‘Nowhere does the Bible teach that Jesus is God.’
Perhaps you have had a conversation with someone who has made such a statement, and soon realised that the only thing that would satisfy them is a New Testament verse with the exact words, ‘Jesus is God’.
Although there is no Bible verse that uses the exact words ‘Jesus is God’, to argue that the Bible therefore does not teach that Jesus is God would be like arguing that Psalm 139 does not teach the doctrine of God’s omnipresence because it does not use the word ‘omnipresence’. We must distinguish between the language used to express a doctrine and the doctrine itself, recognising that any one doctrine can be expressed in numerous ways.
Letting the New Testament Speak
Naturally, when we are challenged to defend the deity of Christ, we go to passages that apply the word ‘God’ to Jesus. John chapter 1 verse 1 is probably the most well-known, but there are other verses too (Jn 1:18; 20:28; Rom 9:5; Tit 2:13; Heb 1:8; 2 Pet 1:1; possibly Acts 20:28 and 1 Jn 5:20).[1]
However, if we limit our case for the deity of Christ to only verses that use the word ‘God’, we commit the same error as the objection above by failing to be attentive to the language Scripture uses to affirm the deity of Christ. This would be like limiting our study of Jesus’ death to only verses that use the word ‘death’, while ignoring rich vocabulary like ‘ransom’ and ‘propitiation’ used to describe Christ’s atonement. Indeed, if we limited our study of Jesus’ death in this way, we might conclude that the New Testament doesn’t have much to say on the topic!
The doctrine of Christ’s deity may appear to be sparsely taught in Scripture if we only study those verses that use the word ‘God’. However, if we allow that the New Testament can speak of the deity of Christ using a variety of language, then we will see afresh the centrality of this doctrine for the entire theology of the New Testament.[2]
In the remainder of this article, I will focus on three texts that demonstrate the deity of Christ in two different ways. Firstly, each text quotes Old Testament verses about YHWH and applies them to Jesus.[3] Secondly, each text assigns to Jesus a prerogative reserved for YHWH alone.
Everyone Who Calls Upon the Name of Jesus Will Be Saved
In Romans chapter 10 verse 13, Paul quotes from Joel chapter 2 verse 32: ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ Behind the word ‘Lord’ in Joel 2:32 is God’s covenant name, YHWH. You can see that in most English translations of the Old Testament, Lord is printed in small caps to indicate it is translating the covenant name. Remarkably, Paul takes this verse and applies it to Jesus. We can know that Paul is identifying Jesus as the Lord of Joel 2:32 because Paul refers to Jesus by that title in the immediate context: ‘if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord … you will be saved’ (Rom 10:9). Paul applies his quotation from Joel in verse 14: ‘How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed?’ The ‘him’ here also refers to Jesus. Thus, for Paul, to call upon Jesus is equivalent to calling upon the name of YHWH.
Furthermore, the act of ‘calling upon the name of the Lord’ is tied in the Old Testament to acts of worship, such as building an altar (Gen 12:8; 26:25), giving thanks to YHWH (1 Ch 16:8; Ps 105:1), and giving praise to YHWH (Ps 18:3). Elsewhere it is used synonymously with prayer (1 Sam 12:17; 1 Ki 18:24; Jer 11:14). The application of this verse to Jesus indicates that Jesus is a worthy recipient of prayer and worship, prerogatives reserved for YHWH alone.
Before Jesus Every Knee Shall Bow
In Philippians chapter 2 verses 10 to 11, Paul again cites an Old Testament verse about YHWH and applies it to Jesus. Philippians 2:10–11 reads, ‘at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ When we read Isaiah chapter 45 verse 23, the connection is obvious: ‘By myself I have sworn … To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.’ In Isaiah 45:23 it is before YHWH that every knee shall bow and to whom every tongue will swear allegiance; in Philippians 2:10–11 it is before Jesus.
This is even more remarkable when we consider that in the context of Isaiah 45:23, YHWH insists that he is uniquely worthy of worship because he is the only true God. When Paul applies this text about exclusive worship of YHWH to Jesus, he reinforces that Jesus is the proper recipient of the worship due to the true and living God.
Jesus Laid the Foundation of the Earth
In Hebrews chapter 1 verses 10 to 12, the author quotes from Psalm 102 verses 25 to 27:
You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,
and the heavens are the work of your hands;
they will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment,
like a robe you will roll them up,
like a garment they will be changed.
But you are the same,
and your years will have no end.
This quotation is one of numerous texts cited by the author of Hebrews to demonstrate Jesus’ superiority over angels. The strength of this quotation lies in the fact that the author very explicitly states that this text addressed to YHWH is ‘about the Son’ (Heb 1:9).
This text also emphasises YHWH’s identity as the Creator (‘You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning’) as well as his eternality (‘your years will have no end’). By applying this text to Jesus, the author of Hebrews is identifying Jesus as the eternal Creator—a designation reserved for YHWH alone (cf. Isa 44:24).
A Rich Doctrine, Richly Taught
From our study of these three texts, it is evident that we should not limit our case for the deity of Christ to only those verses that use the word ‘God’. Our case is more robust when we draw upon the variety of language with which the New Testament teaches the deity of Christ. These three texts are a taste of the many texts that either apply Old Testament texts about YHWH to Jesus or apply to Jesus prerogatives unique to YHWH. If we reduce our case for the deity of Christ to only a few texts that attribute the title ‘God’ to Jesus, we neglect the richness of how this doctrine is presented to us, the many strands of which form a tapestry that undergirds the entire theology of the New Testament.
[1] For an in-depth, technical analysis of each of these texts see Murray Harris, Jesus as God: The New Testament Use of Theos in Reference to Jesus.
[2] An excellent summary of the various ways that the Bible teaches the deity of Christ is the thorough but accessible treatment in Putting Jesus in His Place: The New Testament Case for the Deity of Christ by Robert Bowman and Ed Komoszewski.
[3] For an analysis of Pauline texts that apply texts about YHWH to Jesus, see David Capes, The Divine Christ: Paul, The Lord Jesus, and the Scriptures of Israel. Another helpful book discussing the identification of Jesus with YHWH is Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the God of Israel: God Crucified and Other Studies on the New Testament’s Christology of Divine Identity.
