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Is Jesus God?
There are many ways to approach this question. The scriptures are full of references to the diety of Christ. The doctrine is so pervasive and entwined in the scriptures, it can't even by translated out of it, though some have tried. Many direct verses can be quoted which show us that Jesus was God, both in His own words and in those of the Apostles. The scripture is full of indirect references to His diety as well.
Did Jesus Claim to Be God?
Did Jesus claim to be God? Absolutely. He claimed to be Jehovah, the "I Am" of Exodus 3:14, when He said, "Before Abraham was, I am." (John 8:58) The Jews who listened to Jesus understood His claim to diety (John 5:18, 8:59, 10:33). He claimed to be the express image of God (Col. 2:9, Heb.1:3) in John 8:19, 12:45 and 14:9. He claimed the same omniscience as God the Father (John 10:15) and claimed complete oneness with God the Father (John 10:30). He claimed the same honor as God the Father: "All men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father." (John 5:23) Jesus did, in fact, accept worship on numerous occasions (Matt. 14:33, 28:9 and many others), something reserved only for God as Jesus Himself said (Matt. 4:10). Compare the way the apostles and the angels reacted when they were worshipped in Acts 14:11-15 and Rev. 19:10, 22:8-9. Jesus only supported the scribe's conclusion that He made the claim to be God in Mark 2:5-7 when He proclaimed the man's sins forgiven and then healed him. Further, Jesus asked us to pray in His name, and that He would answer our prayers (John 14:13. He also asked us to baptize in His name (Matt. 28:19) and to gather together in His name (Matt. 18:20). To be sure, Jesus was a man, but He was also God come in the flesh.
Other Testimony to the Diety of Christ
It is clear from the scriptures that the prophets of the Old Testament, the followers of Jesus (the writers of the New Testament), believed that the Christ, (Jesus) was Jehovah. See the following verses:
The Christ, born in Israel, is the Mighty God and Everlasting Father:
Is. 9:6
The Christ of the seed of David is called Jehovah:
Jer. 23:5-6
Jesus, the Word, was with God, and was God:
John 1:1
Everything created was created by Jesus, the Word, and nothing created exists that was not created by Jesus (could He have created Himself?):
John 1:3
Jesus is the image of the invisible God:
Col. 1:15
All the fulness of the Godhead dwelled in the person of Christ:
Col. 2:9
Paul calls Jesus Christ the Great God and our Savior:
Titus 2:13
The writer of Hebrews says that Jesus was the brightness of the glory of God, the express image of His person, and also upholds all things by the word of His power:
Heb. 1:3
John says that the Son Jesus Christ is the True God and Eternal Life:
I John 5:20
Jehovah of the Old Testament, Jesus of the New Testament
Compare the verses below which show that the Messiah, the Son of God, Jesus of the New Testament, is one and the same as Jehovah.
The Creator:
Gen 1:1 <<>> Heb. 1:2, Eph. 3:9, Col. 1:14-19, John 1:1-18
The I Am:
Ex. 3:14 <<>> John 8:52-59
Isaiah saw Jesus' glory when He saw the glory of Jehovah of Hosts:
Is. 6:3, 5, 9-10 <<>> John 12:37-41
Matthew and Luke say that John the Baptist prepared the way the Lord Jesus; Isaiah says it was the way of Jehovah:
Is. 40:1-5 <<>> Matt. 3:1-3, Luke 1:76
In Isaiah, every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall swear to Jehovah. In Phillipians, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall swear to Jesus:
Is. 45:22-23 <<>> Phil. 2:9-11
In Zechariah, Jehovah says they shall look on Me whom they pierced; in John, it says they shall look on Jesus whom they pierced:
Zech. 12:8-10 <<>> John 19:34-37
In Psalm 97, all of the angels are instructed to worship Jehovah; the writer of Hebrews applies this to Jesus:
Ps. 97:7 <<>> Heb. 1:6
Numbers say the Israelites spake against God, Jehovah; Paul in 1 Corinthians says the Israelites tempted Christ:
Num. 21:4-9 <<>> I Cor. 10:9
The Christ is born in Bethlehem, but He is also an eternal being whose existence was from everlasting:
Micah 5:2 <<>> Matt. 2:6
The Son is called God:
Ps. 45:6-7 <<>> Heb. 1:8-9
The creator and eternal one, Jesus, in Hebrews 1 is the same creator, eternal God in Psalm 102:
Ps. 102: 24-27 <<>> Heb. 1:10-12
Jehovah of Hosts is the First and the Last; so is Jesus:
Is. 44:6 <<>> Rev. 1:11, 1:17, 2:8, 22:13
The First and the Last is Jehovah of Hosts, the First and Last is the Alpha and Omega, therefore the Alpha and Omega is Jehovah of Hosts. Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, and therefore He is Jehovah of Hosts:
Rev. 1:8, 1:11, 21:6, 22:13
Other, Indirect Testimony to the Diety of Christ
Besides the direct statements that Jesus is God, see how the bible attributes to Jesus the attributes of God, such as being self existant (John 1:4, 14:6), omnipresent (Matt. 28:20, 18:20), omniscient (John 4:16, 6:64, Matt. 17:22-27), omnipotent (Rev. 1:8, Luke 4:39-55, 7:14-15, Matt. 8:26-27) and possessing eternal life (I John 5:11-12,20, John 1:4).
The Meaning of the Diety of Christ and the Trinity
The diety of the Lord should be more than a dry fact to us. Our magnificent Lord came here to this earth, fashioning Himself as a man, and even suffered the death of the cross. He left that place of glory that He had with the Father, giving it up for us. How our hearts should melt before the love and grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! He came here to display all the glory of God, to reveal the Father, and do nothing but please Him here.
Jesus always was, is now, and always will be part of that happy, holy Trinity of Jehovah. Each member seeking the good of the other, exalting the other in happy communion. Read the scriptures, and see the Father exalting the Son, and the Son exalting the Father, the Spirit not speaking of Himself, but of the Son. It's a glorious fact, the Trinity. These same characteristics of the Trinity should be found in us. He has put Christians in a community, the body of Christ, and we should function in like manner as the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, each esteeming the other better than themselves, in honor, preferring one another, etc. God is a fundamentally relational being, and we are as well. We can't make it without others, and we're wired that way by God Himself.
Analogies in the Creation for the Diety of Christ and the Trinity
The fact that Christ was God and man at the same time is hard to understand. However, we have analogy for this kind of thinking in the creation. Those who are familiar with physics know that everything in the physical universe is made up of energy and matter, as Einstein discovered. Some things in the universe are energy, and travel as waves, and some things in the universe are matter, and act as particles. Particles are affected by gravity, and waves are not. Particles (physical objects) we see more as being affected by forces, and waves are the things that do the affecting. Particles (matter) are tangible and waves (energy) are intangible. We tend to think of things in the universe either being one or the other. Either tangible or intangible. Matter or energy. The funny thing about light is that it is a wave and a particle at the same time. Scientists have discovered that it acts like both a wave and a particle at the same time! Wierd! How do you explain this? It's seemingly impossible, or contradictory, but that's the conclusion that the scientific evidence points to. Likewise, the evidence of the Bible points us to the fact of the simultaneous humanity and diety of Christ. This same analogy can be used to help understand the Trinity as well. The bible tells us that the Three are One, however difficult that may be for us to understand.
One more illustration from nature with regard to the Trinity, particularly. We normally think of light as one color, what we call white light. It is true that light is one color, "white." It is true, light does look simply "white" until you shine it through a prism, and only then do you see that it is really a combination of colors- in fact, a combination of three basic "primary" colors which blend to give us the rainbow. Analogous to the prism, the Lord Jesus is the One through whom the light of God shone. When He came, He revealed all the fulness, all the glory of God in His own person (Col. 1:15, 2:9 and Heb. 1:3). The Trinity, although refered to in the Old Testament, was not fully revealed until Christ came. Christ was the prism for the revelation of the Trinity (the three primary colors) and the glory of God (the rainbow).
Have another question? Email Todd Asselborn your question by clicking on the contact link on the top or bottom of this page.