Crucified, probably; But why can't God pick his table-mates?

Matthew 3:17
And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

Mark 1:11
And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."
Luke 3:22
and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."
John 12:29
Then a voice came from heaven, "I [God] have glorified it [my name], and will glorify it again." The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.

Notice what is absent: the word "only" to qualify the term "son." Notice also that son is capitalized, but the original Greek text would not have distinguished capital letters. This convention of writing "Son" as opposed to "son" is used by Christian translators to blur the identify of Jesus with that of God in the minds of readers. Notice also that Jesus' presence on earth-- the Word made flesh-- made no change in God's ability to speak from the heavens, since God had done the same in the time of Moses:

Deuteronomy 4:36
From heaven he made you hear his voice to discipline you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire.

How does God describe Jesus Christ? The Old Testament verse Deut 18:18 is very clear that Jesus was to be God's servant-mouthpiece, because God Almighty is Spirit and cannot appear in human form. Jesus himself reiterated this

So we end where we started, God is "I" and Jesus [according to God] is "him." Clearly, if God states there is a difference, that HE is One and his Christ is another, then we should not blaspheme by teaching a doctrine that makes Jesus identical to the God of Jesus.

John 20:17
Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' "

Does God have a God? By the current understanding of the Supreme Being, the Most High, the Creator of All, this is impossible. Even if such possibility existed, by some other definition that allows for lesser gods, as the scripture sometimes allows (such as in the term Most High God, such as in verses like "ye are gods who have received the scriptures"), then it is clearly to the Most High God to whom we owe our worship-- the god above whom no other God, no other conscious power, exists.

Acts 17:24
"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.

Since Jesus could have lived in a temple built by hands, clealy he is not God, though clearly God was present within him, just as the Qur'an says God is closer to us than our own jugular veins, and just as Jesus taught that we are temples for God's indwelling spirit. God is pure spirit, incapable of being encapsulated in his entirety within a human form. God in human form is against all of the teachings God delivered to the Israelites with Moses not to make any images of anything living on heaven or on earth and worship it as God-- this includes the human form, the form of Jesus.

If Jesus were even the totality of God's Word, rather than a creation of God's Word, then how did God speak from heaven [as the New Testament claims] while Jesus was on earth? Did God throw his voice out of Jesus' body, like a ventriloquist? Jesus was created, as all of creation, by the spoken word of God, "Be!" and he became. God's spirit was breathed into him, the same spirit that transformed Adam from clay into a soul-filled being.

John 10:33 "We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God." The claim was the claim (John 10:29-30) of the Good Shepherd, seeking his flock, who said "My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my father's hand. I and my Father are one. "

34Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I have said you are gods'^{[e]psalm 82:6}? 35If he called them 'gods,' to whom the word of God came—and the Scripture cannot be broken— 36what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, 'I am God's Son'? 37Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does.

To be set apart by God for God's purposes is the biblical meaning of holy. Jesus is holy, but being set apart and then sent by God proves once again that Jesus is not the Supreme God but is rather under the control of and acting under obedience to God Almighty.

We see this again in the Garden prayer: 39Going a little farther, he [Jesus] fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."

If Jesus is God, how come two different wills could exist? Again, if Jesus were identical to God (as opposed to being simply united by Jesus' voluntarily surrendering his personal will) this would not be the case, yet clearly in the prayer in Gethsemane, Jesus has a will distinct from the will of the Father, but chose to surrender it. Again, this surrender of the individual will to the will of God is the essence of Islam. Muslims are taught to live as Jesus prayed in Gethsemane, even though few of them currently know this example directly, because modern teachers of Islam have wrongly and against the Qur'an's own text discouraged Muslims from reading the Bible. Muslims are taught the Way that Christ followed, and the Way that Christ taught, even though they have learned this teaching from the Word of God delivered through the prophethood of Mohammed. Why should the New Testament apostles have praised the study of scripture to discern prophecy, if the days of prophetic revelation were already at an end? Why give a gift of prophecy as part of the gift of the Holy Spirit if it were only to appear for a few years and then disappear with the writing of Revelation? When Revelation 22:19 says not to change a word "of this book of this prophecy" it refers only to the letter or book of Revelation itself-- there was no bound cannon at that time that was the New Testament "book." The words of Revelation do not forbid additional prophetic revelation after Revelation, as long as no one directly altered the physical text of Revelation and thus destroyed Revelation's integrity as a document.

Acts 24:14
However, I [Paul] admit that I worship the God of our fathers as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that agrees with the Law and that is written in the Prophets

Those who knew Jesus best, including Paul who encountered Jesus after his resurrection, called themselves followers of the Way, not of Jesus personally. Their emphasis was on following what Jesus taught, and on worshiping GOD. It was outsiders who coined the term "Christians." Muslims pray many times daily a form of "the lord's prayer" asking God to help them follow the Way of God...the Way of those who pleased God.

John 5:44
[Jesus said] How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God [from the Father; notice Jesus did not say "from me"]?

Matthew 4:10
Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.' " You Christians worry that not believing in the crucifixion of Jesus is satanic (and here I agree an error of teaching has evolved over the centuries that needs to be fixed)-- but consider this, Christians: Jesus said it if of satan to worship other than God. Do you really think that worshipping satan in return for the treasures of the world would be a temptation for God who could create the entire universe again in a moment? A test for God Almighty? No, Satan's temptations were only worthwhile as tests of the obedience of a human being TO the True God-- a test of Jesus the human who was God's annointed, His Messiah, His Christ.

Matthew 26:63 The high priest said to him, "I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ,^[e] the Son of God." 64"Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied.

The demons who were commanded by God to obey God's Christ said, "Mark 5:7
He shouted at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won't torture me!"

The son of the Most High God-- not the Most High God himself, but his spiritual son, one close to his heart. Note the use of capitalization of "Son"-- it is an added feature when the Bible is translated into English, to try to force the idea that Jesus is God, since we are trained to capitalize all references to God, including pronouns. "Some religious literature chooses to capitalize pronouns that refer to the deity. As in the original languages, GOD'S WORD^® does not capitalize any pronouns (unless they begin sentences). In some cases scholars are uncertain whether pronouns in the original texts refer to God or someone else. In these cases the presence of capitalized pronouns would be misleading. " www.godsword.org

Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, AND of Jesus our Lord, 2 Peter 1:2

Nowhere does the Bible say "through the knowledge of God WHO IS Jesus our Lord." NOWHERE. NEVER. But I can tell you that there are christians preaching today who blur those words until the distinction between God and his Christ clearly present in the scriptures is removed. They even substitute the name of Jesus for where the bible itself uses the word "God." Since the bible is revelation of the Spirit, the Word of God in print, this is blasphemy against the holy spirit-- it brings curses upon those who do it, as the Bible clearly warns.

"Lord Jesus Christ" -- The original Greek word translated into the english as "lord" is: Kyrios: meaning: master, king, superior. Religiously imposed meaning-- imposed by Christian interpreters of the scripture as they read the scripture and teach it to others: God. This is not the meaning intended when the apostles wrote the scriptures. It is a false meaning of false teachers. Honor Jesus by teaching what Jesus taught, for only Satan wants to divert worship from the True God to a servant of God, however elevated and special that servant might be.

1 Corinthians 12:3
Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.

I can guarantee you that NO MUSLIM SAYS ANYTHING OF JESUS OTHER THAN "PEACE UPON HIM" and every Muslim is prepared to follow Jesus' messianic leadership when he returns to earth, as they bear witness that he will. Hence every muslim considers Jesus his lord as the Greek scripture of the New Testament uses the term lord-- that is, as a master, as one with authority over another. "Kyrios," the Greek NT term translated as "Lord" (again a misleading use of capitals) does not mean God, except when Christians force it to take on that meaning.

1 Corinthians 1:30
It is because of him [God] that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

Consider these (above) when you read this verse:

1 Corinthians 6:11
And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ AND by the Spirit of our God.

1 Corinthians 8:6
yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

Ford makes trucks THROUGH its factories. Ford also made the factories through which it manufactures the trucks. The factory is not Ford. Ford can close the factory and build another one somewhere else, if it wants to, and continue to make trucks through this other factory.

1 Corinthians 12:3
Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.

What does it mean to call Jesus "Lord?" Again, the way we read the text today in English is not as the scripture was written. In the New Testament Greek, "The word `Kurios' is derived from kuros (which means supremacy). This word is used 748 times in the Bible and has a variety of meanings including: master, lord, possessor and disposer of a thing, owner; one who has control of the person, the sovereign, and the Roman emperor. Generally, and most important, `Kurios' is a title of honor, respect, and reverence, that a servant uses to greet his master. This title is also given to the Son of God, the Messiah. " http://answering-islam.org.uk/Responses/Meherally/meh2_10.htm

Other souces confirm that "kurios" in Greek usage never meant a god-being, except as Christians imposed this meaning onto the NT texts as they translated them into English, as Lord, and then even altered the meaning of the English "Lord" when it appears in relation to Jesus to mean a god-being rather than simply one's superior or master. All 700+ members of the UK's Parliament's House of Lords are called "Lord" but I am sure no American believes any one of them to be God!

There is only one incidence in the NT I have found where Jesus' name is in any way connected to the Greek term God, which is Theos, which is in John 20:28 "Thomas answered and said unto him [Jesus], My Lord [Kurious] and my God [THEOS]." This is the same Thomas whose refusal to believe Jesus had risen from the dead led to the phrase "a doubting Thomas." Thomas did not contribute to scripture, so his expertise is not established. The phrase could be simply an exclamation of Thomas directed to God in the presence of Jesus, because Thomas was certainly astonished by what he saw when Jesus clearly appeared before Thomas after the crucifixion and let Thomas put his fingers in Jesus' wounds. Most people I know would exclaim "My God" upon such an occasion. As a Jew, Thomas was also familiar with scripture (OT and Jesus' saying in NT) in which human beings who received God's scriptures as being themselves gods, as well as Exodus 4:16 in which Moses is described as being his brother Aaron's god. So it would not be inappropriate for Thomas to exclaim at this point that Jesus was like God in Thomas' eyes. Note that Thomas personalizes the exclamation: "my God" rather than saying God Almighty or a more universal title for the Most High God. Hence, it could well be that Thomas was viewing Jesus as his "god" as in spiritual master (as in the Aaron/Moses example), since Jesus had just accomplished the "impossible" by rising from the dead.

John 10:35
[Jesus said] If he called them 'gods,' to whom the word of God came—and the Scripture cannot be broken—

Exodus 7:1
Then the LORD said to Moses, "See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.

Exodus 4:16 " He [Aaron] will speak to the people for you [Moses], and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. "

The idea that Thomas thought Jesus was the Most High God is undermined by the remainder of the text in John 20, in which no act of worship is undertaken by Thomas. After Thomas exclaims, "My Lord and my God!" it continues, [John 20:29] " Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." 30Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31But these are written that you may^[a] believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."

Thus, after Thomas exclaims "my God" he makes no effort to worship Jesus, such as falling at Jesus' feet. The end result of the verse is simply to announce that Jesus is the Messiah, which is the Hebrew word for Christ which both mean, "annointed," which is the same meaning to the Hebrews as being the son of God. Son of God was the common term the Hebrews used to refer to an annointed king of israel.

Out of the entire New Testament, only in the last chapter of Matthew 28:9 and 28:17 is it ever implied that Jesus' followers worshiped him, and only then in response to seeing the "risen" Jesus. It is also possible from that same original Greek word's (proskuneo) meaning that what they were doing could be better understood as reverencing Jesus rather than worshiping him. Many Christians do not understand that Israelites prostrated before their kings, as vice regents of God, and did not only prostrate when engaged in direct worship of God. This is very clear in the OT, in the house of David, where the king's wife Bathsheba and his prophet Nathan both prostrate before King David, just as Jesus' followers did in Matthew. Thus, when the NT says that all will bow down before Jesus as Messiah, it is not necessarily proof that he is God Almighty, but only proof that he is God's annointed ruler-- hence bringing glory to God, who arranged everything.

9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. [Philippians 2]

In Matthew, the Greek word used that is translated as worshiped is proskuneo:

http://www.studylight.org/lex/grk/view.cgi?number=4352

1. to kiss the hand to (towards) one, in token of reverence
2. among the Orientals, esp. the Persians, to fall upon the knees and touch the ground with the forehead as an expression of profound reverence
3. in the NT by kneeling or prostration to do homage (to one) or make obeisance, whether in order to express respect or to make supplication
   1. used of homage shown to men and beings of superior rank
      1. to the Jewish high priests
      2. to God
      3. to Christ
      4. to heavenly beings
      5. to demons

Thus, the presence of the Greek term translated as "worshiped" in Matthew does not mean that the few people who "worshiped" Jesus were worshiping him as God Almighty; rather, the Greek term can just as easily, and in fact more easily mean a high level of deference or reverance for another human being. This is consistent with Old Testament accounts of how people behaved towards God's annointed rulers, which Jesus recognized at this point in Matthew as the risen Christ would certainly be considered:

1 Kings 1:31
Then [the king's wife] Bathsheba bowed low with her face to the ground and, kneeling before the king, said, "May my lord King David live forever!"

1 Kings 1:23
And they told the king, "Nathan the prophet is here." So he [Nathan] went before the king and bowed with his face to the ground.

In every other instance in the NT in which the term theos is used, the translation is to God as distinct from the identity of Jesus, who is called Lord in a clear separation of the two personages. Jesus is never called Theos anywhere in the New Testament, except in the passage attributed to Thomas discussed above, in which Thomas calls Jesus "my god."

1 Corinthians 15:57
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 1:1
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia:

2 Corinthians 1:2
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 1:3
[ The God of All Comfort ] Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,

2 Corinthians 11:31
THE GOD AND FATHER OF THE LORD JESUS, WHO IS TO BE PRAISED FOREVER [caps are mine for emphasis], knows that I am not lying.

God, whom Jesus called "father" and taught us to likewise call "father" is to be praised forever. How come Christian churches now say "it's all about JESUS!" as if somehow this is true to the Gospel? As if somehow THE GOD AND FATHER OF JESUS NO LONGER EXISTS OR MATTERS? You think Jesus wanted this????

Whose "Father" is GOD? OURS!! Let's admit, no one believes God produced Jesus through sex. The term Father as used by Jesus is to convey a mixture of love and power. Jesus even says, God is father to us in a way that no earthly human being is our father: Matthew 23:9 "And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven."

Matthew 6:14
For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
Matthew 7:11
If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Matthew 7:21
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 10:32
"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.
Matthew 10:33
But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.
Matthew 12:50
For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."

[God is Father as creator; another level of fatherhood is that of faith: Romans 4:17
As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He [Abraham] is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.]

More to ponder about Jesus Christ AND about God....

Galatians 1:1
Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— [God the Father was the ultimate source of the power that raised Jesus from the dead]

Galatians 1:3
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,

Galatians 3:26
[ Sons of God ] You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus,

John 14:24
He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me [fulfilling the "God's mouthpiece" prophecy given through of Moses].

John 17:21
that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

John 17:25
"Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you [NOT, "I am you"], and they know that you have sent me.

John 20:21
Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."

Galatians 1:1
Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—

Galatians 4:6
Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father."

John 14:30

I [Jesus] will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me, 31 but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.

Has the world learned this, yet? Not through Christianity is the world learning the most important truths about Jesus Christ and about Jesus' love-servant relationship with HIS GOD, but rather this truth is being taught by the Holy Qur'an and by those who follow Christ's Way, the Way of Islam.

Will you then, follow the true Way of Jesus Christ?

John 14:6
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes TO the Father except THROUGH me.