rrobs
Well-Known Member
Your solution is perfect. The key is in fact understanding what is meant when Jesus said he and his father are one.Then why does He address His Son as "God"? The Son is not the Father's God; rather, the Father is the Son's God. But Jesus said (in John 15:16), "All things that the Father hath are mine." That would certainly include the title by which He is known.
Now I'm not a Trinitarian by any means, but Jesus Christ said that He and His Father were "one," too. You've either got to simply ignore those verses that appear to contradict each other or you've got to try to reconcile them, which often involves recognizing that words (such as "one") can be understood differently depending upon the context.
1Cor 3:6-8,
6 I (Paul) have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
8 Now he that planteth (Paul) and he that watereth (Apollos) are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.
We can't assume that 2 things being called "one" means they are the same thing. A group of people being called "one" is a common phrase we use to mean they are united in purpose, they both work together for a common goal. In any case, Paul and Apollos were most certainly not the same person even though they were called "one."7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
8 Now he that planteth (Paul) and he that watereth (Apollos) are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.
Here's a prayer Jesus prayed to God (not himself);
John 17:22,
And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they (us) may be one, even as we are one:
We are one with God, but none of us are actually God.
If Jesus and God were literally one it would contradict many verses. Jesus asked God to take the cup away from him and said, "not my will, but thine be done." Either God has a split personality or Jesus is God's son (as the scriptures say 48 times) and therefore not God. Jesus was tempted, whereas God can not be tempted. Who did Jesus pray to? Himself? God knew things Jesus didn't know. Jesus said his father was greater than him. I could go on and on, but the best and simplest way to clear up the contradictions would be to simply say Jesus is not God. Problems solved!Why in world is it imperative that he even be God? The story reads just fine if they are taken as a father and His son. Jesus was born, like Adam, with innocent blood. They both had the same free will you and I have. They were both tempted like you and I. Of course you and I, being descendants of Adam come into the world with tainted blood, so we haven't a prayer of living a sin free life. But both Jesus and Adam had a shot at living a sin free life because they both came into the world sin free. They did not have a sin nature like everybody since Adam. Jesus started out with innocent blood as did Adam. Adam sinned, whereas Jesus always did his father's will, even to the death of the cross, not a pretty way to die. If he were God, what's the big deal? But if he was a man like you and I, his accomplishment becomes monumental. Don't take that away from him. Give him the credit he deserves.
God had a plan, the logos of John 1:1 (study what the word logos really meant to the folks at the time that John was written, don't just substitute the word "Jesus" for it). God came up with that plan (logos) which required that a man (Jesus) get us out of the mess that another man (Adam) got us into. Otherwise why didn't he just come down right after Adam sinned and make things right?
The things God had to plan for are incredibly complex. He had to convince another man to follow His will in order to undo the mess the first man did by not following His will. It was an incredibly complex plan to somehow get some man to say, "not my will, but thine be done." He couldn't force Jesus into doing anything. He had to persuade him via the scriptures, the writings of the Old Testament. No human could ever conceive of such a plan, but thankfully God is not a human! Jesus was a human, but not God.
Making Jesus God not only robs God his due worship for coming up with the plan (logos) in the first place, but it also robs Jesus of the his accomplishment in following that plan to the letter, despite the great personal cost. Jesus could have sinned at any point in his life (unlike God). He could have easily taken the devil up on the offer of ruling over all the kingdoms of the world. The devil was quite correct when he told Jesus it was in his power to do just that, and Jesus knew that. Fortunately for us, he didn't. Other wise we'd still be waiting for redemption. All in all, the scriptures make a much better story if the 2 main characters are kept straight.