“Our God, Jesus the Christ, was conceived by Mary according to God’s plan.”
-St. Ignatius, Letter to the Ephesians, 7:1
23 One Sabbath he was going through the grain fields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 24 And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: 26 how he entered the house of God, in the time of[a] Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” 27 And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
Here Christ clearly calls himself the Lord of the Sabbath harkening back to Genesis. Later the New Testament also describes Christ as bringing the true Sabbath Matt 11:28-30 and Heb 4:1-11
The Scriptures explicitly say that YHWH is the Lord of the Sabbath Gen 2:2-3, Ex 20:10, Lev ( 19:2, 19:30, 26:2), Isa 58:13, Ezk 20:12-24
We may also notice the disciples plucking the heads of grain, as the workers of the harvest. Which Scripture also attests to when it says, "Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”, Matt 9:37-38 and Lke 10:2, "And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.". This also represents the church bringing in the harvest into the Sabbath rest through Christ.
41 But he said to them, “How can they say that the Christ is David's son? 42 For David himself says in the Book of Psalms, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, 43 until I make your enemies your footstool.”’ 44 David thus calls him Lord, so how is he his son?”
Here we see a clear example of the Psalms demonstrating the natures of Christ. For the Psalms says, "the Christ is David's son", this being according to the flesh and royal descent, and yet David calls him "Lord" or YHWH according to his divine nature. And not only does David call Him (the Son) divine, but "the Lord" says to David's "Lord". Christ ends with a somewhat rhetorical question in conclusion, "David thus calls him Lord, so how is he his son?”
This not only shows us that the messiah must be divine, but also human. Not only this, but the relation and fulfillment of the Son to the Father
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Here a clear is an example given to us by Saint John. For he identifies the Word as preexistent with God. Then further says, "the Word was God". Later he further specifies that same word incarnating and dwelling among men. And finally he identifies the person of the Son as that Word, sent from the Father.
This clearly refutes the heresy in relation to Christ of both Adoptionism as well as Arianism. Showing that Christ is not only eternal and at the beginning of time itself (and therefore must be eternal and not made by necessity), but of the same divine essence with the Father and therefore God.
Old Testament Passages testify also to John's points such as, Isa ( 7:14, 9:6) Mica 5:2, Mal 3:1 and Zac 2:10-11 which states, "Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the Lord. And many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you."
17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” 18 This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
Here we see not only Jesus Himself claiming to be God, but the Jews likewise seeking to kill him on account of such a claim. For the Scriptures note that they sought to kill him because he was "making himself equal with God". And if equal with God, necessarily God Himself.
58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
Here the Scriptures show Christ specifically claiming the divine name of YHWH, harkening to the passage of Ex 3:13-15
Some may object that he was not claiming the divine name, but immediately after the passage tells us "So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.", Jhn 8:59.
Furthermore the passage says, "before Abraham was", showing us Christ was also claiming eternality associated with the God. As John also reinforces when he begins his Gospel as he says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.", Jhn 1:1.
28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
Thomas clearly states two things in this passage: that Jesus is not only Kyrios, or his Lord, but also his Theos, his God.
This speech of Thomas is directed towards Christ directly. The immediate context confirms this, leaving no room for someone to say it is simply an exclamation, such a claim would be anachronistic.
5 To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.
Here Paul speaks without ambiguity; Christ is “God over all.” There is no second-tier divinity, no honorary title. Paul knows no other Christ than Jesus, God in the flesh.
Some might argue that this is Paul’s invention or a later insertion. Yet the apostle Peter himself affirms the divine wisdom given to Paul, placing his letters on the same level as the other Scriptures: "And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures." 2 Pet 3:15–16. Thus Peter, chief among the apostles, endorses Paul’s writings as Spirit-inspired Scripture, validating Paul’s testimony that Jesus Christ is indeed “God over all, blessed forever.”
“The Son is truly God, co-eternal with the Father, of one essence with Him, uncreated and immortal.”
-St Athanasius, Letters to Serapion, 1:12
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
Here Paul affirms that Christ was "in the form of God", directly refuting the errors of Adoptionism and Arianism. He is not said to have become divine at some later stage, but to already possess the very form, nature, and glory of God from eternity. The following phrase "did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped" shows not a lack of deity, but His willing humility. The kenosis (self-emptying) described here refers to the voluntary laying aside of His divine privileges and glory in the incarnation, not to a surrender of His divine essence. This is confirmed by Jhn 1:14: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.".
The eternal Word, already fully God, took on human nature without ceasing to be what He eternally is. God cannot be made, nor can He be elevated into divinity. He must be eternally and unchangeably God. To deny this is to fracture the unity of God and introduce a form of polytheism, imagining two separate divine beings rather than confessing the one eternal Son consubstantial with the Father.
9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,
Here Paul leaves no room for doubt; Christ possesses the whole fullness (pleroma) of deity, not a portion, participation, or created likeness. The divine essence is not partially in Him nor granted to Him at some later time, but dwells in Him bodily, that is, personally and permanently in His incarnate state. This also can be supported by previous passages and explanations on this page.
Note: This single verse refutes
Adoptionism – Christ is not a mere man later adopted by God, but eternally God in whom deity already dwells.
Arianism – He is not a created being who shares in divinity only by grace, but fully God by nature.
Partialism – The divine essence is not split among persons; the Son shares the same undivided essence with the Father and the Spirit.
Polytheism – This is not a second, separate god, but the one God incarnate.
This verse, together with Jhn 1:14 and Phil 2:6–7, confirms that in the incarnation Christ remained fully God while also becoming fully man.
13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
Paul speaks plainly: Christ is here called both Savior and God. Grammatically, both titles apply to the same Person. This is not a reference to the Father and the Son separately, but to Christ alone as the object of the statement.
This verse aligns with the consistent New Testament witness: the one who will “appear” is Jesus ( 2 Tim ( 4:1, 4:8) ), and the one who saves is Jesus ( Acts 4:12 ). Therefore, Paul’s declaration leaves no room for denying the full deity of Christ. He is both our God and Savior.
Peter speaks in the same manner in 2 Pet 1:1
12 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” 14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. 15 Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. 16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.
The Alpha and the Omega – a reference to the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, symbolizing God as the origin and goal of all creation ( Rev. 1:8 ). This title is applied to God Himself in Revelation 21:6, showing that Christ shares in the identity of YHWH.
The First and the Last – a title used for YHWH in Isa 44:6: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.”
This affirms both Christ’s eternal preexistence and His exclusivity as the one true God.
The Judge – the one who “repays each one for what he has done.” In both Old and New Testaments, the role of final Judge belongs to God alone ( Pslm 62:12; Rom 2:6 ). By claiming this role, Jesus identifies Himself with the prerogatives of God.
We may also notice the symbolic nature of the passage. Christ says: “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates” (Rev 22:14). This clearly calls back to the sacrament of baptism, where believers are washed of their sins and regenerated in Christ (Jhn 3:5, Acts ( 2:38, 22:16 ), Rom ( 6:3–4, 6:8 ),Titu 3:5, 1 Pet 3:21).
A deep connection in imagery can also be seen in Zech 3:3–5: “Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. The angel said, ‘Remove the filthy garments from him.’ And he said to him, ‘Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.’ And I said, ‘Let them put a clean turban on his head.’ So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord was standing by.” Rev 7:14 echoes this imagery: “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” From this, we may also infer that Christ is not only the Judge but also the Justifier for those washed in Him.
*Lastly Jesus identifies Himself as the messianic fulfillment as from the royal line of David ( 2 Sam 7:12-13, Isa 11:1 ) and also the Morning Star ( Num 24:17, Mal 4:2, 2 Pet 1:19, Jhn 8:12, 1 Jhn 1:5 ).