The Deity of Jesus Christ

by GAT 01/31/2005 updated 12/03/2025

Both the Old and New Testaments teach that Jesus is God. The following examples are just a few instances.

Zechariah records a prophecy of the Son of God speaking about His First Coming, " 'for behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,' declares the LORD" Zec 2:10. The Apostle John concurs about the One who will dwell in the midst of Israel, and wrote that He came from the Father, "and the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father" John 1:14. Zechariah again speaks of the LORD dwelling in the midst of Israel, and adds that many nations will join to Him and become His people (Zec 2:11a). Then the One (Yahweh) speaking to Zechariah identifies the One who will have sent Him, calling Him LORD; "Then I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you" Zec 2:11b. The Father who sent His Son is the LORD, Yahweh, and the One who was sent also bears the Name Yahweh. John identifies the Messiah as the Word who was Himself God, who was with God the Father before being sent by Him John 1:1. Zechariah finished that prophecy about the Messiah stating that the Son of God, "the LORD will possess Judah as His portion in the Holy Land" Zec 2:12. This is what the LORD told Moses upon the mountain, that Israel shall be His own possession Exo 19:5, see Deu 32:9. David knew it, calling that One God and Judge who possesses all the nations (Ps 82:8). Jeremiah concurs and calls Him "the LORD of Hosts" Jer 10:16. The Son of God, the LORD Jesus Christ, is coming again from where He now is, "Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD; for He is aroused from His holy habitation." Zec 2:13.

The LORD [Yahweh] in Zec 12:1, 4 spoke to Zechariah concerning the Crucifixion of Immanuel, God with us in the flesh, saying, "I [Yahweh] will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me [Yahweh] whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn" Zec 12:10. God is saying here that it is Yahweh who was pierced, Yahweh who was crucified, and Yahweh whom Israel will recognize as their Messiah Who came in the flesh. "But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed" Isa 53:5.

Mat 3:3 quotes from Isa 40:3, "Make ready the way of the LORD [of Yahweh]," regarding Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem. Isaiah continues with the good news of whom all flesh will see, "Here is your God! Behold, the Lord GOD [Adonai Yahweh] will come with might" Isa 40:9-10.

Jesus said, "I and the Father are One" John 10:30. The verb "are" is plural, where "One" is the singular cardinal numeral '1.' The Jews understood exactly that Jesus was referring to Himself as God, as they picked up stones to kill Him thinking that He had blasphemed (John 10:31). "You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God" John 10:33. The Jews knew that Jesus was referring to Himself as God, of One essence of Being with the Father; see John 10:36-38.

Jn 12:41: "These things Isaiah said" - as in John 12:38 & 40 quoted from Isaiah 53:1 & 6:10. Isaiah 53 speaks about Jesus' glory surrounding His Crucifixion, while Isaiah 6 speaks about Jesus' glory before His Incarnation. "because he saw His glory," - as recorded in Isaiah 6:5. Whose glory: 'the King, the LORD of hosts'; that One who is "King" in John 12:13 & 15; that One who is also LORD [YHWH] of hosts, Jesus whom John is talking about in John 12:37-42. With what did Isaiah see His glory? With his own physical 'eyes', the Hebrew 'ayin' meaning the aperture of the eye. How did Isaiah see His glory? The word for 'he saw' in John 12:41 is the Greek 'eiden', 2nd aor active indicative, meaning to stare with the physical eye, the actual act of seeing an object. "and he spoke of Him." Isaiah saw the LORD [YHWH] and spoke of Him, the LORD Jesus Christ after and before His Incarnation.

Paul preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Jews and Gentiles in Athens Act 17:16-17. Several Athenians understood that Paul's Gospel message included the claim that Jesus Christ was God; as they accused Paul "to be a proclaimer of strange deities" Act 17:18; Jesus being that Deity. When Paul found a statue dedicated to an unknown God in an Athens marketplace Act 17:23, he identified the God of His Gospel message as Creator, "The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth" Act 17:24. Paul consistently identifies Jesus Christ as God and Creator Heb 1:2; see Rom 1:19-20, Rom 1:25, Eph 3:9, Col 1:15-16, 1Tim 4:4.

The Old Testament established that "God [Elohim] ... will receive" the souls of men upon their death Ps 49:15. Consequently, Stephen called out to God as he was being stoned to death; "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" Act 7:59. Jesus said, "I will ... receive you to Myself" that He may bring us into heaven John 14:3.

"Thus says the LORD [Yahweh], the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD [YHWH] of hosts: 'I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides Me.' " Isa 44:6, see Isa 48:12. Jesus Christ placed His right hand on John, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore," Rev 1:17-18. Jesus Christ is Yahweh of whom there is no God beside Him.

Heb 1:10 quotes from Psalm 102:25 [from the Gk. LXX], "You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth," referring to the LORD Jesus Christ our Creator.

In writing of Christ's superiority to Moses, Paul writes, "For He has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by just so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God" Heb 3:3-4. Jesus is worthy of more glory than Moses: a comparison of the two which is carried into the next phrase - a comparison between the builder and the house being built. The comparison is stating that Jesus is the builder and Moses is the dwelling inhabited by Jesus. Hebrews 3:4 states that the builder of all things is God. Having just identified Jesus as the builder [creator], this verse is stating that Jesus Is God. "All things came into being through Him [the Word, Jesus], and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being" Jn 1:3.