Are We Children of a Lesser God?

Hebrews 1
Galatians 3:26 - “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”

Last week we were able to refute the claims of Dan Brown in The Da Vinci Code that
Jesus of Nazareth was a mere mortal prophet whose life ended at the cross of Calvary in an
act of martyrdom and not the payment for sin as the New Testament teaches.

We saw in the proof of the resurrection that Jesus was not merely a man, but also God
among us in human flesh. There has never been, nor will there ever be a man who will
live, die and rise again from the dead as He; and there is ample evidence to prove it.

But I want you to understand that Dan Brown isn’t the first to attack the deity of Jesus
Christ, nor is his method the only one that has been used; for there have been many
through the centuries that have sought to disprove the claims of Christianity. There have
even been some who claim to be Christian, but by their very beliefs destroy the foundation
of Christianity.

And the method that they use is even more insidious than Brown’s for rather then denying
the deity of Christ, they instead believe and teach that Jesus is a god (little g). That is, they
believe that Jesus is a god, but not the eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God
of eternity.

One such faith system is the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

In a book entitled “You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth”, the Jehovah’s Witness
authors write, “(Jesus) …was created before all the other spirit sons of God, and… he is
the only one who was directly created by God.”

They also write, “But isn’t Jesus called a god in the Bible?” This is true. Yet Satan is also
called a god. …the correct translation (of John1:1) is… “The Word was with God, and
the Word was divine,” or was “a god”, that is, the Word was a powerful godlike one.”
Their position becomes abundantly clear in the following phrase from page 40… “Clearly
Jesus is not Almighty God.”
And then there are the Mormons… What do they believe about God and Jesus Christ?
In Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 345-347; it says, "God himself was once as
we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens!"
In Achieving a Celestial Marriage (p. 129) and Mormon Doctrine (pp. 546-547; 742) it’s
taught that Jesus Christ is our elder brother who progressed to godhood, having first been
procreated as a spirit child by Heavenly Father and a heavenly mother; He was later
conceived physically through intercourse between Heavenly Father and the Virgin Mary.
In “A new Witness for the Articles of Faith”, Mormon teaching says of Jesus Christ, “Jesus
was Heavenly Father’s firstborn spirit child in Heaven.” (Source: North American Mission Board article entitled,
“Interfaith Evangelism Belief Bulletin.”)

Mormon doctrine also teaches in Gospel Principles (pp. 17-18) and Mormon Doctrine (p.
192) that Jesus and Lucifer are brothers.
In Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith (p. 370) and Mormon Doctrine (pp. 576-577) the
Mormon Church teaches that Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are three separate Gods.
In a chapter titled "Jesus Christ, the Son of God: Are Mormons Christian?" the president
of Brigham Young University states that the three persons of the Trinity are "not... one
being, but are "separate individuals." In addition, the Father is regarded as having a body
"of flesh and bone" (Rex Lee, What Do Mormons Believe? [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1992]
(The majority of references cited above are provided by Mormons in Transition, sponsored by the Institute for Religious Research out of Grand Rapids MI.)

These beliefs by major faith systems that claim to be Christian are antithesis to the very
truth that this book teaches about the person and nature of Jesus Christ.

I stand before you today to boldly proclaim that Jesus Christ is God Almighty who left His
throne in Heaven where He was with the Father and came to this earth, robbing Himself in
human flesh to do one thing – die to pay the penalty for sin and save our souls. Jesus
Christ is God the Son. He is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He is omnipotent,
omniscient, omnipresent, and eternal. He is Almighty God.

But, the question remains… “Is what I declare to you actually true?” Not according to
some who say that the God we serve is not Almighty God.

You may be old enough to remember a 1986 movie entitled “Children of a Lesser God”
In that movie William Hurt stars as a new teacher at a school for the deaf whose arrival
changes everyone. One by one, he affects his students in a way the gives them strength to
overcome their social restrictions. The only person he can’t seem to get through is the
female custodian, who is also deaf and unable to speak clearly. In the end, he does, and
she too is changed.

The reason I mention the movie is because of the unusual title, “Children of a Lesser
God”. I tried to figure out why it was called that, with no success, until I read an article
posted on the website rediff.com. There, a Hindu author wrote a very bitter article
attacking a certain Christian minister whom he accused of teaching that recent earthquakes
in India were the result of the judgment of God.

Listen to my paraphrased version of this article entitled “Children of a Lesser God” by

Rajeev Srinivasan…
“The God of the (Christian) fundamentalist is a limited god, a tribal god. A tribal god has
no existence without his tribe, and is therefore a lesser god, a second-class god: one
dependent on the tribute of his flock. He is afraid of losing his tribe, and is most jealous
about their affections. He is a pathetic and neurotic God, whom his tribe can only fear, not
love.

The God of fundamentalists is merely a desert god, one invented for desert people: in the
desert, you must follow a few simple rules, or else you die. Therefore he is the god of a
few simple rules. He is also known as the God of the Israelites: a parochial God, who only
looks after the welfare of his tribe.”

“There really is nothing unique about Christianity. Jesus was yet another preacher, of
which there have been many; Christianity is just one of many religions that have come and
gone; it will also disappear when its time has come.
(Words in quotations added by me for clarity)

According to this Hindu author, Jesus Christ is not God Almighty in the flesh, nor is the
God we claim to know and serve the Supreme Deity and the One and Only True God.

Quite frankly, his opinion would mean very little to me were it not for the fact that millions
of others believe the same thing. They are confused and deceived. They believe something
less than the truth about Christ, Christianity, the Bible, and the person of God.

I believe that there is sufficient evidence to prove that Jesus of Nazareth died on a cruel
Roman cross and was buried, and on the third day rose from the dead. There isn’t a doubt
in my mind that He is divine. I believe that He is God.
But is He a “lesser god”? Is He the god of the Jehovah’s Witnesses or the Mormons?
Are we serving Almighty God or are we actually “Children of a Lesser God” as Mr.
Srinivasan claims?
The great reformer Martin Luther was quoted as saying, “If I profess with the loudest
voice and clearest expression every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little
point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing
Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ.”
Friends, this is the dilemma that we are in today. Never before in my short life have I seen
such attacks on the person of Jesus Christ. Never before have so many people tried so hard
to destroy the truth never before has Satan worked so tirelessly to blind the world and
reduce Jesus Christ from Almighty God to a mere man or a lesser god.
As a preacher of His Word, I have a blood-bought duty to preach the truth that the devil is
trying to hide so you can believe it and share it with others.
So, let’s do it again… let’s look at the evidence and see whether our God is Almighty God
or if He is really a tribal god, a cheap deity, a lesser god.

The first piece of evidence is the prophecies concerning Christ in the Old Testament.
It’s vital that we see what the prophets said about Jesus. The prophet Isaiah, who lived
several hundred years before Christ, wrote in Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself shall
give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name
Immanuel.”

He spoke further of this child in chapter 9:6–7:

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his
shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The
everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there
shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to
establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the
LORD of hosts will perform this.”

Who is this child? He is the same One the prophet speaks of in chapter 61:1-3 when he
writes, “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to
preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to
proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To
proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to
comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty
for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that
they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be
glorified.”

Who is this remarkable child? He is the same one of whom the prophet writes in chapter
45:21-23 – “Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath
declared this from ancient time? Who hath told it from that time? Have not I the LORD?
And there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none
else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall
not return, that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.”
Who is this remarkable man that the prophet said would come into the world as Savior,
Healer, Counselor, Peace, and yet also as Judge, Lord and God? He is Jesus of Nazareth.

Some may question… “How do we know for sure that the prophet spoke of Jesus?”

That brings us to the second piece of evidence – the testimony of Jesus Himself - In Luke
chapter 4, Jesus entered the synagogue and was given the scroll of Isaiah to read. In verse
18-19, he read “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach
the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to
the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to
preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

Verses 20-21 read, “And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat
down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he
began to say unto them, ‘This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears’.”

Did Jesus really say that He was Almighty God? Yes, in spite of the skeptics who claim
otherwise, we can read it time and time again in the Bible.

In John 8:58 “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I
am.” Verse 59 says, “Then took they up stones to cast at him…”
They tried to kill Jesus because He called Himself by the same name that Almighty God
called Himself in the burning bush when He spoke to Moses.

Later, in John 10:30, Jesus got into trouble with the Jews again by saying, “I and my
Father are one.” Verses 31-33 read, “Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.
Jesus answered them, ‘Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of
those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, ‘For a good work we stone
thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God’.”

Jesus understood Himself to be God Almighty, and even His enemies understood that He
was claiming to be God Almighty, so don’t listen to those people who say that Jesus
never said that He was God!

And that brings us to the third piece of evidence – The testimony of His followers – The
Bible teaches that Jesus accepted the worship of His followers and that they too
understood Him to be the Son of God, one with the Father, and indeed, God Almighty.

The Apostle Peter said to Jesus in Matthew 16:16 “…Thou art the Christ, the Son of the
living God.” Again, in John 6:69, he is recorded as saying, “And we believe and are sure
that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.”

When the risen Jesus appeared to the disciples the first time in the upper room, “Doubting
Thomas”, wasn’t there. John 20:25-28 says, “The other disciples therefore said unto him,
‘We have seen the Lord’. But he said unto them, ‘Except I shall see in his hands the print
of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I
will not believe’. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with
them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, ‘Peace be
unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and
reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing’. And
Thomas answered and said unto him, ‘My Lord and my God’.”

Now, hear the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 14: 8-12. There, Paul wrote to
the Roman Church, commanding them to refrain from judging one another in light of the
knowledge that Jesus Christ is the only One with that rightful prerogative.
Notice carefully what he said, “For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether
we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. For to
this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead
and living. (Who is Lord?)
But why dost thou judge thy brother? Or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we
shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. (Whose judgment seat?)

For it is written, “As I live, saith the Lord, (According to Paul, Christ is Lord, so it is Jesus
Christ who uttered the words recorded in Isaiah 45:23!) every knee shall bow to me, and
every tongue shall confess to God. (Paul quoting Isaiah 45:23) So then every one of us
shall give account of himself to God.”

Listen, the Bible is full of evidence pointing to the supreme deity of Jesus Christ and His
oneness with the Father. Time would fail us to examine the Scriptures dealing with the
names, attributes and works that prove that He is Almighty God.

His names appear in - John 4:42, Philippians 3:20; Psalm 83:18, Luke 1:76; Revelation
22:13; 1 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 1:8, John 20:28, 29; 1 John 5:20; Titus 2:13; Romans 9:5;

His Attributes in – Colossians 1:17, Micah 5:2, Hebrews 1:8; Hebrews 13:8, Hebrews
1:12; John 3:13, Matthew 18:20, Ephesians 1:23; John 16:30, John 2:24, 25; Revelation
2:23; Colossians 2:8-10; Acts 3:14; Luke 1:35; Hebrews 7:26; Revelation 3:7; Hebrews
1:6; Luke 24:52

His Works in – Hebrews 1:8, 10; John 1:3, 10; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:3; Colossians
1:17; Isaiah 9:6; 1 Peter 3:22; Ephesians 1:21; Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 9:12; Galatians
3:13; Isaiah 44:6, 1 Peter 1:18; Revelation 5:9; 2 Timothy 4:1, Matthew 25:31-46; John
5:22; 1 John 2:2, Romans 4:25, 1 Peter 3:18, John 1:29, Romans 5:6, 8; Titus 2:11,
Hebrews 2:9, 1 Timothy 2:6, Romans 3:25, 26; Romans 5:18; Hebrews 9:22, Ephesians
1:7, Romans 4:25, 1 Corinthians 15:17, Romans 8:34, Acts 4:12

So we know what our Bible says of Him. But what if our Bible has been changed? What if
in the centuries since Christ, the Church has embellished Him and exalted Him to a higher
level than He should be?
It must be important then, that we see if there is any extra-biblical testimony of him –
any historical evidence that proves His claims.

The noted Jewish historian Flavius Josephus wrote in his Antiquities: “Now, there was
about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of
wonderful works- a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over
to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ; and when
Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the dross,
those that loved him at the first did not forsake him, for he appeared to them alive again
the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful
things concerning him; and the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at
this day.

Josephus pointed to the early church as evidence of Christ’s resurrection and deity.

So, a crucial piece of evidence would be what the earliest Christians had to say about
Him in extra-biblical testimony.

What did those earliest Christians, who were in some cases contemporaries of the
Apostles believe about Jesus of Nazareth? Their beliefs have been preserved in writing in
both individual testimony and in what we know as ‘Creeds’

Four of the earliest and most well-known creeds dealing with the person of Christ are the
Apostles Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed, and the Chalcedonian Creed.

The Apostles' Creed, also called “Symbol of the Apostles” was written as a refutation of
the early heresy of Gnosticism. The name of the Creed comes from the fact that it is
composed of 12 articles. Legend has it that the creed was written by the twelve Apostles,
each contributing one article. However, there is no proof of that and most scholars believe
that it originated in the second or third century.
There are differing variants of the Creed, the Methodist version from Wesley reading…
“I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; And in Jesus Christ his
only Son our Lord: who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; the third day he rose from
the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father
Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.”

While the origins of the Apostles Creed is uncertain, the Nicene Creed is sure, having
been adopted at the Council of Nicaea in AD 325 and revised in 381. A recently updated
version reads…
“We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty Maker of heaven and earth, of all that is
seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally
begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten,
not made, one in Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us (men)1
and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he was
born of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius
Pilate; he suffered, died, and was buried. On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of
the Scriptures he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He
will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no
end.”
The Athanasian Creed – Possibly dating to the 4th century, speaks of the nature of God and
His Son Jesus Christ, saying… “We worship one God in trinity and the Trinity in unity,
neither confusing the persons nor dividing the divine being. For the Father is one person,
the Son is another, and the Spirit is still another. But the deity of the Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit is one, equal in glory, coeternal in majesty. What the Father is, the Son is, and so is
the Holy Spirit. Uncreated is the Father; uncreated is the Son; uncreated is the Spirit. The
Father is infinite; the Son is infinite; the Holy Spirit is infinite. Eternal is the Father;
eternal is the Son; eternal is the Spirit: And yet there are not three eternal beings, but one
who is eternal; as there are not three uncreated and unlimited beings, but one who is
uncreated and unlimited. Almighty is the Father; almighty is the Son; almighty is the
Spirit: And yet there are not three almighty beings, but one who is almighty. Thus the
Father is God; the Son is God; the Holy Spirit is God: And yet there are not three gods,
but one God. Thus the Father is Lord; the Son is Lord; the Holy Spirit is Lord: And yet
there are not three lords, but one Lord.”

A fourth creed came almost one hundred years later. The Chalcedonian Creed was adopted
at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 in Asia Minor. It says…
“We, then, following the holy Fathers, all with one consent, teach men to confess one and
the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in
manhood; truly God and truly man, of a reasonable [rational] soul and body;
consubstantial [co-essential] with the Father according to the Godhead, and
consubstantial with us according to the Manhood; in all things like unto us, without sin;”

In the first few centuries after Christ, the Church, despite severe opposition and
persecution, continued to boldly declare what they believed to be true of their Savior. At
the risk of their own lives they taught that Jesus Christ is Almighty God.

And throughout the centuries this declaration hasn’t changed.

The Heidelberg Catechism, published in the German language on January 19, 1563,
proclaims the same truth in a series of questions and answers…
Questions 15-19…
Q. What kind of mediator and deliverer must we seek?
A. One who is a true[1] and righteous[2] man, and yet more powerful than all creatures;
that is, one who is at the same time true God.”[3]
[1] I Cor. 15:21; Heb. 2:17. [2] Is. 53:9; II Cor. 5:21; Heb. 7:26. [3] Is. 7:14; 9:6; Jer. 23:6; John 1:1; Rom. 8:3, 4.

Q. Why must He be a true and righteous man?

A. He must be a true man because the justice of God requires that the same human nature
which has sinned should pay for sin.[1] He must be a righteous man because one who
himself is a sinner cannot pay for others.[2]
[1] Rom: 5:12, 15; I Cor. 15:21; Heb. 2:14-16. [2] Heb. 7:26, 27; I Pet. 3:18.

Q. Why must He at the same time be true God?

A. He must be true God so that by the power of His divine nature[1] He might bear in His
human nature the burden of God's wrath,[2] and might obtain for us and restore to us
righteousness and life.[3]
[1] Is. 9:5. [2] Deut. 4:24; Nah. 1:6; Ps. 130:3. [3] Is. 53:5, 11; John 3:16; II Cor. 5:21.

Q. But who is that Mediator who at the same time is true God and a true and righteous
man?
A. Our Lord Jesus Christ,[1] whom God made our wisdom, our righteousness and
sanctification and redemption (I Corinthians 1:30).
[1] Matt. 1:21-23; Luke 2:11; I Tim. 2:5; 3:16.

Q. From where do you know this?

A. From the holy gospel, which God Himself first revealed in Paradise.[1] Later, He had it
proclaimed by the patriarchs[2] and prophets,[3] and foreshadowed by the sacrifices and
other ceremonies of the law.[4] Finally, He had it fulfilled through His only Son.[5]
[1] Gen. 3:15. [2] Gen. 12:3; 22:18; 49:10. [3] Is. 53; Jer. 23:5, 6; Mic. 7:18-20; Acts 10:43; Heb. 1:1. [4] Lev. 1:7; John 5:46; Heb. 10:1-10. [5] Rom. 10:4;
Gal. 4:4, 5; Col. 2:17.

Then there is the Westminster Shorter Catechism, written in the 1640’s, after the reformed
tradition. It is a series of 107 questions and answers designed especially for new converts
and for parents to teach their children on matters related to doctrine and belief. Question
number 6 of the catechism asks, “How many persons are there in the Godhead?” The
answer is “There are three persons in the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Ghost; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.”

What powerful evidence we have that Jesus Christ is Almighty God! Jesus declared it,
his followers believed it, and Christians down through the centuries have also believed it.
That leaves us with the question of what we believe and teach about Him
From our FWB Treatise Articles of Faith we read…“There is one living and true God,
revealed in nature as the Creator, Preserver, and Righteous Governor of the universe; and
in the Scriptures as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; yet as one God, infinitely wise and good,
whom all creatures are to love supremely, adore, and obey.”
“Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh; in His divine nature truly God, in human nature
truly man. He is the God-man. Jesus Christ is the mediator between God and men, once
crucified, now risen and glorified, and soon to come back again.”
CONCLUSION
The prophets predicted that Almighty God would by Himself visit us and redeem us from
the pain, power, and penalty of sin.
• Jesus claimed to be that Redeemer.
• His followers believed it was true.
• His enemies heard Him claim it.
• The antagonistic convert Paul boldly declared it
• An ancient historian recorded it.
• Early Christians lived and died professing it.

Throughout the centuries Christians have stood by it, and today, in spite of vicious attacks
on the truth, we still believe it.

Let me close with these words from Hebrews chapters 1 and 2…

Read chapter 1:1-4

Then read chapter 2:1-4

Let me ask you today… What do you think of Christ? Is He a mere man, as Dan Brown
claims, or is he divine, yet only a lesser god, as other religions teach? What do you
believe? According to the verses I just read, you’re eternal salvation depends upon how
you answer that question.