It is sometimes alleged that the Bible doesn’t really claim that Jesus is God. This is a list of passages that establish the doctrine. This list isn’t written to persuade nonbelievers that Jesus is in fact God, but to persuade everyone that the Bible indeed claims that He is.
Passages That Explicitly Assert Jesus’ Divinity
- In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God. (John 1:1, NIV) - No one has ever seen God. But his only Son, who is himself God,
is near to the Father’s heart; he has told us about him. (John 1:18, NLT) - Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your
hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said
to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have
seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have
believed.” (John 20:27-29, NIV) - Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has
made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought
with his own blood. (Acts 20:28, NIV) - Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of
Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen. (Romans
9:5, NIV) - …we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great
God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us
from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own,
eager to do what is good. (Titus 2:13-14, NIV) - …to those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus
Christ have received a faith as precious as ours… (2 Peter 1:1, NIV)
Passages That Implicitly Assume Jesus’ Divinity
Old Testament Passages That Describe Yahweh Are Applied to Jesus
- Psalm 102:25-27 is applied to Jesus in Hebrews 1:10-12 (it’s actually a
quotation of Psalm 101:27-28 in the Septuagint translation) - Joel 2:32 is applied to Jesus in Romans 10:13 [cf. Acts 2:21]
- Isaiah 40:3 is applied to Jesus in Matthew 3:3
- Psalm 68:18 is applied to Jesus in Ephesians 4:8
- Isaiah 44:6 is applied to Jesus in Revelation 1:17
- Ezekiel 43:2 and Daniel 10:5-6 are alluded to in Revelation 1:13-16 (these
passages describe what Yahweh and Jesus look like in visions). - Isaiah 45:23 is applied to Jesus in Philippians 2:10-11
Jesus Is Described As Though He Were God
- In relation to the universe
- Creator (John 1:3; Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:2)
- Sustainer (1 Corinthians 8:6; Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3)
- Author of Life (John 1:4; Acts 3:15)
- Ruler (Matthew 28:18; Romans 14:9; Revelation 1:5)
- In relation to humans
- Recipient of Praise (Matthew 21:15-16; Ephesians 5:19; 1 Timothy 1:12; Revelation 5:8-14)
- Recipient of Prayer (Acts 1:24; Acts 7:59-60; Acts 9:10-17; Acts 9:21; Acts 22:16-19; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 1 Corinthians 16:22; 1 Corinthians 12:8)
- Object of Saving Faith (John 14:1; Acts 10:43; Acts 16:31; Romans 10:8-13)
- Object of Worship (Matthew 14:33; Matthew 28:9; Matthew 28:17; John 5:23; John 20:28; Philippians 2:10-11; Hebrews 1:6; Revelation 5:8-12)
- Joint Source of Blessing (1 Corinthians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 1:2; Galatians 1:3; 1 Thessalonians 3:11; 2 Thessalonians 2:16)
- Object of Doxologies (2 Timothy 4:18; 2 Peter 3:18; Revelation 1:5b-6; Revelation 5:13)
- In relation to His Father
- Jesus possesses divine attributes (John 10:30; John 21:17; Ephesians 4:10; Colossians 1:19; Colossians 2:9)
- Jesus is eternally existent (John 1:1; John 8:58; John 12:41; John 17:5; 1 Corinthians 10:4; Philippians 2:6; Hebrews 11:26; Hebrews 13:8; Jude 5)
- Jesus is equal in dignity to the Father (Matthew 28:19; John 5:23; 2
Corinthians 13:14; Revelation 22:13 cf. Revelation 21:6) - Jesus perfectly represents the Father (John 14:9; Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:1-3)
- Jesus is truth (John 1:9; John 1:14; John 6:32; John 14:6; Revelation 3:7; Revelation 3:14)
- Jesus is a joint possessor
- Of the Kingdom of God (Ephesians 5:5; Revelation 11:15)
- Of churches (Romans 16:16)
- Of the Spirit (Romans 8:9; Philippians 1:19)
- Of the temple (Revelation 21:22)
- Of the Divine Name (Matthew 28:19 cf. Revelation 14:1)
- Of the throne (Revelation 22:1-3)
- Of the angels (Matthew 13:41)
The Best Summary Passage: Philippians 2
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death–
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
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, NIV)
Extrabiblical Confirmation
I don’t guess this really matters, since this is about whether the Bible teaches that Jesus is God or not, but I personally find it extremely interesting.
Pliny the Younger (a Roman governor) wrote a letter to the Emperor Trajan shortly
after 100 A.D., and in the letter he mentions the practices of the early Christian
Church: they were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing
responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god, and to bind themselves by oath, not
to some crime, but not to commit fraud, theft, or adultery, not falsify their
trust, nor to refuse to return a trust when called upon to do so. When this
was over, it was their custom to depart and to assemble again to partake of
food–but ordinary and innocent food. (Pliny,
Letters 10.96)
This is very early extrabiblical documentation that the early Christians worshiped Jesus as God. In other words, this is independent testimony that the Christian belief in the deity of Christ was one of the earliest tenets of faith, not some late add-on as is sometimes alleged.
Murray J. Harris’ masterful book Jesus As God was an invaluable resource in compiling this data–most of it is directly lifted from Appendix 2 of his work.
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