Is Jesus truly God

The question of whether Jesus is truly God is a central and fundamental doctrine in Christianity. The overwhelming majority of Christian denominations, particularly those that adhere to Trinitarian beliefs, hold that Jesus is God the Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity. This means they believe Jesus is fully divine and fully human, a concept known as the hypostatic union.

Here’s a breakdown of the key aspects of this belief:

1. The Doctrine of the Trinity:

Mainstream Christianity is monotheistic, meaning it believes in one God.

However, this one God is understood to exist as three distinct, co-equal, and co-eternal “Persons”: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit.

The doctrine of the Trinity asserts that these three persons share the same divine essence, or nature, while remaining distinct in their personhood.

1. Biblical Support:

The New Testament is seen by Christians as providing numerous passages that support Jesus’s divinity.

Direct claims: Passages like John 1:1,

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” are often cited. The “Word” is understood to be Jesus. Another example is Thomas’s exclamation upon seeing the resurrected Jesus, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).

Divine attributes:

The Bible attributes divine qualities to Jesus, such as being eternal (Micah 5:2, John 8:58), omnipresent (Matthew 28:20), omniscient (John 2:24-25), and omnipotent (Philippians 3:21).

Divine actions:

Jesus is described as performing actions that, in the Old Testament, are exclusively God’s. He forgives sins (Mark 2:5-7), creates and upholds the universe (Colossians 1:16-17, Hebrews 1:3), and accepts worship (Matthew 8:2, John 9:38).

Divine titles:

Jesus is given titles that were used for God in the Old Testament, such as “Immanuel” (“God with us,” Matthew 1:23) and “Lord” (a title often used in the Greek Old Testament for Yahweh).

1. Historical Development of the Doctrine:

The belief in Jesus’s divinity was affirmed and clarified by early Church councils in response to theological debates. The Council of Nicaea in 325 AD formally established the Nicene Creed, which states that Jesus is “true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father.” The Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD further refined this understanding by articulating the “hypostatic union,” the teaching that Jesus is one person with two natures, fully divine and fully human.

1. Other Perspectives:

While the divinity of Jesus is a cornerstone of mainstream Christianity, other religions and some smaller Christian groups hold different views.

Islam:

Muslims revere Jesus (Isa) as a prophet and the Messiah, but they do not consider him to be the Son of God or divine. Islam emphasizes the strict oneness of God (Allah) and forbids associating partners with Him.

Jehovah’s Witnesses:

They believe Jesus is the Son of God and was the first creation of God, but they do not believe he is God in the same sense as the Father.

Mormonism:

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are considered three distinct and separate divine beings who are one in purpose. They believe Jesus is the literal Son of God, a divine being, but not the same being as the Father.

In summary, for the vast majority of Christians, the answer is a resounding “yes,” based on what they believe is the clear testimony of the Bible and centuries of theological tradition.