Many have denied the deity of Christ, but the truth is, Jesus was God before His incarnation, during His incarnation, and after His incarnation. He has always been and will always be God. This does not mean that the Father and the Son are the same person. The scriptures teach that the God of the scriptures consists of three distinct Beings—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
That the Father and the Son are not the same person is evident in John 1:1-2, where a clear distinction between them is made. John wrote, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.” The preposition “with” clearly indicates a difference between two persons and shows that the Word and God are two separate beings. They are both called God because they are divine, but they are distinct beings.
There are several ways to establish the deity of Christ in the Scriptures. Here are two of them.
- Jesus Claimed Equality with the Father
Every time Jesus referred to God as His Father, He was affirming His equality with the Father. If Jesus is the Son of God, He must be the same kind of being as the Father. I have a son named Jordan. When I tell you that Jordan is my son, you know immediately that he is a human being. I do not have to tell you that. All I have to tell you is that Jordan is my son, and the rest is obvious. Why? Because everyone knows that seed produces after its own kind, meaning that all my children have to be the same kind of being that I am. If I am human, all my children have to be human as well.
Is Jesus the Son of God? Yes, the bible clearly teaches this (John 5:17-18; John 10:22-33). Since such is the case, we have undeniable evidence that Jesus is divine.
- The Scriptures Refer to Jesus as God
Perhaps the best evidence we have for the deity of Christ is that He is called God in the scriptures. Paul told the elders of the church at Ephesus that God purchased the church with His own blood (Acts 20:28). Who was it that purchased the church? It was Jesus Christ. Every Bible student knows this. Thus, Paul referred to Jesus as God.
In 1 Timothy 3:15-16, Jesus is referred to as God three times. Paul refers to the house of God and the church of the living God in verse 15, then he tells us who he is speaking of in verse 16 when he says that God was manifested in the flesh. That Jesus is the One under consideration is seen by the description Paul gives in the rest of verse 16, once again proving the deity of Christ. When Jesus was here on earth, He was not an ordinary man like you and me. He never stopped being God when He was here on earth. He was God manifested in the flesh.
There is more. In Titus 2:13, we are told to look for “that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.” Again, every Bible student knows that we are waiting for the second coming of Christ, not the first coming of the Father. We are promised by the Spirit that Jesus will someday come again (Acts 1:9-11; Hebrews 9:28). So, when Paul, by inspiration, spoke of the glorious appearing of the great God, he was speaking of Christ.
Jesus is often referred to as God in the New Testament. Only those who disbelieve that the Bible is the inspired Word of God would deny the deity of Christ. One may claim to believe in the inspiration of the scriptures, but if he denies that Jesus is God, his words are empty. The deity of Christ is a doctrine that we must all believe if we want a home in heaven after a while.
As you wind down for the night, think about these things.