Why do Arians discredit the glory that Jesus Christ is due?
by Eric Landstrom
In my Bible it reads from Philippians 2:5-6, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
People often point out verses which say that Jesus is inferior to the Father to try and disprove the doctrine of the Trinity. For example, they may compare 1 John 3:20, where it is written that God koweth all things with verses like Mark 13:32 where Jesus states that only the Father knows the hour and the day when Jesus' prophesies are to be fulfilled. Besides this comparison, people often quote John 14:28 where Jesus says, "my Father is greater than I" or John 20:17 where Jesus calls God his God.
Do these verses really disprove the Trinity? No. To understand this we must keep in mind that Jesus is not only fully God, he is also fully man (Col. 2:8-9). Jesus sometimes speaks from His humanity and at other times from His deity. In His humanity Jesus is inferior to the Father. But in his deity He is Equal. If you don't understand this you will never understand the Gospels.
By Paul's account in Philippians two, Jesus being in the form of God thought Himself equal with God. Here is an argument: Jesus said he is God. If He really is God and we accept that, then fine. But what if Jesus really isn't God? We have two possibilities:
1) Jesus really thought he was God and thus deceived himself. We should discount everything he said because he's a lunatic.
2) Jesus knew he wasn't God and intentionally sought to deceive others into believing that he was God. In this case we should discredit everything he says because he is a demon and a fool because he died for it.
My point is that Jesus elevated himself as to be equal with God. If Jesus is merely a creature and not God then we ought not give any glory to him.
The doctrine of the Trinity has implications which are at the very heart of Christianity.
1) If Jesus is a created being and not fully God, then it is hard to see how He as a creature could bear the full wrath of God against all of our sins.
2) If Jesus is not fully God then justification by faith alone is called into question. If Jesus isn't fully God, then we could rightly doubt whether we can fully trust Him to save us completely.
3) If Jesus is not fully God, should we pray to Him? Who but and infinite God has the ability to hear and respond to all the prayers of all of God's people? Would it not be idolatry to worship Jesus (no matter how powerful) if He isn't fully God? Yet in Philippians 2:9-11 and Revelation 5:12-14 we are taught to worship Jesus.
4) If somebody denies that Jesus is fully God who has always possessed all the attributes of God; yet nonetheless say that it was Jesus who saves us; then this teaching wrongly begins to attribute credit for salvation to a creature and not to God Himself.
5) If Jesus is not fully God, then the independence and personal nature of God is at stake: If there is no Trinity of three persons, each of which are fully God, then there were no interpersonal relationships within God before creation. Without interpersonal relationships, it is difficult to see how God could be genuinely personal and how we could relate to such a being (the five points from Wayne Grudem's, Bible Doctrine, p.115).
Further there are other evidences in the Bible that show Jesus Christ must be God Almighty, even if you don't accept that He declaired Himself as God:
Argument one: The Bible proves Jesus is Jehovah and thus God Almighty. It says in Isaiah 40:3 "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God."
Again, in the Bible it says, speaking of John the Baptist's fulfillment of Isaiah 40:3 (Matt 3:3) "For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."
So who did John the Baptist prepare the way for? Answer -Jesus. So Jesus is Jehovah.
Argument two: Take a look at Isaiah 7:14. It reads, "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."
The key to Isaiah 7:14 is the divine name "Immanuel," which can only be rightly rendered "God with us"; and since there is no God but Jehovah, by His own declaration (Isaiah 43:10-11), therefore Jesus Christ and Jehovah God are of the same substance in power and eternity, hence equal.
This prophecy was fulfilled in Matthew 1:22-23, thus there can be no doubt that Jesus Christ is the "son of the virgin" so distinctly portrayed in Isaiah 7:14. The only way to refute this is to question the authority of Scripture since the very term "Immanuel" (God, or Jehovah with us) belies any other interpretation. In consideration of any Christadelphians that read this, consider Isaiah 43:10-11, which reads, "Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour." God does not lie. Take this for what it plainly says and do not read into it.
Argument three: Take a look at Philippians 2:10-11 in the Bible. It says, "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
Now look at Romans 14:11-13 in the Bible. "For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way."
It says every knee WILL bend down to Jehovah and make acknowledgement to God. If Jesus isn't Jehovah, this then conflicts with Philippians 2:10-11.
Argument four: Now read Revelations 1:8. "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty."
Now compare that to Revelation 1:17 which reads, "And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last."
The point here is that Alpha and the Omega is the same as the First and Last. Now go to Revelation 22:13. "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last."
Now lets reason together. If the Alpha and the Omega is the Same as the First and the Last, and he has to be according to Rev. 22:13, and Jesus is the first and the last (Rev. 1:17-18), and the Alpha and the Omega is the Almighty (Rev. 1:8), then Jesus is Almighty. Jesus has to be Almighty if you follow all three of these verses all the way through.
In some commentaries of those whom disbelieve that Jesus is Almighty God, they say Rev. 22:13 is the Father speaking. Fine. All you need to remember is that the first and Last are the same as Alpha and the Omega. And since Jesus is the First and the Last, and the Alpha and the Omega is the Almighty one, then Jesus is the Almighty one!!! For more proof, look to Isaiah 44:6, "Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God."
What is going on? Reason this out. Why would some people argue against any direct references of Jesus being called God Almighty, worshipped as God, and to further try to eliminate or argue away any references of Jesus calling Himself God--when to do so is to simply introduce contradictions within Scripture?
Mr. And Mrs. Arian, why would people do such a thing?