Jesus

JESUS DID NOT IMAGINE HIMSELF TO BE EQUAL TO GOD
The doctrine of the trinity has existed since the early church.  Curiously, this doctrine remains a common theology in most Christian denominations — even though Jesus never said or did anything that would support such an idea. Quite the contrary, everything that Jesus said argues against a doctrine that would equate him with God. Consider the following scriptures:

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.

COMMENTARY: Here Jesus clearly says that the Father is greater than he is. If he imagined himself to be God or an equal of God, he would not have said this. Christians who believe the trinity doctrine ignore this verse because it spoils their claim that Jesus and God are equal.

More than just ignoring what Jesus said about himself relative to God, Christians blindly override what Jesus said by elevating Jesus to a place of equality with God, and, in many denominations, worship Jesus instead of God. They have effectively idolized Jesus and violated the First Commandment.

Matthew 19:16-17; Mark 10:17-18; Luke 18:18-19: And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?”17 And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

COMMENTARY: Here Jesus says clearly that only God is good. If he imagined himself to be God or equal to God, he would not have said “only God is good.” Christians ignore what Jesus said about only God being good and regard Jesus as though he is at least as good as God, and often as though he is more good than God.

When Jesus said “keep the commandments,” he was pointing to the New Covenant where God’s commandments/laws are written on the heart. See Eternal Life for understanding of why Jesus directed the inquirer to keep the commandments.

Philippians 2:5-8: In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

COMMENTARY: To have the mind of Christ means to think and act like Christ in all things. This means having Jesus’ character in all things. It also means that we see ourselves engaged in the same kinds of ministry activities. Having Jesus’ character and doing the same kind of ministry is what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

Being a follower of Jesus does not mean worshiping him. People who worship Jesus have made him into an idol like any other religious leader which is a thing God warned against. Jesus always deferred to his father and never said, or implied that his followers should worship him.

6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

COMMENTARY: To have the nature of God means that our heart is like God’s heart. To have a heart like God’s heart is not the same as being equal to God.

We acquire a heart like God’s heart when we are born again: God changes evil, impure hearts of religious people into clean, pure hearts like God’s heart. Having a clean, pure heart is the nature of sons of God. Physically speaking, they are still sons of men because they have physical bodies. The part of us that has the nature of God is the heart — not the physical body.

Jesus was well-aware that his heart was like God’s heart. This was impressed on him at the time of his baptism when God said “this is my son in whom I am well-pleased.” Jesus was born again when he was baptized. Everything changed for him. He saw God, himself and the world of religion differently.

One thing that Jesus understood when he was born again is that God would speak through him to accomplish justice. He did not imagine that speaking for God made him equal to God. He saw that he was only a servant through whom God speaks. He knew also that anyone who speaks with wisdom and authority for God might be mistaken for God. And he was careful to make sure that people would not try to make him a king who could be like God to the people.

Christians who believe in the doctrine of the trinity believe that the human person Jesus was equal to God. This belief is at odds with the way Jesus felt about himself. Because Jesus did not consider himself to be equal to God, his followers should not see him as equal to God. People who insist on believing that Jesus is equal to God, therefore, are not true followers of Jesus. They follow the man-made doctrine of the trinity.

7-8  rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

COMMENTARY: Jesus was well aware that he only spoke for God and that his words were not his own. Even though God spoke through him, Jesus had no desire to be like God. He was content being a bond-servant (i.e. spokesperson/prophet) for God with no hope or expectation that he would be personally exalted or worshiped.

It makes no logical sense that Jesus would be nothing and equal to God. Following the thinking of the trinity doctrine, if Jesus is nothing, then God is nothing.

For Jesus to be equal to God is not consistent with making himself nothing. The Christian doctrine of the trinity disagrees with how Jesus felt about himself. If Jesus was equal to God, there would be no reason to humble himself. God has no need to humble himself because he is sinless.

Christians imagine that Jesus’ act of humbling himself occurred at the cross. This is not true. Before he was anointed as a messiah, Jesus practiced the sin of religion and he necessarily needed to humble himself before he could be anointed. The Bible does not report when and how Jesus humbled himself, but verse 8 clearly says he did humble himself.

STUDY TIP: See this link for understanding of what it means to humble yourself.

John 6:15 So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.

COMMENTARY: Jesus understood the tendency of men to fall into the trap of wanting to exalt him because he spoke for God. Well-aware of that fact, he was careful to remove himself so that people could not make him into more than he really was: A son of man.

Here we see his going out of his way to avoid people who wanted to make him their king. Instead of accepting their praise and honor, he internally retreated into his heart (i.e. the mountain of God.)

In clear contrast to Jesus’ desires, Christians have elevated him into something/someone he did not want to be. They praise, worship, and honor him as their king with their bodies and their voices. They have made Jesus into an idol.

The tendency of Christians to want to make Jesus king is a stumbling block. They don’t understand that he is only a spokesperson for God and not actually God. The history of Christianity is based on this big mistake.

1 Corinthians 15:26-28 makes Jesus’ subordinate relationship to God very clear:

26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
27 For he “has put everything under his feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 28 When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.
 
 
1 Corinthians 3:22-23 makes it very clear that Christ belongs to God. 
 
22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, 23 and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.
 

John 10:29 Says that God is greater than all — including Jesus.

My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

Matthew 12:50 makes Jesus’ relationship with humans and God very clear: Humans are his brothers, sisters and mother. Jesus many times call God his father which makes him subordinate to God just like his brothers, sister and mother

“For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

Jesus always deferred to Father God and put God ahead/above himself. If he thought of himself as being equal to God, he would not have put God above himself. Consider these scriptures that show that Jesus always put God ahead of himself:

Matthew 22:35-40 35 One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him,36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”37 And He said to him, ” ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’38 “This is the great and foremost commandment.39 “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’40 “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

COMMENTARY: Here Jesus is quoting Old Testament scripture. Reference here to “Lord,” therefore, are to Father God — not to Jesus himself. If Jesus thought a command to love him was appropriate, this is where he would have said that. He did not think it appropriate, however, because he did not set himself above God or even equal to God.

Jesus’ attitudes about himself and God are very different from those of Christians who believe in the doctrine of the trinity. They say they follow Jesus, but never really grasp the truth that Jesus only spoke for God and that he was only a true prophet of God — not God.

Matthew 7:21 Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.

COMMENTARY: This scripture is directed specifically to Christians who like to call him lord because the doctrine of the trinity equates him with God.

The KJV translates this verse like this:

Not every one that saith unto me,Lord,Lord, shall enterinto the kingdom of heaven;but he that doeth the will of myFather which is inheaven.

When we look at only the original Greek words, and remove the filler words added by Christian scholars who wrote the Bible we are left with this:

Not one saith me Lord Lord enter into kingdom heaven but doeth will my Father in heaven.

Allowing for the many different ways that these Greek words could be translated into English, this scripture could be translated this way:

None who say I am Lord will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but those who obey my Fathers spiritual laws in their hearts will enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus is cautioning Christians against making him equal to God by saying that such beliefs will not get them into the kingdom of heaven. When he says “doeth the will of his Father” he is pointing to the New Covenant where God’s spiritual laws are written on the heart. See Kingdom of God/Heaven and The Heart is the Place for understanding.

Matthew 7:22-23: “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’

COMMENTARY: Jesus is still talking to Christians who equate him with God and preach and practice their religion, including doing miracles and casting out demons, “in Jesus’ name.” Essentially he is saying that this kind of religion is sin because  Christians obey religious laws created by man — not God’s spiritual laws written on the heart.

Jesus dismisses religion (i.e. preaching, books, music, doing miracles, etc.) that focuses on him because he knows that, because he is not God, he cannot accept credit or praise that should go to his heavenly father. Knowing the truth about demons and miracles, he finds their claims to be religious showmanship without true spiritual value.

See Serpent, Devil, Satan, Adversary, Demons, Evil Spirits and Anti-Christs and Signs, Wonders and Miracles.

Matthew 12:50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

COMMENTARY: The ability to do God’s exists only in New Covenant disciples who have God’s spiritual laws written on their hearts. See Friends, Brothers and Sisters.

Mark 3:35 For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.

COMMENTARY: The ability to do God’s will exists only in New Covenant disciples who have God’s spiritual laws written on their hearts. Saying that people who do God’s will are his siblings is Jesus’ way of acknowledging that they and he are born again into the image of God.

STUDY TIP: See Friends, Brothers and Sisters.

This is one more way in which Jesus refutes the Christian doctrine that he is equal to God. If he was God, there would be no need for him to be born again. He and his New Covenant siblings are sons of God and  they speak for God, but they are not Gods. Being sons of God they are equipped to speak for God because they are anointed by God, but the fact that they speak for God does not make them God.

Matthew 10:32-33 NASB“Thereforeeveryonewhoconfesses Me beforemen, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. 33“But whoeverdenies Me beforemen, I will alsodeny him before My Father who is in heaven.

COMMENTARY: This is a good example of a scripture that has been wrongly translated by Bible scribes/editors in a way that grossly distorts its real meaning. When we remove the words that editors/scribes have inserted, we see the original Greek text:

Therefore everyone who confesses before men also confess before Father heaven whoever denies before men also deny before Father heaven

By inserting the words (i.e. Me, I, My, Me, I My) which were not in the original Greek text, Bible editors changed the meaning to in a way that puts the emphasis on Jesus instead of on Father God. Because of this change, Christians have created the doctrine of “confessing” Jesus’ name. That is why Christians believe that somehow confessing (i.e. saying Jesus’ name with their mouths) earns favor with God in heaven. God is not impressed with what people say. He looks at the heart.

Religious Christians, however, are impressed when they hear someone use the name of Jesus reverentially. That is why it is common in Christian circles to hear people mentioning Jesus’ name often. They do this to earn favor with other Christians who consider others who quote Jesus’ name liberally to be spiritual. It must be said, therefore, that mentioning (i.e. confessing) Jesus’ name is a good way for Christians to make good names for themselves with other Christians.

Christians make this mistake because they do not understand the meaning of the Greek word  Homologeo which is commonly translated as “confess.” Homologeo means to profess and declare the same words as another person professes and declares. With respect to Jesus, professing and declaring applies to God’s spoken words because the words Jesus spoke were God’s words — not his own words. To confess/declare/profess like Jesus, therefore, means to speak God’s words. The only people who can do that are true prophets who, like Jesus, are anointed with power and authority to speak for God.

Matthew 18:10: Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven…

COMMENTARY: If Jesus thought of himself as being equal to God, he would not speak of God as his father. If he thought of himself as being equal to God, he would not have said elsewhere that the words he speaks not his own.

Matthew 18:19 “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.

COMMENTARY: Christians often bring their prayer requests to Jesus with the belief that he himself has power and authority to answer prayers. This is wrong thinking. The only power and authority messiahs have is to speak for God. Because Jesus understood his personal limitations, he did not say that he would answer prayers. As always, he deferred to his Father.

Christians also believe that this verse gives them license to pray for any and all kinds of needs they may have. This also is wrong thinking that ignores Jesus’ teaching about prayer. Prayer requests that are not consistent with this teaching are examples of praying with wrong motives. Since the only kind of miracle God does is change hearts, the only prayers he will acknowledge and answer are prayers that God will change hearts from evil and impure to good and pure.

Matthew 18:21-35 ‘Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ 34 “And his lord , moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him.35 “My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”

COMMENTARY: Christians sometimes pray to Jesus for forgiveness. If Jesus had authority to forgive, he would have said here that he — not his heavenly father — would forgive people if they did not forgive their brother. He did not say that he would forgive because he knew that only God can forgive and he did not equate himself with God.

STUDY TIPS: See this link for understanding of mercy. Also see this link for understanding of slavery. With this understanding of slavery, we see that a fellow slave is someone who is enslaved to the same religion.

Matthew 6:3-4 “But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

COMMENTARY: If Jesus had the ability to see what is in the hearts of man, he would have said here that he — not father God — would reward them for giving in secret. He did not say that he would reward people for giving in secret because he knew that only God can give rewards and he did not equate himself with God.

STUDY TIPS: See this link for understanding of the secret place. Also see this link for understanding of the kinds of rewards God gives.

Matthew 6:6 “But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

COMMENTARY: The inner room is another term that symbolically represents a clean, pure heart. Jesus did not say to go to church or a prayer meeting somewhere to pray. He makes it very clear that prayer happens in the heart. The command to pray in secret is confirmed in Jesus’ habit of going to the mountain or a quiet place to pray alone. 

STUDY TIP: See this link for understanding of the mountain of God.

The statement “your father who is in secret” is a poetic way of saying that God is in the heart of New Covenant disciples. Contrary to what Christians believe, Jesus did not say that he was in the heart or that that he could see what happens in the heart. If he was indeed in the heart, this would have been the time to say that he was. If he could see what happens in the heart or give a reward for what happens in the heart, this would have been the time to state those facts. That Jesus did not make these claims about himself is evidence that the Christian notion about inviting Jesus into your heart and having Jesus in your heart is not supported by scripture.

As always, Jesus assigns all power and authority regarding the heart to God — not to  himself. The only power and authority Jesus has is to report the truth.

Matthew 6:9-11 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.10 ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread.

COMMENTARY: Jesus clearly commands his followers to pray to his father God. If it was appropriate to pray to him, he would have said so here. It is perfectly clear, therefore, that the practice of praying to Jesus is not supported by scripture.

STUDY TIP: See Lord’s Prayer for in depth study of Jesus’ instructions on prayer.

 Matthew 6:14-15 “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.15 “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

COMMENTARY: Jesus makes it very clear that father God has the power and authority to forgive sins. If Jesus thought he had the power and authority to forgive sins, he would have said here that he would use that authority to forgive.

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