THE ATHEIST'S COMPLAINT:
Is Jesus God? Some verses say yes (John 1:1, 14; 10:30-31; Colossians 2:8-9), some verses say no (John 14:28; Colossians 3:1; 1 Timothy 2:5). Is there a contradiction?

RESPONSE:
There are numerous passages which indicate that Jesus is God. What we will do here is address the verses which the questioner uses to say that Jesus is not God.

John 14:28 – "My Father is greater than I."
I might rightly say that my father and I are one (ref. John 10:30), and yet also say that my father is greater than I. Both my father and I are human; we share the attributes of humanity in all points, and yet, he is greater (superior) to me, for he is my father. It is no different with Jesus and His Father in heaven. They are both God, but the Father is greater, simply because He is the Father.

Colossians 3:1 – "Christ sitteth on the right hand of God."
The Father is called God, and thus, if Christ is at the right hand of the Father, He is at the right hand of God. That does not exclude Him from being God also. John 1:1 states, "In the beginning was the Word, and the (1) Word was with God, and the (2) Word was God." In the first case, Jesus is spoken of as being "with God", in the second case, He is spoken of as being God. It is by no means contradictory for one to be stated and the other not in a given context. The 3:1 statement does not negate the Lord's deity; in fact, not many verses earlier (2:9), Paul affirmed that Jesus is indeed "the fullness of the Godhead bodily"

1 Timothy 2:5 – "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."
When we consider Jesus Christ, we have a unique individual. No other was both God and man. In this text, Paul's focus regarding Jesus is his role as mediator, not as God. That does not negate His status as God (Paul actually affirms later in this epistle, 3:16). The acknowledgement of one God is not only in this text, but also in several others (Deuteronomy 6:4; Malachi 2:10; Mark 12:32; 1 Corinthians 8:6, etc). Not one in person (for there are three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – who are God). The word "God" should be understood as a form of being, not a particular person. Just as there is only one "mankind", there is only one "God". This is not a denial of Jesus' Godhood, but an affirmation of the exclusivity of Godhood.

There is no contradiction.

This article is a response to Skeptic's Annotated Bible, but original article is no longer listed

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