Is Jesus Really Called "God" in the Rest of the New Testament?

Hello fellow truth-seekers and young apologists! If you’ve ever had a friendly debate with friends at school, at your local tambayan, or even with folks knocking on your gate who belong to different groups (like the Iglesia ni Cristo or Jehovah's Witnesses), you've probably heard this claim: "Only the Gospel of John calls Jesus God! The rest of the Bible doesn't say that."

It is true that John’s writings explicitly refer to Jesus as God more than any other New Testament author. But is he the only one? Not at all.

Today, we are going to dive into some serious apologetics, but we’ll break it down so it is super easy to understand. We’ll look at how at least three other New Testament writers confidently called Jesus "God." Let’s weigh the evidence together!

Q: Does the Apostle Paul ever actually call Jesus "God"?

A: Yes! Let’s look at Romans 9:5, which is likely the earliest written text in the New Testament to do so.

If you look at Romans 9:5, Paul is listing the amazing blessings given to the Israelites. He concludes by saying: "To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen." (ESV).

Some skeptics argue that this verse is just a sudden praise to God the Father, completely separate from Jesus. They say it should be read as, "Christ came from them. God bless the Father forever!" But here is why that doesn't make sense in the original Greek language:

• The grammar points right back to Jesus: In Greek, the phrase "the one who is" directly connects to the closest person mentioned, which is "the Christ." Paul is continuing his thought about who Jesus is.

• The "Blessed" Pattern: In the Greek translation of the Old Testament (the Septuagint) and the New Testament, there are over 60 times when a doxology (a praise sentence) uses the word "blessed." In almost every single one, the word "blessed" comes before the name of God (e.g., "Blessed be God"). But in Romans 9:5, "blessed" comes after God. This tells us Paul isn't just throwing out a random praise to the Father; he is describing the person he was just talking about: Jesus!

As believers who look forward to a victorious, expanding Kingdom on earth, knowing that Jesus is the "God over all" gives us total confidence. He isn't just a local ruler; He is the supreme God ruling over history right now.

Q: Did God the Father really call Jesus "God" in the Book of Hebrews?

A: Yes, and it’s one of the most powerful proofs of Christ’s deity!

In Hebrews 1, the author is proving that Jesus is infinitely greater than the angels. To do this, he quotes the Old Testament. In Hebrews 1:8, the Father speaks directly to the Son, saying: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever..."

This verse quotes Psalm 45, which was originally a royal wedding song for a human king of Israel in the Old Testament. But under New Covenant theology, we understand that these Old Testament kings were just temporary "types" or shadows. They pointed to the ultimate, perfect King: Jesus Christ.

• The Direct Address: Some critics try to change the translation to "God is your throne" to avoid calling Jesus God. But grammatically, that is a very unnatural way to read the Greek. Almost all respected Greek scholars agree that the phrase is a "vocative", meaning the Father is directly addressing the Son by the title "O God."
  
  
• Two Persons, One Divine Nature: Skeptics often point to verse 9, where the Father is called "your God," and ask, "How can Jesus be God if He has a God?" It’s simple! Because of the Incarnation, Jesus became a human being. As a genuine human living perfectly under the law, He naturally submitted to and honored the Father as His God. But in His eternal nature, Jesus is entirely divine.

Q: What is "Granville Sharp’s Rule" and how does it prove Jesus is God?

A: It is a Greek grammar rule that completely unlocks Titus 2:13 and 2 Peter 1:1!

Let’s read Titus 2:13: "waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ."

And 2 Peter 1:1: "To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ."

In the late 1700s, an English scholar named Granville Sharp noticed a consistent pattern in how the ancient Greek language works. Here is the simplified version of Sharp’s Rule:

When you have the word "the" (article) followed by a noun, then the word "and" (kai), followed by another noun, and both nouns are singular and are not proper names (like Peter or Paul), they are always talking about the exact same person.

Think of it like this in English: If I say, "The principal and math teacher, Mr. Santos," you instantly know I am talking about one guy who holds two titles.

In both Titus 2:13 and 2 Peter 1:1, the Greek says "The God and Savior of us, Jesus Christ." Because the word "the" is only used once before "God" and "Savior," both titles belong to Jesus.

• Cultural Context: In the Greco-Roman world of the first century, the phrase "God and Savior" was a very popular combined title used for kings and emperors. By applying it to Jesus, Peter and Paul were making a bold, radical statement: Jesus is the true God and Savior of the world, not Caesar!

Q: Why does this matter for our faith today?

A: Because our salvation and our daily Christian walk depend on it!

Belief in Jesus as God wasn't some late invention created by councils hundreds of years later. It is right there in the earliest writings of the New Testament. He is strictly distinguished from the Father (which refutes the idea that Jesus is just the Father in disguise), but He shares the exact same divine nature.

Because Jesus is our "great God and Savior," it means He has the absolute power to save us completely. Furthermore, because He is the living God, He continues to actively move in His church today. The spiritual gifts we experience, the answers to prayer, and the power to live holy lives are all present realities because our God is alive and active among us through the Holy Spirit.

We do not honor Jesus fully unless we honor Him as our God.

What is the most common argument or question you’ve heard from friends when you tell them that Jesus is God, and how do you plan to answer them now?

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