Does the Bible Really Claim Jesus is God?

Jesus was fully God and He was entirely human. The Bible is abundantly clear that Jesus Christ was a man as well as God.

The Gospel of John opens by describing Jesus as “the Word” or, in Greek, “the Logos” who was in the beginning with God and indeed was God (John 1:1). This is not only the opening declaration of John’s prologue—it is the core claim of his entire gospel account. John writes that the things that he recorded were “so that you [John’s readers] may believe that Jesus is the Christ [Messiah], the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31). This means John’s goal in writing his account was to lead people to be born again as God’s children, by faith, to gain the Gift of Eternal Life, then learn to live a life of faith in order to gain the experience and reward/Prize of Eternal Life.

In addition to John’s personal claims that Jesus of Nazareth is God (“the Word became flesh” — John 1:14) are Jesus’s own words about Himself. Perhaps the most overt of Jesus’s claims of being God are His “I Am” statements.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus made numerous “I Am” statements that reveal His divine identity and mission. These statements are significant because they echo God’s statement to Moses of His name, where He identifies Himself as “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14).

At least seven of Jesus’s “I Am” statements involve a metaphor revealing the character of His divine nature:

1. “I Am the Bread of Life”

“Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.’”
(John 6:35)

Jesus repeated this statement in John 6:48, 51. In calling Himself the Bread of Life, Jesus claimed divinity as being the source of life.

2. “I Am the Light of the World”

“Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.’”
(John 8:12)

Jesus repeated this statement in John 9:5. As the Light of the World, Jesus claimed divinity in being the source of light, which is essential to life.

3. “I Am the Door of the Sheep”

“So Jesus said to them again, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.’”
(John 10:7)

Jesus repeated this statement in John 10:9. As the Door of the Sheep, Jesus claimed to be the Redeemer of humanity.

4. “I Am the Good Shepherd”

“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”
(John 10:11)

See also Psalm 23:1 and Ezekiel 34—especially Ezekiel 34:11, 15, 23, 31.

Jesus repeated this statement in John 10:14. As the Good Shepherd, Jesus claimed the creative divinity of being the One who cares for His creation.

5. “I Am the Resurrection and the Life”

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies.’”
(John 11:25)

As the Resurrection and the Life, Jesus claimed the divinity of being the author/creator of life.

6. “I Am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life”

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.’”
(John 14:6)

As the Way, Truth, and Life, Jesus claimed the divinity of being the author of redemption, the I AM of existence and the creator of life.

7. “I Am the True Vine”

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.”
(John 15:1)

Jesus repeated this statement in John 15:5. As the True Vine, Jesus claimed the divinity of being the sustainer of life.

In addition to these metaphorical statements, Jesus also made at least five absolute "I Am" declarations in John’s Gospel where He directly claimed divinity.

1. When Jesus was walking on the water during the storm, He called out to His disciples: “It is I; do not be afraid.” (John 6:20)
The phrase “It is I” is the same expression translated “I Am” throughout John’s Gospel. Jesus comforts His frightened disciples by announcing His divine identity to them.

2. “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” (John 8:24)
The “He” is often italicized, indicating it is supplied for clarity. The original Greek simply says “I am.”

3. “So Jesus said, ‘When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.’” (John 8:28)
The cross revealed not only Jesus’s identity as the Messiah, Son of Man as a fulfillment of the Psalms (Psalms 22, 31, 35, 69) and Servant Songs (Isaiah 42:1-4, 49, 50:4-11, 52:13 - 53:12), but the disturbing signs which occurred during His crucifixion (Matthew 27:45, 51-52) also revealed His identity as God, as confessed by the Roman Centurion and sentries (Matthew 27:54).

4. “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.’” (John 8:58)
John goes on to report that after saying this, the Jews picked up stones to kill Him, probably because they understood His claim and believed it to be blasphemous (John 8:59).

5. At His arrest, Jesus asserts, “I am He”; and His words caused the soldiers to fall to the ground. (John 18:5-6)

Individually and together, these statements feature how Jesus self—identified as God.

In Revelation, the glorified Jesus again asserts I Am statements:

1. “I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.”
   (Revelation 1:17-18)
2. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
   (Revelation 22:13)

During Jesus’s ministry, Peter confessed to Jesus: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). In his epistles, Paul repeatedly describes Jesus as divine. Two of the most noteworthy declarations are:

• “He is the image of the invisible God”
  (Colossians 1:15—See also 2 Corinthians 4:4).
  
  
• “it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him”
  (Colossians 1:19).

These claims from Colossians mean that Jesus is exactly like God and that all of God is in Jesus.

The author of Hebrews also claims that Jesus is God:

• “And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power”
  (Hebrews 1:3a).

Finally, Paul, Peter, and Jude each explicitly describe Jesus as “God and Savior” (Titus 2:13, 2 Peter 2:1, Jude 1:25).

Jesus and His followers all claim that He is God.