The Two Sides of the Argument
There are at least two sides to this argument. On the one hand, this article shows that:
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- Jesus has always existed,
- God created all things through Him,
- Jesus, as the Only Begotten Son, is God’s true family,
- Jesus is equal to God,
- We must worship Jesus, and
- The Bible refers to Jesus as theos.
On the other hand, the New Testament consistently distinguishes between God and Jesus and indicates that Jesus is subordinate to God. In other words, the New Testament reserves the title “God” for the Father. This article seeks a solution that will satisfy these seemingly contradictory statements.
The current article is a summary of the articles on this website on the question; Is Jesus the Most High?
Unless otherwise indicated, all quotations on this website are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB).
The Four Views of the Som
Some propose that Jesus did not exist before He was born. For example, see Dr. Tuggy’s website.ย
In the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ view, Jesus is a created being; the first created being who created all other things, yet still a created being.
The traditional view of the church, as in the Trinity doctrine, is that He always existed; co-equal with the Father.
A fourth view is that He was neither created nor co-equal with the Father, but that He came forth from the being of God (begotten) when or before this universe was created. That means that He is subordinate to the Father. And since time began when this universe was created, that means that Jesus ‘always’ existed. But beyond this universe is the incomprehensible reality that caused the universe. Of that reality, we know nothing, except that it has no beginning and no cause.
The purpose of this article is to evaluate these views. This subject requires humility, for humans are not able to understand God. We need to accept this inability with joy, for then we will also appreciate a little of His greatness.
God created all things through His Son.
God created all things: โIn the beginning God created the heavens and the earthโ (Gen 1:1; cf. Isa 44:24; cf. 42:5; 45:18; Matt 19:4-6). But God created all things “through” Jesus:
โIn the beginning was the Word โฆ
All things came into being through Himโ
(John 1:1-3; cf. Col 1:16-17 and Heb 1:2).
โThe Wordโ is Jesus (see John 1:14).
In the NASB, Colossians 1:16 reads that “by Him all things were created.” This seems to give Him an active role in creation, but later that same verse says that “all things have been created through Him.” This seems to indicate a passive role. The preposition that is translated as “by” earlier in the verse is the Greek word en, and its first meaning is “in.” To say that “in Him all things were created” indicates a passive role.
Similarly, Paul concluded as follows on the different roles of God and Jesus in creation:ย
โThere is but one God, the Father,
from whom are all things โฆ
and one Lord, Jesus Christ,
by whom are all thingsโ (1 Cor 8:6).
In conclusion, God is the Source of all creative power and wisdom, but He creates all things through โHis Son.โย Consequently, He also sustains all things through His Son (Col 1:17; Heb 1:3).ย
Jesus is not a created being.
15 โHe is โฆ the firstborn of all creation,”
16 “for by (en = in) Him all things were created
both in (en = in) the heavens and on earth …
all things have been created through Him
and for Himโ
17 “He is before all things,
and in (en = in) Him all things hold together.
(Col 1:15-16).
The word โforโ in verse 16 implies a relationship between His description as โfirstborn of all creationโ and the fact that He created all things. This relationship may be explained in at least two ways:
Most Important
Since the firstborn child in the Jewish family enjoyed special privileges, the phrase โfirstborn,โ in the Jewish system, came to mean โthe most important.โย David, for example, the youngest son of Jesse, was named โfirstbornโ (Psalm 89:20โ27). This interpretation is supported by Colossians 1:18 and Revelation 1:5, where Jesus is also the โfirstborn from the dead.โ He was not literally the first person to be raised from death, but He was the most important person ever to be resurrected from death.
It is, therefore, possible to understand the “for” as saying that Jesus is “the first-born of all creation” for (because) He is the most important being in the universe. However, that would imply that He is part of creation and, therefore, a created being.
First in Time
Alternatively, the “for” may be read as a time sequence, namely “by Him all things were created” for (because) He was the first to exist (โthe firstborn of all creationโ). Then “firstborn” has a literal meaning.
This interpretation is supported by the next verse which also indicates a time sequence: “He is before all things” (Col 1:17). In other words, โfirstborn of all creationโ has the same meaning as โHe is before all things.โย What the writer meant, it seems, is that Jesus was the first to exist. But this may also mean that He is a created being.
Not a created being
But the following implies that He is NOT a created being:
Firstly, since God created โall thingsโ through Him (Col 1:16-17), He is not one of the created things.
Secondly, โevery created thingโ give glory โto Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lambโ (Rev 5:13). This also implies that He is not one of the created things.ย
These are tentative proposals because words such as “all” and “every” are often used relative to the context and not literally true.
Thirdly, He is not the first created, but “born,” as in the word โfirstborn.โ Elsewhere, the Bible describes Him as “begottenโ (e.g., John 3:18). Here, “born” is symbolic language. What it means for Jesus to have been born of God we should not speculate.
See the article Jesus in Colossians for further discussion.
Revelation 3:14 similarly describes Him as โthe Beginning of the creation of God.โ For some this is evidence that Jesus is a created being; Godโs first creation.
Jesus always existed.ย
There are Christians who do not believe that Jesus existed before He was born as a human being. This article shows that Jesus:
Existed before He was born: โBefore Abraham was, I amโ (John 8:58).
From eternity: โIn the beginning was the Wordโ (John 1:1).
In the โform of God” and with โequality with Godโ (Phil 2:6).
โEmptied Himselfโ of โequality with Godโ (Phil 2:7).
Descended from heaven: โWhat then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?โ (John 6:62)
From God: โI came forth from the Father and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again and going to the Fatherโ (John 16:28).
Sent by God: โGod … sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful fleshโ (Rom 8:3).
“Became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14, NIV).
Jesus appeared as God.
Before He became a human being, Jesus existed in โthe form of Godโ (Phil 2:5-6). The article – Where do we find Jesus in the Old Testament? – proposes that all visible, bodily appearances of God, that are recorded in the Old Testament, actually were appearances of Jesus. This would, for instance, include the appearance of YHVH in human form to Abraham (Gen 18:1). It might also include Isaiah’s vision: โI saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the templeโ (Isa 6:1).ย
Jesus is the God of the Old Testament.
That article proposes that Jesus is the God of the Old Testament.ย Consistent with this proposal, Jesus claimed God’s Old Testament names for Himself:
God identified Himself as, โI AM has sent me to you โฆ This is My Name for ever” (Exo 3:15-18).ย Jesus claimed this name. He said, โBefore Abraham was,ย I AMโ (John 8:24, 58). When the soldiers came to capture Him, Jesus said to them, โI am,โ and the soldiers โdrew back and fell to the groundโ (John 18:6 – โHeโ was added by the translators.)
“The seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God” (Exo 20:10). But Jesus claimed to be “the Lord of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:28).
The apostles also claimed names for Jesus that are used in the Old Testament for God:
โThe LORDโ (YHVH) said, โthere is no savior besides Meโ (Isa 43:11). But Jesus is the “source of eternal salvation” (Heb 5:9), being “able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him” (Heb 7:25).
Both โthe LORDโ (YHVH) and Jesus are “the first and โฆ the last,” โthe Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the Endโ (Isa 44:6; 48:12; Rev 1:8, 17-18; 21:6 22:13).
Both the One โwhom no man has seen or can seeโ and Jesus are called โKing of kings and Lord of lordsโ (1 Tim 6:14-16; Rev 17:14 & 19:16).
Conclusion: Jesus appeared as God to the Old Testament people.
Jesus has equality with God.
Jesus had โequality with Godโ before He became human (Phil 2:5-6).ย If He had equality with God prior to His birth, He again today has equality with God. We see other profound statements of equality in the New Testament:
To Both, every knee will bow: God said, “to Me every knee will bow” (Isa 45:23), but Paul wrote that to “Jesus every knee should bow” (Phil 2: 10-11).
They receive equal honor: โAll will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Himโ (John 5:23).
Only the Father knows the Son: โNo one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Sonโ (Matt 11:27).
The Father shows the Son all things: โThe Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doingโ (John 5:19-20).
God and Jesus are always together.
The equality of Jesus to God is also seen in the fact that God and Jesus are always together:
Together in the beginning: โIn the beginning was the Word โฆ was with Godโ (John 1:1).
Together in believers: โIf anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with himโ (John 14:23).
Create together: God said, โLet Us make man in Our image, according to Our likenessโ (Gen 1:26; John 1:3).
Own all things together: โAll things that the Father has are Mineโ (John 16:15; cf. 17:10).
Glorified together: Jesus prayed, โFather, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world wasโ (John 17:5).
Work together: Jesus said, โMy Father is working until now, and I Myself am workingโ (John 5:17).
Judge together: โMy judgment is true; for I am not alone in it, but I and the Father who sent Meโ (John 8:16).
Protect believers together: โMy sheep hear My voice โฆ and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Fatherโs handโ (John 10:27-29).
Jesus has God’s attributes.
The equality of Jesus to God is lastly evidenced by the fact that Jesus has God’s attributes:
Wisdom and knowledge: Jesus said, โI am the way and the truth and the lifeโ (John 14:6). In Jesus Christ โare hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledgeโ (Col 2:3).
Omnipresence: โWhere two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midstโ (Matt 18:20). โI am with you always, even to the end of the ageโ (Matt 28:20; cf. Acts 18:9-10)
Deity: โAll the fullness of Deity dwells in Christ in bodily formโ (Col 2:9).
Conclusion: Jesus is equal to God. Jesus said, โI and the Father are oneโ (John 10:30). For further discussion, see Jesus in Philippians and I and the Father are One.
Jesus became a human being.
God so loved the world, that He sent His only begotten Son. Jesus came forth from the Father. He โdescended from heaven,โ โfrom God;โ and โfrom the Father.โ (John 3:13; 6:33-38, 62; 8:23;16:28). He โemptied Himselfโ of the โform of God” and of โequality with God.โย He took on โthe form of a bond-servant โฆ being made in the likeness of menโ (Phil 2:6-7). He descended from heaven and became a mere human baby, without any knowledge or wisdom.
Jesus is distinct from God.
So far, we argued that:
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-
- God created all things through Jesus,
- Jesus, Himself, was not created,
- There never was a time when Jesus did not exist,
- Jesus appears in the form of God, and that
- Jesus has equality with God.
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But the New Testament also consistently and clearly distinguishes between God and Jesus.ย For instance:
(1) Paul introduced His letters with statements such as:
โPeace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christโ (Philemon 1:3; Eph 1:2).
(2) In both the Old and New Testament we find statements that there is but one God, for instance, โthere is no God besides Meโ (Isa 44:6). But then we read categorical statements that Jesus is distinct from that one true God, for instance:
โThere is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesusโ (1 Tim 2:5).
(3) The book of Revelation several times distinguishes between Christ and God. For example:
โThese have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lambโ (Rev 14:4).
(4) The following are other examples of statements that separate Jesus from God:
โDo not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Meโ (John 14:1).
God is invisible, for instance, โno one has seen God at any timeโ (1 John 4:12). But Jesus is visible, and therefore distinct from God.
Jesus prayed, โThis is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sentโ (John 17:3).
In Gethsemane Jesus โfell on His face and prayed, saying, โMy Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You willโโ (Matt 26:39).ย This indicates that the Father and the Son have separate and distinct wills.
As stated above, Jesus hasย โequality with Godโ and was in โthe form of Godโ before He became a human being. This also means that He is distinct from God.
Conclusion: These are only a few of the many statements in the New Testament that make a distinction between God and Jesus. For further discussion, see Jesus is distinct from God.
Jesus is subordinate to God.
As stated, In the view of many, Jesus always was co-equal with the Father. But the mere fact that He is the Son already implies that He is subordinate to the Father.ย Other such indications of this include the following:
Jesus said, โthe Father is greater than I” (John 14:28).
Jesus refers to God as โMy God,โ for instance “I ascend to My Father and to your Father, to My God and to your God” (John 20:17). And He prayed to God, for instance, โHe offered up both prayers โฆ to the One able to save Him from deathโ (Heb 5:7; cf. Matt 26:39).-
God sent the Son into the world (e.g. John 3:16).
Jesus did not know all things, but the Father does (Matt 24:36).
Everything which His Son has, He received from His Father. The Holy Spirit, the ability to raise the dead, the authority to judge, โwhat to say and what to speak,โ His worksย and disciples, โall authority in heaven and on earthโ and even the fullness of Deity He received from the Father. (Matt 28:18; Luke 10:22; John 1:32-34; 5:22, 36, 26-29; John 6:44; 12:49; 17:1-2; Col 1:19; 2:9).
That Jesus is subordinate to God emphasizes the fact that Jesus is distinct from God. In other words, the New Testament reserves the title “God” for the Father exclusively.
Jesus is always subordinate to God.
Defenders of Christโs deity often argue that He was subordinate to God only when He became a human being; when He emptied Himself of the form of God and of equality with God. However, the following indicates that He was subordinate to God before He became a human being:
God sent His only begotten Son into this world (John 3:18) and gave Him what to say and what to do (John 12:49).
The following indicates that Jesus is also still subordinate to God after His ascension
He is seated today โat the right hand of the throne of Godโ (Heb 12:2). Jesus โwas received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of Godโ (Mark 16:19). This is the position of power over the entire universe, subject only to God, but confirms that Jesus is still both distinct from God and subordinate to God.
According to the Bible, there is only one God; โHear, O Israel, God is One.โย Paul, writing after Jesusโ ascension, defined Jesus as distinct from the โone Godโ:
โThere isย one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesusโ (1 Tim 2:5).
โThere is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things โฆ and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all thingsโ (1 Cor 8:6).
Paul categorically stated that โGod is the head of Christโ (1 Cor 11:3).
For these reasons the general understanding in the Church, that Jesus is co-equal to the Father, cannot be correct. For a further discussion, see Jesus is subordinate to God.
“God” refers to the Father alone.
Since the New Testament makes a distinction between God and Jesus, we conclude that โGodโ is used for the Father exclusively.
The angel Gabriel said to Mary:
โYou will conceive โฆ and bear a son,
and you shall name Him Jesus.
He โฆ will be called the Son of the Most High โฆ
The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;
and for that reason the holy Child
shall be called the Son of Godโ (Luke 1:30-35)
Gabriel, therefore, referred to Jesus both as โthe Son of Godโ and โthe Son of the Most High.โ This means that the โMost Highโ is โGod.โ When the Bible makes statements such as that God is invisible (Col 1:15), or that Jesus sits at the right hand of God (Mark 16:19), or “there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesusโ (1 Tim 2:5) then the Bible uses the title “God” exclusively for the Most High.
Since Jesus is โthe Son of the Most High,โ Jesus often referred to the Most High as “Father.” This means that the title โFatherโ refers to โGod.โ This is confirmed by the following:
Jesus said: “I ascend to My Father and to your Father,
to My God and to your God” (John 20:17).
Jesus said that He has come โfrom Godโ (John 8:42), but also said that He has come โfrom the Fatherโ (John 16:28).
Paul similarly wrote, โDo all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Fatherโ (Col 3:17). Or, โthere is but one God, the Father โฆ and one Lord, Jesus Christโ (1 Cor 8:6; cf. 1 Cor 15:24).
We must worship Jesus.
Only God may be worshiped. For instance, Jesus quoted the Ten Commandments, โyou shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him onlyโ (Luke 4:8). And when John worshiped the angel, the angel prevented him from doing so, instructing him to โworshipย Godโ (Rev 19:10). Defenders of Christโs deity then point out that Jesus is worshiped in the New Testament.
In the King James translation of the New Testament, there are 13 verses in which Jesus is worshiped. The Greek word translated as “worship” in the New Testament is proskuneรณ. But โworshipโ is not always a good translation for proskuneรณ: โWorshipโ implies that God or a god is worshiped, while proskuneรณ often simply means to show respect to another created being:
This can be seen in howย proskuneรณ is used in the New Testament.ย For instance, “Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him” (Matt 20:20; KJV).
This is also confirmed by the dictionary definitions of the Greek word proskuneรณ, for instance, โto kiss the ground when prostrating before a superior.โ
Therefore, the fact that people and angels proskuneรณ Jesus does not prove that He is God. But there is real proof in the New Testament that Jesus is worshiped. A good example is Revelation 5:13. Another example is, โall will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Himโ (John 5:23). Jesus must be worshiped. Jesus has equality with God in our esteem and affections.
Why do we worship Jesus?
Jesus is not worshiped because He is God, but because:
(1)ย It was God who gave Jesus “the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW” (Phil 2:9-11). It was God who instructed the angels to worship Jesus (Heb 1:6).
(2) To worship Jesus is to worship God: โat the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW …ย to the glory of God the Fatherโ (Phil 2:9-11). See Jesus in Philippians for an explanation of this text.
Jesus, therefore, is not worshiped independently of or co-equal with God. When we worship Jesus, we worship โto the glory of God the Fatherโ (Phil 2:9-11).ย Our worship flows through Jesus to God.
This is an important principle, namely that God always works with the creation through Jesus. God creates through Jesus, God redeems through Jesus, and God is worshiped through Jesus. For a further discussion, see Jesus is worshiped.ย Does that mean that He is God?
Only Begotten Son
Another argument used by defenders of Christโs deity is that Jesus is Godโs Only Begotten Son (John 1:14; 1:18; 3:16, 18; 1 John 4:9), and just like the son of a human father is also a human, the Son of God must also be God.
โOnly begottenโ translates the Greek word monogenฤs. Monogenฤs combines two words, namely monos (alone) and gรฉnos (family, offspring). โOnly begottenโ means that He is Godโs true family. Believers are adopted as sons of God, but Jesus is Godโs real family.
However, โOnly Begotten Sonโ is symbolic language. It reflects in human language something which is beyond human comprehension. It must not be understood literally, as if Jesus is of the same substance as God. We cannot use this symbolic phrase to counter the clear and consistent evidence of the New Testament that Jesus is distinct from God. For a further discussion, see Only Begotten Son of God.
Jesus is called God.
The Question
It was shown above that Jesus has always existed, has equality with God, is Godโs only true family, that God created all things through Him, and that we must worship Jesus to the glory of God. But it was also found that “God” refers to only the Father, which means that Jesus is not God. But, in the New Testament, Jesus is called God. Does that mean that Jesus is God?
The word “God” in the Old Testament
In the Hebrew Old Testament, the God of Israel has a unique name that is not used for any other being. That name is YHVH, pronounced as Jehovah or Yahweh. โGodโ (elohim), in contrast, is used both for the true God and for false gods. Therefore, the Old Testament uses various techniques to be specific when the true God is intended. Often the title โGodโ is combined with YHVH, for instance, โthe LORD Godโ or โthe LORD his God.โ In other instances, YHVH is used in the immediate context. In other words, the term “God” is not a unique identifier or a name for the God of the Bible.
The word “God” in the New Testament
The Hebrew name YHVH is found all over the Old Testament but does not appear at all in the New Testament. Instead, the NT uses the term โGodโ (theos) as a name for the One True God, with no further identification. However, theos is a common noun that is also applied to false gods and to certain exalted created beings. The term “God,” therefore, is used in two ways. In most instances, it is a name for the true God. But occasionally it is used as a common noun for false gods and even for people.
Jesus is called God.
The New Testament uses theos (God) more than 1000 times. In seven instances theos refers explicitly to Jesus. This does not prove that Jesus is the same as or equal to the Only True and invisible God, because in the vast majority of instances the NT makes a distinction between God and Jesus. Stated differently, the New Testament reserves โGodโ as a name for the Father exclusively. Furthermore, โgodโ is also used for false gods and for exalted created beings.
John 1:1
This principle may be illustrated by means of John 1:1:
This verse starts by saying, โthe Word was with God.โย โGodโ in this phrase is used as a name for the Father, similar to the name YHVH, to uniquely identify the Father.ย This implies that Jesus is distinct from God and therefore not God.
The verse continues to say โand the Word was God.โย Here John uses to the common meaning of the word โgodโ to describe Jesus as our God.ย Other people have other gods, but Jesus is our God.
This does not mean that Jesus is God, for the title “God” is reserved for the Father, โwho alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can seeโ (1 Tim 6:16).
Jesus is our God because He was in the beginning with God and God created all things through Him. Everything may perish, but Jesus will always remain the same. He is โover allโ and He is our โSaviorโ who โgave Himself for us to redeem us.โ
Bad Question – Since the word theos is used in two ways, the question, of whether Jesus is God, is a bad question. The New Testament uses โGodโ as a name for the uncaused Cause of all things, who cannot be seen. Then Jesus is not God. But theos is also used for the one that a person worships and obeys. Then Jesus is the Christian God.ย ย โAll will honor the Son even as they honor the Father.โ
Other Articles
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- Is Jesus the Most High? – List of all articles
- The Trinity Doctrine – List of all articles
- All articles on this websiteย ย