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Jesus Christ
is our great God and Savior:
Titus 2:11-14 says, “For
the grace of God has appeared, bringing
salvation for all people, training us to
renounce ungodliness and worldly passions,
and to live self-controlled, upright, and
godly lives in the present age, waiting for
our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory
of our great God
and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave
himself for us to redeem us from all
lawlessness and to purify for himself a
people for his own possession who are
zealous for good works.”
Likewise, 2 Peter 1:1-2 says, “Simeon Peter, a servant and
apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have
obtained a faith of equal standing with ours
by the righteousness of
our God and Savior
Jesus Christ. May grace and peace be
multiplied to you in the knowledge of God
and of Jesus our Lord.”
In
both Titus 2:13 and 2 Peter 1:1, Jesus is
called “God and Savior,” making these passages
two of the clearest declarations in the New
Testament of Christ’s divinity.
The
Granville Sharp rule:
“The terms “God and
Savior” both refer to the same person, Jesus
Christ. This is one of the clearest
statements in the NT concerning the deity of
Christ. The construction in Greek is known
as the Granville Sharp rule, named after the
English philanthropist-linguist who first
clearly articulated the rule in 1798. Sharp
pointed out that in the construction
article-noun-καί-noun (where καί [kai] =
“and”), when two nouns are singular,
personal, and common (i.e., not proper
names), they always had the same referent.
Illustrations such as “the friend and
brother,” “the God and Father,” etc. abound
in the NT to prove Sharp’s point.”
[1]
Jesus accepted people’s worship:
If
Jesus was not God, He would have rebuked
people for worshipping Him, but
Thomas called him, “My Lord and my God” in John 20:28, and Jesus did not correct him.
Jesus never rebuked anyone for worshiping
Him (Matt. 2:11; 14:33; 28:9, 17; Luke 24:52; John 9:38). If
Jesus was a created being
he would have rejected man’s worship just
as the angels do (Rev. 19:10; 22:8-9).
Jesus Christ was God
in the flesh:
John 1:1, 14 says, “In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God.… And the Word became flesh and dwelt
among us, and we have seen his glory, glory
as of the only Son from the Father, full of
grace and truth.”
The Jewish
leaders wanted to kill Jesus for claiming to
be God.
In
John 10:30 Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.”
The
Jews knew Jesus was claiming to be God
because they tried to stone Him for
blasphemy a few verses later. John 10:33
says, “The Jews answered him, “It is not for
a good work that we are going to stone you
but for blasphemy, because you, being a man,
make yourself God.”
Jesus was saying that He and the Father are
of the same divine nature and essence. A
statement that would have been blasphemous
and worthy of the death penalty if it were
not true.
The scriptures refer to Jesus as God many
times:
Romans 9:5 says, “To them belong the
patriarchs, and from their race, according
to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over
all, blessed forever. Amen.”
And
Colossians 2:8-10 says, “See to it that no
one takes you captive by philosophy and
empty deceit, according to human tradition,
according to the elemental spirits of the
world, and not according to Christ. For in
him the whole fullness of deity dwells
bodily, and you have been filled in him, who
is the head of all rule and authority.”
Jesus is called God by the Father:
Hebrews 1:8 says, “But about the Son
he says, ‘Your throne, O God, will last
forever and ever, and righteousness will be
the scepter of your kingdom.’”
Jesus existed in the “form of
God” prior to His coming to earth:
Philippians 2:5-8 says, “Have this mind
among yourselves, which is yours in Christ
Jesus, who, though he was in the form of
God, did not count equality with God a thing
to be grasped, but emptied himself, by
taking the form of a servant, being born in
the likeness of men. And being found in
human form, he humbled himself by becoming
obedient to the point of death, even death
on a cross.”
The MacArthur Study Bible says this about Philippians 2:6. Jesus “existed in the
form of God.” Paul affirms that Jesus eternally has been God. The usual Greek
word for “existed” or “being” is not used here. Instead, Paul chose another term
that stresses the essence of a person’s nature—his continuous state or
condition. Paul also could have chosen one of two Greek words for “form,” but he
chose the one that specifically denotes the essential, unchanging character of
something—what it is in and of itself. The fundamental doctrine of Christ’s
deity has always encompassed these crucial characteristics (cf.
John 1:1, 3, 4, 14; 8:58; Col. 1:15-17; Heb. 1:3).”
And the Nelson’s NKJV Study Bible says this, “The Greek word for form was
generally used to express the way in which a thing exists and appears according
to what it is in itself. Thus, the expression form of God may be correctly
understood as the essential nature and character of God. To say, therefore, that
Christ existed in the form of God is to say that apart from His human nature
Christ possesses all the characteristics and qualities belonging to God because
He is, in fact, God.”
Jesus
is referred to as the God of creation:
John 1:3 says, “All things were made
through him, and without him was not any
thing made that was made.”
And Colossians 1:16-17 says, “For by him all things were
created, in heaven and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or dominions or
rulers or authorities - all things were
created through him and for him. And he is
before all things, and in him all things
hold together.”
Jesus
is Yahweh (Jehovah), of the Old Testament:
Jesus claimed to
be Yahweh, the pre-existing God of Israel in John 8:58
when He said of Himself, “Truly, truly, I say to
you, before Abraham was, I am.” Jesus saying
“I am” was an explicit claim to deity
because He made a clear reference to
Exodus 3:13-14.
The Jews understood exactly what
Jesus meant because in the very next verse they
took up stones to throw at him for making
Himself equal with God but He hid himself
and went out of the temple.
Exodus 3 describes the encounter between
Moses and God regarding the Lord’s divine
name. Exodus 3:14 says, “God said to Moses,
“I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to
the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to
you.’”
The phrase “I am who I am” in the
Hebrew is YHWH, often translated as “LORD,”
“Yahweh,” or “Jehovah,” and is referred to
as the Tetragrammaton (“a word having four
letters”). The literal translation of the
term is “I be that I be,” a statement that
speaks to God’s self-existence, according to
which He does not rely on anything else for
existence. Jesus is the God of Exodus 3:14
(cf. John 8:58; Col. 1:15-17; Heb. 13:8;
Rev. 1:8).
“The New Testament
describes Jesus in the same way that Yahweh,
the God of Israel is described in the Old
Testament.
God in
the Old Testament:
I AM (Exod. 3:14-15;
Isa. 48:12).
The Shepherd (Ps. 23:1).
The Light (Ps. 27:1).
The Rock
(Ps. 18:2).
Ruler of all (Isa. 9:6).
Our Creator (Gen. 1:1; Ps. 102:25; Isa. 44:24).
The Savior (Isa. 43:3-11; 60:16).
Our Deliverer (Isa. 59:20-21).
Our
Redeemer (Exod. 19:5; Ps. 130:7, 8; Ezek. 37:23).
Judge of all people (Gen. 18:25;
Ps. 94:2; 96:13; 98:9).
The Bridegroom
(Isa. 62:5; Hosea 2:16).
God’s Word never
passes away (Isa. 40:8).
The Sower (Jer. 31:27; Ezra 34:9).
Hears and answers
prayers (Ps. 86:5-8; Isa. 55:6, 7; Jer. 33:3; Joel 2:32).
God alone has divine
glory (Isa. 42:8; 48:11).
Worshipped by
angels (Ps. 97:7).
Unchanging and eternal
(Ps. 90:2; 102:26, 27; Mal. 3:6).
Lord of
lords (Deut. 10:17; Ps. 136:3).
First and
the Last (Isa. 48:12).
Jesus
in the New Testament:
I AM (John 8:58).
The Shepherd (John 10:11).
The
Light (John 8:12).
The Rock (Matt. 7:24).
Ruler of all (Matt. 28:18).
Our Creator
(John 1:3; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2, 10).
The
Savior (John 4:42; Acts 4:12; Titus 2:13; 1 Jn. 4:14).
Our Deliverer (Rom. 11:26).
Our Redeemer (Titus 2:14; 1 Pet. 1:18).
Judge of all people (John 5:22; Acts 17:31;
2 Cor. 5:10; 2 Tim. 4:1).
The Bridegroom
(Matt. 25:1).
Jesus’ words never pass
away (Mark 13:31).
The Sower (Matt. 13:3-9).
Hears
and answers prayers (John 14:14; Rom. 10:12-13; 1 Cor. 1:2;
2 Cor. 12:8-9).
Jesus has divine glory (John 17:5).
Worshipped by angels (Heb. 1:6).
Unchanging and eternal (John 8:58; Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:11-12; 13:8).
Lord of lords
(1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 17:14; 19:16).
First
and the Last (Rev. 1:17-18; 22:13).”
[2]
Jesus is referred to as God many times in
the New Testament (Matt. 3:16-17; John 1:1-18; 8:58-59; 10:30; 20:28;
Rom. 9:5; Phil. 2:5-8; 2:9-11; Col. 1:16-19; 2:9-10;
1 Tim. 6:15; Titus 2:11-13; Heb. 1:3, 8; 13:8; 2 Pet. 1:1;
1 Jn. 5:20; Rev. 1:8, 17; 2:8; 17:14; 19:16; 21:6; 22:13).
And, the Bible ascribes to Jesus Christ all
of the divine characteristics of God. He is
described as eternal (Isa. 9:6; Mic. 5:2;
John 1:1-2; 8:58; 17:5, 24; Col. 1:15-17;
1 Jn. 1:1; Rev. 1:8); omnipresent (Matt. 18:20; 28:20;
John 3:13); omniscient (John 2:24-25; 16:30; 21:17; Rev. 2:23);
omnipotent (Isa. 9:6; Phil. 3:21; Rev. 1:8;
cf. John 5:17; Heb. 1:3; Matt. 28:18) and
immutable (Heb. 1:10-12; 13:8).
Jesus is the Lord and Savior.
Isaiah 43:11 says the Lord Yahweh is our
savior, “I, I am the LORD, and
besides me
there is no savior.” And the New Testament
clearly teaches that Jesus Christ is the
savior of the world. 1 John 4:14 says,
“And we have seen and testify that
the
Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of
the world.” And Acts 4:12 says, “And
there
is salvation in no one else, for there is no
other name under heaven given among men by
which we must be saved.”
The New Testament
tells us that it was Jesus Christ who
revealed God to people in the Old Testament.
A theophany was a physical
appearance of God to human beings.
Several theophany’s are described in
the Old Testament (Gen. 18:1-15; Gen. 32:24-30;
Exod. 3:2-10; Num. 22:22-35; Josh. 5:13-15; Judg. 6; 13), but John 1:18 tells
us, “No one has ever seen God; the only God,
who is at the Father’s side, he has made him
known.” The reason there are no theophany’s
mentioned in the New Testament is because
Jesus was God in the flesh
(John 1:1-3; Col. 1:15-17; Phil. 2:9-11). In
a sense, the story of Jesus’ life on earth is one
long theophany (John 14:9).
Groups like the Jehovah’s Witnesses
and even many Seventh-day Adventists teach that Jesus was a created being who God
invested with divinity, but God said He
would never do that.
Isaiah 43:10-13 says, “You are my witnesses,”
declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I
have chosen, that you may know and believe
me and understand that I am he. Before me no
god was formed,
nor shall there be any after
me. I, I am the LORD, and besides me there
is no savior. I declared and saved and
proclaimed, when there was no strange god
among you; and you are my witnesses,”
declares the LORD, “and I am God. Also
henceforth I am he; there is none who can
deliver from my hand; I work, and who can
turn it back?”
Isaiah 44:6-8 says, “Thus
says the LORD, the King of Israel and his
Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: “I am the first
and I am the last;
besides me there is no
god. Who is like me? Let him proclaim it.
Let him declare and set it before me, since
I appointed an ancient people. Let them
declare what is to come, and what will
happen. Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not
told you from of old and declared it? And
you are my witnesses!
Is there a God besides
me? There is no Rock; I know not any.”
And
Isaiah 46:9 says, “remember the former
things of old; for I am God, and there is no
other; I am God, and there is none like me.”
God did not create Jesus and make him a
little god, or a lesser god like so many of
the cults teach today.
God did not invest
Jesus with deity at some point in time after
His creation, He was always the eternal God.
Jesus is not a created being!
You cannot be God and
not be fully God. Jesus Christ is the Almighty God!
Jesus
proclaimed Himself to be the “Alpha and
Omega” in the book of Revelation. The Alpha
and Omega are the first and last letters of
the Greek alphabet.
Revelation 1:7-8
says of Jesus, “Behold,
he is coming with
the clouds,
and every eye will see him, even
those who pierced him, and all tribes of the
earth will wail on account of him. Even so.
Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says
the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is
to come, the Almighty.”
Revelation 1:17-18 says, “When I saw him, I fell at his
feet as though dead. But he laid his right
hand on me, saying, “Fear not,
I am the
first and the last, and the living one.
I
died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and
I have the keys of Death and Hades.”
Revelation 21:6 says, “And he said to me,
“It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega,
the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I
will give from the spring of the water of
life without payment.”
And in
Revelation 22:12-13 Jesus said, “Behold, I
am coming soon, bringing my recompense with
me, to repay each one for what he has done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega,
the first and
the last, the beginning and the end.”
Jesus was God in the flesh, the
“Alpha and Omega”, the “first and last”, the
“beginning and the end”, the “Almighty God.”
The idea that God is three
persons and yet, one God, can be confusing
for some people. The Bible says that God
exists as three persons, yet he is one
being. Each person of the Trinity, the
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit has a separate
identity while yet possessing the full
nature of God. They all share the same
character, substance, nature, essence, attributes, and
perfections. But just because God’s nature
is difficult for finite human beings to
understand is no reason to reject what the
Bible says about who God is. To fully
understand the nature of God we would need
to know all that God knows, and we don’t.
All we can hope to understand is what God
has revealed to us about Himself in the
scriptures. We are warned throughout
the Bible that heretics will attempt to lead
God’s people away from the one true and
living God (Deut. 13:1-5; Acts 20:29-31). All of the earliest
Christian heresies attacked Jesus’ divinity
and were dealt with using scripture alone to
show that Jesus was fully God in the flesh,
the second person of the Trinity.
[3]
References:
1. see: The NET
Bible, text notes on Titus 2:13 and 2 Peter 1:1.
2. see:
Is Jesus Yahweh? Is Jesus Jehovah?
3. See:
Early Denials of Christ’s Deity.
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