Where does Jesus say He is God?

A common objection people will make against the deity of Christ is “where in the Bible does Jesus specifically say He is God?”, or “Jesus is not God he was just a prophet” or “Jesus was a nice man, an example of good behavior, but not God.”

It was a Jehovah’s Witness that first raised this objection and I admit at the time I didn’t have a good solid answer. Years later by God’s grace I’ve come to know that we can clearly demonstrate from God’s Word that Jesus not only declared His deity, His ultimate authority over all creation in heaven and on earth, but that He is God.

Colossians 1:16

For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.

If there is ever an objection to the Christian faith denying Jesus is God would probably be #1.

Islam, Buddhism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons (they believe Christ is a god among many gods), and others all make the claim that Jesus is not God creator of all things.

So. Where does Jesus say He is God?

David Wood, a Christian apologist says when witnessing to Muslims some will demand we point out in scripture where Jesus specifically says “I am God, worship me!” This is an exact wording argument. Jehovah’s witnesses’ may make this demand as well. You can simply turn this around and say “where in the Bible does Jesus say “I am just a prophet, do not worship me?” They will be forced to answer it doesn’t and this will hopefully show the folly of their argumentation. If the person is still willing to listen you can go from there. I put a link to David Woods video at the bottom of this article.

Although there’s a lot of scripture we can use, I’m going to cover my personal favorites. Starting with the end of the Bible in revelation 1:7

Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen

We know from this verse that it is speaking of Jesus because of the phrase “those who pierced Him;”

In verse 8:

8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who [f]is to come, the Almighty.”

Unless John changed the context we’re still talking about Jesus here being the beginning and the end.

In verse 17-18:

When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18 and the living One; and I [l]was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades

Who was the first and the last, the Alpha and the Omega? Jesus! Who was dead and alive forevermore? Jesus!

Jesus foretold in Isaiah

Isaiah 9:6-7

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will [a]rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah teaches us that a man will be born, ‘a son’; he will be called Mighty God, and Eternal Father. The term son and Father are used together in these verses and are literally one. In John 10:30 when Jesus says I and the Father are one He is telling us exactly who He is.

I am He

Isaiah 43:10-11

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 there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me. I, even I, am the LORD, And there is no savior besides Me.

In Isaiah we see the term “believe Me and understand that I am He.” In John 13:19 Jesus uses the same phrase of Himself.

19I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it comes to pass, you will believe that I am He. 20 Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever receives the one I send receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives the One who sent Me.”

We will believe that He is who? A prophet? A regular guy? No.. God. Verse 20 Jesus states ‘whoever receives the one “I (Jesus)” send receives “Me (Jesus)”, and whoever receives Me (Jesus) receives the One (God the Father) who sent Me. Jesus says “I am He.” In Isaiah 43:10-11 there is no God or savior besides Him so the Bible clearly teaches the oneness of God. Jesus is not claiming to be a separate god here rather Lord God & Savior.

John 18:6

6So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

Here Jesus says “I am He” and everyone just falls to the ground; even His enemies. Ask yourself why. If He was just a man, or a prophet why would people fall to the ground when He speaks “I am He.”

“Ego Eimi”

Ego Eimi means “I am” or “I exist” in Greek. This statement Jesus uses of Himself over 24 times in the book of John. What normal person would say “I exist” when asked who are you? That would be a pretty strange response. “Hi I’m Joe and you are? I exist. ehh. ok.” This statement was a big deal to the Jews as they knew scripture. This is why they picked up stones to stone Him. We see Ego Eimi in old testament:

Isaiah 52:5-6

Now therefore, what do I have here,” declares the Lord, “seeing that My people have been taken away without cause?” Again the Lord declares, “Those who rule over them howl, and My name is continually blasphemed all day long. 6 Therefore My people shall know My name; therefore in that day I am the one who is speaking, ‘Here I am.’””

John 8:58

Jesus replied, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, before Abraham was born, [d]I Am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus concealed Himself and left the temple

Here Jesus is saying before Abraham was born “Ego eimi” – “I Am/I exist.” If He’s not God then we have to figure out who/what Jesus is since He, a man, claims to have existed before Abraham. If one chooses to reject this then you must accept that the Jews wanted to kill Him for saying this:

John 10:31-33

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.”

The apostles believed Jesus was God

John 20:28

Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

2 Peter 1:1

Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same [b]kind as ours, [c]by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:

He was Worshiped

Only God can be worshiped. The people at this time would have understood this without question. Yet we see them worshiping Jesus.

Matthew 2:1-2

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

Matthew 28:8-9

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.

Only through Him can we be saved

Acts 4:12

And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

John 3:36

He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not [a]obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.

Unlikely 1st Century Christians died proclaiming Jesus is prophet.

The first century Christians did not get burned, flogged, crucified proclaiming Jesus Christ is “prophet.” If Jesus was just a prophet I fail to understand why believing Jews and Gentiles later on would decide to ‘add this into the scripture.’ Were they thinking we really want to get killed for blasphemy lets make Jesus out to be God? Otherwise followers of Jesus would have been hippies and no one would have bothered them. But since at this time you had to declare Caesar as Lord this would have been a major problem for the Christians at the time.

Summary

It’s folly to attempt to argue from our scriptures that Jesus is not God, Lord and Savior. We’ve only scratched the surface in this article. If anyone is going to attempt to make the claim from our scriptures that Jesus is NOT God then they have no choice but to cherry pick verses out of context and use them against us.

The next claim those who object will make or move onto is that “our Bible is corrupt.” Still, even then I’ve noticed they’ll argue from our scriptures saying this part is not corrupt but the rest is. What’s interesting is they’re basically saying “the parts that support my religions theology are not corrupted” and “the parts that don’t are corrupted.”

If we focus on this we can really witness to anyone; Jehovah’s witnesses, Mormons, Muslims, etc. because it’s all the same basic argument:“Jesus is not God, we make ourselves righteous by our works.” These religions replace Christ with man and salvation is something that must be achieved through mans works.

I’ve enclosed a list of verses I used here and a few others. I’ve also provided a Downloadble PDF file you can use for reference whether you’re a believer, non-believer, or on the fence. If you’re reading this and still not convinced I humbly invite you to read the scriptures for yourself. If the evidence and arguments I made here in this short article didn’t convince you, then what will?

Christ’s finished work? Or your work?

Are you relying on your own works hoping that in them you will stand before God and inherit eternal life based on your own merits? Romans 3:10-12 teaches us that no one does good, no one is righteous. Isaiah 64:6 teaches us our deeds are as filthy rags. Even if your good works outweigh your sins someone still has to pay the penalty for them. God doesn’t shove them under the carpet. So these sins are either on you or someone else.

It is my desire for you to know and understand the Jesus I’ve come to know, worship, and Love. The Great I Am who saves us from our sins totally, and completely for those who turn from their sin and place their faith and trust in Him. 2nd Corinthians 5:21

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

If you’ve read this and have questions feel free to comment or reach out on the contact page.

https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/1674/glorying-in-the-cross