I was asked to review “Who Is God?”, a debate between James White and Joe Ventilacion that took place on April 21st, 2017 in Rapid City, SD. The review will consist of a lengthy series of shorter posts to capture the significance of each of the arguments used and to make them as clear as possible to the readership.
Debate Review: Who Is God? James White Versus Joe Ventilacion (1)
Debate Review: Who Is God? James White Versus Joe Ventilacion (2)
James White: Opening Statement
We are looking at James White’s Opening Statement.
So far, we learned John 17:3 does not teach the Unitarianism of Iglesia ni Cristo.
We also looked at verses from White that show Jesus is God with the Father.
In this post, we see Jesus says he is the ego eimi, the Great I AM. We also see Jesus is worshiped as Creator.
Jesus is ‘I AM’ (Ego Eimi)
Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins. (John 8:24)
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” (John 8:58)
From now on I am telling you before it comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am He. (John 13:19)
They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said to them, “I am He.” And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them. So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground. (John 18:5-6)
Jesus is Worshiped as Creator
All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. (John 1:3)
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:15-17)
In these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. (Hebrews 1:2-3)
Wow! So many verses showing Jesus is I AM and Creator!
We must make sure Joe Ventilacion responds to these verses! We must make sure he does not ignore them! We must make sure he does not distract us from them!
These verses support White’s claim that Jesus is God.
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