Question:

There so many things in the Bible I don’t understand up to now. For example, I struggle to understand the nature of Jesus Christ.  Some verses show us that  he is God but some show that  Jesus and God are different.  In  John 17 Jesus was praying God. So If he is God why did he pray God?  I will collect the verses I don’t understand and send you them.

Answer:

I believe that the Bible is very consistent in its portrayal of God.  The problem is a matter of two issues.   1. Some of us do not have a full understanding of the nature of God as presented in the Bible.  We emphasize one aspect but ignore or lessen other aspects. We recognize his love, but not his holiness or his wrath and judgment. We see God as inconsistent when he exhibits one of his traits that seems at first glance to contradict another of his traits.  In fact, there is no contradiction.  2. Some of us do not understand how to interpret the scripture.  This is not an easy thing at times and requires some training in the area known as hermeneutics—the science of interpretation of scripture.   I believe that most likely your confusion comes from one of these problems.

As to Jesus, there is one thing which is perfect clear, based on dozens and dozens of passages, which is that there is only one God. I am including below about forty of these passages, of which there are many more.

Then there is the difficult teaching about Jesus, which is that he is God in the flesh.   This is clear from John 1:1.  “ In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”   Later in the same chapter we are told that the Word of God became flesh and lived for a while among us.  Jesus is God in the flesh.  So we know that Jesus was at the same time with God and he was God.   The word often used for the relationship between Father, Son and Spirit is trinity.   The Bible teaching is that there is one God, yet God appears is three distinct “persons”.  This is difficult for us to comprehend.  It is a mystery.  Yet it is true.  God the Son submits to God the Father and God the Son prays to God the Father.  The trinity is about a relationship, which is what God is all about.  I do not know of a way to make this “logical” from a human perspective, yet it is the clear teaching of the Bible and Jesus put a stamp of validity on these claims by raising Lazarus from the dead, by walking on water, by healing the sick and the blind, by fulfilling all of the dozens of messianic prophecies, by living a perfect life, and by being raised from the dead.  The Father and the Son are the same God, yet they are different aspects or persons of that God.   I know that this is hard to understand, but one thing I am sure of is that the Son and the Father are not “different.”  Jesus said “I and the Father are one.”  (John 10:30).  I look forward to hearing from you the verses you find difficult to reconcile about the nature of God and of Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, and I will be happy to try to help you to see why there is no contradiction.

John Oakes

“There is no one like Yahweh our God.” Exodus 8:10

“Yahweh, He is God; there is no other besides Him.” Deuteronomy 4:35

“Yahweh, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.” Deuteronomy 4:39

“See now that I, I am He, And there is no god besides Me” Deuteronomy 32:39

“Hear, O Israel! Yahweh is our God, Yahweh is one [echad]!” Deuteronomy 6:4

“You are great, O Lord God; for there is none like You, and there is no God besides You” 2 Samuel 7:22

“For who is God, besides Yahweh? And who is a rock, besides our God?” 2 Samuel 22:32

“Yahweh is God; there is no one else.” 1 Kings 8:60

“…You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth…” 2 Kings 19:15

“O Lord, there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You” 1 Chronicles 17:20

“You alone are Yahweh.” Nehemiah 9:6

“For who is God, but Yahweh? And who is a rock, except our God” Psalm 18:31

“You alone, Lord, are God.” Isaiah 37:20

“Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me.” Isaiah 43:10

“‘I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me.” Isaiah 44:6

“Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any other Rock? I know of none.” Isaiah 44:8

“I am Yahweh, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God.” Isaiah 45:5

“Surely, God is with you, and there is none else, No other God.” Isaiah 45:14

“I am Yahweh, and there is none else.” Isaiah 45:18

“Is it not I, Yahweh? And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me.” Isaiah 45:21

“I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me” Isaiah 46:9

“And Yahweh will be king over all the earth; in that day Yahweh will be the only one, and His name the only one.” Zechariah 14:9

“The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; ” Mark 12:29

“you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?” John 5:44

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” Matthew 6:24

“I and the Father are one.” John 10:30

“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God” John 17:3

“The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one” John 17:22

“since indeed God is one” Romans 3:30

“to the only wise God, Amen.” Romans 16:27

“there is no God but one” 1 Corinthians 8:4

“yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.” 1 Corinthians 8:6

“Now a mediator is not for one party only; whereas God is only one.” Galatians 3:20

“There is one body and one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.” Ephesians 4:4-6

“You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.” James 2:19