The Apostle Paul makes a stunning claim: because Jesus was in the form of God in eternity past (when), accomplished salvation (what), and returned to heaven (where) bearing the name above all names (who), He is—as God the Son—worthy of worship from all corners of heaven and earth (why) (Phil. 2:5–11).
Few people today doubt that Jesus existed as a man walking the earth. Most are aware that Christians embrace Him as Messiah. But they balk at the claim that He is truly God. Most moderns have heard that Jesus’ divinity was invented by some fourth-century church influencers. But the New Testament is clear that this belief did not evolve but is rooted in the life of Jesus and His early followers. We can address this issue by tracing how the New Testament answers the six big questions about Jesus: who, what, when, where, why, and how.
Who? Virtually overnight, Jesus’ followers refer to Him as Lord (Greek kyrios). By the first century, many Jews had started using a Greek translation of the original Hebrew Scriptures, and one of their practices was using kyrios to translate both the Hebrew Yahweh (God’s covenant name) and the Hebrew Adonai (God’s title “Lord”). The Christians adopted this practice as a way to express who Jesus is: the “Lord” of God’s people (1 Cor. 8:6). Yet Jesus is not some sort of second deity added to the pantheon. He regularly refers to Himself as the unique “Son” of the Father (Matt. 11:27; Luke 10:21–22), and He stands in special relationship to the divine Spirit as well (Luke 24:49; Acts 2:32–33; Rom. 8:9). Father-Son-Spirit—Jesus Himself implies the concept of the Trinity, even if He does not use the word (Matt. 28:19). Finally, the Father even addresses Jesus as “God” (Heb. 1:8).