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  1. If X saves, X must be God.
  2. Jesus saves.
  3. Therefore, Jesus must be God.

All the trinitarian books / articles / sermons I’ve ever come across have never attempted such a simplistic way of reasoning about the deity of Christ. Indeed, to even be logical, it must first show how God’s salvation (in #1) must be a salvation that only God is capable of (not any old salvation from any old thing) and that what Jesus saves from (in #2) is exactly this same thing God saves from. And if it did that, then the case would be strengthened for Jesus being God.

But the bare bones of this argument – without fleshing them out – are illogical, which is why no trinitarian would present that alone as a logical argument.

If any trinitarian here has ever seen that argument presented, could they please cite the source and detail any accompanying reasoning?

If your answer would be “No, I haven’t”, then could you explain what would be needed to flesh this out to make a logical case for the deity of Christ?

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    Personally I seem to recall this argument being taken up in the affirmative, but for the life of me I can not remember who it was. It was an amazing Theological Work. +1
    – Ken Graham ♦
    May 29, 2022 at 14:55
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    Perhaps this is just a syllogistic simplification of what many trinitarians say. Also, syllogisms tend to be a lot more present in philosophy of religion, not theology, which could be explain why you haven’t seen this argument before.
    – Luke Hill
    May 29, 2022 at 15:50
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    It will be difficult to find consistent arguments for both #1 and #2, without assuming #3. For instance, Hebrews 7:25 says "Therefore [Jesus] is able to save completely", supporting #2, but it continues with "because he always lives to intercede for them", supporting the idea that Jesus is only an intermediary, not the one that actually saves. ¶ Compare with "1. Only the Government can issue drivers licences. 2. Employee Joe gave me my licence. 3. Therefore, Joe must be the Government.".
    – Ray Butterworth
    May 29, 2022 at 16:23
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    @RayButterworth As I’ve already pointed out in relation to Hebrews 5:9, Jesus is recognized as the author or source of salvation. The Greek uses “aitios” which literally means author/cause/culprit/accused. Identifying this cause as a proximate cause is ad hoc.
    – Luke Hill
    May 29, 2022 at 16:46
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    You seem to be deliberately creating straw man argument and then asking if anybody uses it.
    – DJClayworth
    Jun 6, 2022 at 13:54

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I have never heard any Trinitarian put forward such a simplistic argument. The first hurdle to clear is to define “God”. The second hurdle is to define what is meant by “Jesus saves”. Let me attempt to answer your question by turning it round.

  1. The God of Christianity is the eternal, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, creator and sustainer of time, space, matter and life.

  2. If Jesus is not God incarnate, just a created human (or a created angel) then he could not be God.

  3. If only God can save then He alone is the author of salvation.

What does the Bible say? Jesus created and sustains the universe (John 1:2; Colossians 1:16-17). This becomes clear when one considers YHWH said He was alone during creation (Isaiah 44:24). Christ possesses attributes that only deity can have: eternality (John 8:58), omnipresence (Matthew 18:20, 28:20), omniscience (Matthew 16:21), and omnipotence (John 11:38-44).

If only God can save, then why does the Bible say Jesus has the right to forgive sins – something only God can do – as it is God who is offended by sin (Acts 5:31; Colossians 3:13; Psalm 130:4; Jeremiah 31:34).

The Old Testament title “redeemer” (Psalm 130:7; Hosea 13:14) is used of Jesus in the New Testament (Titus 2:13; Revelation 5:9).

In Zechariah 12:10, it is YHWH who says, “They will look on me, the one they have pierced.” The New Testament applies this to Jesus’ crucifixion (John 19:37; Revelation 1:7). If it is YHWH who is pierced and looked upon, and Jesus was the one pierced and looked upon, then Jesus is YHWH.

Examples of Scriptures that teach the deity of Christ are many (see Revelation 1:17, 2:8, 22:13; 1 Corinthians 10:4; 1 Peter 2:6-8; Psalm 18:2, 95:1; 1 Peter 5:4; Hebrews 13:20.)

Trinitarians understand that Jesus saves, he is our redeemer and is the eternal, uncreated Son of God who was made incarnate and shares the same names, titles and attributes as God the Father. Yes, Jesus saves because Jesus is God.

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An argument could also be made similarly.

  1. The only entity that can save anyone (defined as ensuring eternal life with God because sins are paid for) is God.
  2. Jesus saves.
  3. Therefore, Jesus is God.
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