Did Paul believe Jesus was God?
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Clarifying the question
Did Paul hold the belief Jesus was the God of the Old Testament, at least in some sense (e.g. sharing in God's divinity, or existing as a part of God)? Did Paul feel Jesus had Yahweh’s divinity (Yahweh being God’s personal name in Hebrew)? In Paul’s view, did Jesus have God's metaphorical fingerprint and DNA?
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Paul taught Jesus is God
As a Christian, Paul taught that Jesus was God incarnate, sharing in YHWH's divine nature.
This page analyzes 6 arguments:
- Paul’s letters …
- Explicitly say Jesus is God. E.g. …
- Rom 9:5 — “Christ, who is God”
- Phil 2 — “in the form of God”
- 2 Pet 1:1 — “Our God and savior, Jesus”
- Titus 2:13 — “Our God and savior, Jesus”
- Overtly imply Jesus is God (via property ascription), E.g. …
- By applying God’s “Lord” (YHWH) designation to Jesus.
- By teaching traditional prayers to Jesus (to use).
- Explicitly say Jesus is God. E.g. …
This is relevant because Paul taught what he believed to be true.
- Paul’s letters …
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Paul prayed to Jesus
Paul was a Jew who directed prayers to Jesus, speaking to Him and petitioning Him with reverence, devotion, and expectation.
A full page will analyze six arguments:
- Example: In 2 Cor 12:8-9, Paul casually writes how he prayed to Jesus.
- Paul relayed prayers to Jesus (teaching others to).
- Paul taught Christians to pray to Jesus.
- Jesus taught Christians to pray to him.
- Paul’s churches prayed to Jesus.
- The Jerusalem church prayed to Jesus.
This suggests Paul believed Jesus was God, because Paul was a devout Torah-observant Jew. As a Christian, he continued to regard the Old Testamenta s scripture. In virtue of both his upbringing, biases, and what is clearly taught in the Old Testament, Paul would naturally consider worship and prayer to beings other than God (YHWH) as blasphemous.
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[More forthcoming]