Jesus is God

So many people in modern times tend to deny the essential doctrine that Jesus is God (in essence, to deny this is to deny the Trinity, and vice versa). Since Jesus being or not being God is essential to the identity of God, idolatry is committed by whichever side is wrong. The New Testament teaches, however, that Jesus is God. Since the validity of the New Testament was established in the previous section (as a natural by-product of the validity of the life of Jesus), it is only fair to base our opinion of the divinity of Jesus on what the New Testament teaches.

Since John 1 is the best source for the divinity of Jesus, I will post the relevant verses here first.

"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. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made." – John 1:1-3 (King James Version)

So, then, let us begin with verse one. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." In this passage, the Word (Greek logos) is referring to Jesus. This is obvious and mostly undisputed. So, then, we are left with an obvious and definite statement: "the Word was God." How much plainer can it get? Do not ask me. This should be enough for everyone. Alas, it is not, so I must continue.

Next is verse three. If all things were made by Jesus, another verse comes to mind. Genesis 1:1 says, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." According to the Bible, God created the world. According to the Bible, Jesus created the world. Thus, Jesus must be God, or the Bible must be in contradiction. Considering how otherwise accurate Scripture has proven to be, the former makes the most sense. Now, then, since we have examined the evidence in John 1, let us look at the other evidence, verse by verse.

• "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. Equality with God is a special thing. There can only be one position of God. If Jesus was equal to God and not God, He would have the position of God, and thus there would be two Gods. Only if Jesus was equal to God because He was God could there be one God, as the Scripture teaches (Isaiah 45:5).
  
• "Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him." Matthew 2:2. Jesus was worshipped here and, later in life, accepted worship more. The First Commandment was "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:3). By accepting worship from Jews, He was telling other Jews that He was God.
  
• "And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God." John 20:28. Thomas recognized after the Resurrection that Jesus was God. It took sight of the living Jesus to convince him, but then he knew.
  
• "He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep." John 21:17. Peter realized that Jesus knows all things. Only God knows all things (Job 31:4).
  
• "For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." Colossians 2:9. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, testified that Jesus contained all divinity. He spent must time with the original disciples, and was well-educated. He knew that Jesus was God.
  
• "I and my Father are one." John 10:30. Many claim that Jesus only means one in purpose, in strong unity, or something else abstract. The simple explanation is usually best. Jesus was of the same nature and essence as the Father. They were both God.
  
• "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6. This prophecy is undoubtedly about Jesus, and no one denies that. Yet He is called the "mighty God." What other interpretation is there for that?
  
• "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep." John 10:11. Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd. This is on obvious reference to the well-known Psalms, such as Psalm 23.
  
• "Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am." John 5:58. Jesus identified Himself using the term "I am." This seems to be a direct reference to Exodus 3:14, which says, "And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." Thus, Jesus was claiming a name of God, which would have been well-known in Jewish culture at the time. Some argue, saying that the phrase "I am" could also be translated "I have been." Guess what? If it can be translated either way, then it likely would have carried the "I am" connotation to Jesus' listeners.
  
• "Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?" John 19:9. Here Jesus says, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father." This obviously means that He is God. It does not mean that He merely shows the attributes of the Father, "for the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse" (Romans 1:20a). If creation already shows us the attributes of God, what point would there be if that was all Jesus was? Again, the simplest explanation is usually best.
  
• "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you." John 14:16-18. In this verse, Jesus says that the Father will send down the Holy Spirit to them. The wording and connotations here show that this is the Spirit of God. However, Jesus also says that He will come down to them. Thus, He is identifying Himself with the Spirit of God, and, therefore, God Himself.
  

Unfortunately, it is not enough to provide the verses that show Jesus is God. I must also combat the verses that people claim show that Jesus cannot be God.

• "…for my Father is greater than I." end of John 14:28. Most people say the obvious here: "If the Father is greater than Him, how can He be God?" The answer is still simple. Jesus was both fully human and fully God. However, as a human, He had limitations based on His physical body. This includes strength, stamina, hunger, thirst, and even mental capacity. As a man, He was less than the Father. As God, He was equal to the Father.
  
• "And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed." Mark 1:35. One common argument is this: "If Jesus was God, why would He pray to God?" To answer this question, think about time. There is only one Time, but it has three distinctions: Past, Present, and Future. Say we added Present to human nature. Thus, Present, being a man, could be touched, heard, and seen. Since he is also Time, though, he could speak of the wonders of Time, even telling the future and the past by communicating with the distinctions of Future and Past. He is Time, but also man. Time is one, but has three distinctions.
  
• "And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God…" Matthew 19:17a. Many say that in this verse, Jesus is saying that there is none good but God and denying that He is good Himself, thus denying He is God. However, Jesus did not deny being good, but said, "Why callest thou me good?" Some might call this a denial, but in reality He appears to be rebuking the man who was speaking in calling Jesus good without believing He was God. After all, if only God is good, and the man did not believe that Jesus is God, he had no business calling Jesus good.
  
• "Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:" Colossians 1:15. People who deny the divinity of Christ say, "How can Jesus be God if God is eternal and Jesus is a firstborn?" Well, there may be other responses, but this is what I think. I believe the term "firstborn" here refers to Jesus being the first person to be raised into a glorified body. Jesus was resurrected and His body glorified before anyone else, for no one else will receive their resurrected bodies until Christ returns. Thus, Jesus was eternal, but the firstborn of God. Interestingly enough, the very next verse identifies Him as the Creator, who is God.