Today I am going to wrap up this series on defending our faith against the accusations of Islam. There are four things they usually throw at us:

1. Jehovah and Allah are the same God – They are not, Allah does not have a son, ours does, their god can change, ours is the same yesterday, today and forever.

2. Our Bible has been corrupted – They offer no real proof of this, but they are starting to throw out some of the old arguments that have long since been answered. The Bible comes out smelling like a rose against every test thrown at it. We have shown that the Qur’an has real problems concerning its authenticity.

3. Jesus is not God – They say Jesus was just a man, a prophet, but just a man.

4. Jesus didn’t die on the cross – If we don’t have His death, we don’t have the atoning blood and we don’t have the resurrection, and without these, we have no Gospel and are without hope.

Islam is sending one fourth of the world’s population to Hell because of the false doctrine started by Muhammad 1,400 years ago.

I’m glad I was born in a country where the Gospel came to my address, it changed our family. God’s Word has transforming power. If a person is truly saved, God’s Word will change them.

Muslims Question Concerning The Deity Of Christ

The question most often asked by Muslims concerning the deity of Christ is, Show me in the Bible where Jesus said I am God. They may present it this way, Jesus never said that He is God. This is a false statement. Jesus may not have used those very words, but He certainly communicated to the Jews that He was God at least five times. He communicated it so clearly that those who heard Him thought it was blasphemy for a man to make himself equal with God and wanted to stone Him. If Jesus were but a man, it would be blasphemy for Him to have made that claim. But, because He was God in the flesh, God who became man, not man who became God, it was not.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)

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. (John 1:14)

It is clear that God took on flesh, which is not beyond the power of Almighty God.

Five times Jesus was accused of blasphemy for proclaiming that He was God. Here is the first passage:

When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. (Mark 2:5)

The context is where they brought the man sick with palsy and lowered him through the roof. Look at the reaction to this:

But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only? (Mark 2:6-7)

Jesus responded in an interesting way. He seemed to say, that is right, and it is just as easy for me to say thy sins be forgiven as to say take up thy bed and walk.

And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. (Mark 2:8-11)

He explained that He said thy sins be forgiven to show that He had the power on earth to forgive sins. His purpose was to communicate that He is God.

The next passage I want to look at is in John Chapter 5 where Jesus healed a man on the sabbath day.

And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day. But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God. (John 5:16-18)

At first they wanted to slay Him because He had done a work on the sabbath day. After Jesus’ response, they wanted to kill Him because He made Himself equal with God. They knew exactly what He was communicating. He was making Himself equal with God.

Let’s look at John Chapter 8 for the next time Jesus communicated that He was God.

Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. (John 8:56-59)

Jesus used a term that was reserved for God when He said Before Abraham was, I am. Jesus is not saying that He is, that is, He exists, He is claiming the title God used at the burning bush. God called Himself “I Am.” This communicated to the Jews that Jesus is eternal. The fact that they wanted to stone Him proves that they fully understood what He was communicating.

The fourth time Jesus communicated that He is God to the Jews is found in John Chapter 10:

I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. (John 10:30-33)

He is not saying that they are one in unity, but that they are one and the same being. This is seen in their response, they said, “thou, being a man, makest thyself God.” The Jews understood and thought what He said was blasphemy. There is no question that Jesus was communicating to these Jews that He was God.

Some may say this is just a misunderstanding. Remember, the Muslims believe that Jesus was a prophet of God. If He was not God, why didn’t He correct the misunderstanding?

The final time Jesus communicated that He was God is found at His trial in Matthew Chapter 26.

But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. (Matthew 26:63)

The high priest asked Him point blank if He was the Christ, the Son of God. Listen carefully to Jesus’ answer:

Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. (Matthew 26:64)

He affirmed what the high priest said, and they fully understood His response:

Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death. (Matthew 26:65-66)

The crime for which Jesus was crucified was His communication to the Jews that He was equal with God, and, in fact, was God.

There is one last thing I want to say on the subject of the deity of Christ. One of the most powerful evidences of this was the testimony of one of His disciples, Thomas. In John 20 Thomas is face to face with Jesus. Jesus had appeared earlier to the other disciples, but Thomas was not with them. He said he would not believe until he could put his fingers in the Lord’s wounds. Jesus tells Thomas to touch and handle Him, and Thomas’ response says it all.

Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. (John 20:27-29)

Thomas proclaimed that Jesus was God. This would have been a great opportunity for Jesus to correct Thomas for mistakingly thinking He was God. Instead, He commended him for believing it because he had seen Him, and said those who believed it without seeing Him would be blessed.

We have seen that Jesus clearly communicated that He was God and the Jews wanted to kill Him because of His supposed blasphemy.

There are others besides Muslims who don’t believe that Jesus is God. If you are one of them, repent and turn to the triune God of Heaven for mercy, and put your faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.

And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house, Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 20:20-21)

Jesus came to this earth to redeem mankind. The redemption only becomes effective to those who put their trust fully in Him for their salvation. If you have not, won’t you do so today?