RE: In the beginning .... Jesus is God!
In all of the following you have Jesus witnessing these events and had ample oportunity to set the record straight. Instead he received the worship that He is worthy of.
Matt 2:11 "On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh."
Matt 21:9 "The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
“Hosanna[a] to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”[b]
“Hosanna[c] in the highest heaven!”
Matt 14:33 "Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
Matt 28:9 "Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him."
John 20:28 "Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Revelation 5:8-13 "And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. 9 And they sang a new song, saying:
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased for God
persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign[b] on the earth.”
11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12 In a loud voice they were saying:
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!”
13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:
“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!”
Set what record straight? He claimed to be the Son of God, the Messiah. It was clear who he was. That was the record. You rather accept a corruption of the truth over what Jesus said?
It is clear by those verses that Jesus accepted worship. He could have said no, don't worship me, I'm but a man. But he didn't say that. Think about this logically, why would most Christian denominations believe that Jesus is God especially since one of the ten commandments says, "You shall have no other Gods before me"? The answer, because that's how the text reads! That's the logical conclusion from reading the Bible, that Jesus was saying he was God. If He's not God then He went to great lengths to insinuate that He was to try to deceive people. I don't see how anyone can read the above verses and say that He's not God unless they are clouded by indoctrination of their own denomination. When I read the Bible I try to step away from what I was taught from my denomination and pray that God reveals the real truth to me and release me from the bonds of my denomination. Asking him to show me the places where my denomination is not right. In doing this over the years I have developed beliefs from the scriptures that do not follow what my denomination says. If anyone follows exactly what their denomination is telling them and do not part from their denomination in any areas they are more likely following man instead of God.
You're arguments are empty. Jesus accepts the worship due to him just as others such as Kings would accept worship, even as recorded in the Bible. Bowing down before someone does not make them God. The reason that so many "Christians" accept the trinity is because it was the law for hundreds of years under penalty of death or banishment. You people killed those who disagreed with you.
I will repeat, no one in the Bible assumed that he was claiming to be God and if you think that is the case then you are misunderstanding the Scriptures. He never once claimed to be God. If you reread what I wrote above, the Bible clearly, with basic english, negates him from being God. You are in the wrong.
Do you by chance come from a church or denomination that feels that if you stray from their exact teachings that you'll loose your salvation or that teaches that your church or denomination is specially anointed by God to be the only one true religion or in some other way is special like the only one true church? Not trying to pick a fight but I don't think we're having a true debate about the scriptures, I feel instead like I'm having a disagreement with you about the anointing that you feel God has given your church or denomination.
No. I don't belong to or come from any group or denomination.
I am giving you the straight truth from the Scriptures and you are denying what the Book says to hold onto your taught beliefs.
The Scriptures make it clear that Jesus is the Messiah and not God. It is only by tradition that people believe him to be God.
There is but one God, the Father.. 1 Corinthians 8:6, it doesn't get much more clear than that. The greatest commandment as told by Jesus is that the LORD our God is one LORD. This has been under attack since the beginning. You believe what you believe because you were taught to think that way.
Above you quoted “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!”
If he were God then why would he have to receive power and wealth and wisdom, and strength, etc? How can you worship multiple gods and still believe you are following what the Bible teaches?