Did Jesus' Followers Think He Was God?
Does anybody know who W.R. Matthews is? Well, he said, "Paul never equates Jesus with God."
Anyway, the gospel writer Luke, for one, never mentions that Jesus is God, always referring to him as the "Son of God." (Nowhere does "God the Son" show up in the Scriptures.) You'd think that he would mention this "basic Christian doctrine."
These days it is common to think of Christianity's doctrine of the Trinity as what Christianity is all about, in spite of no one ever being able to give a logical explanation as to how three who are each called "God" can in fact be "one God." But to believe otherwise is to run the risk of being stamped a dangerous heretic! To the first Christians, however, the idea of a second person in a "Godhead" was unthinkable. They would never have thought of such a thing, and if it was indeed a new teaching, it would have been written about in detail, throughout the New Testament! It would have been the most revolutionary religious concept ever to be considered by the Jewish-Christian community. The novel idea that Jesus was God would have caused a major doctrinal
upheaval warranting the closest attention. As one author says: "A new concept about the Deity would certainly have provoked furious controversy." (
The Doctrine of the Trinity by Anthony Buzzard & Charles Hunting.)
If Jesus was himself God, Peter also was given a fantastic opportunity to express that about Jesus' identity. Jesus specifically asked him who he thought Jesus was. Peter said: "You are the Christ,
the Son of the living God." (Matt. 16:15-17) Simple and clear. It is repeatedly underscored throughout the New Testament.
It is not the Trinity that is the foundation of the Church's faith, but it is the belief that Jesus is the Messiah.
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