Jesus never said He was God!
There are many arguments against the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, many of which come from opponents. Many of the reasons against the Trinity come from skeptics of the Bible, Islam, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Liberal Theologians, and they focus on the Chuch’s claim of Jesus being God.
In this post, we will look at verses that support the Christian belief that each person of the Trinity is fully God. Along the way, I will point you to a part of John’s gospel that shows Jesus claimed to be God, though not in those exact words, contrary to those who advocate for the deity of Jesus being created later by the Church councils instead of confirmed by them.
The Father is God.
There’s no question that God the Father is God. From the very first verse in the Bible—“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth”—God is shown as the Creator and Sovereign Lord. Throughout both the Old and New Testaments, God the Father is portrayed as ruling over all, and Jesus Himself often prays to His Father in heaven.
Three passages that teach that the Father is God.
I am writing to all of you in Rome who are loved by God and are called to be his own holy people. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. (Romans 1:7, NLT)
But for us, There is one God, the Father,
by whom all things were created,
and for whom we live.
And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ,
through whom all things were created,
and through whom we live. (1 Corinthians 8:6, NLT)
God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 1:2, NLT)
The Son is God
Scriptures that teach Jesus (the Son) is God.
Again, some, like Bart Erhman, will say that Jesus never claimed to be God (How Jesus became God). Instead, beliefs about His divinity evolved over time and were shaped by His followers after His death. Is Bart and others who share this perspective of the historical Jesus being different than the One worshipped by billions of people today?
Contrary to those who want to accredit Jesus’ deity to the creative imaginations of His later followers or to the early Church adopting pagan philosophy (a view held by Jehovah’s Witnesses), the Bible itself presents proof of Jesus being God.
In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and his life brought light to everyone. (John 1:1-4, NLT)
John 1:1–4 clearly states this: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” “The Word” refers to Jesus, and this passage tells us that He existed with God and was God even before creation. While some groups like Jehovah’s Witnesses try to argue that this should read “a god,” their interpretation doesn’t align with proper Greek grammar, and It isn’t supported by any credible Greek scholars. Interestingly, their own translation doesn’t stay consistent, translating the same word theos as “God” in other parts of John 1.
“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed. (John 20:28, NLT)
John 20:28 provides another strong example. When the disciple Thomas sees the risen Jesus, he says, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus doesn’t correct him; instead, He affirms Thomas’ declaration and encourages others to believe the same way. In fact, John says this moment was why he wrote his gospel—to lead people to believe that Jesus is truly the Son of God.
“The Father and I are one.” 31 Once again the people picked up stones to kill him. 32 Jesus said, “At my Father’s direction I have done many good works. For which one are you going to stone me?” 33 They replied, “We’re stoning you not for any good work, but for blasphemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God.” (John 10:30-33, NLT)
These verses from John 10 are fantastic in showing that the belief in Jesus as God did not evolve over the centuries but was instead a truth about Himself that He made known while alive. Here, even though Jesus doesn’t tell the crowd, ” I am God,” He does tell them that “He and the Father are one.”
This statement made by Jesus to the crowd enraged them! The people were ready to put Jesus to death by stoning. Why were they ready to execute Jesus? They were ready to put Jesus to death because, by the way they saw it, Jesus was a mere man who claimed to be God (John 10:33)! Mic drop.
The Holy Spirit is God
Passages that teach the Holy Spirit is God.
The Gospel of John has been helpful in providing Scriptural evidence for the deity of the Father and the Son, but for the Bible’s teaching on the Holy Spirit being God, we turn to the book of Acts.
Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. 4 The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!” (Acts 5:3-4, NLT)
Acts 5:3–4 is straightforward: when Ananias lies to the Holy Spirit, Peter says he has lied to God, equating the Spirit with God. Acts 5 would be enough to attest to the deity of the Holy Spirit, but Psalm 139:7–8 shows that the Holy Spirit is everywhere (omnipresent), something only God can be. And 1 Corinthians 2:10–11 says the Spirit knows even the deepest thoughts of God, showing omniscience—another divine trait.
The Spirit also gives new spiritual life. In John 3, Jesus says people must be born of the Spirit to enter God’s kingdom. Giving spiritual life is something only God can do (see 1 John 3:9), further showing that the Holy Spirit is fully God.
Conclusion
At this point in our study of the Trinity, you may wonder if we worship three different Gods since the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are each God. This is a fair question and logical thought since the Bible teaches three distinct people, each of whom is fully God.
In our next post, we will try to understand the Bible’s teaching of there being one God (Deuteronomy 6:4) and that this One God is three different people.
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