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Is Jesus Not As Great As God the Father?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Tom Edwards<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Based on John 14:28, one might wonder if Jesus is a \u201clesser\u201d God. For Jesus says in the last part of this verse that \u201cthe Father is greater than I.\u201d But when did Jesus say this, and what was His relationship with the Father at that time? It, of course, was after Jesus had greatly humbled Himself to come to earth and had taken on \u201cthe form of a bond-servant\u201d (Phil. 2:7), where He, as \u201cthe Son of God,\u201d had been living in submission to His Father in heaven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Normally, we think in a father-son relationship that the father is greater than the son. Therefore, it is the son who is in subjection to the father \u2014 and not the father to the son. So these terms serve as accommodating language to express the role Jesus took upon Himself when coming to earth. For it appears that prior to the creation, there was not a Father-Son relationship, as also indicated in Hebrews 1:5: \u201cFor to which of the angels did He ever say, \u2018YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU\u2019? And again, \u2018I WILL BE A FATHER TO HIM AND HE SHALL BE A SON TO ME\u2019?\u201d The \u201cwill be\u201d and \u201cshall be,\u201d which I underlined, indicate a time when that type of relationship would begin. So what was it prior?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The very same chapter also declares that Jesus \u201cis the radiance\u201d of His Father\u2019s glory and \u201cthe exact representation\u201d of His Father\u2019s nature (Heb. 1:3). So Jesus was not just 50%, 75%, or 99% \u2014 but, rather, was 100% of the \u201cexact\u201d nature of Deity that His Father also possessed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Paul, too, speaks of that in Colossians 2:9: \u201cFor in Him ALL THE FULLNESS OF DEITY dwells in bodily form\u201d (emphasis mine). The \u201cHim,\u201d of course, refers to Christ, as mentioned in verse 8. Again, Jesus is as much God as the Father; but was in subjection to Him while on earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This might also remind you of what Jesus says in John 14:7: \u201cIf you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him\u201d (Jn. 14:7); and \u201cHe who has seen Me has seen the Father\u201d (v. 9). Though two distinct persons, yet same in Deity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And what about the Holy Spirit? He is also a divine person who makes up the Godhead, but why is He never referred to as a \u201cSon\u201d? Though the \u201cJehovah\u2019s Witnesses\u201d see Him as a power \u2014 and not a person \u2014 yet the Bible speaks of Him as a person when using masculine pronouns, such as \u201cHim\u201d (Jn. 16:7) and \u201cHe\u201d (v. 8). Furthermore, the Holy Spirit is One who can \u201cconvict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment\u201d (v. 8); and He can \u201cguide,\u201d \u201cspeak,\u201d \u201chear,\u201d \u201cdisclose,\u201d \u201cglorify\u201d God, and take from God (vv. 13-15). He can also be \u201cgrieved\u201d (Eph. 4:30). How could just a power, like electricity, be grieved?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Paul speaks of that \u201csacrifice\u201d Jesus made in humbling Himself to leave heaven and lay aside that glorified state He had there \u2014 in order to become a man: \u201cHave this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard EQUALITY WITH GOD a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being found in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death even death on a cross\u201d (Phil. 2:5-8, emphasis mine).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So Jesus was in an \u201cEQUALITY WITH GOD\u201d before coming to earth. And what He \u201cemptied Himself\u201d of was not His Deity, but the blessings of dwelling in heaven and His heavenly \u201cbody\u201d that was replaced with a human one that would experience hunger, thirst, weariness, pain, and temptations \u2014 a body that was much inferior to what He had in heaven. This is why the Hebrew writer says, \u201cBut we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone\u201d (Heb. 2:9). Jesus was not \u201clower than the angels\u201d when it came to rank because He was still God, and angels were part of His creation. The angels worshiped Christ, but He did not worship them. But He became \u201clower than the angels\u201d by taking on an inferior body compared to the perfect, heavenly body that they possess. And this verse also shows why Christ did that: \u201cso that\u2026He might taste death for everyone.\u201d Jesus had to become a man so that He could make an atonement for sin by His death on the cross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So though He had been in \u201cequality with God\u201d in heaven, He did not feel that He had to cling to that and all the blissfulness that goes with it, but willingly gave up the privileges and blessings He had there in order to come to earth, humbly take on \u201cthe form of a bond-servant,\u201d and subjectively and faithfully carry out His role as the Son of God in submission to His Father in heaven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In thinking more of the Lord\u2019s equality with His Father, John 1:1-3 is an excellent passage. It declares: \u201cIn the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being\u201d (emphasis mine). This \u201cWord\u201d is Jesus, and He is not referred to as a \u201clesser\u201d God, but as \u201cGod\u201d! John then goes on to say in verse 14, \u201cAnd the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recently, I was talking with a couple \u201cJehovah\u2019s Witnesses\u201d; and when pointing out this passage to them to show how much Jesus is God, and asking why their New World Translation renders Him as \u201ca god\u201d (in John 1:1), one responded by saying that it is a different Greek word than the previous one referring to the Father. But that is incorrect, for they are both from the same Greek word \u201ctheos.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The \u201cJehovah\u2019s Witnesses\u201d do not see Jesus as being as great as He really is. For they not only teach of Him as being a \u201clesser\u201d God, but also as one that is a created being \u2014 and, therefore, not eternal like His Father. To them, Jesus is Michael the archangel and the first of God\u2019s creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One passage they misused was Colossians 1:15 to assert that Jesus was created. For that verse speaks of Him as being the \u201cfirst-born of all creation.\u201d But if \u201cfirst-born\u201d is to be taken literally, who gave birth to Christ prior to the creation? So even in that, we can infer that \u201cfirst-born\u201d is being used figuratively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the Mosaical Age, the firstborn son was to receive a double portion of the inheritance from his father (cf. Deut. 21:15-17). So in that, we see of a preeminence the firstborn had over his siblings; and that idea also came to take on a metaphorical usage in the Scriptures. For example, Isaiah 14:30 says that \u201cthe firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety\u2026\u201d (KJV). But \u201cfirstborn\u201d is not used literally in this passage. Rather, it is referring to those who were most poor. Notice, for instance, how this is rendered in some other Bible translations: \u201cThose who are most helpless will eat, And the needy will lie down in security\u2026\u201d (NASB). And in the NIV: \u201cThe poorest of the poor will find pasture, and the needy will lie down in safety\u2026\u201d Consider, too, Psalm 89:27: \u201cI also shall make him My firstborn, The highest of the kings of the earth\u201d (emphases mine in these passages).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Especially with that last verse, we can easily see the figurative usage of \u201cfirstborn\u201d to indicate exaltation or the preeminence that God would give to that one. And that is the way it is used in Colossians 1:15. For notice the context: After speaking of Jesus being \u201c\u2026the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation,\u201d it then goes on to say: \u201cfor by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities \u2014 all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father\u2019s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him\u201d (Col. 1:15-19).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To \u201chave first place in everything\u201d is to have the preeminence over everything, and that is what the idea of Jesus being \u201cthe firstborn of all creation\u201d is figuratively expressing. For He is not merely the firstborn of a particular family, which He was; but, rather, He is said to be the firstborn over \u201call creation.\u201d How highly exalted Christ is! He has \u201cthe name which is above every name\u201d (Phil. 2:9). He is the \u201cKing of kings and Lord of lords\u201d (Rev. 19:6); and, as He declares in Matthew 28:18, \u201cAll authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We saw also in Colossians 1:16, \u201cFor by Him all things were created\u2026\u201d Every created thing has been made possible by Jesus Christ. Going along with this, John 1:3 declares, \u201cAll things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, if the \u201cJehovah\u2019s Witnesses\u201d are correct that Jesus is a created being then it could not be said that \u201cby Him all things were created.\u201d For if that be so, then Jesus would have had to create Himself! So what do they do with Colossians 1:16 so that it does not clash with their belief? They \u201csolved\u201d it with the word \u201cother.\u201d Quoting from their New World Translation, \u201cby means of him all other things were created in the heavens and on the earth\u2026\u201d (emphasis mine). By inserting the word \u201cother,\u201d they can now say that \u201cGod created Jesus, and Jesus then created all other created things.\u201d But that is not what the Bible teaches. In the 23 different Bible translations I looked this up in, not even one of them uses the word \u201cother\u201d to imply that Jesus was also a created being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is said of Jesus that \u201cthey shall call His name Immanuel; which is, being interpreted, God with us\u201d (Matt. 1:23, ASV). Yes, Jesus was God incarnate, Deity in human flesh while on earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But when the Jews said to Jesus, \u201cYou are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?,\u201d the Lord responded by saying, \u201cTruly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM\u201d (John. 8:57-58, emphasis mine). Notice that Jesus doesn\u2019t just say, \u201cI was,\u201d which would have still been an awesome thing to say, and which would have probably been what He would have said if He had been a created being prior to Abraham; but Jesus did not say that. Rather, He said, \u201cI AM,\u201d which expresses His eternal nature. He had no beginning, for He has always been and always will be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Notice how the psalmist expresses God\u2019s eternal nature:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBefore the mountains were born Or You gave birth to the earth and the world, Even FROM EVERLASTING TO EVERLASTING, You are God\u201d (Psa. 90:2, emphasis mine). And who did we earlier see as being credited with the creation in John 1:2? Jesus. Also in Hebrews 1:2: God \u201cin these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, THROUGH WHOM ALSO HE MADE THE WORLD (emphasis mine). And what does God the Father call His Son in Hebrews 1:8? \u201cBut of the Son He says, \u2018\u2026O GOD\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That Jesus was involved in the great work of creation is also seen in the first verse of the Bible: \u201cIn the beginning God created the heavens and the earth\u201d (Gen. 1:1). We have pointed out that \u201cGod\u201d in this passage is from \u201cElohim,\u201d the plural form of God; and look what we go on to see: \u201cThen God said, \u2018Let US make man in OUR image, according to OUR likeness\u2026God created man in His own image\u2026\u201d (Gen. 1:26-27, emphasis mine). Notice the plural pronouns. God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit were all involved in the work of creation. Concerning the Holy Spirit, Genesis 1:2 says, \u201cThe earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.\u201d The psalmist declares of God, \u201cYou send forth Your Spirit, they are created; and You renew the face of the ground\u201d (Psa. 104:30).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So getting back to that phrase, \u201cFROM EVERLASTING TO EVERLASTING, You are God,\u201d notice that it doesn\u2019t say, \u201cfrom everlasting to everlasting, You HAVE BEEN God\u201d or \u201cfrom everlasting to everlasting, You WILL BE God\u201d; but \u201cfrom everlasting to everlasting, You ARE God\u201d (emphases mine). God already fills all eternity. Eternity is not like our realm of time, which is linear like a timeline. God will not be a day older tomorrow, or a year older next year. He does not age. He does not wear out or diminish in any way. I describe Him as being \u201ceternally new.\u201d The Hebrew writer says that \u201cJesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever\u201d (Heb. 13:8).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do you remember what Micah said when prophesying Jesus\u2019 birth, as to where He would be born and from where He had come? Several hundred years before Christ was born in Bethlehem to the virgin Mary, Micah wrote: \u201cBut as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, FROM THE DAYS OF ETERNITY\u201d (Micah 5:2). Think of the oldest person you know. Can that person be referred to as having come \u201cfrom the days of eternity\u201d? Even of Methuselah, who lived to be 969 years old, you could not say was from the days of eternity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In thinking more of Christ\u2019s eternal nature, and that He was not a created being, look at Isaiah 9:6: \u201cFor a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.\u201d So not only is Jesus called \u201cGod,\u201d but also \u201cEternal Father.\u201d This probably sounds very wrong to many to refer to Jesus as \u201cFather\u201d; but, as one commentator writes, when Isaiah had said this, \u201cthe distinctions of Persons in the Godhead had not yet been revealed\u201d (Pulpit Commentary). The thought of Jesus being the \u201cEternal Father\u201d has also been viewed as His being the \u201cFather of Eternity.\u201d In other words, eternity did not bring about God, but eternity is because God is! And here, Jesus is the One in the Godhead being referred to and being shown in His relationship \u2014 not to the other two persons that make up the Godhead, but to eternity itself. He is the Father of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is it not important that the world comes to believe in Jesus for who He truly is \u2013 and not some lesser being? For Jesus says, \u201cunless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins\u201d (John 8:24).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(All Scripture from the NASB unless otherwise indicated.)
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The Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1) Hear<\/strong> the gospel, for that is how faith comes (Rom. 10:17; John 20:30,31). Tebeau Street \u201cGo therefore and make disciples of all the nations\u2026teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age\u201d (Matthew 28:19-20, NASB).\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013 Contents: 1) Is Jesus Not As Great As God the Father? (Tom Edwards)\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013 -1- Is Jesus Not As Great As God […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=554"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":555,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554\/revisions\/555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
2) Believe <\/strong>in the deity of Christ (John 8:24; John 3:18).
3) Repent <\/strong>of sins (Luke 13:5; Acts 17:30).
4) Confess faith <\/strong>in Christ (Rom. 10:9,10; Acts 8:36-38).
5) Be baptized <\/strong>in water for the remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3,4; Gal. 3:26,27; 1 Pet. 3:21).
6) Continue in the faith, <\/strong>living for the Lord; for, if not, salvation can be lost (Heb. 10:36-39; Rev. 2:10; 2 Pet. 2:20-22).
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CHURCH OF CHRIST
1402 Tebeau Street, Waycross, GA\u00a0 31501
Sunday services: 9:00 a.m. (Bible class); 10 a.m. & 5 p.m. (worship)
Wednesday: <\/strong>7 p.m. (Bible class)
evangelist\/editor: <\/strong>Tom Edwards (912) 281-9917
Tom@ThomasTEdwards.com<\/strong>
http:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/go<\/a> (Older version of Gospel Observer website without pictures, but back to March 1990)
http:\/\/tebeaustreetchurchofchrist.org\/<\/a>
http:\/\/ThomasTEdwards.com\/audioser.html<\/a> (audio sermons)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"