captainbryce
Active Member
It certainly does not, for a number of reasons.If then, God relinquishing His authority to Jesus, that makes Jesus equal to God, does it not?
A) It is God who ultimately decides WHO judges mankind. And Jesus specifically says that he Judges "as God tells him". Therefore, God still has ultimate authority.
John 5:30
I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will.
Forgive me for using a military analogy, but I liken relationship to a commander on the battlefield, who is granted authority to issue lawful orders to his troops. In the military, we delegate powers to competent, qualified officers to carry out war operations because the supreme/combatant commander can't be bothered to make EVERY single decision at every level. A General for example plans and executes the war, but he/she delegates authority to Colonels in the field, who then command troops in battle. But at the end of the day, the General is still the one in charge because he is the one who grants authority to his Colonels. I see the relationship between God and Jesus in a similar way. Jesus judges (as God tells him).
B) Jesus specifically said that he was NOT equal to God.
John 14:28
Remember what I told you: I am going away, but I will come back to you again. If you really loved me, you would be happy that I am going to the Father, who is greater than I am.
Matthew 24:36
"However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.
John 20:17
Dont cling to me, Jesus said, for I havent yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.
Yes, they did accuse him of this (which they framed as blasphemy). They also accused him of many other things that were not true, in order to find an excuse to kill him.Was that not what they accused Him of?
Matthew 14:55-59
55 Inside, the leading priests and the entire high council were trying to find evidence against Jesus, so they could put him to death. But they couldnt find any. 56 Many false witnesses spoke against him, but they contradicted each other. 57 Finally, some men stood up and gave this false testimony: 58 We heard him say, I will destroy this Temple made with human hands, and in three days I will build another, made without human hands. 59 But even then they didnt get their stories straight!
It's not a question as to whether or not he would "boast". The question should be whether or not he would LIE. And I obviously don't believe that he would lie! Therefore as a Christian, I have to accept that what he says about being lesser than God is the truth!You believe Jesus would boast while in the flesh? If He would of, then He would have defiled His complete submissiveness as in the flesh, which no man except God could do.
Mark 10:18
Why do you call me good? Jesus asked. Only God is truly good.
If Jesus says that the father is greater than he is, then it MUST be true!
Yes. The answer is "the man Jesus Christ".Why then a sinless man? Can you name one individual in the whole of humanity that was sinless, save God Himself?
James 1:13
When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.
Matthew 4:1-2
1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. 2 For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.
You ask WHY a sinless man? Because, who else but a sinless man is uniquely qualified to judge the sins of man? Who else besides someone who wasn't born into sin, but one that lived as a man and was tempted by evil himself could judge someone else's sins without being called a hypocrite? Could God have accomplished everything without Jesus? Sure. He is God and technically he can do anything. But the scriptures say that God is a righteous judge, who judges in fairness. If Jesus was actually God himself, then it would completely defeat the purpose of having him be our savior and judge! God could not be tempted, but Jesus could. This is what makes him the "fairer" choice to judge our sins (from our perspective), and God knew this. Isn't it more fair to have someone actually capable of experiencing temptation as a man and resist those temptations be the judge of mankind, who succubus to such temptations himself? If a god who cannot be tempted is judging mankind for succumbing to natural temptations of men, some might argue that this would not be a fair judgement. Since God always judges in righteousness, the solution is simple: delegate all authority to judge to that MAN you sent to save mankind. A man who was born free of sin, tempted to sin, resisted sin, and lived a life without sin: Jesus Christ.
What?You mean to tell me that Jesus died because He judged mankind? You mean by judgment, save some and condemn others?
No. He judges mankind because he has been given that authority by God. The reason he died was because the Jewish leaders engaged in a conspiracy to have him killed. They saw him as a threat to their status and authority (which was true because he actively spoke out against them).
Matthew 23:1-7
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. 3 So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but dont follow their example. For they dont practice what they teach. 4 They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.
5 Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels. 6 And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. 7 They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called Rabbi.
Luke 20:1:8
One day as Jesus was teaching the people and preaching the Good News in the Temple, the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders came up to him. 2 They demanded, By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right?
3 Let me ask you a question first, he replied. 4 Did Johns authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human? 5 They talked it over among themselves. If we say it was from heaven, he will ask why we didnt believe John. 6 But if we say it was merely human, the people will stone us because they are convinced John was a prophet. 7 So they finally replied that they didnt know. 8 And Jesus responded, Then I wont tell you by what authority I do these things.
Matthew 26:3-4
3 At that same time the leading priests and elders were meeting at the residence of Caiaphas, the high priest, 4 plotting how to capture Jesus secretly and kill him. 5 But not during the Passover celebration, they agreed, or the people may riot.
From Jesus' perspective, his mission was to save mankind from sin, which necessitated his own death.
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.''
John 3:16
For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
I agree. Therefore, I don't understand your question.He paid the price for us all. You and I pay nothing, for it is a free gift of God by Jesus.
Uh, NO. First of all, that's not even what I said. I said Jesus could not have done it without God, just as Moses could not have lead the Israelites to the promised land without God, and Noah could not have saved his family, without God, and Lot could not have saved his family, without God. It is God who allows miracles to be performed. It is God who granted certain individuals authority and power to "save" others. The only difference between Jesus and the others is that he is actually the Son of God himself, and is given authority to judge our sins. But the power and authority comes from God, not himself, because he is not God.Well.....there you go.....so it was God as Jesus, right?
You first have to establish that FACT in order to understand what it means for Jesus to be completely submissive as a lesser/as we are, than God right?
Then how do you explain what Noah did? And Moses did? They "saved" their people. Are they also God?No one but God can save period!
But you have to establish THAT as fact, and there is no scripture which makes this claim. It is an idea based solely on the trinity doctrine, which does not come from the bible. Why does Jesus HAVE to be God in order for him to be able to "save"? In what scripture is this fact about salvation made?If Jesus can not save, then God can not save for they are one in the same.