Some claim the Bible never calls Jesus God—but that’s far from the truth. This blog walks through key Old and New Testament passages that reveal Jesus' divine nature, straight from Scripture.
"Jesus Isn’t Just the Son...
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How can a man born of a woman, claim to be the Son of God?
As a Christian you should expect unbelievers to ask you questions about your Christian faith. Their questions will attempt to challenge the foundation of your faith in God. Who is God? Who is Jesus? and how do we know that Jesus is not just another person with a prophetic gifting?
How do you as a Christian defend your faith? and where in the bible does it say that Jesus is God?
To answer this question, let us take a look at three main points that support the claim that Jesus is God.
Proof 1: Scripture confirms the Deity of Jesus.
There are a number of scriptures in the bible that help us recognise the reality of Jesus’s divinity. Colossians 1: 15 tells us that Jesus is the image of the invisible God ( Colossians 1: 15). Jesus embodied God and his identity is God ( 1 Timothy 3:16).
John chapter 1 reminds us of Jesus’s eternal nature.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” – John 1:1
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” – John 1:14
Billy Graham once said 'God has shown himself to us in three ways - as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each has a separate function - and yet they are all united as one God.
As you read the following scriptures I want you to allow the person of the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to the divinity of Jesus in the word of God. Let your faith be rooted and grounded in the truth of who He is.
“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.” – Colossians 2:9
“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.” – Hebrews 1:3
“I and the Father are one.” – John 10:30
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:4
Jesus is not just a prophet, neither is he just the son of Mary or a Rabbi to the Jews, Jesus is the only begotten Son of God ( John 3: 16).
Proof 2: The Authority of Jesus reveals his divinity
“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” – John 14:12
In John 3: 16, we see a connection between eternal life and Jesus. Jesus has the authority to give eternal life ( John 3: 16). John 17:3: states that eternal life is to know God and his son Jesus Christ whom he has sent. The authority of Jesus is rooted in his divine nature as the only begotten Son of God. Jesus is God in the flesh. Jesus was fully man and he is also fully God. (1 Timothy 3:16). In John 14:10, Jesus says ‘ …..The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.” All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus. There is no situation or circumstance that is beyond his control.
“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.'” – Matthew 28:18
In scripture we see Jesus using his authority and power to forgive sins ( Matthew 9: 1-8 and Matthew: 2-6). Only God has the authority to forgive humanity of their sins ( Matthew 6:14-15). It is upon this premise we believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
“But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” – Luke 5:24
“No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.” – John 10:18
The people of the land recognised that the authority Jesus demonstrated was not like that of the Scribes of his times. Jesus has complete authority over all things in heaven and on earth, this includes nature, sin, demons and sickness.
“For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.” – John 17:2
Proof 3: The resurrection of Jesus and his promised return confirms that he is divinity.
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” – Mark 10:45
The death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ presents to us a miraculous reality that reveals the deity of Jesus. Without the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, our faith, gospel and core foundational beliefs in Christ becomes meaningless ( 1 Corinthians 15:3-20). Jesus lived a sinless life. He sacrificed his earthly body for the sins of this world, in accordance with scripture. By the Holy Spirit of God Jesus arose from the dead three days after his death 1 Corinthians 15:4. Death had no power over Jesus because Jesus body was a body of divinity.
“The Father loves me because I give my life in order to take it back again. No one takes my life from me. I give my life of my own free will. I have the authority to give my life, and I have the authority to take my life back again. This is what my Father ordered me to do.” (John 10:17-18 God’s Word)
Jesus predicted his own death and fulfilled his prediction by coming back from the dead.
“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;'” – John 11:25
“But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” – Acts 2:24
“Who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.” – Romans 1:4
The bodily resurrection of Jesus assures us of the truth that Jesus is the Christ and that our sins are forgiven ( 1 Corinthians 15: 17).
For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15:21-22
A believer’s victory over death is found in the life of Christ. The word Christ comes from the Greek word “Christos,” which describes the divine Son of God, the ‘Anointed one’, and the “Messiah”. God sent, positioned and purposed Jesus to be the Deliverer of his people (2 Samuel 7:14; Psalm 2:7, John 3: 16).
“I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.” – Philippians 3:10
“Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done.” – Revelation 22:12
“That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” – Philippians 2:10-11
“Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.” – Matthew 24:30
“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.” – 1 Thessalonians 4:16
In summation, Jesus is God the Son.
Reflection Time: "Since Jesus truly is God—as the Scriptures reveal—how does that truth change the way you see Him, trust Him, and follow Him today?"
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