Summary Post: Is Jesus God?

Note: This post summarizes what is written in this entire section.

Evidence Jesus is God Evidence Jesus is not God

A.    The Characteristics of God, Yahweh, vs. Jesus

God (Yahweh): Spirit (John 4:24), immortal (1 Timothy 6:16), our spring of living water (John 7:37-39, Jeremiah 2:13, Jeremiah 17:13), self-sufficient (Acts 17:24-25, Revelation 4:11), omnipresent (Psalm 139:7-12), omniscient (1 John 3:20), invisible (1 Timothy 1:17), omnipotent (Jeremiah 32:17), not a man (Numbers 23:19, 1 Samuel 15:29, Hosea 11:9), does not have a God and is always the One worshipped, not the worshipper, does not change (Malachi 3:6), has always been perfect (Matthew 5:48), Creator of the world (Acts 17:24-25), cannot be tempted (James 1:13)

Jesus: a man, not a Spirit, became immortal (Romans 6:9) but was not always immortal, no verses state Jesus is our living water, dependent on God (John 5:30), only present in one place, not omniscient (Mark 13:32, he does not know when he is returning), visible, not omnipotent (could not do anything on his own, John 5:30), has a God and worships Him (John 17:3), changed, became perfect (Hebrews 5:8-9), part of God’s creation (Revelation 3:14), can be tempted (Matthew 4:1-11)

Yahweh, the God of the Old Testament, does not share 15 of His key characteristics with Jesus, and there are no Scriptures that indicate Jesus ever will. In fact, the Bible witnesses that when Jesus comes back, he will be the same (Hebrews 13:8). When Jesus returns, at a minimum: Jesus will be a man, not a Spirit, created not Creator, a human who became immortal but was not always immortal, fully dependent on God, not omnipresent, not omniscient, visible not invisible, not omnipotent, not being able to do anything apart from God, and still worship and pray to Yahweh, the God of the Old Testament, who Himself has no God. This strongly suggests Jesus is not Yahweh.

B.    History’s Witness

The Trinity and Jesus’ divinity as understood today was not decided on by the Church until the 4^th century in two famous councils, the Council of Nicaea (325 A.D.) and the Council of Constantinople (381 A.D.). History shows the doctrine of the Trinity and Jesus’ divinity developed over time and was debated about, sadly with violence in the 4^th century and onward, by Christians. History also shows that no Christian prior to those two councils believed exactly what the orthodox Church believes about the Trinity now as this theology developed and is not explicitly in the Bible. For example, 3 in 1, God the Son, and the Trinity are not in the Bible. The Bible is the only sure witness to knowing if Jesus is God or not, not the unruly and often violent councils of the 4^th and 5^th centuries that often did not exhibit the fruit of the Spirit of truth (See my history post for a more complete picture of this).

C.    God is Logical

God is logical, and humans have God-given logic. I think the Trinity doctrine and Jesus’ divinity defies God-given logic. I actually think that point A is enough to prove that Jesus is not God as he does not share, and the Bible never says he will, fifteen of God’s key characteristics. I think we have done mental gymnastics as a Church to try to prove Jesus is God when God’s Word shows he is a man, not God. When both God and Jesus say multiple times God is not a man but is Spirit, and Jesus is a man but is flesh, I think this is enough evidence that Jesus is not God – at least not God in the way God the Father is! “God” was a more flexible title in the Bible than it is now. But most people do not think point A is enough evidence, so I will not end here. I will say, though, I think that the hypostatic union, which says Christ has 2 natures, human and divine, united in one person without confusion, change, division or separation, is illogical. I think it defies God-given logic for Jesus to be both 100% God and 100% man. He simply does not possess 15 of God’s essential qualities (see point A), and there is not evidence he gave them up to come to earth nor that he will have them in the future. For example, no one can be omniscient and at the same time not know things, or be omnipotent, but at the same time be fully reliant on someone else for power.

D.    Biblical Evidence: Scripture in Context

1.     The Old Testament: All the Old Testament prophesies about the Messiah to come, Jesus, are prophecies about a man, not a God-man. This is how the Jews understood (and still understand, besides Jewish orthodox Christians) these prophecies (for example Genesis 3:15, Genesis 22:18, Genesis 49:10, 2 Samuel 7:12-13, Psalm 22:1, Psalm 110:1). Deuteronomy 18:15 even prophesies that Jesus will be a prophet like Moses, raised up by God. There are other ways to interpret and understand Isaiah 7:14, which prophesies Jesus’ name will be called “God with us”, and Isaiah 9:6, which calls Jesus “Mighty God”, then references to Jesus being God. As already mentioned, “God” has a more flexible usage in the Bible. Moses is called “God”, as is the Davidic king of Psalm 45. (Please see my Old Testament post for a more detailed explanation of all this). What cannot be explained away is that Jesus never had and never will have many of God’s key characteristics.

2.     The Synoptic Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke

a)     Jesus never claims to be God nor does anyone call him God. He worships, prays, and obeys God and teaches others to do the same.

b)     The only indication in these gospels that he may be God in these passages is that he is worshiped and forgives sin.

1) But the Greek word for “worship” (which means kneeling before someone) used for Jesus is also used in the New Testament to refer to “worship” (honoring of) Christians and human lords. Certainly, Jesus is worthy of the honor Christians receive in Revelation 3:9 and a human lord receives in one of his parables (Matthew 18:26). Worship of Jesus (kneeling before him) is not evidence for his deity unless Christians and human lords are also God Almighty. This word, “proskuneo” (worship, to bow before), is not a word only used for God, but also humans.

2) Regarding forgiving sin, Jesus was given the authority to do this by God, so he does not inherently have the power to forgive sin like God does (Mark 2:10, Matthew 28:18). Also, this cannot be evidence of deity as the disciples are given the power to forgive sin, and they are not God (John 20:21-23).

3.     John, 1 John, and Revelation (these books are lumped together as they are by the same author)

a)     Passages used to prove Jesus is God (see full arguments in my post on this):

1)     In John 1:1-14, the Word is not referring to Jesus being God, but the Holy Spirit, who created the world with the Father in Genesis 1 and is literally called the Word in the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit dwelt among humanity in the person of Jesus, who was filled with God’s Spirit.

2)     In John 1:18, the correct translation (according to multiple translations) is “only begotten Son”, not “only begotten God”. Many Trinitarians agree with this.

3)     In John 5:16-32, Jesus is described by the Jews as making himself equal with God as God is his Father. In response, Jesus immediately says that he can do nothing on his own, so he does not actually think he is equal with God.

4)     In John 8:58, Jesus says “before Abraham was born, I am!” Simply saying “I am” does not mean Jesus is quoting God’s name in Exodus. He is saying the “to be” form in Greek that is used by other people in John like the blind man, who uses the same phrase. Context proves Jesus is not saying he is God, as in verses 39-40 of the same chapter, Jesus says he is a “man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God”. Jesus does not think he is God and is making no claim at deity here. He is claiming to exist before Abraham, which I address in section 4 of my blog. Many humans existed before Abraham.

5)     In John 10:30, Jesus says “I and the Father are one.” This means one in purpose, not one in essence. The Greek word for one is “hen” which does not mean one in essence. Another Greek word for one, “heis”, means that, and is not used by John here. This word for “one” is also used to describe how Christians are to be one in John 17 – so this is not referring to one in essence.

6)     In John 10:33 the Jews accuse Jesus of blasphemy and claiming to be “God”, many translations read, but the correct translation is “god” given the original language and context. Jesus’ response proves this as he responds to their accusation by quoting a Psalm about lower case “g” gods, pointing out that it is not blasphemous for him to be God’s Son. The Jews never accuse Jesus of being Yahweh (God) and Jesus never claims to be Yahweh. He does claim to be God’s Son, as that is the reason in every account of the crucifixion that Jesus is condemned. Son of God is not a divine title. Others in the Old Testament were also called son of God, like David and Solomon, for example.

7)     In John 20:28, Thomas says to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!” Given the biblical context, as Thomas was already struggling to believe that seeing Jesus was like seeing the Father (see John 14), and the grammar, which points to Thomas talking to two different people, this is best understood as Thomas calling Jesus Lord and acknowledging seeing Jesus is like seeing God, who lives in Jesus, as Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Earlier in this chapter, Jesus said he had the same God as the disciples (John 20:17), so how could this mean Jesus thinks he is that same God? Thomas is acknowledging God lives in Jesus, not that Jesus is God.

8)     In Revelation 2:8, Jesus is called the first and the last, which is a title God receives too. This does not make him God. Jesus is God’s representative and King on earth, so having the same title is fitting. Having the same title does not make someone the same person. For example, “king of kings” is also given to a king in Ezra 7:12, but that king is not God, who has that title.

Evidence that Jesus is not God: Jesus is described throughout the book of John as a man who came from God who God is with (John 3:2, John 3:16, John 3:33-36, John 8:16, John 16:27). He leads people to worship the Father in spirit and in truth, who he himself worships. He never leads people to worship himself as God (John 4:21-24). Jesus says he cannot do anything on his own, but only what the Father does (John 5:19), who does Jesus’ works (John 14:10-11). Jesus is granted life by the Father, given authority to execute judgment by the Father, and cannot bear witness to himself alone – he needs God’s witness about him (John 5:16-32). Jesus’ teaching is not his own but God’s (John 7:16-17, John 8:28, John 8:40). Jesus is there on God’s authority, not his own (John 7:28-29). The Father is greater than Jesus (John 10:29, John 14:28, 1 Corinthians 3:23, 1 Corinthians 11:3). Jesus encourages his disciples to believe in God and also in him (John 14:1), distinguishing between the two. Jesus prays and calls the Father the only true God (John 17:3). Jesus died for claiming to be the son of God, not claiming to be God (John 19:6-8). Jesus has the same God as the disciples (John 20:17). Jesus has a God, but God does not have a God (Matthew 27:46, Revelation 3:12, Revelation 1:5-6, John 17:3, John 5:44-45). God knows everything, but Jesus does not as he does not know when he is coming back (1 John 3:20, Matthew 24:36). No one has ever seen God (1 John 4:12), but thousands have seen Jesus. The Lord God, God Almighty, is distinct from Jesus in the entire Bible, including Revelation, as Jesus calls God his God multiple times (Revelation 1:5-6, 8, Revelation 3:12). Jesus was created as he is the beginning of God’s creation (Revelation 3:14). Jesus and God are exalted for different reasons (Revelation 4-5), so praise of Jesus does not make him God, particularly as Christians will also receive praise (1 Peter 1:7).

4.     Acts

a)     There is 0 evidence in Acts that Jesus is God. He is consistently referred to as the Son of God and God’s Messiah, neither of which are divine titles. This is especially telling as Acts describes the early Church. 

b)     Evidence that Jesus is not God:

1)     In Acts 2, the first sermon, 3,000 are saved because of Peter’s explanation of the gospel, which includes 0 mention of Jesus as divine in any way – rather, he is described as the Messiah, the Son of God filled with God, who died on a cross for the sins of the world.

2)     Jesus is described as distinct from the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Creator of the world. He is the anointed, holy, fully human servant of this God, God’s Son, who God raised from the dead, exalted, appointed to judge, and is seated at the right hand of God (Acts 3:12-26, Acts 4:24-31, Acts 5:27-32, Acts 7:54-56, Acts 9:20, Acts 10:34-44, Acts 17:22-31, Acts 22:14-16, Acts 24:14).

5.     Remaining New Testament Books

a)     Passages used to prove Jesus is God (see full argument in my posts on this):

1)     Romans 9:5 says in some translations, “the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.” Other translations, agreed with by Trinitarians, read as though God is not Christ. Even if Paul used “God” as a title for Christ here, this does not mean Jesus is Yahweh, God of gods, God of the Old Testament. “God” has a more flexible meaning in the Bible and was a term used for Moses, for the Davidic king in Psalm 45 (which ultimately refers to Jesus as King of Kings), and for other spiritual beings besides God like Satan.

2)     Philippians 2:6-11 is used to prove that Jesus gave up his divine attributes, became human, and lived among us. This is not what the text says. He was in the form of God (he was born pure and sinless via the virgin birth, just as Adam and Eve were, and “form” refers to outward appearance in Greek), he did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped (not because he is equal with God as you cannot grasp for what you already possess, but because as a human he chose not to be like much of humanity, who live their lives as if they are God, but in humility made himself a servant to the point of dying on a cross), and therefore, God exalted him because of what he did, not because he is God. Finally, the text says all of this is ultimately for the glory of God. 

1)     Colossians 1:15-20 says that Jesus is the image of the invisible God. If he is the invisible God’s image, he is not God himself. A picture of something is not that thing. But, this passage says “by him [Jesus]” all things were created. Revelation 3:14, which was already quoted, states Jesus was part of creation, so is this a contradiction in the Bible?  “By” can be translated differently: for example, “because of” him all things were created… “through him and for him…And he is before all things, and with him all things hold together.” A different, but still valid translation, frames Jesus as the one who God lovingly created all things for, but not as the Creator himself. This syncs with other Scriptures, including verse 15 in this chapter as Jesus is God’s image, not God himself.

3)     Colossians 2:9-10 says that Jesus had the whole fulness of deity dwelling in him. This does not make him God. This is a promise for all believers! Verse 10 even says so, “…and you have been filled in him”.

4)     Titus 2:11-14 in some translations states, “the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” Other translations translate this without showing that Jesus is God. Even if Paul used “God” as a title for Christ here, this does not mean Jesus is Yahweh, God of gods, God of the Old Testament. “God” has a more flexible meaning in the Bible and was a term used for Moses, for the Davidic king in Psalm 45 (which ultimately refers to Jesus as King of Kings), and for other spiritual beings besides God like Satan.

5)     Hebrews 1:8-12 describes God the Father calling Jesus “God”, but in context God is quoting Psalm 45 about the Davidic king, who is called “God” in Psalms. So, this cannot mean Jesus is God as in “Yahweh”, but rather that he is God’s representative as King of kings on earth. In terms of the verses that talk about Jesus laying the foundations of the earth as Lord, quoting Psalms, in context this is referring to the new heaven and new earth, which Jesus in his life, death, and resurrection certainly laid the foundation for. Hebrews 2:5 states they are talking about this new heaven and new earth. Jesus did not create the old one.

6)     2 Peter 1:1-2 Same argument as point 4. 

b)     Evidence that Jesus is not God:

1)     There are no verses that Jesus had to be God to pay for our sin. Instead, his humanity is emphasized in describing the atonement (Romans 5:15-17).

2)     Christians are fellow heirs of God with Christ (Romans 8:17).

3)     Paul believes there is one God, the Father, and one Lord, Jesus, and the two are distinct. “Lord”, which is “kurios” in Greek, is not a divine title and is applied to other human lords in the New Testament besides Jesus (1 Corinthians 8:6).

4)     1 Corinthians 15:20-28 refers to Christ handing over the kingdom to God the Father and that all was put under Christ except for God Himself. Verse 28 says that Jesus will be made subject to God who put everything under him, so God will be all in all. At a minimum, this passage shows that Christ is in a subordinate role to God, in direct contradiction to the Trinity doctrine.

5)     1 Timothy 2:5 says there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. So, Jesus is distinct from the one God as the mediator between man and God and is not God himself.

6)     1 Timothy 6:16 says that God gives life to all things, he alone has immortality, and no one has ever seen God or can see God. If this is true, there is no way Jesus can be God, nor does Paul think he is God, as many people have seen, can see, and will see Jesus.

7)     Hebrews 2:17-18 says Jesus was made like his brothers in every respect. If this is true, he could not have been fully God, as this would mean he was not like his brothers in every respect.

8)     James 1:13 God cannot be tempted, but Jesus was tempted.

E.     Conclusion: Given the witness of logic and Scripture, Jesus is not God.

F.    Concluding Thoughts:

1.     Right Worship: Jesus is a massive (and unintentional) idol in the majority Church. Jesus said "God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). Jesus also counts himself as one of those worshipers in John 4:22. So, only God should be worshipped as God in prayer, song, and speech, though true praise to Jesus for who he is and what he has done is entirely appropriate. Prayers are to be offered to the Father in Jesus’ name, as the Bible says. God can supernaturally enable Jesus to speak to his people at times (Paul’s conversion, Paul’s thorn, John’s visions in Revelation), but the Greek words for prayer in the Bible are exclusively for God alone, not Jesus. Think of Jesus: if he is not God do you think he wants to be worshipped as God? He wants to worship God with us.

2.     God Values Love Over Knowledge: Having both love for God and others, which the Church currently has and is most important in God’s eyes, is good. Having love and correct theology concerning Jesus is best, because this theology helps us to love better. Right knowledge of Jesus, particularly that he is not God, would positively impact God, Jesus, the Church, and God’s kingdom. In particular, Muslims and Jews may be more open to the gospel message if they did not think they had to believe Jesus was God to be a Christian.