Introduction

Of all the questions ever asked about the Christian faith, this is a key doctrine. The whole of a Christian’s life depends on the answer. Salvation is futile and our faith impotent, if Jesus was just another man. Read John 1:1-14 carefully. John was the last living witness who actually walked and talked with Jesus. Note these verses particularly: What the Gospel of John Declares

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

John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

 He wrote this Gospel with a purpose:

John 20:31 “..but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the [yachid = unique*] Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.”

In the mind of the Jewish John, He would understand that the Scripture is clear that Jesus was yachid, unique. It is therefore clear that the Scripture from John is confirming – Jesus was truly God in human form. John wrote through the Spirit, that Jesus was not only with God from the beginning, but was God. This is not John being prosaic, or using an allusion. He was making a profound theological declaration, of the doctrine, that Jesus was God. Jesus was, from eternity, God. He never ceased being God. He reigns now as God in one essence with the Father and Holy Spirit. This is what is called the hypostatic union - fully divine and fully human simultaneously. He was put simply the God Man.

Jesus' Own Words

Jesus could not be clearer in what He declared:

John 10:30 “I and the Father are one.”

This was clearly a declaration of His divinity. The outraged Jewish leaders of that time wanted to stone Him for the remark! To them it was blasphemy. On another occasion Jesus used the divine name "I AM" — this was what God revealed to Moses about Himself at the burning bush — for Jesus he had full entitlement to the name.

John 8:58 “Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

This brought about the same reaction – an attempt to stone Him. Jesus would use this phrase in other statements. (See John 10 for example)

What the Apostles Declared

Paul of all the Apostles was one of  the greatest educated Jews. He was trained in his Jewish theology to the extent of becoming a chief Pharisee – a Pharisee of Pharisees, he declared himself. There was no way Jesus could be, who He claimed to be – the God Man. So convinced was he about this that he sought to destroy the Way as the Jesus community was known (Acts 8:1-30). That was until he was confronted by the Lord Jesus! No longer could he deny that he had met a man who was dead and now stood in front of him on the Damascus road. That is why he would declare:

Colossians 2:9 “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;”

Do you note the words of Paul? ‘.. all the fullness of the Godhead..’ Paul was making a very important point that he had come to understand. In Jesus every aspect of God the Father dwelt in Jesus. His omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, holiness and perfect love. The writer of Hebrews, writing to a mainly Jewish community makes a very stark and clear argument about the divinity of Jesus:

Hebrews 1:5-8 “For to which of the angels did He ever say: "You are My Son, today I have begotten You"? And again: "I will be a Father to Him, and He shall be a Son to Me"? But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: "Let all the angels of God worship Him." And on the one hand he says to the angels, "He who makes His angels spirits and His ministers flames of fire." But to the Son He says: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your Kingdom.”

 A clear statement of the divinity of Jesus is there.

What the Prophets Foretold

 The writer of Hebrews had in mind the prophecy from Genesis:

 Genesis 49:10 “The scepter will not pass from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs will come. To him will be the obedience of the peoples.”

We can also turn to Isaiah who seven centuries before the birth of Jesus the Christ, declares;

Isaiah 9:6-7 “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, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. There is no end of the increase of His government and peace on the throne of David, and on His kingdom, to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice from now on, even forever. The zeal of Yahweh of Hosts will do this.”

 This was the pointer to the Son being born who was ‘the mighty God, the everlasting Father.’ The term Mighty God is El Gibbor in Hebrew. This was used by Isaiah and Jeremiah elsewhere, to refer to Yahweh. Turning to the prophet, Micah, who wrote:

Micah 5:2 “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands 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.”

 This declaration is pointing to the eternal nature of the promised one, who was to be the ruler of Israel and that rule would also be eternal.

Why This Matters

 This doctrine matters as it is the foundation of our faith. The deity of Jesus the Christ is not an add on to faith or an optional doctrine that can be taken or left. It is the central core of the entire Christian faith. This is why:

Only God can forgive sin. Many men had died on crosses. Not one of them could bear the sins of the whole world, not even their own and claim forgiveness. It was only the divine Son of God, taking on flesh and living and dying as a perfect man: the spotless Lamb of God – could bear those sins. He alone was able to pay the debt and bring righteousness to those who would believe on Him.

Only God is worthy of worship. From Genesis to Revelation all worship belongs to God alone. Every act of worship was for God alone. Any other worship to any other false god or object was condemned. However, we see Jesus receive worship from His followers and His disciples Many of those He healed, worshipped Him. The very angels of heaven worshipped and adored Him. Jesus never rebuked or stopped any of them from worshipping Him. Unlike Peter who highlighted the difference between worship of man and Jesus (Acts 10:26).

Who else but the divine Saviour can give eternal life. He declared

 "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live." (John 11:25)

There is no human being whether priest, prophet, teacher, man or angel can make that promise and bring it about. Only God can.

There will be objections

It is argued that Jesus never said or invited people to worship Him. It is true that He never made any statement to that effect. However, the entire witness of Scripture is overwhelming. Those who walked with Him, those He healed, those delivered from demons, did not need to be asked to worship Him. Their immediate response was to recognise His divine power and authority. Every thing He did, His actions, His acceptance of worship, His authority to forgive sins, His power over death — these all declare His deity beyond any reasonable doubt.

Some will try to point to Jesus saying, "the Father is greater than I" (John 14:28) and then say that even Jesus accepted He was not God. This is to misunderstand what Jesus had done. He had laid aside the divine privileges of being God to live as a man. In His humanity He accepted to be the obedient Son within the Triune Godhead — He was not denying His divine nature. Paul makes this clear:

Philippians 2:5-8 “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself [Laid aside His divine privileges], by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

The doctrine of the Triune Godhead teaches that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are distinct revelations of the Godhead who are co-equal in nature.

Conclusion

The whole question of the divinity of Jesus is not an abstract theological conundrum. It is deeply personal to every believer. The fact that Jesus is God, gives great weight to His invitation:

 Matthew 11:28 "Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest"

There is divine authority and power that underlines it. His invitation to come to Him for the forgiveness of sin, is to find life and peace. In these invitations Jesus is offering Himself. The very God in human form, the author of life, the forgiver of sin, the conqueror of death. It is to all who will receive Him by faith. It is underwritten by His divinity and that divine authority. This study is showing the testimony of Scripture, of prophecy, and even of Jesus Himself, along with those who walked with Him. There is a unanimous agreement: Jesus the Christ is Lord. He is fully and truly God. Let us give the doubting Thomas the last word:

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