The doctrine of The Deity of Jesus Christ the Son of God is the most important doctrine in the Bible. A study of the deity of Christ cannot exceed God’s own presentation from His divine viewpoint, which is manifested in Scripture. Therefore, the Word of God must be presented and accepted as inerrant, literally alive, and therefore the absolute representation and demonstration of God’s own thinking (1 Thessalonians 2:13; Hebrews 4:12; 1 Peter 1:23).
When the Word of God is presented and read without bias, clearly and truthfully, the unbelief of humanity, the natural mind of men, and the reasoning of the world through its wisdom are without excuse if they fail to see the Savior and believe in the risen Lord.
“We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the World” (1 John 4:14).
“If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this that He has testified concerning His Son. The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. And the testimony is this that God has given us eternal life (believers), and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:9-13).
“This is His commandment that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us” (1 John 3:23).
“And we know that the Son of God (Messiah) has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true (absolute truth); and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life” (1 John 5:20).
“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of prophesy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near” (Revelation 1:3).
ETERNITY OF JESUS CHRIST – FATHER OF ETERNITY
Old and New Testament Verification
Christ proclaimed Himself as deity in no uncertain terms. Jesus Christ (Yeshua) is God in the flesh. “Jesus said unto them, ‘truly, truly, i say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM” (John 5:8). In this emphatic statement, Christ declares Himself as eternal, which is a prerequisite of deity. Why is this statement emphatic? Because Christ used the term “truly, truly,” (verily, verily, in some translations), which means, “very truly” or “absolutely.” Compare John 5:8 with Exodus 3:13-15.
The innermost meaning of “I AM WHO I AM” is best expressed as “YHWH” which in Hebrew is pronounced Yahweh, meaning Messiah. This is the most significant name for God in the Old Testament. Yahweh has a twofold meaning: “Self-existent One” and “To be” which expresses the absoluteness of deity and eternity in one name. In Exodus 6:6, “I Am” is the Redeemer. This name, Yahweh, occurs 6832 times in the Old Testament, according to Ryrie’s Study Bible Expanded Edition, Moody Press, 1995 update).
Jesus Christ is Jehovah/Yahweh (Eternal God and Messiah/Savior) throughout Scripture.
In the Old Testament, He is presented as eternal deity. In the New Testament, He claims to be the God of eternity.
Please note: In the early history of Christianity, a heresy known as the Arian Heresy created an explosive controversy because it taught that Jesus Christ was not eternal but was the first of created spirits. Cults until this very day still teach this heresy. The heresy stated that Christ is a creature created in time and cannot be eternal or infinite. This heresy was denounced at the Council of Nicaea in A. D. 325.
Jesus Christ is Eternal God. To be eternal means that Christ is not dependent upon another for existence. Jesus Christ is self-existent and nothing existed before He existed because he always existed (John 1:1). If we say that Christ is pre-existent, we are saying that he existed before His physical birth in Bethlehem. Jesus Christ is eternal. Jesus Christ is deity. Therefore, you cannot separate eternity and deity. There is no eternity without deity. There is no deity without eternity – both are infinite.
In the Old Testament (Micah 5:2 – King James version), we read that “His goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” This is just one of many passages which state in effect Christ’s eternalness. In Psalm 90:2, Proverbs 8:22,23 and John 1:1, the writers used the strongest assertion of infinity in the Hebrew and Greek languages so that there should be no room to ever doubt the eternal deity of Jehovah the prophesied Messiah – Jesus Christ.
In Isaiah 9:6, Messiah is declared to be “Mighty God” and “Everlasting Father,” which is to say “Father of Eternity.” Scripture cannot be more conclusive and emphatic concerning the deity of Jesus Christ as Jehovah.
John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” The phrase “in the beginning” is en archei in the Greek and means in a beginning which was not a beginning in eternity past the Word (Christ – Jehovah) already existed.
So the John 1:I is saying without a doubt that when things began to exist “Logos” (Christ) already existed as the eternal one – the Father of Eternity and time. Everything that has substance and life comes from the Father of Eternity – Jesus Christ (John 1:3, 4).
Here are seven “I AM” statements of Jesus Christ asserting Himself as Jehovah the Eternal One in the Book of John:
I am the bread of life (6:35)
I am the light of the world (8:12)
I am the gate (10:7&9)
I am the good shepherd (10:11 &14)
I am the resurrection and the life (11:25)
I am the way, the truth, and the life (14:6)
I am the true vine (15:1&5)
Jesus Christ is “I AM” the Jehovah of the Old testament as emphatically stated in John 1:1-14 and John 8:58.
As demonstrated, Jesus Christ is declared throughout Scripture to be the Eternity One or Father of Eternity: Exodus 3:14-16; Psalm 90:2; Proverbs 8:22,23; Isaiah 9:6; Micah 5:2; John 1:1-14. In Colossians 1:16-19 and Revelation 1:8 we see Christ as the uncaused cause of being – the self–existent one of eternity.
TITLES OF CHRIST
A more completed picture of Jesus Christ as Jehovah-Elohim involves a brief study of His titles of deity in the Old and New Testament. The many titles given to Christ demonstrate His eternal deity. (Not all are listed here). Christ is given titles that apply to His pre-incarnate person and His incarnation.
JEHOVAH
The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (the Trinity) are all referred to as Jehovah in Scripture. Jesus Christ in the New Testament bears the title of Jehovah in the Old Testament.
Christ is Jehovah in Zechariah 12:10; 23:5,6 and Revelation 1:7 compared to 1 Corinthians 1:30. Other comparisons for additional confirmation: Psalm 68:18 with Ephesians 4:8-10; Psalm 102:12,25-27 with Hebrews 1:10-12; Isaiah 6:5 with John 12:41. Jesus Christ is worthy to be called by the most ineffable name for God in Scripture – Jehovah. Jehovah is considered by Jews to so Holy that they would substitute another name for deity rather than express verbally the name Jehovah. Jesus Christ as Jehovah further affirms His deity and all the attributes of deity ascribed to the Father.
ELOHIM
In Isaiah 9:6-7, Christ is called “the mighty God” (Elohim). It is apparent that God (Elohim) in the Old Testament is God in the New Testament by the use of (theos) in the Greek. Thus, all passages in the New Testament referring to Christ by this title prove that He is the Elohim of the Old Testament. Theos is also used in Romans 15:6; Ephesians 1:3; 5:5,20; 2 Peter 1:1. Because Christ is the Elohim of the Old Testament He is the One who is introduced as “In the beginning God.” Therefore, Jesus Christ is the God of Creation (Genesis 1:1; John 1:1-3), and every time Elohim is mentioned in the Old Testament. If one cannot see that Christ is Eternal God then it is because one is blinded by unbelief or bias due to false teaching.
In Isaiah 40:3, Christ is both Jehovah and Elohim. Compare this Scripture to Luke 3:4. In a few isolated cases Elohim is used to describe men as God’s representatives as in John 10:33,34, where He was citing Psalm 82:6. Another instance of the term Elohim can be found in Exodus 22:8,9 where it is translated “judges.” If men can be referred to as Elohim how much more Christ. Christ too is God’s representative to a fallen, lost and dying humanity.
ADONI
Psalm 110:1 refers to the ultimate victory of Christ over His enemies at His second coming. Until then, Christ is seated on the throne of eternity awaiting the Father’s command to defeat His enemies. Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ will witness His victorious war against Satan and evil. (Reference also Matthew 22:44; 26:64; Mark 12:36; Luke 20:42,43; Acts 2:34,35; 1 Corinthians 15:25; Ephesians 1:20,22; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 1:3,13; 8:1; 10:12,13; 12:2).
ANGEL OF JEHOVAH/ANGEL OF GOD
Christ was the Angel of Jehovah in the Old Testament which confirms His preexistence.
Christ throughout Scripture is the revealed person of the Trinity. It is Christ who reveals the Father (John 6:46). As one of the primary Theophanies the Angel of Jehovah is the second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ as we shall demonstrate by Scripture.
1.) The Angel of Jehovah is identified as Jehovah in Genesis 16:13 and 22:15-18.
2.) Angel of God/Angel of the Lord is used as a synonym for Jehovah – see Genesis 16:9-11; 22:15-18. In these instances the Hebrew word Elohim is used which is the plural name for God and refers to a distinct person(s) of the Godhead. Reference chapter 24 verse 7. See also Genesis chapter 17 where Jehovah God is talking with Abraham.
The deity of the Angel is further confirmed by the following passages: Genesis 31:11-13; 48:15-16; 45:5. God and Jehovah are used interchangeably in Exodus 3:1; 13:21; 14:19; Acts 7:30-35; reference also Judges 6:11-23; 13:9-20. In Zechariah 1:11-13 where the Angel of Jehovah spoke to Jehovah, so we have a conversation between God the Father and God the Son (the first and second persons of the Trinity). Other similar passages: Exodus 23:20,32,34; 1 Chronicles 21:15-18; Isaiah 63:9; Daniel 3:25-28.
3). Jesus Christ is the second person of the Trinity and is the visible person of the Godhead. Neither the Father nor the Holy Spirit is revealed in bodily or visible form (John 1:18).
Therefore, having demonstrated the Deity of the Angel of Jehovah and that He is a person of the Trinity, we know that the second person of the Trinity is both Jehovah and the Angel of Jehovah. This is why and how the Angel of God can talk to God and yet be God at the same time? A second consideration is this: The Angel of Jehovah in the Old Testament no longer appears after the incarnation. Therefore, the Angel of Jehovah is now the incarnate Christ.