Examining Jesus’ Divine Claims
In Light of the Quranic View of Allah’s Names and Attributes
In these articles (1, 2) we examined Jesus’ statements in light of Islamic theology and specific verses from the Quran concerning the names and attributes of Allah and saw how Jesus clearly claimed to be God.
We will again look to the Quran to find specific titles and characteristics that are applied to Allah and show how the inspired New Testament writings apply these same descriptions to the Person of the Lord Jesus.
We begin by looking at this particular Sura:
Say: ‘I take refuge with the Lord of men, the King of men, the God of men, from the evil of the slinking whisperer who whispers in the breasts of men of jinn and men.’ S. 114:1-6
It is rather interesting that the NT authors use similar, if not identical, names and depictions for Christ, as we shall now see.
– The Lord of men
"You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all." Acts 10:36
"For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living." Romans 14:9
"These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth… Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified." Revelation 11:4, 8
– The King of men
"and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth." Revelation 1:5
"They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings — and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers." Revelation 17:14
"I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter.’ He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." Revelation 19:16
– The God of men
"Thomas said TO HIM, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’" John 20:28-29
"Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen." Romans 9:5
"while we wait for the blessed hope — the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ," Titus 2:13
"But about the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.’" Hebrews 1:8-9
"Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours… and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 1:1, 11
– The One who protects from the evil of the slinking whisper
"‘Teacher,’ said John, ‘we saw a man driving out demons IN YOUR NAME and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.’ ‘Do not stop him,’ Jesus said. ‘No one who does a miracle IN MY NAME can in the next moment say anything bad about me,’" Mark 9:38-39
"The seventy-two returned with joy and said, ‘Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.’ He replied, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’" Luke 10:17-20
"Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, ‘These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.’ She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, ‘In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!’ At that moment the spirit left her." Acts 16:16-18
"God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them. Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, ‘In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.’ Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. (One day) the evil spirit answered them, ‘Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?’ Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power." Acts 19:11-20
And here are some additional suras that mention specific attributes of Allah:
And when thy Lord said to the angels, 'I am setting in the earth a viceroy.' They said, 'What, wilt Thou set therein one who will do corruption there, and shed blood, while We proclaim Thy praise and call Thee Holy?' He said, 'Assuredly I know that you know not.' S. 2:30
He is God; there is no god but He. He is the knower of the Unseen and the Visible; He is the All-merciful, the All-compassionate. He is God; there is no god but He. He is the King, the All-holy, the All-peaceable, the All-faithful, the All-preserver, the All-mighty, the All-compeller, the All-sublime/supreme. Glory be to God, above that they associate! S. 59:22-23
All that is in the heavens and the earth magnifies God, the King, the All-holy, the All-mighty, the All-wise. S. 62:1
Once again, the NT ascribes all of these specific characteristics to the Lord Jesus.
– The All-holy
"The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.’" Luke 1:35
"You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you." Acts 3:14
"Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him—" Acts 7:52
"Then he said: ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth.’" Acts 22:14
"Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure… But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin… Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work." 1 John 3:2-3, 5, 7-8
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin." Hebrews 4:15
"Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens." Hebrews 7:26
– The All-peaceable
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27
"I have told you these things, so that IN ME you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33
"Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called ‘uncircumcised’ by those who call themselves ‘the circumcision’ (that done in the body by the hands of men)— remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near." Ephesians 2:11-17
"For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." Colossians 1:19-20
"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful." Colossians 3:15
– The All-faithful
"and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth." Revelation 1:5
"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation." Revelation 3:14
– The All-preserver
"Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.’" John 6:35-40
"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one." John 10:27-30
"While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled." John 17:12
"Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand… For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living." Romans 14:4, 9
"To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy." Jude 1:24
– The All-mighty
"Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it… I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live… Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned." John 5:19-21, 25, 28-29
"But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body." Philippians 3:20-21
"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." Colossians 1:15-17
"but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word…" Hebrews 1:2-3
– The All-compeller
"For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died." 2 Corinthians 5:14
– The All-sublime/supreme
"And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy." Colossians 1:18
To summarize, Jesus is said to be the Lord of all, the King of all, the God of all, and the One who protects his followers from the harmful affects of the evil one. Moreover, Christ is the All-holy, the One who is completely pure and righteous, the All-peaceable, the One who grants everlasting peace to his followers, the All-faithful, the One who never breaks his promises and can therefore be completely trusted. Jesus is also the All-preserver, the One who protects his flock forever, the All-mighty, the All-compeller, he whose love controls and guides his faithful to do all that he desires, and the All-supreme, the One having complete supremacy over all creation.
According to the Muslim scripture, all of these titles and functions belong exclusively to Allah, or God, and therefore proves that, according to the NT, Jesus is God (yet not the Father or the Holy Spirit).
Finally, we need to preface our use of the Quran lest the readers think that we somehow embrace its authority or reliability. We do not quote the Quran because we believe it is inspired or historically accurate, but we cite it to prove to Muslims who do believe in its inspiration and veracity that both Jesus and his followers claimed that Christ is God. The only way they can contest this fact is by undermining the textual veracity and historical reliability of the NT writings, something which would only pose more problems for the Muslim position (*).
Articles by Sam Shamoun
Answering Islam Home Page