Jesus Is God

“God” is a name which correctly applies only to the three Persons of the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:16,17; 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14). All three of these Persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, are called “God” in the Scriptures (John 1:1; 3:16; Acts 5:3-4). Each one of them possesses all of the attributes of Deity. Many claim that Jesus is not God, and that the Bible does not teach that He is God. However, the Bible clearly teaches Jesus is one of the three Persons of the Godhead.

The relationship of the Father and the Son clearly shows they are equal (Matthew 11:27; John 5:19-23; Revelation 2:18). The Jews who wanted to kill Jesus correctly understood this fact. They declared that Jesus said that, “God was his Father, making himself equal with God” (John 5:18, KJV). Jesus did not deny what the Jews had said, but agreed with them. He pointed out that He was equal with the Father in work (v. 19), knowledge (v. 20), judgment (v. 22), and honor (v. 23). Common sense and reasoning tell us that a son has the same nature as his father. Jesus was God’s Son. (John 3:16).

He was not only a son in the sense that all faithful Christians are called sons (John 12:36), but He was unique in that He was God’s only begotten Son. He has a special unity with the Father and possesses the same nature as the Father. Paul wrote: “[He] counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped” (Philippians 2:5-6). He also wrote of Christ: “for in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9).

That Christ claimed to be God is also seen in His statement, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last” (Revelation 22:13). This statement is a claim that He is God. It is applied to Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament (Isaiah 41:4, 44:6; 48:12). In Isaiah 44:6, the point is made clear: “Thus saith Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts: I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God.” The God of the Old Testament, Jehovah, claimed to be “the” (one) Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the very same claim Jesus made for Himself in the New Testament. There cannot be two firsts and two lasts! Therefore, the only reasonable and Scriptural conclusion which can be reached is that “Christ is one with God,” that He is God, beside whom is no other. God, the Father, and God, the Son, are the first and second Persons of the Godhead. There can be no doubt that Christ claimed to be God!

The prophets of the Old Testament also claimed that Jesus is God. Isaiah, the prophet, wrote: “they shall call his name Immanuel; which is, being interpreted, God with us” (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23). Isaiah also foretold the coming of the Christ. He said: “His name shall be called...Mighty God” (Isaiah 9:6). This same name is given to Jehovah God in Jeremiah 32:18.

He was also to be called “Everlasting Father,” which means “Father of eternity” (Isaiah 9:6).

The truth that Jesus Christ is God is a very important teaching of the Scriptures. We must believe it if we want to be saved: “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for except ye believe that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” ( John 8:24).