| Scriptures and reasoning used to support the claim that Jesus and God are one and the same entity | Scriptures and reasoning used to dispute that claim | |
|---|---|---|
| "Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God." John 5:18 | This shows Jesus considered himself to be equal with God. | It was NOT JESUS who said this, but the Jews. They often misunderstood our Lord.
It was the Jews who later (being persuaded by 'the chief priests and elders') said 'Let him be crucified' and 'His blood be on us, and on our children.') Matt. 27:23,25 This is hardly a ringing endorsement! |
| 'And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. .. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me.' John 17:11,22-23 | These are the words of Jesus which he spoke to the Father in prayer: (vs 11) 'that they may be one, as we are' and (vs 22-23) 'we are one: .. thou in me.' | This entire 17th chapter of John demonstrates that God is superior to Jesus and that not only is Jesus NOT God but the type of oneness Jesus had with the Father is exactly the type of oneness he was asking the Father to give to his followers. Note vss. 20, 21: 'Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; [21] that they all may be one; as [in the same way] thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.' In verses 20 and 21 Jesus includes not only his disciples at that time, but additionally all who were to become his disciples 'through their word.' Jesus is praying that his disciples, 'those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one as we are' - vs. 11. The same thought is expressed in vss 22, 23: 'that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me.' If Jesus saying to the Father that 'we are one' is supposed to prove the trinity, what then does the inclusion of his disciples indicate? Would that not change it from a trinity to a multiplicity? The much simpler and scriptural answer is that Jesus was referring to the fact that he and the Father were one in purpose, heart, mind. This is a phrase which is still in common use today. When someone says 'We are of one mind,' everyone understands they are not claiming to be the same person, but rather they are in agreement on whatever is being referred to. |
| 'Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? [10] Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. [11] Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.' John 14:9-11 | Jesus responds to Philip's request to see the Father by telling him 'He that hath seen me hath seen the Father' and 'I am in the Father, and the Father in me.' This is supposed to prove that Jesus and God are one and the same. |
This scripture (John 14:9-11) also says 'the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.' Jesus is here saying what he says elsewhere, i.e., 'of mine own self I can do nothing.' All ability, authority Jesus had was not of himself. It was given to him by the Father. He is reaffirming that 'My Father is greater than I' (verse 28,) Not co-equal. In the next verse (vs 12) Jesus says 'Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.' Here Jesus states that those who believe on him will do greater works than Jesus did! Again, if Jesus is God, how could his followers ever do greater works than he did? If Jesus is God, why then did he say 'I go unto my Father?' – This truly makes no sense. |
| 'Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.' Matt. 1:23 | Because Jesus was prophetically called Emmanuel, meaning 'God with us,' it proves that indeed God was with the Jews in the person of Jesus. | Going from one language (in this case Greek) into another (in this case English) is not as precise as most of us would like. Sentence structure and forms of words are often different. The last phrase should be translated 'God is with us.' The word 'is' being implied. – See this verse in RVIC. |
| 'But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.' John 10:38 | Same argument as before. | John 10:29-39 'My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all [including Jesus]; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. [30] I and my Father are one. [31] Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. [32] Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? [33] The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. [Just as before the Jews misunderstood him. The Jews are claiming that Jesus is making himself out to be God. That this is true is verified by the scripture he quotes in his reply.] [34] Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? [Psa. 82:6] [35] If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; [36] Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? [Again Jesus claims to be 'the son of God,' not God himself.] [37] If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. [38] But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him. [39] Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand,' |
| 'When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. [6] But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, [7] Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?' Matt. 2:5-7 | Jesus forgave the sins of the man who was sick of the palsy. Only God can forgive sins. Therefore Jesus is God. | Once again, it was NOT JESUS who said this, but the Jews. They often misunderstood our Lord. Jesus was authorized by God to do this. According to Roman Catholic teaching the Pope has this same authority. If that were true would that make him part of the Trinity? |
| 'And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.' Gen. 1:26 | 1 Corinthians 8:6, "But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him." In simple language: All things are of the Father [He is the author] and by the Son [Jesus is the one who executes the Father's plan]. When God said 'Let us make man..' he was speaking to his Son, the Logos (the Word,) the one we now refer to as Jesus (before he became a man.) |
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| 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. .. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. .. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. .. And the Word was made 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.' John 1:1,3,10,14 | This tells us that the Word was 'the only begotten of the Father' and came to earth. This was Jesus. It also says that 'the Word was God,' thus proving that Jesus is God. | The Greek word used for 'God' is defined by Strong's concordance: G2316
θεός theos theh'-os Of uncertain affinity; a deity, especially (with G3588) the supreme Divinity; figuratively a magistrate; by Hebraism very: - X exceeding, God, god [-ly, -ward]. Recognizing that when the Greek 'theos' (Strong's G2316) is preceded by the Greek article 'ho' (Strong's G3588) it adds the emphasis indicated by Professor Strong above. What is apparent then is that we recognize that when 'theos' is used both with and without the Greek article 'ho' in the same context, it is clearly distinguishing between 'theos' (God) and 'ho theos' (the supreme God.) Taking the Greek text (from Wescott and Hort), and using Strong's definition of "theos" (Strong's G2316) as "a deity" except when preceded by "ho" (Strong's G3588) when it should be rendered "the supreme Divinity" we get the following result: John 1:1 εν G1722 In αρχη G746 a beginning [commencement] ην G1510 existed [was] ο G3588 the λογος G3056 Word [Logos] και G2532 and ο G3588 the λογος G3056 Word [Logos] ην G1510 existed [was] προς G4314 with τον G3588 the θεον G2316 supreme Divinity και G2532 and θεος G2316 a deity ην G1510 existed [was] ο G3588 the λογος G3056 Word [Logos]
John 1:2 ουτος G3778 The same ην G1510 existed [was] εν G1722 in αρχη G746 a beginning [commencement] προς G4314 with τον G3588 the θεον G2316 supreme Divinity Using the above reasoning, John 1:1-2 should properly read: "In a beginning was the Word, and the Word was with the supreme Divinity, and the Word was a deity. The same was in a beginning with the supreme Divinity." Once we see the Greek it becomes clear that the only begotten Son of God existed as a separate being before the creation of the world. He was himself also a god, but not the God. The Father used his only begotten Son, the Word (Logos), to create all other things. |
This text indicates that God had no beginning and has no end. Yet Jesus (the one who Trinitarians claim is God) did have an end. He died on the Cross! It took the power of the one true God to raise him from the dead. '1 Cor. 15:3-4 'Christ died .. and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day..'
How did Christ rise again from the dead, having been buried, put into the grave? – especially since the scriptures tell us that 'The living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing,' Ecc. 9:5; 'Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.' - Psa 146:3,4 and 'there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.' Ecc. 9:10. The Hebrew word for 'grave' in this last verse is 'sheol.' The Apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost quoted Psa. 16:10 'Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (hades – the Greek equivalent to sheol, the grave); neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption' and he applied it to Jesus Christ. Acts 2:27 'Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (Greek: hades, the grave); neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.' Again he makes the same reference in verse 31 'He spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell (Greek: hades, the grave), neither his flesh did see corruption.'
The point here being that there is no knowledge, work, wisdom, etc. in the grave, in the place where Jesus was between the time of his death on the Cross until he was raised from the dead by God. – And yet the scriptures plainly state that God is 'from everlasting to everlasting.' God is immortal, it is impossible for Him to die! But it was not impossible for His son Jesus Christ to die.
True, there are those who claim that Jesus only 'appeared to die,' but they have no scriptural support for such a thought. On the contrary, the scriptures say prophetically of Jesus that 'there was no deceit in his mouth.' He told his disciples that he would die, and he did. If he only 'appeared to die' then either the scriptures are not true, or Jesus deceived all who witnessed his death. In fact, if Jesus only 'appeared to die' then the Scriptures themselves are not reliable. – 'God is true, even if everyone else is a liar.' Rom. 3:4 (ISV)
| G2316 θεός theos theh'-os Of uncertain affinity; a deity, especially (with G3588) the supreme Divinity; figuratively a magistrate; by Hebraism very: - X exceeding, God, god [-ly, -ward]. |
G2962 κύριος kurios koo'-ree-os From κῦρος kuros (supremacy); supreme in authority, that is, (as noun) controller; by implication Mr. (as a respectful title): - God, Lord, master, Sir. |