The Diety of Christ

The first and most fundamental question any person who may become a Christian must ask is “if Christ was real. Is He God?” Because if He is. Then He has the right to claim authority over our lives. So developing good theology from the ground up. Not based on tradition. Not that all tradition is bad. But tradition is not the North Star that should guide our thinking. Think with me for a moment. Much of what we learn in Church is often based from the perspective of avoidance. What do I mean by that? We seek to avoid that which makes us uncomfortable. Do this. Don’t do that. But Christianity is more than a list of dos and don’ts. A life well lived extends form wisdom. Biblical wisdom involves not only practical, principled decision-making skills, but also eternal perspective. Eternal perspective requires understanding what makes God tick. That is only discoverable with a firm grasp of who God is, what he’s done, why he’s done it, what else he intends to do, and why he doesn’t do it alone. Grasping biblical theology is impossible without knowing the Bible broadly and deeply. So we begin with the Person and Work of Christ. Understanding Who Christ was is a ground zero of developing good theology. Theologians speak of Jesus as being.....

theanthropos “GOD-MAN”

What they mean by this is that Jesus was 100% God and 100% man. We will get to the 100% man later in our study. But here we are concerned with the 100% God. Now there is actually lots of unhealthy baggage many Christians bring to that 3 letter word G-O-D. I will take that rabbit trail. But it is enough to say that what we often of when we use that term is not biblical. But for our purposes here what we mean is that Jesus was deity. Or that he had a divine nature. What we mean is....

Lexham Survey of Theology Jesus’ Divinity

that Jesus Christ was not merely an extraordinary human being but the incarnate Son of God, who by nature is coequal and coeternal with God the Father.

Lexham Survey of Theology Jesus’ Divinity

The divinity of Jesus lies at the very heart of Christianity, and the origin of this doctrine goes back to what Jesus affirmed about himself. While Jesus rarely made explicit claims to be the Son of God, or Lord, or used such christological titles found in the Gospels, Jesus made implicit claims about himself that amount to strongly implying virtually the same thing. Jesus used the Aramaic word abba (“father”) to address God in prayer (Mark 14:36), imparted forgiveness to sinners (Mark 2:5), displayed an independent authority toward the law of Moses (Mark 2:27; 7:15; 10:2–12), and professed to be the Danielic “Son of Man” whom God would enthrone, glorify, and make kingly ruler over Israel and the nations (Mark 14:63). These and many other examples recorded in the Synoptic Gospels reveal Jesus’ sense of intimacy with the Father and his claim to being the unique Son of God.

So the first rule of developing good theology and a basic rule of good Bible interpretation in general is learning to ask the right kinds of questions.

Our first question then is.....

Did Jesus claim to be God?

When Jesus came to Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples the mother of all questions, “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15; Mark 8:29; Luke 9:20). Mormons answer this question by saying that Jesus is the spirit brother of Lucifer; Jehovah’s Witnesses answer by saying that Jesus is the archangel Michael; New Agers say Jesus is an avatar or enlightened messenger. Jesus, however, answered by claiming that he was God.

First, Jesus claimed to be the unique Son of God. As a result, the Jewish leaders tried to kill him because in “calling God his own Father, [Jesus was] making himself equal with God” (John 5:18). In John 8:58 Jesus went so far as to use the very words by which God revealed himself to Moses from the burning bush (Exodus 3:14). To the Jews this was the epitome of blasphemy for they knew that in doing so Jesus was clearly claiming to be God. On yet another occasion, Jesus explicitly told the Jews: “‘I and the Father are one.’ Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, ‘I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?’ ‘We are not stoning you for any of these,’ replied the Jews, ‘but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God’” (John 10:30–33).

Furthermore, Jesus made an unmistakable claim to deity before the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin. Caiaphas the high priest asked him: “‘Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?’ ‘I am,’ said Jesus. ‘And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven’” (Mark 14:61–62). A biblically illiterate person might well have missed the import of Jesus’ words. Caiaphas and the council, however, did not. They knew that in saying he was “the Son of Man” who would come “on the clouds of heaven” he was making an overt reference to the Son of Man in Daniel’s prophecy (Daniel 7:13–14). And in doing so, he was not only claiming to be the preexistent Sovereign of the Universe but prophesying that he would vindicate his claim by judging the very court that was now condemning him. Moreover, by combining Daniel’s prophecy with David’s proclamation in Psalm 110, Jesus was claiming that he would sit upon the throne of Israel’s God and share God’s very glory. To students of the Old Testament this was the height of “blasphemy,” thus “they all condemned him as worthy of death” (Mark 14:64).

Finally, Jesus claimed to possess the very attributes of God. For example, he claimed omniscience by telling Peter, “This very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times” (Matthew 26:34); declared omnipotence by not only resurrecting Lazarus (John 11:43) but by raising himself from the dead (John 2:19); and professed omnipresence by promising he would be with his disciples “to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). Not only so, but Jesus said to the paralytic in Luke 5:20, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” In doing so, he claimed a prerogative reserved for God alone. In addition, when Thomas worshiped Jesus, saying “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28), Jesus responded with commendation rather than condemnation.

Does the Bible claim Jesus is God?

Many biblical texts can be used to demonstrate that Jesus is God. Three, however, stand out above the rest. Not only are they clear and convincing, but their “addresses” are easy to remember as well—John 1, Colossians 1, and Hebrews 1.

First, is John 1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (v.1).

Here Jesus not only is in existence before the world began but is differentiated from the Father and explicitly called God, indicating that he shares the same nature as his Father.

Furthermore, Colossians 1 informs us that “all things were created by him” (v. 16); he is “before all things” (v. 17); and “God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him” (v. 19).

Only deity has the prerogative of creation, preexists all things, and personifies the full essence and nature of God.

Finally, Hebrews 1 overtly tells us that according to God the Father himself—Jesus is God: “But about the Son he [the Father] says, ‘Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever’” (v. 8).

Not only is the entirety of Hebrews 1 devoted to demonstrating the absolute deity of Jesus, but in verses 10–12 the inspired writer quotes a passage in Psalm 102 referring to Yahweh and directly applies it to Christ. In doing so, the Scripture specifically declares Jesus ontologically equal with Israel’s God.

Many similar texts could be adduced. For example, in Revelation 1 the Lord God says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty” (v. 8).

In the last chapter of Revelation, Jesus applies these self-same words— “Alpha and Omega”—to himself! Additionally, in 2 Peter 1 Jesus is referred to as “our God and Savior Jesus Christ” (v. 1). In these passages and a host of others, the Bible explicitly claims that Jesus is God.

What credentials back up Jesus’ claim to be God?

Jesus not only claimed to be God but also provided many convincing proofs that he indeed was divine. First, Jesus demonstrated that he was God in human flesh by manifesting the credential of sinlessness. While the Qur’an exhorts Muhammad to seek forgiveness for his sins, the Bible exonerates Messiah saying Jesus “had no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21). And this is not a singular statement. John declares, “and in him is no sin” (1 John 3:5), and Peter says Jesus “committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth” (1 Peter 2:22). Jesus himself went so far as to challenge his antagonists asking, “Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?” (John 8:46).

Furthermore, Jesus demonstrated supernatural authority over sickness, the forces of nature, fallen angels, and even death itself. Matthew 4 records that Jesus went throughout Galilee teaching, preaching “and healing every disease and sickness among the people” (v. 23). Mark 4 documents Jesus rebuking the wind and the waves saying, “Quiet! Be still!” (v. 39). In Luke 4 Jesus encounters a man possessed by an evil spirit and commands the demon to “Come out of him!” (v. 35). And in John 4, Jesus tells a royal official whose son was close to death, “Your son will live” (v. 50). In fact, the four Gospels record how Jesus demonstrated ultimate power over death through the immutable fact of his resurrection.

Finally, the credentials of Christ’s deity are seen in the lives of countless men, women, and children. Each day, people of every tongue and tribe and nation experience the resurrected Christ by repenting of their sins and receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior of their lives. Thus, they not only come to know about Christ evidentially, but experientially Christ becomes more real to them than the very flesh upon their bones.

The 3 O’s

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible Omnipotence

Omnipotence. God’s unlimited authority to bring into existence or cause to happen whatsoever he wills.

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible Omnipresence

Omnipresence. Aspect of God’s infinity in which he transcends the limitations of space and is present in all places at all times.

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible Omniscience

Omniscience. God’s infinite knowledge and understanding of things past, present, and future.

Why do people question that Jesus was God?

Why did God choose to reveal himself the way that he did?

Why or how does this matter for living from day to day?