Who is Jesus? Who is this man who has been written about more than any other man in history of men? The man who divided history, has divided nations, communities and even families. The man who is more than a man and more than an icon. Jesus is the only person in history qualified to reconcile humanity to God. What sets Him apart from all others is that He is God Himself.
Over the last two millennia, through the eyes of the world, the image of Christ has become cloaked, distant and blurred in a multitude of ideologies that reflect philosophical and cultural beliefs. In order to clear the fog and dismantle the misconceptions of human construct and the preconceived notions of who Jesus truly is, there is only one standard by which we must adhere. The Holy Bible.
A standard is non-negotiable and immovable. The infallibility of scripture is the standard against which the axioms of the Christian faith must be measured. The Bible is the ultimate authoritative source for the truth about Jesus. It is God’s word, and by His own admission, He cannot lie (Numbers 23:19; 1 Samuel 15:29; Hebrews 6:18).
The gospels are eyewitness accounts of the life, death, resurrection and teachings of Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:16 testifies to this fact. “For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.”
The Bible states that it is God that draws men to Himself (John 6:44). For this reason, He took it upon Himself to enter the world He created as a man that would live such a compelling life that anyone who believes in Jesus cannot but help be drawn to God. In John 14:6 Jesus declared, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Only Jesus can provide the path to the Father because only God can lead men to God.
There are many who view Jesus simply as a man, a good teacher, a prophet or even God’s Son but stop short of the reality of His divine identity. While there are an abundance of Bible passages confirming that Jesus is the one and only Son of God, one must not turn a blind eye the verses of scripture that attest that Jesus is indeed God as well.
The Gospel Of John
The gospel of John is loaded with testimony that Jesus and God are one and the same persona. John 1:1 reveals, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” It is no small coincidence that John chose to begin his gospel with the same language that marks the onset of the book of Genesis, including the plurality of the godhead.
John 1:14 takes the narrative a step further when John states, “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” It is noteworthy that in both verse one and fourteen, the Word is associated with the pronoun “He.” This is very intentional. John conveys that God is multifaceted and uniquely personal in the same way that Jesus articulates in Matthew 28:19.
If we examine John 1:18, we find further indication that the godhead is complex and plural but one. “No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.” As in verse fourteen, the One and Only is a direct reference to the One and Only Son that John speaks of in John 3:16. The multidimensional nature of God is evident in this proclamation.
Jesus’ disclosure in John 6:46 that, “No one has seen the Father except the One who is from God; only He has seen the Father.” underpins this concept. These passages allude to the declaration in Exodus 33:20, that no one can look upon God’s face and live.
In John 14:9, Jesus answers Philip with a profound revelation. “Don’t you know Me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” When you lay your eyes upon Jesus, you lay your eyes upon God. Matthew 1:23 introduces Jesus as Immanuel (which means God with us).
This is consistent with John 8:55-58, Where Jesus declares, “’Though you do not know Him, I know Him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know Him and keep His word. Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing My day; he saw it and was glad.’
‘You are not yet fifty years old,’ the Jews said to Him, ‘and you have seen Abraham!’ ‘I tell you the truth,’ Jesus answered, ‘before Abraham was born, I AM!’”
Paul Concurs Christ’s Divinity
The apostle Paul confirms Christ’s active role in the creation event by stating in Colossians 1:15-16, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things and in Him all things hold together.” Paul leaves no doubt that Jesus is our Creator.
In Romans 10:12-13, Paul quotes the prophet Joel (Joel 2:32). “the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him, for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” In Acts 2:21, on the day of Pentecost, Peter also cites the same verse, “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Joel referred to God as Lord, therefore, when Peter and Paul apply the very same citation to Jesus as Lord, they are confirming that Jesus is indeed God.
The prophet Isaiah wrote, “A voice of one calling: ‘In the desert prepare a way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.’” (Isaiah 40:3). Matthew’s gospel quotes this passage in reference to John the Baptist in Matthew 3:3. We find similar references in Mark 1:2-3, Luke 3:4, John 1:23, Luke 7:27 and Matthew 11:10. Contextually these verses explicitly refer to John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus which can only lead one to conclude that Jesus and God are one and the same.
Only One Savior
In Isaiah 43:11, the prophet writes, “I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from Me there is no savior.” Interestingly, in Acts 4:10-11, Peter proclaims, “Then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.
He is ‘the stone you builders rejected which has become the capstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Here again Jesus is unequivocally revealed as the Savior, the same Savior Isaiah says is God.
In this disclosure, Peter says that God raised Jesus from the dead. In John 2:19, Jesus tells the Jews, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days.” John qualifies this statement in verses 21-22 where he writes that Jesus was speaking about His body.
So if God raised Jesus and Jesus raised Himself, we must conclude that God is Jesus and Jesus is God. This conclusion aligns with all the scriptures. Titus 2:13 succinctly sums everything up in one profound statement. “while we wait for our blessed hope – the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people who are His very own, eager to do what is good.”
God reveals Himself through the pages of the Bible and in the person of Jesus Christ. Hebrews 13:8 says that, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today and forever.” These are the very same attributes of God (Malachi 3:6; Numbers 23:19; Psalm 102:25-27). Jesus is portrayed as being eternal, just as God is eternal.
The word of God will stand forever (Isaiah 40:8). Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away,” (Matthew 24:35). Throughout scripture there is conspicuous alignment between the Messiah and God, which explains why the Pharisees were so emphatically critical of Jesus. If Jesus never claimed to be God, He would never have been crucified (Mark 14:63-64; John 10:33).
The Bible asserts that Jesus is the Lord and God is the Lord, therefore, the Lord is the Lord! What shall we say then? Jesus Christ is both the Son of God and He is God. If the Almighty Creator of the universe is unable to do this, then He cannot be God!
