Question(s) about Acts 20:28

Is Acts 20:28 absolutely saying that Jesus is God and that He bought the church with His own blood?

I want to make sure I can use Acts 20:28 to respond to someone who is saying that Jesus is not God.

Acts 20:28 (KJV) - Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

Acts 20:28 works, but there are also many other verses that proclaim likewise;

John 1:1 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:14 - And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

John 10:30 - I and [my] Father are one.

Isaiah 9:6 - For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

John 20:28 - And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

John 8:58 - Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

That's an excellent verse to use.

Maybe, never considered that verse before - but it could be read as Christ's being his Son therefore His own blood.

1Ti 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

Act 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

1Jn 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

2Co 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
2Co 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

The man Christ Jesus is the personal human body of God, which He laid down His physical life for us, and purchased the Church with His own blood.

God reconciled the world unto Himself in the person of Jesus Christ, God and man in harmony.

Rev 4:2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.

Rev 22:3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
Rev 22:4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.

God glorified the man Christ Jesus, and the throne in heaven is the throne of God and the Lamb, God in the glorified body of the man Christ Jesus, God's visible relationship to the saints forever.

Rom 4:17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

God calls things that have not happened yet, as though they already happened, for if it is a plan of God to happen in the future, it is the same as if it happened in the beginning, for it will surely come to pass.

Which the Lamb was slain, and the prophets blood shed, and the kingdom prepared, and all the works were finished from the foundation of the world, although they were future events.

1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.

Joh 17:1 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee.

Joh 17:5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

Joh 17:18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.

Joh 17:22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one.

Joh 17:24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

Jesus is God and man, and can speak either as God or man, and here it is the man Christ Jesus speaking concerning the saints obtaining the same benefit as Him, that they receive eternal life, and a glorified body, and be where Jesus is at, and behold His glory as He sits on the throne in heaven.

Jesus already had that glory in the beginning for God calls things that have not happened yet, as though they already happened, so the glory He had in the beginning could not be Him as God, for the saints would not be able to receive that glory, for God does not give His glory to another.

The glory that Jesus had in the beginning, and for the saints to have that same glory is the man Christ Jesus obtaining eternal life, and a glorified body, and dwelling in heaven, which is promised to the saints like the man Christ Jesus.

I wish to add a few more

Who lead the Hebrews out of Egypt in the Exodus? Why God did..
Who was with them in a cloud by day? Why God Was..
Who is the Rock of the OT ? It is God..

1 Corinthians 10: KJV
1 "Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; {2} And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; {3} And did all eat the same spiritual meat; {4} And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ."

Phillip asked Jesus to show him the Father.. The reply of Jesus could not be any more clearer..

John 14: KJV
8 "Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. {9} Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?"

Christ is the exact visible manifestation of the Father. Moses wanted to see the Father face to face and was told that no man could see him and live Every person who saw God saw Christ manifested from Adam on wards. Only Christ has seen the Father.

To those of us the believe Jesus the Christ is God. Acts 20:28 is applicable.

A few more verses I didn't see listed here. All posted from KJV

Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
(NOTE: Jesus, born in Bethlehem Matt 2:1, 2:5-6 & Jn 7:42. The Lion of the Tribe of Judah Rev 5:5 & Matt 2:5-6. King of the Jews Matt 2:2, Rev 17:14 & 19-16. He's from everlasting, HAS NO BEGINING, Heb 7:3, Jn 1:1)

Matthew 1:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
(NOTE: Emmanuel, when interpreted means: God with us!)

Romans 9:5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
(NOTE: Only God is over ALL)

Titus 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
(NOTE: Jesus Christ, our God & Savior <<< KJV puts deity in capitals)

That’s what I was reading too. It’s open to interpretation.

First it needs to be clear what the text is saying. The Bible never says Jesus is the Father. The word translated to “God” in the OT is elohim, which actually means gods. In the NT it is “theos” which means devine being, used to identify the Father and sometimes not. If you are saying, “Jesus is theos (a devine being) then yes.” If you say, “God is Theos (the Supreme devine being),” then yes. Again, the Holy Spirit, theos, yes. However, the Father is not the Son, nor the Holy Ghost.

In John 1:1, people like to use the translation Word for logos. To me that doesn’t capture the meaning of the word Logos. The whole construct of what a word is escapes us because we are so surrounded by them. A word is a visual representation of a thought. We use words to transport ideas out of our minds, through another person’s eyes and into their minds. Logos is where we get the word logic from. It is the whole organization of thoughts, a plan. To say in the beginning was the Word, doesn’t justify the authors intent. In the beginning was the Logos, the Master Plan, the DNA of Creation. Like within a seed is the logos of how this little speck of fibre and oil become the mustard tree. A word is a logos because a word is letters organized in a predetermined fashion, understood by the author and reader. The Word of God is not merely a quotation we can extract and use in any context or situation. The Word of God is the documented plan, beginning to end, Creation to destruction, then recreation.

Would anyone else like to answer this question?

God created the heavens and the earth Genesis 1:1
All things were created by Him and for Him and nothing came into being that He did not create Colossians 1: 13-19
From the greeting of this letter from Paul to the Colossian we see that Paul is referring to Jesus Christ

That is absolutely correct. Even the modern versions could not change that although the critical texts changed the word order.

CRITICAL TEXT (Nestle-Aland)
προσέχετε ἑαυτοῖς καὶ παντὶ τῷ ποιμνίῳ, ἐν ᾧ ὑμᾶς τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ἔθετο ἐπισκόπους, ποιμαίνειν τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ θεοῦ, ἣν περιεποιήσατο διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ ἰδίου.

RECEIVED TEXT (Stephanus)
προσέχετε οὖν ἑαυτοῖς καὶ παντὶ τῷ ποιμνίῳ, ἐν ᾧ ὑμᾶς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον ἔθετο ἐπισκόπους, ποιμαίνειν τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἣν περιεποιήσατο διὰ τοῦ ἰδίου αἵματος.

New American Standard Bible
"Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

King James Bible
Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

Is there anything in the surrounding verses that would make you reconsider this?

I wouldn't say its the strongest verse in the arsenal, to establish His deity but as an accompaniment to other verses possibly. That shouldn't be your go to verse when you have others that make it clear. It can be read to "feed the church of God (the Father)" that Jesus purchased with His blood, emphasizing how important that church is, and at what price it was bought. Instead of seeing God in reference to Jesus, the verse could simply be pointing to the value that church has (that is cost Christ His bloodshed).

The reason "He" is used could be in reference to verse 24 as opposed to "church of God." In verse 24 the Lord Jesus is brought up.

Its one of those verses that offer a confirmation bias, as opposed to changing a person's perspective (if I may say so). Its good to add to your personal arsenal maybe, but maybe not the most convincing in a debate.

If anything the context (vv 16-38) makes this verse even more critical. Paul was admonishing and warning the elders from Ephesus, since this would be the last time he would see them (v 38). And there is no doubt that the Holy Spirit directed him to make this particular statement, since it is truly unique in itself.

Generally we read about the *Church of Jesus Christ*. Here we read about *the church of God* which is unusual and clearly makes Jesus GOD. Then Paul says "which He has purchased with His own blood", and that is exactly what redemption means -- purchase -- therefore the Church is His purchased possession. So all the redeemed of the Lord are the Church, and it is *God manifest in the flesh* (1 Tim 3:16) who purchased the Church with His own blood.

[Note: All the modern versions have omitted "God" from 1 Tim 3:16, even though the manuscript evidence is OVERWHELMINGLY in favor of Theos. This is simply because two corrupt manuscripts changed the Greek word to mean *who* or *which*.]

Absolutely........amongst many I might add....how about this one..

The Father judges no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son.

I saw the dead stand before God to be judged, and the books were opened.....Rev 20....

If the Father judges NO MAN AND HAS COMMITTED all judgment to the SON then the dead standing before God to be judged are standing before Christ.

MANY VERSES teach that Jesus is GOD....THE WHOLE point of Revelation!

https://biblehub.com/interlinear/isaiah/46-9.htm

Flying Dove already posted this, but I want to put it context. Same meaning but a bit more fleshed out.

"She will give birth to a son and you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 This all happened so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled: 23 “Look! The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will name him Emmanuel,” which means “God with us.” Matt. 1:21-23

Acts 8:36-37
And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what hinders me to be baptized?And Philip said, If you believe with all yoir heart, you may. And he answered and said, I BELIEVE THAT JESUS CHRIST IS THE SON OF GOD.

Also Thomas said to Jesus MY LORD AND MY GOD.

John 20:26-28
And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas was.with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.Then said he to Thomas, Reach here your finger, and behold my hands; and reach here your hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said to him, MY LORD AND MY GOD.

YehovaYeshua