Anything wrong in saying that Jesus is the god of Christians ? Absolutely no! Because Jesus Christ is our god. But a deception hides behind the statement that Jesus Christ is the god of Christians. We should be mindful of it. Each religion has its own god- concept. They believe in a person, supernatural power or concept and worship him/her/it as god. We are no different. We believe that Jesus Christ is god. We worship God the Father whom Jesus revealed to us.
When a Christian tells another fellow Christian that Jesus Christ is our god, it is clear because for both of them Jesus Christ is their god. But a problem occurs when we meet non-Christians and get an opportunity to talk to them about our faith. Normally we say something like this. Jesus Christ is our god. You may have another god of your choice and we don’t bother. Our god is unique in the sense that God the Father revealed Himself through Jesus Christ. We believe that Jesus secured us forgiveness of sins and salvation of souls through his death on the cross. We believe that his body and blood will lead us to eternal life. We further believe that Jesus Christ will come again. Those who are seriously into evangelization might invite others to taste such a good god, and believe in Jesus Christ and thus be saved. This is the normal pattern.
Now Just think. Did Jesus ever say that he is the god of Christians? Not even a hint towards it! Jesus never claimed that he is the god of those who believe in him or those who were going to believe in him. On the other hand he said the opposite; ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me’ (Mt 28:18). Then how can you call him the god of Christians?
Instead, we should say that Jesus Christ is the god of all creation. He is the god of all humanity. The universe, both visible and invisible, submit to his authority. There is only one statement that is applicable equally to a Christian and a non-Christian. It is that Jesus Christ is the god of all.
Some might argue, but we don’t approve of what you say. They have every right to say so. Your President rules your country as President not because you approve him. It is because he is appointed there in the capacity of President through a due legal process. It is immaterial whether a few of the citizens agree with his presidency or not. In the same vein, what matters is who reigns in heaven. It was Jesus who ‘conquered and sat down with his father on his throne’ (Rev. 3:21). If ‘all things in heaven and on earth were created in him’ (Col 1:16) how can you confine him to the status of a lesser god, a god of Christians alone? After all, Christians form but a minuscule part of the whole creation! If ‘all things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers- all things have been created through him and for him’ (Col 1:16) it follows that nothing is excluded from his power. How can we call him the god of Christians?
John introduces Jesus as the ‘true light, which enlightens everyone’ (Jn 1:9). Indeed, there were others who came for a short time and enlightened some persons for a shorter duration. Is it just to compare Jesus with them? Can you compare a firefly with a burning fire or a lighted candle with the sun? If Christ enlightens everyone for all times he should be the god of all. Christians were not the exclusive creation of God. Everything from heavenly bodies to subatomic particles are His creation. They were created in Jesus Christ and for Jesus Christ. What a big mistake are we making when saying that he is the god of Christians!
From another perspective, if Jesus is the god of Christians alone, others can well have their own gods. Then what is the purpose of evangelization? What is the meaning in proclaiming the good news that Jesus came here to save us all? If they really have a god like ours, what is wrong in them living according to that god’s tenets?
It doesn’t require much courage to say that Jesus is the god of Christians. No faith is required either to say it. Because if we had a faith even as little as a mustard seed, we would say that Jesus Christ is the god of all. Up till now we were examining the question from a human and especially a Christian perspective. Satan also is interested in this debate. What is his stand on this ‘controversial’ issue? Presenting Jesus as the god of Christians is a pet theme of the devil. He cleverly gets it done through the media. When an image or statue of Jesus is defiled, the world tells us that it is an insult to Christians. When a church is desecrated, they tell us that a place of worship of Christians is desecrated. If the world knew that Jesus Christ is the god of all, the narrative would have been different. They would say that the desecration was aimed at the author of everything, the Almighty God. It calls for wisdom to recognize Jesus as the god of all creation.
When Satanists and religious bigots desecrate the Holy Eucharist, it is not an act aimed to insult the faith of Christians but an act of blasphemy against God whose presence is manifested alive in a piece of bread. But to come to that understanding they should first come to the realization that Jesus Christ, whose body and blood constitute the Holy Eucharist, is the one and only God who presides over the whole universe.
Who taught us to call Jesus, the Son of the Almighty Father, who was adorned with ‘glory in the presence of the Father before the world existed’ (Jn 17:5), and to whom the Father had given His name (Jn 17:11), as the god of Christians? Never make Jesus at whose name, ‘every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth’ (Phil 2:10) a lesser god, one belonging to a vast pantheon. ‘Look! He is coming with the clouds. Every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail’ (Rev. 1:7). If he was the exclusive god of Christians why should he bother about all the tribes of the earth? Why should he bother about those who pierced him?
Among the multitude of ‘dead gods’ there stands a God who conquered death. This is precisely the reason we call him the True God. This is the truth and there is no other truth. Faith is the name given to recognizing and accepting this truth. Christian is the name of a person who proclaims this faith aloud. And evangelization is the process of bringing others also to this realization.
Let us climb atop the mountain and proclaim aloud: I believe that Jesus Christ is the Lord and God of all creation.
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