FAILURE TO BELIEVE IS THE SAME AS DENYING HIM

The Apostle John contributed five "books" of the twenty-seven in our New Testament.  His Gospel begins by declaring Jesus Christ is not only God, but that He is also the Creator; he wrote, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  The same was in the beginning with God.  All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made" (Jn. 1:1-3).  The Apostle Paul, and the writer of the Book of Hebrews, also declared Jesus created all that exists in the Universe (1 Cor. 8:6; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:1-2; etc.)!

How can that be?  Everyone who believes in Jesus, knows He was born about 2000 years ago in the tiny village of Bethlehem, right (Mic. 5:2; Mt. 2:1; etc.)?!  Yes, that is absolutely correct.  However, Jesus existed long before He came as a human being.  He was God in Genesis 1:1, and He was one of the persons included in the words "Us" and "Our" in Genesis 1:26.  Jesus is eternal, and He chose to become a human being: 

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross" (Phil. 2:5-8).

Jesus is the Second Person of the Triune Godhead (Mt. 28:19; Acts 17:29; Rom. 1:20; Col. 2:9)!  Paul wrote:  "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory" (1 Tim. 3:16)!

John calls Jesus the Son of God eighteen times (Jn. 1:34, 49; 3:18; 5:25; 9:35; 10:36; 11:4, 27; 19:7; 20:31; 1 Jn. 3:8; 4:15; 5:5, 10, 12, 13, 20; Rev. 2:18)!  In addition, He is called the Son of God by other authors of New Testament books:  Luke (Acts 8:37; 9:20); Paul (Rom. 1:4; 2 Cor. 1:19; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 4:13); and the writer of Hebrews (Heb. 4:14; 6:6; 7:3; 10:29)!

As we see the many manifold signs unfolding, warnings of the Tribulation followed by the Second Coming of Christ, we seem to be fixated on identifying the son of perdition, the antichrist.  John wrote that even during his lifetime, there were already antichrists (1 Jn. 2:18).  They still exist.  And the key to identifying them is in the fact that they deny Jesus Christ came in the flesh (1 Jn. 1:22; 4:3; 2 Jn. 1:7)!  In so doing, they deny the very Gospel that can save them (Rom. 1:16; 1 Cor. 15:1-4)!

 

Denying Jesus is God manifest in the flesh is unpardonable!