God, The Son

First of all, I hope I have been clear enough on this: I firmly believe that Jesus is God. There is no question about this, Jesus is the one, true God. Hopefully you've read enough of my articles to know where I stand on this issue.

I have to restate this belief in Jesus' deity because there are some Christians who are going to call me a heretic for what I'm about to say...I do not believe that Jesus is the Father.

He is the one God, just like the Father.

He is one with the Father.

But He is a distinct part of the triune God.

It's sad that I have to teach this - and I don't plan on emphasizing this very long. But this is a Biblical doctrine we must touch on, the Sonship of Jesus.

Many believers today declare that there is no real distinction between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They'll declare that the Father is Jesus, the Son is Jesus, and the Spirit is Jesus. They'll teach that these are just different titles or roles that Jesus fills. These believers - great brothers and sisters - will deny the existence of distinct identities within the Godhead.

Are they born-again? Absolutely!

Do I have a problem with them believing this doctrine? Not really...I don't agree with it, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it heresy.

But is it Scriptural? 

There are some passages that they'll pull to make their point.

"I and the Father are one.." John 10:30

"If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father..." John 14:9

"And His name shall be called...Eternal Father..." Isaiah 9:6

And these passages are definitely worth looking into!

But the main argument I've seen during my discussions with these brothers and sisters is this, "How could one God have three personalities? How could there be three individuals within God Himself?"

This is the point of the arguments...er, discussions...I've had with them - "It just doesn't make sense." But when did our understanding of a doctrine make it right or wrong? Here's what we should be investigating...What does the Bible say?

The Language of Plurality

When we read the passages that mention the Son and the Father together, we never see a picture of one individual. Take a closer look at the language of these passages:

Matthew 10:32-33 "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven."

Mathew 11:27 "All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."

Mark 13:32 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."

Luke 2:49 "Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?"

Philippians 1:2 "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."
Hebrews 1:5 "I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son..."
1 John 1:3 "...and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ."

These are just a very few verses that clearly show Jesus (the Son) as being distinct from the Father.

When we read the four gospels, how many times do we see Jesus praying to the Father? And what about the times when the crowds heard the Father speak to Him?

All throughout the book of John we read statements like this:
John 5:19 "Most assuredly I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do..."
John 5:22 "The Father judges no one, but has committed all judgement to the Son..."
John 5:30 "I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgement is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me."
John 8:54 "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God."

If Jesus is the Father, as these dear brothers and sisters claim, then how could the dozens of statements like those be true? Actually, how could statements like that even make sense?

Submitted to the Father

Nowhere do we see the Jesus' relationship more clearly than when He submitted to the Father in the Garden.

Matthew 26:39 "He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, 'O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.'"

First of all, this verse begs same question we just asked: If Jesus is one and the same as the Father, then Who was He praying to here?

Secondly, how could He submit to the will of the Father if He was the Father? No, we clearly see two wills here; one of the Son, and one of the Father. And that's why we can see the Son submitting to the will of His Father.

Anointed by the Father

So, do I believe Jesus is God? Absolutely!

But is this the same as saying Jesus is the Father? 

Acts 10:38 "...how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power..."

In this one phrase, we see all three parts of the Godhead:

The Father anointed the Son with the Holy Spirit.

Let's take a look at the moment this happened:

Matthew 3:16-17 When He had been baptized Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

Once again, we see all three members of the Godhead working together:

The Holy Spirit came upon Jesus...this is the anointing that Acts 10:38 and Isaiah 61:1 speak of.

Jesus was clearly identified as the Son.

Which obviously makes the voice speaking from heaven the Father.

Clearly, there is one God...the Bible is emphatic about that.

Clearly, the Holy Spirit is God...we read that in Acts 5:3-5.

Clearly, Jesus (the Son) is God....we just spent the last few months proving that.

Clearly, the Father is God...Jesus Himself said so.

But are these all "titles" of the same person? Is there only Jesus?

Evidently not, because Jesus is constantly interacting with the Father and the Holy Spirit throughout the New Testament!

This is where the doctrine of the Trinity comes from. It wasn't invented in a religious church council by a handful of corrupt heretics. (In fact, if you'll notice, I never once appealed to a "church father" in this post!) No, this is the only conclusion we can come to from the plain reading of Scriptures!

There is one God, who has forever existed in three distinct persons.