Is Jesus God?

This weekend we started a new series in the book of John entitled Is Jesus God? In the prologue of his gospel, John states that Jesus, the Word, was in the beginning with God and was God (John 1:1). What is interesting is that his introduction differs from the other gospels. They start with the birth of Jesus, or the start of his public ministry, while John starts with his preexistence. Some argue that John is teaching Jesus is a god, not the God. Andreas Kostenberger rightly states in his commentary on John, "First, John, as a monotheistic Jew, would hardly have referred to another person as "a god." (28) It is apparent from the language that what John is trying to emphasize is that "everything that can be said about God also can be said about the Word (Jesus)." (Kostenberger, 29) In this verse there is distinction and sameness. It is where we get a glimpse of the Christian idea of the Trinity. Christ came to reveal who God is, and as Michael Reeves states in his book, Delighting in the Trinity, "God has revealed himself to be: not first and foremost Creator or Ruler, but Father." (20) Reeves asks the question: "What was God doing before creation?" He writes, "Jesus tells us explicitly in John 17:24. "Father," he says, "you loved me before the creation of the world." (21) This love between the Father and Son did not begin at a point in time, but always existed. Before God created anything the scriptures tell us that he was a Father, which implies there was never a time when Jesus was not. As we will see in John's gospel, Jesus is God. Though the word Trinity will not be used, we will see that it is taught. As Christians we worship one God who eternally exists in three persons. There is great mystery, but also great beauty. Reeves states that the way God rules over his creation is different than other gods, because he rules over his creation "as a kind and loving Father." (23-24) As Christians we say that God is love. (I John 4:8) For God to be love, there must be someone to love, which is why both the Trinity and the eternal existence of Jesus is so important. "There was never a time when he (Jesus) didn't exist. If there were, then God is a completely different sort of being. If there were once a time when the Son didn't exist, then there was once a time when the Father was not yet a Father. And if that is the case, then once upon a time God was not loving since all by himself he would have had nobody to love." (Reeves, 26) The Trinity is a beautiful doctrine. Below are two recommended resources to help you learn more.

Resources on the Trinity:
Delighting In The Trinity by Michael Reeves
Father, Son & Holy Spirit: Relationship, Roles, Relevance by Bruce Ware