Why Should I Believe That Jesus Is God?
If Jesus is only a moral teacher, then his influence is limited to his example. But if Jesus is truly God, then his life, death, and resurrection reveal the hope of the world and the center of the Gospel. Believing in Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God requires recognizing the brokenness of the world through human sin and seeing God’s loving plan to heal creation through the promised one. Jesus’ death and resurrection offer life to those who trust in him, and his identity as God is essential to understanding that promise.
While the New Testament rarely uses the exact phrase “Jesus is God,” it presents Jesus’ divine nature in multiple ways—through his works, titles, identity, authority, relationship with the Father, and the worship he receives. These layers come together to form a compelling biblical case for believing in the full deity of Jesus.
Jesus and the Story of a Broken World
The Bible presents a unified story about God’s intention to heal the world. Scripture describes:
Humanity’s failure in sin (Genesis 3)
God’s promise to send a redeemer (Genesis 3:15)
Israel’s longing for a Messiah (Isaiah 9:6–7)
The restoration of creation through God’s chosen one (Isaiah 11:1–10)
The Gospel connects Jesus directly to this story. Jesus is the promised Messiah who brings healing, forgiveness, and restoration. His death and resurrection stand at the center of God’s plan to renew the world.
Because the world’s wound is spiritual and cosmic, the healer must be more than human. Scripture presents Jesus as fully human and fully divine—the Son of God who uniquely reveals the Father and accomplishes salvation.
The New Testament’s Testimony to the Divinity of Jesus
The New Testament writers use various ways to show Jesus’ divinity. Even though explicit uses of the title “God” for Jesus are rare, the evidence is found in:
Divine titles
Divine attributes
Divine actions
Jesus’ relationship with the Father
The worship he receives
These elements together form a coherent biblical picture.
Explicit Passages Identifying Jesus as God
Some passages do directly call Jesus “God,” demonstrating that early Christians understood his divine nature.
Romans 9:5 calls Christ “God over all, blessed forever.”
Titus 2:13 refers to “our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”
Hebrews 1:8 says of the Son, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.”
John 1:1 declares, “The Word was God.”
These statements do not stand alone. They fit within the larger biblical pattern that reveals Jesus’ divine identity.
Jesus Displays Divine Attributes
Scripture shows that Jesus possesses qualities that belong only to God.
1. Authority over nature
He calms the storm with a word (Mark 4:39).
He multiplies bread and fish (Mark 6:41).
He walks on water (Matthew 14:25).
2. Authority over life and death
He raises Jairus’s daughter (Mark 5:41–42).
He raises Lazarus (John 11:43–44).
He declares, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25).
3. Authority to forgive sins
Only God forgives sins. Yet Jesus says to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven” (Mark 2:5), prompting the crowd to ask, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:7).
4. Authority over angels and the final judgment
Jesus says all nations will stand before him at the last judgment (Matthew 25:31–32). Only God judges humanity, yet Jesus takes this role.
These actions reveal a divine identity expressed through human life.
Jesus’ Unique Relationship with the Father
Believing Jesus is God requires understanding how the Bible describes his relationship to the Father. The New Testament affirms the unity of Father and Son in multiple ways.
1. Jesus knows the Father uniquely
“No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son” (Matthew 11:27).
2. Jesus and the Father are one
“I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).
3. To know Jesus is to know the Father
“Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).
4. Jesus shares the Father’s glory
He prays, “Glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed” (John 17:5).
These statements go beyond metaphor. They describe a divine oneness.
Jesus Receives Worship That Belongs to God Alone
The Bible strictly forbids worship of anyone but God (Exodus 20:3). Yet Jesus receives worship repeatedly without rebuke.
The disciples worship him after the resurrection (Matthew 28:9).
Thomas confesses, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).
All creation worships the Lamb (Revelation 5:12–14).
If Jesus were not God, this would be idolatry. Instead, Scripture presents this worship as right and true.
The Gospel Depends on Jesus’ Divinity
A non-divine Jesus cannot accomplish the Gospel.
Why?
Only God can bear the full weight of sin.
Only God can overcome death.
Only God can reveal God perfectly.
Only God can bring the new creation.
Jesus brings redemption, not merely by teaching truth, but by being the truth (John 14:6). His divine identity is essential to understanding his role in healing the world’s brokenness.
Early Christian Confession of Jesus as God
Belief in Jesus’ divinity is not a late invention. It appears in early Christian worship, prayer, and confession.
Examples:
Early hymns exalt Jesus in divine terms (Philippians 2:6–11; Colossians 1:15–20).
Baptisms were performed in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).
Christians prayed to Jesus (Acts 7:59).
The earliest creeds call Jesus “Lord,” a divine title drawn from the Old Testament.
The early church believed Jesus was God not as a symbolic figure but as a reality present in worship.
Why You Should Believe Jesus Is God
The case for Jesus’ divinity emerges from the entire story of Scripture, not isolated verses.
Jesus fulfills the promises of God.
He is the Messiah who restores creation.
Jesus performs works only God can do.
He forgives sin, commands nature, raises the dead, and judges the nations.
Jesus embodies God’s presence.
He is “God with us” (Matthew 1:23).
Jesus receives glory and worship.
He is praised as God from the earliest moments of Christian faith.
Jesus unites humanity and divinity.
He alone can reconcile God and humanity through the cross.
Believing Jesus is God is not merely an intellectual conclusion—it is the heart of the Gospel. If Jesus is God, then his words carry absolute authority, his promises are certain, and his resurrection brings the hope of new creation.
Conclusion
Why believe that Jesus is God? Because the Bible reveals him as God’s Son, the one who embodies God’s nature, performs God’s works, speaks with God’s authority, and receives God’s worship. His divinity is woven into the biblical narrative, affirmed in early Christian confession, and essential to the Gospel’s power. Jesus is the promised one who defeats sin, restores creation, and reveals the Father. To believe in Jesus as God is to embrace the hope of the world and the center of God’s saving plan.
Bible verses about Jesus as God
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)
“My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28)
“In him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.” (Colossians 2:9)
“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (John 1:14)
“Before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:58)
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.” (Hebrews 1:8)
“Christ who is God over all, blessed forever.” (Romans 9:5)
“I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30)
“Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9)
“In him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28)
