FIVE PROOFS OF THE DEITY OF JESUS CHRIST
Christ comes and he is clearly God. There is no question but that his deity is affirmed in a number of different ways in the New Testament. It is so clear that any one of these five arguments for the deity of Christ is in itself compelling and conclusive but when you put the five together it is an overwhelming composite argument for the deity of Christ. Consider these with me.
- Names of God applied to Christ
- The name theos, God, is applied to Christ.
- John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God”
- 1 John 5:20, Christ is referred to as the true God and eternal life. The qualifier there, alethinos, true God, the one who truly is the deity spoken of is none other than Christ.
- Hebrews 1:8 “But of the Son, he says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.” This is a quote from Psalm 45:6. This an amazing statement where God himself calls the Son, God.
- Titus 2:13, 2 Peter 1:1, Romans 9:5, John 20:28, Colossians 1:15 and Philippians 2:6 are other passages where theos is used.
- the Son of God
- John 5:17ff,
- John 10:33-36,
- Matthew 26:63-64.
- Son of Man
- … Jesus’ favorite term to use of himself
- … used eighty-four times in the Gospels … every time Jesus is referencing himself, never is he called the Son of Man by another but these are self-references. Clearly they have in mind the background of Daniel 7:13-14 where the Son of Man comes from the Ancient of Days. The Ancient of Days is clearly a divine figure in Daniel 7 but so is the Son of Man because he comes and has power and glory and a kingdom and he reigns forever and ever. Clearly this is the same language that is used of deity in the book of Daniel. So here comes Christ from the Ancient of Days, who is God, think of that as the Father, and he comes as the Son of Man and he comes as God, think of that as the Son, Jesus.
- Matthew 24:30
- Matthew 26:64 as clear references to himself as the Son of Man who is none other than the God who will come and judge his people.
- Daniel 7:13-14
- Attributes of God alone predicated of Christ
- Eternity,
- John 1:4 to have existence in himself and he is the Creator in
- John 1:3
- Isaiah 9:6, he is the eternal Father
- Micah 5:2, “His goings forth are from the days of eternity.”
- Only God is eternal and therefore to say of Christ that he is eternal is to indicate that he is God.
- Not the same thing as saying God is love … Christ is loving … so Christ is God … because this is an attribute that is held also by non-divine creatures, you and me, we are called to be loving.
- Eternity is an attribute true of God alone and Christ possesses it.
- Immutability
- Hebrews 13:8 Christ is spoken of as the same yesterday, today, and forever.
- Hebrews 1:10-12 … quoting Psalm 102:25-27
- Christ, in Hebrews 1:10-12 is, clearly, the immutable God of Israel, in Psalm 102:25-27.
- Works done by God alone done by Christ
- He created the heavens and the earth.
- John 1:3 Christ creates the heavens and the earth … but, of course, only God can create.
- Colossians 1:15-16
- Hebrews 1:2-3
- 1 Corinthians 8:6
- He sustains the universe.
- Christ is not only Creator, he preserves his creation.
- Colossians 1:17 he holds it together,
- Hebrews 1:3.
- He gives life.
- God alone can give eternal life but Christ is the one who gives eternal life.
- Look, for example, at John 10:28, John 17:2, and 1 John 2:25.
- He forgives sin.
- Lastly and importantly, only God can forgive sins but Christ is said to be the one who forgives sin.
- Mark 2:5-12 A paralytic man, let down through a roof … to be healed … but Christ says the most astonishing thing to him … “Your sins are forgiven.”
- Why? What did he do against Christ? … The answer is nothing … nothing that we know of anyway … but Christ is not talking about personal forgiveness … forgiving in the way we are called to forgive one another, that is, put things behind that have happened in terms of our relationship with one another … Rather, He is talking about judicial forgiveness – something that none of us can give to one another person.
- Judicial forgiveness is something that only God can do … and, here, Christ does it.
- Colossians 1:14,
- Colossians 3:13
- Notice in Isaiah 43:25 … It is, in fact, God, and God alone, who forgives sin.
- Clearly, Christ’s ability to actually forgive sin is further evidence of his deity.
- Worship, which is due to God alone, is given to Christ.
- God’s commandments make it clear that only He (God) is to be worshiped.
- Exodus 34:14 “You shall not worship any other god for the Lord whose name is jealous is a jealous God.”
- Deuteronomy 6:13
- Of course, Christ knows this …
- In Luke 4:8 Christ is tempted to bow down and worship at the feet of Satan and He said, “You shall worship the Lord your God and serve him only.” quoting there from Deuteronomy 6:13.
- Yet … despite the fact that 1) God commands that only God is to be worshiped … and 2) Christ knowing that only God is to be worshiped … we see Christ being worshiped … and accepting worship … on a number of occasions during His life.
- Matthew 2:11 At the beginning of His earthly life, the wise men worship Him.
- John 5:23,
- John 9:35-39,
- Matthew 28:9-10 …
- In another fascinating passage, we see the Father commanding that His Son, Jesus Christ is to be worshiped.
- Hebrews 1:6
- Finally, we see that Christ will be worshiped with the Father at the end of the age.
- Philippians 2:10-11 “Every knee will bow; every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
- Revelation 5:8-14 the Lamb along with the one on the throne is worshiped forever and ever.
- Jesus’ own claims to deity are evidence that he in fact is God.
- Despite the fact that there are many instances when Jesus chose not to confirm or deny His deity, there are a number of times when He did …
- John 8:58, I have mentioned before, “Before Abraham was, I Am,” is, I believe, a striking claim to deity as he identifies himself with Yahweh of the Old Testament.
- John 10:30, “I and the Father are one.” Clearly this is not merely one in purpose, one in goal, but it is one in essence for they take up stones to stone him for blasphemy.
- John 17:5 Jesus claimed to have had the glory of the Father.
- This is very significant, given the background of Isaiah 42:8 where God says, “I will not share my glory with another.”
- Christ saying, “Give me the glory I had with You before the world was.”
- Clearly, Christ could share the glory of the Father ONLY because He was God.
- Matthew 26:63-64 where he affirms when asked are you the Son of God in an idiom that is difficult to translate. Essentially he says, “Yes, I am the Son the God, and furthermore, I am the Son of Man who will come on a day of judgment,” he says to those accusing him.
- Clearly, these passages, even alone, confirm that Jesus Christ is God.
Scripture clearly indicates the deity of Christ.