DEFENDING THE DEITY OF CHRIST – PART 1

WHY JESUS IS TRULY GOD — BIBLICALLY, HISTORICALLY & THEOLOGICALLY

The Deity of Christ is not a new idea. It is not “Western theology,” and it was not invented by the Church. It is the oldest Christian belief—held by the apostles, defended by early believers, and confirmed by Scripture.

It was defended by African church fathers like Athanasius of Alexandria and Augustine of Hippo. For over 2,000 years, Christians across cultures have proclaimed the same truth because it is the clear teaching of Holy Scripture:

JESUS CHRIST IS FULLY GOD AND FULLY MAN.

So in this article series, we will take a simple, clear, and accessible journey into this subject—defending the deity of Christ, the humanity of Christ, and why this doctrine matters for our salvation and daily Christian life.

Let’s dive in.

1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: THE FIRST ATTACKS ON JESUS’ DEITY

A. THE JEWISH REACTION – "There is Only One God!" (1st Century)

For the Jews, the confession of God’s oneness was non-negotiable:

"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one" (Deuteronomy 6:4).

So, when Jesus said, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30), the reaction was immediate and severe. They picked up stones to stone him, explaining,

“It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God” (John 10:33).

They understood Him clearly. Jesus wasn’t claiming to be another prophet—He was claiming equality with God.

B. THE ROMAN & GREEK REACTION – "This is Foolishness!" (1st to 2nd Century)

The Greco-Roman world had a completely different concept of the divine.

Greeks believed gods never took real human form. Romans believed their emperors could be “sons of gods,” but not equal to the one and only God. So early Christians were mocked for believing a crucified Jew was God.

The Apostle Paul summarized their view perfectly: "We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles" (1 Corinthians 1:23).

The idea of a suffering God was simply nonsense in their culture.

C. THE INTERNAL FIGHT – Was Jesus Created? (2nd to 4th Century)

The confusion wasn't only external. Inside the church, a teacher named Arius began spreading a compelling but dangerous idea: that Jesus was the first and greatest creation of God, but not truly the eternal God.

This threatened the core of salvation, because if Jesus is not fully God, His sacrifice cannot save us. To settle this, the first major church council was held in Nicaea in A.D. 325. An African man named Athanasius defended the biblical truth, leading the council to affirm the words of Scripture like "The Word was God" (John 1:1) and "In him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell" (Colossians 1:19).

They codified this in the Nicene Creed, declaring Jesus to be "true God of true God, begotten, not made, of one essence with the Father." This was the church protecting the apostolic faith. Significantly, Athanasius was from North Africa, proving this is not a "Western" doctrine but a universal Christian truth.

The deity of Jesus was a central and controversial claim from day one:

· Jews rejected it as a violation of monotheism(only one God)
· Greeks and Romans dismissed it as foolishness.
· Heretics like Arius distorted it from within.

Yet, the early church, grounded in Scripture, consistently defended the magnificent mystery:

That Jesus Christ is not merely a good teacher or a high-ranking angel, but "our great God and Savior" (Titus 2:13), who became man to offer us eternal life. This truth, though challenged, has stood firm for centuries.

In the next article, we will look at how Jesus shared the names, titles, and identity of God Himself.

To be continued...