Is Jesus really God?

Many critics of Christianity point to what they believe to be a fundamental flaw - the belief that God is three persons, yet one God (i.e., the doctrine of the Trinity). To the Jews and Muslims, this Christian doctrine appears to be a contradiction and a blasphemy against the one, true God. Christians have even been accused of believing in polytheism or three separate gods!

If the doctrine of the Trinity is true, then we could expect to find this teaching in the Scriptures. If the doctrine of the Trinity is false, then the Scriptures would only speak of God in such a way as to indicate that God is only one person. What do we find when we examine the Scriptures?

Is God Absolutely Alone or Only One Person?

There are nine different Hebrew words in the Scriptures that can be translated as “one” (See the Englishman’s Concordance). Sometimes words such as man or woman are translated “one,” but such words are never applied to God in the Bible. This is understandable since God is not a man or a woman (Numbers 23:19).

Now if God is only one person, as Jews and Muslims claim, which word for oneness could they apply to God? Only one of the nine Hebrews words that can be translated as “one” can refer to “complete solitary” or being absolutely alone. That word is “yachiyd” (e.g., Psalms 68:6; Genesis 22:2; Judges 11:34). If this word was applied to God anywhere in the Scriptures, it would be devastating to the doctrine of the Trinity. However, nowhere in Scripture can this word be found ever applying to God! That is because God is not absolutely alone as only one person.

God Has a Unified Oneness About Him

We learn much about God by studying the Hebrew word "echad." Sometimes the word is used with reference to the number one or quantity of one (e.g., Genesis 2:21), but when it does it is never in reference to God. Frequently, the word echad is translated “one” to denote a unified or compound oneness: “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). Many other examples could be given (e.g., Genesis 3:22; 11:6; 34:16; II Chronicles 30:12; Ezra 2:64; Jeremiah 32:39). Jews and Muslims would not want to find this Hebrew word applying to God, lest they lose their argument that God is only one person.

The word “echad” does in fact apply to God! “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one [echad] LORD” (Deuteronomy 6:4; Compare to Mark 12:29). God is “one” in the sense of a unified or compound oneness. All three persons united -- God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, constitute or comprise the one true God.

God Is Referred to in the Singular As Well As in the Plural

Those who deny the doctrine of the Trinity will never refer to God in the plural or quote God speaking in the plural (e.g., “They,” “Them,” “Theirs,” “We,” “Us,” “Ours”), but only in the singular (e.g., “I,” “Myself,” “Me,” “”My,” He,” “Him,” “His”). We may use singular nouns and verbs to refer to God because God is described in this way in Scripture. This is often done to emphasize that the Lord is the one and only God (e.g. Deuteronomy 32:39).

However, we may also use plural nouns and verbs to refer to God because God is also described in this way in Scripture! The Bible commonly uses plural words for God, the most common one being the Hebrew word “elohiym” (i.e., a plural form of deity or god): “In the beginning God [elohiym] created the Heaven and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). It may surprise some to know that elohiym is translated more than 400 times in the Bible as “gods” – plural! For example, “And the people answered and said, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods" (Joshua 24:16, NASB; See also Genesis 31:30; Exodus 12:12). God spoke in the first person plural when creating us! “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…” (Genesis 1:26a). Some have suggested that the “us” or “our” in this verse refers to angels, yet man was not created in both the image of God and the angels! Other examples of plural pronouns for God can be found in Scripture (e.g., Genesis 3:22; 11:7-8; Isaiah 6:8). Further evidence that God comprises of more than one person can be seen in the Scriptures where two divine persons are both called God in the very same passage (e.g. Psalms 45:6-7; Hebrews 1:8-9; Isaiah 48:12-17; Hosea 1:6-7; Genesis 19:24).

God In Three Persons

God is One, yet composed of three persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. All three persons are referred to as God in the Scriptures because each one is God by nature or the divine essence (John 6:27; Colossians 2:8-9; Acts 5:3-4). God would not be God to exclude any one of the three persons that make up the divine nature. For example, Jesus, even while on earth, was God in the flesh or the “I AM” (John 8:24, 58). Yet, Jesus always was accompanied by both the Father and the Holy Spirit (e.g., John 10:37-38; Luke 4:1).

God is Three in One   1x1x1 = 1

Equality Among All Three Persons

Jesus, the Son of God and the Holy Spirit are just as much God as the Father is! “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30). Jesus “thought it not robbery to be equal with God” (Philippians 2:6). The equality of the Father and Son is seen in the salutations of most New Testament epistles (e.g., Romans 1:7; Galatians 1:3; II John 1:3). Each person of the Triune God is emphasized equally in prayer in II Corinthians 13:14.

Equal, Yet of Different Rank by the Divine Order

Jesus submitted to the Father’s will and obeyed His commands (John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38; 8:29; 14:31). How then could they be equal? Both are equally God, yet according to the divine order, each has a different rank or position in the hierarchy of God (See I Corinthians 11:3). Just as man and woman are equal (Galatians 3:28), so are the Father and the Son (John 10:30). The different rank a woman has does not make her any less of a Christian (or human for that matter). Neither does the different rank of Christ make Him any less Deity. The different rank that each person holds simply means that there are different roles and responsibilities that each one fulfills (e.g., Ephesians 5:22-33; Philippians 2:8). All three persons (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) represent Deity, though each person of the Godhead is distinguishable from the other. Each person of God is distinct in the sense that each one has a different role that each one fulfills (e.g., Hebrews 12:9; Ephesians 5:23; John 16:13).

The Unified Work of the Godhead

All three persons of God are one also in the sense of functioning together as a team to accomplish the work of God. The work of Creation: “[God] in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world” (Hebrews 1:2; cf. Genesis 1:2, 26-27). "The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life” (Job 33:4). The work of salvation: “’Come near to Me [Christ], listen to this: From the first I have not spoken in secret, from the time it took place, I was there. And now the Lord GOD has sent Me, and His Spirit.’ Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; ‘I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go’” (Isaiah 48:16-17; cf. Ephesians 1:2-14).

The Triune God Provides Our Salvation

Fellowship with God is achieved through the Trinity (Ephesians 2:17-19). Salvation has been made possible by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. To become a child of God and receive the spiritual and eternal blessings that the Trinity provides, each person must be baptized in the name (i.e., authority) of the Triune God (Matthew 28:18-20; cf. Acts 2:38; I Peter 3:21). Once we are baptized in Their name, we must continue to abide in God’s word for the Triune God to continue to abide in us (I John 4:12-16; II John 9; Galatians 3:2; Romans 10:17; Galatians 5:16).

Mark Larson

If John the Baptist baptized sinners for the remission of sins (Mark 1:4), why would he baptize Jesus Christ who was without sin?

Probably one of the most challenging studies and realizations one can come to believe as truth in all its entirety regarding the man, Jesus Christ. The scriptures even state "Too the Jews a stumbling block, to the Gentiles, foolishness" (1 Cor 1:23).

Many writers have attempted to counter the doctrine of Jesus being in the form of God while on earth. This lesson easily refutes this false teaching that persists even in some circles of the church today! As scholar A.T.Robertson states, "There was a time when the second Person of the Godhead did not exist as man; there has never been a time he was not in the form of God." The Lords earthly limitations as a man in the form of God were not the consequence of a less-than God nature, rather, they were the result of a self-imposed submission to the Father, reflecting the exercise of his sovereign will.

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"You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he.  Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me." (Isaiah 43:10).

JESUS	IS >>>	GOD, "YAHWEH"
John 1:3, "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." Col. 1:16-17, "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. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together."	Creator	Job 33:4, "The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life." Isaiah 40:28, "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom."
Rev. 1:17, "When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: ‘Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.’" Rev. 2:8, "To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again." Rev. 22:13, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End."	First and Last	Isaiah 41:4, "Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD--with the first of them and with the last--I am he." Isaiah 44:6, "This is what the LORD says--Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God." Isaiah 48:12, "Listen to me, O Jacob, Israel, whom I have called: I am he; I am the first and I am the last."
John 8:24, "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." (NKJV) John 8:58, "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" See Exodus 3:14 John 13:19, "I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He."	I AM "ego eimi"	Exodus 3:14, "God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’" Isaiah 43:10, "You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me." See also Deut. 32:39
2 Tim. 4:1, "In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge . . . " 2 Cor. 5:10, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad."	Judge	Joel 3:12, "Let the nations be roused; let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the nations on every side." Rom. 14:10, "You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat."
Matt. 2:2, " . . . Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." Luke 23:3, "So Pilate asked Jesus, "Are you the king of the Jews?" "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied." See also John 19:21	King	Jer. 10:10, "But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King. When he is angry, the earth trembles; the nations cannot endure his wrath." Isaiah 44:6-8, "This is what the LORD says--Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God." See also Psalm 47:1-9
John 8:12,"When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." Luke 2:32, "a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel." See also John 1:7-9	Light	Psalm 27:1, "The LORD is my light and my salvation -- whom shall I fear?" Isaiah 60:20 ,"our sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end." 1 John 1:5, "God is light; in him there is no darkness at all."
1 Cor. 10:4, " . . . for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ." See also 1 Pet. 2:4-8.	Rock	Deut. 32:4, "He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he." See also 2 Sam. 22:32 and Isaiah 17:10.
John 4:42, "They said to the woman, ‘We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.’" 1 John 4:14, "And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world."	Savior	Isaiah 43:3, "For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior" Isaiah 45:21, " . . . And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me."
John 10:11, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." Heb. 13:20, "May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep . . . " See also John 10:14, 16; 1 Pet. 2:25	Shepherd	Psalm 23:1, "The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want." Isaiah 40:11, "He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young."