The Deity of Jesus Christ

Jesus made some pretty outlandish claims about himself. After careful study of the Word of God, the logical conclusion we must make is Jesus is either who He said He was – God Almighty — or a liar or lunatic.

Let’s examine a few biblical claims about Jesus and some claims Jesus made about Himself.

The Incarnation. In a prophecy about Jesus being born of a virgin, Isaiah said, He would be called Emanuel (Isaiah 7:14). Matthew quotes Isaiah and defines Emanuel as meaning “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). His very name refers to his incarnation, God becoming man or the union of two natures. Jesus was very man and very God.

John begins his gospel with this, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1 KJV). He goes on to say, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father” (John 1:14 KJV). The Word was with God and the Word was God and was made flesh. The Word (Jesus prior to His incarnation) was already there in the beginning, he was with God and was in fact very God.

In a prophecy about where Jesus (the Messiah) was to be born, Micah declares, “But thou Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousand of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2 KJV). This verse declares that the baby that was to be born in Bethlehem, had as his origin, an everlasting past. This clearly means He had no beginning. This was said of God in Psalms 90:2 and 93:2, thus making the babe in the manger God Almighty.

Read also Philippians 2:5-11; 1 Timothy 3:16; Colossians 2:9; John 14:8-9; 20:19-29.

God as His Father (the Son of God). Whenever Jesus said God was his Father, He was claiming to be God. The Jews knew He was claiming deity. If He was claiming to be God, as the Jewish leaders recognized, then we must conclude He was either a lunatic, a liar or Lord.

The Jews were seeking to kill Jesus, as they so often were. John reports, “Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill Him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was His Father, making himself equal with God” ( John 5:18). The Jews knew he was claiming equality with God. This is why they sought to kill him.

Again Jesus said, “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30). You cannot stop here. The context is always imperative. John continues, “Then the Jews took up stones to stone Him. Jesus answered them. Many good works have I shown you from my father; for which of those do you stone me? The Jews answered Him, saying, For a good work we stone you not; but for blasphemy; because you being a man make yourself out to be God” (John 10:31-33). The penalty for blasphemy was stoning. The Jews knew, when Jesus claimed to have God as his Father, He was making himself out to be God.

Let’s look at one more verse dealing with Jesus as the Son. “But unto the Son He [the Father] saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom” (Hebrews 1:8 KJV). Here, the Father is talking to the Son and says, your throne O God. The Father is calling the Son God. Wow, you just can’t get much clearer than that.

The Resurrection Christ. We have seen how being the Son of God is defined through scripture as Jesus being very God. Paul begins his letter to the Romans by saying Jesus was “declared to be the Son of God with Power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:4 KJV).

The resurrection is an infallible proof that Jesus is indeed the Son of God and God Almighty (Acts 1:3 and 1 Corinthians 15:3-8). After seeing the resurrected Christ, doubting Thomas proclaimed to Jesus, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). Angels and created beings always rejected any worship given them. Jesus never rejected Thomas’ worship and declaration. Thus, Jesus was accepting the title Thomas awarded Him, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28).

Let’s clear up a common misconception of Jesus as the firstborn. The bible says, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation” (Colossians 1:15 NASB). Many conclude from this that Jesus was the first to be created and is therefore a created being. God created Jesus first and then used him to created all other things. This is an erroneous concept.

As we have already shown, Jesus is very God and had no beginning. His existence was from eternity past. Again the context is always of utmost importance. If you will go down just a few verses, you will see, “He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything” (Colossians 1:18 NASB).

This defines what the writer meant by firstborn in verse 15. We read, “He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead.” So we see that firstborn was referring to Jesus being the first to rise from the dead, never to die again. It is also a title of preeminence in scripture, “so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything”.

The Great “I AM.” Jesus was arguing with the Pharisees, as he so often did, and said, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad. So the Jews said to Him, You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham? Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am. Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple” (John 8:56-59 NASB).

Again, the penalty for blasphemy was stoning. They knew what Jesus was asserting. “Before Abraham was born, I am.” He was claiming to be the very same “I AM” God that spoke to Moses through the burning bush, the self existent one. “God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM; and He said, Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, I AM has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:14). Thus, Jesus was God Almighty.

The Almighty. Let’s look at one more of Jesus’ outlandish claims. In the Apostle John’s revelation of Jesus on the Isle of Patmos, Jesus claimed, “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8 NASB). “The Almighty” – You just don’t get clearer than that. We reported it, you decide. Is Jesus a liar, lunatic or LORD?

The clincher. If Jesus is Lord, what are we going to do with Him? The Bible says that on Judgment Day, “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow …….. and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Philippians 2:10-11 NKJV). We will either confess Him as our Lord now or on that day – which will it be?

You have the promise “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10 NKJV).

Jesus said, “Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32-33 NKJV).

Don’t wait. Make Jesus your Lord today. “Behold, now is THE ACCEPTABLE TIME, behold, now is THE DAY OF SALVATION” (2 Corinthians 6:2 NASB). He is standing at the door of your heart knocking even now, waiting for you to let him in as Lord of your life (Revelation 3:20). Will you invite Him into your life right now and make Him your Lord?

Prayer: Jesus, will you come into my heart and forgive me of my sins? I believe you died for my sins and rose from the dead according to the scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). I confess you as Lord of my life and pledge to do so to all I come in contact with. In Jesus’ name amen!

About Gary Linton

With over 35 years of church planting, teaching and ministry experience, Gary Linton's message to pastors, ministers and church leaders is never give up! If you have a question or problem you would like to discuss, send Pastor Linton a message here or follow Ministrymaker on Twitter.