How Do We Know That Jesus Is God?

 How Do We Know That Jesus Is God?

Christians who are interested in apologetics must have a firm grasp not only of the positive arguments for the deity of Christ, but also be able to answer objections against Jesus’s deity. In this chapter, we will address both.

Arguments That Demonstrate Christ’s Deity

Jesus Is Yahweh. Yahweh is an Old Testament term for God meanin “LORD.” A comparison of Old Testament verses about Yahweh with New Testament verses about Jesus points to Jesus’s identity as Yahweh. In Isaiah 40:3, for example, we read a prophecy of Jesus: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”

“LORD” here is literally “Yahweh,” just as “God” is literally “Elohim.” Jesus is the Yahweh/Elohim of Isaiah 40:3 (see Mark 1:2-4).

In Isaiah 44:24 Yahweh asserts: “I am the LORD, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself.”

In the New Testament, however, Christ is presented as the Creator of “all things” (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16). Christ, as the Creator, is Yahweh, just as the Father is Yahweh. Creation is “from” the Father, but “through” Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 8:6), and both persons are identified as Yahweh in Scripture. (Such verses are obviously supportive of the doctrine of the Trinity.)

Isaiah witnessed the divine glory of Yahweh in Isaiah 6:1-5. He spoke of Yahweh “sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up” (verse 1). Later, the apostle John—under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit—wrote that Isaiah “saw Christ’s glory” (John 12:41 NET Bible). Yahweh’s glory and Jesus’s glory are hereby equated.

In Zechariah 12:10, Yahweh spoke prophetically: “When they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him.” Though Yahweh was speaking, this is clearly a reference to Christ’s future crucifixion. Jesus is described as the one they have “pierced” by the apostle John in Revelation 1:7. (See also Isaiah 44:6 compared with Revelation 1:17; Isaiah 60:19-20 compared with Revelation 21:23; Isaiah 43:11 compared with Titus 2:13.)

Jesus Has the Names and Titles of God. In addition to the above evidences that Jesus is Yahweh or Lord, Jesus in John 8:58 informed some Jews, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” The Jews immediately picked up stones with the intention of killing Jesus, for they understood He was identifying Himself as Yahweh—the “I AM” of Exodus 3:14. Jesus is Lord.

Likewise, Jesus is identified as Elohim in Isaiah 9:6 (the Messiah is “Mighty God”) and Isaiah 40:3 (“make straight in the desert a highway for our God”). Elohim literally means “strong one” or “mighty God,” and its plural ending (im in Hebrew) indicates fullness of power. It is a common name for God in the Old Testament. Jesus is God.

Further, Jesus is identified as Theos, a common New Testament Greek word translated “God.” It corresponds to the Old Testament Elohim. Jesus is recognized as Theos by doubting Thomas (John 20:28), a jailer (Acts 16:31-34), the apostle Paul (Titus 2:13), and Peter (1 Peter 1:1). The heavenly Father even said to Jesus, “Your throne, O God [Theos], is forever and ever” (Hebrews 1:8).

Jesus is also identified as Kurios, a common New Testament Greek term for “Lord.” It is equivalent to the Old Testament Yahweh. The apostle Paul wrote that Christ was given a name above every name, “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord [Kurios]” (Philippians 2:9-11). Paul, an Old Testament scholar par excellence, was alluding to Isaiah 45:22-24: “I am God, and there is no other…To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.”

Jesus is Lord.

Jesus Has the Attributes of God. For example, Jesus is eternal. John 1:1 affirms, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The word “was” is an imperfect tense, indicating continuous, ongoing existence. When the time-space universe first came into being, Christ already existed as God.

Jesus is also self-existent. As the Creator of all things (John 1:3), Christ Himself must be uncreated. Because He is “before all things” (Colossians 1:17), He does not depend on anyone or anything outside Himself for His existence.

Jesus is omnipresent. He promised His disciples “where two or three are athered in my name, there am I among them” (Matthew 18:20). The only way He could be simultaneously present with believers worldwide is if He is omnipresent. Likewise, after commissioning the disciples to bring the gospel to all nations, Jesus assured them, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). The only way Christ could do this is if He were everywhere present (Ephesians 1:23; 4:10; Colossians 3:11). (Note: The fact that Christ, as God, is everywhere present does not contradict the concept that He also has locality as a human. Christ, in the incarnation, is fully God and fully human.)

Jesus is omniscient. His disciples acknowledged, “Now we know that you know all things” (John 16:30; see also 21:17). Jesus knew the future (John 11:11; 18:4) and knew specific details about what would happen (Matthew 21:2-4). He knew from a distance that Lazarus had died (John 11:14). He knows the Father as the Father knows Him (John 7:29; 8:55; 10:15; 17:25).

Jesus is omnipotent. Christ created the entire universe (Colossians 1:16) and sustains it by His power (Colossians 1:17). In the Gospels we read that He exercised power over nature (Luke 8:25), over physical diseases (Mark 1:29-31), over demonic spirits (Mark 1:32-34), and even over death (John 11:1-44).

In Keeping with His Divine Attributes, Jesus Did What Only God Can Do.

Only God can be the Creator (Isaiah 44:24), and yet Jesus is the Creator (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16). Only God can be the Savior (Isaiah 43:11), and yet Jesus is our “great God and Savior” (Titus 2:13). Only God can forgiv sin (Isaiah 43:25), and yet Jesus forgives sin (Mark 2:5,7).

The Old Testament teaches that only God is the giver of life (Deuteronomy 32:39; 1 Samuel 2:6; Psalm 119). Yet Jesus claims this power for Himself: “As the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will” (John 5:21).

Jesus’s miracles provide further evidence of His divine identity. In the Gospel of John, Jesus’s miracles are often called “signs.” These signs always signify something—in this case, that Jesus is the prophesied divine Messiah. Among the more notable signs performed by Jesus were changing water into wine (John 2:7-8), calming a stormy sea (Matthew 8:26; Mark 4:39; Luke 8:24), feeding 5,000 men and their families (Matthew 14:19; Mark 6:41; Luke 9:16; John 6:11), walking on water (Matthew 14:25; Mark 6:48; John 6:19), and raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:43-44).

Jesus Accepted Worship as God. The New Testament demonstrates that while holy men refused worship (Acts 14:15), as did angels (Revelation

22:8-9), Jesus accepted worship on numerous occasions, in perfect keeping with His claim to be God. Jesus accepted worship from Thomas (Joh 20:28), the angels (Hebrews 1:6), some wise men (Matthew 2:11), a leper (Matthew 8:2), a ruler (Matthew 9:18), a blind man (John 9:38), an anonymous woman (Matthew 15:25), Mary Magdalene (Matthew 28:9), and the disciples (Matthew 28:17).

Scripture is consistent on the fact that only God can be worshipped. Exodus 34:14 tell us: “You shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (see also Deuteronomy 6:13; Matthew 4:10). The fact that Jesus accepted worship on numerous occasions testifies to His identity as God.

Others Recognized Jesus as God. Thomas saw the wounds of the resurrected Christ and cried out, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).

Paul made reference to “Christ, who is God over all” (Romans 9:5). He referred to Jesus as the one in whom “the whole fullness of deity dwell bodily” (Colossians 2:9). In Titus, Jesus is recognized as “our great God and Savior” (2:13). The heavenly Father’s words to the Son are recorded in Hebrews: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever” (1:8).

Early followers of Christ recognized His deity. Ignatius, who died by AD 116, wrote of “the blood of God” in chapter 1 of his Letter to the Ephesians. Mathetes, a disciple of the apostles who died AD 130, wrote of Christ as King, God, man, and Savior. Justin Martyr, who wrote about AD 138–165, referred to Christ as the one “who is Himself this God begotten of the Father” (Dialogue with Trypho, ch. 61). Melito of Sardis, who died AD 180, said of the crucifixion “God is murdered.” Irenaeus (AD 120–202) wrote in Against Heresies, “Jesus is Himself in His own right…God, and Lord.”

Jesus’s Deity Was Evident in His Teachings. The teachings of Jesus were always presented as being ultimate and final. Jesus never wavered in this.

He unflinchingly placed His teachings above those of Moses and the Jewish prophets. He always spoke in His own authority. He never said, “Thus says the LORD…” as did the Jewish prophets; He always said, “Truly, truly, I say to you…”

Jesus never retracted anything He said, never guessed or spoke with uncertainty, never made revisions, never contradicted Himself, and never apologized for what He said. He boldly asserted that “heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Mark 13:31).

One cannot read the New Testament Gospels long before recognizing that Jesus regarded Himself and His message as inseparable. The reason His teachings had authority was because of His identity as God. The words of Jesus were the words of God (John 6:35; 7:37-38; 10:10; 14:27; Matthew 11:28).

Answering Objections to Christ’s Deity

Not surprisingly, cults that deny Jesus is God cite Bible verses that they believe indicate Jesus is lesser than the Father. In each case, they misinterpret the verse in question. Following is a brief sampling of how to answer such cultic misinterpretations:

While John 3:16 makes reference to Jesus as the Son of God, this title indicates not inferiority, but that Jesus has the same divine nature as the Father (John 5:18 makes this clear). Among the ancients, “Son of…” often indicated “Same nature as…” While John 14:28 quotes Jesus as saying the Father was greater than Him, He was speaking positionally—that is, the Father was in heavenly glory, while Jesus was on earth, soon to be crucified.

While Colossians 1:15 calls Jesus the “firstborn [Greek, prototokos] of all creation,” this phrase indicates not that Jesus was created, but rather that He was preeminent. Jesus was presented as preeminent over creation (verse 15) because He created the creation (verse 16) and sustains the creation (verse 17). This is confirmed by recognizing that others in the Old Testament, such as Israel (Exodus 4:22), David (Psalm 89:27), and Ephraim (Jeremiah 31:9), were described as “firstborn” despite the fact that chronologically, other nations were older than Israel, and David and Ephraim had older brothers. In this context, “firstborn” does not always mean first created, but more appropriately refers to preeminence—in the case of Colossians 1:15, Christ’s preeminence.

While Mark 13:32 indicates Jesus did not know the hour of His return, Jesus was speaking only from His finite human nature. Christ in His divine nature is omniscient (Matthew 11:27; 17:27; Luke 5:4,6; John 7:29; 8:55; 10:15; 16:30; 17:25; 21:6-11,17). While fulfilling His messianic mission on earth, Jesus voluntarily chose not to use some of His divine attributes on some occasions (Philippians 2:5-11).

While 1 Corinthians 11:3 says, “the head of Christ is God,” and in John 14:28 Jesus said, “The Father is greater than I,” these passages speak only of the Father’s authority over Jesus. The 1 Corinthians verse indicates that just as a husband is functionally the head of the wife even though both are equally human (Genesis 1:26-28), so the Father is functionally the head of Christ even though both are equally divine (John 10:30).

In John, the Son was simply referring to the Father’s greater office, much like the difference between the offices occupied by the president and vice president. The president is greater than the vice president in terms of office, but they are equal in nature—they are both human. The same is true between the Father and the Son.

While Revelation 3:14 says that Jesus was the “beginning of God’s creation,” the Greek word for “beginning” (arche) carries the idea of beginner—that is, Jesus created God’s creation (see John 1:3; Colossians 1:16).

It is clear to the impartial observer that Scripture—properly interpreted in context—always points to the absolute and unqualified deity of Jesus Christ.

Jesus is God!