Does Jesus sharing God's nature mean there are two Gods?
No. The Bible never presents Jesus as a second God; it teaches one God who exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus claimed to be the one God of Israel come in the flesh, and the church confessed His deity precisely because the oneness of God is non-negotiable.
This question arose from studying Is Jesus really God? and What is the Trinity? and Can we really understand the Trinity?.
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What the Scripture says
The oneness of God is where the Bible begins
Israel's daily confession was single-minded: 'Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.' God insists on it through Isaiah: 'I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God.' Jesus Himself answered the scribes by quoting the same confession. The oneness of God is not up for revision.
Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God. Yahweh is one.
Jesus answered, “The greatest is, ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one:
This is what Yahweh, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Yahweh of Armies, says: “I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God.
Declare and present it. Yes, let them take counsel together. Who has shown this from ancient time? Who has declared it of old? Haven’t I, Yahweh? There is no other God besides me, a just God and a Savior; There is no one besides me.
Jesus claimed to be the one God, not another god
'Before Abraham came into existence, I AM,' He said, taking the name from the burning bush. 'I and the Father are one.' The crowd heard exactly what He meant: 'You, being a man, make yourself God.' Jesus did not announce a new deity; He revealed that the one God had come in the flesh.
Jesus said to them, “Most certainly, I tell you, before Abraham came into existence, I AM.”
I and the Father are one.”
The Jews answered him, “We don’t stone you for a good work, but for blasphemy: because you, being a man, make yourself God.”
But if I do them, though you don’t believe me, believe the works; that you may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”
A second god would be idolatry, and Scripture allows none
'Before me there was no God formed, neither will there be after me.' Paul, writing in a city full of gods, holds the line: 'there is no other God but one,' and yet in the same breath he names the Lord Jesus Christ through whom all things exist. The New Testament never flinches from calling Jesus God, and never lets go of the one God. Both are true at once.
“You are my witnesses,” says Yahweh, “With my servant whom I have chosen; that you may know and believe me, and understand that I am he. Before me there was no God formed, neither will there be after me.
Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that no idol is anything in the world, and that there is no other God but one.
yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we live through him.
looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ;
of whom are the fathers, and from whom is Christ as concerning the flesh, who is over all, God, blessed forever. Amen.
Distinct Persons, one divine nature
John 1 says both at once: the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Son prays to the Father, and yet He and the Father are one: Jesus told Philip that whoever has seen Him has seen the Father, and said, 'In him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily.' Jesus is not a second god alongside the Father; He is God the Son, distinct in Person, one in nature with the Father and the Spirit.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.
This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
I and the Father are one.”
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you such a long time, and do you not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How do you say, ‘Show us the Father?’
For in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily,
The Trinity keeps the oneness intact
The church did not invent three gods under a new name. Facing the very question you are asking, it confessed one God in three Persons, and it did so because Scripture forces both truths: the Lord is one, and Jesus is Lord. Jesus even commanded baptism into the single name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Trinity is not a compromise with polytheism; it is the shape of the one God's own life.
Go,and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.
Jesus said these things, and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may also glorify you; even as you gave him authority over all flesh, he will give eternal life to all whom you have given him. This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
As you read, you may wonder…
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Verses to meditate on
I and the Father are one.”
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you such a long time, and do you not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How do you say, ‘Show us the Father?’
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
This is what Yahweh, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Yahweh of Armies, says: “I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God.
yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we live through him.
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