Is Jesus God?
Few questions in Christian theology are as central as this: Is Jesus truly God? For centuries, the church has affirmed that the answer is yes. The Scriptures themselves present Jesus not only as the Messiah but as the eternal God in human form. Far from being a later invention of the church, the divine identity of Jesus is embedded in the Old Testament, revealed in the Gospels, proclaimed by the apostles, and even anticipated in strands of Jewish thought during the Second Temple period.
1. The Witness of the Gospel of John
The clearest affirmation of Jesus’s divinity comes in John’s writings. John 1:1–3 declares:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.”
Here Jesus, the eternal Word, is both distinct from God and yet fully God, the creator of all things. John 1:14 makes it explicit: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
Later, in John 8:58, Jesus says, “Before Abraham was, I am,” echoing the divine name revealed to Moses in Exodus 3:14. His hearers understood this as a direct claim to deity, which is why they sought to stone Him for blasphemy. In John 10:30, Jesus states, “I and the Father are one.” Again, His opponents recognized this as a claim to divine identity.
The climax of John’s Gospel comes when Thomas sees the risen Christ and declares: “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).
2. Jesus and the Divine Titles of God
In Revelation 1:17–18, Jesus declares, “I am the first and the last,” a title that comes from Isaiah 44:6, where it is applied to God alone. By taking on this language, Jesus identifies Himself as the eternal Lord. For the biblical authors steeped in Old Testament monotheism, to apply such titles to Jesus is not poetic exaggeration but a clear declaration of divinity.
3. The Apostle Paul’s Testimony
Paul repeatedly speaks of Jesus in ways that only make sense if He is truly God.
In Philippians 2:6–7, Paul writes that Christ Jesus was “in the form of God” and equal with God before taking on human form.
In Colossians 1:16–19, Paul says, “For by him all things were created… all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Paul adds, “In him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.”
In Titus 2:13, Paul refers directly to Jesus as “our great God and Savior.”
Such statements only make sense if Jesus is not merely a prophet or angel but the eternal God who shares in all the fullness of divinity.
4. The Author of Hebrews
The book of Hebrews also presents Jesus as God:
Hebrews 1:3 describes Him as “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature.”
Hebrews 1:8 applies Psalm 45:6 directly to the Son: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.”
Jesus is portrayed as the one who sustains the universe by His powerful word and as the exact representation of God’s being.
5. The Broader Jewish Context
Some Jewish thinkers in the Second Temple period already entertained the idea of divine agents or even “two powers in heaven.” Texts like 1 Enoch and the Psalms of Solomon describe a Messiah with divine qualities. Early Christians, therefore, were not creating a brand-new idea when they proclaimed Jesus as divine; they were identifying Him as the fulfillment of expectations that the God of Israel Himself would come to save His people.
Conclusion
The New Testament, when read against the background of the Old Testament and Second Temple Judaism, consistently identifies Jesus as God. He bears God’s titles, performs God’s works, and receives worship due only to God. To deny His divinity is to miss the very foundation of Christian faith. The church has rightly confessed: Jesus is not a lesser being or one god among many. He is true God, eternal with the Father, who became human to redeem His creation.
Bible Verses Affirming Jesus as God
John 1:1 — “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
John 8:58 — “Before Abraham was, I am.”
John 10:30 — “I and the Father are one.”
John 20:28 — “Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’”
Philippians 2:6–7 — “…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…”
Colossians 1:16–17 — “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth… and in him all things hold together.”
Colossians 1:19 — “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.”
Titus 2:13 — “…waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.”
Hebrews 1:3 — “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature…”
Hebrews 1:8 — “But of the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.’”
