Did Paul teach that Jesus was God?

• Clarifying the question

  

  Paul was a devout Torah-cenetered Jew, believing in one all-powerful God. (His devotion is partly why Paul persecuted Christians.) When Paul finally converted to Christianity, did he come to believe that Jesus was God, incarnated as a human? Did he attribute to Jesus God's divinity in some sense?

• Paul’s letters explicitly say Jesus is God

  

  In his letters, Paul writes rather blatantly that Jesus is God in some sense.

  After all, he says so in…

  • Romans 9:5 — “Christ, who is God”
  • Philippians 2 — “in the form of God”
  • 2 Peter 1:1 — “Our God and savior, Jesus”
  • Titus 2:13 — “Our God and savior, Jesus”

• Paul’s letters overtly imply Jesus is God

  

  Paul unmistakably implies that Jesus is God, by taking Old Testament descriptions, roles and properties of God and applying them to Jesus.

  This page analyzes four arguments:

  • Paul used “Lord” in the YHWH-sense to designate Jesus.
  • Paul uses OT descriptions about God to describe “Lord” Jesus.
  • Paul inherited prayers to Jesus and taught others to use them.
  • Paul said people were “in Christ” (and God).
  • [More forthcoming.]

• Paul's churches believed Jesus was God

  

  The various Greek churches that Paul planted and/or pastored believed that Jesus was Good.

  • Paul’s letters assume they believe it.
  • The authorities behind Paul's churches taught it.

• The Jerusalem church believed Jesus was God

  

  The church lead by the apostles in Jerusalem publicly maintained that Jesus was God.

  • …they designated Jesus as κύριος in the YHWH-sense.
  • …they taught prayer to Jesus.
  • …Peter did

• Paul believed Jesus was God

  

  Paul genuinely believed that Jesus was God incarnate (YHWH).

  This page discusses this evidence:

  • Paul prayed to Jesus

  This helps answer our question because, if Paul believed Jesus was God then he almost certainly taught it.