The Complete Bible Answer Book: 5 Day Devotionalنموونە

Does the Bible claim Jesus is God?

Many biblical texts can be used to demonstrate that Jesus is God. Three, however, stand out above the rest. Not only are they clear and convincing, but their “addresses” are easy to remember as well—John 1, Colossians 1, and Hebrews 1.

First, is John 1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (v. 1). Here we see that Jesus not only was in existence before the world began, but He is differentiated from the Father and explicitly called “God,” indicating that He shares the same nature as His Father.

Furthermore, Colossians 1 informs us that “all things were created by [Jesus]” (v. 16); He is “before all things” (v. 17); and “God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him” (v. 19). Only deity has the prerogative of creation, preexists all things, and personifies the full essence and nature of God.

Finally, Hebrews 1 overtly tells us that—according to God the Father Himself—Jesus is God: “About the Son he [the Father] says, ‘Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever’” (v. 8). Not only is the entirety of Hebrews 1 devoted to demonstrating the absolute deity of Jesus, but in verses 10–12 the inspired writer quoted a passage from Psalm 102 referring to Yahweh and directly applied it to Christ. In doing so, the Scripture specifically declared Jesus ontologically equal with Israel’s God.

Many similar texts could be added to this list. For example, in Revelation 1, the Lord God says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty” (v. 8). In the last chapter of Revelation, Jesus applied these same words—Alpha and Omega—to Himself! Additionally, in 2 Peter 1, Jesus is referred to as “our God and Savior Jesus Christ” (v. 1). In these passages and a host of others, the Bible explicitly claims that Jesus is God.

For further study, see Hank Hanegraaff, Resurrection (Nashville: Word Publishing, 2000).

Prayer

Father, I believe Jesus is God incarnate and that He is the source of my salvation. Thank You for being my Savior. Amen.