The Deity of Christ Part One

Introduction

“Declare and set forth your case; Indeed, let them consult together. Who has announced this from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me” (Isa. 45:21).

The following statement was presented in the 2025 State of Theology Survey by Ligonier Ministries: “Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God.” This survey yielded the following results: 28% of evangelicals strongly agree, 21% of evangelicals somewhat agree, and 11% of evangelicals are not sure. The same statement was posed in the 2022 State of Theology Survey with similar results: 31%, 22%, and 11% agree respectively. This survey defines evangelicals as those who believe (1) that the Bible is their highest authority for what they believe, (2) Jesus’ death on the cross is the only sacrifice that could remove the penalty of sin, and (3) only those who trust in Jesus Christ alone as the Savior receive God’s free gift of eternal life. However, 60% of those surveyed do not believe or are not sure that Jesus is God! Similarly, 53% of evangelicals agree that “The Holy Spirit is a force but not a personal being.” It can reasonably be concluded that “doctrinal confusion and contradictory beliefs” characterize the thinking of many evangelicals today since 98% of those surveyed affirmed that “There is one true God in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.”

To believe that Jesus is not God is to deny His deity – that He is the God who created the heavens and the earth, and that He is the one and only true God who eternally exists in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. If you believe that Christ died for your sins and believe that He is not God, please carefully consider what He said to the Pharisees who did not believe that Jesus is God: “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24).

In my book, Know Your Theology – Understand Why You Believe What Your Believe, I pointed out that “many professing Christians know what they believe but they are unable to articulate, from the Bible, why they believe what they believe. There are some who say that it does not matter what you believe as long as you love God.” Sadly, some pastor told me that half of those who attend his church are “blissfully ignorant.” Why? Is it possible that many (not all) churches today are rarely, if ever, teaching sound doctrine from the pulpit or in their Sunday school classes and/or home groups? Our theology today is truly in a sad state!

You say that you believe Jesus is God. Are you able to accurately articulate, from Scripture, why you believe in the deity of Christ? Two very clean shaven and polite young men wearing white shirts and ties approach you. These are Mormon missionaries who will testify that Jesus died for their sins. One of them asks, “Do you believe that Jesus is God?” You answer, “Yes.” He then asks you, “Do you believe that God is omniscient, all knowing at all times?” Again, you answer, “Yes.” He them opens his Bible and reads the following to you: “But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone” (Mark 13:32). His partner rightly points out that the Son, Jesus, did not know the day or hour of His second coming. He asks you, “do you still believe that Jesus is omniscient?” Having very little knowledge of the Bible, you respond, “I don’t know. Either he is not omniscient or he emptied Himself of His omniscience what He became a man. Again, I really don’t know.” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) teaches that God the Father and God the Son are distinct beings, not one eternal God. Thus, they deny the deity of Christ. The Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Jesus is “a god” thereby denying His deity.

I was going to write a second book but I decided to publish a series of blogs, starting with this one, on the deity of Christ. In his book The Deity of Christ, John MacArthur expressed, “There is great value in tracing a doctrine like the deity of Christ through the pages of Scripture. Because His deity is often attacked by cultic groups and skeptics, believers need to know what God’s Word teaches about who Jesus truly is. Moreover, as their knowledge of the Savior deepens, their love for Him will only grow stronger.” Charles C. Ryrie stated the following in his work A Popular Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth: “The doctrine of the person of Christ is crucial to the Christian faith. It is basic to soteriology (doctrine of salvation), for if our Lord was not what He claimed to be, then His atonement was a deficient, not sufficient, payment for sin.” This refutes the idea that studying Christology (doctrine of Christ) has nothing to do with salvation. While witnessing to unbelievers, we often and unintentionally present a watered-down version of who Christ is. At the minimum, we should mention that He is the eternal God who created the heavens, the earth, and you who He loves so much that He stepped out of eternity and became a man who died for your sins.

“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16). All Scripture – from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21 – is inspired by God and points to “our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus” (Titus 2:13). After His resurrection, Jesus met two men who were walking on the road to “a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem” (Luke 24:13). “Beginning with Moses and with all the prophets,” Jesus “explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures” (Luke 24:27). Beginning with Moses – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and with all the prophets – Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, etc. In other words, Jesus explained to them everything that is written about Him in the Old Testament. Thus, don’t discount the Old Testament just because His name is not mentioned.

“Most biographies of Christ begin with His birth. The Bible, however, goes back to eternity and teaches His eternal pre-existence. Jesus antedates creation. In fact, the preexistence of Christ is bound up with other doctrines of the Son. His eternity, His place in the Trinity and His work as creator, among other things, indicate that He predated the creation of the universe. A correct understanding of His pre-existence, therefore, is foundational to understanding His person and work and is, accordingly, placed first in what follows” (A Systematic Theology of Biblical Christianity, Volume 2: The Doctrines of Man, Sin, Christ, and the Holy Spirit; Rolland McCune).

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations cited in this post are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.