The question whether Jesus and God are the same is not really an argument in Christianity. The general opinion is that Jesus and God are the same. Some ascribe this belief to the trinity, which is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The problem with this belief though,is that it is not supported anywhere in the bible, neither the trinity or Jesus being God.
The universal understanding is that there is only one God, the inference is that all the gods of all religions are the same and they all lead to the same place. As we refer to scriptures as our authority it’s important I clear this up.
The first commandment given to Israel on mount Sinai, is:
Exodus 20:3
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Here we see God telling Israel to not put any god before him. By this the God of Israel makes it clear that there are multiple gods.
We are also told there is one God and that he has one mediator who is Christ. We see that this is the understanding of Timothy and we see countless verses where Paul confirms this, when talking about the importance of Christ and when ending his prayers.
1 Timothy 2:5
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
Christ himself also tells us the only way to God is through him:
John 14:6
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Here we see Christ clearly telling us that we can only get to God (The Father) through our belief in him.
So it is clear that God and Christ are not the same, although Christ can be seen as a god,but this is only because he was given that authority from God the Father.
Where does it say that Christ is God?
If you’re inquisitive you may have asked “Where does it say that Christ is God?” This is a great question for a sincere believer. The answer is two fold, but it is also clear as explained above. Christ is a God but he is not God the Father.
We see in John that Christ is the WORD and the word became God. This may seem to say that Christ is God the Father on the surface, but other scriptures quickly clear this up.
In Genesis we see God the Father and Christ saying let us make man in our own image, showing that there was more than one entity there at the creation of man. We can later see clearly that God, Christ and the Holy Spirit were all present during the creation of man and the world.
The revelation of Christ’s existence is made clear in the book of Hebrews. Here we are told that Christ is the first creation of God and it is Christ that God gave the power to create us and the world we live in.
Hebrews 1:1-2
1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
Colossians 1:15
15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
We are also told that Christ sits at the right hand side of God.
Hebrews 1:13
13 But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?
So, of course because Christ is sitting on the right handside of God he is not God.
Does Christ mean God?
If you’re new to the bible and even if you’re not new you may have wondered what the word “Christ” means, In short Christ means “anointed”. It is the word used to translate the Hebrew word for Messiah, which means saviour.
Christ derives from Kristos, which means anointed in Greek, which is the language the new testament was translated into. We know that Christ is anointed, so this is a fitting title. Some argue that saviour is a more appropriate word, because Christ came to save his people Israel from their sins and the world and I agree.
Is Jesus Christ truly God?
From the previous answers you can see that Christ has authority over everything in the world, which is given to him by God, so that rules out Christ truly being God. But what is true is that Christ is the son of God, so much so that God has given him power over the world.
We see Christ’s God status in Acts
Act 4:10-12
10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.
11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.
12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Paul knew that Christ’s sacrifice put him in a position whereby we can only enter heaven if we believe in his sacrifice.
We also see that Christ is also allowed to be worshiped, something none of the Angels accepted from men when they attempted to do so to them.
Matthew 14:30-33
30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.
33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
Here we see the disciples worshiping Christ after he caused the wind to cease when he was out on a boat with his disciples.
We also see the wise men worship Christ at his birth:
Matthew 2:11
11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.
And unclean spirits also bowed to Christ
Mark 5:4-8
4 Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.
5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.
6 But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,
7 And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.
8 For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.
Above we also see that the unclean spirits understood Christ's authority when a man possessed by one bowed to him. This just shows again that Christ was given authority over everything, even though he is not God the creator.
What’s the difference between God and Jesus?
The simple difference between God and Jesus is that God is the creator of Jesus. We see this quite clearly in the book of Colossians:
Colossians 1:15
15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
This scripture also explains how Christ was created by God to be an example of himself.
You can read more about how after Christ was created God gave him the power to create all things and that he is also the head of the church.
Colossians 1:12-19
12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
So, are God and Jesus Christ the same person? The answer is NO, but they are one in objective.
1 John 5:7
7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word (Christ), and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
The above scripture makes it clear that God the father is the source of the Son and Holy Spirit.
Where are the Jesus is God verses?
A popular idea in Christianity is that Jesus is God in human form, which is a fair statement when we look at previous scriptures above, especially Colossians 1:15 “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature”. Here we are clearly told that Christ is the image of God, and so the same would apply when he walks the earth.
Christ himself also attested to being an earthly representation of God the Father on earth when he was here.
In a communication between Christ and Philip he quite clearly said if you have seen me you have seen God the Father.
John 14:8-9
8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?
This rules out any confusion about whether Christ was God. The truth is clearly that he was sent by God to represent him.
Christ after his resurrection made it very clear he was given authority in heaven and earth:
Matthew 28:18
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Is Jesus real?
There are those naysayers that say Christ was not a real person but a fictional character. Which is rather foolishing because we have multiple accounts in the bible that say otherwise. Readers of the bible need to know that the bible is a collection of books written by different people, this fact alone proves the existence of Christ.
We have the four new testament gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John which all attest to Christ's existence.
It’s also interesting to understand that we are told that those people that say Christ didn’t exist have the spirit of the antichrist. We need to be aware of this because we know it is Satan that would cause men to doubt Christ’s existence.
1 John 4:3
3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
Who is Jesus' father?
Throughout the bible we see Christ referring to the Father. Some have said that the Father and Christ are the same people, which is clearly contradictory. The idea that Christ and the Father are the same persons can not be supported in the scriptures.
As you have seen in scriptures above Christ was quite clear he was given power by the Father (Matthew 28:18) and that he came to do the will of the Father and he did not come to do his own will:
John 6:37-39
37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
So we see that Christ was sent by the Father and we find scripture that tells us Christ was created by the Father.
Colossians 1:13-15
13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
We see here that Christ was the first born of every creature, meaning Christ is the first person that was created by the Father. So in short, the Father is Christ’s maker.
We also see other scriptures that call the Father the Ancient of Days and Christ the Son of Man.
Daniel 7:13-14
13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
These scriptures again clearly tell us that Christ (the son of man) was given dominion to rule in the kingdom by the Ancient of Days, which shows again that the Father is above Christ and is his Father.
Is Jesus called God?
Jesus definitely did not create himself, so is he God? NO. But Christ is a God, who has been given permission to be worshiped on behalf of God. Christ was chosen by God to lay down his life for the sins of Israel and mankind,
God prepared a body for Christ to come into so that he could be the one and final sacrifice for our sins.
Hebrews 10:1-5
1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.
3 But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.
4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
We see that Israel's custom of sacrificing animals to cover their sins was always a practice that God intended to improve, which he did by sacrificing Christ, so now, what we have to do is believe in Christ's death and resurrection and this covers our sins.
Do all Christians believe Jesus is God?
The general belief of all Christans is that Christ is God, and you can see from this article that it is untrue. This misinterpretation of the bible is the product of the bible being taken and repackaged by the people who conquered the people of the book, Israel.
Is Jesus the Son of God?
The bible tells us that Christ is the Son of God, because he is the first created by God. We see that the devil knew that Christ was the son of God
Matthew 4:2-4
2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Here we see Satan's attempt to tempt Christ into serving him in exchange for riches. This should make you think about many of the rich and famous and where they really get their riches.
Are we supposed to pray to God or Jesus?
Praying to God is done by acknowledgement of Christ, so when we pray to God there should be an awareness of Christ. Christ famously told us to pray by saying “Our Father who art in heaven” (Matthew 6:9-13), that being said our prayers are always directed to God the Father.
We see this acknowledgement throughout the scriptures:
1 Timothy 1:1
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;
Here we see Paul calling himself an apostle of Christ, but he says that it is so because God has signed off on it. And when Paul ends his letters he praise “God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ”, so he makes a clear distinction between the Father and Son.
Conclusion
After seeing all the scriptures that have been presented. It is clear that the scriptures separate God and Christ, although they have the same objective, Christ's objective is given to him by God the Father.
God has appointed Christ to be the sacrifice for Israel's sins and the sins of the world, God has also given Christ the highest status of all things that he has created. Because of this it's only through our belief in Christ Yahusha’s (Jesus) sacrifice that we are saved.
Acts 4:10-12
10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.
11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.
12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
It is also clear that Yahusha’s (Jesus) Name has authority over evil spirits.
Philippians 2:9-11
9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
All of this concludes one thing, Christ is the creation of God and he has been made the go between between us and God.
There’s no better way to sum this up than the aforementioned scripture, so I will conclude with it here:
1 Timothy 2:5
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
Shalom and share this with someone that needs it.