Tag Archives: deity of Jesus

Jesus as God, Jesus Christ, Theology

Did Jesus Claim to be God? Part 3

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Post Author: Bill Pratt 

There are at least six ways that Jesus claimed to be God.  The second way is that Jesus Claimed to Be Equal with God. Again, I will draw heavily from Norman Geisler’s Volume 2 of his Systematic Theology series.

Jesus claimed the prerogatives of God several times in the gospels.

He said to a paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven” (Mark 2:5ff.). The scribes correctly responded, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” So to prove that His claim was not an empty boast, He healed the man, offering direct proof that what He had said about forgiving sins was true also.

Jesus also claimed the prerogative to raise the dead and to judge the dead, things that only God could do, according to the Old Testament.
“I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live … and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned” (John 5:25, 29). He removed all doubt about His meaning when He added, “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it” (John 5:21). The Old Testament clearly teaches that only God is the Giver of life (1 Sam. 2:6; Deut. 32:39) and the one to raise the dead (Ps. 2:7) and the only Judge (Joel 3:12; Deut. 32:36). Jesus boldly assumed for Himself powers that only God has.
Jesus also claimed that he should be honored as God.
He said that all men should “honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him” (John 5:23). The Jews listening knew that no one should claim to be equal with God in this way, and again they wanted to kill Him (John 5:18).
We continue to build the case for the deity of Jesus.  We have four more lines of evidence to present, so please stick with us.
Jesus as God, Jesus Christ, Theology

Did Jesus Claim to be God? Part 2

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Post Author: Bill Pratt 

There are at least six ways that Jesus claimed to be God.  First, Jesus Claimed to Be Yahweh, or the God of the Old Testament.  I will draw heavily from Norman Geisler’s Volume 2 of his Systematic Theology series, so when you see quotes, that is where they are from.

So how did Jesus claim to be Yahweh?  First, let’s look at the background of the Old Testament usage of “Yahweh.”

Yahweh (YHWH) or Jehovah is the special name given by God for Himself in the Old Testament. It is the name revealed to Moses in Exodus 3:14, when God said, “I am who I am.” While other titles for God may be used of men (adonai [Lord] in Genesis 18:12) or false gods (elohim[gods] in Deuteronomy 6:14), Yahweh is only used to refer to the one true God. No other person or thing was to be worshiped or served (Ex. 20:5), and His name and glory were not to be given to another. Isaiah wrote, “Thus saith Jehovah … I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God” (Isa. 44:6 ASV), and, “I am Jehovah, that is my name; and my glory I will not give to another, neither my praise unto graven images” (42:8 ASV).

So, the name of God in the Old Testament was exclusive to him.  He did not share it with anyone else.  How, then, did Jesus refer to himself?

Jesus prayed, “And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began” (John 17:5—this is an obvious claim for Christ’s deity, for Jehovah of the Old Testament said, “My glory will I not give to another” [Isa. 42:8 NKJV]).

Jesus also declared, “I am the First and the Last” (Rev. 1:17)—precisely the words used by Jehovah in Isaiah 44:6.

He said, “I am the good shepherd,” (John 10:11), and the Old Testament said, “Jehovah is my shepherd” (Ps. 23:1 ASV).

Further, Jesus claimed to be the judge of all men (John 5:27ff.; Matt. 25:31ff.), and Joel quotes Jehovah as saying, “There I will sit to judge all the nations on every side” (Joel 3:12).

Likewise, Jesus spoke of Himself as the “bridegroom” (Matt. 25:1f.) while the Old Testament identifies Jehovah in this way (Isa. 62:5; Hosea 2:16).

While the psalmist declares, “Jehovah is my light” (Ps. 27:1 asv), Jesus said, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12).

Perhaps the strongest claim Jesus made to be Jehovah is in John 8:58, where He says, “Before Abraham was born, I am!” This statement claims not only existence before Abraham, but equality with the “I am” of Exodus 3:14. The Jews around Him clearly understood His meaning and picked up stones to kill Him for blaspheming (cf. John 10:31–33). The same claim is also made in Mark 14:62 and John 18:5–6.

Again and again and again, Jesus compared himself to Yahweh, the one and only God of Israel.  If we stopped here, this would be strong evidence that Jesus thought of himself as God, but we are only through the first of six sets of evidence.  Stay tuned for more!!

Jesus as God, Jesus Christ, Theology

Did Jesus Claim to be God? Part 1

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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:

  1. Jesus Claimed to Be Yahweh.
  2. Jesus Claimed to Be Equal with God.
  3. Jesus Claimed to Be Messiah-God.
  4. Jesus Claimed to Be God by Accepting Worship.
  5. Jesus Claimed to Have Equal Authority with God.
  6. 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!