I and My Father are one (John 10:30).

Commentary and explanation. Jesus Christ is at the center of the history of salvation. Jesus Christ is the greatest revelation of God.

God spoke at various times in the Old Testament by the prophets, as we said in Step 84 quoting Hebrews 1:1, 2, and now, in these last days has spoken to us by His Son; that is, God not only spoke to us through Jesus, but, by the fact that He is His Son, He is also God Himself, or Immanuel, 'God with us:' And they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated 'God with us' (Matthew 1:23).

The whole history of salvation is centered in Jesus Christ, from its beginning at Eden, up to its consummation on the cross and by His resurrection; in Him God has been present for the salvation of whoever believes (Romans 1:16).

And what must believed to attain salvation? In one word what we must believe is that He is truly God. Faith in this truth makes us Christians, as well as denying it distinguishes the true believer from the unbeliever.

There are sects and cults that not only speak about Jesus Christ but also affirm that He is the Son of God; but they say also that He is inferior to God, denying therefore that He is true God. It is not enough to have the Bible at hand —as these sects do,— but we must believe everything that the Scriptures teach.

There are so many biblical texts to prove the deity of Jesus Christ, that it is not possible to quote all of them in this Step; but let us see at least a summary of the main ones.

Every son has necessarily the same nature as its parents; the son of a man and woman has the same human nature as his parents, and the son of an animal has also the same nature as its parents. Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, was fully conscious of His identity with the Father when he said —in John's words, that is, the way John perceived Him— I and My Father are one. The Father is in Me, and I in Him (John 10:30, 38).

Philip said to Jesus: show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us. Jesus said to him: Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father... Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me (John 14:8, 9, 11).

This "I AM" that Jesus said is the same "I AM," or Yahveh, which is the proper name of God (Step 83), and Jesus repeats this very often. For us, who do not call God I am, this could be less clear, but for the Jews who call God Yahveh, which means I am, it was very clear that Jesus was saying that He was God. (The explanation in the next paragraph.)

If you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins, John says in 8:24; and in 8:58, he adds: Before Abraham was, I AM. And in 5:17, 18, Jesus identifies His own actions with God's: My Father has been working until now, and I have been working. Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.

There is no doubt then that Jesus stated openly that He was God; and this was so clear for the Jews, that in 8:59 John says that the Jews took up stones to throw at Him; and in 10:31 they took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them: Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me? The Jews answered Him, saying: For a good work we do not stone You, but for the blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God (John 10:31-33).

If the apostles themselves had difficulty believing in Jesus, how much more the Jews; nevertheless, all the doubts that the apostles had were dissipated with the resurrection, so much so that the unbeliever Thomas exclaimed: My Lord and God! (John 20:28).

Note. For an understanding of the gospel of John, wait and see the chapter on The Gospel of John later.

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In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God... And the Word became 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 (John 1:1-2,14).

Commentary and explanation. In this quotation it is affirmed that the Word was God since the beginning; that He existed forever, and only God exists forever; and it is affirmed also that it was that eternal Word who became flesh, who became a Man called Jesus Christ.

This is the great mystery of Jesus Christ: that He is God and Man; true God and true Man; two natures in one person, Jesus Christ; the nature of God and the nature of man; both complete natures in only one person.

By the fact that Jesus had the nature of a man, regarding His human nature He was created (He became man in Mary's womb), and as a man He is inferior to the Father, as Jesus recognized when He said: My Father is greater than I (John 14:28). But, by the fact that Jesus recognizes that the Father is greater than He is, as a man, this does not imply that He is denying the other fact, namely, that as Son of the Father, He is also God and equal to His Father, one "thing" —one nature— with Him: "I and My Father are one" (John 10:30).

Paul recognizes also this double nature of Christ, man's and God's, when he says that Christ, according to the flesh, came from the fathers (the patriarchs), who is over all, the eternally blessed God (Romans 9:5). Christ man and Christ God.

This double nature of Christ, human and divine, is clear and beautifully expressed in Philippians 2, where Paul describes the humiliations and death of the Christ-man, and point at Him as The Lord, that is, God in biblical language, and worthy of worship: He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:8-11).

And what does Isaiah say? Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped (Isaiah 35:4-5).

Then, some disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus and asked Him: Are you the Coming One, or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said to them. "Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind receive their sight and the lame walk... the deaf hear... and blessed is he who is not offended because of Me" (Matthew 11:3-6). The sign of the promise that 'God will come and save you,' is accomplished; the Lord God has visited and redeemed His people (Luke 1:68); God Himself is with us in Jesus Christ. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me!

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We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Corinthians 2:7-8).

Commentary and explanation. To discover and to know the hidden wisdom of God is the fruit of faith, because only by faith can we know that mystery of God made flesh in the person of Jesus Christ.

It is this faith in the divinity of Christ which marks the boundaries between the believer and the unbeliever. Christian faith lacks value if it does not recognize the double nature —divine and human— of the person of Jesus Christ. Denying this truth would destroy the whole content of the gospel. Nobody can say that he or she is in Christ, except by this faith.

Nevertheless, today as at Jesus' and apostles' times, there are sects and groups that credit Jesus with some kind of special preeminence, but deny that He is God. Paul, speaking to the Jews, said that had they known Him, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. There are also unbelievers today —as the Jews— who close their eyes to the evidence of the Scriptures that Jesus Christ, as Son of God, is true God and one with the Father (John 10:30).

Peter's testimony, among others, is peremptory. In his first preaching to the Jews, he concludes with these words: Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36). To tell the Jews that Jesus is the Lord and Christ, was the same as to tell them: believe that He is God. And they believed it!

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For to which of the angels did He ever say: "You are My Son, today I have begotten You"? And again: "I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son"? But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: "Let all the angels of God worship Him"... But to the Son He says: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever... You are the same, and Your years will not fail." But to which of the angels has He ever said: "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies your footstool"? (Hebrews 1:5-6, 8, 12, 13).

Commentary and explanation. The letter to Hebrews is particularly important, because for the Hebrews there was nobody over the angels except God; and that is, precisely, the place assigned to Christ. The Godhead of Christ is affirmed here repeatedly.

1. Christ is God because He is Son. The letter says clearly: "You are My Son, today I have begotten You." Parents do not beget children of different nature than theirs. Therefore, the nature of the Son is not inferior to that of the Father, but it is the same. That was what Paul said, that Jesus Christ was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power (Romans 1:3-4). Man according to the flesh, but God too.

2. Christ is God whom angels must worship. Worship is due to nobody else but God; that is what the angels must do for the Son: "Let all the angels of God worship Him."

3. The Son does not change, and His years are forever. Only of God can it be said that He does not change and that His years are forever; that is what is said of the Son: "You are the same, and Your years will not fail."

4. The Son is seated on the throne of God. To be seated to the right of God and to share His power and lordship over the whole creation, are only God's attributes; and that is what is said of Jesus Christ: "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies your footstool."

1. Before the high priest. In the evening of His passion, before the high priest, Jesus declared that He was the Son of God. Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? —the high priest asked Jesus. And Jesus said: "I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven" (Mark 14:61, 62). Once again, the throne of Jesus is the same as the throne of God, because He is God.

2. John's testimony. In his first letter, he says: Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either, he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also (1 John 2:22-23). And at the end of the letter he (John) emphatically affirms the deity of Jesus: And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life (1 John 5:20).

3. Paul's testimony is his letter to Titus. He says this: The grace of God has appeared to all men, teaching us that we should live... looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ (Titus 2:11-13, uncompleted).

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He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist... For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell... For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 1:15-17, 19; 2:9).

Commentary and explanation. If we would have only the testimony of Colossians to support our faith on the divinity of Christ, that testimony alone would be enough. What Colossians says, can not be said of any creature or of any man whose existence began at conception; it must be somebody who was —who existed— before conception, and that is therefore God. Let us see.

1. He is the image of the invisible God (verse 15). Christ is the image of God, because in Him is re-presented (is present again) the nature and perfections of God. God is invisible, but in Christ God has been made visible; in Christ, God is manifested in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16). This presence of God in Christ is explained and confirmed later in this text.

2. For by Him all things were created (verse 16). There couldn't be a more explicit and universal declaration about the creative power of Christ than this: All things were created through Him and for Him; all visible and invisible things; everything. And everybody knows that creative power belongs exclusively to God. This is the power of Christ, For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen (Romans 11:36).

3. He is before all things (verse 17). If He created everything, it follows that He was before everything was made; and God is the only one who was, before everything was made. The existence of the person of Christ (which is divine, the Word, the Son) didn't begin with His incarnation in Mary's womb; He existed before: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1).

4. In Him all things consist (verse 17). The meaning of this sentence is that all creatures continue receiving their existence from Christ. The power of Christ was not limited to the creation of everything, but, once all the creatures were made, they continue receiving their existence from Him, who gave them the existence in the first place; creatures would come to nothingness unless they receive constantly their existence from God. Only God exists by Himself. The letter to Hebrews confirms what Colossians is saying: For it was fitting for Him for whom are all things and by whom are all things (2:10).

5. In Him all the fullness should dwell (verse 19). The meaning of this sentence is that Christ does not lack any attribute or perfection of God; that He is not lacking or impotent for anything. He permitted, during His passion, that they would do everything they pleased; but now, when He is glorified, He has control over everything; there is no one thing that can escape His power; there is no problem, no pain, no temptation, no element in the whole creation, over which He does not have power and complete control: He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church (Ephesians 1:22).

6. In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (verse 2:9). What Paul affirms here is that in Christ is the fullness of God, which means that in the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, is everything that God is. Everything that belongs to God is Jesus Christ, and taking anything which is divine from Him, would be heresy and contrary to the Scriptures.

In Christ is the Deity itself, the nature of God; and is there bodily, that is, in a body, in flesh, made flesh and visible, as a man. It is not the case that Christ has only a spiritual presence of God, or that He has an attribute or perfection of God, as wisdom, or power, or any other of God's attribute; no, in Christ is the Deity itself, God, the being of God; is God Himself who has been revealed in flesh, in Christ. This is Jesus Christ, the Son of God made man.

Inversely it would be not true to affirm that the Deity is Christ; the Deity is not limited to Jesus Christ, because the Deity is shared also with the Father and Holy Spirit. This is the mystery of the Trinity.

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I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men... For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:1, 3-5).

Commentary and explanation. In this Step we'll try to explain three things: 1. that Jesus Christ is true man; 2. that because of His unique condition of being also the Son of God, He is in a position that qualifies Him to be the Mediator between God and men; and 3. what being Jesus Christ a Mediator means.

1. Jesus Christ is true man. In the early years of the Christian era, and even centuries later, there were heretics that denied that Jesus Christ was a true man, to the point that John the Apostle had to write: Every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God (1 John 4:3). His humanity is generally accepted today by everybody.

There are very many texts that prove that Jesus was a true man, since He was born from a woman, He was circumcised, He grew up in age, He ate and drank with men, He suffered physical pains, and also moral afflictions as sorrow and grief, and finally He died as every human being dies.

This similarity of Christ with every human being, made the author of Hebrews write: We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weakness, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus Christ was therefore equal to everybody but without sin.

2. Jesus Christ, for being God-Man, is the Mediator between God and men. There are also many Scriptures that present Jesus Christ as the Mediator. The clearest and most direct reference is the quotation of this Step, from the first letter of Paul to Timothy.

The most interesting point here is that Paul exhorts that prayers be made for all men, and affirms that God desires that all men be saved, to conclude that there is one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus. The implication here is that Jesus Christ is Mediator, not just for Christians, but for all mankind. Everybody, everywhere, who calls the name of God in prayer, does it through the mediation of Jesus Christ.

When Paul emphasized that there was only one Mediator, he wants to tell us that there is only one, equal for all; that everybody has access to the Mediator, and there are no preferences or distinctions of any kind; that there are no men who have a greater or more influential access to the mediation of Christ. We all can approach Him equally.

When Paul states that there is only one mediator, he is telling us that there are no other mediators except Jesus Christ. Any intent to establish other mediation between God and men besides Jesus Christ is excluded by the Scriptures.

3. What the mediation of Jesus Christ means. The mediation of Jesus Christ means that the whole work of salvation is carried out through Jesus Christ; His mediation is universal and necessary; every gift and grace from God to mankind comes through Jesus Christ, and all communication from men to God is realized by Jesus Christ.

No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:5), which Jesus amplifies saying: I am the way... I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved (John 14:6; 10:9). There is no other way to come to God but Jesus Christ.

The letter to Hebrews sees the mediation of Jesus Christ from a different angle, equally important, namely, as the Mediator of the new covenant: He is the Mediator of the new covenant (Hebrews 9:15; 12:24); and, Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant (Hebrews 7:22).

These texts are explained in other Steps, when talking about the Covenants of God with men, in the commentaries to the Old Testament (Vol II of Steps by Steps with the Bible).

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