Jesus Is and Isn’t God
One of the fundamental points of Christian theology is the deity of Jesus Christ —the belief that Jesus of Nazareth was truly the God of the Old Testament, born of a woman, living as a human being. But Christ’s divinity does not mean that God was nowhere else when he lived on earth. Both God and Jesus simultaneously existed (as they had before Jesus was born). While on earth Jesus referred to God as “Father.” Consequently, Trinitarianism speaks of “God the Father” and “God the Son” (Jesus). The third person of this Trinity is the Holy Spirit. So even though Jesus is God, he is not the Father—hence the play on words: Jesus is God, but he isn’t God (the Father). Jesus is identified as God in several ways in the New Testament. Scripture describes him as having attributes and authority possessed only by God. John 1:1–2, 14 straightforwardly identifies Jesus as God: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.… And the