Grammatical Evidence For The Deity Of Christ: Jesus As Our "God & Savior"

Jesus is explicitly and unambiguously called “God” in several places in the New Testament. These instances are incredibly powerful because they are impossible to escape grammatically.

The Deity Of Christ & The Granville Sharp Rule

Many theologians throughout the ages have pointed to Paul and Peter explicitly calling Jesus “God” in their epistles in defense of Christ’s deity and to prove the apostolicity of this teaching. This includes heavyweights of the faith such as Athanasius of Alexandria and John Chrysostom. Although they used sound arguments that still hold up today, they did not formalize their approach because they were largely operating within a theological framework (as opposed to a grammatical one). Their method of interpretation was ultimately vindicated with the rise of modern linguistics and the work of an 18th century scholar and theologian, Granville Sharp. He discovered and formulated what is now known as “The Granville Sharp Rule.” This ingenious grammatical rule helps readers identify if two nouns or phrases refer to the same entity or not. Here’s how it works:

If...

1) Two singular, non-proper (common) nouns of the same case are joined by the conjunction καί (“and”)...

2) The first noun has the definite article ὁ/τοῦ (“the”), but the second does not...

Then the two nouns always refer to the same entity or person

A straightforward example is found in Colossians 1:7, where we read “Just as you learned [it] from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant and faithful minister of Christ.” In this text, both “fellow servant” (σύνδουλος) and “minister” (διάκονος) are singular, common nouns (not proper names) in the genitive case (modifying “Epaphras”), and joined together by καί. The first noun has the definite article τοῦ, but the second does not. With all these conditions satisfied, we can conclude that The Granville Sharp Rule applies. The two nouns (fellow servant and minister) refer to the same individual, Epaphras. Paul is not describing two separate people but is giving two complementary titles to Epaphras. If one accepts our conclusion here, it would be unreasonable to deny that the same person is in view if these conditions are met simply because the object is no longer something uncontroversial like the name “Epaphras.”

Peter’s Greatest Confession: Jesus Is God

Peter is famous for correctly identifying Jesus as “the Son of the living God,” when Jesus and His disciples came to the region of Caesarea Philippi. In his second Epistle, however, the apostle makes an even greater claim about Jesus. In 2 Peter 1:11 we read:

"For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you."

This text contains (you guessed it) a Granville Sharp Construction. You will be hard-pressed to find a Jehovah's Witness or Unitarian who denies that Jesus Christ is the one “Lord” and “Savior” spoken of. No one is going to argue that Peter is referring to two different entities. Not only would this be ridiculous exegetically, but the Granville Sharp Rule is in play and will not allow for any other reading. Now let’s work our way back to Peter’s greeting in 2 Peter 1:1 which reads:

"Simeon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ: To those who have received a faith equal to ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ."

The texts are nearly identical, except for the fact that in verse 11 it’s “Lord and Savior,” but in verse 1 it’s “God and Savior.” The Granville Sharp Rule applies to both texts, and the conclusion is inescapable: Peter calls Jesus God. No amount of appeals to context can avoid this. Not only are we dealing with the same author, and not only are these verses found in the same epistle, but these statements are even contained in the same section. In the words of Dan Wallace; “there is no good reason for rejecting 2 Peter 1:1 as an explicit affirmation of the deity of Christ.”¹

The Man Behind The Method

With no formal higher education, Granville Sharp taught himself Greek and Hebrew using grammar textbooks and the Bible. He published his findings in a 1798 treatise called Remarks on the Uses of the Definite Article in the Greek Text of the New Testament, and it went on to reshape scholarship on the subject of Greek syntax. Sharp was also a strong advocate for the abolition of the slave trade in British territories. He played a significant role in the Somerset Case where the freedom of African slaves were defended. By establishing that slavery was not supported by British common law, Sharp and others paved the way for abolition.

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1  Dan Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament