Why do Christians believe Jesus is God?

Our culture and the world we live in are fascinated by Jesus.  You don't have to look far to find references to Him.  His name is continually on the lips of believers and unbelievers alike.  Some use His name to bless.  Others use His name to curse.  When popular print publications want to sell more copies of their magazines and books, all they have to do is put a depiction of Jesus on the cover, and sales increase.  It is not an understatement to say that this world finds Jesus curious and interesting.

At the same time, it's also fair to say that most people don't have a highly developed understanding of who Jesus is.  If people really understood His nature and identity, they certainly wouldn't speak of Him so flippantly.  You wouldn't see jokes and comical depictions of Him like we commonly see at present.

Ironically, it isn't just the culture at large that seems to be confused about who Jesus really is.  I believe it's fair to say that there are many people in the church who presently have an undeveloped understanding of Christ's nature and what the Bible teaches about Him.

There are many things God's word reveals to us about Jesus.  We're told that He is the perfect man, the Messiah, the Savior of the world, the King of kings, and the Son of God.  There's one additional truth Scripture reveals about Jesus that we shouldn't miss.  Scripture tells us that He indeed is God.

Years ago I had a conversation with the son of a woman who attended the church I was pastoring at the time.  He was about twenty years older than me and he had recently converted to Judaism.  Because I was his mother’s pastor, his family requested that I officiate for the funeral of one of their family members.  After the funeral, we spoke for a few minutes and he said to me, "I think I'm willing to accept that Jesus is the Messiah, but I can't believe He is actually God."  

What do you think about that statement?  Is that what you believe?  What did Jesus say about Himself?  Is there anything we can find in Scripture that can help clarify whether or not He is actually God?

1.  Jesus claimed to be God.

"I and the Father are one.”

The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” 33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”  (John 10:30-33)

During the course of His earthly ministry, Jesus taught like no one the people had seen or heard before.  It was commonly said at the time that He spoke with a kind of unique authority that was drastically different from what the people were used to hearing.  I can only imagine what it must have been like to sit under His teaching.  I think I would have hung on every word.

 Everything Jesus said was true, but not everyone was pleased with the truth He conveyed.  Sometimes the truth He spoke confronted and exposed the secret sins of His audience.  Other times, the truth He conveyed required His listeners to make drastically different life choices.  Frequently, the truth He conveyed upended widely held religious traditions.

 Few things seemed to annoy the religious gatekeepers of the day as Jesus did when He openly spoke of His divinity.  The proclamations He would make regarding His divine nature seemed to provoke their sinful desires to kill Him.

 When Jesus unequivocally stated that He was one with God the Father, the Jewish religious leaders picked up stones with the intention of killing Him.  At the time, they were temporarily kept from doing so, but later on when Jesus was crucified, if you asked them why they wanted Him to experience this dreadful punishment, they would have told you it was because He regularly claimed to be God.

 I imagine it would have been quite interesting to interact with some of these same people after Jesus rose from the grave and revealed His divine authority over death.

2.  Jesus demonstrated that creation obeyed Him.

And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”  (Mark 4:39-41)

 One of the most enjoyable aspects of being a father when your children are young is the utter amazement they seem to have about everything you do.  I still remember when I had to move a couch and they stood in shock as they watched me pick it up.  Now that they're adults, a task like that might only impress them if they were surprised that I could still move a large piece of furniture.

 The disciples Jesus ministered with weren't children, but they were utterly amazed at what they witnessed Him do.  Mark's gospel gives us an account of a moment when they watched Jesus speak directly to a violent storm, commanding it to calm down.  At the moment He spoke, the storm subsided in dramatic fashion.  This shocked the disciples to their core.  They were greatly afraid when they had to openly admit to one another that they had just witnessed creation obeying Christ's words.

 I'm sure this would be surprising to witness, but when you know that Jesus is God, this seems like a very logical occurrence.  In fact, the earliest chapters of Scripture in the book of Genesis reveal that the same creation that obeyed Jesus while He was on a boat with the disciples was the same creation He had spoken into existence many years earlier.  Creation is used to obeying His voice.  That truth is also explained in the book of Colossians.

"For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together."  (Colossians 1:16-17)

3.  Jesus accepted worship.

Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”  (John 20:28-29)

The gospels are interesting to read for many reasons including what they reveal about the disciples and their gradual growth.  These men were hand-selected by Jesus to work with Him, serve alongside Him, hear His teaching, and witness His miracles.  You might assume that they would have been bastions of faith during that several-year experience, but it took time for them to fully process who Jesus was and what He was revealing to them.

 After Jesus was crucified, the disciples were understandably upset, but Thomas in particular had a few words to say regarding the news of Christ’s resurrection.  Before seeing the risen Christ, Thomas doubted the news of Jesus having risen from death, but his attitude drastically changed when He saw Jesus with his own eyes, bearing the scars from the nails and the spear that pierced His body.

 I don’t know what I would have said in that moment of realization, but Thomas gave praise to Jesus.  He worshipped Him saying, “My Lord and my God!”  Jesus certainly could have rejected Thomas’ worship, but He didn’t.  In fact, He received it and pronounced a blessing on all those who would eventually receive Him as their Lord and their God without having seen Him with their eyes like Thomas had.

4.  The disciples acknowledged His divinity.

“Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.”  (1 John 2:22-23)

 Thomas wasn’t the only disciple who acknowledged Jesus’ divinity.  They all did, and the apostle John was particularly clear in his writings about the fact that Jesus is God.  He makes many references to this fact in the Gospel of John, his letters, and in the book of Revelation, all of which were penned by him under the Holy Spirit’s inspiration.

 John said that anyone who denied God the Son also denied God the Father because they are one.  Likewise, John revealed that whoever confessed that Jesus is Lord would experience eternal spiritual union with the Father as well.

5.  Jesus is all-powerful.

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me."  (Matthew 28:18)

 When Jesus took on flesh and walked among us the first time, we’re told that He came as a servant.  This is what the Old Testament prophets predicted (particularly Isaiah), and this is what the New Testament writers (particularly Paul) acknowledged as well.  Jesus veiled His glory, walked among us, and willingly experienced suffering, discomfort, and rejection when He came to atone for our sins.

 But when Jesus returns, as He has promised to do, He will be returning with unlimited and unveiled power.  In the relational dynamic of the Trinity, God the Father plans, God the Son carries out those plans, and God the Holy Spirit energizes or empowers the work that is done.  In His role as God the Son, all authority in heaven and on earth has been entrusted to Jesus.  He is all-powerful over creation, and before He ascended back to heaven, Jesus made that clear to His disciples.

6.  Jesus will judge. (John 5:22)

"For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son,"  (John 5:22)

 Every human being who has ever been created will one day give an account of their life.  I will be giving an account and so will you.  It’s a sobering thought to contemplate, but it’s absolutely true.

 I often think about this when I observe some of the people in this world who have been temporarily entrusted with power, wealth, and influence.  Many seem to idolize the trappings of this world without giving much thought to their eternity.  When I observe this, I often find myself asking, “Don’t you realize that you’ll be giving your account to the Lord very soon?”  I’m guessing that isn’t really on their minds.

 The Bible speaks of the future judgment in two ways.  We’re told in 2 Corinthians 5:10 that those who have genuine faith in Jesus are going to be brought before Him and rewarded for their faithfulness to Him.  They won’t be condemned, but their eternal rewards will differ.

 We’re also told that those who don’t have faith in Jesus will experience a different judgment.  It’s often referred to as the “great white throne” judgment based on what we read in Revelation 20:11-15.  That passage tells us that unbelievers will have their lives examined and will be eternally condemned and cast into the Lake of Fire.  It’s a dreadful thought, but Scripture doesn’t mince words when addressing the subject.

 Jesus is the one who will be doing the judging.  The Father has entrusted this work unto Him, and Jesus made that clear during His earthly ministry.  The Holy Spirit also made that fact clear to the apostles Paul and John and they conveyed this information in the books they wrote.

7.  So what does this mean for us?

So what does this all mean for us?  In essence, it means that since Jesus is God, we should honor Him as God.  Our lives should be lived in joyful obedience and submission to Him.  Our greatest delight should be to honor His name.  Our greatest joy, hope, and satisfaction should be found in Him.

 We should also find great comfort in this truth.  Our all-powerful, all-knowing, Savior promises to remain with us always.  He is guiding and guarding our lives and will hold us securely in His presence for all eternity.

© John Stange, 2025