The provided texts argue for a "Christology of divine identity," asserting that early Christian belief included Jesus directly in the unique identity of the one God of Israel rather than viewing him as a subordinate or intermediary figure. This inclusion was possible because Jewish monotheism was defined by criteria such as creation and sovereignty, in which Jesus was understood to participate. The texts frequently cite Old Testament passages applied to Jesus, particularly the use of YHWH texts and Psalm 110:1 concerning his exaltation and shared cosmic rule, as evidence for this high Christology. Furthermore, the sources explore how the worship of Jesus emerged naturally within a Jewish monotheistic context and how the humiliation and crucifixion of Jesus are central to the revelation of God’s self-giving identity. The analysis also distinguishes this concept from later Hellenistic philosophical understandings of divinity, which, in fact, sometimes made it more challenging to ascribe full divinity to Christ.
Is Jesus Being God A Myth? Not Enough Time
More Than a Demigod: An Analysis of Early Christian Theology
1. Understanding Early Jewish Monotheism
2. Christological Monotheism in the New Testament
3. God Crucified: The Divine Identity Revealed in Jesus
4. The Worship of Jesus in Early Christianity
5. Jesus on the Heavenly Throne of God
6. Paul’s Christology of Divine Identity
7. The Divinity of Jesus in the Letter of the Hebrews
8. Divine Identity Christology in the Epistle of James
9. God’s Self-Identification With the Godforsaken