The Deity of Christ

The New Testament asserts that Jesus Christ is equal to, and identical with God, performing works that only God can do. As the Son he is distinct from the Father he is of identical being with him and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus’ deity was expressed indirectly but pervasively in the New Testament. It was indirect since the powerful Old Testament monotheism rendered any claim to deity blasphemous. It was pervasive since the overwhelming evidence for Jesus’ identity with God dominated the thought, belief, and worship of the church from its earliest days after Pentecost. Jesus characteristically called God his Father and asserted that he was co-ordinate with him as the object of faith. Paul regarded Jesus Christ as identical to Yahweh in status and being. The New Testament as a whole sees him as creator, judge and savior – works only God could do. He is the object of worship, the theme of early Christian hymns, and is frequently addressed in prayer. He is regarded as one with the Father in being.

Robert Letham is a lecturer in systematic and historical theology at Wales Evangelical School of Theology in Bridgend, Wales.

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