Is Jesus God or the Son of God?
The most famous and person to have ever walked the earth was a man who lived around 2,000 years ago. His name was Jesus of Nazareth and he was a carpenter. Yet He was so much more than just a carpenter. He was the man that Christianity centers around. He was the Christ. The Messiah. The Son of God. He is God.
There are some, even among those who call themselves Christians, who do not believe Jesus was the son of God and many more who do not believe Jesus was God. This is God's truth to Who Jesus is.
The Son of God
When the angel first told Mary she would have a child even though she was a virgin, he made it clear who the child would be.
Luke 1:34-35 (NASB)
34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.
Then even the fallen angels knew He was the Son of God.
Luke 4:41 (NASB)
41 Demons also were coming out of many, shouting, “You are the Son of God!”
Matthew 8:28-29 (NASB)
28 When He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way. 29 And they cried out, saying, “What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?”
When Jesus turned to his disciples and asked them who people say He is? They answered Him with a variety of answers. Then He asked them, “Who do you say I am?”
Matthew 16:16 (NASB)
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Did Jesus ever claim it in his own words?
Luke 22:70 (NASB)
70 And they all said, “Are You the Son of God, then?” And He said to them, “Yes, I am.”
Yet even the Father called Jesus His Son. Not once but twice. Once after he was baptized and once on the mountain of transfiguration.
Matthew 3:16 (NASB)
16 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
Matthew 17:5 (NASB)
5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!”
If you believe the Bible is the Word of God, then you must believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
To anyone who believes the Bible is the Word of God, there can be no doubt that Jesus was the Son of God. Angels claimed it. Demons claimed it. His disciples believed it. He Himself claimed it, and even God the Father said it twice.
Jesus is God
Before Jesus was ever born, the prophets of old had spoken of the Messiah who was to come.
Isaiah 7:14 (NASB)
14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.
The name “Immanuel” literally means “God with us”.
Isaiah 9:6 (NASB)
6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;And the government will rest on His shoulders;And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
There is no doubt that in the eyes of the true prophets of God, the Messiah would be God in the flesh. What about those who were closest to Jesus? His own disciples?
John 20:27-28 (NASB)
27 Then He *said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.” 28 Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
Thomas did not say “My Lord the Son of God.” He said “My Lord and my God!” Yet it is not Thomas’ words that are key here, but the reaction of Jesus.
29 Jesus *said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”
Jesus does not correct Him but basically agrees with Him as He says because you have seen me you believe. Blessed are those who do not see and still believe. There are other verses that clearly state that Jesus is God....
John 1:18 (NASB)
18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
Titus 2:13 (NASB)
13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,
2 Peter 1:1 (NASB)
1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:
Then there is yet another very clear case that does still need a little interpretation.
Revelation 19:13 (NASB)
13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
There is not mistaking it. Jesus is referred to as "the Word of God". What else does the Bible say about the Word?
John 1:1-5 (NASB)
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
In verse 1, it says in the beginning was the Word (with a capital "W"), and the Word was with God and the Word was God. Verse 2 clarifies something. The Word is not a thing, it is a who. "He was in the beginning with God. So if the Word is a He, and Jesus is called the Word of God, who else could this verse be speaking about? So let's read these verses again and this time replace the Word with Jesus.
1 In the beginning was Jesus, and Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God. 2 Jesus was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Jesus, and apart from Jesus nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Jesus was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
Verse 5 makes it even more clear this is speaking of Jesus. The Light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it. This is telling us that Jesus was the light that shined in the darkness of the world and the world did not comprehend it. That is why the world killed Him.
Still with all this evidence, on Jesus being God, what if you need to hear it from the Words of Christ himself?
When the Jews were questioning Jesus, they asked Him this…
John 8:57-59 (NASB)
57 So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” 59 Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.
Not only was Jesus saying that He was alive before Abraham was born, but He uses a peculiar phrase. In speaking of Himself in the past tense, He says “I am.” It was that particular comment that riled up the Jews to want to kill Him because it was a direct reference to when Moses faced the burning bush and God sent him to confront the Pharaoh of Egypt. When Moses asked God, “Who should I tell them sent me?” God’s reply was, “Tell them I AM sent you!” In saying that, Jesus was making it clear that He claimed He was God and the Jews recognized that immediately.
Then there is this....
John 10:30 (NASB)
30 I and the Father are one.”
Some confuse this, believing Jesus is claiming to be the Father. Jesus is only saying He and the Father are both God. What is really interesting here is the reactions of the Jews.
31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?” 33 The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.”
This is a second passage where the Jews recognized Jesus to not be saying He is the Son of God, but actually saying He is God.
How can Jesus be both God and the Son of God?
Matthew 28:19 (NASB)
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
Part of the problem is some have trouble going past the Father as being God. They think that there is only one true God and that is the Father. In that case what about the Holy Spirit?
Ananias sold his land and held some of the money back for himself and pretended He was giving it all to them. Peter confronted him and asked Ananias why he was lying to the Holy Spirit. Only a couple verses later Peter tells Ananias that he lied to God. There is no mistaking that Peter was claiming the Holy Spirit was God.
You see, the truth is, there is one true God. Only one God. But God is made up of three persons. There is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
People have a tendency of thinking of one God as being a singular entity. Since as I write this, football season is starting up again and I am a Lions fan, I will use them as my example.
If I told you there is only one real Detroit Lions team and it comes in 53 players. Matthew Stafford is a Lion and Marvin Jones Jr. is a Lion. and all 53 players on the roster are Lions, but there is only one Lions team. Look how much perfect sense that makes! So why does God have to be a single entity and not a combination of three?
The Father is God. The Son is God. The Holy Spirit is God. All three of them are God. They are not three separate Gods, but they are together, one true God!
The simple fact is, the Bible has plenty of evidence of both cases. There are many verses where Angels, demons and disciples state that Jesus is the son of God. There is all the same evidence stating Jesus is God.
Both Jesus and the Father claim Jesus is the Son of God the Father. Jesus Himself claims He is God.
If Jesus and the Father are both God, Why Does Jesus say "the Father is Greater than I"?
John 14:28 (NASB)
28 You heard that I said to you, ‘I go away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.
This verse confuses a lot of people because if the Father is greater than Jesus, it means they are not equal parts of God. So people assume that this is proof that God is the Father and Jesus is the Son but He is not God. He is only human.
Yes and No! This is how it all works...
God is the combination of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. All three are God. They are not all gods (plural), but they are all God!
Because every human was born into sin. We are all born slaves to sin. God (All three) knew that the only way any of us would ever be saved from our sin is if there was a truly pure and perfect sacrifice that would be enough for all of us to be forgiven of our sins. So the Son, the Word who everything was created through, chose to become that perfect sacrifice. The Word, set aside all of His Godly powers and was born a simple human being. Though Jesus was still God, He was no longer God in any sense other than by name, as He had been born fully as man.
Jesus suffered pain, heart break, love, anger and every other emotion or sense that any other human feels.
Jesus did not have any powers of His own as He walked the earth. He had set them all aside. All of the miracles He performed were not of His own doing, but they were the works of the Father through Him. They were all performed by faith, just as the Apostles performed miracles through faith after Jesus died.
Jesus often said, things making it clear that He did nothing that He didnt first see the Father doing. That the Fathers works were done through Him. The Father is greater than Him. Because the Father was a spirit and had all the powers of God while Jesus was walking the earth as a mere human without His godly powers. By doing this, Jesus was able to teach His disciples as well as others how important faith is. For everything Jesus did, it was done through faith.
So while Jesus was walking the earth, and was fully human without any godly powers, the Father was definitely greater than Him. Once Jesus died and rose from the dead and then ascended to heaven, He put away the old flesh and took on His imperishable body, took back his Godly powers and became fully God again.
This, in my opinion only makes what Jesus did so much more greater than I used to realize. That being God, he was willing to become fully human and suffer and die as He did to be that perfect sacrifice for us. That He being God, loved us enough to do such a thing!
Of all the religions on earth, Christianity is the only one where our salvation is not earned. It is the only religion where God loved us so much that He was willing to become like us and sacrifice Himself, sacrifice His Son, for us, that we might be saved. That is truly awesome!
There are some, even among those who call themselves Christians, who do not believe Jesus was the son of God and many more who do not believe Jesus was God. This is God's truth to Who Jesus is.
The Son of God
When the angel first told Mary she would have a child even though she was a virgin, he made it clear who the child would be.
Luke 1:34-35 (NASB)
34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.
Then even the fallen angels knew He was the Son of God.
Luke 4:41 (NASB)
41 Demons also were coming out of many, shouting, “You are the Son of God!”
Matthew 8:28-29 (NASB)
28 When He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way. 29 And they cried out, saying, “What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?”
When Jesus turned to his disciples and asked them who people say He is? They answered Him with a variety of answers. Then He asked them, “Who do you say I am?”
Matthew 16:16 (NASB)
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Did Jesus ever claim it in his own words?
Luke 22:70 (NASB)
70 And they all said, “Are You the Son of God, then?” And He said to them, “Yes, I am.”
Yet even the Father called Jesus His Son. Not once but twice. Once after he was baptized and once on the mountain of transfiguration.
Matthew 3:16 (NASB)
16 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
Matthew 17:5 (NASB)
5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!”
If you believe the Bible is the Word of God, then you must believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
To anyone who believes the Bible is the Word of God, there can be no doubt that Jesus was the Son of God. Angels claimed it. Demons claimed it. His disciples believed it. He Himself claimed it, and even God the Father said it twice.
Jesus is God
Before Jesus was ever born, the prophets of old had spoken of the Messiah who was to come.
Isaiah 7:14 (NASB)
14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.
The name “Immanuel” literally means “God with us”.
Isaiah 9:6 (NASB)
6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;And the government will rest on His shoulders;And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
There is no doubt that in the eyes of the true prophets of God, the Messiah would be God in the flesh. What about those who were closest to Jesus? His own disciples?
John 20:27-28 (NASB)
27 Then He *said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.” 28 Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
Thomas did not say “My Lord the Son of God.” He said “My Lord and my God!” Yet it is not Thomas’ words that are key here, but the reaction of Jesus.
29 Jesus *said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”
Jesus does not correct Him but basically agrees with Him as He says because you have seen me you believe. Blessed are those who do not see and still believe. There are other verses that clearly state that Jesus is God....
John 1:18 (NASB)
18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
Titus 2:13 (NASB)
13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,
2 Peter 1:1 (NASB)
1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:
Then there is yet another very clear case that does still need a little interpretation.
Revelation 19:13 (NASB)
13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
There is not mistaking it. Jesus is referred to as "the Word of God". What else does the Bible say about the Word?
John 1:1-5 (NASB)
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
In verse 1, it says in the beginning was the Word (with a capital "W"), and the Word was with God and the Word was God. Verse 2 clarifies something. The Word is not a thing, it is a who. "He was in the beginning with God. So if the Word is a He, and Jesus is called the Word of God, who else could this verse be speaking about? So let's read these verses again and this time replace the Word with Jesus.
1 In the beginning was Jesus, and Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God. 2 Jesus was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Jesus, and apart from Jesus nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Jesus was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
Verse 5 makes it even more clear this is speaking of Jesus. The Light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it. This is telling us that Jesus was the light that shined in the darkness of the world and the world did not comprehend it. That is why the world killed Him.
Still with all this evidence, on Jesus being God, what if you need to hear it from the Words of Christ himself?
When the Jews were questioning Jesus, they asked Him this…
John 8:57-59 (NASB)
57 So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” 59 Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.
Not only was Jesus saying that He was alive before Abraham was born, but He uses a peculiar phrase. In speaking of Himself in the past tense, He says “I am.” It was that particular comment that riled up the Jews to want to kill Him because it was a direct reference to when Moses faced the burning bush and God sent him to confront the Pharaoh of Egypt. When Moses asked God, “Who should I tell them sent me?” God’s reply was, “Tell them I AM sent you!” In saying that, Jesus was making it clear that He claimed He was God and the Jews recognized that immediately.
Then there is this....
John 10:30 (NASB)
30 I and the Father are one.”
Some confuse this, believing Jesus is claiming to be the Father. Jesus is only saying He and the Father are both God. What is really interesting here is the reactions of the Jews.
31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?” 33 The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.”
This is a second passage where the Jews recognized Jesus to not be saying He is the Son of God, but actually saying He is God.
How can Jesus be both God and the Son of God?
Matthew 28:19 (NASB)
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
Part of the problem is some have trouble going past the Father as being God. They think that there is only one true God and that is the Father. In that case what about the Holy Spirit?
Ananias sold his land and held some of the money back for himself and pretended He was giving it all to them. Peter confronted him and asked Ananias why he was lying to the Holy Spirit. Only a couple verses later Peter tells Ananias that he lied to God. There is no mistaking that Peter was claiming the Holy Spirit was God.
You see, the truth is, there is one true God. Only one God. But God is made up of three persons. There is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
People have a tendency of thinking of one God as being a singular entity. Since as I write this, football season is starting up again and I am a Lions fan, I will use them as my example.
If I told you there is only one real Detroit Lions team and it comes in 53 players. Matthew Stafford is a Lion and Marvin Jones Jr. is a Lion. and all 53 players on the roster are Lions, but there is only one Lions team. Look how much perfect sense that makes! So why does God have to be a single entity and not a combination of three?
The Father is God. The Son is God. The Holy Spirit is God. All three of them are God. They are not three separate Gods, but they are together, one true God!
The simple fact is, the Bible has plenty of evidence of both cases. There are many verses where Angels, demons and disciples state that Jesus is the son of God. There is all the same evidence stating Jesus is God.
Both Jesus and the Father claim Jesus is the Son of God the Father. Jesus Himself claims He is God.
If Jesus and the Father are both God, Why Does Jesus say "the Father is Greater than I"?
John 14:28 (NASB)
28 You heard that I said to you, ‘I go away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.
This verse confuses a lot of people because if the Father is greater than Jesus, it means they are not equal parts of God. So people assume that this is proof that God is the Father and Jesus is the Son but He is not God. He is only human.
Yes and No! This is how it all works...
God is the combination of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. All three are God. They are not all gods (plural), but they are all God!
Because every human was born into sin. We are all born slaves to sin. God (All three) knew that the only way any of us would ever be saved from our sin is if there was a truly pure and perfect sacrifice that would be enough for all of us to be forgiven of our sins. So the Son, the Word who everything was created through, chose to become that perfect sacrifice. The Word, set aside all of His Godly powers and was born a simple human being. Though Jesus was still God, He was no longer God in any sense other than by name, as He had been born fully as man.
Jesus suffered pain, heart break, love, anger and every other emotion or sense that any other human feels.
Jesus did not have any powers of His own as He walked the earth. He had set them all aside. All of the miracles He performed were not of His own doing, but they were the works of the Father through Him. They were all performed by faith, just as the Apostles performed miracles through faith after Jesus died.
Jesus often said, things making it clear that He did nothing that He didnt first see the Father doing. That the Fathers works were done through Him. The Father is greater than Him. Because the Father was a spirit and had all the powers of God while Jesus was walking the earth as a mere human without His godly powers. By doing this, Jesus was able to teach His disciples as well as others how important faith is. For everything Jesus did, it was done through faith.
So while Jesus was walking the earth, and was fully human without any godly powers, the Father was definitely greater than Him. Once Jesus died and rose from the dead and then ascended to heaven, He put away the old flesh and took on His imperishable body, took back his Godly powers and became fully God again.
This, in my opinion only makes what Jesus did so much more greater than I used to realize. That being God, he was willing to become fully human and suffer and die as He did to be that perfect sacrifice for us. That He being God, loved us enough to do such a thing!
Of all the religions on earth, Christianity is the only one where our salvation is not earned. It is the only religion where God loved us so much that He was willing to become like us and sacrifice Himself, sacrifice His Son, for us, that we might be saved. That is truly awesome!
