Problematising the Divinity of Jesus: Why Jesus Is Not θεός

The debate on Jesus's divine nature is as old as the New Testament text itself. The so-called "titles" ascribed to Jesus often take centre stage in this type of discussion. The aim with this study, however, is to show that Jesus is not an equivalent of θεός. To argue my case convincingly, I will have to show that, textually, Jesus is a distinctly different literary character from that of θεός. I will also need to show that Jesus never claimed to be θεός. As an introduction, I will briefly sketch the Jewish-Hellenistic background and possible meanings of the term θεός. I will then deal with all those references traditionally used to argue that Jesus is equivalent to θεός. This will be followed by concluding remarks.