."
      - This confirms the Holy Spirit is "The Comforter" and he will be the primary interpreter of the Scripture
        
        How will He interpret for us? The Word (Bible) is full of mysteries and secrets which will not be revealed to those--in the words of Jesus--"on the outside"--unless God chooses to, by the Holy Spirit (Deuteronomy 29:29, Ephesians 1:9, Ephesians 3:4-6, and Mark 4:11-12)
      - And He works in our lives to produce His fruit that we are to have and practice (Galatians 5:22-23: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance...")
    - Romans 8:1-17: He is our guide to life as believers (walking in the Spirit) and without Him (walking in the flesh), we are lost
    - Romans 8:26-27: The Holy Spirit enables us to know and talk with God, helping us with our weaknesses and how to pray (talk) to God, interceeding for us -- His presence in the life of the believer is essential for the life we are called to live
CLOSER
There is one God for which The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one within the Trinity Godhead, but with distinct functions:
The Father is the sovereign and the source
The Son (Jesus) is the agent of creation who came to earth in the flesh to open the way to salvation
And, after Jesus' work was done on earth through his crucifixion, the Holy Spirit came in as the Comforter to both the world at-large and within each believer's life, to this day
Jesus shares same names as His Father: "God," "Lord," "I AM," "Everlasting Father," and "the Light"
Jesus has been since the beginning or "from everlasting"--just as the Father--thanks to the connection in John 1: "In the beginning was the Word ... And the Word was God ... And the Word was made flesh..." and Micah 5:2
Now you're armed with the above scripture to counter all communities and religions who:
Deny the Trinity, Jesus being the Son of God, and Jesus being God
Deny Jesus as co-equal with God
Believe Jesus was a prophet