Most Christians claim that the miracles of Christ is a great evidence to prove that he is God. They say that because of the miracles, the power which is in Christ make him God.
Is this kind of thinking TRUE?
On Paul and Barnabas
"In Lystra there was a man who had something wrong with his feet. He had been born crippled and had never walked. He was sitting and listening to Paul speak. Paul looked straight at him and saw that the man believed God could heal him. So Paul shouted, “Stand up on your feet!” The man jumped up and began walking around.
When the people saw what Paul did, they shouted in their own Lycaonian language. They said, “The gods have come down to us in the form of humans!” The people began to call Barnabas “Zeus,” and they called Paul “Hermes,” because he was the main speaker. The temple of Zeus was near the city. The priest of this temple brought some bulls and flowers to the city gates. The priest and the people wanted to offer a sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas.
But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, understood what the people were doing, they tore their own clothes. Then they ran in among the people and shouted to them: “Men, why are you doing this? We are not gods. We are human just like you. We came to tell you the Good News. We are telling you to turn away from these worthless things. Turn to the true living God, the one who made the sky, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them.
“In the past God let all the nations do what they wanted. But God was always there doing the good things that prove he is real. He gives you rain from heaven and good harvests at the right times. He gives you plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”
Even after saying all this, Paul and Barnabas still could hardly stop the people from offering sacrifices to them.
Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and persuaded the people to turn against Paul. So they threw stones at him and dragged him out of the town. They thought they had killed him. But when the followers of Jesus gathered around him, he got up and went back into the town. The next day he and Barnabas left and went to the city of Derbe." Acts 14:8-20
Catholics and Protestants believe that Christ is God because of the miracles he performed. On a website, it is said that those miracles TESTIFY or PROVE that he is God:
IV. Jesus' Miracles Testify that He is God
Matt. 1:23; Mark 1:27,35 - Jesus was conceived in the virginal womb of the Blessed Mother.
Matt. 3:16-17; Mark 1:10-11; John 1:32 - God's Spirit descends upon Jesus and the Father declares Jesus to be His Son.
Matt. 4:23-24; 9:35;15:30; Mark 1:34; 3:10; 6:5; Luke 4:40; 7:10; 13:13; 14:4; John 4:52 - Jesus miraculously cures illness and disease.
Matt. 7:35 - Jesus cures a deaf person with a speech impediment.
Matt. 8:3; Mark 1:41; Luke 5:13; 17:14 - Jesus cures leprosy.
Matt. 9:21-22; Mark 5:27-34; Luke 8:44 - the hem of Jesus' cloak cures the woman with the hemorrhage. See also Matt. 14:36.
Matt. 8:13; 9:7; Mark 2:9; Luke 5:25 - Jesus cures those who are paralyzed.
Matt. 8:15; Mark 1:31; Luke 4:39 - Jesus cures Peter's mother-in-law's fever.
Matt. 8:26; Mark 4:39; Luke 8:24 - Jesus calms the storm. Even the wind and sea obey Him.
Matt. 8:32; 9:33; 12:22; 15:28; 17:18; Mark 1:26,34; 3:11; 5:13; 7:30; 9:26; Luke 4:35,41; 8:33; 9:42; 11:14 - Jesus has power over demons.
Matt. 9:4; 12:25; Luke 6:8; 11:17 - Jesus knows people's thoughts.
Matt. 9:25; Mark 5:24; John 11:44 - Jesus raises people from the dead.
Matt. 9:30; 12:22; 20:34; 21:14; Mark 8:25; 10:52; Luke 7:21; 18:42; John 9:11 - Jesus cures the blind.
Matt. 12:13; Mark 3:5; Luke 6:10 - Jesus cures the man with the withered hand.
Matt. 14:19-20; 5:36-37; Mark 6:41-42; 8:7-8; Luke 9:16-17; John 6:11 - Jesus multiplies the loaves and fish and feeds the crowd of thousands.
Matt. 14:26; Mark 6:48; John 6:19 - Jesus walks on water.
Matt. 15:21; 16:21; 17:9,22; 20:18-19; 26:2; Mark 10:33-34; Luke 9:44; 17:25; 18:32-34 - Jesus predicts His passion.
Matt. 17:2; Mark 9:2; Luke 9:29 - Jesus is transfigured in glory.
Matt. 17:27 - Jesus miraculously has a shekel appear in the mouth of a fish.
Matt. 21:2-3; Mark 11:2; Luke 19:30 - Jesus predicts that a colt would be available for Him.
Matt. 21:19; Mark 11:14,20 - Jesus curses the fig tree and it withers.
Matt. 24:34; Mark 13:2; Luke 21:32 - Jesus predicts the fall of Jerusalem which occurred in 70 A.D.
Matt. 26:21-25; Mark 14:18-20; Luke 22:21; John 13:21,26 - Jesus predicts Judas' betrayal.
Matt. 26:26-28; Mk. 14:22,24; Luke 22;19-20; 1 Cor. 11:24-25 - Jesus changes bread and wine into His body and blood.
Matt. 26:34; Mark 14:30; Luke 22:34; John 13:38 - Jesus predicts Peter's denial.
Matt. 27:51-54; Mark 15:38-39 - supernatural events occur at Jesus' death.
Matt. 28:9; Mark 16:9,12,14; Luke 7:14-15; 8:54-55; 24:5,31,36; John 20:14,19,26; 21:1-14 - Jesus rises from the dead.
Mark 14:13; Luke 22:10 - Jesus predicts that a man carrying a jug of water will show them the furnished room for the Passover.
Mark 16:19; Luke 24:51 - Jesus ascends into heaven.
Luke 2:13-14 - the angels praise Jesus' birth.
Luke 5:7; John 21:6 - Jesus directs the miraculous catch of fish.
Luke 24:31 - Jesus has the ability to vanish out of sight.
John 2:9 - Jesus changes water into wine.
John 13:36; 21:18 - Jesus predicts Peter's death. Peter was martyred in Rome around 67 A.D.
John 20:19,26 - Jesus has the ability to appear even when the doors are locked.source: scripturecatholic.com
______________________________
A CASE OF MISINTERPRETATION
The thinking of people who believed that Paul and Barnabas are same with on how people think about Christ, they believe them as GODS.
Paul and Barnabas are incarnated
"When the people saw what Paul did, they shouted in their own Lycaonian language. They said, “The gods have come down to us in the form of humans!” Acts 14:11
Jesus incarnated
Christ is God believers say that Jesus is incarnated, a god that come down from heaven, conceived by the virgin Mary, and lived as Human. They say that Jesus is true God and true Man.
Paul and Barnabas: we are human just like you!
“Men, why are you doing this? We are not gods. We are human just like you..." Acts 14:15
Jesus: I am a man!
"I am a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God, but you are trying to kill me. Abraham did nothing like that." John 8:40
Apostle Paul: Jesus is a human, i am telling the truth, i am not lying!
"There is one God and one mediator so that human beings can reach God. That way is through Christ Jesus, who is himself human. He gave himself as a payment to free all people. He is proof that came at the right time. That is why I was chosen to tell the Good News and to be an apostle. (I am telling the truth; I am not lying.) I was chosen to teach those who are not Jews to believe and to know the truth." I tim. 2:5-7
Paul and Barnabas: turn to the true living God!
"...We are not gods. We are human just like you. We came to tell you the Good News. We are telling you to turn away from these worthless things. Turn to the true living God, the one who made the sky, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them." Acts 14:15
Jesus: Father is the only true God!
"And eternal life means to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, whom you sent." John 17:3
Apostle Paul: FOR US, there is only one God, the Father!
"yet there is for us only one God, the Father, who is the Creator of all things and for whom we live; and there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created and through whom we live." I Cor. 8:6-7
People cant stop offering sacrifices to the mistaken gods, Paul and Barnabas
"Even after saying all this, Paul and Barnabas still could hardly stop the people from offering sacrifices to them." Acts 14:18
People cant stop offering sacrifices to the mistaken God, Jesus Christ
Christ is God believers can stop believing Jesus as the TRUE GOD, they cant stop offering sacrifices and honoring him as the TRUE GOD.
_____________________________
But the question is, where does the POWER to perform miracles came?
On Apostle Paul
"God used Paul to do some very special miracles. Some people took handkerchiefs and clothes that Paul had used and put them on the sick. When they did this, the sick were healed and evil spirits left them." Acts 19: 11-12
On Jesus
"People of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus from Nazareth was a very special man. God clearly showed this to you by the miracles, wonders, and signs he did through Jesus. You all know this, because it happened right here among you. Acts 2:22
The only one source of the miracles is none other than the ONLY TRUE GOD, THE FATHER. Saying Jesus Christ is God only because of the miracles he performed is believing that Apostle Peter, Apostle Paul, Elijah and/or those who have performed miracles written in the bible are also Gods. Paul and Barnabas, in their story were already mistaken as Gods by some people, how about you? Are you one of those people who mistaken Christ as God???
Belief of Jesus is God--> the formulation of the doctrine started in the 4th century and took 100+ years upon completion on its definition! Meaning, it was not what the apostles taught, the doctrine itself is nowhere in the bible...
"But I am afraid that your minds will be led away from your true and pure following of Christ. This could happen just as Eve was tricked by that snake with his clever lies. You seem to be quite patient with anyone who comes to you and tells you about a Jesus that is different from the Jesus we told you about. You seem very willing to accept a spirit or a message that is different from the Spirit and message that you received from us." II Cor. 11:3-4
The Sacred Scriptures do testify that the Lord Jesus is not God. There's only one God and that is the Father. (Read 1 Corinthians 8:6) Is that very difficult to understand? It's very simple. Hindi proket nagsagawa ng mga himala ang Panginoong Jesucristo ay Diyos na siya.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this informative post, Bro. Readme. =)