Problematic texts in the Bible that make people think Jesus is not God.
1. Jesus, “the Beginning of God’s Creation.”
Revelation 3:14, “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God."
It is claimed that Jesus was God’s first work of creation.
• The Greek word
(archē) can be translated
“beginning,” “origin,” “first cause” or
“ruler.” The Father Himself is called the “beginning” in Revelation 21:6. The same title is used for Jesus in
Revelation 22:13. Jesus is not the first created being but is Himself the Creator.
2. Jesus, “the Firstborn of All Creation.”
Colossians 1:15, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation."
Since Jesus is called the
“firstborn,” it is argued that he was born.
• According to
verse 16,
"or by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him", everything is created by Jesus. Therefore, He cannot Himself be a created being.
• The Bible writers sometimes use
“firstborn” in a special way. David, though youngest, is called the firstborn (
Psalm 89:20, 27). The second line of the parallelism tells us that this title means
“most exalted king.” The firstborn was the leader of a group or tribe, the priest of the family, and received twice the inheritance of his brothers. Sometimes, the idea of being born first did not play a role. Jacob (
Genesis 25:25-26 and Exodus 4:22) and Ephraim (
Genesis 41:50-52 and Jeremiah 31:9), though not born first, are also
“firstborn.”
More crucial than birth order was the special rank and dignity of the person given the title
“firstborn.” Jesus, is called firstborn not because He was the firstborn of Mary but because of all creation, His is the birth that matters most and because He holds the exalted position of King of kings over all creation.
3. Jesus as God.
John 1:1-3, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made."
It is claimed that there is a distinction in quality between God the Father, who is the Almighty God, and Jesus, who is only a god.
John 1:1 reads:
“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with hot heos, and the Word was theos.”
• The Greek term for God–theos–is found with the article (ho theos–
“the God”) or without the article (theos–
“a god” or “God”). In John 1:1-3 the Father is named ho theos whereas the son is called theos. Is it justified to claim, based on this observation, that the Father is God Almighty whereas the Son is only a god?
• When the term theos is used for the Father, it is not only used with the article but often times also without the article–theos (even in the very same chapter:
John 1:6, 13, 18; see also
Luke 2:14; Acts 5:39; 1 Thessalonians 2:5; 1 John 4:12; and 2 John 1:9). Jesus is also the God, theos with the article (
Hebrews 1:8-9; John 20:28). In other words, whether
“God” has the article or not has nothing to do with their nature as deity.
• Had John always used the definite article with theos, it would mean that there is only one divine person: the Father would be the Son. In John 1:1, in order to talk about two separate persons of the Godhead, John had no other choice than to use ho theos (God with the article) and the next time to employ theos without the article. The absence of the article is not a valid argument against the equality and unity of the Father and the Son.
4. Jesus, the One and Only Son.
John 1:14, 18, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. ...No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him."
John 13:16, 18, "Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. ...“I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me.’ "
1 John 4:9, "In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him."
It is suggested that the word monogenēs points to a literal begetting of Jesus and should be translated
“only begotten.” Like
“firstborn,” it is important to see the word’s range of meaning.
• The same term occurs also in
Luke 7:12; 8:42; 9:38 and points to an only child.
• Isaac is called Abraham’s
monogenēs son in
Hebrews 11:17. While Isaac was not Abraham’s only son, he was unique as Abraham’s
“son of promise.” In light of these verses, together with the references in John and 1 John (the only other verses in the New Testament that use the Greek term), we conclude that
“only” or
“unique” is better than
“only begotten” as a translation of monogenēs.
• The normal term for begotten,
gegennēka, is found in
Hebrews 1:5 and points either to Christ’s resurrection or incarnation.
• Perhaps the other evangelists did not use
monogenēs because
agapētos “beloved” is another way to translate the same Hebrew word (see
Mark 1:11 in connection with Christ’s baptism). The two words may sometimes be close in meaning.
Conclusion.
Jesus is God as the Father is God. We understand Him to be equal with the Father in quality but not in function. The Son is to be honored as the Father is honored,
"that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him" (
John 5:23). A wrong understanding of the Son can lead to misunderstanding the way of salvation (
1 John 4:1-3).
Had God offered even his best created being as a sacrifice for lost humanity yet not offered Himself, humans, angels, and the inhabitants of the universe might question His love and misunderstand the real motivation for obedience. In giving His Son, the Father also gave Himself because Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are eternally one. Understanding the nature of Jesus helps us to understand how we are saved and why we must accept Him as our Savior and Lord.