Is Jesus God?

*This study guide is meant to accompany the audio CD of "The Trinity"

A chinese lion statue

He who denies the Father and the Son is antichrist. Everyone who denies the Son neither has the Father. The one confessing the Son also has the Father.  (1Jo 2:22-23)

The difficulty of the Trinity

To whom then will you compare God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him? (Isa 40:18)

(It’s important to know that the Bible does not explain the Trinity, but it declares the Trinity to be truth, so we should be ready to do the same.)

 

Jesus in creation

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form and empty. And darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light. And there was light.

(Gen 1:1-3)

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 nothing was made that was made. (Joh 1:1-3)

Jesus is “the Word”

For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one. (1Jo 5:7)

And He had been clothed in a garment dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. (Rev 19:13)

Jesus, the Spirit, and the Father are one and yet distinct

that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me. (Joh 17:21)

Therefore go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Mat 28:19)

Jesus is the Creator of all things

For all things were created by Him, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created through Him and for Him. (Col 1:16)

God, who at many times and in many ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds, (Heb 1:1-2)

 

God is spoken of in plural in the Old Testament

And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all the creepers creeping on the earth. (Gen 1:26)

Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they cannot understand one another's speech.

(Gen 11:7)

And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, Here am I; send me! (Isa 6:8)

Hear, O, Israel. Jehovah our God is one Jehovah.  (Deu 6:4)

-         “yachad” vs. “echad”

-         yachad = one in the strictest sense

-         echad (used here) = unity, a plurality of one-ness, a unit of more than one, to unify

 

Jesus as Savior

revealed His Word in its own times in a proclamation, with which I was entrusted by the command of God our Savior,) to Titus, a true child according to our common faith. Grace mercy and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior. (Tit 1:3-4)

For to you is born today, in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Luk 2:11)

Declare and bring near; yea, let them take counsel together. Who has declared this of old? Who has told it from then? Is it not I, Jehovah? And there is no other God besides Me; a just God and a Savior; there is none besides Me. (Isa 45:21)

 

The names of God declare that Jesus is God

“Lord of Lords”

For Jehovah your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, the mighty, and a terrible God, who does not respect persons nor take a bribe. (Deu 10:17)

And He has on His garment, and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

(Rev 19:16)

“1st and Last”

So says Jehovah, the King of Israel, and His redeemer Jehovah of Hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and besides Me there is no God. And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it and set it in order for Me, since I placed the people of old? And the things that are coming, and shall come, let them declare to them. Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you and made you hear since then? So you are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Yea, there is none. I have not known a Rock.  (Isa 44:6-8)

Behold, He comes with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, and those who pierced Him will see Him, and all the kindreds of the earth will wail because of Him. Even so, Amen. I am the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the Ending, says the Lord, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. (Rev 1:7-8)

saying, I am the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last. Also, What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamos, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea. (Rev 1:11)

And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying to me, Do not fear, I am the First and the Last, and the Living One, and I became dead, and behold, I am alive for ever and ever, Amen. And I have the keys of hell and of death. (Rev 1:17-18)

And He sitting on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said to me, Write, for these words are true and faithful. And He said to me, It is done. I am the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who thirsts I will give of the fountain of the Water of Life freely. (Rev 21:5-6)

And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to each according as his work is. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the Ending, the First and the Last. Blessed are they who do His commandments, that their authority will be over the Tree of Life, and they may enter in by the gates into the city.  I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify these things to you over the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright and Morning Star. (Rev 22:12-16)

“Mighty God”

For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be on His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isa 9:6)

“Immanuel” (“God With Us”)

So, the Lord Himself shall give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will conceive and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel. (Isa 7:14)

"Behold, the virgin shall conceive in her womb, and will bear a son. And they will call His name Immanuel," which being interpreted is, God with us. (Mat 1:23)

The Great “I AM”

And the Angel of Jehovah appeared to him in a flame of fire, out of the midst of a thorn bush. And he looked. And behold! The thorn bush burned with fire! And the thorn bush was not burned up. (Exo 3:2)

And He said, I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. (Exo 3:6)

And Moses said to God, Behold, when I come to the sons of Israel, and shall say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they shall say to me, What is His name? What shall I say to them? And God said to Moses, I AM THAT I AM. And He said, So you shall say to the sons of Israel, I AM has sent me to you. (Exo 3:13-14)

Therefore I said to you that you shall die in your sins, for if you do not believe that I AM, you shall die in your sins. (Joh 8:24)

Then Jesus said to them, When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you shall know that I AM, and that I do nothing of Myself, but as My Father has taught Me, I speak these things. (Joh 8:28)

Behold, the days come, says Jehovah, that I will raise to David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and act wisely, and shall do judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely. And this is His name by which He shall be called, JEHOVAH, OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

(Jer 23:5-6)

 

We are His Bride

For your Maker is your husband; Jehovah of Hosts is His name; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall He be called. (Isa 54:5)

This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. (Eph 5:32)

 

Many of the works of God are attributed to Jehovah and to Jesus

Jesus’ Resurrection

Jesus answered and said to them, Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. (Joh 2:19)

Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I might take it again. (Joh 10:17)

But if the Spirit of the One who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the One who raised up Christ from the dead shall also make your mortal bodies alive by His Spirit who dwells in you. Rom 8:11 

whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. (Act 2:24)

 

Many of the attributes of God are attributed to Jehovah and to Jesus

He is eternal

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting You are God. (Psa 90:2)

For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be on His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isa 9:6)

God’s glory is an attribute of Jesus

I am Jehovah; that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another. (Isa 42:8)

And now Father, glorify Me with Yourself with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

(Joh 17:5)

Jesus receives worship due only to God

And it shall be if you do at all forget Jehovah your God and walk after other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you today that you shall surely perish. (Deu 8:19)

For you shall worship no other god. For Jehovah, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God; (Exo 34:14)

And again, when He brings in the First-born into the world, He says, "And let all the angels of God worship Him." (Heb 1:6)

I saw in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. And dominion and glory was given Him, and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations and languages, should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. (Dan 7:13-14)

And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said to me, See, do not do it! I am your fellow servant, and of your brothers who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God, for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. (Rev 19:10)

And Thomas answered and said to Him, My Lord and my God! (Joh 20:28)

Every knee will bow to Jesus

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of heavenly ones, and of earthly ones, and of ones under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  (Phi 2:10-11)

Turn to Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself, the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. (Isa 45:22-23)

 

The 2nd Coming proves that Jesus is God

Behold, Jehovah has sent a message to the end of the earth, Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold, your salvation

comes. Behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. (Isa 62:11)

And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to each according as his work is.

(Rev 22:12)

And Jehovah shall go out and fight against those nations, like the day He fought in the day of battle. And His feet shall stand in that day on the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall divide from its middle, from the east and to the west, a very great valley. And half of the mountain shall move toward the north, and half of it toward the south. (Zec 14:3-4)

who also said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into the heaven? This same Jesus who is taken up from you into Heaven, will come in the way you have seen Him going into Heaven. Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, which is a sabbath day's journey from Jerusalem. (Act 1:11-12)

even from Jesus Christ the faithful Witness, the First-born from the dead and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and made us kings and priests to God and His Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, He comes with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, and those who pierced Him will see Him, and all the kindreds of the earth will wail because of Him. Even so, Amen. (Rev 1:5-7)

looking for the blessed hope, and the appearance of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ (Tit 2:13)

 

John the Baptist spoke of Jesus as God

He said, I am "the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord," as the prophet Isaiah said. (Joh 1:23)

The voice of him who cries in the wilderness, Prepare the way of Jehovah, make straight a highway in the desert for our God. (Isa 40:3)

 

Isaiah saw Jesus as God

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. (Isa 6:1)

Isaiah said these things when he saw His glory and spoke of Him. (Joh 12:41)

 

Other verses and passages on the Deity of Jesus

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among nations, believed on in the world, and received up into glory.

(1Ti 3:16)

whose are the fathers, and of whom is the Christ according to flesh, He being God over all, blessed forever. Amen. (Rom 9:5)

I and the Father are one! Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, I have shown you many good works from My Father; for which of these do you stone Me? The Jews answered Him, saying, We do not stone you for a good work, but for blasphemy, and because you, being a man, make yourself God. (Joh 10:30-33)

And we know that the Son of God has come, and He has given us an understanding so that we may know Him who is true. And we are in Him that is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and the everlasting life. (1Jo 5:20)

 

Jesus as “1stBorn”

For He has delivered us from the power of darkness and has translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son; in whom we have redemption through His blood, the remission of sins. who is the image of the invisible God, the First-born of all creation. For all things were created in Him, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.

(Col 1:13-17)

They shall come with weeping, and with prayers I will lead them. I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way; they shall not stumble in it, for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is My firstborn. (Jer 31:9)

And I will make him My first-born, higher than the kings of the earth.

(Psa 89:27)

 

Jesus stated that the entire Old Testament spoke of Him

For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed Me, for he wrote of Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how shall you believe My Words? (Joh 5:46-47)

You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life. And these are they which testify of Me (Joh 5:39)