Old and New Testament Passages Concerning the Oneness of God
and the Identity of Jesus Christ

Scripture quotations: King James Version (KJV)

Purpose

This study brings together major Old Testament declarations that the LORD is the one and only God with New Testament passages concerning Jesus Christ and His relationship to the Father. It distinguishes between direct statements by Jesus, passages that explicitly call Jesus God, and passages that apply to Jesus language or functions associated with the LORD in the Old Testament.

I. The Old Testament: There Is One God

The Old Testament repeatedly declares that the LORD alone is God. Isaiah 43–46 contains an especially concentrated series of these declarations.

Isaiah

Isaiah 37:16

“O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth.”

Isaiah 37:20

“Now therefore, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD, even thou only.”

Isaiah 43:10

“Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.”

Isaiah 43:11

“I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.”

Isaiah 44:6

“Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.”

Isaiah 44:8

“Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.”

Isaiah 45:5

“I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:”

Isaiah 45:6

“That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.”

Isaiah 45:14

“Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God.”

Isaiah 45:18

“For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it... I am the LORD; and there is none else.”

Isaiah 45:21

“And there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.”

Isaiah 45:22

“Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.”

Isaiah 46:9

“Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me.”

Other Old Testament Declarations

Deuteronomy 4:35

“Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him.”

Deuteronomy 4:39

“Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.”

Deuteronomy 6:4

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:”

Deuteronomy 32:39

“See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me...”

1 Samuel 2:2

“There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.”

2 Samuel 7:22

“Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee...”

1 Kings 8:60

“That all the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God, and that there is none else.”

2 Kings 19:15

“O LORD God of Israel... thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth...”

2 Kings 19:19

“Now therefore, O LORD our God... that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD God, even thou only.”

1 Chronicles 17:20

“O LORD, there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee...”

Nehemiah 9:6

“Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host...”

Psalm 18:31

“For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?”

Psalm 83:18

“That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.”

Psalm 86:10

“For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.”

Hosea 13:4

“Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me.”

Joel 2:27

“And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else...”

Zechariah 14:9

“And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.”

II. Jesus and the Father

The following passages record Jesus speaking directly about His unity and relationship with the Father.

John 10:30

“I and my Father are one.”

John 10:37–38

“If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do... believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.”

John 14:7

“If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.”

John 14:9

“Jesus saith unto him... he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?”

John 14:10–11

“Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?... Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me...”

John 17:11

“Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.”

John 17:21

“That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee...”

John 17:22

“And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:”

John 17:23

“I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one...”

III. Jesus' Statements and Divine Prerogatives

John 8:24

“I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.”

John 8:58

“Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.”

John 13:19

“Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.”

John 5:17–18

“My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him... but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.”

John 5:21

“For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.”

John 5:22–23

“For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father...”

Note: In John 8:24 and John 13:19, the word “he” is supplied in the KJV. The Greek expression is egō eimi, “I am.”

IV. New Testament Passages Explicitly Identifying Jesus as God

John 1:1

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

John 1:14

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us...”

John 20:28

“And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.”

Romans 9:5

“Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.”

Titus 2:13

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;”

Hebrews 1:8

“But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever...”

2 Peter 1:1

“Simon Peter... to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:”

Translation note: Romans 9:5 has a recognized punctuation/translation discussion. Many translations understand the concluding description as referring to Christ. Titus 2:13 and 2 Peter 1:1 are likewise important passages in discussions of New Testament Christology.

V. Divine Attributes, Works, and Identity Applied to Christ

Colossians 1:15–17

“Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created... all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.”

Colossians 2:9

“For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”

Philippians 2:6

“Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:”

Hebrews 1:2–3

“By whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person...”

Hebrews 1:10–12

“And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands...”

VI. Old Testament YHWH Passages Applied to Jesus

Isaiah 45 and Philippians 2

Isaiah 45:22–23

“Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else... unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.”

Philippians 2:10–11

“That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow... And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Paul uses the language of Isaiah 45, where the LORD declares that He alone is God and that every knee will bow to Him, in describing the universal acknowledgment of Jesus Christ.

Joel 2 and Romans 10

Joel 2:32

“And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered...”

Romans 10:9, 13

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus... For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Romans 10 places the confession of Jesus as Lord in the immediate context of Paul's quotation of Joel 2:32, where the name invoked is the LORD.

VII. One God and One Lord

1 Corinthians 8:4–6

“We know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one... But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.”

This passage explicitly maintains that there is only one God while speaking of the Father as the “one God” and Jesus Christ as the “one Lord,” through whom all things exist. It is especially significant when read alongside Deuteronomy 6:4: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD.”

Summary

Taken together, these passages establish the biblical framework for the question. The Old Testament repeatedly declares that the LORD alone is God, and that there is no God beside Him. The New Testament continues to affirm one God while presenting Jesus in a unique relationship with the Father: Jesus says, “I and my Father are one”; He describes mutual indwelling with the Father; He is directly called God in several passages; divine works and attributes are ascribed to Him; and New Testament writers apply to Him Old Testament language concerning the LORD. These texts form a central scriptural foundation for Christian teaching concerning the deity of Christ and the relationship of the Father and the Son.