Q: Is Jesus God? Is Christ Jehovah? Was Jesus just a man or Almighty God?
Was Jesus Christ divine deity, an angel, or just a good teacher?
28-Oct-07 (updated 4-Oct-11)
Scripture repeatedly calls Jesus God’s Son. This title is often misunderstood in our Western culture. However, in the Jewish culture, the firstborn son was considered equivalent in status to his father & essentially a continuation of him. He gained the inheritance & carried on the family lineage. Moreover, to be "begotten" was to be a direct descendant of someone. The Greek word “gennao” used in genealogies (Mt 1.1-16) means “of the father”. Christ is a genuine extension of God Himself. All angels & people are merely His creation. Christians are adopted sons (Eph 1.5) which is tremendous in & of itself. Israel’s leaders wanted to kill & finally did kill Jesus because they understood that claiming Jesus was God’s Son was equal to claiming He was God & therefore blasphemy (Jn 5.18, 10.33). If they understood it to mean anything else, they wouldn’t have killed Him!
For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill Him; not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. - Jn 5.18
Furthermore, the Greek word “monogenes” used for Christ in Jn 3.16 & 18 & other passages, means “one & only, unique”. God, who is a personal spirit being (Jn 4.24) & outside of His creation & all physical matter (Jer 32.17), penetrated the physical world in the human form of Jesus Christ when He put on flesh (Jn 1.14). He did this by the prophesied means of a virgin birth (Isa 7.14) where He supernaturally seeded the womb of Mary (Mt. 1.23, Lk 1.30-34) to provide a human nature while preventing that seed from inheriting a sinful nature (Lk 1.35, 37, 47, Rom 1.2-4, Heb 4.15). He did this because it was the only means possible for the atoning of our sin (1 Pt 3.18, Heb 9.22, 10.4, 10.14).
Only Jesus has come from heaven, suffered as a man & conquered death (1 Cor 15.54-55, Php 2.5-7, 8-11, Heb 2.14-15). The only ways the personal sins of mankind can be reckoned is either by each finite individual being eternally punished (Jn 3.18, 2 Thes 1.8-9); or one can be saved by trusting that the infinite & sinless Jesus took their punishment in an instant ( see: Is Jesus the only way?). Jesus must be God in order for His sacrifice to mean anything or do anything for anyone (1 Cor 15.17-20).
Here are a few other Scripture passages to consider:
Mt 3.17 (baptism), Mt 17.1-2, 3-5 (transfiguration) – God calls Jesus His Son.
John 3.16, 1 John 4.9 – Jesus says He is God’s only begotten son.
John 1.1-5, 14 – The Living "Word" (Jesus) is God.
John 10.30 – “I and the Father are one”.
John 14.8-10 - Jesus is in the Father & the Father is in Jesus. When the disciples saw Jesus, they were seeing the Father.
John 5.21, 26 – The Father gives life, the Son gives life. The Father has life, the Son has life.
Heb 1.3-4 – Jesus is superior to angels.
Col 2.9 – All the fullness of the deity lives in Jesus.
John 8.58-59 – Jesus refers to Himself as the "I AM", a designation of God, well known to the Jews (Ex 3.14).
John 20.28 – Thomas called Jesus God.
Phil 2.6-11 – God occupying human form is difficult for us to comprehend.
Isa 7.14, Mt 1.23-25 - Jesus is also called Immanuel which means "God with us".
Isa 9.6-7, Mt 16.13-14, 15-17 – The Messiah is the Mighty God & Everlasting Father. Jesus confirms He is the Messiah (Christ in Greek).
Rev 1.8, 22.12-13, 14-16 – Jesus is Almighty God. He is the Alpha & Omega, the Beginning & the End.
Ps 138.2, 29.2, 145.1-2, Php 2.9-11, Heb 1.4 – God only exalts His own Name, yet Christ is given the “Name above all names”.
Heb 1.8-9 - God refers to the Son as God.
Mt 28.18-20 – Jesus names each person of the trinity & then uses a collective singular form for Name (3 in 1) as basis for His authority.
Ps 31.5, Isa 65.16 – The Father is the God of Truth; Jn 14.6 – Jesus is the Truth; Jn 15.26 – The Spirit of Truth = Truth in the Trinity.
Isa 43.25, 59.2, Mark 2.4-7, Heb 1.3, Acts 5.31 - Jesus had to be God to forgive sins.
Others worship Jesus:
Mt 2.11 – The wise men worshiped Jesus as a toddler.
Mt 14.33 - The disciples worshiped Jesus.
Mt 28.9 – Women worshiped the resurrected Christ.
Rev 5.8-14 – Everyone in heaven worships the Lamb (Jesus - Jn 1.29).
Heb 1.6 - Angels worship Jesus.
But heavenly angels don’t accept worship:
Rev 19.10, 22.8-9 – John was corrected by an angel.
Mt 4.8-10 – Satan, a fallen angle, wants our worship, but Jesus confirms only God (Father, Son & Spirit) is to be worshiped.
Jn 8.24 – Jesus said that anyone who didn’t believe who He said He was would die in their sins. It is an indication of a failure to grasp God’s holiness, the wickedness of one’s own sin & the need to have a perfect, sinless sacrifice that could only be the atoning work of God.
God & Jesus share the same attributes that only God can have:
For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill Him; not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. - Jn 5.18
Furthermore, the Greek word “monogenes” used for Christ in Jn 3.16 & 18 & other passages, means “one & only, unique”. God, who is a personal spirit being (Jn 4.24) & outside of His creation & all physical matter (Jer 32.17), penetrated the physical world in the human form of Jesus Christ when He put on flesh (Jn 1.14). He did this by the prophesied means of a virgin birth (Isa 7.14) where He supernaturally seeded the womb of Mary (Mt. 1.23, Lk 1.30-34) to provide a human nature while preventing that seed from inheriting a sinful nature (Lk 1.35, 37, 47, Rom 1.2-4, Heb 4.15). He did this because it was the only means possible for the atoning of our sin (1 Pt 3.18, Heb 9.22, 10.4, 10.14).
Only Jesus has come from heaven, suffered as a man & conquered death (1 Cor 15.54-55, Php 2.5-7, 8-11, Heb 2.14-15). The only ways the personal sins of mankind can be reckoned is either by each finite individual being eternally punished (Jn 3.18, 2 Thes 1.8-9); or one can be saved by trusting that the infinite & sinless Jesus took their punishment in an instant ( see: Is Jesus the only way?). Jesus must be God in order for His sacrifice to mean anything or do anything for anyone (1 Cor 15.17-20).
Here are a few other Scripture passages to consider:
Mt 3.17 (baptism), Mt 17.1-2, 3-5 (transfiguration) – God calls Jesus His Son.
John 3.16, 1 John 4.9 – Jesus says He is God’s only begotten son.
John 1.1-5, 14 – The Living "Word" (Jesus) is God.
John 10.30 – “I and the Father are one”.
John 14.8-10 - Jesus is in the Father & the Father is in Jesus. When the disciples saw Jesus, they were seeing the Father.
John 5.21, 26 – The Father gives life, the Son gives life. The Father has life, the Son has life.
Heb 1.3-4 – Jesus is superior to angels.
Col 2.9 – All the fullness of the deity lives in Jesus.
John 8.58-59 – Jesus refers to Himself as the "I AM", a designation of God, well known to the Jews (Ex 3.14).
John 20.28 – Thomas called Jesus God.
Phil 2.6-11 – God occupying human form is difficult for us to comprehend.
Isa 7.14, Mt 1.23-25 - Jesus is also called Immanuel which means "God with us".
Isa 9.6-7, Mt 16.13-14, 15-17 – The Messiah is the Mighty God & Everlasting Father. Jesus confirms He is the Messiah (Christ in Greek).
Rev 1.8, 22.12-13, 14-16 – Jesus is Almighty God. He is the Alpha & Omega, the Beginning & the End.
Ps 138.2, 29.2, 145.1-2, Php 2.9-11, Heb 1.4 – God only exalts His own Name, yet Christ is given the “Name above all names”.
Heb 1.8-9 - God refers to the Son as God.
Mt 28.18-20 – Jesus names each person of the trinity & then uses a collective singular form for Name (3 in 1) as basis for His authority.
Ps 31.5, Isa 65.16 – The Father is the God of Truth; Jn 14.6 – Jesus is the Truth; Jn 15.26 – The Spirit of Truth = Truth in the Trinity.
Isa 43.25, 59.2, Mark 2.4-7, Heb 1.3, Acts 5.31 - Jesus had to be God to forgive sins.
Others worship Jesus:
Mt 2.11 – The wise men worshiped Jesus as a toddler.
Mt 14.33 - The disciples worshiped Jesus.
Mt 28.9 – Women worshiped the resurrected Christ.
Rev 5.8-14 – Everyone in heaven worships the Lamb (Jesus - Jn 1.29).
Heb 1.6 - Angels worship Jesus.
But heavenly angels don’t accept worship:
Rev 19.10, 22.8-9 – John was corrected by an angel.
Mt 4.8-10 – Satan, a fallen angle, wants our worship, but Jesus confirms only God (Father, Son & Spirit) is to be worshiped.
Jn 8.24 – Jesus said that anyone who didn’t believe who He said He was would die in their sins. It is an indication of a failure to grasp God’s holiness, the wickedness of one’s own sin & the need to have a perfect, sinless sacrifice that could only be the atoning work of God.
God & Jesus share the same attributes that only God can have:
Divine Attribute
Immutable (Unchanging)
Eternal & Pre-Existent Omniscient (All-Knowing) Omnipotent (All-Powerful) Omnipresent (All-Present) |
|
There are numerous passages & statements in Scripture that declare the deity of Christ as has been discussed. The writers of the Jehovah’s Witness Bible translation, the New World Translation (NWT), have worked to redefine the original Greek & Hebrew texts in an effort to squelch this obviousness. However, once you consider how the Lord Jesus’ deity is so deeply engrained throughout Scripture & doctrine, you realize that you would have to totally rewrite major passages to completely eliminate the doctrine of Christ’s deity.
For instance, the 1st of the 10 Commandments is “And God spoke all these words: ‘I am Jehovah (the LORD) your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me.’” – Ex 20.1-3. This command highlights the importance that God has for us to keep Him as the One & only God of our lives, just as He deserves. Jehovah says in Isa 42.8, “"I am Jehovah (the LORD); that is My Name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols.” In Ex 34.14, He says “Do not worship any other god, for Jehovah (the LORD), whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”
Now jump to the New Testament & you have Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountain where “His face shown like the sun, and His clothes became as white as snow” (Mt 17.2), “His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone could bleach them” (Mk 9.3) & “the appearance of His face changed, and His clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning” (Lk 9.29). Lk 9.32 notes that the disciples there “saw His glory”.
Later, Peter writes “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.’ We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with Him on the sacred mountain.” – 2 Pt 1.16-18. As if we needed anything further, we have Jesus’ statements in His prayers in Jn 17.1, 5 & Jn 17.24 that mention Christ’s glory that He shared with the Father.
So I ask, if Sovereign Almighty Jehovah, who does not lie or change, says He won’t give His glory to another, yet gives it to Christ, then mustn’t Christ Himself be God? Jesus is Jehovah!
“Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of Jehovah’s (the LORD's) wrath. In the fire of His jealousy the whole world will be consumed, for He will make a sudden end of all who live in the earth." – Zeph 1.18 (Old Testament)
“I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice He judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on His head are many crowns. He has a name written on Him that no one knows but He Himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following Him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” – Rev 19.11-16 (New Testament)
For instance, the 1st of the 10 Commandments is “And God spoke all these words: ‘I am Jehovah (the LORD) your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me.’” – Ex 20.1-3. This command highlights the importance that God has for us to keep Him as the One & only God of our lives, just as He deserves. Jehovah says in Isa 42.8, “"I am Jehovah (the LORD); that is My Name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols.” In Ex 34.14, He says “Do not worship any other god, for Jehovah (the LORD), whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”
Now jump to the New Testament & you have Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountain where “His face shown like the sun, and His clothes became as white as snow” (Mt 17.2), “His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone could bleach them” (Mk 9.3) & “the appearance of His face changed, and His clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning” (Lk 9.29). Lk 9.32 notes that the disciples there “saw His glory”.
Later, Peter writes “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.’ We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with Him on the sacred mountain.” – 2 Pt 1.16-18. As if we needed anything further, we have Jesus’ statements in His prayers in Jn 17.1, 5 & Jn 17.24 that mention Christ’s glory that He shared with the Father.
So I ask, if Sovereign Almighty Jehovah, who does not lie or change, says He won’t give His glory to another, yet gives it to Christ, then mustn’t Christ Himself be God? Jesus is Jehovah!
“Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of Jehovah’s (the LORD's) wrath. In the fire of His jealousy the whole world will be consumed, for He will make a sudden end of all who live in the earth." – Zeph 1.18 (Old Testament)
“I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice He judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on His head are many crowns. He has a name written on Him that no one knows but He Himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following Him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” – Rev 19.11-16 (New Testament)
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