There are followers of Jesus that make one or more of the following claims:

• Jesus is not God, he is either “a god” or not divine at all.
• Jesus is a created being.

I’m not going to spend any time naming denominations or groups that make these claims, instead I’m going to encourage you to determine what you believe and to assess the denominations or groups that you associate yourself with accordingly.

Whenever we deal with questions like these it is important that we apply the following guidelines:

• The Bible is our primary and only source of truth.
• When translation language is unsure, the underlying Greek & Hebrew is where we turn for clarity.
• We must not cling to one verse for proof, we must judge by all verses that address the subject.
• We must not read any verse in isolation, we must consider the context of the surrounding scripture (and the rest of the Bible) also.
• We must consider culture around the original languages as this can assist with word meanings, we cannot simply assume that today’s interpretation of a word is always applicable.

First of all I want to make it clear: I believe that Jesus is God, part of the trinity and was not created. I don’t just believe this because someone told me it was true, I believe it because of what scripture teaches.

The usual starting point for the claim is here:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:1 NIV

The “Word” is Jesus (see John 1:14).

Some theologians argue that the correct translation of the last five words is “…and the Word was a god”. In the Greek this is either “kai ho logos en theos” (KJV manuscripts, dated circa 15th century AD) or “kai ho logo eimi theos” (NIV manuscripts, dated between 2nd & 4th centuries AD).

The word “en” is typically translated as “in”, “on”, “at”, “by”, or “among”.

The word “eimi” is typically translated as “I am”, “to exist”, “to live”, or “to be present”.

I’m not going to claim to be an expert in Greek, I’m far from it and will leave that up to those that are (I recommend checking out Wes Huff, he is a Greek manuscript expert and has an excellent YouTube channel and Facebook presence). Instead, lets explore the rest of the Bible to determine if Jesus is “God”, “a god” or “just a created being”.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6 NIV

In the above Messianic scripture, Isaiah prophecies about the coming of Jesus and calls Him, among other things, “Mighty God”.

(27) Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
(28) Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

John 20:27-28 NIV

Jesus did not correct Thomas, however, the angel was quick to correct John in Revelation 22:8-9 when he bowed down to worship him.

Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

John 14:9 NIV

When Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father this was Jesus’ reply: “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father”. If Jesus was not God and not part of the trinity, this would not be a valid claim to make. Would a created being or a god (lowercase g) be able to claim that they represent exactly what the Father represents?

“Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Mark 2:7 NIV

In this verse, some teachers of the law responded to Jesus forgiving someones sins in this way. They were correct, only God alone can forgive sins. Did Jesus forgive people of their sins? Yes.

Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.

Romans 9:5 NIV

The Apostle Paul said this about the Jews. In this verse he called Jesus (the Messiah) “God over all”. This not only attests to Jesus being God but also being part of a trinity, with the Father and Holy Spirit because He is “…over all”.

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,

Colossians 2:9 NIV

Another verse, again from Paul, stating that Jesus is “fully God”.

Consider this verse:

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

Revelation 22:13 NIV

These are part of Jesus’ closing words in the book of Revelation. If Jesus is “the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” at what point was He created?

Jesus is not a created being. John 1:14 says:

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14 NIV

Jesus (the Word) “became” flash and made His dwelling among us. There was a joining of “the Word” with a fleshly body. Mary (through divine conception) provided the body, Jesus provided the Spirit that lived in it. As a man, I cannot fully comprehend exactly how this was able to happen, but as a Christian I simply have faith in what God did and why He did it.

What other verses are used for these claims?

As I mentioned earlier, John 1:1 is often the primary verse used by claiming incorrect interpretation of the Greek. However, there are other verses sometimes used. Let’s go through some of them:

Let them know that you, whose name is the LORD— that you alone are the Most High over all the earth.

Psalms 83:18 NIV

This verse is used to claim that God (the Father) is the only God, however, if we believe there is evidence for a trinity (one God in three forms: Father, Son & Holy Spirit) then we can clearly see that God is alone the Most High over all the earth.

And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

Revelation 3:14 KJV

In this KJV verse, Jesus (the Amen) is “the beginning of the creation of God” and this is used to claim that Jesus is created. The word translated “beginning” is the Greek “arche” which refers to a “ruler, source or origin” not a sequential order. The NIV translates this verse thus:

“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.

Revelation 3:14 NIV

Another verse used to make a similar claim is:

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

Colossians 1:15 NIV

In this case, the word “firstborn” is the Greek “prōtotokos” which can either mean “firstborn” or can refer to the ruling rights associated with a firstborn child. In this case I think Paul meant both: In terms of being “born again” (John 3:3) Jesus was truly the “firstborn” and in terms of ruling He is “over all creation”.

Conclusions

If we can (hypothetically) raise questions about the divinity of Jesus and His being part of the trinity by the translation of John 1:1, there is a mountain of evidence within the rest of scripture by which we can point our fingers in the correct direction:

1. Jesus is God (not “a god”).
2. Jesus is part of the trinity.
3. Jesus was not created.
4. Jesus is a perfect representation and image of the Father.
5. Jesus is to be worshipped.

So where does this leave those who still cling to the claims that scripture refutes? I’m going to tread careful here and just list what I know from the scriptures:

• As false teachers.
• As those who claim Christ does not hold to the attributes that the Old Testament gives Him. This makes them “against” Christ (anti?).
• As those blaspheming Jesus, they are “insulting” Him by claiming He is much less than He is.

Whenever I consider this, I always visit here:

(31) And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.
(32) Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

Matthew 12:31-32 NIV

Speaking “against the Son of Man (Jesus) will be forgiven”, so does this make their error forgivable? In the context of this verse alone, yes, but we cannot ignore full context:

I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”

John 8:24 NIV

Let’s look at the base requirement in this verse “if you do not believe that I am he”. The phrase “I am he” should really be written “I am [He]” with “He” being an added word. The Greek says “egō eimi” which means “I am”. Sound familiar?

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

Exodus 3:14 NIV

“I AM” is the name God gives for himself to Moses, Jesus was saying “If you do not believe that I am ‘I AM’ you will die in your sins”. Believing Jesus is God is a requirement for salvation.

Paul said “Opponents must be gently instructed” (2 Timothy 2:25), so instruct these people gently and lovingly, pray for them and try to “snatch them from the fire”.