If you have ever sat in a church service or a religion class and heard two things that seemed to cancel each other out, you are not alone. On one hand, you hear that Jesus is the Son of God. On the other hand, you hear that Jesus is God. Your brain might feel like it is trying to hold two magnets together that keep pushing apart. How can someone be both a son and the father at the same time? How can Jesus pray to God if He is God? Who was He talking to, Himself?
These are not silly questions. They are some of the most important questions in all of Christianity. For two thousand years, smart people, theologians, pastors, and regular believers have wrestled with this exact puzzle. And the Bible does not always give a simple one sentence answer. Instead, it gives us different verses that seem to point in different directions. Some verses make Jesus sound very close to God, even equal to God in some ways. Other verses make Jesus sound distinct from God, subordinate to God, and clearly not the same being.
This article will walk you through what the Bible actually says, not what a particular church tradition says. We will look at the verses that confuse people, the verses that clarify things, and we will let you come to your own conclusion. The goal is not to start an argument. The goal is to help you read your Bible more carefully and think more deeply about who Jesus really is.
The Verse That Started the Debate, John 1:1
The most famous verse in the debate about whether Jesus is God is John chapter one verse one. In most English Bibles, it reads like this. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. For many Christians, that verse is the final answer. The Word, which John later identifies as Jesus, is called God. Case closed.
But here is where it gets tricky. The original Greek language of the New Testament does not have an indefinite article like the word a. In English, we can say a god or the God. In Greek, you have to figure out from the sentence structure which one is meant. Some Bible translators, including a translation done by a scholar named Newcome in 1808, rendered the verse differently. They wrote, in a beginning was the Word, and the Word was with the God, and a god was the Word.
That is a huge difference. The traditional translation says Jesus is God. The alternate translation says Jesus is a god, meaning a divine being but not the same as God the Father. Which one is right? To answer that, you cannot just look at one verse. You have to look at everything else Jesus and the apostles said about who Jesus is in relation to God.
Jesus Never Called Himself God
Here is a fact that surprises many people. In the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Jesus never directly says the words I am God. Not once. That is striking. If Jesus wanted people to know that He was literally God Almighty, He had plenty of chances to say so. When people accused Him of blasphemy, He could have clarified, yes, I am God. But He did not. Instead, He usually called Himself the Son of Man, a title from the Old Testament that meant a human representative of God.
What Jesus did say, over and over, was that He was sent by God. He said that He came from God. He said that He was doing God’s will. He prayed to God. He called God His Father. He said that the Father was greater than He was. These are not the words of someone who believes He is identical to the Almighty.
Let us look at some of the clearest examples.
Matthew chapter twenty four verse thirty six is a bombshell for anyone who thinks Jesus is all knowing. Jesus is talking about the end of the world. He says, no one knows about that day or hour, not even the Son, but the Father only. If Jesus were God, He would know everything God knows. But Jesus admits that there is something He does not know. That means His knowledge is limited. God’s knowledge is not limited.
Matthew chapter twenty six verse thirty nine shows Jesus praying in the garden of Gethsemane the night before He was crucified. He says, my Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me, yet not as I will, but as You will. Jesus has His own will, separate from the Father’s will. He submits His will to the Father. If Jesus were God, He would not need to submit to anyone.
John chapter five verse twenty six says, for as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself. Notice the word granted. The Father gives life to the Son. That means the Son receives something from the Father. God does not receive life from anyone. He is the source of all life. So the Son is not the same as the source.
John chapter fourteen verse twenty eight is perhaps the clearest statement of all. Jesus says, the Father is greater than I. Not equal. Not the same. Greater. Jesus says it with His own mouth. The Father is greater.
On the cross, in Matthew chapter twenty seven verse forty six, Jesus cries out, my God, my God, why have You forsaken me? If Jesus were God, He would be crying out to Himself. That does not make sense. He is crying out to someone else, to His God.
The Apostle Paul Writes the Same Thing
The apostle Paul, who wrote many of the letters in the New Testament, also distinguishes between God and Jesus. In First Corinthians chapter fifteen verses twenty seven and twenty eight, Paul explains what will happen at the end of time. He says that God the Father has put all things under Christ’s authority. But then Paul says something very important. He says that Christ Himself will also be subjected to God the Father. Paul says that God will be all in all. Christ remains subject to God forever. That is not equality. That is hierarchy.
In Philippians chapter two verses nine through eleven, Paul says that God highly exalted Jesus and gave Him the name above every name. If Jesus were already God, He could not be exalted higher. He would already be at the top. But Paul says God gave Him authority. That means Jesus did not have that authority on His own. It was a gift.
What About the Verses That Sound Like Jesus Is God
Now, to be fair, there are verses that sound like Jesus is being called God. John chapter twenty verse twenty eight is one of them. Thomas, the disciple who doubted that Jesus had risen from the dead, sees Jesus and says, my Lord and my God. Jesus does not correct him. That seems significant.
But here is how some Bible readers understand that verse. Thomas was an early Jewish believer who knew that God had raised Jesus from the dead. When he called Jesus God, he was not saying that Jesus was literally the same person as the Father. He was expressing that Jesus now shared in divine authority and glory. It was a statement of worship and amazement, not a theological definition.
Hebrews chapter one verse three says that Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being. That sounds very close to saying Jesus is God. But notice the word representation. An image of a person is not the person themselves. A photograph of you is not you. It represents you. It looks like you. But it is not identical to you. Jesus perfectly represents God. He shows us what God is like. But that does not mean He is God the Father.
The Trinity Explanation and Why Some Christians Disagree
Most mainstream Christian churches teach something called the Trinity. The Trinity says that God is one being who exists as three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. According to this teaching, Jesus is fully God and fully man. When Jesus says the Father is greater, Trinitarians explain that Jesus was speaking from His human nature, not from His divine nature. When Jesus says He does not know the hour, they say He voluntarily limited His knowledge.
That is one way to understand the Bible. Many sincere Christians believe it. But other sincere Christians, including many in the early church and some groups today, read the Bible differently. They see a consistent picture of one God, the Father, and one Son, Jesus Christ, who is the highest created being and the perfect image of God, but not literally God Himself. This view is sometimes called Arianism, named after a early church leader named Arius, or more simply, unitarianism.
The goal here is not to tell you which view is right. The goal is to show you that the Bible contains verses that seem to point in both directions. That is why smart, honest people have disagreed about this for two thousand years.
Why This Matters for a Teenager
You might be thinking, this is too complicated. Why does it even matter? It matters because how you understand Jesus changes how you understand salvation, prayer, and your own relationship with God.
If Jesus is literally God Almighty, then when you pray to Jesus, you are praying directly to God. That is comforting. If Jesus is the Son of God but not the same as the Father, then you pray to the Father through Jesus. That is also comforting. Both views lead to a deep respect for Jesus and a desire to follow Him.
The more important question is not whether you have the perfect theology about the Trinity. The more important question is whether you trust Jesus. Do you believe that He came from God? Do you believe that He died for your sins? Do you believe that God raised Him from the dead? Do you try to obey His teachings? Those are the questions that the Bible emphasizes over and over.
A Balanced Conclusion for a Confusing Topic
So what is the answer to the question, why does God call Jesus His Son if Jesus is God? The answer depends on how you read the Bible. One group says Jesus is God the Son, the second person of the Trinity. Another group says Jesus is the Son of God, a separate being who is divine but not equal to the Father. Both groups base their beliefs on Scripture. Both groups love and follow Jesus.
The safest thing for a teenager to do is to keep reading the Bible for yourself. Do not just believe what a pastor or a YouTuber tells you. Look at the verses. See what Jesus actually said. See what the apostles actually wrote. Ask questions. Talk to trusted adults. And remember that God is not scared of your confusion. He is big enough to handle your doubts.
Jesus Himself said in John chapter seventeen verse three, this is eternal life, that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. Notice the distinction. Jesus says the Father is the only true God. And He calls Himself the one whom God sent. That is a very clear verse. The Father is God. Jesus is the sent one.
But John chapter one verse one also exists. And Thomas called Jesus God. So the tension remains. And that is okay. Faith is not about having all the answers. Faith is about trusting the one who does.
A Final Letter to the Confused Teenager
If your brain hurts after reading this, you are normal. Grown ups have been arguing about this for centuries. The most important thing you can do is not walk away from Jesus because of the confusion. Keep talking to Him. Keep reading His words. Keep trying to live like He lived.
Jesus was kind. He was honest. He loved people who were hurting. He stood up to bullies. He forgave His enemies. He died for His friends. And He rose from the dead. Whether you call Him God or the Son of God, He is worthy of your trust.
So do not let the hard questions push you away. Let them push you deeper into the Bible. Let them push you to your knees in prayer. And let them push you to love other people, even the ones who disagree with you about theology. In the end, Jesus said people will know you are His followers not by your perfect doctrine, but by your love for one another. Start there. The rest will follow.