“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity (Godhead) lives in bodily form” (Colossians 2:9)…”For where two or three come together in My name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20).
From the days of the apostles until now there have always been heresies and cults, including other religions that have denied the Deity of Jesus Christ. The fact of the matter is that if the Lord Jesus Christ is not God then He has not provided redemption, therefore, there is no forgiveness for sin and no hope beyond this life. If Jesus is not God then the Resurrection is a fabrication and Jesus was only like Buddha or Mohammed or some other religious Guru. However, God’s word clearly teaches us that the Lord Jesus Christ existed from all eternity with God and that He was the Eternal God revealed in a flesh and blood body. Not only that but He made a perfect atonement for all sin for all-time and rose again from the dead. This truth is at the heart of Christianity. What then does God’s word teach us about the Deity of Christ?
His Divine Names
Many Divine names clearly implying Deity are used of Jesus in the Bible, some of them over and over again, the total number of Bible passages numbering into the hundreds. The titles given to God in the Old Testament are also given to Jesus in the New Testament. The New Testament itself is very clear on this subject.
“The Son of God” (Luke 22:20) (John 5:18) “The Only Begotten Son” (not created) (John 1:18 3:16) “The First and the Last” (Revelation 1:7) Compare: (Isaiah 41:4) “The Alpha and the Omega” “The Beginning and the End” (Revelation 22:13) “The Holy One” (Acts 3:14) Compare: (Hosea 11:9) “The Lord” (Luke 2:11) (Matthew 22:43-45) Compare: (Psalm 110:1) (Philippians 2:11) Compare: (Malachi 3:1)*(“The Lord” is used specifically of Jesus several hundred times.) “The Lord of Glory” (Acts 10:36) Compare: (Psalm 24:8-10) “God with us” (Matthew 1:21) Compare: (Isaiah 9:6) “God” (Hebrews 1:8) “Our Great God” (Titus 2:13) “God blessed forever” (Romans 9:5)
His Divine Nature
He is “All Powerful.”
1. The Lord Jesus Christ has power over spiritual and physical death and they are subject to His Word.
“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. I tell you the truth, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. 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. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself. And He has given Him authority to judge because He is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice and come out-those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned” (John 5:21,24-29).
The Lord Jesus Christ is God and has the same authority and power as God has Himself. He, like His Father, is the only true source of Eternal Life. Everybody will rise again but some will go to heaven and others to hell. Compare: (Revelation 20:11-15) (Daniel 12:2) Every time Jesus raised someone from physically from the dead through the power of His word He not only pointed to the fact that He could raise to spiritual life those who are spiritually dead but also that He was co-equal with God His Father.
2. The Lord Jesus Christ has power over all creation and upholds it by His Powerful Word.
“He is the image of the Invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him and in Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:15-17).
The Lord Jesus Christ existed with God Before the Universe itself was created. Everything in the universe was created by Him and through Him. (John 1:1-3) Everything in nature is maintained and supported by the Word of Jesus. (Hebrews 1:1-3) By His Word the planets keep their orbit around the Sun. Through His Word He gives life and breath to everything in the earth. The smallest molecules are all held together by the same powerful word. By that same word that raises the dead to life He will also overthrow the forces of antichrist at the end of this age. (Revelation 19:13) By that same word the present heavens and the earth are reserved for fire of God’s wrath at the end of the age. (2 Peter 3:7) He upholds all things by His powerful word and if we want to be upheld spiritually in the storms of life then we need to build our lives on the solid rock and foundation of His Word. (Luke 6:46-49) Compare: (Matthew 8:16) (Luke 4:35-41) (Matthew 4:4)
He is “All Knowing.”
1. The Lord Jesus Christ knows the hearts of men. He knows their thoughts, their motives and their deepest secrets.
“Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts” (1 Corinthians 4:5).
Nothing is hidden from the Lord Jesus Christ. Like God, He knows everything about us. He knows our feelings, our desires, our goals and our ambitions in life. People in the world think that they can deceive others and get away with things but they do not realize that they will have to give an account of their whole lives to Him. (Revelation 20:11-15) What people said or did never deceived Jesus. Often people professed to believe in Him especially when He did the miracles but Jesus never played the popularity stakes. John tells us this in his gospel, “Many people saw the miraculous signs He was doing and believed in His name. But Jesus would not entrust Himself to them, for He knew all men. He did not need man’s testimony about man, for He knew what was in man” (John 2:23-25).
Jeremiah the prophet put it this way; “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately evil. Who can understand it? I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve” (Jeremiah 17:9-10). When He talked with the prostitute at Jacob’s well she was amazed because He knew all about her past. (John 4:16-19) He not only knew her problem but also the answer to it. (Vs 10,13-14) Jesus knows our deepest secrets too. We may be able to hide things from others but we cannot hide anything at all from the Lord Jesus Christ. Compare: (Mark 2:6-12)
2. The Lord Jesus Christ knows the future choices we will make yet still gives us the freedom to choose.
“Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray Him” (John 6:64).
Only Jesus knew about Judas. The other disciples had no idea that he was a traitor from the beginning. Even though Jesus had called Judas to be a disciple He knew right from the start that Judas would betray Him. Judas never really believed and he was also into money. (John 12:6) The Lord Jesus knew the worst about Judas yet still held the hope that he might repent, even though He knew that Judas wouldn’t repent. This is the grace of God in action. The Bible says, “God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” He knows the choices we will make in life and His desire is that we make the right ones. Even when we fail to make right choices through spiritual ignorance or sin or because of adverse circumstances He will always bring good out of evil if we keep short accounts with Him through confession and keep trusting Him. (Romans 8:28)
Like God, Jesus knows the beginning from the end because He is the “Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.” He is the “Author and Finisher of our faith.” What He starts He completes and what He calls us to be that is what we will become. (Revelation 22:13) When Jesus called Peter “a rock” Peter was anything but that, however, in the course of time as Jesus persevered with him he became “a rock.” (Matthew 16:18) Compare: (Genesis 50:19-20) (Philippians 1:6)
3. The Lord Jesus Christ knows all things.
“Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge”(Colossians 2:3).
Everything that God knows Jesus knows because He is one with the Father. All of the wisdom and knowledge in the universe dwells in Jesus Christ. Even though He now sits at God’s right hand as a resurrected man He has never ceased to be God. Through the ministry of the Spirit Jesus, like his Father, imparts His spiritual wisdom and knowledge to us. Not only that but Jesus actually lives in us and we have His wisdom available to us at all times. (1 Corinthians 1:26-31) If we lack wisdom in any situation then we can ask Him to give it to us because there is no circumstance that He does not know about. (James 1:5-6) Jesus knows all things. Peter said to Jesus, “Lord you know all things; you know that I love you” (John 21:17). Compare: (Psalm 139:1-18)
He is “Present Everywhere.”
1. The Lord Jesus Christ is present where two or three are gathered together in His name.
“For where two or three come together in My name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20).
Even though the Lord Jesus Christ is physically in heaven He has the ability to be actively present on earth where His people are meeting together. The Holy Spirit himself is called the Spirit of Jesus. (Acts 16:7) The Holy Spirit Himself has exactly the same nature and character as Jesus and God have themselves. If we have been born again then we have the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit all living in us through the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said, “On that day (after the Holy Spirit has come down) you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in Me and I am in you. If anyone loves Me, he will obey My teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I too will love him and show Myself to him” (John 14:20-21). If we love Him and obey His teaching then He will reveal Himself to us and enable us to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Him and become more like Him. The main function of the Holy Spirit in us is to reproduce the image and likeness of Jesus in our lives. (Galatians 5:22-23)
Nothing is hidden from the Lord Jesus. He sees all things. In Revelation he is pictured as walking among the seven golden lamp stands. (Revelation 1:12-13 2:1) The Lamp stands were seven literal churches that John was writing to but they also represent seven types of Churches than have existed down through history and they represent seven types of Churches that will exist in the last days before Jesus returns. Jesus knows all things, sees all things and dwells everywhere at once and knows the true spiritual condition of the Church. Compare: (Psalm 139:12-16)
2. The Lord Jesus Christ is present with us when we go into the world to make disciples.
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).
Jesus never asks us to do anything for Him without giving us the assurance that He will be with us when we go. God himself has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?’… Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:5-6,8).
While He was with the disciples in the flesh He was limited but through the Holy Spirit He could be with each one of them individually wherever they went. Not only would He be with them but also with us who also believe in Him. Jesus said himself, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in Me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask Me for anything in my name, and I will do it” (John 14:12-14). Compare: (Psalm 139:7-10) The Lord Jesus is not only with us wherever we go but will answer our prayers when they are centered in bringing glory to God and in line with His will. (1 John 5:14-15) The secret of maintaining the quality of our spiritual life is to remain connected to him in all things and in every way. Compare: (John 15:1-8)
3. The Lord Jesus Christ was always in Heaven even though He was physically present on the earth.
“No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came down from heaven – the Son of Man who is in heaven” (John 3:13).
Jesus always lived in God’s presence. He could always see into heaven itself because He had come from heaven. We know that Paul was caught up to the third heaven and saw inexpressible things that man is not permitted to tell. (2 Corinthians 12:1-4) Likewise the apostle John was also caught up to heaven and saw eternity even though He was still in His physical human body. (Revelation 4:1-2) However, The Lord Jesus Himself was able to experience this at any time He desired. Because He was God the Son He always had immediate access into His Father’s presence. Remember He also said, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all He does” (John 5:19-20). On the Mount of transfiguration Jesus physically entered into that realm when he appeared with Moses and Elijah in heavenly glory.
4. The Lord Jesus Christ is individually present in every believer.
“Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).
God is not into religion! He hates it! Religion sends more people to hell than any other thing! Religion is man- made! God will have nothing to do with religion! True Christianity is not a religion at all but God seeking to have a personal relationship with people through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. True Mosaic Judaism in the Old Testament times was also not a religion but God personally relating to His people primarily through men like Moses, the prophets, the Priests and the Kings of Israel. In fact Paul the Apostle tells us that a true Jew was one who had been circumcised in heart and that the physical circumcision without faith amounted to nothing. (Romans 2:28-29) What God is after is the new creation in Christ. Paul tells us this also. (Galatians 4:6 6:15)
Our only hope of experiencing God’s glory in heaven is to have Jesus personally present in our lives. Paul says in Romans, “And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ” (Romans 8:9). As we have seen the Spirit of Christ is the very same presence of Jesus himself. Yes, He is in heaven as a physically resurrected man but at the same time He is in us. If Jesus lives in us then we are God’s Temple. (1 Corinthians 3:16 6:17, 19-20) (John 14:20) The Bible also tells us that as believers we have the mind of Christ. Not only can we imitate Him but also see our inheritance in eternity. We do not see it with our physical eyes but with the eyes of our heart enlightened by the Holy Spirit Himself! (2 Corinthians 4:18) (Ephesians 1:17-19) Compare: (Hebrews 11:19, 16, 26-27) Furthermore, we are told that the Lord Jesus is; “one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to His ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life!” (Hebrews 7:16) His power of an indestructible life is deep down on the inside of every true believer! Indeed as it is written; “If God is for us then who can stand against us!” Indeed in the Lord Jesus Christ and by faith in Him alone we are winners at the game of life! No matter what the world, the flesh and the devil himself throws our way we have within us the indestructible life of the Lord Jesus Christ by which we can defeat Satan at all times and in every situation and circumstance of life! Thank you Lord Jesus! Amen and Amen!
His other Divine Attributes
1. The Lord Jesus Christ has existed from all eternity.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was (face to face) with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning” (John 1:1-2).
The Lord Jesus Christ has always existed. His existence from all eternity is also confirmed in the Old Testament. (Micah 5:2) (Isaiah 9:6) He appears in the Old Testament many times as the Angel of the Lord and was sometimes worshipped by those who saw him. While He did not have a flesh and blood body He did appear in a human form. (Joshua 5:13-15) (Judges 6:11-24) The Angel of the Lord is in the definite article in the Hebrew and denotes “The Angel!” not merely “an angel” The Angel of the Lord is the pre-incarnate manifestation of the Lord Jesus Christ before His Incarnation. Compare: (John 8:58) (John 17:5)
2. The Lord Jesus Christ is unchangeable.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
The Lord Jesus Christ does not change! The writer to the Hebrews clearly states this fact when he takes an Old Testament passage of scripture and applies it to Jesus. “In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will role them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end”(Hebrews 1:10-12). Compare: (Psalm 102:25-27) The Psalmist said, “Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. Your faithfulness continues through all generations” (Psalm 119:89-90). Jesus Christ Himself is the Living Word of God revealed in a human body. (John 1:14) Jesus will never say or do anything that goes contrary to what He has revealed about Himself in His Word the Bible.
3. The Lord Jesus Christ has always eternally pre-exited in the Form of God.
“Who being in very nature (in the form) of God did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature (the form) of a servant being made in human likeness” (Philippians 2:6-7).
The Lord Jesus Christ has always been God and existed in the form of God. When He came to live among us as a man He took upon himself the role of a servant but He never ceased being God. In Genesis chapter one when God says “Let us make man in our image,” he uses the term “us” and “our image” denoting the Trinity. In the Bible God’s name is always used in plural form, clearly identifying the three persons of the Godhead, i.e., God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. All of God’s fullness dwells in Jesus Christ. (Colossians 2:9)
4. The Lord Jesus Christ can be worshipped as God.
“Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshipped Him” (John 9:38).
During His earthly ministry Jesus received worship clearly identifying Himself as God. In every account where this happened He never refused to receive worship. He never looked to be worshipped because He made himself of no reputation but when He was worshipped He accepted it because even though He was totally man He was still totally God and knew this. There are clear accounts in the New Testament where people worshipped him. (Matthew 2:11 8:2 9:18 14:32 15:25 18:26 28:9, 17) (Luke 24:52) The Lord Jesus Christ is worshipped in heaven. (Revelation 5:6-14) According to God’s Word the Lord Jesus Christ has always been God. He has existed from all eternity and was made flesh. He now sits at God’s right hand as a resurrected man. There He is continuously worshipped as God and with God for time and for eternity.
