Although, I believe there are places throughout the NT which show Jesus is God.
Verses can be interpreted in many different ways. Those verses only show that Jesus is God to people who already believe that Jesus is God.
I think the reason Jesus never came right out and said the words, "I am God" is simply because His purpose in coming to the earth was to become flesh, lower Himself into human form, so as to pay for the sins of humanity.
That is not what Jesus came for. Rather, that is what the Church doctrine of original sin and the cross sacrifice SAY that Jesus came for. Show me any verses where Jesus says that is what He came for.
Here is what Jesus says He came for:
John 18:37
Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.
Please note that Jesus says nothing about coming into the world to be a sacrificial lamb to save us from our sins. That is a doctrine of the Church, NOT a teaching of Jesus.
What was this Truth Jesus came to bear witness to? It was the Truth about God.
The various translations of John 1:18 say that Jesus came to make God known, to declare God, to explain God, to show us what God is like. That alone indicates that Jesus cannot BE God, because showing what God is like indicates that Jesus was separate from God.
John 1:18
CEB No one has ever seen God. God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side, has made God known.
KJV No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
NASB No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
NCV No one has ever seen God. But God the only Son is very close to the Father, and he has shown us what God is like.
NKJV No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
NLV The much-loved Son is beside the Father. No man has ever seen God. But Christ has made God known to us.
RSV No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known.
John 1:18 - Bible Gateway
Please note that all the translations of John 1:18 say that
no one has ever seen God. Many people saw Jesus so we know that Jesus cannot be God.
Jesus was
the Word because Jesus was the appearance of God, since the perfections of God appeared in Jesus.
Jesus was
a Manifestation of God because the perfections of God were manifested in Jesus.
“As it is said in the Gospel of John, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God”; 1 then the Holy Spirit and the Word are the appearance of God. The Spirit and the Word mean the divine perfections that appeared in the Reality of Christ, and these perfections were with God; so the sun manifests all its glory in the mirror. For the Word does not signify the body of Christ, no, but the divine perfections manifested in Him. For Christ was like a clear mirror which was facing the Sun of Reality; and the perfections of the Sun of Reality—that is to say, its light and heat—were visible and apparent in this mirror. If we look into the mirror, we see the sun, and we say, “It is the sun.” Therefore, the Word and the Holy Spirit, which signify the perfections of God, are the divine appearance. This is the meaning of the verse in the Gospel which says: “The Word was with God, and the Word was God”; 2 for the divine perfections are not different from the Essence of Oneness.” Some Answered Questions, p. 206
The fact that Jesus was a Manifestation of God is corroborated in this verse:
1 Timothy 3:16
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
Please note that the verse does not say that Jesus was an incarnation of God as most Christians believe. A Manifestation of God shows us what God is like, as it says in John 1:18. An Incarnation of God means that God became flesh, that God assumed a human nature and became a man in the form of Jesus Christ. That is impossible because God is Spirit and a Spirit cannot become flesh and still be Spirit.
Colossians 1:15
Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Being the image of God means that Jesus could not
be God, because an image is a representation of something else. An image is not the thing itself.
Moreover, this verse says God is invisible, and we know that Jesus was not invisible, since He was seen by many people.
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I do not know why Christians cannot settle for Jesus being a Manifestation of God, because that is what is supported by the scripture. The scripture does not support that God incarnated and became the man Jesus; that is a Church doctrine.
Jesus did not have to be God in order to forgive sins or to bestow salvation on the cross; a Manifestation of God can do those things. Again, it was Church doctrine that says that only God can forgive sins and bestow salvation upon us.
Moreover, it is not true that only God is sinless, so that is why Jesus had to become God in order to bestow salvation on the cross. A Manifestation of God is also sinless and He can bestow salvation.
Not only that, but the scriptures say ....
who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
Philippians 2;6-8
Jesus was in the
form of God because Jesus was a perfect mirror image of God in the flesh, but that verse shows that Jesus was not
actually God, because the form of God is not the same as God.
Jesus was
equal with God in certain ways, but not in all ways. That verse show that Jesus was not God, and the reason why is explained in the excerpt from the article
Did the Jews Accuse Jesus of Claiming to Be “God” or “a God”?
“Furthermore, claiming equality with God is not the same as claiming to be God. In claiming to be equal to someone, you necessarily distinguish yourself from that person. Jesus constantly distinguished himself from the “one” God of Judaism, whom he called “Father.””
I suggest you read the whole article on that link because it explains what Jesus actually claimed about Himself, That He was not God.
From His position of humanity and humility, I don't believe Jesus had any intention of going around proclaiming that He was God.
If Jesus had been God, He would have wanted everyone to know He was God; otherwise He would have been deceptive, and God does not lie.
If Jesus was FULLY God, as Christians claim, He could not have been humble; God cannot be is humble since God is All-Powerful, All-Knowing, and All-Wise.
Jesus was God in the sense that He
manifested the attributes of God, but Jesus was also a Messenger of God and a Servant of God and the Voice of God Himself. In the New Testament, Jesus speaks from all these different stations. In His station of Servant He humbles Himself before God but at other times He speaks as if He is God, because Jesus was the Voice of God.