Peter knew

“Who do YOU say that I am? “ 

Our Lord Jesus Christ asked Peter this question.

Matt 16:13-16
13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"  14 And they said, "Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets." 15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Peter knew who He is.  He is the Messiah, and He is the Son of God.

When Peter said that Jesus is the Son of the living God, he was saying that Jesus is God in the flesh.  Son of God and Son of Man.

 

Every tongue will confess

But who do YOU say that He is?

Every person is called by God to answer this question. You can deny Him in this life if you choose, but you will have no choice but to proclaim Him at the hour of your resurrection, be it to life or to judgment..

Phil 2:5-11
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
KJV

Who is this Lord?  To whom will every knee bow and every tongue give praise?

Isaiah tells us:

ISA 45:21-23
21 "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.

22 "Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth;
For I am God, and there is no other.

23 "I have sworn by Myself,
The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness
And will not turn back,
That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.

Every knee will bow and every tongue will swear allegiance to the only God and Savior.

Every tongue will give praise to God.

Therefore, Jesus Christ is the only God and Savior. To call Him Lord is to call Him God.

 

Be equipped

Jesus Christ is God. 

The unbeliever must believe that Jesus Christ is God in order to be saved.  But they cannot believe what they have not heard.

And yet, many believers, even evangelists and pastor teachers, are not equipped to show this in the Scriptures.

As a result, they cannot defend the deity of Christ when it is questioned or attacked.

And the deity of Christ is attacked by nearly every false religion and cult - including the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Mormons, Islam, Judaism, and the Unitarian church.

The Bible is the word of God.  After reading this article, you will be well-equipped to show how the Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is God.

 

His birth

We will begin at the birth of Jesus.  His birth proves that He is human.  Yet He was born of a virgin - a miraculous work of God.

Luke 1:26-38
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And coming in, he said to her, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you."

 29 But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. 30 The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. 31 "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32 "He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end." 34 Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" 35 The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High [God the Father]  will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. 

God the Father and God the Holy Spirit overshadow Mary and come upon her.  This Child, Jesus, shall be called the Son of God.  This Baby is God in the flesh.

Isaiah prophesied of Him:

ISA 9:6
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

The child that was born of Mary is Almighty God.

 

Jesus said He is God

And Jesus Himself said that He was God.  He said that He and God the Father were one.  The same in essence. Deity.

John 10:24-39
24 The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, "How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly." 25 Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father's name, these testify of Me.  26 "But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. 

27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;  28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.  29 "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.  30 "I and the Father are one."

31 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."

After His resurrection, when the apostle Thomas felt the nail prints in Jesus’ hands and feet, he cried out, “ My Lord and My God”. Jesus did not correct him.

John 20:26-31
26 After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you."  27 Then He said to Thomas, "Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing."  28 Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" 29 Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed."

30 Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

How do you have real life, eternal life? By believing that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah), the Son of God.

 

Five solid passages

The beginning of the Gospel of John says He is God.

John 1:1-4
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.

John 1:14-18
14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John testified about Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'" 16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

So too does Romans 9:5

ROM 9:3-5
3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, 4 who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, 5 whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.

Christ is over all.  He is God blessed forever.

And Titus calls Jesus Christ “our great God and Savior”!

Titus 2:11-14
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, 12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, 14 who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.

Christ Jesus is both God and Savior.

Acts 20:28
28 "Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

God purchased His church with His own blood.

The blood of Christ purchased the church, according to 1 Peter 1:18-19.

This means that Christ is God.

 

The powerful witness of Hebrews

And the first chapter of the book of Hebrews overflows with rich statements about the deity of Christ.

Heb 1
1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. 3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.

5 For to which of the angels did He ever say,
"YOU ARE MY SON,TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU"?

And again,
"I WILL BE A FATHER TO HIM
AND HE SHALL BE A SON TO ME"?

6 And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says,
"AND LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM."

7 And of the angels He says,
"WHO MAKES HIS ANGELS WINDS,AND HIS MINISTERS A FLAME OF FIRE."

8 But of the Son He says,
"YOUR THRONE, O GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER,
AND THE RIGHTEOUS SCEPTER IS THE SCEPTER OF HIS KINGDOM.

9 "YOU HAVE LOVED RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HATED LAWLESSNESS;
THEREFORE GOD, YOUR GOD, HAS ANOINTED YOU WITH THE OIL OF GLADNESS ABOVE YOUR COMPANIONS."

In verse 8, God the Father Himself declares that His Son Jesus is God. There can be no greater witness.

He made the world through His Son. The heavens are the work of the Son’s hands. The Son upholds all things by the word of His power.

And Jesus is the Son of God.

His Son is the exact representation of God the Father’s nature. This is what “son of” means in the Bible.

God the Father’s nature is deity.  Therefore, the Son is also deity, since He is the exact representation of His Father’s nature.

 

It’s clear in Colossians

Our last stop will be the book of Colossians.  If you ever have trouble showing the deity of Christ, just head to the book of Colossians.

COL 1:13-17
13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

God’s Son is the visible manifestation of the invisible God.  All things were created by Him.   In Christ, all things hold together.

But the clincher is found in chapter 2 of the letter to the saints at Colossae.

COL 2:8-9
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. 9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,

It could not be stated any more clearly:   “all the fullness of deity dwells in Him bodily”.   Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. This verse all by itself unmistakably says that Jesus Christ is God.

 

“Who do you say that I am?”

Jesus, You are God in a perfect human body.  You died for our sins. You were buried.  Three days later, You were raised from the dead to the glory of the Father.

Whoever believes in You -God’s Son - will never perish but will have eternal life.