Titus 3
3Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled by others and became slaves to many wicked desires and evil pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy. We hated others, and they hated us.
4But then God our Savior showed us his kindness and love. 5He saved us, not because of the good things we did, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins and gave us a new life through the Holy Spirit. 6He generously poured out the Spirit upon us because of what Jesus Christ our Savior did. 7He declared us not guilty because of his great kindness. And now we know that we will inherit eternal life. 8These things I have told you are all true. I want you to insist on them so that everyone who trusts in God will be careful to do good deeds all the time. These things are good and beneficial for everyone. (Titus 3:3-8, NLT)
The Daily DAVEotional
“The Bible never claims that Jesus is God!”
Perhaps you’ve heard someone make this claim. The argument essentially says that the Bible doesn’t teach that Jesus is God, but teaches that Jesus is something less than God, such as “Son of God”, or “Son of Man”, or “Messiah”, or “anointed one”, etc.
Because the Bible doesn’t teach that Jesus is God, then Jesus must not BE God and therefore, the traditional Christian teaching that Jesus is divine must be false. Hence Christianity is false.
But is it true that the Bible doesn’t teach that Jesus is divine?
No.
The evidence for the deity of Jesus is overwhelming and generally falls into three categories: 1) Direct claims of deity that Jesus made – I covered one such incident here. 2) Passages that show Jesus has attributes that only God could possess and 3) passages in which Jesus’ followers clearly identify Jesus as divine. This passage in Titus is one such example.
Jesus’ divinity is not hard to demonstrate from this passage and only a basic understanding of logic is necessary to prove that Paul believed and taught that Jesus was God.
Verse 4 says clearly:
“But then God our Savior showed us his kindness and love.”
Verse 6 states that:
“He generously poured out the Spirit upon us because of what Jesus Christ our Savior did.”
So in one verse, Paul refers to God our Savior, while just two verses later, he refers to what “Jesus Christ our Savior did.”
These two verses show that God is Savior AND Jesus Christ is Savior. Therefore, Jesus Christ is God.
There are dozens of other passages that demonstrate that Jesus’ own followers saw him as divine and even worshiped Him. Keep in mind that for the Jew, worship was reserved for God alone. Therefore, when a Jewish person worships Jesus, they are doing so because they believe He is God and therefore worthy of worship.
This one passage may not be enough to convince your non-Christian friends that Jesus is indeed God, but it should help convince you. Jesus not only made direct claims of deity but His followers also ascribed deity to Jesus and promoted their understanding of Jesus’ nature to others.
Reflection
What has been your understanding of the nature of Jesus? In what ways have your views changed or been substantiated?
In what ways do you find the above logic regarding proof of Jesus’ divinity convincing? In what ways are you not convinced?
If you are not convinced that Jesus is God, what are your reasons for not believing? Conversely, what basis can you give to support the idea that Jesus IS God?
Why do you think it matters whether a person has a correct understanding of the nature of Jesus? What are the consequences for having a wrong understanding of who Jesus is? (For my thoughts on these questions, see my posts here, and here.)
Photo by Timothy Eberly on Unsplash
The Lowedown 
How would you demonstrate, because proof is beyond natural means, that Jesus is God… without the use of the bible?
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Can you explain what you mean when you say “proof is beyond natural means?” I’m not sure what you mean by that.
Also, why are you asking me to prove Jesus is God apart from the Bible? Why should I have to make my case by excluding all of the primary historical sources?
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Have you read any kierkegaard? But in explanation, how would you the supernatural origins or causation of an effect in the natural world? Good thought experiment i think. Try it as you like.
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Still not quite sure what you’re asking as this sentence seems incomplete: “how would you the supernatural origins or causation of an effect in the natural world?”
There seems to be a verb or some words missing. You could be asking, “how would you [explain] the supernatural origins or causation of an effect in the natural world?”
Or maybe you’re asking, “how would you [prove] the supernatural origins or causation of an effect in the natural world?”
The point of my post was to demonstrate that Jesus’ followers believed that He was God. This alone doesn’t mean that Jesus WAS God, but this is just one piece of evidence in a larger argument that demonstrates the deity of Jesus.
Those who reject the deity of Jesus often will say that the Bible doesn’t teach that Jesus is God. This passage, and many others, prove that Jesus’ followers attributed deity to Him. For those who believe the Bible is the word of God, this passage will confirm the tenets of Christianity.
For those who reject the Bible’s divine origins and teachings, no argument made with the Bible as its basis will be taken as credible.
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