Titus 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
John 1:1, 14 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us…”
John 20:28 Thomas said to him [Jesus], “My Lord and my God!”
The second essential doctrine is you have to believe Jesus is fully God and fully man to call yourself a Christian.To deny Jesus is God is to deny Christianity.The above scriptures clearly teach Jesus is God. I believe Philippians 2 can help us understand how the person Jesus can have two natures, fully God and fully man.
Philippians 2:5-8 (NASB) “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
Verse 6 says Jesus existed in the “form of God.”The word form (Greek “morphe”) means “nature.”Nature is the essential attributes or characteristics of a living being or thing.Paul is stating here that Jesus is fully God; He has the nature of God.Then in verse 7 he writes that Jesus “emptied himself, taking the form of a bond-servant and being made in the likeness of men.”Again we see the same Greek word “morphe” for form used to say Jesus took on the nature of a human.Jesus had 2 natures, fully God and fully man but was one person.
We have a hard time grasping this truth of the incarnation (God coming to earth in the form of a man).All other religions deny this essential doctrine.They think Jesus was just a good teacher, a lesser god (Jehovah Witnesses), or another god (Mormons).However, to call yourself a Christian you have to believe Jesus is fully God and fully man, 2 natures, 1 person.