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Jesus Is God

Quick Look: This article presents the compelling case that Jesus is God, addressing arguments about His deity despite His never uttering the exact phrase, "I am God." We explore how Jesus, an ordinary-looking Jewish man from Nazareth, came to the conviction of His identity as God due to divine revelation through scriptures and faith. Pieces of evidence supporting His divine claims include the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies, His miracles witnessed by thousands, His acceptance of worship, and His resurrection witnessed by many. The transformation of countless lives over two millennia strengthens the belief in Jesus as God.

Jesus is God. Those three little words - 10 letters - can stir the deepest emotions of love or hatred. Some men curse those words; others have died for them. No one in the history of the world has been more controversial than Jesus Christ. Some people doubt that Jesus Himself claimed to be God because He never said the exact words, "I am God." They don't want to believe Jesus is God because then He has an absolute claim on their lives. Our prideful, independent nature rages against this idea. The question we must ask is not whether we want it to be true but whether it is true. So who is this Jesus? Did He claim to be God and, if so, how we we respond?

Before we examine whether Jesus was/is God, we will discuss how an ordinary-looking Jewish young man came to believe He was God in the flesh.

How Did Jesus Know He Was God?

Jesus lived and walked on this earth about 2,000 years ago. He grew up in the small town of Nazareth and learned the carpenter trade. There was nothing unusual in the way He looked or acted. Then, when He was about 30 years old, He announced He was God. He did not say it in those words, but His actions and teaching revealed what He believed. In 3 1/2 years, He forever changed the course of world history.

Jesus acted in the confidence that He was God. How did He know? Did He wake up one day and say to Himself, "I am God," or was He born with a complete knowledge of Who He was? His own brothers did not see anything out of the ordinary about Him [John 7:5]. The people of His community did not see anything special about Him and were greatly offended at His claim to be God [Luke 4:20-30]. How did He know?

As we will see in other articles, Jesus had to be a real man to be our Saviour. That means He could not have any advantage of a memory of being God. His human mind could not even grasp the depth of that knowledge. So, if Jesus is God, how did He know? What evidence did He have to bring Himself to that conclusion?

Somewhere in His youth, the Bible doesn't say when, Mary and/or Joseph would have explained to Him the details of His birth. They would have told Him about the words of the angel, the virgin birth, and the testimony of the shepherds and wise men. That would have gotten Him thinking, but after the events of His birth, nothing unusual happened. He lived an ordinary life.

As every Jewish boy did, Jesus would have studied the Old Testament, especially The Law [first five books]. When He was reading and studying the prophecies of the Messiah, the Holy Spirit would quicken His mind with the thought, "These are talking about Me." Slowly, the conviction would grow that He was the Messiah. It was something He had to take by faith. We know it was by faith because only faith can please God [Heb. 11:6], and the Father Himself testified that He was well-pleased with Jesus [Matt. 3:17].

Everything Jesus did during His ministry was based on his faith that He was the Son of God. He made the statements He made in faith. True faith is not flimsy; it is Rock-Solid. There was no doubt in His mind. The prophecies of the Messiah in the Old Testament were probably more for Jesus—to build and confirm His faith—than for us.

Jesus was convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that He was God, the promised Messiah. He was convinced by the Holy Spirit making the Scriptures alive to Him. In the same way, the Holy Spirit makes the Scriptures alive to us. The only difference is that Jesus did not have any stain of sin to hinder His relationship with the Father and the Spirit.

How Do We Know Jesus Is God?

First, we know Jesus is God because He fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies written hundreds of years before He was born. There are many prophecies of the Messiah, including an exact timeline of when He would begin His ministry. Jesus met every single one of them. There is no way an impostor could have faked or fulfilled every single prophecy. Many were outside human control and could only have been directed by God.

...the Messiah died for our sins, exactly as Scripture tells it; that he was buried; that he was raised from death on the third day, again exactly as Scripture says; that he presented himself alive to Peter, then to his closest followers, and later to more than five hundred of his followers all at the same time, most of them still around (although a few have since died); that he then spent time with James and the rest of those he commissioned to represent him; and that he finally presented himself alive to me. 1 Cor. 15:3-8, The Message

Second, we know Jesus is Who He said He is because of the miracles He did. Thousands of witnesses saw Him do miracles. Even His enemies did not deny the miracles, although they tried to discredit the source of His power. If there were any trickery the chief priests, Pharisees and others would have exposed Him with great delight.

Third, we know Jesus is God because He tells us He is. Jesus is the Truth. Some people try to downplay Jesus by saying He was just a great man - perhaps the greatest Person ever to live. I believe it was C. S. Lewis who exposed that nonsense. Read the things Jesus said. They were either true, and He is God, or He was a colossal liar or a madman. There is no way He was just a good Man - He is either God or He was an evil man.

If Jesus never directly claimed to be God, how do we know He claimed to be God?

Jesus taught that only God can be worshiped, and then He accepted worship.

And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Rejoice!” And they came up and took hold of His feet, and worshiped Him. Matt. 28:9, NASB

We can also watch the reaction of those who heard Him speak.

“Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins except God alone?” Mark 2:7, NASB

The Jews answered Him, “We are not stoning You for a good work, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.” John 10:33, NASB

Fourth, we know Jesus is God because of the resurrection. Jesus died, and God raised Him from the dead, showing that His redemptive work on the cross was successful. Over 500 people personally saw Jesus after the resurrection. We have four different and reliable accounts of it in the Gospels. There is more evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ than for almost any other event in ancient history.

Fifth, we know Jesus is God because of the testimony of millions of people from that time to today who say they personally know Jesus and that He has changed their lives. There is no other explanation for the millions of changed lives and the direction of world history other than that Jesus is God.

Jesus Is God
Frequently Asked Questions

Question: Do Christians Believe In Three Gods Or One God?

Answer: Christians believe only one God exists; however, He is three Persons. This is a divine mystery. To understand everything about God, we would have to be God. No illustration is completely accurate, but they help us grasp facts that are too hard for the human mind. Consider a family. One father, one mother, one child. Each is an individual person, yet there is only one family. The Father, the Son and the Spirit are three distinct Persons [not different "faces" of the same Person], yet their unity is so great that they are equal in every way but only are one God.

Question: What Are The Differences Between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit?

Answer: The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are co-eternal and co-equal in being and ability. They operate in perfect love and unity. In the relationship to their Plan of Salvation, the Father in love sends the Son to take the punishment of sin on behalf of those He has chosen, and the Son in love voluntarily submits to the Father and gives His life. The Holy Spirit, in love, voluntarily lives in and works through the lives of those the Father chose to implement the victory of Christ in the world.

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