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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:
I wanted to thank everyone especially Tim who has been answering most of my questions, and Jim who has been really inviting. Does this mean that according to Jesus, the Father is greater than him? Yours truly, Isa |
Bible Answer: Greetings Isa! This is a verse that many people use to try and prove that Jesus is not fully God. However, it does not make that point at all. John makes several things very clear about the relationship between God the Father and God the Son. 1) The Father and the Son share the same essence (cf. 1:1-2; 14:9; 20:28). This point is made throughout the New Testament. 2) The Father and the Son are “One” in purpose and essence (10:30). What then did Jesus mean when He said that the Father is greather than He? Simply this, the Father is greater in office or glory than the Son during His humiliation. The whole point of the incarnation of Christ is that He took upon Himself a lesser nature. He became fully man. Phil. 2:5-11 calls it an emptying. So, during His incarnation, God the Father was greater. Jesus was in fact subordinate to God the Father during this time. However, this was not an eternal distinction. Refer back to John 1:1, where John makes it clear that Jesus is God. Thus, John 14:28 does not refer to the essential being of Christ, but rather to His relationship with the Father during His incarnation. In Christ, Tim Moran |