Introduction
Our God is One in the Trinity of God (God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit). However, throughout the world, we encounter people who promote many religions with their so-called gods (idols). Furthermore, within the Christian faith, even though we claim that we believe in the same God, there are a tremendous number of doctrines and beliefs. Moreover, what is troubling these days, especially with the advent of the internet, social media, and the entertainment industry, is that many so-called Christians promote much media content in movies, videos, cartoons, books, paintings, images, etc., depicting and impersonating the Lord Jesus in various forms and shapes under the pretext of telling some Bible story. But, the ultimate question each true believer in the Lord Jesus should ask is: “Who is my God?”
The Lord Jesus is God of the Trinity
Below, we are posting some key Bible verses that tell us who our Lord Jesus is for us. Let these verses speak to your hearts, and let everyone reading this blog meditate deeply on who the Lord Jesus is for them by asking two questions:
- Is He the God who created all things and the One who deserves all the honor and adoration?
- Is He “the King of kings, and Lord of lords; who only has immortality, dwelling in light unapproachable; whom no man has seen, nor can see; to whom be honor and power eternal” as written in 1 Timothy 6:15-16?
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1.
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14.
“Now, Jesus, having been baptized, ascended immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, alighting upon Him; and behold, a voice from out of the heavens, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:16-17.
“I and the Father are One.” John 10:30.
“And translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love; in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins: who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and unto him; and he is before all things, and in him all things consist.” Colossians 1:13-17.
“And entering into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe; and they were amazed. And he says to them, Be not amazed. You seek Jesus, the Nazarene, the One having been crucified. He is risen! He is not here! Behold, the place where they laid Him!” Mark 16:5-6.
"And now, Father, glorify Thou Me beside Thyself, with the glory that I had beside Thee before the world existed. I manifested Thy name to the ones whom Thou have given Me out of the world; Thine they were, and to Me Thou gave them; and they have kept Thy word." John 17:5-6.
“Truly, therefore, the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was received up into heaven and sat at the right hand of God.” Mark 16:19.
"However, these have been written in order that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” John 20:31.
John 20:31 tells us some important things which we must consider for building our faith:
“However, these have been written in order that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ.” The beloved Son of God, with the name of human, as Jesus, has come and has done many miracles among humans; however, not all that He has done have been put down; each day, the miracles have happened, and the beloved Son of God has taught and performed many miracles, but not all have been written down for humans; the beloved Son of God is the Christ of God the Father Himself.
“Jesus is the Christ.” The beloved Son of God is Himself God as well; He is in the Father, and the Father is in Him. When the beloved Son of God came as a human on earth, the Father Himself also has been human with Him; "as a human," you can think this way as well, the Father has taken part of His heart and has sent that part to be born as human; that is why the term “Jesus is the Christ” is the most exalted human term, no human is part of the Father, but only the beloved Son of God in human form, which comes from the Father’s heart, because God the Father has sent Him to be human; therefore, the beloved Son of God is One with the Father, because He is part of the heart of the Father.
The Lord Jesus is “the Son of God.” Others have also been called sons of God, but the Lord Jesus is the beloved Son of God and the only begotten Son of God; the angels also consider themselves as the sons of God, but those are created things, there is only One who is begotten from the Father, and no other is like Him.
“And that believing you may have life in His name.” And that believing that the Lord Jesus is the Christ and the only begotten Son of God you may have life in His name; when anyone who believes in the beloved Son of God and gives their life to Him, after that the life of that person will be the life in the beloved Son of God Himself as well because he has become a true follower of the beloved Son of God.
Say NO to Any Form of Imaging or Impersonating That Claims to Portray the Lord Jesus Our God
Meditating on the teachings of the Bible, we can learn that the Lord God hates idols, and He never wants us to make any image of Him. When He showed Himself to the people in the Bible, He never showed His face. Please try to find a verse in the Bible that says that making any image of the Lord God is allowed! In this section, we present some Biblical arguments supporting the sinful act of impersonating the Lord Jesus and making or promoting images of Him since He is God of the Trinity and One with the Father.
The Bible says in Luke 20:38: “Now He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; for all live to Him.” So, if the Lord Jesus of the Bible is our God, He must be our Living God (See Comments Matthew 22:23-33). Therefore, one must ask oneself when they see a movie or a video impersonating the Lord Jesus (baby, child, or adult), an image that claims to depict the Lord Jesus (baby, child, or adult), or a statue that claims to depict the Lord Jesus (baby, child, or adult): “Is this my living, dear Lord Jesus who is seated at the right hand of the Father? Is this my living God who saves me and gives me eternal life? Why had someone the courage to lower my Lord and God to a piece of paper, a piece of stone, or a mortal man?”
John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The Word of God is the Lord Jesus Himself, not anyone else or any image that people might make; the Bible never says that the Lord Jesus is someone else or some image we need to make. One must remember that when they make any image of our Lord Jesus (baby, child, or adult), they lower Him to a trivial image, a trivial photo, or a piece of paper that people use to step on. And when one impersonates Him, they disregard His deity; no other man can be God except the Lord Jesus. The best way for someone to promote the Lord Jesus is through His Word and not by making any images of Him or any movies impersonating Him. The Bible says in Mark 16:15, “And He said to them, Go you into all the world, and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” The Gospel is the Lord Jesus Himself, who is the Living Word. Therefore, the Lord wants us to use the Word of God to represent the Lord Jesus and no other means when we proclaim the Gospel. This proclaiming must be done by us going as messengers of the Lord Jesus, not as impersonators of the Lord Jesus. There is only one authorized image of the invisible God, the Lord Jesus whom the Father has sent, He who is His Word and is revealed through the Word. Furthermore, Hebrews 13:8 tells us that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” So, shall God change, is He man? Shall He who banned images institute them for His beloved Son?
Mark 16:19 says, “Truly, therefore, the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was received up into heaven and sat at the right hand of God.” Only the Lord Jesus, God of the Trinity, can sit at the right hand of God the Father. So how do people dare to impersonate Him or make images of Him portraying Him in some false form? When one sees someone impersonating the Lord Jesus or an image of the Lord Jesus, what do they think? Do they recognize the Lord Jesus as their God in that person or that image? Have they ever seen the Lord Jesus? Do they acknowledge that person or that image as one hundred percent representing the Lord Jesus? In John 14:6, we read: “Jesus says to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, if not by Me.” Therefore, if the Lord Jesus is the truth and no one has ever seen God and no human has ever seen the Lord Jesus on His Father’s throne, how can one reduce Him to a piece of paper or a stone or to a mortal man and say to themselves this here is my Lord Jesus, I recognize Him? The Lord Jesus says that He is the truth, so how can some promote lies and false images of our dear Lord Jesus in movies, books, and various digital media forms to make a profit? Whenever someone does that, they lower the Lord Jesus to a created thing, promote a lie, and are guilty of sinful actions toward God.
Understanding that the Lord Jesus is One with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, a person who creates images or statues of the Lord Jesus in any form or impersonates the Lord Jesus in movies, videos, or plays is guilty of the sin of blasphemy against the Lord Jesus and the Most High God. Furthermore, a person who holds, posts, and promotes images, statues, movies, or videos about the Lord Jesus in any form or shape is guilty of a sin equivalent to the sin of the Lord Jesus’ betrayer since they betray the Lord Jesus’ deity (See Comments John 6:71).
To clearly understand the gravity of the sins of making or upholding images or statues of the Lord Jesus in any form or impersonating the Lord Jesus in media, we can refer to a passage in the Old Testament where we read about King Jeroboam’s idolatry.
1 Kings 12:28-30: “So, the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold; and he said to them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold your gods, O Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt. And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other put he in Dan. And this thing became a sin; for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. And he made houses of high places, and made priests from among all the people, that were not of the sons of Levi.”
Therefore, is it too much for anyone to go to the Word of God and the cross of the Lord Jesus and meet our God: God the Father, God the Son Jesus, and God the Holy Spirit? The Lord Jesus is the Existing God, One with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, and He does not dwell in temples made by human hands. The moment when one lifts up their hand to the paper to draw their God or to the stone to craft their God or to the media to impersonate their God, their hearts have been stolen away to the work of their hands, and they have crafted an idol. They have said to the paper or the stone or the media: “Here is my god that redeemed me from sin and slavery!” And their hearts bow down to the paper, stone, or media.
However, one might say that they do not regard the work of their hands as a depiction of God, but then they testify against themselves that they have denied the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ and said that they have depicted one who is not divine. Therefore, to represent the Lord Jesus lightly is to profane His divinity, and to represent Him worshipfully is idolatry – do not represent Him in any form or shape, and do not let your heart go out to the work of your hands! Was it not for this sin that God Almighty forsook the Israelites? Shall we who have knowledge escape from this punishment?
Do not make artisans, craftsmen, and actors your priests and mediators, and do not forsake the true High Priest that God has appointed, the Lord Jesus Himself! There is no other priesthood – no other image of the Father!
1 John 5:21 tells us, “My little children, guard yourselves from idols.” So, let us say NO to any form of imaging or impersonating that claims to portray our Lord Jesus; let us throw all our false images about the Lord Jesus from our places (media format or any physical format) and from our hearts, and let us honor the Lord Jesus as God of the Trinity of God (God the Father, God the Son Jesus, and God the Holy Spirit)!
Conclusions
Humans have many reasons and ideas to make an image of the Lord Jesus, who is One with God the Father. But regardless of reason and belief, the Lord God Almighty is above all, and no one can make a likeness of Him. Ask yourself questions: Is the Lord God Almighty the one depicted in that image? And what should your heart feel when someone bows down to that picture? Is the person truly worshiping and glorifying the Lord God Most High Himself, or is it the picture itself that they are worshiping? It’s an abomination to consider. However, some may argue that the Lord Jesus was a man on earth, and they create an image of Him as a man on earth. It is correct that the Lord Jesus was on earth as a man, but He did not leave His image on anything.
Idolatry is a sin that is mentioned many times in the Bible, and the Bible shows us that the Lord God hates all forms of idolatry. Acts 15:20 says, “abstain from the pollutions of idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what is strangled, and from blood.” Therefore, each true believer in the Lord Jesus is responsible for meditating on the entire Word of God with the help of the Holy Spirit and understanding what pollutions of idols mean for them. We must always honor the Trinity of God (God the Father, God the Son Jesus, and God the Holy Spirit) as the Living God and flee from any form of idolatry. The Lord Jesus is God and is part of the Trinity of God; we cannot impersonate Him or make any images of Him in any form or shape (baby, child, adult). He is the Creator of all things; He is not created, and no person can shape His image or impersonate Him; the created cannot shape or impersonate the Creator in any form or shape. However, one might say that the Lord Jesus was a man on earth, and they only depict some Bible scenes and do not make any images to worship. Yes, indeed, the Lord Jesus is the Son of God and the Son of Man who is God forevermore, and He shall be God forevermore. He deserves all the honor and glory as God; therefore, no one can shape or impersonate Him regardless of the purpose. As faithful followers of the Lord Jesus, let us testify to the deity of the Lord Jesus to the world, and let us all remember that the chosen witness to the deity of the Lord Jesus, Stephen, suffered death for testifying that the Son of Man is One with God the Father (Acts 7:55-60). We conclude this blog with a few Bible passages about the sin of idolatry.
“You shall not make unto you a graven image, nor any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down yourself unto them, nor serve them, for I Jehovah your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation of them that hate me, and showing lovingkindness unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.” Exodus 20:4-6.
“But our God is in the heavens: He hath done whatsoever he pleased. Their idols are silver and gold, The work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak not; Eyes have they, but they see not; They have ears, but they hear not; Noses have they, but they smell not; They have hands, but they handle not; Feet have they, but they walk not; Neither speak they through their throat. They that make them shall be like unto them; Yea, every one that trusts in them.” Psalm 115:3-8.
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hinder the truth in unrighteousness; because that which is known of God is manifest in them; for God manifested it unto them. For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse: because that, knowing God, they glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks; but became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.” Romans 1:19-23.
Meditation Tasks:
- If you are reading this blog and still doubt about saying no to any form of imaging or impersonating that claims to portray the Lord Jesus, our God, ask yourself the following question: “Do I believe that the Lord Jesus is alive and He is a person of the Trinity?” If you answer yes to this question, you must consider going to the Lord Jesus Himself to pray about these issues. Ask the Lord Jesus to speak to your heart and let you know if He wants you to make or hold any images or media depicting Him: read the Word of God, meditate on the Word of God, and wait for His answer; He will talk to you.
- Read Isaiah 44:9-20 a passage about the folly of idolatry, and meditate on how that applies to our life.
- Read Acts 17:22-31, where Paul teaches the people of Athens about the unknown God, which many people don’t know.
- Meditate on the deity of the Lord Jesus and pray to ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in how to honor the Lord Jesus by eliminating any type of idols from your life.
If you have any questions about the topics presented in this blog, please contact us, and we will try to provide our answers in a timely manner.