Does The New Testament Claim Jesus is God?

Introduction

Who was Jesus? This question has been asked by many through the years. Several decades ago it was common to call him a myth and claim he never actually existed. However, this has mostly fallen away as much historical and archeological evidence has made its way into the public view. In fact, Jesus is one of the best attested-to ancient historical figures. There are more than forty ancient sources that attest to the existence of Jesus. To put that into perspective, there are only nine sources that attest to Tiberius who was emperor of the Roman Empire at the time that Jesus lived.

The debate now centers around the true identity of the historical Jesus. Was he a crazy man, a good teacher, a prophet, or was he really God in human form? Many even assert that Jesus never claimed to be God and the claim to his divinity developed centuries after his death. But is this true? In this post we will explore the truth behind who Jesus claimed to be.

The Word

The best place to begin regarding the identity of Jesus is in the first chapter of the Gospel of John. John begins his Gospel with an unequivocal statement of who Jesus is that is reminiscent of the first verse of the Bible:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.”
John 1:1-3, CSB

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
John 1:14, CSB

John leaves no doubt. Jesus is God incarnate. He identifies Jesus as the one who was at the beginning creating the universe and all that is in it. He speaks of Him being both with God and being God simultaneously. 

Here he is referring to a part of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). The word “Trinity” is not in the Bible. However, it is a single word that describes the Biblical concept of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in one essence. 

The Trinity in the Old Testament

Since we now have the revelation of God through His Son, Jesus Christ, we can look in both testaments and see the Trinity.

“Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.”
Genesis 1:2, CSB

This tells us that the Holy Spirit was present and involved during the creation of the world. Verse 1 tells us that it was God who created and John 1:3 tells us all was created by the Word, which is God the Son. One God, three persons, one essence.

“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness.”
Genesis 1:26a, CSB

The plural “us” and “our” match the “majestic plural” form of the word for God, “Elohim”, in verse 1. We are not given enough evidence to know for certain that the writer of Genesis, Moses, had the Trinity in view here. However, it does seem to work in harmony with the progressive revelation that follows through the Old Testament, New Testament, and Incarnation of Christ.

“Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”
Deuteronomy 6:4, CSB

This is a clear statement that indicates that Christians do not worship multiple gods. Christianity is monotheistic in that we only believe in one God. One God, Three persons, one essence.

“For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 9:6, CSB

Isaiah 9:6 is a prophecy about the coming Messiah. This is one of the clearest Old Testament passages describing who the Messiah would be. And this description doesn’t sound like an ordinary man. This passage tells us directly that the Messiah will be “Mighty God”. Within this we have the Trinity:

• Wonderful Counselor = God the Holy Spirit (Jn. 14:16-18, Jn. 14:26)
• Eternal Father = God the Father (1 Cor. 8:6, 1 Jn. 3:1)
• Prince of Peace = God the Son (Eph. 2:14-16)
• Mighty God = “Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” (Deut. 6:4)
• One God, three persons, one essence.

The Trinity in the New Testament

The New Testament confirms the Trinity by holding that there is but one God while simultaneously giving God status to both Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. One God, three persons, one essence…The Trinity.

When Jesus asked His disciples who He was, Peter declared that He was the Messiah and the Son of God (Matt. 16:15-16). Jesus was taking on what it meant to be the Jewish Messiah in the full sense of the prophecy of Isaiah 9:6, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

Paul gives another one of the more clear and direct attestations to the divinity of Jesus in Philippians 2:5-8.

“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!”
Philippians 2:5-8, NIV

When Paul writes “being in very nature God” and “did not consider equality with God to be used to His own advantage”, he is referring to Jesus’ co-equality with God the Father as the second person of the Trinity. One God, three persons, one essence.

“Long ago God spoke to our ancestors by the prophets at different times and in different ways. In these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son. God has appointed him heir of all things and made the universe through him. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
Hebrews 1:1-3, CSB

The writer of Hebrews is describing what is called “progressive revelation”. So as time passes, God has revealed more of His plan of redemption in increasingly clearer ways. It started with the promises to Abraham, then the Law of Moses and prophecy, and finally through His Son, Jesus Christ.

“When the Counselor comes, the one I will send to you from the Father—The Spirit of Truth who proceeds from the Father—He will testify about me.”
John 15:26, CSB

Genesis 1:2 calls Him “The Spirit of God. However, John tells us that the Holy Spirit is not just some impersonal divine force. Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as “He” and calls Him the “Spirit of Truth”. Yet, Jesus also refers to Himself as the “Truth” in John 14:6. This places the Holy Spirit as co-equal and of the same essence as Jesus. One God, three persons, one essence.

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…”
Matthew 28:19a, CSB

Finally, we have one of Jesus’ clearest articulations of the Holy Trinity in Matthew 28:19. Jesus, a monotheistic first century Jew born under and fulfilling the Law of Moses, commanded baptism in three co-equal names, The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. One God, three persons, one essence.

Jesus Claimed to be God

Despite this Biblical evidence, it has become fashionable to assert that Jesus never actually claimed to be God. This is wholly and patently false. Jesus was a member of Israel, and He was born under the Covenant of Moses. Therefore, His surrounding context was in this first century culture. So, we must understand what He said and claimed in this context and not our own. (STR.org – Jesus’ unique claims about Himself)

Jesus Did Things and Claimed Authority That Only Belongs to God

First, when Jesus affirmed Peter’s claim that He was the Messiah, He was also accepting all that it meant to be the Messiah. We saw in Isaiah 9 that this meant He was “Mighty God”.

Next, Jesus did what only God can do. He healed the sick, raised the dead, and showed dominion over nature when he calmed the storm, turned water into wine, and walked on water. He multiplied the bread and fish to feed the multitudes which was reminiscent of God providing the manna from heaven to the Israelites in the wilderness in Exodus 16.  

Additionally, Jesus claimed authority that only belonged to God. For example, He claimed authority to forgive sins (Mark 2:1-12). In fact, He claimed “all authority” at the giving of the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18.

Next, in Matthew 14:33, Jesus received worship that, particularly in a Jewish context, is only to be given to God.

“When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those in the boat worshipped him and said, “Truly you are the Son of God.” Matthew 14:32-33, CSB

Jesus Verbally Claimed to be God

Jesus claimed verbally to be God. He claimed oneness with the Father:

“I and the Father are one.”
 John 10:30, CSB

““Lord,” said Philip, “show us the Father, and that’s enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been among you all this time and you do not know me, Philip? The one who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?...””
John 14:8-10a, CSB

Yahweh

He also claimed as His own the proper name of God while at the same time claiming to be preexistent to Abraham:

““Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad.” The Jews replied, “You aren’t fifty years old yet, and you’ve seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.” So they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden and went out of the temple.”
John 8:56-59, CSB

“God replies to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.”
Exodus 3:14, CSB

The Old Testament Greek translation (Septuagint) and the New Testament original Greek Manuscripts both render the “I Am” in Exodus 3:14 as “ego eimi”. The original Hebrew renders this as the proper name of God, Yahweh. In fact, it is Exodus 3:14 that is the origin of the most revered Hebrew name for God. So, this is who Jesus is claiming to be. He is not just claiming to be God, but he is claiming to be Yahweh God. This is the God of Israel: the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob (Exodus 3:15). It’s clear that the Jews understood Jesus to be saying this because they picked up stones to throw at Him. This was the punishment for blasphemy which is what He was ultimately charged with.

Son of Man

Finally, Jesus shied away from overtly calling Himself the Messiah and instead opted for “Son of Man”. This was a reference to His divinity. We find in the Gospels what many in the Academic world refer to as “The Messianic Secret”. Jesus frequently told people that He healed to tell no one. This was likely because it was not yet time for Him to be in the spotlight. It’s also likely that Jesus was avoiding the common first century misconception that the coming of the Messiah would be that of a conquering earthly king to liberate Israel from the Romans and set up an earthly kingdom. This is why during a resurrection appearance in Acts 1:6-8, the disciples asked Jesus if He was going to restore the kingdom to Israel at that time.

So, Jesus rarely claimed the title of Messiah in order to avoid the unfortunately loaded meaning that they had about what the Messiah would do. He instead used the term Son of Man. While it’s plausible that some of the crowds may have understood this, the Jewish leaders would have definitely known what Jesus was referring to. Ironically, this was not a title of humanity. It was a title of deity used in Daniel 7:

““In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory, and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.””
Daniel 7:13-14, NIV

The Biblical evidence is overwhelming. It’s clear that the post-resurrection Apostles, all monotheistic Jews, believed Jesus to be God. Jesus repeatedly claimed and affirmed His deity through both word and action. Christians do not worship just a man nor do we worship multiple Gods. We worship THE living God. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…One God, three persons, one essence.

Blessings