The Case for the Divinity of Christ

Michael Fierro
Jun 15
4 min read

Updated: Jun 21

The Claim at the Heart of Christianity

If Jesus is not God, then Christianity collapses. There is no real Incarnation, no true sacrifice on the Cross, and no resurrection that defeats death. But if He is God, then everything He said and did carries divine authority. There is no middle ground.

Jesus didn’t just teach about God. He claimed to be God.

That claim is what led to His crucifixion. It is what shocked His disciples into rethinking everything they thought they knew. And it is what the earliest Christians preached as the foundation of their faith.

But how can we know it’s true?

Let’s explore the evidence.

1. Jesus Claimed Divine Authority

Some say Jesus never actually claimed to be God, that later Christians made it up. But this doesn’t match what we find in the Gospels. While Jesus rarely says the words “I am God” (that’s not how Jews spoke of God), He does things that only God can do:

He forgives sins (Mark 2:5–7)
He accepts worship (Matthew 28:9)
He commands storms and nature itself (Mark 4:39)
He claims authority over the Law, not just to interpret it but to deepen and fulfill it (Matthew 5)
He calls people to follow Him, not just as a teacher, but as the one who perfects even the commandments:
- To the rich young man, who had faithfully kept the Law, Jesus says: “Sell all that you have... then come, follow Me.” (Luke 18:22)
He places love for Himself above all earthly relationships, saying: “Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me.” (Matthew 10:37)

This last point is especially striking. The commandment to “honor your father and mother” is the fourth commandment. It is the hinge between love of God and love of neighbor: at the center of the entire moral law. For Jesus to say that love for Him must come first is a direct claim to divine priority. He places Himself on the God side of the law.

And when He says, “Before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58), He identifies Himself with the divine name revealed to Moses at the burning bush: “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14). His listeners knew exactly what He was implying—which is why they picked up stones to kill Him.

2. The Trilemma: Liar, Lunatic, or Lord

This leads to a classic argument popularized by C.S. Lewis. If Jesus claimed to be God, we are left with only a few options:

He was telling the truth → He is Lord.
He was lying → He is a deceiver.
He was sincere but wrong → He is a lunatic.

Jesus cannot simply be a “good moral teacher.” A good man doesn’t lie about being God. And a man with a God complex isn’t wise, compassionate, or stable.

But Jesus doesn’t fit the profile of a lunatic. His teachings are profound, balanced, and psychologically sound. He doesn’t show the hallmarks of egoism or delusion. On the contrary, He is humble, calm under pressure, and deeply attentive to the suffering of others.

And if He were lying, He would be the most manipulative and wicked person in history, convincing others to die for a claim He knew was false.

Yet everything about Jesus- His wisdom, His self-sacrifice, His love- argues against both insanity and deceit. That leaves one possibility: He is who He says He is.

3. Could It Be a Myth?

Another objection is that Jesus never claimed to be God; rather, His followers later invented the idea. But this doesn’t hold up historically.

The New Testament documents were written within one generation of Jesus’ life.
Most of the New Testament was written by Jews, for whom calling a man “God” was blasphemous, unless they had overwhelming reason.
The Gospels show Jesus not as a symbolic figure but as a real man in real places, speaking to real people. They don’t read like legends; they read like testimony.

And consider this: If the Gospels were fictional, where are the earlier versions that left out His divinity? There are none. Every ancient copy we have, whether from the 2nd century or 4th, agrees on this central claim: Jesus is Lord.

The Church didn’t gradually evolve into belief in Christ’s divinity. It began there.

4. The Apostles Believed and Died for It

Still skeptical? Ask yourself: What did the apostles gain?

They were arrested, exiled, and executed.
They were ridiculed by Jews and Romans alike.
And yet, not one of them recanted.

People don’t die for something they know is false.

They claimed Jesus had risen from the dead and revealed Himself as the Son of God. And they believed it enough to stake their lives on it. Even under torture and death, they didn’t back down.

If Jesus wasn’t God, then what gave them such courage? A myth? A misunderstanding? A hoax?

Or was it the truth?

5. The Difference That Divinity Makes

If Jesus is God, then:

God has a face—one you can know and love.
God has spoken—and His words are not suggestions.
God has suffered—not just to teach, but to save.
God is present—still at work in the world and in your life.

His claim to divinity is not just about theology. It’s about how we live.

If Jesus is not God, then you can ignore Him.If Jesus is God, then you owe Him everything.

Why This Matters

We live in a culture that’s comfortable with a tame Jesus, someone who affirms us but doesn’t challenge us. But the real Jesus does more than offer spiritual advice. He demands a decision.

If He is God, then His call to follow Him is not optional. It is a call to surrender, to transformation, to worship.

The question is not just academic. It is eternal.Who do you say that He is?