Is Jesus God?15 minute read
Growing up in Baptist and Evangelical churches, it was never a question on whether or not Jesus was God. It was always an accepted truth and nobody questioned it.
Now that I am older and have spent some time on different social platforms, I am surprised how many times I have come across people saying that Jesus is not God and never claimed to be. And these aren’t just unbelievers. These are so-called christians.
I believe if you don’t believe Jesus is God, you don’t believe in the one true God. I want to cover this in depth so stick around. Not believing the deity of Christ is a dangerous premise to hold as truth and I want to discuss why that is.
What groups don’t believe Jesus is God?
First I want to cover who is putting this belief out there and touch on what they believe. This is by no means an extensive list. But these are a few of the leaders out there.
Unfortunately, there are quite a few groups that don’t believe Jesus was or is God or part of the Trinity. This unbelief actually stems from the rejection of the Trinity. The doctrine of the trinity is a concept of a triune God. Or as we explain it, God that is made up of three persons. In most Christian circles, the three parts are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The term trinity is not found in the bible and this is usually the bases of why these certain groups don’t believe in it. But, as I will cover later, the doctrine is clearly laid out in scripture.
These groups that don’t believe in the trinity are known as Non-trinitarian. Below are a few of these groups.
Mormons (Latter-Day-Saints)
Mormonism was founded by Joseph Smith in 1830. He supposedly got a new revelation from God and his words were to be a supplement to the Holy Bible. That alone is a red flag to me, but lets move on. Mormons believe that God had a literal son, Jesus, and he was a separate being from God himself. They also think God has a physical, flesh and blood perfect body. It is taught that we have the potential to become gods just as Jesus did. The holy spirit is seen as the powerful spirit that accompanies God. All three are seen as separate, but are said to be one only through there mission and purpose in this universe.
Jehovah’s Witnesses
Jehovah’s Witnesses reject the doctrine of the Trinity as it is seen as un-biblical. God, Jehovah, is one being that created both Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Jesus being his first creation, God use him to finish the creation of the universe. It is also believed that Jesus was in fact Micheal the Archangel before he took his human form.
Unity (aka. Unity School of Christianity)
This one is actually new to me. The Unity movement believes that Jesus was just a man, not the Christ, and practiced his potential for perfection. Did you catch that word, potential? This implies that he was not perfect or sinless as the bible teaches. Also, Jesus did not resurrect but rather, was reincarnated. They also say that God is a principle force that is within all of us and that the Holy Spirit is an active expression of God’s law.
source: learningreligons.com
These doctrines are false and are a slippery slope for new believers. I want to point out Galations 1:8.
But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. KJV
It was serious enough for Paul to mention it twice. Verse 9 says the same thing. Do not change the gospel!
There is more that could be discussed, but I want to get to the point of this article, addressing the question, is Jesus God?
What is the Trinity?
The trinity is the term use to explain the three in one God. God is one God-head and is manifested in three distinct persons. The three persons are the Father (God), Son (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit. Some explain it to be like the Soul, Body and Spirit of a person.
The Trinity can be hard to explain, but one of the best analogies I can thing of is the universe. The universe is made of essentially three things. Time, space and matter. Three distinct things, yet one universe. Let me know in the comments the analogy you think of.
Is the word Trinity in the Bible?
No. The word trinity wasn’t introduced to the church until about 180 AD or so. The word never made it into the scriptures. But that doesn’t mean the concept isn’t there.
Matthew 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:14 are just a couple verses that mention all three persons of the Trinity. These verses, and more, along with the ones we will cover below, show us a very clear picture of God. That being one God, three persons.
Did Jesus Claim to be God?
What do you think about Jesus? I want you to think about that, because your eternity depends on it. I have had more than one person tell me that Jesus never claimed to be God. I don’t know what their background was or if they were even considered “christian”. I just know if i hear it more than one, it is probably a wide spread though. So I did some research.
Why did the pharisees want to kill Jesus?
Jesus actually claimed to be God on multiple occasions. For if he didn’t actually claim to be God, then why did the pharisee’s want so bad to kill him. They wanted to kill him because he as seen as a blasphemer. One that claimed to be God. They would not of killed him if he was just a great teacher. The jews picked up stones to kill Jesus more than once because of the claims he made (John 10:30-31).
Someone who claims to be God is either a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord.
–CS Lewis , Mere Christianity
What were Jesus’s Claims?
Here are quite a few verses that Jesus spoke. If you look up these verses, you will see them most likely printed in red. When you go to study this for yourself, I encouarage you to read the book of John. That is a great book that emphasizes the deity of Christ and his mission.
- John 10:14 “I am the Good Shepard […]”
- John 10:9 “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”
- John 10:30 “I and my Father are one.”
- John 12:45 “And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me.”
- John 8:12 “I am the light of the world
- John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Outside of the book of John, in the book of Mark, you find Jesus answering the high priests question on whether or not he is the Messiah.
Mark 14:61-62
61But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?
62 And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
All these verses are quotes from Jesus. It is Jesus speaking of himself. But if that isn’t convincing enough, let’s move on.
Did Jesus act like God?
Another thing that needs to be looked at when studying the deity of Christ is Jesus’s actions. Did he act like God. Were Jesus’s actions consistent with who God is?
- John 8:29 “And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.”
Think about those words. “I do ALWAYS those things that please him.” The bible tells us that we all fall short of the glory of God. No man is perfect. We are as filthy rags and so on. Only Jesus would have the right to udder the words that he always does things that is pleasing to God. Just a normal man could not say those things, for he would be a liar. Which can bring you back to that quote from CS Lewis above. If Jesus was not God. He was either a lunatic or a liar.
- John 10:10 “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
Here is another verse that only God can claim. Jesus healed the sick, walked on water and raised the dead. Giving those people, and all people life. Again, his actions line up with God, since God is the only one that can give life.
Jesus also claims to have full control over his own life. As we know, only God controls life. We can’t make the decision on whether or not we live another day. But Jesus, he made that decision.
- John 10:18 “No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.”
John 6:38 tells us that Jesus came down from heaven under the will of his Father. You see. All these verses add up to one thing. We see that all of Jesus’s actions throughout the gospels were in direct alignment with God’s nature. But let cover one more angle. Jesus’s relationship with God.
What was the Relationship between Jesus and God?
If I had to pick one passage of scripture to prove that Jesus was and is God, it would be from John chapter 1. Let me explain.
John 1:1-5 says,
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
Now lets jump down to verse 14.
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Did you see it?
John 1:1 said the Word was God and that the Word was in the beginning. John then goes on to say that all things were created by him. When we get to verse 14, we are told that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. What does that mean? That’s right! Jesus was the Word that was made flesh. Flesh meaning, man. Therefore, Jesus was in the beginning with God and was God, and then was made flesh to live among us.
After reading this short passage of verses, it is hard to deny Jesus’s role.
Let’s look at some other verses to drive the point home.
- Genesis 1:26 “ And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: […]”.
Who is us? Why does he say our. If God was alone in the beginning, he would have said “my”. It could not have been the angels he was talking about. They don’t have the power to create. I believe he was speaking to Jesus.
- John 10:30 “I and the Father are one.”
Jesus and God are the same according to this verse.
I’m going to paraphrase this. It confirms to us that Jesus is the image of the invisible God and through him, all things were created.
The Eyewitness Accounts of Jesus
So now we know Jesus claimed to be God and know that he had a perfect relationship with God. His actions lined up perfectly with the nature of God and He was in the beginning with God. Now lets take a look at the eyewitness accounts of Jesus.
Evidence found in the Bible
According to the documents, Jesus was seen multiple times after the resurrection. First by Mary Magdalene and Mary. Then by some of the disciples and apostles. And after that, He was seen by over 500 believers. Below is a chart that I found pretty interesting and it laid the sequence of the eyewitness sightings out beautifully.
Index of the Eyewitness Accounts of Jesus’ Post-Death Appearances
Is there evidence outside of the Bible?
There are a myriad of documentation that proves the existence of Jesus, not even atheist scholars debate Jesus’s existence. But is there evidence that proves the resurrection? Well, that is a bit harder to find. But we do see a lot of Jewish historians acknowledging the fact that his disciples saw the resurrected Christ and believed in him the rest of their lives.
Take the writings of Josephus as an example. He was a Jewish historian that was less interested in the birth of Christianity and more interested in the history of his people. So that is what he wrote about. He does have little to say about the resurrection, but confirms that Jesus was crucified under Pilate and that Jesus’s disciples, at least, believed in the resurrection.
“At this time there was a wise man called Jesus, and his conduct was good, and he was known to be virtuous. Many people among the Jews and the other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. But those who had become his disciples did not abandon his discipleship. They reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that he was alive. Accordingly, he was perhaps the Messiah, concerning whom the prophets have reported wonders. And the tribe of the Christians, so named after him, has not disappeared to this day.”
Is persecution solid evidence?
Perhaps we can look at this from another angle. We know that the early Christian were heavily persecuted by not only the Jewish leadership and residents, but the Romans. For the early Christians, the resurrection of Jesus was the one true assurance of life after death. As it should be for us today. But think about the persecution those believers went through and there willingness to stick with their faith.
The Romans were known for there unorthodox torture tactics. Some say they were really creative. They use these tactics on the early Christians as punishment. Cornelius Tacitus was a Roman historian and politician that documented a lot of these moments in time. His father was a knight under the rule of Emperor Nero. Young Tacitus documents later in his life one of the most famous of those punishments. It was known as the “human torch”. The one that he witnessed as a boy.
It is exactly what it sounds like. After the famous “great fires of Rome” in 64 AD, Christians were used as a scapegoat for the burning of the city. Nero burned the Christians alive, in his garden, with no evidence of them being the ones that started the fires. Nero would nail or tie Christians to a cross or post in his garden and burn them alive, as seen in the image above.
Tacitus recalls a conversation with his father during this time. His father stating that these men might not have burned down the city, but were criminals and related to the Jews. And “it would not be a bad thing if both of those accursed superstitions were destroyed.” he added.
You see, persecution is nothing knew. It started as soon as Christianity started. And this is by no means the only occasion of this happening. My point in telling you that story, is to make you think about what those early Christians had to go through. If they were lying about the message and resurrection of Christ, do you think they would have saw that lie all the way through Crucifixion and burning? I don’t think these people were lying. I think it was so true to them, they wouldn’t think twice about denying what happened. Their eternity depended on it.
Conclusion
There are so many different directions you can go with this discussion. I tried to keep it concise yet informative and in depth. I hope you learned something new and I hope you share it with friends and family that doubt.
I want to conclude with this thought. It boils down to this. If you believe in a god, and don’t believe in Jesus, you don’t believe the one true God.
Why Must you Believe in Jesus?
He is the doorway. He is the one that allows you into heaven. Jesus is the one that was put on this earth to make a way for you. John 3:16. Without him, you are not inheriting the kingdom of heaven. Whether you believe there is a god or not. You must believe in the one true God. The one, triune God.
It is appointed to man once to die and after that the judgment. If Jesus Christ is not God, we are hopeless.
Travis Haines
Husband | Father | IT Guy | Blogger | Author and Creator of ChristianIntrovert.com wanting to encourage those who question their abilities in Christ. Don't let your Introversion define who you are and don't use it as an excuse to shut yourself out from the world.