I appreciate your patience in considering this important topic. It is evident that the deity of Christ is an important matter to you, and it should be. I commend you for your desire to stand for truth regarding the identity of Christ.

There is some misunderstanding of my own views and teaching evident in what you have written. You stated the following:

"The Pharisees ALSO struggled with the fact that Jesus could be both God and the son of God."

The word also, and the arguments that follow, reveal that you perceive me to find some incompatibility with the statements that Christ is both God, and the Son of God. No such difficulty exists in my mind.

If you will look at the first comment I posted under this blog, you will find that I have affirmed that Christ is God.

What is posted in this blog is an excerpt from a longer post on this same subject. I believe it would provide you a better understanding of what I am seeking to communicate if you consider what is shared in that other teaching. You can find it at the following link:

http://www.heart4god.ws/id385.htm

You will find in that teaching that I am a great defender of the truth that Yahshua is God. How could the Word of God be anything other than God Himself. He has come out of God, and there is nothing in Him that did not arise from God. Satan has nothing in Christ. (John 14:30)

If you would like to discourse further on this subject, I invite you to e-mail me. You will find my e-mail address posted at the top of this webpage.

May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days,

Joseph

The Pharisees also struggled with the fact that Jesus could be both God and the son of God. He quoted to them from the Psalms "The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool".

Isaiah refers to Jesus as God with us (Immanuel), The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

I have had numerous discussions with the Jehovah’s Witness and Mormons on this very subject. They use the same reasoning as you. What I understand as "the firstborn of all creation" is that He is the first born from the dead, and we are likewise the church of the first born. The first born in the old testament had special privileges and responsibilities, among which was to redeem e.g. Boaz with Ruth. Your interpretation of "first born" in this setting is wrong and very dangerous. No one other than God in the office of Jesus Christ can carry out the restitution of all things.

Richard

I will share a further thought that I hope will be helpful to you. The Scriptures declare:

John 8:44
"You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the BEGINNING, and does not stand in the truth…"

It becomes evident in this verse that we must also define what "beginning" is a reference unto. The context reveals that beginning refers not to God's beginning, nor to the creation's beginning. It does note even refer to Satan's beginning, for Ezekiel tells us the following about this anointed cherub:

Ezekiel 28:15
You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created,
UNTIL iniquity was found in you.

Paul further tells us in I Timothy 3:6 that Satan FELL into sin through conceit. He was not created evil.

We understand, therefore, that the beginning Christ is referring to is the beginning of lying. In the same passage Christ says that Satan is the "father of lies." This implies that Satan was the beginning, and origin of all lying. He was truly a liar, and the beginning point of all lies.

I share this to confirm the need to always define carefully what a word is actually referring to. Many have assumed that the phrase "In the beginning was the Word" speaks of Christ existing from the beginning of God the Father. Such a concept is nonsensical, otherwise, how could God be Christ's Father?

May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days.

I understand that you are resistant to anything that appears to lessen the glory of Christ. I too feel the same way. However, it does not devalue Christ in any way to agree with that which Scriptures teach about Him. He is "the firstborn of all creation."

When you read that "In the beginning was the word" you must identify what "beginning" is a reference to. From the context of the passage we find that the word beginning is a reference to the beginning of creation.

This conclusion is also in harmony with the statement of the apostle Paul declaring Christ to be the firstborn of all CREATION (Colossians 1:15).

Christ is preeminent in the creation. He is before all things, and above all things. He is the express image of the Father, and the perfect representation of His nature.

As the firstborn, He did come out of God at some time in the distant past, at the very beginning of the creation. This is what the Bible teaches, and I believe the Spirit bears witness.

May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days.

This is not a matter of semantics.
Jesus said before Abraham was I AM. He is from everlasting and not a creation. This is a fundamental doctrine which underpins my faith.

Richard

There is an "appearance" of contradiction in saying Christ is a created being, and that He is God. Yet, the Bible testifies to both. As this article attests, the Scriptures say that Christ "is the firstborn of all creation." He is a created being.

At the same time, Christ told Thomas, "If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father." Thomas on another occasion exclaimed to Christ, "My Lord, and my God."

The Scriptures reveal that both statements are true. Yahshua is God. Yahshua is a creation of God the Father.

I have used the following analogy previously. If I speak a word, is not that word a revelation of who I am? It is not possible for me to speak anything that is not resident within my soul. Therefore, my word reveals me. My word is me.

The same is true for the Father. When He breathed out His Spirit and formed the Word, which is Christ, He formed a being that is a perfect expression of who He is. There is nothing in Christ that is not from the Father. Satan had nothing in Christ.

Christ is the manifestation of the invisible God. They are One. Yet Christ arose out from the Father. Is this not what the words Father and Son imply? One is the originator. The Son came from the Father.

What about this from yourself? How can God be created?

Q&A: Is Yahshua (Jesus) God?
http://www.heart4god.ws/id455.htm