Some people think that it does, usually based on one or more of the following 9 (or 10) “Jesus as God” verses.
The Word Was God, John 1:1
The Only Son, Who Is God, John 1:18
My Lord and My God! John 20:28
The Church of God, Acts 20:28
God blessed Forever, Romans 9:5
Our Great God and Savior, Titus 2:13
The Throne of God, Psalm 45:7-8,
The Throne of God, Hebrews 1:8-9
Our God and Savior, 2 Peter 1:1
The True God, 1 John 5:20
- Note. These are the 10 as listed in a recent book. Although Psalm 45:7-8 and Hebrews 1:8-9 are actually the same verse. An alternative verse to make the list up to 10 would be the ‘Mighty God and Eternal Father’ prophecy in Isaiah 9:6.
Why these verses?
Before we go into the detail, it’s worth standing back here and asking – why these verses? Why all this focus on the fine points of possible readings? Why is it so much work to search with a fine tooth comb through the 7,957-odd verses in the New Testament to find 10 which might support Jesus being called God? Why isn’t there 1 blank, straight, verse simply saying so? Why in fact aren’t there 30 or 50 such verses? Why is there so much focus on 10 possible readings?
Is it because the New Testament actually does not call Jesus ‘God’? The student should seriously consider that possibility before going to the detail of the verses looking for evidence that Jesus is called ‘God’.
Detailed answers
For more detail study each one individually – including by using the search box on this website.
The Word Was God, John 1:1 – Does John 1:1-5 mean that Jesus is God?
The Only Son, Who Is God, John 1:18 – “Only begotten Son” or “only begotten God”? (John 1:18)
My Lord and My God! John 20:28 – What did Thomas mean when he said to Jesus “My Lord and my God”? (John 20:28)
The Church of God, Acts 20:28 – What does “the church of God, which he bought with his own blood” mean? (Acts 20:28)
God blessed Forever, Romans 9:5 – Does Paul call Christ “God blessed for ever”? (Romans 9:5)
Our Great God and Savior, Titus 2:13 – Does the New Testament call Jesus “God”?
The Throne of God, Psalm 45:7-8 – Is the king of Israel called “god” in Psalm 45:7 – “Your throne, O God,”?
The Throne of God, Hebrews 1:8-9 – Why does God call Jesus “God” in Hebrews 1:8, unless he is actually God?
Our God and Savior, 2 Peter 1:1 – Does the New Testament call Jesus “God”?
The True God, 1 John 5:20 – Does 1 John call Jesus “the true God and eternal life”? (1 John 5:20)
They largely fall into two categories – those with confusing grammar, or those where manuscripts disagree. But there is no clear black and white text which calls Jesus ‘God’, despite most Christians, for most of church history, very much wanting there to be such verses.
Conclusion
So despite that these 10 ‘possible’ Jesus-as-God verses have had great energy expended on them, in most cases for centuries, the fact remains that not one of the 10 verses clearly calls Jesus ‘God’ – if such a verse did exist that would be clear.
So we are back with the clear Bible statements – where Jesus is usually either ‘son of man’ (from Adam via Mary) or ‘son of God’ (by the virgin birth), or 6 times “man”, including once in Jesus’ own statement “but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God.” (John 8:40).
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