Is Jesus Divine?

By Mark Roberts

The Da Vinci Code alleges that Jesus is not deity, having received that “honor” only as the result of a voting scheme that took place nearly three hundred years after He lived. Christians maintain that Jesus is deity, and this is true because of who He is, not because He did well at the polls. How can we know Jesus is really divine?

The case for Jesus’ deity is based on two matters. First, the reliability of the New Testament documents must be established. Then we turn to see what those documents say about Jesus.

Are the New Testament documents reliable?

People are always concerned that any book as old as the Bible might have become corrupted, or parts of it lost, during the many centuries since it was written. These concerns are valid and reasonable. No thinking person will blindly accept what the New Testament says about Jesus without being sure what we are reading today is the original Gospel message. While another writer deals more fully with questions about the New Testament’s authenticity (see pages 8-9), we need to be reminded here that eyewitnesses wrote it. Peter assures us, “For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you thepower and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty” (2 Peter 1:16).

The writers of the New Testament knew the difference between truth and fairy tales. What they wrote bears the unmistakable mark of being the truth. For example, in John 4:46, 49, 51 the writer knows there is a big drop from Cana to Capernaum. John 10:22-23 references the seasons, showing the author’s understanding of the rainy weather in Israel in winter. That is just the testimony of John. Matthew, Mark and Luke brim with details (note Luke 3:1-2). Add to this the evidence of the archaeologist’s spade, finding manuscripts that date into the early 100’s, and we have certainly established that the original Gospels date into the first century. Think about it: that means four men wrote of Jesus’ life, teaching, miracles, death and resurrection within the lifetime of people who would have been in position to witness those events. It would be difficult to say the Dallas Cowboys never won a Super Bowl or that John Kerry beat George Bush for the Presidency, wouldn’t it? There are too many witnesses to the truth. The very same principle applies to the Gospels. Now that our confidence in the New Testament is established, we turn our attention to see what it says about Jesus’ deity.

The New Testament teaches consistently and confidently that Jesus is more than a man and more than a prophet. The New Testament proclaims Him God. Jesus made this claim: “Jesus said, ‘Most assuredly before Abraham was, I AM’” (John 8:58). This is a deliberate taking of the sacred name of God, the I AM (Exodus 3:14). Notice that Jesus did miracles in support of this

claim (Mark 2:9-11). Obviously, God would not have allowed His power to be used to confirm a lie. Further, Jesus accepted worship often (Matthew 9:18; John 9:35-38). Only God is worthy of worship (Luke 4:5-8). Jesus’ acceptance of worship shows He is God.

What did the apostles teach about Jesus? The apostles, men inspired by God, taught that Jesus is deity. Paul wrote, “For in Him [Jesus] dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col 2:9). John’s Gospel begins by saying, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:1, 14). The Word is Jesus, and John says the Word is God.

Jesus’ teaching about His deity was not a secret or something He believed privately. Everyone understood Jesus to be teaching and claiming that He was deity. The Jewish religious leaders even attempted to stone Jesus because they knew He claimed to be God (John 8:59; 10:33). It is important to note here that if Jesus was just the “good man” TDVC claims, then why did anyone oppose Him or kill Him? Of course, Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is the paramount proof that He is indeed Deity. By this event He is “declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:4).

In summary, Jesus’ deity is the clear teaching of the Word of God. The evidence confirms that the Bible is God’s Word and we should believe it. If we believe the Bible therefore, we must believe in the deity of Christ. Further, if we want to go to heaven we must believe in Jesus’ deity: “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24).