Post Author: Bill Pratt
A foundational issue for Christianity is the question of whether Jesus claimed to be God and whether his disciples understood him to be claiming he was God. This series of posts will examine the first question and we will follow this series with the question of the disciples.
Here are the topics we will cover:
- Jesus Claimed to Be Yahweh.
- Jesus Claimed to Be Equal with God.
- Jesus Claimed to Be Messiah-God.
- Jesus Claimed to Be God by Accepting Worship.
- Jesus Claimed to Have Equal Authority with God.
- Jesus Claimed to Be God by Requesting Prayer in His Name.
We will cover passages that expound upon each of the above claims and try to build a solid basis for the deity of Jesus.
Why is this topic important? Because it is a central teaching of Christianity, and if it is not true, then Christianity is false. But worse than that, the deity of Christ is one of the key elements of our salvation. If Jesus is not God, then we have no reconciliation with God. If a mere man died on the cross and was resurrected, then our sins are not forgiven and we will perish.
The gospel that the early church taught, in its simplest form, was the deity, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Without the deity of Jesus, there is no gospel.
I hope you’ll follow this series and be astounded at all the ways the NT claims Jesus is God. It should be eye-opening!