Al-Kadhi writes:
In John 20:17 we read:
"Jesus saith unto her, ...I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God."
Not only is God Jesus' father, but He is also his GOD. Think about this carefully. Also notice how Jesus is equating between himself and mankind in these matters and not between himself and God. He is making it as clear as he possibly can that he is one of US and not a god. Why did he not just say "I ascend unto my Father, and your Father ." ... and stop !?
Why did Jesus feel it necessary to add the words "...and to my God, and your God." What additional information was he trying to convey to us with these extra words? Think about it carefully.
Please also read 2 Corinthians 11:31, Ephesians 1:3, Ephesians 1:17, and 1 Peter 1:3 for similar affirmations of Jesus having a God.
"Surly they have disbelieved who say: 'Allah is the Messiah, son of Mary.' But the Messiah said: 'O Children of Israel! Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.' Verily, whosoever sets up partners in worship with Allah then Allah has forbidden Paradise upon him, and his abode is the Fire. And for the unjust there are no allys" The noble Qur'an, Al-Maidah(5):72
RESPONSE:
First, Mr. al-Kadhi demonstrates that he has understood nothing of what the Holy Bible teaches regarding the Person of Christ. Since it is foundational to historic Christianity to believe that Jesus became man, and therefore became like ONE OF US, al-Kadhi's statements only expose that he is either utterly ignorant, or if he knows this, that he can do little more than attack a straw man.
Note the following NT passages:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made ... The Word BECAME FLESH and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:1-3, 14
"But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. He says, ‘I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises.’ And again, ‘I will put my trust in him.’ And again he says, ‘Here am I, and the children God has given me.’ Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death - that is, the devil - and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death." Hebrews 2:9-15
These passages clearly state that God's eternal Word, his beloved Son, shared in our humanity by becoming flesh. He did this specifically in order to save man from the power of Satan, sin and death. In fact, anyone who denies that Jesus became flesh is a liar and deceiver:
"Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ HAS COME IN THE FLESH is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood." 1 John 4:1-6
This leads us to our second point. Since the Lord Jesus became man he entered into a new relationship with his Father. By becoming part of creation, Christ became what all men are by nature, namely a servant of God:
"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, TAKING the very nature of A SERVANT, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!" Philippians 2:5-8
Since the Father is the God of all creation, and since Jesus became part of creation, the Father also became Jesus' God. The Father was not always Jesus' God, but only became such at the Incarnation. And since Jesus continues to remain man, albeit a glorified man, having a glorified immortal physical body, the Father will remain his God.
Third, in the very same chapter, just several verses later, Thomas goes on to confess the Lord Jesus as his God, with Christ blessing his profession of faith!:
"Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen THE LORD!’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.’ A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’ Thomas said TO HIM, ‘My Lord and my God! (ho kurios mou kai ho theos mou)’ Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’ Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, THE SON OF GOD, and that by believing you may have life in his name." John 20:24-31
The context clearly demonstrates that Thomas was addressing Jesus directly. I am aware that some have argued that the word Lord in Greek (Kurios) is in the nominative case, and had it been directed to the Lord Jesus it would have appeared in the vocative case (Kurie). This argument ignores the fact that elsewhere in the holy scriptures the nominative case is used in direct address:
"You are worthy, our Lord and God (ho kurios kai ho theos hemon), to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being." Revelation 4:11
Furthermore, there is an OT text that further strengthens the fact that Thomas was addressing Jesus as his Lord God:
"Awake, O Lord, and attend to my judgment, even to my cause, my God and my Lord (ho theos mou kai ho kurios mou)." Psalm 34:23 LXX
Finally, note carefully the words of our Lord. Jesus didn't say, "I am ascending to OUR Father and OUR God." Instead, Christ clearly makes a distinction between his relationship and the disciples' relationship with the Father. Christ became like one of us in order that we might become like him, namely sons of the Most High. The difference being that whereas Christ's Sonship is eternal, our sonship is not. It is a free gift which we receive solely through faith in God's eternal Son:
"He came to his own home, and his own people received him not. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God." John 1:11-13
And make sure to take Al-Kadhi's suggestion and read not just the verses he suggests, but all of the Holy Bible. Prayerfully ask God to open your heart to accept the truth regarding his risen and immortal Son, our Lord Jesus.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." John 3:16-18
"Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist -- he denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also." 1 John 2:22-23
"We accept man's testimony, but God's testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life." 1 John 5:9-13
The Rebuttal to "What Did Jesus Really Say?"
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