Did Jesus Claim to be God?

Join the Impact 360 podcast for an in-depth conversation with Robert Bowman, a leading evangelical scholar on apologetics, theology, and new religious movements. In this episode, we explore the biblical case for the deity of Christ through Bowman's book "The Incarnate Christ and His Critics: A Biblical Defense," co-authored with Ed Komoszewski.

The HANDS Acronym Framework

Bowman introduces the memorable "HANDS" framework for understanding Christ's deity:

• Honors - Divine worship given to Jesus
• Attributes - Divine characteristics (eternality, omnipotence)
• Names - Divine titles (Lord, God, I AM)
• Deeds - Divine actions (creation, miracles, judgment)
• Seat - Sharing God's throne

Key Theological Concepts

• The Incarnation: Understanding Jesus as fully God and fully human
• The Paradox of Christ: How Jesus can be both eternal and born, divine and human
• Early Christian Worship: Evidence that first-century Jewish Christians worshiped Jesus as God from the beginning
• The "Big Bang" of Christology: How divine Christology emerged immediately, not gradually

Addressing Common Objections

• "Why doesn't Jesus explicitly say 'I am God'?"
• "If Jesus is God, who is he praying to?"
• "Doesn't 'Son of God' mean Jesus is lesser than God?"
• John 1:1 translation debates ("the Word was God" vs. "the Word was a god")

Resources Mentioned

Books

• "The Incarnate Christ and His Critics: A Biblical Defense" by Robert Bowman and Ed Komoszewski
• "Putting Jesus in His Place: The Case for the Deity of Christ" (2007) by the same authors

Websites

• Institute for Religious Research: IRR.org - Hundreds of free articles on apologetics, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, and biblical reliability
• Robert Bowman's Personal Site: RobertBowman.net - Blog, book information, and free excerpts

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