Jesus is God

But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

-John 5:17–24

The Book of John focuses on establishing the identity of Christ from the very beginning. To understand the deity of Christ, one should somewhat understand the Trinity. There is one God who eternally exists in three distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus is God in nature, in works, in power, in authority and in truth.

Verse 17 says that Jesus is God in nature because just as the Father is working, so is the Son. Jesus is one with the Father in being and nature, having all of the attributes of God. He knows everything, is everywhere, has all power, is self-sustaining, rules over everything, never began to exist, never will cease to exist, and is our creator.

Verses 19-20 show that Jesus is God in works and cannot do anything apart from the Father and He has the power to do all. Throughout the New Testament, we read about the amazing miracles Jesus performs: healing the lepers, raising the dead, calming the storm, feeding the multitude, and many more. All these point to the amazing works of Christ and shows us that He is God. Only God has the power to do all Jesus did. A mere man cannot, but because Jesus is God, He can.

Verses 22-23 point to the fact that Jesus is God in authority. He has been given the final authority by the Father for all judgment and because Jesus is both God and man, He is the perfect judge of mankind.

Verse 24 says that Jesus is God in truth. One of the most fundamental things to understand is that God’s Word is truth. Therefore, because Jesus is God, His words are absolute truth. The Word is God’s full complete message and Jesus embodied that message, which is why He is called the “Logos” or the “Word” of God. This truth is what sanctifies us and points us to salvation, so we must recognize that Jesus’s words are the truth and that He is God.

Charles Spurgeon once said, “Depend on it, my hearer, you never will go to heaven unless you are prepared to worship Jesus Christ as God.” Understanding who Christ is, is the very fundamental pillar of our faith. Without knowing that Christ is God, one does not know Christ at all. We must know that Jesus is God because He is our Savior and without knowing Him entirely, as revealed in Scripture, we will never know and taste eternity. Run to the true word of God and know Him wholeheartedly.