How true is the statement that Jesus was not born divine, therefore he became divine after he got baptized?

How true is the statement that Jesus was not born divine, therefore he became divine after he got baptized?

This statement is not true according to Scripture or historic Christian doctrine. Jesus was born divine—He did not become divine at any later point. His divinity was not conferred at baptism, nor was it earned or adopted. It was intrinsic from conception.

This idea—that Jesus became divine at His baptism—is rooted in theological error. Some early sects (such as the adoptionists) taught that Jesus was a mere man who was “adopted” by God when the Spirit descended upon Him. They misread Matthew 3:17—“This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”—as a moment of divine appointment. But this declaration affirms His identity, not initiates it.

Modern confusion often arises from attempts to rationalise the mystery of the incarnation or from blending human reasoning with Scripture. But the Bible is clear: Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, fully divine from the beginning.

What Scripture Says

Jesus was conceived by the Holy Ghost: “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). His conception was supernatural. He was not born by natural means. His birth was a divine act, not a human progression.

He is Emmanuel—God with us: “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us” (Matthew 1:23). His identity was divine from the womb.
He existed before His birth: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:1,14). Jesus didn’t become divine—He was divine and took on flesh.
Paul affirms His eternal nature: “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God” (Philippians 2:6). His incarnation was a humbling, not a promotion.
He did not inherit Adam’s sinful nature: “God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh” (Romans 8:3). He came in the likeness of sinful flesh—not in sinful flesh itself. His nature was holy, untouched by Adam’s fall.
His baptism was a declaration, not a transformation: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). The Father did not make Him divine—He affirmed what was already true.
He is God manifest in the flesh: “Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh…” (1 Timothy 3:16). This mystery is not a process—it is a revealed truth.

Why This Matters

To teach that Jesus became divine is to deny the incarnation, the virgin birth, and the sinless nature of Christ. It undermines the very foundation of the gospel. If Jesus was not divine from birth, then He could not be the spotless Lamb, nor the eternal Son sent to redeem. The cross would be powerless, and salvation would be impossible.

Let us hold fast to the truth. Jesus Christ is not a man who became God—He is God who became man. His divinity is eternal, His nature is holy, and His mission was redemptive from the beginning.