John 1: 1 Who is Jesus?

The question of “who is Jesus?” is easily the most important question in the field of religion.  He is said to be the savior of the world, so who or what is he?

Humans are the highest form of life apart from God.  We are created in God’s image.  What can be higher than that?

Are angels greater because they are powerful spirit beings?  But Jesus didn’t come to save angels.  He came to save humans.

Are elephants and lions and tigers and whales greater than humans, because they are bigger and stronger? 

So who or what is Jesus?

If Jesus were just a man, many of the things He said or were attributed to Him would be problematic, because He would have to be crazy to think that He could forgive sins.  And how exactly could a man atone for the sins of anybody?  He would have His own sins that would need to be atoned for?

Is He an angel?

Hebrews says that Jesus is better than the angels.  Hebrews 1:5 (NASB95) ⁵ For to which of the angels did He ever say, “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You”? And again, “I will be a Father to Him and He shall be a Son to Me”?

No, He’s not an angel.

Another possibility is that Jesus was more than a man but less than God.  A created being, along the lines of angels but greater, or at least the greatest of the angels.  Some would even call Him a god. 

This last teaching is based on John 1:1-4.  [Unless otherwise noted, all the translations in this paper are mine.   I have tried to be as literal as possible.  This shows where the original texts place their emphasis as well as limiting my ability to read something into the passage which is not there.]

John 1:1–4

¹ Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος. ² οὗτος ἦν ἐν ἀρχῇ πρὸς τὸν θεόν. ³ πάντα διʼ αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ χωρὶς αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο οὐδὲ ἕν ὃ γέγονεν. ⁴ ἐν αὐτῷ ζωὴ ἦν, καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἦν τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. 2 This one was in the beginning with God. 3 All things through Him came into being, and without Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.

The first verse has the words: and the Word was God, literally, God was the Word.  The word order is reversed in Greek, putting the emphasis on the word God.  Ancient Greek did not have an indefinite article: a, or an, and the word God here does not have a definite article.  So theoretically it could be translated ‘a god,’ though I haven’t seen a Greek grammar book that would translate it that way.  They note that words that don’t have articles and appear first in a clause like this (a to-be clause) emphasize the nature of the thing, in this case that the Logos was of the essence of God.

But let’s assume for now that ‘a god’ is the correct translation here.  This god is eternal, just like God.  The text says that in the beginning was the Word.  Notice the words ἐγένετο, ἐγένετο, γέγονεν in the text.  They all mean ‘came into being’, the last is a perfect form that emphasizes something’s continued state after having come into being.  These words are not used in reference to ‘a god’ but to all other things. 

I’ve seen a translation that says ‘all other things came into being through Him.’  The word ‘other’ was added; it is not in the original text.  The problem here is that the text already said that the Word did not come into being.  In the beginning it already was.  You can’t say that it came into being before the beginning.  That’s an abuse of language.  The text should have then said: In the beginning the Word was created, because that would have been the true beginning, the start of everything that God created.  It doesn’t make sense to have a beginning before the beginning.  What was it the beginning of?  Well, the beginning of when God starting creating things.   Before then God always existed, so there was no beginning until God did something outside of Himself: a creation.  If the Word was His first creation, then the text would have said:  In the beginning God created the Word.  But then Genesis 1:1 says that: in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  But the Word existed before then, because John 1 says that everything was made by Him.  So He already had to have been there.

Well, is He God or a god?

Rather than pull verses from all over the Bible which can appear like I’m taking verses out of context and misusing them, I thought it best to just focus on one part of the Bible.  In Isaiah, God is addressing the nation of Israel over the subject of idols, false gods, and the gods of the other nations. 

Isaiah 43:10–11 ¹⁰ “You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord, “And My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me. ¹¹ “I, I am the Lord, and there is not besides me a savior.

[When the English Bibles prints the word Lord, it stands for the name of God יהוה.   Biblical Hebrew did not have vowels in the text, so there was always a question on how to pronounce it.  At some point, somebody used the vowels from the word Lord אֲדֹנָי and read that with the consonants, and it came out Jehovah.  Some Bible scholars today think Yahweh is more likely how it was pronounced.]

So here in this passage, God, the Lord, Jehovah, said that there was no God formed before Him or after Him.  And that there is no Savior but Him. 

But what about Jesus?  Nope.  God says that He is the only Savior.

Isaiah 44:6 ⁶ “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last, And besides Me there is no God.

Isaiah 44:8   ‘Do not tremble and do not be afraid;  Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it?  And you are My witnesses.  Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any other Rock?           I know of none.’ ”

Isaiah 44:24      Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, “I, the LORD, am the maker of all things, stretching out the heavens by Myself and spreading out the earth.  Who is with Me?

Isaiah 45:5      “I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me; 6      That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Me.  I am the LORD, and there is no other,

Isaiah 45:18      For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited), “I am the LORD, and there is none else.”

Isaiah 45:21      “Declare and set forth your case; Indeed, let them consult together.  Who has announced this from of old?  Who has long since declared it?  Is it not I, the LORD?  And there is not another God besides Me, a righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me.  22  “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other.  23   “By myself I have sworn, the word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness and will not turn back, that to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.

Isaiah 46:9  “Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is not another God;          and there is no one like Me,

 

So Jesus is not a mere human being.  He is not an angel.  He is not a god.  So what exactly is He?

We are not going to fully grasp this with a human mind, but we can get a rough idea.

In Genesis 18, 3 men came to Abraham.  They sat down and ate with him.  Two of them later left and went to Sodom, and Abraham was left with the One who turned out to be God.  The other two were angels.  The God of the universe was sitting there in human form talking with Abraham.

In Jesus, God became a human being, from birth, to live a life under the law without sin, so that He could redeem those who were also born under the law but with sin.  Only in this way could He redeem all of mankind with one sacrifice. 

In Revelation (ch. 5, 19-22), He is worshiped with the Father.  In Revelation 5, all of heaven worshiped Jesus. 

Revelation 5:1 And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. 4 So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. 5 But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.” 6 And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. 8 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, 10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.” 11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!” 13 And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: “Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!” 14 Then the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.