Is Jesus a created lord?

Question:

Hi, good day,

I have a question: Was Jesus a created Lord in Acts 2:36? What is the difference between his Lordship in Acts 2:36 and in I Corinthians 8:6? Is he not God because the Father is the one God and he is just a created Lord?

Another question: The Bible says that God is a spirit and Jesus is God. Is Jesus a spirit now in heaven? Being a mediator in I Timothy 2:5, some claim that he is a man in heaven now and not a spirit. Is that true?

Thank you and God bless.

Answer:

You have a contradiction between your two questions. In the first question, you ask if Jesus is not God but in the second question, you state that Jesus is God and then question whether he is a spirit. You can't have it both ways.

Both of your questions are the result of unfounded assumptions about what the cited verses do not say.

"Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ -- this Jesus whom you crucified" (Acts 2:36).

Peter did not say Jesus was created. Peter said that Jesus was designated as both Ruler (Lord) and the Anointed One (Christ) by God. This is what Jesus had said earlier, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth" (Matthew 28:18). Paul explains it further.

"Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:5-11).

Jesus has always been God; that is, a part of the Godhead. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men" (John 1:1-4). He took on the form of man, gave his life as a ransom for mankind, and God then appointed him to rule over everything. "For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living" (Romans 14:9).

"One" does not necessarily mean one in number. After all, "For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh" (Genesis 2:24). A husband and wife are two in number but they are also one flesh. See The Trinity: God is Three in One. One has the title of "the Father," one has the title of "the Lord," and the third has the title of "the Spirit." I Corinthians 8:6 only points out that there is just one Father and one Lord but this doesn't mean that they are not both God.

"For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time" (I Timothy 2:5-6).

Because the Word took on flesh, Jesus is both God (John 1:1) and human (John 1:14). It is the reason Jesus was in the ideal position to mediate between God and men -- Jesus has been both.

"Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted" (Hebrews 2:14-18).

"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:14-15).

Just because Jesus once had a human body, it does not mean that the fleshly body continues to exist. "Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly. Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable" (I Corinthians 15:49-50).

Allow me to end with the proclamation that Thomas made when he realized that Jesus lived after his death. "Thomas answered and said to Him, 'My Lord and my God!' Jesus said to him, 'Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed'" (John 20:28-29).

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