Is Christ Divine and Thus Worthy of Worship?
Is Jesus Divine? This question is of utmost importance. If Jesus is not Divine, then He and the Inspired writers of the Bible are liars and cannot be the source of absolute truth that the Bible is regarded to be. If Jesus is not Divine, then He cannot be the Messiah that He claimed to be. If Jesus is not Divine, then we are lost in sin and without hope. We will consider the evidence from the Inspired Text to prove that Christ is part of the Godhead.
Genesis 1
The Bible begins with the words of Genesis 1:1–“In the beginning God.” To the English reader, this seems straightforward. Does the original Hebrew text give us any further insight concerning the question of Christ’s divinity? The Hebrew reads, berisit bara Elohim (בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים). There are two things we must consider: first, Elohim is the plural form rather than the singular. This word is used 2,598 times in the Hebrew Old Testament to describe God. So in each of those times, the Holy Spirit chose to use the plural Elohim over the various other names of God.
The plural Elohim is compatible with the rest of Genesis 1:1-26. These verses speak much of the Godhead. The text teaches that the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters, that God created the heavens and the earth (showing the 2nd person of the Godhead, the Son), which will be covered shortly. Moreover, in verse 26 God says, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness.” Did you notice the plural pronouns used in this verse: us, our, and our? These all point to the fact that there is God the Father planning the creations, alongside the second and third persons of the Godhead. This is but one indicator of all three coequal members of the Godhead present in the beginning, which certainly points to the divinity of Christ.
John 1
Next, we will consider the prologue to John. These verses are very telling concerning the question: Is Christ divine?
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
John 1:1-1-5
The text indicates that Christ (referred to as the Word here) was in the beginning, He was with God, and was God. We learn that Jesus was coexisting with God the Father (and the Holy Spirit) in the beginning. We are once again confronted with the truth that Jesus was the active worker in the creation of the heavens and the earth. All things were made through Him, and nothing was made without Him.
Hebrews 1
Hebrews 1:1-3 also brings to mind the intent of the godhead in His creation and work of the Son on this earth and after.
God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Hebrews 1:1-3
Consider in former times that God spoke in the prophets, and, in the end, He spoke in His Son. This points out that while Jesus was the prophet like unto Moses (cf. Deut 18:15-19), He is unique and different from any messenger sent by God. He made all things. There is a difference between the created and the creator. God came in the flesh to His very creation to redeem them. Jesus is the one who radiated the eternal glory of the Godhead (effulgence), showing us the exact image of God on this earth, after which He returned to the right hand of the Father. Other passages help us to understand this idea further.
Jesus prayed in John 17 concerning His return to His former state that He enjoyed before He took on flesh. “ And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was” (John 17:5). Jesus gave up some of His abilities when He came to this earth. He had to go through nine months in the womb. He was born as a human, weak and dependent on His earthly parents to care for Him. He was subordinated under His parents as a child and grew into a man. Toward the end of His earthly ministry, we read of Jesus’ desire to return to the fullness of His former glory. Jesus retained His Divinity on this earth. He was God and man, called Immanuel or God with us.
Philippians 2:5-11 does shed some light on this. In some form or fashion, God emptied Himself while on this earth. He took on the form of a servant and appeared as a servant would. He hungered, He thirsted, He was tempted, He encountered stress, sadness, joy, and anger, all without sin. Jesus, though the eternal God for a time, humbled himself, even dying on the cross. Even so, Colossians 2:9 reminds us that “ For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.”
Jesus Received Worship
Finally, one must consider that Jesus received worship on many occasions (cf. Matt. 8:2, Matt. 14:33, John 9:38, John 20:8, Matt. 28:17). Jesus received worship from those He healed, and He never corrected them. He received worship from His disciples, and He never rebuked them. Contrast this with the occasions we find in the book of Acts, when Peter and Paul received worship, they rejected and corrected it (cf. Acts 10:25-26; Acts 14:11-18). If Jesus is not Divine, the eternal God, why did He receive worship from men? If He were a mere created being, then He would not be worthy of worship. The Bible teaches He is, and He is worthy of all worship and praise.
