Concept of God in Christianity
Before we discuss the concept of God in Christianity, let us examine the position of Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) in Islam:
(i) Islam is the only non-Christian faith, which makes it an article of faith to believe in Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him). No Muslim is a Muslim if he does not believe in Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him).
(ii) We believe that Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) was one of the mightiest messengers of Allah (Swt).
(iii) We believe that he was born miraculously without any male intervention, which many modern day Christians do not believe.
(iv) We believe that he gave life to the dead with God’s permission.
(v) We believe that he healed those born blind and the lepers with God’s permission.
The major difference between Islam and Christianity is the
Christians’ insistence on the supposed divinity of Christ. A
study of the Christian scriptures reveals that Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) never claimed divinity. There is not a single unequivocal
statement in the entire Bible where Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) himself
says, ‘I am God’ or where he says, ‘worship me’. The Bible
contains statements attributed to Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) in which he
preached quite the contrary. Consider the following
statements in the Bible, attributed to Jesus Christ (Peace Be Upon Him):
“...my Father is greater than I.”
(Gospel of John 14:28)
“My Father... is greater than all.”
(Gospel of John 10:29)
“I cast out devils by the Spirit of God...”
(Gospel of Matthew 12:28)
“...I with the finger of God cast out devils”
(Gospel of Luke 11:20)
“I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge; and
my judgement is just; because I seek not mine own will,
but the will of the Father, which hath sent me.”
(Gospel of John 5:30)
THE MISSION OF JESUS CHRIST (PBUH) - HE
CAME TO FULFILLTHE LAW
Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) never claimed divinity for himself. He clearly
announced the nature of his mission. Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) was sent
by God to confirm the previous Judaic law. This is clearly
evident in the following statements attributed to Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) in the Gospel of Matthew:
“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets;
I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily, I say unto
you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no
wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least
commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called
the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do
and teach them, the same shall be called great in the
kingdom of heaven.
For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall
exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye
shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
(Gospel of Matthew 5: 17-20)
God sent Jesus (PBUH)
The Bible mentions the prophetic nature of Jesus’ (Peace Be Upon Him) mission in the following verses:
“...and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the
Father’s which sent me.”
(Gospel of John 14:24)
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the
only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent.”
(Gospel of John 17:3)
Jesus refuted even a remote suggestion of his divinity.
Consider the following incident mentioned in the Bible:
“And, behold, one came and said unto him, ‘Good master,
what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?’
And he said unto him, “Why callest thou me good? There
is none good but one, that is, God; but if thou wilt enter
into life, keep the commandments.”
(Gospel of Matthew 19:16-17)
The above statements from the Bible refute the Christian
dogma of divinity of Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) and of salvation through
the sacrifice of Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him). Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) exhorts keeping
the commandments as the means to achieve salvation.
Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) of Nazareth - a man approved of God
The following statement from the Bible supports the Islamic
belief that Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) was a Prophet of God.
“Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a
man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders
and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye
yourselves also know.”
(Book of Acts 2:22)
The First Commandment is that God is One
The Bible does not at all support the Christian belief in
trinity. One of the scribes once asked Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) as to
which was the first commandment of all; to which Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) reiterated what Moses (Peace Be Upon Him) had said, namely:
“Shama Israelu Adonai Ila Hayno Adonai Ikhad”
It is a Hebrew quotation, which means,
“Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord.”
(Gospel of Mark 12:29)
NOTE : The Father's word used in the Bible does not mean Biological Father. The Father's word is also used for others People other than Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him).
