WEBVTT 00:08.340 --> 00:11.900 I mean, I gave several arguments earlier today as to why, from the Bible, 00:12.080 --> 00:13.660 people can argue Jesus is not God. 00:14.340 --> 00:17.860 I mentioned, for example, the verse from the Gospel of John where Jesus says, 00:18.000 --> 00:19.420 the Father is greater than I. 00:19.800 --> 00:20.560 That's interesting. 00:20.800 --> 00:24.060 We need to be able to explain how Jesus can be God while the Father is greater 00:24.060 --> 00:24.600 than He is. 00:26.020 --> 00:29.720 Verses in Mark's Gospel where Jesus says He doesn't know when the end of times is. 00:29.800 --> 00:32.680 Neither the angels nor the Son, but only the Father knows when the end of 00:32.680 --> 00:33.220 times is. 00:34.100 --> 00:35.000 Fascinating stuff. 00:36.660 --> 00:41.000 The first thing we need to do whenever we approach anything, when we approach the 00:41.000 --> 00:44.020 Bible, when we approach anything, to see what it's saying is we have to get 00:44.020 --> 00:44.960 its context. 00:45.640 --> 00:47.220 So, let's read from the beginning. 00:47.680 --> 00:52.480 Now, anyone who tries to argue from the Gospel of John that Jesus is not God has a 00:52.480 --> 00:57.000 huge uphill battle to fight because John's Gospel starts off with what? 00:57.080 --> 01:01.940 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word 01:01.940 --> 01:03.240 was God. 01:04.300 --> 01:04.840 Wow. 01:05.200 --> 01:09.620 John chapter 1, in the beginning was the Word, so here's the Word, and the Word's 01:09.620 --> 01:12.720 with God, so here's God, and the Word was God. 01:14.260 --> 01:15.480 What just happened? 01:15.560 --> 01:16.440 Mind blown. 01:16.900 --> 01:20.140 How is the Word with God and also God at the same time? 01:21.040 --> 01:29.020 Whatever the answer is, we need to realize that John's Gospel, the Word was with God 01:29.020 --> 01:30.140 and is God. 01:30.420 --> 01:32.720 And the next verse says, He was in the beginning. 01:34.120 --> 01:37.460 He was in the beginning with God. 01:38.840 --> 01:44.180 And then verse 14 says, The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld 01:44.180 --> 01:44.720 His glory. 01:46.560 --> 01:48.040 Oh man, so much to talk about. 01:48.120 --> 01:51.220 I haven't actually answered that question since I've been doing my recent studies at 01:51.220 --> 01:54.800 Oxford, so I'm trying to craft in my head how to put this all together. 01:55.440 --> 02:00.820 The idea of the Word being the thing through which the universe was created, 02:01.000 --> 02:05.240 God's interaction with the world, was something that actually came partially 02:05.240 --> 02:06.140 from Jewish thought. 02:06.880 --> 02:11.060 So there's a guy named Philo, who's embracing kind of Greek thought as well as 02:11.060 --> 02:15.340 being a Jew, and he's trying to think through how does the transcendent God 02:15.340 --> 02:16.900 interact with this world? 02:17.620 --> 02:20.320 And he says it happens through the Logos. 02:22.080 --> 02:24.760 God's interaction with this world is through the Logos. 02:24.840 --> 02:29.620 We see something similar in the Targums. 02:30.940 --> 02:36.560 So, this idea of the Logos, the thing through which the universe is created, 02:36.800 --> 02:41.220 that's present in that time, in that context, and that's what John's Gospel is 02:41.220 --> 02:41.560 saying. 02:42.000 --> 02:45.400 That the Word is the thing through which the universe is created, and we see that 02:45.400 --> 02:47.460 in John 1 and John 1.2. 02:48.280 --> 02:51.520 So from the very beginning of John's Gospel, Jesus is introduced as God. 02:51.600 --> 02:55.360 Look at verse 118, by the way, of John's Gospel, when you get the chance. 02:55.780 --> 02:59.420 Unless you have a Textus Receptus translation, if you're using a modern 02:59.420 --> 03:05.300 translation like NASB, NIV, etc., you will see that 118 says that Jesus is 03:05.300 --> 03:07.820 the only begotten God. 03:09.080 --> 03:09.540 Interesting. 03:10.200 --> 03:14.320 So very clearly from the beginning, that's all John's Gospel is trying to say. 03:14.700 --> 03:19.080 So in other words, when we read John's Gospel, it's like John says, hey, 03:19.200 --> 03:22.520 before you read this Gospel, read verses 11 through 118. 03:22.800 --> 03:26.080 This is the lens through which I want you to read the rest of my book. 03:26.680 --> 03:30.920 Jesus is the creator of the universe from the very beginning with God. 03:31.820 --> 03:33.120 And then He became flesh. 03:33.540 --> 03:35.380 Read my book through that lens. 03:35.480 --> 03:36.460 That's what John is saying. 03:37.120 --> 03:39.940 And so then you read a verse like the Father is greater than I. 03:40.020 --> 03:40.560 What do you do? 03:41.220 --> 03:42.660 Well, look at the context first. 03:43.380 --> 03:48.480 Look at the context, because that chapter actually shows that Jesus is omnipresent 03:48.480 --> 03:50.060 and omnipotent. 03:51.220 --> 03:55.620 When He says the Father is greater than I, He also says that when I leave, 03:55.780 --> 03:58.780 whatever you pray, pray in my name and I will do it for you. 03:59.320 --> 03:59.800 Hold on. 04:00.660 --> 04:04.160 That means that Jesus is saying when He's gone, He can still hear your prayers. 04:05.120 --> 04:06.020 He's omnipresent. 04:07.500 --> 04:10.480 And He also says that He can answer your prayers for you. 04:10.540 --> 04:12.400 When He's gone, that makes Him omnipotent. 04:13.100 --> 04:16.980 So whatever Jesus means when He says the Father is greater than I, we have to read 04:16.980 --> 04:18.400 it in the context of that chapter. 04:18.980 --> 04:21.100 That He's both omnipresent and omnipotent. 04:22.340 --> 04:26.060 And what He says, when He says the Father is greater than I, here's how I want to 04:26.060 --> 04:26.520 answer that. 04:30.820 --> 04:32.160 Okay, I have to go to the Trinity then. 04:32.920 --> 04:33.980 I have to go to the Trinity. 04:34.240 --> 04:37.760 Alright, make sure you have a good definition of the Trinity. 04:38.480 --> 04:43.360 The primary problem with people trying to explain the Trinity and going straight to 04:43.360 --> 04:48.620 an illustration, like the egg or the water illustration, is that illustrations are 04:48.620 --> 04:51.400 intended to demonstrate a definition. 04:52.380 --> 04:55.120 So if you skip right over the definition and go straight to the illustration, 04:55.280 --> 04:56.080 you're going to confuse people. 04:56.560 --> 04:58.900 So we need to have a definition for the Trinity. 04:59.020 --> 04:59.900 Are you still with me, by the way? 05:00.420 --> 05:01.000 Okay, good. 05:01.120 --> 05:01.900 I know it's hot in here. 05:01.920 --> 05:03.600 There's a lot of people in here, oxygen levels and such. 05:06.140 --> 05:07.660 Here is the definition of the Trinity. 05:07.800 --> 05:09.840 If you write anything down tonight, write this down. 05:10.680 --> 05:19.000 God is one in being and three in person. 05:19.940 --> 05:23.080 One in being and three in person. 05:23.760 --> 05:26.140 Now, that is not a contradiction. 05:27.920 --> 05:33.200 See, if I said He's one in being and three in being, that's a contradiction that I'm 05:33.200 --> 05:34.020 arguing with myself. 05:34.500 --> 05:37.500 If I say He's one in person and three in person, that's a contradiction. 05:37.960 --> 05:40.680 God is one in being and three in person. 05:41.720 --> 05:45.000 So the next obvious question is, Nabeel, what's the difference between a 05:45.000 --> 05:47.340 being and a person? 05:48.180 --> 05:49.400 Glad you asked, thank you. 05:51.700 --> 05:59.280 A being is that quality that makes you what you are, or makes a thing what it is. 05:59.780 --> 06:01.560 So being is what'sness. 06:02.840 --> 06:06.760 And a person is that which makes you who you are. 06:08.280 --> 06:10.980 So for example, I am a human being. 06:11.400 --> 06:13.360 That's what I am, in case you were confused. 06:13.920 --> 06:14.700 I'm a human being. 06:15.560 --> 06:17.620 Who I am is not a human being. 06:18.240 --> 06:20.020 Who I am is Nabeel Qureshi. 06:20.860 --> 06:22.260 What I am is a human being. 06:22.360 --> 06:23.600 Who I am is Nabeel Qureshi. 06:24.900 --> 06:30.500 What I am is heart, lungs, it's muscles, it's eyes, it's all this, tendons, 06:30.600 --> 06:31.060 bones, etc. 06:31.240 --> 06:33.160 That's what I am, but that's not who I am. 06:34.320 --> 06:39.340 Who I am is a kind, loving, caring, compassionate person, as my wife would 06:39.340 --> 06:39.940 tell you immediately. 06:41.480 --> 06:43.420 Who I am is very different from what I am. 06:45.400 --> 06:48.500 Humans happen to be one being and one person. 06:49.520 --> 06:51.780 That's what humans are, one being, one person. 06:51.960 --> 06:53.260 God is different. 06:54.040 --> 06:55.680 God is one being. 06:55.900 --> 06:57.580 Yahweh is what we call God. 06:58.320 --> 07:01.980 But He's three persons, Father, Son, and Spirit. 07:02.980 --> 07:05.820 Those three persons are equal because they're all God. 07:06.480 --> 07:10.200 They've all existed from the beginning, like John chapter 1 says, because they're 07:10.200 --> 07:10.720 all God. 07:12.260 --> 07:15.380 So then the question comes up, well how can Jesus say something like, 07:15.540 --> 07:17.900 the Father is greater than I, if they're all God? 07:18.400 --> 07:19.940 And the answer is actually quite simple. 07:20.420 --> 07:22.580 Let's say I pointed to the President of the United States. 07:22.680 --> 07:23.520 Let's say I said Obama. 07:24.520 --> 07:28.240 I can very accurately say Obama is greater than I am. 07:28.960 --> 07:31.260 Because when he goes somewhere, he rolls with the posse. 07:32.120 --> 07:34.360 He's the most powerful man in the world. 07:34.820 --> 07:36.540 There's news conferences when he sneezes. 07:36.820 --> 07:38.700 I mean, he's greater than I am. 07:40.000 --> 07:44.500 But, is he any more human than I am? 07:45.720 --> 07:47.200 No, he's not. 07:47.680 --> 07:52.200 He's greater than me in terms of role, but he's not greater than me in terms of 07:52.200 --> 07:52.700 essence. 07:53.720 --> 07:57.580 In the same way, the Father is greater than the Son in terms of role. 07:58.920 --> 08:00.300 The Father is superior. 08:00.500 --> 08:03.720 The Son is subjected to the Father in terms of role. 08:03.820 --> 08:05.480 And we see that in 1 Corinthians 15. 08:05.780 --> 08:09.160 It says that Jesus is going to subject himself to the authority of the Father so 08:09.160 --> 08:10.360 the Father can be all in all. 08:11.120 --> 08:14.480 It's because the Father is superior in terms of role. 08:14.600 --> 08:18.440 But, is he any more God than Jesus is? 08:19.000 --> 08:20.540 No, because they're both God. 08:21.040 --> 08:21.980 There's only one God. 08:22.480 --> 08:23.600 And they're equal in essence. 08:23.740 --> 08:24.640 Father, Son, and Spirit. 08:26.320 --> 08:30.660 So, I'm kind of... there's so much to cover in this question. 08:31.500 --> 08:33.880 I want to go back another direction. 08:34.060 --> 08:38.500 So that was to help you understand how some of those critiques simply don't work. 08:38.600 --> 08:41.200 They're either out of context or they're missing the point. 08:41.920 --> 08:45.340 Why can we know that Jesus claimed to be God? 08:46.060 --> 08:50.940 I want to point to the earliest stratum of Christian history because the book of 08:50.940 --> 08:54.180 Revelation, for example, and 2 Peter, are New Testament books, sure, 08:54.280 --> 08:57.740 but they come much later than, for example, Mark's Gospel or any of the 08:57.740 --> 08:58.500 Pauline epistles. 08:59.360 --> 09:01.600 They're all New Testament, but they were written at different times. 09:03.620 --> 09:06.240 Mark's Gospel is the earliest of the four Gospels. 09:06.380 --> 09:09.480 It was written no later than 70 to 72 AD. 09:10.000 --> 09:14.420 I believe it was written probably much earlier than that, but to concede for the 09:14.420 --> 09:18.700 skeptics, the latest date possible, let's say it was written no later than 70 09:18.700 --> 09:19.360 to 72 AD. 09:21.080 --> 09:22.500 Then you've got the Pauline epistles. 09:23.440 --> 09:28.360 Paul died around the time of the Neronian persecutions no later than 65 AD. 09:29.920 --> 09:32.060 Paul wrote letters that were earlier than that. 09:32.140 --> 09:33.300 I think I'm going to have to speed this along. 09:33.340 --> 09:34.480 We've got a lot of questions to ask. 09:35.760 --> 09:40.680 In the earliest of the four Gospels, Mark's Gospel, the whole thing points to 09:40.680 --> 09:41.580 the deity of Jesus. 09:41.980 --> 09:43.760 That's what the whole Gospel is about. 09:43.920 --> 09:47.960 From the beginning to the end, it's all about Jesus being God, 09:48.600 --> 09:50.360 except it's revealed slowly. 09:51.020 --> 09:56.200 There's only one point where there's a massive climax, and that's Mark 14, 09:56.300 --> 09:56.740 62. 09:57.580 --> 10:05.140 In Mark 14, verse 62, finally Jesus is being told to answer for everyone, 10:05.720 --> 10:06.500 who are you? 10:06.940 --> 10:10.580 Up until then, whenever Jesus was asked, are you the Christ? 10:10.800 --> 10:14.440 Or a demon would come out, for example, in Mark chapter 3 and say, you are the 10:14.440 --> 10:15.200 Holy One of God. 10:15.440 --> 10:16.540 What was Jesus' response? 10:17.840 --> 10:18.860 Don't tell anyone. 10:19.680 --> 10:20.740 Don't tell anyone. 10:21.320 --> 10:24.000 Mark chapter 8, the disciples say, you're the Christ. 10:24.160 --> 10:25.720 Jesus says, don't tell anyone. 10:27.360 --> 10:27.840 Why? 10:28.180 --> 10:31.640 He was waiting for a very specific moment to reveal who He is. 10:32.060 --> 10:33.720 But we see glimpses throughout. 10:34.740 --> 10:39.380 Mark chapter 2, verse 10, Jesus has the ability to forgive people's sins. 10:39.700 --> 10:43.620 Mark chapter 2, verse 28, Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath. 10:43.960 --> 10:45.160 Who's Lord of the Sabbath? 10:45.660 --> 10:46.240 Think about it. 10:46.320 --> 10:49.940 The Sabbath is the fourth of the ten commandments. 10:50.100 --> 10:51.220 Yeah, there's an Old Testament too. 10:52.900 --> 10:55.000 The Sabbath is the fourth of the ten commandments. 10:55.380 --> 10:59.740 If Jesus calls Himself Lord of the Sabbath, He's saying He's Lord over the 10:59.740 --> 11:00.520 ten commandments. 11:00.840 --> 11:02.260 Who's Lord over the ten commandments? 11:03.380 --> 11:03.860 God. 11:04.600 --> 11:07.920 In Mark chapter 2, verse 10, like I just mentioned, who has authority on earth to 11:07.920 --> 11:08.560 forgive sins? 11:09.480 --> 11:09.960 God. 11:11.200 --> 11:12.080 And we see this. 11:12.160 --> 11:13.940 There's so many more verses to talk about. 11:14.720 --> 11:21.140 But Mark 14, 62, we have Jesus say publicly and boldly and loudly who He is. 11:21.640 --> 11:24.360 The high priest asks Him, are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One? 11:24.460 --> 11:27.320 Jesus responds by saying, I am. 11:28.180 --> 11:29.880 Interesting, but we don't have time to go into that. 11:30.760 --> 11:35.520 And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the power and coming 11:35.520 --> 11:36.380 with the clouds of heaven. 11:37.800 --> 11:41.280 Now we in the 21st century scratch our heads and we say, what the heck was that 11:41.280 --> 11:41.520 about? 11:42.440 --> 11:45.040 I am and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the power and 11:45.040 --> 11:45.900 coming with the clouds of heaven. 11:46.280 --> 11:50.820 People who know the Old Testament very well know what Jesus is saying. 11:51.840 --> 11:54.900 When He calls Himself the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, 11:55.320 --> 11:58.360 He's referring to a very specific passage of the Old Testament. 11:58.880 --> 11:59.220 Anyone know? 12:00.880 --> 12:02.140 Daniel 7, thank you. 12:02.260 --> 12:03.360 Daniel chapter 7. 12:03.900 --> 12:05.980 This is what's going on in Daniel chapter 7. 12:06.740 --> 12:11.020 The prophet Daniel is looking in the sky and he sees the Ancient of Days. 12:11.180 --> 12:15.520 He sees God the Father being worshipped by angels, surrounded, thrown of fire, 12:15.660 --> 12:15.940 etc. 12:16.280 --> 12:17.480 There's the Ancient of Days. 12:18.760 --> 12:22.480 And then in verse 13 He says, behold in my night visions I looked and one like the 12:22.480 --> 12:27.940 Son of Man was coming on the clouds of heaven and approached the Ancient of Days. 12:28.860 --> 12:30.160 Time out, right there. 12:31.240 --> 12:35.940 The Bible says repeatedly that there's only one who comes on the clouds of heaven 12:35.940 --> 12:37.680 and that is Yahweh. 12:38.680 --> 12:42.120 Only God, according to the Bible, comes on the clouds of heaven. 12:42.740 --> 12:43.620 But He's over there. 12:44.320 --> 12:46.180 Who's this guy coming on the clouds of heaven? 12:46.980 --> 12:49.640 He's one who looks like a Son of Man. 12:49.720 --> 12:54.060 He's one who looks like a human approaching the Ancient of Days, 12:54.380 --> 12:56.300 coming in a way only God comes. 12:56.780 --> 12:57.220 Interesting. 12:57.380 --> 12:58.020 Let's keep going. 12:58.920 --> 13:03.360 It says to Him, Jesus was given glory, authority, and sovereign power. 13:04.160 --> 13:06.300 People ask me how I remember this stuff, by the way. 13:07.360 --> 13:09.980 Glory, authority, and sovereign power spells gasp. 13:10.740 --> 13:11.260 Gasp. 13:12.700 --> 13:16.740 Glory, authority, and sovereign power is given to Jesus. 13:16.880 --> 13:18.000 Now hold on for a second. 13:18.880 --> 13:22.260 Who has glory, authority, and sovereign power in heaven? 13:23.380 --> 13:23.900 God. 13:24.420 --> 13:27.380 Yet here it's being given to this one who looks like a Son of Man. 13:28.360 --> 13:28.880 Interesting. 13:29.140 --> 13:29.820 Let's keep going. 13:30.400 --> 13:34.160 It says people of every nation and language will serve Him. 13:35.260 --> 13:36.740 Whoa, hold on. 13:37.300 --> 13:41.420 In heaven, someone other than the Father is going to be served? 13:42.820 --> 13:44.860 By people of every nation and language? 13:45.860 --> 13:48.800 Well, the proper question to ask would be, Nabil, what kind of service? 13:49.380 --> 13:51.020 And I would say, glad you asked. 13:51.600 --> 13:56.440 Because the word Latruo, which is the Greek equivalent in the Septuagint, 13:56.540 --> 13:59.980 but even the word Pelah, because I don't know if you know, Daniel is the only book 13:59.980 --> 14:02.760 of the Old Testament that has portions written in Aramaic. 14:03.240 --> 14:04.960 So Aramaic is the word here in Daniel. 14:05.600 --> 14:06.160 Pelah. 14:06.800 --> 14:11.800 The word Pelah and the word Latruo is only given to God. 14:12.840 --> 14:16.740 A hundred and thirty times throughout the Old Testament and New, the word is used, 14:16.840 --> 14:23.320 and every single time it is used as a service due to God alone, except in this 14:23.320 --> 14:23.800 passage. 14:24.800 --> 14:28.720 Where someone who looks like a Son of Man, who rides on the clouds of heaven, 14:28.940 --> 14:33.780 who's going to have people of every nation and language serve him, he receives that 14:33.780 --> 14:35.540 service due only to God. 14:37.440 --> 14:40.800 Then it says, his kingdom is one that will not pass away and his dominion will never 14:40.800 --> 14:41.340 be destroyed. 14:43.160 --> 14:43.620 Wow. 14:44.740 --> 14:48.460 So you have God the Father and somebody else who looks like a Son of Man, 14:48.620 --> 14:52.140 who comes in on the clouds of heaven like only God does, he's given glory, 14:52.300 --> 14:54.380 authority, and sovereign power of heaven. 14:54.380 --> 14:58.000 He's worshiped and served by people of every nation and language with a worship 14:58.000 --> 15:01.340 and service due only to God, and his dominion over heaven will never be 15:01.340 --> 15:01.760 destroyed. 15:02.160 --> 15:05.760 Jesus, when he says, you will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, 15:05.960 --> 15:07.920 he's saying, you remember that guy from Daniel 7? 15:08.100 --> 15:08.720 That's me. 15:10.080 --> 15:10.720 That's me. 15:11.660 --> 15:15.860 And by the way, whenever people say something like, oh, Son of Man is the 15:15.860 --> 15:21.600 human title of Jesus and Son of God is the divine title, I say, no, that's kind of 15:21.600 --> 15:21.940 backwards. 15:22.420 --> 15:25.160 It's kind of backwards, at least from the Jewish perspective, that's backwards. 15:25.940 --> 15:28.820 Because in the Jewish perspective, there are a bunch of people who are called 15:28.820 --> 15:29.500 Sons of God. 15:30.020 --> 15:31.300 Adam's called a Son of God. 15:31.520 --> 15:32.800 Solomon is called a Son of God. 15:33.800 --> 15:36.320 But there's only one divine Son of Man in the Old Testament. 15:37.520 --> 15:39.120 And Jesus claims to be that one. 15:40.120 --> 15:43.060 But, hold the phone, it gets even better. 15:44.020 --> 15:47.800 Jesus says, you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the power. 15:49.080 --> 15:50.320 Okay, what is that a reference to? 15:50.800 --> 15:53.340 That's a reference to Psalm 110, verse 1. 15:54.440 --> 15:57.900 The Lord said to my Lord, Yahweh said to Adonai, sit at my right hand and I will 15:57.900 --> 15:59.360 make the enemies a footstool for your feet. 16:00.100 --> 16:02.200 Understand the context of what's happening here. 16:02.800 --> 16:08.700 When God says, sit at my right hand, in that Semitic context, what it means is, 16:09.100 --> 16:10.400 rule the universe with me. 16:10.900 --> 16:12.040 You are my heir. 16:14.180 --> 16:19.680 That's why no one in the Second Temple period of Jewish history was ever depicted 16:19.680 --> 16:21.060 sitting next to God. 16:22.140 --> 16:27.920 Moses stood next to God, Enoch stood next to God, no one sat at the right hand of 16:27.920 --> 16:28.220 God. 16:28.660 --> 16:31.480 Because it would mean being co-heir, co-ruler over the universe. 16:32.300 --> 16:36.300 Jesus said, you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the power. 16:37.200 --> 16:38.460 Coming with the clouds of heaven. 16:39.760 --> 16:43.140 Now, if you were to say to me, Nabeel, this is just Mark's gospel, 16:43.960 --> 16:46.680 how do we know Jesus actually said this? 16:47.120 --> 16:49.300 I would say, glad you asked. 16:51.020 --> 16:57.140 This doctrine of the Son of Man is found in every layer of gospel history. 16:57.720 --> 17:00.780 If you believe in Q theory, it's found in all five sources. 17:01.820 --> 17:03.380 Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Q. 17:05.080 --> 17:09.020 That is why the earliest Christians worshipped Jesus. 17:10.300 --> 17:12.220 I'll toss in one last thing for free. 17:12.300 --> 17:13.380 If I gave you any more, you'd have to pay. 17:15.520 --> 17:22.280 Paul, in Philippians chapter 2, verses 6-11, says this, having your mind 17:22.280 --> 17:27.860 the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, who, although he existed in the form of 17:27.860 --> 17:31.860 God, did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped. 17:32.360 --> 17:33.260 But he emptied himself. 17:34.020 --> 17:38.340 Paul, now Paul is before Mark's gospel, and as he's writing to the letter of the 17:38.340 --> 17:39.900 Philippians, that's even earlier. 17:40.880 --> 17:44.340 And he's saying, having yourselves the same attitude as that of Christ, 17:44.480 --> 17:48.820 who, although he was God, did not resist humbling himself by emptying himself and 17:48.820 --> 17:49.480 becoming a man. 17:50.300 --> 17:54.500 And if he wants to make it any more clear, he does what he does in the next few 17:54.500 --> 17:54.740 verses. 17:55.280 --> 18:00.460 He says, to the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, and every tongue will 18:00.460 --> 18:02.880 confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. 18:03.580 --> 18:04.480 What did he do there? 18:05.500 --> 18:11.180 He took Isaiah 45, which says, to Yahweh, every knee will bow, 18:11.280 --> 18:14.620 and every tongue will confess, took out Yahweh's name, put in Jesus' 18:14.800 --> 18:15.020 name. 18:15.980 --> 18:18.420 To Jesus, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess. 18:19.240 --> 18:26.460 The earliest layer of Christian history that we have access to shows Jesus being 18:26.460 --> 18:28.080 worshipped as Yahweh himself. 18:28.920 --> 18:34.380 And I have to ask, in a Jewish context where people are very, very careful not to 18:34.380 --> 18:39.780 worship anyone but God, how in the world do they start worshipping Jesus so fast? 18:40.820 --> 18:43.680 And the best answer I can give, the best conclusion I can give is that 18:43.680 --> 18:46.400 Jesus himself said he was God.