GOD.

The One and only sovereign of the universe, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, perfectly holy, perfectly merciful, without beginning, without end, transcendent and yet personal! He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The three distinct persons make up the one God.

Jesus Christ is the Son.

Believing in the deity of Christ is essential to salvation.

In John 8:24, Jesus said:

I said therefore to you, that you shall die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am you shall die in your sins.

When Jesus said, “Before Abraham was I am,” the Pharisees knew exactly what He meant, and they wanted to stone Him for claiming to be God (See John 8:58,59 & 10:30,31).

• Jesus did not just say, “I am the light of the world,” He said, “I am the light of the world,” and He gave sight to a man born blind!
• Jesus did not just say, “I am the bread of life,” He said, “I am the bread of life,” and He fed five thousand people with a few fish and a couple of leaves of bread!
• Jesus did not just say, “I am the resurrection and the life, He said, “I am the resurrection and the life,” and He called forth Lazarus from the dead!

Each of the “I am” sayings, were accompanied by a miracle which in turn revealed attributes that belong to God alone.

These 3 “I am,” sayings (there were 7 all together), show Jesus to be the Creator, the Sustainer, and the Redeemer of mankind. How about when He said, “Peace be still,” and the winds and the sea obeyed Him? How about, “Destroy this temple and in three days, I will raise it?” He was speaking of raising Himself from the dead. Only God can do that!

Another excellent example of Christ’s deity is discovered by comparing Exodus 4:11 to John 9:1-7. The one miracle that Jesus performed more than any other was giving sight to the blind. In Exodus 4:11 God said this to Moses,

And the LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him dumb or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?

It is not recorded anywhere in the Old Testament that anyone who was born blind miraculously received their sight. But it did promise that the future Messiah would come and do that very thing! Giving sight to the blind was the one miracle Jesus performed more than any other. That’s what happens spiritually when a man receives salvation.

The deity of Christ is the most essential doctrine in Christianity. There is no salvation outside of a personal love relationship with Christ, and Christ alone.

The Holy Spirit.

A careful study of God’s Word reveals the Holy Spirit as the third Person of the Trinity. Look at Genesis 1:26,

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.”

Notice the plural pronouns! To whom is God speaking? It can’t be angels. God created the angels. Created beings cannot create, in the sense of producing something from nothing. God had to be speaking to someone who also had the power to create!

We see this divine fellowship again in Genesis 3:22,

Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil.”

God’s perfect Hebrew grammar (Us) reveals at least two persons!

The Holy Spirit is a person. See for yourself in Isaiah 63:10,

But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; so He turned Himself against them as an enemy.

In Isaiah 48:12-16, we find all three persons of the Trinity,

Listen to Me, O Jacob, and Israel, My called: I am He, I am the First, I am also the Last. Indeed My hand has laid the foundation of the earth, and My right hand has stretched out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand up together. I, even I, have spoken; yes, I have called him, I have brought him, and his way will prosper. Come near to Me, hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, I was there. And now the Lord GOD (1) and His Spirit (2) have sent Me (3).

That last word, Me, is the person speaking who identifies Himself in verse 12 as the First and the Last! Compare Isaiah 44:6 to Rev. 22:13-16.

Here is another wonderful verse from Proverbs 30:4,

Who has ascended into heaven, or descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son’s name, if you know?

Try asking a rabbi this question! He doesn’t know the answer, but you do! It’s in Matt. 3:16-17,

When He had been baptized, Jesus (1) came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God (2) descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice (God’s voice, 3) came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son (1), in whom I am well pleased.”

And what is His Son’s Name? Matthew 1:21 tells us what it is,

They shall call His name Jesus [ YSHUA, meaning God is salvation] for He shall save His people from their sin!

Father, son, and spirit each called “GOD” in the new testament

In 2 Peter 1:17, the Father is called God,

For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

In Titus 2:11-13, Jesus is called our great God and savior,

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

In Revelation beginning in 1:8, Jesus is called the Almighty,

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

Compare that to Rev. 22:12-13,

And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.

Who is speaking here? Rev. 22:14-16,

I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.

In Acts 5:3-4, the Holy Spirit is called God,

But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”

In John 16:8, we learn that the Holy Spirit’s ministry is to “convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment.”

The Bible: The original autographs are God-breathed and without error. The Bible is the Word of God and absolutely sufficient to live the godly and abundant life Jesus speaks of.

Salvation: Sola scriptura (“by Scripture alone”), Sola fide (“by faith alone”) Sola gratia (“by grace alone”) Solo Christo (“through Christ alone”). The Bible has zero tolerance on the doctrine of salvation. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, through Christ alone, plus—nothing! Our good works are the result of our salvation, never the cause of it.