Is Jesus God?
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and was God. He was in the beginning with God.” (John 1:1-2 ESV)
The Greek does not say “and was God” as rendered above by the ESV. It says “God was the word”. A big difference. The above ESV translation and other similar versions are unfortunate. John is not talking about Jesus being God. John is saying that God has communicated through his Word (logos - the word). This word was "toward" God (reveals what God is like).
“And the Word became flesh and tabernacles among us, and we gaze at His glory, a glory as of an only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
When God was ready to show what He would be like in a human form, His likeness (word) "became flesh" in the person of Jesus His Son. God showed us His “image” by revealing Himself through a Son, Jesus, who was both the Son of God and the Son of man and the "Savior of the world"...
“…he is the image of the invisible God, firstborn of every creature…And we have gazed upon him, and are testifying that the Father has dispatched the Son, the Savior of the world. Whoever should be avowing that Jesus is the Son of God, God is remaining in him, and he in God.” (Colossians 1:15; John 4:14-15)
God is Father and is Spirit. We cannot see Spirit. Jesus is the firstborn Son of God. He communicates to mankind what God is like and what we will be like after our resurrection when we too will be a new creation made in the image of God. Here is the best English translation of John 1...
“In the beginning was the word, and the word was toward God, and God was the word. This was in the beginning toward God...And the Word became flesh and tabernacles among us, and we gaze at his glory, a glory as of an only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1-14 CLNT)
When all have been resurrected to immortality all will be a new creation, completed, like Jesus, in God's image...
“Thus also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is roused in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor; it is roused in glory. It is sown in infirmity; it is roused in power. It is sown a soulish body; it is roused a spiritual body. If there is a soulish body, there is a spiritual also. Thus it is written also, The first man, Adam, became a living soul: the last Adam a vivifying Spirit. But not first the spiritual, but the soulish, thereupon the spiritual. The first man was out of the earth, soilish; the second Man is the Lord out of heaven. Such as the soilish one is, such are those also who are soilish, and such as the Celestial One, such are those also who are celestials. And according as we wear the image of the soilish, we shall be wearing the image also of the Celestial” (1 Corinthians 15:42-49)
Jesus is the Son of God. The world will be saved when we all become like Jesus.
The Greek does not say “and was God” as rendered above by the ESV. It says “God was the word”. A big difference. The above ESV translation and other similar versions are unfortunate. John is not talking about Jesus being God. John is saying that God has communicated through his Word (logos - the word). This word was "toward" God (reveals what God is like).
“And the Word became flesh and tabernacles among us, and we gaze at His glory, a glory as of an only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
When God was ready to show what He would be like in a human form, His likeness (word) "became flesh" in the person of Jesus His Son. God showed us His “image” by revealing Himself through a Son, Jesus, who was both the Son of God and the Son of man and the "Savior of the world"...
“…he is the image of the invisible God, firstborn of every creature…And we have gazed upon him, and are testifying that the Father has dispatched the Son, the Savior of the world. Whoever should be avowing that Jesus is the Son of God, God is remaining in him, and he in God.” (Colossians 1:15; John 4:14-15)
God is Father and is Spirit. We cannot see Spirit. Jesus is the firstborn Son of God. He communicates to mankind what God is like and what we will be like after our resurrection when we too will be a new creation made in the image of God. Here is the best English translation of John 1...
“In the beginning was the word, and the word was toward God, and God was the word. This was in the beginning toward God...And the Word became flesh and tabernacles among us, and we gaze at his glory, a glory as of an only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1-14 CLNT)
“Thus also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is roused in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor; it is roused in glory. It is sown in infirmity; it is roused in power. It is sown a soulish body; it is roused a spiritual body. If there is a soulish body, there is a spiritual also. Thus it is written also, The first man, Adam, became a living soul: the last Adam a vivifying Spirit. But not first the spiritual, but the soulish, thereupon the spiritual. The first man was out of the earth, soilish; the second Man is the Lord out of heaven. Such as the soilish one is, such are those also who are soilish, and such as the Celestial One, such are those also who are celestials. And according as we wear the image of the soilish, we shall be wearing the image also of the Celestial” (1 Corinthians 15:42-49)
Jesus is the Son of God. The world will be saved when we all become like Jesus.