Titles like “I Am,” “Immanuel,” “God,” “Son of Man,” “Son of God,” and “Yahweh” are very eloquent in this regard.
Jesus used the divine title “I Am” (John 8:58), which refers to the self-revelation of God to Moses, “I am who I am” (Exod 3:14). It is significant that Jesus did not say “Before Abraham was, I was,” as it would be expected, but “I am.” The Jews clearly understood Jesus’ claim to be God; therefore, they wanted to stone Him (John 8:59). In addition, Jesus Christ on different occasions proclaimed other “I am” sayings, as the Gospel of John testifies (altogether seven pronouncements) and states to be “the bread of life” (John 6:35); “the light of the world” (8:12); “the door of the sheep” (10:7); “the good Shepherd” (10:11) “the resurrection and the life” (11:25); “the way, the truth, and the life” (14:6); and “the true vine” (15:1). He was the God of the exodus who led His people out of Egypt to the promised land and cared for them (1 Cor 10:1–4). Jesus was not only preexistent (Mic 5:2), but also “Everlasting Father” (Isa 9:6). There was no time when He did not exist. Jesus is called Immanuel, which means “God with us” (Isa 7:14; Matt 1:23; cf. Isa 9:6).
At least seven New Testament passages explicitly point to Jesus Christ as God. John’s Prologue to the Gospel is very eloquent and powerfully states this truth: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made… . The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:1–3, 14). Verse 18 unequivocally proclaims, “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known” (John 1:18). Thomas’ beautiful confession declares about Jesus, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). Jesus as God was anointed by God (Ps 45:6–7; cf. Heb 1:8–9) and He is also designated as God in Romans 9:5, Titus 2:13, and 2 Peter 1:1. According to the Hebrew Scriptures, Jesus is “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isa 9:6).
Jesus is the Son of Man of Daniel 7:13, and this was the reason why He called Himself the Son of Man. He loved to speak about Himself as being the Son of Man (used in the four Gospels eighty-four times by Jesus and only referring to Himself as in Matt 8:20; 9:6; 16:13; Luke 9:22; John 1:51). He is the divine being who came from heaven and was portrayed as riding on the clouds and being worshipped (Dan 7:13–14, 27; see also Rev 1:13–18; 14:14). The Son of Man is the Messiah, a title that points to Jesus’ divinity as well as to His humanity (see Ps 8:4; Ezek 2:1, 3, 6, etc. Ezekiel uses this expression ninety-four times; Daniel himself is called “son of man” in Dan 8:17 in contrast to the heavenly Son of Man of 7:13).
Jesus is the Son of God (Luke 3:38; John 11:27; 1 John 5:12) who reveals the Father (John 14:6–9) and is always one with the Father (John 10:29–36). The Jews correctly understood Jesus’ statement that He considers Himself to be God and attempted to arrest Him (10:39). Also, the apostle Paul preached that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God (Acts 9:20, 22). The title “Son of God” designates a divine person sent by the Almighty God to be the Messiah as the fulfillment of Old Testament promises of redemption starting with Genesis 3:15. This title should not be understood in the literal sense of birth, but as a divine epithet that refers to Him as the Messiah, having a unique relationship with the Lord and the mission to save humanity. The gospels were written in order to testify that Jesus of Nazareth was that promised Son of God (Mark 1:1; Luke 1:35; 3:38; John 20:31).
Jesus Christ is designated as the Lord in the New Testament (e.g., Luke 1:43; 2:11),which points to many places in the Hebrew Scriptures about Him being Yahweh, like in Isaiah 40:1–5 and 43:10–13.Jesus is Yahweh according to Matthew 3:3, as John the Baptist’s task was to prepare “the way for the Lord” (Isa 40:3)—that is, make ready the way for Jesus. Jesus/Yahweh accompanied and led Israel (Exod 13:21;1 Cor 10:4). Jesus’ glory is referenced in Isaiah 6:1–3, as John 12:41 testifies (also John 12:39–40 quotes Isa 6:10). John 1:18 and 6:46 declare that nobody has seen the Father, but Abraham, Jacob, and Moses saw the Lord, the God Almighty— that is, Jesus (Gen 17:1,22; 35:9–13; Exod 3:1–7; 6:1–3; 24:8–12). The basis for Paul’s saying that Jesus is our righteousness (Rom 3:22–24; 1 Cor 1:30) are the texts from Jeremiah 23:6 and 33:16 where it is declared, “The Lord [Yahweh] Our Righteousness.” Compare statements of Isaiah 12:2 (NASB), “The Lord … has become my salvation,” with Acts 4:12 (ESV) where Peter asserts that “salvation is found in no one else” than in Jesus Christ “for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (see also Acts 5:31; cf. Ps 83:18 with Phil 2:9–10). Jesus Christ is the Rock as Yahweh is the Rock (see Exod 17:6; Deut 32:4, 15,18; Ps 78:16; Isa 17:10;26:4; 28:16; 30:29; 44:8; Acts 4:11;1 Cor 10:4; Eph 2:20; 1 Pet 2:5–7).