Firstly, I’d like to say when interpreting the Bible for yourself there are still guides that help us understand.
The first one is the Holy Spirit.
John 16:13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak
Christian doctrine about the Bible is that it is inspired by the Holy Spirit penned by flawed men. That it is inerrant in its original language and context to its original people.
So it follows that the author of the book would be most apt to interpret it for you. But we also need other tools to help us understand it.
Second is context. Who was this written to? When was it written? Who was it written by? What were they trying to say? When you answer these questions you have the primary understanding of the scripture. However, allegorically it can mean something to you individually spiritually or even in direction of your walk with God.
Third, the rest of the Bible. We look for other evidence in the Bible to cooperate, what we believe the Bible to be saying in this specific verse. How many other places can I find this concept? Is this clearly supported by other scriptures and is it specifically not condemned in other scriptures.
So firstly I believe that Jesus is God because I’ve been convinced by the Holy Spirit. Second, I understand it in scripture and third I believe is taught in the Bible.
If you are seeking truth, you should read the scriptures and open up yourself for the Holy Spirit to guide you to the answers. Ultimately, an argument will not convince you enough for some other argument to convince you differently.
The reason I think the conversation starts with who Jesus truly is is because if you decide or understand that Jesus is God, you then have to turn understanding towards God and understand who he is in the light of the revelation that Jesus Christ is God.
Jesus Own Words.
John 8:58 Jesus says ” truly I tell you that before Abraham was I am.”
This is a reference to Exodus 3:14 where God reveals his name to Moses for the first time in the Bible where he says “I Am that I Am”
Immediately after Jesus says this the Pharisees try to kill him but he gets away. So obviously he’s speaking blasphemy according to them.
John 18:4-6 soldiers come to rest Jesus. He asks who they’re looking for they say Jesus of Nazareth and then he says. “I Am he” He is added for clarification. However in the Greek he simply says “I Am” (Ego Eimi)
- Ego (ἐγώ): Means “I”.
- Eimi (εἰμι): The first-person singular present tense of the verb “to be,” meaning “am”.
He uses this phraseology again in John 13:19 ” I tell you before it comes that when it does come to pass you may believe that I am he
John 10:30 “I and the Father are one” The Jews then pick up stones to kill him and say ” because you being a man make yourself God”
John 14:9-11 Philip is asking me to see the father Jesus says “he who has seen me has seen the father. I am in the father and the father is in me.”
Mark, Matthew and Luke all tell the story of Jesus for giving and healing a paralyzed man. Jesus says “Your sins are Forgiven” All describes in the story. Respond correctly by saying “who can forgive sins but God alone?”
Matthew 5:21-22 ” you have heard it said you show not murder whoever murders will be in danger of judgment. But I tell you that whoever….”
Jesus is demonstrating his power over the given law by Moses.
Mark 2:27 Matthew 12:8 Luke 6:5
“ The son of man is Lord over the Sabbath”
Obviously one of the ten commandments given by God is to keep the Sabbath holy. Claiming to be lured over. It obviously is claiming some sort of divinity over it.
Matthew 12:6
“ I tell you that something greater than the temple is here.”
In the Old testament, the temple was the dwelling place of God claiming to be greater than the actual place where God dwelt is a Divinity claim.
Matthew 25:31-32
” when the son of man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him and he will separate them one from another…”
Here Jesus claims to be the judge of the whole earth.
Matthew 28:18
“ All authority in heaven and Earth has been given to me…”
No prophet ever claimed such authority. While not a direct Divinity claim, it is an exclusive claim.
And finally
Jesus accepts worship
Matthew 14:33
After Peter walks on the water Jesus saves him out of the waves. Then the people in the boat worship him after he calms the storm.
Matthew 28:9
Right after Jesus Resurrection it says they came and held his feet and worshiped him. Here again he does not rebuke them but instead says “ do not be afraid. Go and tell my brethren”
Luke 24:52
After Jesus ascends into heaven the disciples worship him and praise God.
The reason this is so significant is because of the first commandment “I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods beside me”
There are lots of other scriptures in the New testament and Old testament that point to Jesus being God. The reason I wanted to stay inside of the gospels is for several reasons. The arguments that Jesus never said he was God or claimed equality with him. Not to mention these are supposed to be first-hand accounts and would have been the earliest writings about Jesus teachings. If we can detect in the first hand accounts that Jesus himself is claiming to be God then we can find the later scriptures to be reliable when they claim the same thing.
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