Where in the Bible did Jesus claim to be God or accept worship? Never!!! He told people to worship God not him. Jesus’ apostles were not under any Trinitarian delusion back then, they knew Jesus is the Son of the living God. I will reflect and the word OBEISANCE below as well as whom we are to worship.
Actually the Bible reports to us that Jesus prostrated himself to the One whom he called "the only true God," his God and his Father. In the account in the Garden of Gethsemane, it says of Jesus: And going a little way forward, he fell upon his face, praying and saying: "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from me. Yet, not as I will, but as you will." Mt 26:39
The act of falling upon one’s face is the Hebrew way of saying that a person prostrates themselves flat out in an act worship, or obeisance is to bow down. Only someone intent on deceiving themselves would argue that Jesus was not doing an act of worship before the Living God.
Then Jesus said to him: "Go away, Satan! For it is written, ‘It is God your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service.’" Mt 4:10
Jesus
All things have been delivered to me by my Father, and no one fully knows the Son but the Father, neither does anyone fully know the Father but the Son and anyone to whom the Son is willing to reveal him. Mt 11:27
But looking at the windstorm, he got afraid and, after starting to sink, he cried out: "Lord, save me!" Immediately stretching out his hand Jesus caught hold of him and said to him: "You with little faith, why did you give way to doubt?" And after they got up into the boat, the windstorm abated. Then those in the boat did obeisance to him, saying: "You are really God’s Son." Mt 14:30-33
In answer Simon Peter said: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." In response Jesus said to him: "Happy you are, Simon son of Jo´nah, because flesh and blood did not reveal [it] to you, but my Father who is in the heavens did. Mt 16:16, 17
However, the eleven disciples went into Gal´i·lee to the mountain where Jesus had arranged for them, and when they saw him they did obeisance, but some doubted. And Jesus approached and spoke to them, saying: "All authority has been given me in heaven and on the earth. Mt 28:16-18
Nevertheless, the hour is coming, and it is now, when the true worshipers will worship the Father with spirit and truth, for, indeed, the Father is looking for suchlike ones to worship him. God is a Spirit, and those worshiping him must worship with spirit and truth." John 4:23, 24
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give YOU a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the accurate knowledge of him; the eyes of YOUR heart having been enlightened, that YOU may know what is the hope to which he called YOU, what the glorious riches are which he holds as an inheritance for the holy ones, and what the surpassing greatness of his power is toward us believers. It is according to the operation of the mightiness of his strength, with which he has operated in the case of the Christ when he raised him up from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above every government and authority and power and lordship and every name named, not only in this system of things, but also in that to come. He also subjected all things under his feet, and made him head over all things to the congregation, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills up all things in all. Eph 1:17-23
For this very reason also God exalted him to a superior position and kindly gave him the name that is above every [other] name, so that in the name of Jesus every knee should bend of those in heaven and those on earth and those under the ground, and every tongue should openly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
Consequently, my beloved ones, in the way that YOU have always obeyed, not during my presence only, but now much more readily during my absence, keep working out YOUR own salvation with fear and trembling; for God is the one that, for the sake of [his] good pleasure, is acting within YOU in order for YOU both to will and to act. Keep doing all things free from murmurings and arguments, that YOU may come to be blameless and innocent, children of God without a blemish in among a crooked and twisted generation, among whom YOU are shining as illuminators in the world, keeping a tight grip on the word of life, that I may have cause for exultation in Christ’s day, that I did not run in vain or work hard in vain. Php 2:9-16
God, who long ago spoke on many occasions and in many ways to our forefathers by means of the prophets, has at the end of these days spoken to us by means of a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the systems of things.
He is the reflection of [his] glory and the exact representation of his very being, and he sustains all things by the word of his power; and after he had made a purification for our sins he sat down on the right hand of the Majesty in lofty places. So he has become better than the angels, to the extent that he has inherited a name more excellent than theirs. For example, to which one of the angels did he ever say: "You are my son; I, today, I have become your father"? And again: "I myself shall become his father, and he himself will become my son"? But when he again brings his Firstborn into the inhabited earth, he says: "And let all God’s angels do obeisance to him." Heb 1:1-6
Wherefore, seeing that we are to receive a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us continue to have undeserved kindness, through which we may acceptably render God sacred service with godly fear and awe. Heb 12:28
Mt 4:10, Jesus said: "You must worship [from pro·sky·ne´o] God your God and him only shall you serve." (At De 6:13, which Jesus is evidently here quoting, appears the personal name of God, the Tetragrammaton.) In harmony with that, we must understand that it is pro·sky·ne´o with a particular attitude.
Many people when it comes to the word worship need to have the same mind set as the son of God has. Let’s look at what he himself said about who we should worship. The Devil took him along to an unusually high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and he said to him: "All these things I will give you if you fall down and do an act of worship to me. Mt 6:8, 9
So what did Satan want Jesus to do? "fall down and do an act of worship to me" Why did I use this passage? two reasons.
1. We need to understand what Jesus response was to the Devil..2. In terms of God and Jesus we need to come to see both as different not the same person as the Churches of Christianity.
Now back to Jesus and his answer: Jesus said to him: "Go away, Satan! For it is written, ‘It is God your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service. Mt 4:10
Now is Jesus God? if so why would he say it is to God we must worship. Satan was trying to cause Jesus to be disloyal to God. But what test of loyalty would that be if Jesus were God? Could God rebel against himself? The temptation of Jesus would make sense only if he was, not God, but a separate individual who had his own free will, one who could have been disloyal had he chosen to be, such as an angel or a human.
It is unimaginable that God could sin and be disloyal to himself. "Perfect is his activity A God of faithfulness, righteous and upright is he." said Moses. De 32:4
So if Jesus had been God, he could not have been tempted this is made clear by what James says: For with evil things God cannot be tried . Jas 1:13
The Devil knows who God is and knows it would make no sense to even try to tempt God since he can not sin.
So again the temptation of Jesus would make sense if Jesus was God, but he is not..Remember Jesus could of been tempted coming in the flesh, but not as God himself, but as God’s Son, Jesus passed the test. This is why I started out by making this point first about who should be worshipped and should Jesus be worshipped. One of the main problems is translation of the word worship when it comes to the son of God.
One of the Hebrew words conveying the idea of worship (‛a·vadh′) basically means "serve." Another Hebrew term that can denote worship is hish·ta·chawah′, which primarily means "bow down or do obeisance , which Satan wanted Jesus to do did he not. The Hebrew root sa·ghadh′ signifies "prostrate oneself. The Greek word pro·sky·ne′o corresponds closely to the Hebrew term hish·ta·chawah′ in expressing the thought of obeisance and, at times, worship. So here we see if Jesus is to be worshipped or given obeisance. The term pro·sky·ne′o is used in connection with a slave’s doing obeisance to a king .
Therefore the slave fell down and began to do obeisance to him, saying, ‘Be patient with me and I will pay back everything to you.’Mt 18:26
Ought you not, in turn, to have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I also had mercy on you?’ With that his master, provoked to wrath, delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay back all that was owing. In like manner my heavenly Father will also deal with YOU if YOU do not forgive each one his brother from YOUR hearts." Mt 18:33-35
My Lord and My GOD?
There is no objection to referring to Jesus as “God,” if this is what Thomas had in mind. Such would be in harmony with Jesus’ own quotation from the Psalms in which powerful men, judges, were addressed as “gods.” John 10:34, 35, Ps 82:1-6
Of course, Christ occupies a position far higher than such men. Because of the uniqueness of his position in relation to God, at John 1:18 Jesus is referred to as “the only-begotten god.” Isa 9:6 also prophetically describes Jesus as “Mighty God,” but not as the Almighty God. All of this is in harmony with Jesus’ being described as “A god,” or “divine qualities,” at John 1:1
The context helps us to draw the right conclusion from this. Shortly before Jesus’ death, Thomas had heard Jesus’ prayer in which he addressed his Father as “the only true God.” John 17:3, After Jesus’ resurrection Jesus had sent a message to his apostles, including Thomas, in which he had said: “I am ascending . . . to my God and your God.” John 20:17
After recording what Thomas said when he actually saw and touched the resurrected Christ, the apostle John stated: “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:31
So, if anyone has concluded from Thomas’ exclamation that Jesus is himself “the only true God” or that Jesus is a Trinitarian “God the Son,” he needs to look again at what Jesus himself said in (John 20 vs. 17) and at the conclusion that is clearly stated by the apostle John in (John 20 vs. 31).
The more reasonable explanation is that Thomas, overwhelmed by his astonishment at the reality of Christ’s resurrection, which head previously denied, was moved to make a declaration to reaffirm that he recognized Jesus as his Lord and representative of God God.
"ANGEL APPEARS TO ONE OF THE DISCIPLES, PERSON STARTED TO WORSHIP, ANGEL TOLD HIM NOT TO DO THAT"
“Be careful! Do not do that! All I am is a fellow slave.”—Re 19:10
They are no more than humble slaves of God. There is no room in pure worship for worship of the angels or even for relative worship, directing worship to God via some “saint” or angel. Col 2:18
Bowing to anyone other than God as a deity was prohibited by God. (Ex 23:24; 34:14) Similarly, the worshipful bowing down to religious images or to any created thing was positively condemned. (Ex 20:4, 5; Le 26:1; De 4:15-19; Isa 2:8, 9, 20, 21) Thus, in the Hebrew Scriptures, when certain of God’s servants prostrated themselves before angels, they only did so to show they recognized that these were God’s representatives, not to render obeisance to them as deities.—Jos 5:13-15; Ge 18:1-3
"ISN’T GOD THE ONLY ONE WE HAVE TO WORSHIP ?"
Does the fact that worship is given to Jesus prove that he is God?
At Hebrews 1:6,the angels are instructed to “worship” Jesus, according to the rendering of RS, TEV, KJ, JB, and NAB. NW says “do obeisance to.” At Mt 14:33, Jesus’ disciples are said to have “worshiped” him, according to RS, TEV, KJ; other translations say that they “showed him reverence” (NAB), “bowed down before him”(JB), “fell at his feet” (NE), “did obeisance to him” (NW).
The Greek word rendered “worship” is pro·sky·ne’o, which A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature says was also “used to designate the custom of prostrating oneself before a person and kissing his feet, the hem of his garment, the ground.” (Chicago, 1979, Bauer, Arndt, Gingrich, Danker; second English edition; p. 716)
Had he done obeisance to the Devil, Jesus would thereby have signified submission to Satan and made himself the Devil’s servant. But Jesus refused, saying:” Go away, Satan! For it is written, ‘It is God your God you must worship Mt 4:10 [form of Gr. pro·sky·ne′o or, in the Deuteronomy account that Jesus was quoting, Heb. hish·ta·chawah′], and it is to him alone you must render sacred service [form of Gr. la·treu′o or Heb. ‛a·vadh.
Now the word OBEISANCE is an act of bowing, kneeling, prostrating the body, or making some other gesture to betoken submission; or simply the paying of respect.
But is this worship?
Abraham bowed down to the Canaanite sons of Heth from whom he sought to buy a burial place, did he worship the Canaanite? Ge 23:7- Thereupon Abraham got up and bowed down to the natives, to the sons of Heth, it is clear that this Hebrew term of itself does not necessarily have a sense of, or signify worship.
Bowing down to humans as an act of respect was admissible, but bowing to anyone other than God as a Divine) deity was prohibited by God. You must not bow down to their gods or be induced to serve them. Ex 23:24
Look out: perhaps there may be someone who will carry YOU off as his prey through the philosophy and empty deception according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary things of the world and not according to Christ; because it is in him that all the fullness of the divine quality dwells bodily. Col 2:8,9
Colossians 2:9 is to show that Christ has in him all the fullness, not of God himself, the Deity, the Godhead, but of the divine quality dwelling bodily, and this in behalf of the spiritual body of Christ, so that this body of Christ's followers is possessed of a fullness by means of him: "It is in [Christ] that all the fullness of the divine quality dwells bodily. And so you [Christians] are possessed of a fullness by means of him, who is the head of all government and authority."— Col 2:9, 10
But did not the Devil ask Jesus to bow to him as worship and not just OBEISANCE? Yes , and that’s the key.
Look at this verse again: "fall down and do an act of worship to me” The Devil is a god of this world is he not, he is called a god. among whom the god of this system of things has blinded the minds of the unbelievers. 2 Co 4:4
So it would be an act of worship since he is a god.
Finally let’s look at Jesus in worship or OBEISANCE. Since Jesus said himself it was only to God we should worship why does many translations use worship at Hebrews 1:5,6.For example, to which one of the angels did he ever say: "You are my son; I, today, I have become your father"? And again: "I myself shall become his father, and he himself will become my son"? But when he again brings his Firstborn into the inhabited earth, he says: "And let all God’s angels do obeisance to him." Heb 1:5,6
King James and many others use worship, but as I have pointed out Only God is to be worshipped.
Hebrews 1:6shows that angels render obeisance to the resurrected Jesus Christ not WORSHIP, Many translations of this text here render pro·sky·ne′o as "worship," while some render it by such expressions as "bow before" (AT; Yg) and ‘pay homage’ (NE.. No matter what English term is used, the original Greek remains the same and the understanding of what it is that the angels render to Christ must accord with the rest of the Scriptures. Jesus himself emphatically stated to Satan that "it is God your God you must worship [form of pro·sky·ne′o], Him alone.
Hence brace up YOUR minds for activity, keep YOUR senses completely; set YOUR hope upon the undeserved kindness that is to be brought to YOU at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, quit being fashioned according to the desires YOU formerly had in YOUR ignorance, but, in accord with the Holy One who called YOU, do YOU also become holy yourselves in all [YOUR] conduct, because it is written: "YOU must be holy, because I am holy."
Furthermore, if YOU are calling upon the Father who judges impartially according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves with fear during the time of YOUR alien residence. For YOU know that it was not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, that YOU were delivered from YOUR fruitless form of conduct received by tradition from YOUR forefathers. But it was with precious blood, like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb, even Christ’s. True, he was foreknown before the founding of the world, but he was made manifest at the end of the times for the sake of YOU who through him are believers in God, the one who raised him up from the dead and gave him glory; so that YOUR faith and hope might be in God.
Now that YOU have purified YOUR souls by [YOUR] obedience to the truth with unhypocritical brotherly affection as the result, love one another intensely from the heart. For YOU have been given a new birth, not by corruptible, but by incorruptible [reproductive] seed, through the word of[the] living and enduring God. For "all flesh is like grass, and all its glory is like a blossom of grass; the grass becomes withered, and the flower falls off, but the saying of God endures forever." Well, this is the "saying," this which has been declared to YOU as good news. 1 Pe 1:17-25
The angel told John to "worship God.
At that I fell down before his feet to worship him. But he tells me: "Be careful! Do not do that! All I am is a fellow slave of you and of your brothers who have the work of witnessing to Jesus. Worship God. Re 19:10
This came after Jesus’ resurrection and exaltation, showing that matters had not changed in this regard.
Next, the end, when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father, when he has brought to nothing all government and all authority and power. For he must rule as king until [God] has put all enemies under his feet. As the last enemy, death is to be brought to nothing. For [God] "subjected all things under his feet." But when he says that ‘all things have been subjected,’ it is evident that it is with the exception of the one who subjected all things to him. But when all things will have been subjected to him, then the Son himself will also subject himself to the One who subjected all things to him, that God may be all things to everyone. 1 Co 15:24
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