Does The Bible Call Jesus God?
Deuteronomy:
"For the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward," (Deuteronomy 10:17 KJV). God is the Lord of Lords according to Moses(the author of Deuteronomy). Who else is the Lord of Lords? "And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords," (Revelations 19:13-16 KJV). Who is the word of God? The word is Jesus. "And the Word was made 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," (John 1:14 KJV). Who is the only begotten of the Father? "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life," (John 3:16 KJV). The son is the one who is the begotten, and Jesus is the son(Matthew 14:33, Luke 8:28). Thus, Jesus is the Word of God. Thus, Jesus is the Lord of Lords who we saw is God.
Psalm:
In the book of Psalm, we see, "O give thanks unto the Lord(God); for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever," (Psalm 136:1-3 KJV). Who is the Lord? The God of gods, Lord of Lords. "These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful," (Revelations 17:14 KJV). The Lord of lords and King of kings is who? The lamb, and "The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world," (John 1:29 KJV). God is the Lord of Lords. The Lord of lords is the lamb, and Jesus is the lamb.
Isaiah:
"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel," (Isaiah 7:14). What man was born of a virgin? Jesus. Emmanuel means God with us as the verse says, so God was with them, this being Jesus.
"the Son of man...And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore," (Revelations 1:13-18). One must note the son of man is Jesus. Jesus is called the son of man several times, an example is Matthew 11:19. So Jesus calls himself the first and the last, who else claims this? Well, God does. "Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me" (Isaiah 44:6). So Jesus is claiming to be God, and John fell to his feet to him. If Jesus was a man or angel, would this not be blasphemy?
The Gospel of Matthew:
"But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet" (Matthew 11:9 KJV). In this verse, Jesus is called more than a prophet. Perhaps this doesn't instantly mean he is God, but it does, at the very least, point us in the right direction.
“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 KJV). Who is the king of the Jews? Mark 15:26, Matthew 27:37, Luke 23:38, & John 19:19 all call Jesus this. As we worship God, Jesus must be God.
"And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him," (Matthew 28:9 KJV). Once again, people are worshiping Jesus. You worship God, not a man.
The Gospel of John:
In the book of Psalm, we see, "O give thanks unto the Lord(God); for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever," (Psalm 136:1-3 KJV). Who is the Lord? The God of gods, Lord of Lords. "These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful," (Revelations 17:14 KJV). The Lord of lords and King of kings is who? The lamb, and "The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world," (John 1:29 KJV). God is the Lord of Lords. The Lord of lords is the lamb, and Jesus is the lamb.
"Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” (John 8:58). In this verse, Jesus is claiming to be before Abraham. How could he do this if he merely was a man or a prophet? This only leads to two possibilities, he is God or he is an angel or some other divine being. There definitely is a debate it doesn't prove he is God, but it does prove he was no ordinary man. Some people will take this verse a little further, believing that the phrase "I am" may actually be a divine statement. In the book of Exodus, God and Moses are speaking. When Moses asks what he is to call God, God says, "אֶֽהְיֶ֑ה אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר(E'heyeh aser' e'heyeh)," (Exodus 3:14). The Hebrew in this passage is hard to translate into a language such as English, but what is commonly translated as "I Am Who I Am." As we see in the verse in John, Jesus states, "I am," so he may have been referencing this passage. Some people have attempted to counter this idea by noting that Exodus was written in Hebrew while John was in Greek, so as the languages are different it may be incorrect. However, something being in a different language doesn't then mean it is incorrect. A phrase can keep its meaning, even if it is said in a different language, that is, as long as the context is known.
"I and the Father are one.” The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.” (John 10:30-33). The Jews claim Jesus committed blasphemy after saying he and the father is one. What is blasphemy? It is the act of offending or mocking God in short terms. Why would the Jews think he was blaspheming God's name if he wasn't claiming to be God incarnate?
"And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed" (John 20:28-29). Thomas directly calls Jesus his Lord and God, a pretty clear verse. Some have tried to refute this by claiming the word God has many different uses throughout the Bible. This is technically true, in a way at least. In the Hebrew language, the word Elohim (אֱלֹהִים) does not specifically refer to God, it can also mean a spiritual being. However, Θεός is a tad different. Not to say it cannot refer to a spiritual being, but it can only refer to something that is not God when it does not have a definite article. A definite article, for people who are not linguistics, is the word "the"(indefinite articles are like the word a/an). In this verse, the definite article "ὁ" is used, meaning it is referring to THE God, not just a spiritual being. A closer translation of this verse would be "The Lord of me and the God of me," instead of my Lord and My God. The Greek word used, "μου," meaning "of me."
The Epistle to The Romans:
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us," (Romans 5:8 KJV). Do I even have to say anything here..?
The Letter to The Philippians:
"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, 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. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:5-11). So Jesus who is God came down in the form of a servant[man]? Another very obvious one.
The Epistle to The Colossians:
"...and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily" (Colossians 2:8-9). Deity is the concept of being a God. So if all deity dwells in him, he must be God.
Titus:
"Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13). Once again Jesus is called someone's God and Savior.
The Epistle to The Hebrews:
"And, “In the beginning, Lord, you founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands" (Hebrews 1:10). This claim was directed towards Jesus. Now, who made the Earth and the Heavens? Hmm, I am not sure, Not like we have a book that speaks on this. *cough* Genesis *cough*.
2 Peter:
"Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1:1). Peter is calling Jesus his savior and God, it can't get much clearer than that.
Revelations:
"the Son of man...And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore" (Revelations 1:13-18). One must note the son of man is Jesus. Jesus is called the son of man several times, an example is Matthew 11:19. So Jesus calls himself the first and the last, who else claims this? Well, God does. "Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me," (Isaiah 44:6). So Jesus is claiming to be God, and John fell to his feet to him. If Jesus was a man or angel, would this not be blasphemy?
"For the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward," (Deuteronomy 10:17 KJV). God is the Lord of Lords according to Moses(the author of Deuteronomy). Who else is the Lord of Lords? "And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords," (Revelations 19:13-16 KJV). Who is the word of God? The word is Jesus. "And the Word was made 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," (John 1:14 KJV). Who is the only begotten of the Father? "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life," (John 3:16 KJV). The son is the one who is the begotten, and Jesus is the son(Matthew 14:33, Luke 8:28). Thus, Jesus is the Word of God. Thus, Jesus is the Lord of Lords who we saw is God.
In the book of Psalm, we see, "O give thanks unto the Lord(God); for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever," (Psalm 136:1-3 KJV). Who is the Lord? The God of gods, Lord of Lords. "These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful," (Revelations 17:14 KJV). The Lord of lords and King of kings is who? The lamb, and "The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world," (John 1:29 KJV). God is the Lord of Lords. The Lord of lords is the lamb, and Jesus is the lamb.
Works Cited:
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
