There have been many who have denied the deity of Christ, but the truth is, Jesus was God before His incarnation, during His incarnation, and after His incarnation; thus, He has always been God.

This is not to say that the Father and the Son are one person. The scriptures teach that the God of the scriptures is composed of three distinct Beings—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

That the Father and the Son are not the same person is seen in many passages. For example, in John 1:1-2 there is a clear distinction between them. John wrote, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.” The preposition “with” clearly marks a distinction between two persons and proves that the Word and God were two different beings. They are both called God because they are both divine.

We will say more about the deity of Christ in just a moment, but the point we are making now is that while Jesus is God, He is a distinct being from the Father, and has His own personality and individuality. This is seen, not only in the passage before us, but also in Matthew 3 when Jesus was baptized. In that passage, we find Jesus on earth being baptized and the Father speaking from heaven (Matthew 3:16-17).

It might be noted that in this same passage we find the Holy Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, proving that He is also distinct from the Father and the Son.

Having established the fact that the Father and the Son are two distinct Beings, let us now prove that Jesus is, Himself, divine. There are several ways to establish this. Let us look at two of them.

Jesus Claimed Equality with the Father

Every time Jesus referred to God as His Father, He was affirming His equality with the Father. If Jesus is the Son of God, He must be the same kind of being as the Father. I have often illustrated this by the example of my son, Jordan. When I tell you that Jordan is my son, you know immediately that he is a human being. I do not have to tell you that. All I have to tell you is that Jordan is my son, and the rest is obvious. Why? Because everyone knows that seed produces after its own kind, meaning that all my children have to be the same kind of being that I am. If I am human, all my children have to be human too. So, when I tell you that Jordan is my son, you would not conclude that he is a dog, cat, or some other kind of animal, because being my son, he must be the same kind of being as me. Is Jesus the Son of God? Yes, many passages teach us so (John 5:17-18; John 10:22-33). Since such is the case, we have undeniable evidence that Jesus is divine.

The Scriptures Refer to Jesus as God

Perhaps the best evidence we have for the deity of Christ is that He is called God in the scriptures. We have already seen the passage in John where the Word is called God (John 1:1), but there are many other passages where Jesus is called God as well. Paul told the elders of the church at Ephesus that God purchased the church with His own blood (Acts 20:28). Who was it that purchased the church? It was Jesus Christ. Every Bible student knows this. Thus, Paul referred to Jesus as God.

In 1 Timothy 3:15-16 Paul refers to Jesus as God three times. He refers to the house of God, and the church of the living God in verse 15, then he tells us Who he is speaking of in verse 16 when he says that God was manifested in the flesh. That Jesus is the One under consideration is seen by the description Paul gives in the rest of verse 16, once again proving the deity of Christ. When Jesus was here on earth, He was not an ordinary man like you and me. He never stopped being God when He was here on earth. He was God manifested in the flesh.

There is more. In Titus 2:13 Paul tells us that we should be looking for “that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.” Again, every Bible student knows that we are waiting for the second coming of Christ, not the first coming of the Father. We are promised by the Spirit that Jesus will someday come again (Acts 1:9-11; Hebrews 9:28). So, when Paul, by inspiration, spoke of the glorious appearing of the great God, he was speaking of Christ. Jesus is often referred to as God in the New Testament. Only those who disbelieve that the Bible is the inspired Word of God would ever deny the deity of Christ. One may claim to believe in the inspiration of the scriptures, but if he denies that Jesus is God, his words are empty.