Yes, Jesus was and is God. The Scriptures declare Jesus Christ as eternal, immutable, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, self-existent, self-sufficient, and Immanuel — God with us (Isaiah 7:14). They also proclaim Jesus received and accepted worship, forgives sin, is the Father’s one and only Son, and is the “I Am” and “the First and the Last” of the Old and New Testaments.
Jesus was with God the Father “in the beginning” and was the Creator of everything in existence. The Old Testament proclaims, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). It also says, “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host” (Psalm 33:6). In the New Testament, the God and Lord of the Old Testament who created everything in existence are specifically identified as Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:15-16; John 1:1-3). These Old and New Testament passages are not contradictions but fully express, explain, and demonstrate Jesus’ divinity.
Jesus is God’s “only begotten Son.” This classification is significant because it sets Jesus apart as the one and only Son of God, as opposed to believers who are God’s sons and daughters by adoption (Ephesians 1:5). The Greek word for the phrase “only begotten Son” is the word “monogenes,” which has two primary definitions. The first pertains to the only one of its kind or class (“single of its kind only” — Strong’s Greek Lexicon). The second conveys the only one of its kind concerning their parents (“used of only sons or daughters, viewed in relation to their parents” — Strong’s Greek Lexicon). As the only begotten Son of God the Father, Jesus did not become God’s Son at His human inception. He was uniquely and eternally the Son who descended from heaven (John 3:13b) to be born on the earth as God manifested in the flesh. This is why the Father spoke from heaven during His baptism and transfiguration, saying, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”
Jesus’ divinity was proclaimed and affirmed by God. In Hebrews 1:8, God the Father said of Jesus, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.” In Hebrews 1:10, God also called Jesus “Lord” and described His glorious works of creation. This Hebrew passage directly references Psalm 8:1-9, where David spoke of Jehovah, the LORD who created the heavens and the earth. David said, “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place; What is man that You think of him, and a son of man that You are concerned about him?” Colossians 1:16 confirms Jesus Christ created the heavens and the earth, which is in perfect harmony with Hebrews 1:10 and further evidence of Jesus’ divinity.
Additionally, the Greek words describing Jesus as “God” and “Lord” in Hebrews 1:8-10 are “theos” and “kyrios.” They are the exact words used for God Almighty in Matthew 4:10 when Jesus rebuked Satan. Jesus said, “For it is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord (kyrios) your God (theos), and serve Him only.’” The word “kyrios” is also used in Matthew 11:25 when Jesus prayed to God the Father. Jesus said, “I thank You, Father, Lord (“kyrios”) of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.” Therefore, these words depicting Jesus as God and Lord in Hebrews are not errors in the original manuscripts, but accurate descriptions of His divinity confirmed throughout the Bible.
Jesus was worshipped by angels at His human birth according to the Father’s command (Hebrews 1:6). This act is a clear declaration of His deity because, before Jesus’ birth, God the Father stated in the Ten Commandments, “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God” (Exodus 20:3-5a). Therefore, by commanding the angels to worship Jesus, God the Father is explicitly and unequivocally confirming that Jesus is God and rightfully worthy of worship.
Jesus is also worshipped in heaven by millions of angels, the four living creatures, the twenty-four elders, and every creature in heaven, on earth, under the earth, and in the sea when He takes the scroll from God’s hand (Revelation 5:11-14). This worship occurred in God the Father’s presence without protest as He sat on His throne. If Jesus were not divine, this act of worship would never happen because heaven is a place where only perfect holiness occurs continually. Furthermore, if Jesus were not God and these individuals attempted to worship Him, they would all be cast out of heaven immediately for sinning. Yet, Jesus willingly received and accepted their worship, and God the Father allowed it because heaven is where God is worshipped.
Additionally, when others worshiped Jesus while He was on the earth, He did not stop them from doing so like mere men and angels rightly did when others attempted to worship them (Acts 10:25; Acts 14:11-15; Revelation 19:9-10). Neither was Jesus struck dead after accepting worship as Herod was, who was eaten by worms after allowing the people to exclaim his voice was the voice of a God and not a man (Acts 12:21-23). As God, Jesus is entitled to receive worship; therefore, He did not prohibit these individuals from exalting Him nor offend the Father by accepting their praise. Jesus allowed these people to glorify Him as God through their worship and adoration. If He were not divine but merely human in origin, He would have sinned by allowing this behavior, contradicting multiple verses establishing Jesus’ sinlessness.
Jesus’ divinity was proclaimed by Peter and Thomas, which is recorded in Acts and John under divine inspiration. In Acts 3:14, Peter described Jesus as the Holy One to the men of Israel who denied His release and delivered Him up to be crucified. This specific title, Holy One, is a direct reference to Yahweh, the covenant God of Israel [the LORD; the I AM], and was used more than 40 times in the Old Testament in this manner. In John 20:28, Thomas declared Jesus to be his Lord and God (“kyrios” and “theos” in the original Greek), which Jesus affirmed immediately afterward. If Jesus were not God, He would have needed to deny or correct Thomas’ statement to remain sinless.
Jesus’ deity was also established in the books of Exodus and John. In Exodus 3:14, God declared Himself to Moses as “I AM” and “I AM WHO I AM.” In John 8:58, Jesus said, “Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” In this passage, Jesus declared Himself as “I AM” of the Old Testament and the eternal God personified. Jesus was not guilty of blasphemy or heresy but spoke truthfully of His divinity and equality with God the Father. Jesus later affirmed and declared this truth again by stating, “I and the Father are One” (John 10:30).
Jesus’ divinity as “the First and the Last” was confirmed in Isaiah and Revelation. In the book of Isaiah, the title “the First and the Last” refers to Jehovah God, the LORD, who declared that, apart from Him, there is no God (Isaiah 45:5). In the book of Revelation, “the First and the Last” spoke to John while John was exiled on the island of Patmos. His exact words to John were, “I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen” (Revelation 1:17-18). This statement directly references Jesus Christ, who died for the world’s sins and was raised to life again. Therefore, “the First and the Last” of the Old Testament is revealed as Jesus Christ in the New Testament.
It is important to understand and accept Jesus’ divinity because it is required for one’s salvation. Romans 10:9 states, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Likewise, Romans 10:13 says, “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Once again, the Greek word identifying and ascribing Jesus as “Lord” in both passages is “kyrios,” which is used throughout the New Testament to reference Jehovah—the proper name of the one true God (see Matthew 1:20-24; 2:13-19; 4:7-10; Acts 2:39; 2:47; and 3:22).
Therefore, unless an individual recognizes and accepts the deity of Jesus, they cannot be saved because they are denying and rejecting what the Scriptures declare of Him (1 John 2:22-23). This fact is evidenced by 1 John 2:22-23, which states, “Who is the liar except the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.”
