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NASB | John 14:28 "You heard that I said to you, 'I go away, and I will come to you.' If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 14:28 "You heard Me tell you, 'I am going away, and I am coming back to you.' If you [really] loved Me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going [back] to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. |
Bible Question:
How do the Father and the Son relate to each other? I don't wish to open up a discussion on whether the Trinity is accurate. My question begins with the assumption that it is true that God has one essence but 3 persons in relationship. Nor is this question related to the relationships between the Father and the Spirit or the Spirit and the Son (or even how the 3 relate together synergistically); I'd like to ask those questions separately later (as part of a further study along the same lines) and focus on the Father and Son now. My questions are, 1) "What are some of the many passages that describe the ways that the Father and the Son relate to one another?" and 2) "What can we learn about God from these passages?" Please give verses and observations. |
Bible Answer: Jesus is in no way a 'lesser God' than the Father. In Isaiah 10:21, Yahweh Himself is called "Mighty God", which obliterates any suggestion that the expression must refer to a lesser deity as opposed to "Almighty God". Also, there is only one "Mighty God", as seen in Isaiah 44:6,8 and 45:5. It is highly revealing to note that in Isaiah 40:3, Jesus is called both Yahweh and Elohim in the same verse: "In the desert prepare the way for the LORD [Yahweh]; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God [Elohim]." This verse was written in reference to the future ministry of Jesus Christ (John 1:23), and represents one of the strongest affirmations of Christ's deity in the Old Testament. Scripture is also clear that in His divine nature, Jesus is omniscient- just as omniscient as the Father is. The apostle John said that Jesus "did not need man's testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man" (John 2:25). Jesus' disciples said, "Now we can see that you know all things" (16:30). After the Resurrection, when Jesus asked Peter for the third time if Peter loved him, Peter responded: "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you" (21:17). Jesus knew just where the fish were in the water (Luke 5:4-6, John 21:6-11), and He knew just which fish contained the coin (Matt. 17:27; John 7:29, 8:55, 10:15, 17:25). Jesus was omniscient just like His Father in heaven. In John 14:28, is Jesus saying that the Father is greater than He? Not at all. Jesus is not speaking in this verse about His nature or His essential being (Christ had earlier said, "I and the Father are one" in John 10:30) but is rather speaking of His lowly position in the Incarnation. The Athanasian Creed affirms that Christ is "equal to the Father as touching his Godhood and inferior to the Father as touching his manhood." The Father was seated in heaven upon the throne of highest majesty while His incarnate Son was despised and rejected of men, soon to be nailed to a criminal's cross. It is from this perspective that Jesus could say that the Father is 'greater' than Him. In His divine nature, Jesus was fully equal to the Father. But in his humanity, Christ could say that the Father was 'His God' (John 20:17). Also, Christ and the Father are utterly equal in their divine being (John 10:30), though Jesus is functionally under the Father's headship (1 Cor. 11:3). There is no contradiction in affirming both an equality of being and a functional subordination among the Persons in the Godhead. Christ in His divine nature is fully equal to the Father, though relationally (or functionally) He is subordinate or submissive to the Father. Also, Jesus is called the 'firstborn' in Colossians 1:15. Christ is the 'firstborn of creation' in the sense that He is positionally preeminent over creation and is supreme over all things. He is also the "heir" of all creation in the sense that all that is the Father's is also the Son's. Revelation 3:14 says that Christ is "the Beginning of God's creation".. This refers to Christ as the 'active beginning of the creation, the One who caused the creation, referring to Jesus Christ not as a created being, but the One who created all things (John 1:3). Jesus is the architect of all creation (Colossians 1:16, Hebrews 1:2). God is both the beginner and consummation of creation. He is the first cause of creation; He is its final goal. Sorry for 'skipping around' so much.. I was trying to put a method to all of my 'mind wanderings'.. :) -Nolan |