Is Jesus God?

[Christ Pantocrator] copyright 1996 Thomas Scharbach.
All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Since there is no formal 2x2 Confession of Faith containing statements on particular doctrinal positions, there are are conflicting reports on the subject of the divinity of Jesus. Most of the ex-2x2 members I know feel that the workers have not definitively addressed this issue; therefore, there are some who believe that Jesus is indeed God, the 2nd Person of the Holy Trinity, whereas others apparently say that he was merely a "way-shower". It is reassuring to read on the Friends of Truth web page, as well as Nate Barker's site, that the divinity of Christ is accepted. Below is a brief examination of the biblical support for Jesus as God.

Why Does it Matter?

It is essential to have a fundamental understanding of God's plan for us and our relationship with Him. Jesus "bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness" (1 Peter 2:24). In doing so, Jesus became a propitiation, or sacrificial offering for us, so that in being appeased for our sins, God opens up an avenue of grace that can enable us to repent of our sins and reconcile with Him. Now, God doesn't accept sacrifice from just anybody, nor is God placed in the position of "owing" salvation to us because of it. Only Jesus Christ could have been this sacrifice, for only Jesus Christ was worthy enough - Jesus wasn't just some "really swell guy", or even a "sinless mere human", because any mere human, no matter how righteous he may be, is never equal to God. Why is this important? Because since God is infinite in dignity, an offense against Him requires infinite punishment or infinite atonement. God in His infinitely wonderful love and mercy, became one of us in Jesus Christ and innocently suffered for all of us. Jesus was the only one able to infinitely atone for our infinite transgressions against an infinitely holy God (2 Cor 5:21)

Jesus is the Visible Image of God

John 12:44-45 "Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in the one who sent me, and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me."

John 14:7,9 "If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him...whoever has seen me has seen the Father

2 Corinthians 4:4 "... in whose minds of the unbelievers, so that they may not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God"

Colossians 1:15 "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all Creation"

Hebrews 1:3 "who is the refulgence of his glory, the very imprint of his being"

Jesus and God the Father are of the Same Essence

Matthew 10:40 "Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the One who sent me."

John 15:23 "Whoever hates me also hates my Father."

Mark 9:37 "Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me."

John 5:17 "My Father is at work until now, so I am at work"

John 8:28 "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM *, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father has taught me."

John 8:58 "Amen, Amen, before Abraham was I AM * "

* = the term I AM, is an expression that late Jewish tradition understood as Yahweh's own self-designation (Is 43:10), so Jesus is placed on the exact same level as Yahweh (God).

The Father Calls Jesus God

Hebrews 1:8 "but of the Son: Your throne, O God, stands forever and ever..."

Jesus Taught With His Own Authority

Matthew 5:18 "Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a leter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place." (cf. Mt 5:20, 22, 26, 28, 32, 34)

Matthew 23:39 "I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord' "

Matthew 7:21 "Not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord', will enter the kingdom of heaven...."

Revelation 1:17 "Do not be afraid, I am the first and the last, the one who lives. Once I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever. I hold the keys to death and the netherworld."

Jesus As Creator

John 1:2-3 "He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be."

Jesus (like the Father) is Judge

Psalm 110:1-6 "The Lord says to you, my lord: 'Take your throne at my right hand, while I make your enemies your footstool.' The scepter of your sovereign might the Lord will extend from Zion. The Lord says, 'Rule over your enemies. Yours is princely power from the day of your birth. In holy splendor before the daystar, like the dew I begot you.' The Lord has sworn and will not waver; like Melchizedek, you are a priest forever. At your right hand is the Lord, who crushes kings on the day of wrath, who, robed in splendor, judges nations..."

Isaiah 11:4 "But he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land's afflicted..."

Does Jesus' Prayer to the Father mean He is not God?

No. It must be remembered that the doctrine of the Trinity teaches that there is one God, consisting of 3 separate, but co-equal Persons. On the Cross, Jesus cried out "My God, my God, why have your forsaken me?" Since Jesus and God the Father are indeed separate, but co-equal Persons, this passage is not a refutation of Christ's divinity. In those days it was customary to recite the first line of a Psalm in order to remind people of the entire Psalm - in this case Jesus was reminding onlookers of Psalm 22:

Jesus Identified as God in Scripture

Hebrews 1:8 "but of the Son: 'Your throne, O God, stands forever and ever' "

Romans 9:5 "...theirs the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, is the Messiah. God who is over all be blessed forever. Amen"

2 Peter 1:1 "... to those who have received a faith of equal value to ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. "

John 10:30 "The Father and I are one."

John 20:28 "Thomas answered and said to him, 'My Lord and my God!' "

Jesus Is Worshipped as God

Matthew 2:2 "... behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 'Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage' "

Matthew 2:11 "... and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh."

John 5:23 "That all {men} should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father."

Matthew 8:2 "And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, . . ."

Matthew 9:18 " . . . there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, . . ."

Matthew 14:33 "Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God."

Matthew 15:25 "Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. "

Matthew 20:20 "Then came to him the mother of Zebedee's children with her sons, worshipping {him}, . . ."

Matthew 28:9 " . . . And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him."

Matthew 28:17 "And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted."

Mark 5:6 " . . . he ran and worshipped him."

Luke 24:52 "And they worshipped him, . . . "

John 9:38 "And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him."

Jesus Existed Before the World

Colossians 1:17-19 "He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness was please to dwell."

John 8:58 "Jesus said unto them, 'Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.' "

Revelation 1:17-18 "Fear not; I am the first and the last: I {am} he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death."

Revelation 22:13 "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last."

John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever."

1 John 1:1 "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;"

John 6:62 "{What} and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?"

John 8:23 "And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world."

John 17:5 "And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was."
John 17:24 "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world."{cf. Jn 5:30,36-38, 6:38,46,50,57-58, 7:18, 8:18,26}

Ephesians 4:10 "He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things."

1 Peter 1:20 "Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,"

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