Is Jesus God? Biblical Evidence for Christ’s Deity and Humanity

Summary

The New Testament presents two complementary truths: Jesus is distinct from and subordinate to the Father during His earthly mission, yet He possesses divine nature, authority, names, works, and worship reserved for God alone. John, Paul, Hebrews, and Jesus’ own claims consistently affirm His deity. Considering all the biblical evidence together, Christians conclude that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man.

Recently, one of my email contacts insisted that Jesus is not God. He wrote, “It remains, if Jesus was God incarnated as man, the Christ on earth, then who's Jesus praying to at the Rock? Why does he repeatedly refer to The Father as greater than he?”

The Objection to Jesus’ Deity

That writer thinks those two reasons establish an open-and-shut case why Jesus is not God. The Bible’s presentation of Jesus is far more varied and extensive than those cherry-picked verses.

Two Complementary Biblical Themes

Two themes run together through the New Testament. The first theme is that Jesus is not the Father. Jesus prays to and obeys the Father (Matthew 26:42), is subordinate to Him (John 14:28), and does not know when He will return to Earth after His ascension (Mark 13:32).

Jesus’ Humility During His Earthly Mission

On Earth, Jesus was subordinate to the Father. Before the Earth’s creation, Jesus shared the Father’s divine nature (John 17:5) but laid aside His glory during His rescue mission to Earth (Philippians 2:6).

He became Yahweh’s servant to rescue us from sin’s penalty and power, and as such, the Father was greater than He in glory and status. When He returned to the Father, He received anew the glory and status He had voluntarily relinquished to come to Earth.

The Trinity and Early Christian Belief

The second theme is that Scripture consistently attributes to Jesus divine works, worship, names, and authority. Christians use “Trinity” to describe the relationships among the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  

Tertullian first used the Latin word translated into English “Trinity” about A.D. 200 to describe the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as one substance existing in three persons. The First Council of church leaders at Nicaea (A.D. 325) declared that Jesus Christ is fully God and “of the same substance” with the Father.

John’s Testimony to Jesus’ Deity

The Apostles John and Paul highlight Jesus’ deity more than other New Testament writers. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). To eliminate any doubt concerning the Word’s identity, John added, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

Paul’s Description of Christ’s Divine Nature

The Apostle Paul wrote that Jesus was in "very nature God" and was equal to God (Philippians 2:6). He called Him "the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15) and the Creator of all things (Colossians 1:16). The writer of Hebrews called Jesus the exact representation of God’s being (Hebrews 1:3).

Divine Works Performed by Jesus

Jesus performed works only God could do.  He forgave sins (Matthew 9:2); raised Lazarus (John 11:43), Jairus’s daughter (Luke 8:54), and a widow’s son (Luke 7:14) from the dead by his own authority; calmed the wind and waves (Mark 4:39); granted eternal life (John 10:28); knew human thoughts (Mark 2:8); sent the Holy Spirit (John 15:26); commanded angels (Matthew 26:53); sustained everything by His powerful word (Hebrews 1:3); and claimed to be the world’s judge (John 5:22). He was sinless (Hebrews 4:15) and claimed all authority in heaven and earth for Himself (Matthew 28:18).

Jesus Accepted Worship

Even though faithful Jews worshipped only God (Deuteronomy 6:13), Jesus accepted worship from His disciples (Matthew 14:33), a blind man He healed (John 9:38), the women who went to His tomb (Matthew 28:9), and His eleven disciples (Matthew 28:17).

Jesus Claimed God’s Name and Equality

He identified Himself as “I am,” thus claiming for Himself God’s revealed name (Exodus 3:14). The crowd tried to stone Him for it. He claimed to be one with the Father, and His enemies recognized that He was making Himself equal with God (John 10:30).

Direct Statements Calling Jesus God

Thomas called Jesus God (John 20:28), and Jesus did not rebuke him. The Apostle Paul called Jesus God (Titus 2:13), and the Father did the same (Hebrews 1:8).

The Biblical Conclusion About Jesus

When we combine these two Scriptural threads and consider all the evidence, we conclude that Jesus is fully God and fully man.

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