Deity of Christ
The Bible, specifically Paul, says there is only one God and that is the Father, which means that Jesus cannot be God.
Quick answer
Paul's statements do not deny the divinity of Jesus; rather, they affirm His role as Lord alongside the Father. The context of Paul's writings shows that he includes Jesus within the identity of the one God of Jewish monotheism.
Full argument
Paul is no more denying the fact that the Lord Jesus is God than he is denying that the Father is Lord. In 1 Corinthians 8:6, Paul states that there is one God, the Father, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, indicating that both hold divine status. This does not contradict monotheism but rather expands it to include Jesus as part of the divine identity. Paul is evoking Old Testament texts, such as Deuteronomy 6:4, which affirm that Yahweh is Israel's one Lord, and by doing so, he incorporates Jesus into this understanding. NT scholar Richard Bauckham argues that Paul’s formulation is a Christian expansion of the Shema, maintaining Jewish monotheistic concerns while affirming loyalty to Jesus as the Lord.
Key verses
1 Corinthians 8:6bible
For us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.
Deuteronomy 6:4bible
Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!
Isaiah 45:5-6bible
I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God.
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