Journal of Christian Religious Studies

The origin, nature, and rapid development of early Christian devotion to Jesus have long constituted a focal point of intense scholarly debate within New Testament studies. While traditional historical-critical scholarship, heavily influenced by nineteenth-century paradigms, often posited an evolutionary trajectory from a "low" Jewish Christology to a "high" Hellenistic deification of Jesus, recent advancements in biblical theology fundamentally challenge this anachronistic framework. This paper investigates the divinity of Christ in Pauline Christology through a rigorous, comprehensive exegetical analysis of the Philippians Christ Hymn (Philippians 2:5-11) and the Colossian Hymn (Colossians 1:15-20) situated firmly within the framework of Divine Identity Theology. Employing the historical-grammatical method to analyze the text, the study demonstrates that the Apostle Paul compellingly included Jesus Christ within the unique, uncreated divine identity of Yahweh. The conceptual paradigms of "kenosis" and the "firstborn of all creation" are deeply exegeted to reveal that Paul’s high Christology does not represent a departure from Second Temple Jewish monotheism, but rather its relational and eschatological climax. Findings indicate that early high Christology manifested as binitarian worship was a rapid, early Jewish-Christian reality rather than a late Hellenistic corruption. The paper concludes by recommending that local churches integrate deep exegetical teachings on Pauline Christology to foster robust, orthodox allegiance among congregants.

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