Yesterday we talked about Jesus’ claims of being God. Today we are going to look at whether the disciples and the early church believed he is God.
Did the disciples believe Jesus is God? The answer is yes.
There are many instances where the disciples proclaiming Jesus to be the Son of God (which in Jewish thought is the same as saying that Jesus is equal in authority and power to God, see yesterday’s article for more). Some examples are Matthew 14:33; 16:16 and John 1:49. Jesus was worshipped by the disciples, as found in places like Matthew 28:9 and Luke 24:52.
Probably the most obvious assertion of a disciple’s belief in Jesus being God can be found in Thomas’ exclamation “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28) after he encountered the risen Lord.
There are also many instances in the New Testament where Jesus Christ is asserted as God. The most famous of these is John 1:1, 14: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Further down this passage, the Word (that is, Jesus Christ), is referred to as “God the One and Only” (v. 18). Romans 9:5 says, “Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.” The letter of 2 Peter is addressed “To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours” (1:1). Titus 2:13 also refers to Jesus as our God and Savior.
There are all sorts of allegations that the teaching that Jesus is God came into Christianity later on. But from a textual perspective, these passages illustrate the fact that the Lord Jesus’ disciples believed that he is God, and that the early church taught this as being true. These writings date back to the very generation of the disciples, and show the doctrine that was taught in the earliest days of the church. They would not have been written down as such if they were not believed to be true.