The Arguments for why Jesus is not
God
Before
discussing whether or not Jesus could have been God, we need to look first
briefly at the reasons why some deny that He was or is. These points will not
be discussed in this post; that will come later. For the moment, I will simply
present the case against Jesus being God in the flesh. Also, do not assume from
the lack of comments at this stage that I either agree or disagree with these
statements. I am merely presenting the case, nothing more.
1.
Jesus
is not all-knowing (omniscient). The proof text for this claim is Matthew 24v36
where Jesus says, “But
concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor
the Son, but the
Father only” (ESV).
2.
Throughout
the Old Testament, God repeatedly said such things as ‘I am the Lord your God’,
but not once did Jesus make such a direct claim.
3.
In
Psalm 146v3, we are warned “Put not your trust in princes, in the
son of man, in whom there is no salvation” (KJV). Jesus however repeatedly
talked of Himself as ‘the Son of Man’. We are exhorted to trust God, but not to
put our trust in the ‘son of man’, therefore, it is claimed, Jesus cannot be
God.
4. Jesus was ‘given’ His authority; He did not possess it of
Himself. The proof for this is given as Matthew 28v18, “And
Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been
given to me.” Also, Jesus did nothing of Himself, but only what He was
told by the Father, John 12v49, “For I have not spoken of myself; but the
Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I
should speak” therefore He did not have
authority to act by Himself.
5.
We know
that God is ‘good’; Jesus however denied being ‘good’ in the sense that God is
good: “And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what
good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto
him, Why callest thou me good? there is none
good but one, that is, God” (Matthew 19v16-17)
6.
Jesus’s followers (the wider group than just
the twelve), did not believe Him to be God: “When Jesus came into the coasts of
Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the
Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others,
Jeremias, or one of the prophets” (Matthew 16v13-14)
7.
When Jesus further pressed the twelve who
were with Him, they did not say they believed He was God, but merely ‘the Son
of God’. Therefore, if no-one said they believed He was God, then He obviously
was not God.
8.
During His life on earth, Jesus frequently
went apart by Himself to pray. To whom was He praying? Those who deny that He
was God say He could not have been praying to Himself, therefore, He and the
father are two separate beings; Jesus is the Son and the Father is God.
9.
In addition, Jesus referred to God the Father
as ‘your God and mine’ (John 20v16-18). If Jesus Himself had a God, then He was
not God Himself.
10. The
will of the Son was subordinate to the will of the Father. Mark 26v39 says, “My
Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I
will, but as you will”.
11. Jesus
remains subordinate to the Father. After Jesus returned to heaven, God put ‘all
things under His feet’ but God Himself was not put under His feet and Jesus
Himself is subject to God the father: For “God has put all things in subjection under his
feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that
he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are
subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put
all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all” (1 Corinthians
15v27-28)
12. Jesus
was granted life rather than possessing it in and of Himself. John 5v26 says, “For
as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life
in himself”. ‘Life’ is something owned by God who grants life to whom He
will; if Jesus was granted life, it follows that He is not God.
13.
Jesus did nothing by Himself; He only did the
will of the Father: “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my
judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me”
(John 5v30) and “Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me” (John 7v16).
14.
“So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but
only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son
does likewise”. If Jesus could do nothing of His own accord, then
clearly He was not to be considered God.
15. Jesus
made no secret of the fact that His Father was greater than He: “If you loved
me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father
is greater than I” (John 14v28). If the Father and Jesus were both God, then
surely it follows that they are equal and not one greater than the other?
16. When
Jesus prayed, He spoke to His ‘Father in heaven’ (Matthew 6v9). If Jesus were
God, then why and how could His Father (also God) be in heaven? Why did Jesus
not say something like ‘My Father who is standing right here’ (referring to
Himself)?
17. On the
cross, Jesus cried aloud, ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ How can
God forsake Himself? If God could forsake Jesus, then Jesus could not be God.
18. Jesus is described as ‘the express
image’ or ‘the exact representation’ of God; therefore, He is not God, but just
God’s representative. If I sned my representative, it is someone other than
myself, so Jesus, being God’s representative, is therefore not God.
19. In the letter of James, we read that
God cannot be tempted (James 1v13), yet we read elsewhere that Jesus was tempted
in all points like we are, yet without sin.
20. Jesus lived a life of faith and
obedience: “Although he was a
son, he learned obedience through what he suffered” (Hebrews 5v9)
21. Jesus
was no more than a Prophet like Moses, raised up from among men: “Moses said,
‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You
shall listen to him in whatever he tells you” (Acts 3v22).
22. If
Jesus is God, then so is Jerusalem. This is taken from the name ‘The Lord our
Righteousness’. In Jeremiah 23v6, the term is applied to the Messiah; in
Jeremiah 33v16, the same term is applied to Jerusalem.
23. The
most famous prayer of the Old Testament is the ‘shema’, the first part of which
is seen in Deuteronomy 6v4: “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one”.
If God is ‘one’, then He cannot be two, or three. Therefore Jesus is not God,
because that would make God more than one.
24. Jesus claimed that He and the Father
were one. If this makes Him God incarnate, then the disciples are also God, for
Jesus prays that “they may be one as we are one” (John 17v22, compare John
10v30)
25. Jesus is described as being “He is the image of the invisible God”
(Colossians 1v15) and “the express image of his person” (Hebrews 1v3).
But Adam was also described as being made in the image of God: “And God said,
Let us make man in our image, after our likeness… So God created man in
his own image, in the image of God created he
him; male and female created he them.” (Genesis 1v26, 27). So the
expression ‘in the image of God’ therefore cannot mean that Jesus was God,
otherwise Adam was also God.
26. Jesus
walked the earth and was seen by many; even after His resurrection, He was seen
by above 500 at one time as well as individuals and smaller groups. However,
John 5v37, Jesus says “And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne
witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape”
and this is supported by 1 John 4v12, “No one has ever seen God”. Therefore,
Jesus cannot be God because He was seen and heard.
Well, that
sets out the arguments that are used to claim that Jesus was not God. In future
posts, we will see whether these arguments hold water or not and also whether
Jesus claimed to be God, whether His disciples actually believed He was God,
whether His enemies thought He was claiming to be God and whether the
prophesied Messiah was epxetced to be God Himself.
