There are no scripture where Jesus officially taught anyone that he is God. Therefore, it is hard to proof Jesus divinity especially if Jesus' own disciples believed he was human and especially when Jesus did not explain the Godhead, but instead interacted with God as his own God. However for political reasons, it was important to proof Jesus divinity. That is why this ongoing debate spanning over many centuries, resulted in extensive studies to defend Jesus' divinity. It will be impractical to list every argument here, therefore I will only briefly summarise some of the most important ones:

Misquoted prophecies

Psalms

Many Psalms are often quoted out of context to proof the divinity of Jesus. It is wrong to assume that every Psalm is about Jesus.

Some websites or apps tend to remove the titles or introductions of Psalms because verse 1 starts with the content of the Psalms and due to technical limitations, the descriptions are sometimes not displayed.

The printed Bibles reveal that the majority of Psalms were written about King David (not King Jesus) and some Psalms explain the greatness of the LORD (capital letters), instead of "the Lord Jesus". It is true that some Psalms do contain prophecies about Jesus, but Jesus and the apostles quoted them so that we may know which prophecies had been fulfilled.

Immanuel

Matthew 1:23 quotes Isaiah 7:14 to proof that Jesus was "God with us".

• Trinitarians view that "God with us" means God was physically present in an incarnated human form with us.
• Unitarians view that "God with us" means God can now fellowship with us because of Jesus' obedience (1 John 1:1-3; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20).

Even if "Immanuel" does mean God is physically present with us, it still proofs nothing because we cannot assume the literal meaning of Hebrew names as facts, for example:

• Elijah means "God Yahweh", but Elijah was no god.
• Peter means "rock".
• Bithiah means "daughter of Yahweh", but was not Jesus' sister

The original prophecy of Immanuel already came into fulfilment (Isaiah 7:15-16; 8:4). Matthew was more likely drawing a correlation between the circumstances of those days when people desperately needed God to deliver them, with the circumstances in his days when they needed God again to deliver them. In both cases the birth of a child served as a sign of hope that God did not forsake them, but "God was still with them".

The promised child

One of the prophecies that is often quoted to proof the divinity of Jesus is:

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

-- Isaiah 9:6 (ESV)

The problem is that each of these attributes are based on Hebrew words that has multiple meanings. Often translators will choose the meanings that best fit their view.

The ESV's version of the prophecy fails to explain to a monotheistic nation how there could be 2 gods or how their Mighty God could be a Son to Himself. No Jew would translate Isaiah this way.

Alternative meanings:

• Hebrew "el" that was translated "God": mighty one (could be a god, angel, idol or human)
• Hebrew "gibbowr" that was translated "Mighty": strong, warrior, hero
• Hebrew "ad" translated as "Everlasting": forever, perpetually, continually, until, eternity
• Hebrew "ab" translated as "father": Literally "a male parent", but in combination of "ad", which is derived from the root word which means "to pass on" or "to advance", it more likely refers to someone that discovered something or that started a new way of life which was passed on to future generations. For example "the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock" (Genesis 4:20), "the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe" (Genesis 4:21).
• Hebrew "sar" translated as "Prince": ruler, leader, chief, captain, official.
• Hebrew "shalowm" translated as "Peace": completeness, welfare, well-being, safety, prosperity

Other translations render the same scripture as:

... And he will call his name Wonderful Counselor, Mighty Hero, Father of the Coming Age, Prince of Peace. -- Isaiah 9:6 (REV)

or

... And his name is called Wonder, Counsellor, Strong Ěl, Father of Continuity, Prince of Peace. -- Isaiah 9:6 (TS2009)

or

... and his name is called the Messenger of great counsel: for I will bring peace upon the princes, and health to him. -- Isaiah 9:6 (Brenton Septuagint Translation)

or the JPS Tanakh considered it a name that should not be translated:

... And his name is called Pele-joez-el-gibbor-Abi-ad-sar-shalom; -- Isaiah 9:6 (JPS Tanakh 1917)

The Teacher

It was prophesied:

All your sons will be taught of Yahweh; And the peace of your sons will be great. -- Isaiah 54:13 (LSB)

Some use this verse as evidence that Jesus is God, because Jesus quoted this verse (John 6:45) and Jesus himself was a teacher. However, Isaiah did not say that God is the only teacher. It also ignores the previous verses John 6:43-44 where Jesus said "no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him". Jesus was God's delegated teacher (John 8:28; 12:49-50).

The "everlasting" ruler

Matthew 2:5-6 refers to Jesus as the "ruler" of Micah 5:2 which mentions he would be from "everlasting". This is often quoted to proof Jesus' pre-existence.

Often the rest of Micah 5:2-5 is ignored, which mentions that this same ruler would serve God and would not be God Himself.

The Hebrew word "olam", that Bible translators translate as "everlasting" could mean "from eternity", but according to Allen Ross (Kregel Academic) does not mean eternity "when the context puts limits on its meaning". In this case it was referring to the ancient royal linage of the Davidic covenant.

Another interpretation is that "everlasting" refers to God's ancient prophecies for this "ruler" instead of the creation of this "ruler" himself.

Selling Jesus for 30 pieces of silver

Matthew 27:3-10 states that the actions Judas fulfilled a prophecy in Jeremiah. However, Jeremiah made no such prophecy according to our knowledge. Therefore, some say "Jeremiah" means a collection of major prophecies like Jeremiah's prophecy of which includes Zechariah's prophecy about "God" selling himself for the same price (Zechariah 11:4-17) as Judas betrayed Jesus.

However, often the following facts are overlooked:

But most importantly, there are inconsistencies between Zechariah and Matthews versions of who is being priced. Different Bible translations also often change who is speaking and who is doing the actions. Compare for example the KJV with ESV. Zechariah 11:15 gives a hint that it was actually Zechariah doing the actions, which implies Zechariah was speaking, and thus it was Zechariah that was priced, not God.

According to the ESV:

1. The LORD instructed Zechariah to become a shepherd (prophetic act) (Zechariah 11:7).
2. Then Zechariah became impatient with the three shepherd (probably his employees attending to his flock) (Zechariah 11:8).
3. Then Zechariah quit being a shepherd (Zechariah 11:9).
4. Then Zechariah break the covenant (probably the shepherd contract) (Zechariah 11:10).
5. The sheep traders who watched Zechariah understood it was a word of the LORD (prophecy) (Zechariah 11:11).
6. Then Zechariah ask for his final wage (Zechariah 11:12).
7. "And they weighed out as my (Zechariah's) wages thirty pieces of silver." (Zechariah 11:12)
8. Then the LORD instructed Zechariah to throw his wage in the temple "to the potter" (Zechariah 11:13) probably as a prophetic act.

Pierced in his flesh

Regarding the prophecy about the crucifixion:

The NIV translation of Zechariah 12:10 says that God Himself will be pierced.

However, other translations like the RSV says that God's first-born will be pierced.

The problem is that when one looks at the Hebrew in isolation it is not clear if the correct translation should be "me" (God) or "him" (the first-born).

John 19:37 (NKJV) also quotes the same scripture but with "him" which refers to the first-born that will be pierced.

Equality with the Father

Translators add titles in their bibles, like "Jesus Is Equal with God". These titles did not exist in the original manuscripts and were added afterwards by the translators to summarise their understanding of a passage.

To proof that Jesus is the Father, people often quoted scriptures out of context like:

• "If you knew me, you would know my Father also" (John 8:19), but ignore John 8:17-18 and John 8:55 which Jesus made it clear that he is not the Father and that they too could "know his Father".
• "I am in the Father and the Father is in me" (John 14:6-11), but ignore John 14:17 "He [the Father] will be in you". The disciples were never considered to be divine because of this statement.
• "I will not leave you as orphans" implying Jesus is the Father (John 14:18), but ignore the John 14:1-3 which state that Jesus is doing some preparation so that the Father can adopt the disciples.
• "Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God..." (Philippians 2:6), but ignore "...became obedient to the point of death" (Philippians 2:8) which means there is a greater God to whom Jesus was obedient to.

Instead, Jesus said that he is not equal to the Father, for example:

• My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all -- John 10:29 (NKJV)
• ... the Father is greater than I -- John 14:28 (ESV)

And Jesus addressed the Father as his Lord:

• Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, I thank You, Father, Lord (master) of heaven and earth -- Luke 10:21

Jesus is the Lord

People get confused because God Almighty's name, which directly transliterates to YHVH, was replaced with "the Lord" which happens to be exactly what Jesus is also called in the New Testament. For example compare Romans 14:10-12 which is supposed to quote Isaiah 45:18, 22-23. The "God" of Romans does not refer to Jesus, but instead refers to the YHVH of the Old Testament.

To proof that Jesus is YHVH, some would Phillipans 2:10-11 out of context:

At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord -- Philippians 2:10-11 (ESV)

However, the previous verse state:

Therefore, God (the Father) has highly exalted him (the Son) and bestowed on him the name that is above every name... -- Philippians 2:9 (ESV)

Which means Jesus received his name (authority) from God (Matthew 26:53; 28:18; John 5:19,22-23; 12:49-50; 17:2; Acts 2:36) as the Son of God (God's delegate). Jesus does not have to be YHVH or God Himself to rule as "the Lord" over God's creation.

Creation

Single Creator doctrine

Isaiah 44:24; 45:12; 48:13 states there was only 1 Creator, Who Himself created everything.

Malachi repeatedly refers to God as the LORD, (capital letters) Who is not Jesus, and then calls God "the Father" Who "created us" (Malachi 2:10).

Therefore, to proof that Jesus is God, one need to proof Jesus was the Creator, but as seen above, Jesus is not God the Father.

Co-creator doctrine

Genesis 1:26

Often Genesis 1:26 is quoted with the assumption that God told Jesus "Let Us make man in Our image...".

Neither the Godhead nor Jesus was named in the whole Book of Genesis. Although no details were given to indicate by whom God meant "Us", it might as well be the heavenly council of angels.

The rest of Genesis 1:26 gives more context of what is meant by "Our image after Our likeness". Like the angels have dominion over certain territories, God was also giving dominion to man over the animals.

The Word created

Most English translations personify "God's Word" (command)such that it seems like "the Word" is Jesus.

God did not create by Jesus, but instead God created by His command ("word") (Genesis 1; Psalm 33:6-9; 148:5; Isaiah 45:12; 48:13; Romans 4:17; Hebrews 11:3; Revelation 4:11) the Heaven and Earth.

Colossians 1:15-17

Some believe Jesus helped God to create by quoting Colossian 1:15-17 out of context and ignoring Colossian 1:13-14,18-20 which states that the context is not about creation of the Heaven and Earth, but instead about the "creation" of "the kingdom of God's beloved Son" also known as "the body of Christ" or "the church" (ekklésia). Jesus is even called the "firstborn" in Colossians 1:13 as well as Romans 8:29; Hebrews 12:23; Revelation 1:5.

1 Corinthians 8:6

Often a biasedly translated 1 Corinthians 8:6 (like the AMP, BSB, CSB, ESV, GNT, ISV, LSB, NASB, NTL) and is often quoted out of context to proof that God only authorised the creation such that Jesus was the actual creator.

The Interlinear Bible also shows that the English words "created" and "exist" were added to 1 Corinthians 8:6 by the English translators. As a result some bible translations like the ASV, KJV, NKJV, REV or WEB does not mention the creation in this verse. It was not originally part of the manuscripts.

Paul was not giving a lecture about creation, but instead he was concerned about idol worship and was making the point that there are no other God or another "Lord Jesus Christ" by whom we have access to this "one God, the Father". See Ephesians 1:3-6 which gives the same message, also written by Paul.

Hebrews 1:1-2

Hebrews 1:1-2 are often translated to read "God has... spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds".

The original Greek word "aión" means "a space of time" or "an age" which is derived from the root word meaning "continued duration" or "eternity". This is not the same as "the Heaven and Earth" that God created in Genesis 1.

Jesus is the author of life

According to Acts 3:14-15 in some translations, like the ESV, "Jesus is the author of life". This biased translation is often quoted out of context to proof that Jesus created all life on Earth. Other translations read:

• "the Prince of life" (ASB, ERV, LSV, KJV, TS2009, YLT)
• "the Ruler of life" (Aramaic Bible in Plain English)
• "the one who leads people to life" (CEV, GNT)

In the context of Acts 3, Peter blamed the men of Israel for killing "God's servant Jesus" (Acts 3:13,26) of which was prophesied that he would be like Moses (Acts 3:22) and deliver obedient people from destruction (Acts 3:23-24) by turning them from their wicked ways (Acts 3:26).

Salvation

Saviour

Many Trinitarians quote Isaiah 43:11 out of context to proof that there can only be one saviour which is God, therefore when Jesus is called a "saviour" (Titus 2:13) they conclude it means Jesus is God.

However, Isaiah refers to salvation from the Egyptians (Isaiah 43:16), while Titus refers to salvation from iniquity (Titus 2:14).

The same Bible also mentions other human "saviours", for example Nehemiah 9:27; 2 Kings 13:5; Obadiah 21.

This should not to be confused with the fact that there are only one "way" to eternal salvation.

The crucifixion

Trinitarians reason that the blood of a single man would not be enough to redeem the entire mankind or that only the blood of God Himself are worthy to redeem mankind. They would often quote Acts 20:28 (NIV) to proof their point.

However, some Bible translations (like the ASV) render that it is "the Lord [Jesus]'s blood". Even the NIV admits in a footnote that the text "blood of His dear one" was deliberately left out.

God the Father does not have "flesh and blood" (Matthew 16:17), because He is "spirit" (John 4:21-26) and therefore invisible (Exodus 33:20; 1 Timothy 1:17).

Many people misunderstood the purpose of Jesus' crucifixion, for example:

• Some say "God Himself was crucified so that He could proof His love to us by enduring torture" by quoting John 3:16 and Romans 5:6-8 out of context. God already proved His love in many other ways, for example a solution to salvation, by His ministering Spirit, by His gifts, by the beauty of His creation, by His blessing and testimonies from Moses (Exodus 34:6-7), Solomon (1 Kings 8:23), David (Psalm 86:5; 103:8-17), Isaiah (Isaiah 54:10), Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:3), Nehemiah (Nehemiah 9:17), Jesus (John 14-17), John (1 John 4:7-8), Paul (Romans 5:8), and so forth...
• Some say "God had to proof that He can defeat the devil as a human" by quoting Hebrews 2:14-15 (NIV). No other Bible author support this view. The unknown author of the book of Hebrews fail to justify why it was necessary for God to play the devil's game. Perhaps the author only mentioned it as a side effect instead of the main goal of the crucifixion.
• Some say "God bargained with the devil to redeem mankind from him" based on Hebrews 2:14. However, the transaction with the devil never occurred. God had always been the owner (Psalms 24:1-2).
• Some say "The sacrifice of one human is not worthy to pay for the entire mankind. Therefore, God Himself had to be sacrificed." However:
  • God's requirement for a sacrifice had never been a quantity, but quality (1 Samuel 16:7; Exodus 12:5; 29:1; Leviticus 1:3,10; 3:1,6; 4:3,23,28,32; 21:17-23; 22:19-25; Numbers 6:14; 19:2; 28:3-29:36; Deuteronomy 15:21; 17:1; Ezekiel 43:22-25; 46:4-13; Malachi 1:14).
  • God had used individual humans in past to save mankind. For example Noah, a single person who had quality obedience, saved the entire mankind and animals. More examples include Abraham who gave birth to many nations, Josef saved many nations and many other heros who saved multitudes like Moses, Joshua, Gideon, David, Ester and my other judges.
  • Paul compared Adam with Jesus and made the conclusion that if 1 man can cause the entire humanity to fall into sin, then 1 man can save the entire humanity from their sin (Romans 5:12-19). This was also prophesied by Isaiah 53, when he mentions that a single "servant" was worthy enough "to lay on him the iniquity of us all".
  • Not the devil, not us, nor any rules, but only God determines if a sacrifice was worthy (Genesis 4:4-5; Psalm 50:8-15).

The real purpose of the crucifixion was that God the Father established a new covenant, with the blood of His son, to restore righteousness to us. Reconciliation would not have been possible without removing the division (cleansing of sin) between the Holy God and us. Therefore, the Son of God voluntarily offered himself as hero to provide the way to eternal life with the Father Who loves us and Who wants to adopt us as His children so that we can inherit as fellow heirs (Romans 8:17) with His Son, Jesus Christ, whom He had resurrected like He would also resurrect us one day into eternal life as sealed by God's new covenant.

Forgiveness

Some bible translations render that Jesus have "power on earth to forgive sins" (Mark 2:10 NKJV; Luke 5:24). The assumption is that only God has the power to forgive sin, therefore Jesus must be God.

The confusion is caused by the Greek word sometimes translated as "power" in the sense of delegated authority according to the Strong's Concordance. Without context "power" is often misunderstood as personal power. Therefore, many other bible translations like the NIV, NTL, ESV, BLB, NASB, CEV, etc. translate it as "authority" or "the right" as it more accurately describe which kind of power was intended in the context.

The scribes and Pharisees also misunderstood Jesus, but they did not have a translation problem. They accused Jesus of blasphemy (Mark 2:5-7). According to the Cambridge Dictionary blasphemy means to dishonour God somehow. That is why many English readers assume that they accused Jesus for claiming to be God. This would have been a great opportunity for Jesus to proof that he is God, but instead he correct them:

"But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." -- Mark 2:10 (ESV)

Blasphemy actually means to dishonour God's name (authority) by hypocritical actions. The issue here was not about God-like power, but whether Jesus, who appeared like a normal Jewish teacher, had the authority to forgive sin (Matthew 28:18; John 3:35, 17:2).

After this statement, Jesus demonstrated his authority by commanding healing. The crowd's reaction show that they glorified God (Matthew 9:8) instead of Jesus.

God can delegate His authority to whomever He wishes (Daniel 7:27; John 14:12). For example, the angel of the LORD also took Joshua the high priest's "iniquity" away on behalf of "the LORD of hosts" (Zechariah 3:1-10).

Jesus lives "in" us

For example:

In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. -- John 14:20 ESV

Only a divine being can be inside a multitude of disciples simultaneously. But, since Jesus himself taught that there are only 1 God, the reasoning is that Jesus must be the omnipresent God.

However, we cannot limit the omnipresent God to exist only inside the disciples, because God is everywhere. So what is the point of repeatedly making the statement that "God or Jesus lives in us" throughout the Gospels?

The confusion comes with the translation of the Greek word en which has different meanings depending on the context like:

• "with" as used in Matthew 1:18,23 (NKJV)
• "among" as used in Matthew 2:6; 4:23 (NKJV)
• "by" as used in Matthew 5:34-35 (NKJV)

• and so forth...

  However, most English bibles always translate this word to "in" when it comes to how God relates to Jesus. This is often misunderstood as "inside" (limited by space). When God is "in" Jesus and Jesus is "in" God (John 14:10) and God is "in" the disciples (John 14:17) and the disciples are "in" God (John 17:21), it means they are "with" us in a close communion, "among" us as part of the same family of God and that he lives "by" us as the body of Christ's disciples on Earth.

See also:

• Is Jesus God?
• Essence of Jesus
• More evidence