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The Deity of
Jesus
Seven
Areas of Discovery
- Jesus Is Expressly Called God
- Old Testament Descriptions of God Are Applied to Him
- Possesses The Attributes of God
- The Works of God Are Credited to Him
- Jesus Receives Honor & Worship Due Only to God
- His Name is Associated With God on a Basis of Equality
- Equality With God is Expressly Claimed
Jesus is Expressly Called God
John 1:1
No article
(o) . . . “a” God.
Not only was
the Logos with God, he is God.
Revelation
19:13
John 1:14
God became a
man.
John 20:28
This is a
declaration, not an exclamation.
- Thomas has just recognized and been convinced of
Jesus’ deity. There is no reason for Thomas to break out into an irrelevant cry in
the presence of him whom he so dearly loved.
Romans 9:5
God is used in obvious reference to Christ.
Hebrews 1:8-10
Verse 10
applies an Old Testament attribute of Jehovah to Christ.
- Genesis 1:1
- Job 38:4-7
- Psalm 102:25
- Psalm 45:6-7
1 John 5:20
John’s
purpose in writing was to say WHO Christ is, not WHAT he is.
Who he is
would necessarily read, “This is true God,” without the article.
What he is
needs the article.
Isaiah 9:6
Old Testament Descriptions of God Are Applied to Him
Matthew 3:3
is a quote from
Isaiah
40:3 “Prepare ye the way of Jehovah.”
John 12:41
refers to:
Ephesians 4:7, 8
- “measure of the gift of Christ,” and “led
captivity captive” are applications to Christ of what is said of Jehovah in:
Psalm 68:18
Romans 10:9
Micah 5:2
God alone is from everlasting —yet Messiah is
said to be from everlasting himself. Since Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus must also be God.
Jesus Possesses The Attributes of God
Life
John 1:4
Jesus says that he is
THE life; the ZOE of God. He personally is the life of God, not merely a carrier of it.
John 14:6
Self-Existence
John 5:26
- So hath he (o{utwj)—he, in
this way, gave
Hebrews 7:16
Immutability
Malachi 3:6
Here we see
the immutability of God. God never changes. To those who would argue from Genesis
18:16-33, saying that Abraham changed God’s mind we will respond thus:
Abraham changed neither the mind nor the will of God in
his discourse with God in Genesis 18. We see that God is swift to show mercy and even
seeks a reason to exhibit that mercy (for the sake of the righteous). God was showing
favor to Abraham, and this particular favor is manifest in this, that God did not stop
granting until Abraham stopped asking!
Why did Abraham stop asking when he had prevailed with God to such a great extent? I can
think of three reasons:
1. Because
Abraham, himself, believed that for fewer than ten righteous the cities deserved to be
destroyed.
2. Because
Abraham did not have the faith to ask further. He had brought the terms as low as he could
for shame (having prevailed for mercy if there were but ten righteous ones in five
cities).
3. Because
God restrained his spirit from asking any further.
When God has
determined the ruin of a place, he forbids it to be prayed for.
(Jeremiah
7:16; 11:14; 14:11; 15:1).
- Hebrews 1:12
- Hebrews 13:8
- James 1:17
Truth
John 14:6
Revelation
3:7
Love
1 John 3:16
Amazingly we
find here that it was none other than God himself who laid down his life for us. Yet we
plainly see that Jesus surrendered his life. Now we must face facts as scripture presents
them to us —Jesus Christ IS God.
Personal
love like personal truth.
Holiness
Luke 1:35
John 6:69
John 17:5
- Jesus prays for the Father to glorify him as before. Not
simply glorify him, but, “...glorify me WITH THINE OWN SELF.”
God, as Jesus, was
manifested in the flesh, not in his glory. He had masked his glory for a time, as a pledge
that he would go through with this undertaking.
In his
prayer, “Glorify thou me,” Jesus prays that even his human nature be advanced to
the highest honor it was capable of, and that the glory of the Godhead might now be
manifested in the person of the Mediator, Emmanuel, God-man.
Finally, an
absolute equality is declared. “I have glorified thee...now, O Father, glorify thou
me...” Since Jesus had glorified the Father in himself, he declares that reciprocity is now in order and the Father should glorify him
with HIS (the Father’s) own self.
Eternity
John 1:1
John 17:4, 5,
24
Ephesians 1:4
John 8:58
John 1:15
John 6:62
Isaiah 9:6, 7
Omnipresence
Matthew 28:20
John 3:13
Omniscience
Matthew 9:4
John 2:24, 25
Colossians
2:3
Acts 1:24
Omnipotence
Matthew 27:18
Revelation
1:8
The Works of God Are Credited to Him
Creation
John 1:3
1 Corinthians
8:6
Colossians
1:16
Hebrews 1:10
Hebrews 3:3,
4
Upholding
Colossians
1:17
Hebrews 1:3
Salvation
Acts 4:10-12
Romans 10:9,
10, 13
Joel 2:32
Psalm 50:15
Luke 1:47
Hosea 1:7
Isaiah 43:11
This verse
concerning salvation is my particular favorite. God flatly declares that besides him there
is NO savior. Yet Jesus is the savior of the world. (See 2 Peter 3:18)
Acts 7:59
Stephen was not
calling upon God on the one hand and calling upon Jesus on the other. Stephen was calling
upon Jesus as God.
Ecclesiastes
12:7
Stephen asked
Jesus to receive his spirit, yet the spirit returns to God who gave it.
2 Peter 3:18
Acts 20:28
Revelation
1:5
Raising The Dead
Galatians 1:1
John 2:19
Judging The
World
John 5:27-29
Matthew 25:31, 32
Giving Rewards
Isaiah 40:10
Revelation
22:7, 12
Jesus Receives Honor & Worship Due Only to God
John 5:23
Romans
10:9,13
Philippians 2:10,11
Revelation
5:12-14
Hebrews 1:6
- Matthew 28:16, 17
- Mark 5:6
- Luke 4:8
- Revelation 22:8, 9
His Name is Associated With God on a Basis of Equality
Baptism
Matthew 28:19
Acts 2:38
Romans 6:3
Position
John 5:23
John 14:1
John 17:3
Matthew 11:27
2 Thessalonians 2:16, 17
Two names
with a verb (comfort) in the singular indicate the oneness of the Father and the Son.
Ephesians 5:5
Colossians
3:1
Revelation
20:6
Revelation
22:3
1
Thessalonians 3:11
Alpha/Omega First/Last
Isaiah 44:6
Isaiah 48:12
Revelation
1:8, 11, 17, 18 cf. v. 8
Revelation
22:7, 12, 13
Revelation
22:16
Revelation
1:1
Revelation
22:6
Revelation
22:20
Equality With God is Expressly Claimed
John 5:18
Philippians
2:6
John 10:30,
33
In what way
are they one?
Hebrews 1:3
Colossians
2:9
Colossians
1:15; 19
- The word “image” suggests the perfect equality
with God which the title “Son” might at first seem to deny.
The living image of God, which is equal
to himself, and is the object of his infinite love, can be nothing less than personal.
Just as a
bachelor can never satisfy his longing for companionship by lining his room with mirrors
which give only a lifeless reflection of himself, so God requires for his love a personal
as well as an infinite object.
John 16:15
All things means all
things, excluding nothing. If we exclude one thing then all is made void. The Father has
Deity. All things, says Jesus, that the Father has are mine. That includes Deity. Jesus
further states that he will take of his (Deity) and show it to you. And, indeed, Jesus
does show himself to us as God Almighty..
John 17:10
They are one
in substance and one in nature.
The Holy Spirit is the instrument of internal revelation; Christ is the instrument of external revelation.
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